Under Age 2026 AFL Draft General Discussion

[RedmanWasHere]

The first lot of names in probably school sport history to not have U12's games (due to the shutdown) which means that, for the first time in the digital age, this is a group of players who didn't get the opportunity (as 12 year olds) to get themselves on the radar of recruiters to follow their progress.

Having said that, Brisbane Lions academy prospect Harrison Bridge made this year's U15's Australian Football All-Australian side so is worth a shout out.

There's also a guy from the west called Hurricane Clark, the younger brother of 2023 prospect Tyzreise Clark.

A bit early but there are 2 names here so the foundations have been set.


For Hawthorn fans, this is Ben Crawford's first eligible year.
For Collingwood fans, this is Ayce Buckley's first eligible year.

 

[briztoon]

The first lot of names in probably school sport history to not have U12's games (due to the shutdown) which means that, for the first time in the digital age, this is a group of players who didn't get the opportunity (as 12 year olds) to get themselves on the radar of recruiters to follow their progress.

Having said that, Brisbane Lions academy prospect Harrison Bridge made this year's U15's Australian Football All-Australian side so is worth a shout out.

There's also a guy from the west called Hurricane Clark, the younger brother of 2023 prospect Tyzreise Clark.

A bit early but there are 2 names here so the foundations have been set.


For Hawthorn fans, this is Ben Crawford's first eligible year.
For Collingwood fans, this is Ayce Buckley's first eligible year.

Harrison Bridge was named the MVP of the School Sports U15 tournament. As a 14 year old.

There is also a couple of other kids from the Lions academy already gaining attention.

Harrison Bridge HB (Sherwood)
Maxwell Boothey MID (Sherwood)
Harry Thomson KPP (Sherwood)

 

[CaptainWorpedo]

Ben plays for the Northern River Squad. An according to his mum via her socia media, is the son whom is more likely to be the one who follows dad Shane into the AFL at this time.

 

[TDS7]

Ben plays for the Northern River Squad. An according to his mum via her socia media, is the son whom is more likely to be the one who follows dad Shane into the AFL at this time.

Listen Gold Coast, we let you have Dew and he's now looking like your best-ever coach. You have Noah Anderson, who was that close to going to us as a father-son. All I ask is that you leave the Crawf kids alone. It's all we have when you ignore the threepeat and 2008.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

South Australia has names here for not only 2023 but for 2024-2028.

https://sanfl-content.imgix.net/content/uploads/2022/09/05105318/Pool-A-QR-Code.pdf

https://sanfl-content.imgix.net/content/uploads/2022/09/05101510/Pool-B-1.pdf

 

[GC2015]

Listen Gold Coast, we let you have Dew and he's now looking like your best-ever coach. You have Noah Anderson, who was that close to going to us as a father-son. All I ask is that you leave the Crawf kids alone. It's all we have when you ignore the threepeat and 2008.

Nah, we let you have Scrimshaw for a fourth rounder so I think we'll gladly take Ben Crawford as compensation. No hard feelings

 

[CaptainWorpedo]

Nah, we let you have Scrimshaw for a fourth rounder so I think we'll gladly take Ben Crawford as compensation. No hard feelings

Dreaming, Shane will have none of that crap.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

The 2023 AFL National Development Championships – U16 Boys will begin with a clash between Victoria Country and Victoria Metro on Saturday, June 10 during the King’s Birthday weekend in Victoria.

The first round of fixtures will be played across four states, before all ten teams converge on the Gold Coast where the final two rounds will be played from July 3 to July 7.

The 2023 AFL National Championships – U18 Girls will again feature six teams. Queensland, South Australia, Victoria Country, Victoria Metro and Western Australia will all field teams, along with the Allies, which will comprise players from New South Wales, ACT, Northern Territory and Tasmania.

2023 AFL National Development Championships – U16 Boys​

Teams: Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast Suns, GWS Giants, Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria Country, Victoria Metro, Sydney Swans Academy, Tasmania and Western Australia

DATE	HOME TEAM	AWAY TEAM	VENUE
Sat, June 10	Victoria Country	Victoria Metro	IKON Park, VIC
Sat, June 17	GWS GIANTS Academy	Sydney Swans Academy	Blacktown Int. Sportspark, NSW
Sat, June 24	Northern Territory	Tasmania	Highgate Rec. Reserve, VIC
Sun, June 25	Western Australia	South Australia	TBC, WA
Sun, June 25	Brisbane Lions	GC SUNS Academy	Brighton Homes Arena, QLD
Mon, July 3	GC SUNS Academy	Tasmania	Heritage Bank Stadium, QLD
Mon, July 3	GWS GIANTS Academy	Northern Territory	Heritage Bank Stadium, QLD
Mon, July 3	Brisbane Lions	Sydney Swans	Heritage Bank Stadium, QLD
Tue, July 4	Victoria Metro	Western Australia	Heritage Bank Stadium, QLD
Tue, July 4	Victoria Country	South Australia	Heritage Bank Stadium, QLD
Thu, July 6	Tasmania	GWS GIANTS Academy	Fankhauser Reserve, QLD
Thu, July 6	GC SUNS Academy	Sydney Swans Academy	Fankhauser Reserve, QLD
Thu, July 6	Northern Territory	Brisbane Lions Academy	Fankhauser Reserve, QLD
Fri, July 7	South Australia	Victoria Metro	Fankhauser Reserve, QLD
Fri, July 7	Western Australia	Victoria Country	Fankhauser Reserve, QLD

2023 AFL National Championships: U18, U16 fixtures released

The AFL has released the schedule for this year's U18 and U16 National Championships

www.afl.com.au

As there might be some 15 year olds playing as bottom agers in the U16's, it feels right to copy and paste Lore's comment to put in this thread

 

[Jen2310]

As there might be some 15 year olds playing as bottom agers in the U16's, it feels right to copy and paste Lore's comment to put in this thread

Yeah Thomas McGuane would be one of them. He isn't 16 until August.

 

[GC2015]

Harrison Bridge was named the MVP of the School Sports U15 tournament. As a 14 year old.

Reminds me of Will Ashcroft when he did the same thing in his last year based on the Gold Coast. The unfortunate part for both of our clubs is that at the U15/16 level we appear to have juniors that are the equal of or better than their counterparts in other states but in the U17/18 years we fall way behind in terms of development and a lot of these kids are lucky to even be rookie listed by the time the draft rolls around. How do we get around that challenge? Ashcroft was able to move to relocate to Melbourne and continued his progression as a standout all throughout his junior career but I dare say he wouldn't have been considered a top 2 pick if he had remained in Queensland for those three years. I also don't think sending Queenslanders to another state to continue their development is a good way of getting around the issue. We need to find a better local solution to this issue to ensure Queensland juniors don't fall behind.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Yeah Thomas McGuane would be one of them. He isn't 16 until August.

Which makes him first time eligible in 2025 instead of 2026.

 

[Jen2310]

Which makes him first time eligible in 2025 instead of 2026.

Yeah, my bad. That he is.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Question.

Would Tasmania see this as their foundation draft? (I.e. have the ability to pre-select 12 players born between January 1-April 30 2008.)

Adding to this, some zoned players born in 2006 and 2007 too.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

This draft crop is looking more and more likely to be the crop of boys players, of which the prospective Tasmanian team will get to dissect the most.

Bastyy.

Get ready for the busiest and, possibly, most jam packed draft thread of yours ever.

As an aside, next year or the year after, I reckon draft board posts should be split into 2.

For the draft class of 2026, one list dedicated to the mainland talent and the other list dedicated to Tassies.

 

[Bastyy]

This draft crop is looking more and more likely to be the crop of boys players, of which the prospective Tasmanian team will get to dissect the most.

Bastyy.

Get ready for the busiest and, possibly, most jam packed draft thread of yours ever.

As an aside, next year or the year after, I reckon draft board posts should be split into 2.

For the draft class of 2026, one list dedicated to the mainland talent and the other list dedicated to Tassies.

Preparing comfortably by taking a year off

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Preparing comfortably by taking a year off

Take another year (or 2 off) then be ready in 2026 and 2027.

 

[GC2015]

This draft crop is looking more and more likely to be the crop of boys players, of which the prospective Tasmanian team will get to dissect the most.

Bastyy.

Get ready for the busiest and, possibly, most jam packed draft thread of yours ever.

As an aside, next year or the year after, I reckon draft board posts should be split into 2.

For the draft class of 2026, one list dedicated to the mainland talent and the other list dedicated to Tassies.

Only problem is that it would appear Tasmania won't be competing in the U15 National Schoolboys Championship this year. Otherwise we'd get a decent idea of potential recruitable Tasmanian talent from the '26 draft class.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Victoria's and Western Australia's squads have dropped.


WA.

FIRST NAME	SURNAME	SCHOOL
Angus	Abbonizio	Hale School
Drew	Clarke	South Coast Baptist College
Jayden	Clarke	Scotch College
Lorenze	Cole	Karratha senior high school
Jayke	Cooper	Mandurah Catholic College
Jai	Debono	Chisholm Catholic College
Matthew	Edgelow	Darling Range Sport College
Riley	Hay	Peter Moyes Anglican High School
Samuel	Hill	Belridge Secondary College
Alastair	Kelly	Governor Stirling Senior High School
Garrison	Kenh	Governor Stirling Senior High School
Connor	Lally	John Paul College Kalgoorlie
Koby	LeCras	Aquinas College
Saul	McCann	Mandurah Catholic College
Kye	Ormerod	Leeming Senior High School
McKenna	Pringle	Kolbe Catholic College
Lucas	Robinson	Hale School
Adam	Schmechtig	Warwick Senior High School
Nate	Scott	Kennedy Baptist College
Thatcher	Simmons	St Mark’s Anglican Community School
Leo	Steed	Wesley College
Coen	Tuck	Mandurah Catholic College
Axel	Walsh	Trinity College
James	Whelan	Comet Bay College
Oliver	Williams	Aquinas College
TRAIN ON PLAYERS [8]
Jai	Baron-Hay	Sacred Heart College
Corbin	Boylson	Aquinas College
Cooper	Dudfield	Mazenod College
Fletcher	Farr	Hale School
Sonny	Gosling	Newman College
Austin	Lekias	Halls Head College
Cooper	McMeikan	Willetton Senior High School
Joshua	Nathan	Wesley College

Vic Blue.

Archie	Spencer	Mount Lilydale Mercy College
	Arki	Butler	Brighton Grammar School
	Ben	Carroll	Mount Eliza Secondary College
	Charlie	Harper	Xavier College
	Cody	Walker	St Joseph's College
	Darcy	Harrington	St Joseph's College Geelong
	Hunter	Ryan	Lilydale High School
	Jack	Surkitt	St Bede's College
	Jake	Ring	Haileybury College
	Jasper	Shone	Bass Coast College
	Jordan	Knapp	Yarra Valley Grammar
	Joshua	Djatschenko	Maribyrnong College
	Lachlan	Galletly	Montmorency Secondary College
	Lachlan	Hicks	Wesley College Melbourne
	Levi	West	Buckley Park College
	Lewis	Houndsome	Parade College
	Matthew	D'Amico	Marcellin College
	Max	Downes	Hazel Glen College
	Max	Matthews	St Bede's College
	Mitch	Toner	Caulfield Grammar School
	Ned	Badrock	St Joseph's College Geelong
	Sam	Harris	St Bernard's College
	Sam	Devers	Whitefriars College Inc
	Thomas	Macmillan	Bass Coast College
	Zac	Antonellos	Whitefriars College Inc

Vic White.

Angus	Tippett	Kardinia International College
	Archer	Chamberlain	St Joseph's College Geelong
	Bart	Leeton	Scotch College
	Ben	Wilson	Ivanhoe Grammar School
	Billy	Wigmore	St Mary's College Melbourne
	Blake	Newton	Cathedral College Wangaratta
	Blake	Sofra	Notre Dame College
	Charlie	Robbins	Northcote High School
	Diesel	Beck	Rowville Secondary College
	Douglas	Ashby	Nagle College
	Harvie	Cooke	Assumption College
	Henry	Thomas	Brighton Grammar School
	Jack	Condello	Emmaus College
	Jack	Pickett	St Joseph's College Geelong
	Jack	Thomson	Western Heights Secondary College
	Jasper	Williams	Brighton Grammar School
	Kristian	Fitzsimmons	Goulburn Valley Grammar School
	Lachie	Collins	Yarra Valley Grammar
	Levi	Prismall	Blackburn High School
	Oliver	Thomson	Rowville Secondary College
	Oliver	Cape	St Patrick's College Ballarat
	Tethloach	Liem	St Patrick's College Ballarat
	Tevita	Rodan	St Bernard's College
	Thomas	Lincoln	Maribyrnong Secondary College
	Tom	Roche	Brighton Grammar School

Emergencies:

Archie	Dewar	Vermont Secondary College
	Banjo	Walsh	Parade College
	Benjamin	Plut	Ringwood Secondary College
	Connor	Macmillan	Bass Coast College
	Corey	Ah Mu	Wantirna College
	Fletcher	Pittard	St Francis Xavier College
	Oliver	Panozzo	Caulfield Grammar School
	Xavier	Collins	Iona College

 

[Sphynx]

Sam Harris is son of Daniel (149 games North/11 games Gold Coast), to add for future information.

 

[Miller1971]

How do each of the states pick their u15 schoolboy sides?

I've done m best to keep an eye on the u15s up here in QLD for the last 5 years or so, and this year was able to actually attend the carnival (as it was in Brisbane) and its an absolutely horrendous process and if they are truly using the u15 schoolboy side for anything other than a week off school, as opposed to talent ID or development, its no wonder QLD footy has struggled to get kids drafted from time to time. (this year will be an exception)

There were like 10 regions or so, they grade them from the previous years results (despite being an entirely new cohort) and then the guy who coaches one of the regions picks the side himself and picks 40% of the side from his region, 40% from the winning region and then a handful of kids seem to be randomly picked from the rest.

Some of the teams don't even have a competitive game and win by 100 points every game, then somehow finish 6th and get nobody in the side. One fo the more bizarre carnivals I've ever seen.

Gee whiz they missed some seriousl;y elite players in the process too, while some serious numpties got picked by virtue of being in a good team.

 

[GC2015]

How do each of the states pick their u15 schoolboy sides?

I've done m best to keep an eye on the u15s up here in QLD for the last 5 years or so, and this year was able to actually attend the carnival (as it was in Brisbane) and its an absolutely horrendous process and if they are truly using the u15 schoolboy side for anything other than a week off school, as opposed to talent ID or development, its no wonder QLD footy has struggled to get kids drafted from time to time. (this year will be an exception)

There were like 10 regions or so, they grade them from the previous years results (despite being an entirely new cohort) and then the guy who coaches one of the regions picks the side himself and picks 40% of the side from his region, 40% from the winning region and then a handful of kids seem to be randomly picked from the rest.

Some of the teams don't even have a competitive game and win by 100 points every game, then somehow finish 6th and get nobody in the side. One fo the more bizarre carnivals I've ever seen.

Gee whiz they missed some seriousl;y elite players in the process too, while some serious numpties got picked by virtue of being in a good team.

This is a strange take on U15 Queensland footy considering the results last year that included the girls team claiming the national championship after completing an undefeated campaign and the boys team were one victory away from doing the same thing but just fell short against eventual champions SA by 8 points. I actually think junior footy in Queensland is the strongest it's probably ever been right now.

Ashcroft & Fletcher were both top 12 picks last year, Walter, Read and Rogers all look like locks for top 10-15 picks this year, there's a few bottom agers that look like first round picks next year (Lombard & Nancarrow), there appears to be several U16 standouts in both QLD academies with guys like recently named Alan McLean Medalist Addinsall also looking like future first round picks. Hopefully that continues into this draft class and I suspect we'll know the answer to that question in a few weeks from now when the U15 Championships conclude.

Clearly grassroots footy in Queensland is doing something right to consistently churn out these standouts on the national stage. I'd reserve criticism of the selection process until after you see how the team performs in the national competition. Where can I find the list of players selected for the U15 Queensland team this year?

 

[Miller1971]

Not a comment on the status or quality of players in QLD in general, merely a comment on the strange selection process I witnessed this year. Who knows, perhaps they might have won it last year if they had picked the right kids (I have no idea if they did or they didn't, as I never saw the process and results suggest they got it right last year, I agree)

though there is a lad called Ben Lillico, another one called Raph Geesu and another one called Jack Slater - all in the top 5-10 players for that age group who weren't in that team last year. Might have been injured, who knows?

Appreciate that picking teams from a carnival type situation is alsways going to result in sub optimal results, which is why I was asking how other states do it?

Think as a starting point, the selector/coach shouldn't be coaching a region, and you'll never be able to convince me that 80% of the side coming from 2 x teams is a good idea. Kids from NQ and CQ didn't get a look in because their teams weren't competitive.

It's probably not really a key component of the talent pathway anyway, but kids would be living on getting picked in these teams

 

[briztoon]

6th name on the list. Also, apparently one of our best academy kids wasn’t selected (only a guess, but he played in a weaker region team).

 

[RedmanWasHere]

6th name on the list. Also, apparently one of our best academy kids wasn’t selected (only a guess, but he played in a weaker region team).
View attachment 1742185

Harry Thomson?


Also:

Levi has to be Maddi and Teagan's brother.
Are any of the Murray's, Jai's brother?

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

All I've heard is Cody Walker is meant to be a weapon. Son of Andrew, anyone seen/heard much about him?