Player Watch 2025 AFL Draft Thread (Welcome to our new Central Districts overlords!)

[TylerDurden]

It’s AFL draft day. Here’s who your club is set to pick

Here’s our final forecast of how the first 30 picks at this week’s AFL draft will play out.

www.theage.com.au

 

[MazHawk]

Firstly, no names. Sorry but I wasn't given any openly. The name(s) I was given I was told not to mention this far out of the draft and I'm going to honor that. I may not like him but I'm not going to endanger his job so stop reading now if you want.

Well I'm trying. In the latest edition of 'what the feck do I know?' which should be 'what the feck does my ex really know?', here's the latest and it's not much. At all.

We're known by other clubs to be "open" to live trading going into next year but the opinion is our first wont be on the table (depending on a very good offer) so we are more interested in trading 22 and a future 1st to take another pick inside the mid-first round if a specific player we are looking at is available.
We are looking at someone specifically.

We are interested in two players very much with our first but also really rate another that we think wont be available at our second. The over-riding opinion is that if we traded into before our first we'd probably target this boy initially.
Personally, this makes me go into 'Weddle-mode' but who knows really how they'll turn out. If we get them.

Sorry in advance, that's all I'm allowed to give and that's all I'm giving so feel free to bag me if you want but it is what it is.
Stay happy. Only twelve more days. We can do this, right?

 

[Yardie]

Firstly, no names. Sorry but I wasn't given any openly. The name(s) I was given I was told not to mention this far out of the draft and I'm going to honor that. I may not like him but I'm not going to endanger his job so stop reading now if you want.

Well I'm trying. In the latest edition of 'what the feck do I know?' which should be 'what the feck does my ex really know?', here's the latest and it's not much. At all.

We're known by other clubs to be "open" to live trading going into next year but the opinion is our first wont be on the table (depending on a very good offer) so we are more interested in trading 22 and a future 1st to take another pick inside the mid-first round if a specific player we are looking at is available.
We are looking at someone specifically.

We are interested in two players very much with our first but also really rate another that we think wont be available at our second. The over-riding opinion is that if we traded into before our first we'd probably target this boy initially.
Personally, this makes me go into 'Weddle-mode' but who knows really how they'll turn out. If we get them.

Sorry in advance, that's all I'm allowed to give and that's all I'm giving so feel free to bag me if you want but it is what it is.
Stay happy. Only twelve more days. We can do this, right?

Thanks MazHawk. Always appreciate the intel you get for us.

 

[Steven Tyler]

Firstly, no names. Sorry but I wasn't given any openly. The name(s) I was given I was told not to mention this far out of the draft and I'm going to honor that. I may not like him but I'm not going to endanger his job so stop reading now if you want.

Well I'm trying. In the latest edition of 'what the feck do I know?' which should be 'what the feck does my ex really know?', here's the latest and it's not much. At all.

We're known by other clubs to be "open" to live trading going into next year but the opinion is our first wont be on the table (depending on a very good offer) so we are more interested in trading 22 and a future 1st to take another pick inside the mid-first round if a specific player we are looking at is available.
We are looking at someone specifically.

We are interested in two players very much with our first but also really rate another that we think wont be available at our second. The over-riding opinion is that if we traded into before our first we'd probably target this boy initially.
Personally, this makes me go into 'Weddle-mode' but who knows really how they'll turn out. If we get them.

Sorry in advance, that's all I'm allowed to give and that's all I'm giving so feel free to bag me if you want but it is what it is.
Stay happy. Only twelve more days. We can do this, right?

Trading a future first will limit our trade chances for Humphrey next year

Maybe we already know Gold Coast won’t budge

 

[chopflop]

Pickett is my guess

 

[Bugs1977]

Firstly, no names. Sorry but I wasn't given any openly. The name(s) I was given I was told not to mention this far out of the draft and I'm going to honor that. I may not like him but I'm not going to endanger his job so stop reading now if you want.

Well I'm trying. In the latest edition of 'what the feck do I know?' which should be 'what the feck does my ex really know?', here's the latest and it's not much. At all.

We're known by other clubs to be "open" to live trading going into next year but the opinion is our first wont be on the table (depending on a very good offer) so we are more interested in trading 22 and a future 1st to take another pick inside the mid-first round if a specific player we are looking at is available.
We are looking at someone specifically.

We are interested in two players very much with our first but also really rate another that we think wont be available at our second. The over-riding opinion is that if we traded into before our first we'd probably target this boy initially.
Personally, this makes me go into 'Weddle-mode' but who knows really how they'll turn out. If we get them.

Sorry in advance, that's all I'm allowed to give and that's all I'm giving so feel free to bag me if you want but it is what it is.
Stay happy. Only twelve more days. We can do this, right?

Stop apologising Maz. Your fast becoming one of my favourite ITKs (yeah it sounds douchey) here and the info you pass on is very well appreciated. I'm sure I speak for the majority here that if anyone bags you well they can f**k off because anyone that consumes as much coffee as you do (with your ex) just so you can pass this info onto us

 

[Rowie6]

It’s only in Australia where this is an issue, for some reason elite athletes who want to achieve the pinnacle must be overly humble and trot out cliches that are totally disingenuous. I love a lot about Australia but this shit isn’t for me (and I’m a long way from an elite athlete). I loved Matheus in his draft and wished we picked him over mackenzie and would be rapt with Jevan at 22. Sadly a club will delight in his desire to be great and pick him earlier.

He will be picked earlier than pick 22.

If we want him we will have to use our first pick.

 

[MasterSamurai]

Trading a future first will limit our trade chances for Humphrey next year

Maybe we already know Gold Coast won’t budge

On face value, yes, you are correct but, there's some real good talent in this draft that I've been alluding to in the last few months. I'm all for going hard at either of Butters or Humphrey next year, but, again , as plenty of posters have suggested, we can't be waiting on a potential target either . I have a list of about 5-6 players that can make an impact for us with elite environment and development so I'm glad that mazhawk has info on us trading out 22+ FF!
As for trade targets , well, with us hopefully bringing in a couple more high end talent this draft, we'll have a fair amount of surplus to needs that we can always trade out next year to get back in the draft to target an established player.
If the Blues finish where I think they will, bottom 4-5, then getting Walsh wouldn't be out of the question either.

 

[ahhhhhh]

Firstly, no names. Sorry but I wasn't given any openly. The name(s) I was given I was told not to mention this far out of the draft and I'm going to honor that. I may not like him but I'm not going to endanger his job so stop reading now if you want.

Well I'm trying. In the latest edition of 'what the feck do I know?' which should be 'what the feck does my ex really know?', here's the latest and it's not much. At all.

We're known by other clubs to be "open" to live trading going into next year but the opinion is our first wont be on the table (depending on a very good offer) so we are more interested in trading 22 and a future 1st to take another pick inside the mid-first round if a specific player we are looking at is available.
We are looking at someone specifically.

We are interested in two players very much with our first but also really rate another that we think wont be available at our second. The over-riding opinion is that if we traded into before our first we'd probably target this boy initially.
Personally, this makes me go into 'Weddle-mode' but who knows really how they'll turn out. If we get them.

Sorry in advance, that's all I'm allowed to give and that's all I'm giving so feel free to bag me if you want but it is what it is.
Stay happy. Only twelve more days. We can do this, right?

That's what I like to hear. Glad we have pivoted and are hitting the draft.

The way we are run currently reminds me a lot of my NFL team (49ers). Let's hope we dont have the same injury run.

 

[matey]

A Hawks fan!

‘Holds me in good stead’: Why top SA draft prospect Sam Cumming is prepared for interstate move

‘Don’t have to worry’: Why top 10 draft bolter is ready for interstate move — and likely landing spots

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[burner1]

Very interesting intel. Most on here have been of view we were more likely to trade out. But sounds like a realistic scenario we use our first two and even trade up using future picks. Not long to find out.

I do like we’re happy to back our scouting. That we could use a F1 to upgrade a pick suggests there’s some talent in draft (but very specific players).

 

[SSSSSS]

Very interesting intel. Most on here have been of view we were more likely to trade out. But sounds like a realistic scenario we use our first two and even trade up using future picks. Not long to find out.

I do like we’re happy to back our scouting. That we could use a F1 to upgrade a pick suggests there’s some talent in draft (but very specific players).

No one really wants to trade out of next year.

Maybe we've identified some value that we can get a favourable trade to trade out of next seasons draft.

Buy low sell high.

 

[Atch]

Geez offseason is long and boring. here is the mock draft from chatgpt:

1. GC (match) – Zeke Uwland, dashing Suns academy defender/mid. (Locked to Suns.)
2. Brisbane (match) – Dan Annable, powerful Lions academy mid; they said all year they had the points.
3. West Coast – Willem Duursma (best pure talent; WC love high-end, all-ground mids; keeps WA fans happy enough).
4. West Coast – Cooper Duff-Tytler (200cm ruck/forward; makes sense after they traded out Oscar Allen and need a long ruck/forward succession plan).
5. Richmond – Dyson Sharp (explosive mid/runner — Tigers need game-speed in the next wave).
6. Richmond – Xavier Taylor (rangy intercept/defender — classic “we’ll develop him” Tigers pick).
7. GC (match) – Dylan Patterson (Suns academy, top-10 athlete, no way they let him walk).
8. Essendon – Sullivan Robey (big, competitive mid/fwd — exactly the sort of inside/outside mix the Bombers didn’t get in the trade period).
9. Essendon – Sam Grlj (speed/creativity to complement Merrett & co; Rosa said they could still move up, but if they stay, this makes sense).
10. Melbourne – Sam Cumming (versatile mid/forward; Dees like footballers who can play multiple lines, and they can afford to take pure talent here).
11. Melbourne – Aidan Schubert (198cm forward/ruck — Melbourne brought in Mihocek but still like stocking tall upside).
12. Carlton – Josh Lindsay (half-back/mid polish; Blues just brought in Ainsworth, Florent, Chesser, Reidy so they can go for skill here).
13. Carlton (match) – Harry Dean (father-son key defender, already flagged by the club).
14. Hawthorn – Jacob Farrow (first WA player likely to go; Hawks love smart, kicking defenders and just lost Worpel so they keep adding quality ball-use).
15. Carlton – Lachy Dovaston (impact forward; Blues lost some forward depth in the monster Curnow deal to Sydney, so they top it back up).
16. Melbourne (match) – Kalani White (the Dees have been linked to him specifically).
17. GWS – Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves (Giants love upside/score-involvement types; this is very Adrian Caruso).
18. West Coast – Oskar Taylor (elite-testing small defender; WC need to replace Starcevich-type defensive quality they lost to Brisbane).
19. Western Bulldogs – Ollie Greeves (191cm mid, Dogs always happy to draft another tall mid and sort the role later).
20. Sydney (match) – Max King (Swans academy; they always match on their own talls).
21. Gold Coast – Mitch Marsh (SA third tall forward; Suns can now pick for list balance after locking their three big academy boys).
22. Adelaide – Harley Barker (SA wing with burst, even off the ACL — Crows like local talent and still need more outside run).
23. Brisbane – Louis Emmett (199cm swing/ruck; Lions lost Brandon Starcevich and added key talls Allen + Draper, so they can now take a developmental tall with athletic profile).
24. Gold Coast – Fred Rodriguez (WA MVP type mid; Suns can just take class here).
25. Gold Coast (match) – Beau Addinsall (Suns academy mid, rated inside top 30; this pick becomes a match).
26. Geelong – Blake Thredgold (194cm defender with speed; Geelong tried and failed to trade for a key defender in the period so they just draft one).
27. Essendon (match) – Adam Sweid (Bombers NGA inside mid, ranked 20; Freo asked the question, Dons shut it down).
28. Fremantle – Archie Ludowyke (197cm high-leaping forward; Freo grabbed Judd McVee in trade period so they can swing to a key forward project now).
29. Essendon – Jevan Phillipou (hard, combative mid/forward; very “we’ll add another competitive body” pick).
30. Essendon (match) – Hussien El Achkar (crafty NGA small forward; they don’t let him get to anyone else).
31. Hawthorn – Rory Wright (lovely-kicking mid/half-back, went up late in the year — exactly the Hawks profile).
32. Brisbane – Matt LeRay (clean, smart, can be a half-back/wing — Lions can afford a slightly slower-developing player here).
33. St Kilda (match) – Kye Fincher (Saints NGA half-back/mid; GC made them pay).
34. Gold Coast – Cameron Nairn (SA 189cm forward who works up the ground — good depth piece for them).
35. North Melbourne – Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier (beautiful ball user; Roos just take quality).
36. North Melbourne – Jack Dalton (endurance king; perfect “we need runners” pick for a rebuilding list).
37. Collingwood (match) – Zac McCarthy (Pies NGA tall fwd/ruck; they were always going to match).
38. Essendon – Sam Swadling (WA ball-magnet; Bombers can take a volume-ball type this late).
39. Gold Coast – Rory Wright is gone, Thredgold is gone, so GC can go to next best versatile defender: Sam Swadling is taken, so they pivot to Matt LeRay … but Lions took him at 32, so GC grab Fred Rodriguez-type is gone; at this point they start dipping into their club board — call it “best remaining athlete” from the ESPN 30s (e.g. Central Districts mid/def Matt LeRay if still there, otherwise the next SA mid like Cameron Nairn/another WA mid).
40. Gold Coast – same story: depth athlete from the 30s group (Rodriguez/LeRay/Swadling tier).
41. Essendon – now deep enough to take a pure role player — think Central Districts’ Cameron Nairn if not taken, or a developing key back from outside the ESPN 40.
42. Sydney – tidy up with a running half-back / depth mid.
43. Sydney – second depth piece.
44. Western Bulldogs – depth defender or ruck project.
45. West Coast – WA talent again to keep the locals happy.
46. GWS – high-upside athlete still on the board.
47. Gold Coast – points turned into depth.
48. Melbourne – list hygiene pick.
49. Richmond – father-son Louis Kellaway type was mentioned in club wrap, so Tigers can use this for that line.
50. Collingwood – depth tall or pressure forward, depending on VFL view.
51. Geelong – late project mid/def.

Oskar Taylor to replace starcevich for West coast damn he didn't last to long did he!

 

[Yardie]

Stop apologising Maz. Your fast becoming one of my favourite ITKs (yeah it sounds douchey) here and the info you pass on is very well appreciated. I'm sure I speak for the majority here that if anyone bags you well they can f**k off because anyone that consumes as much coffee as you do (with your ex) just so you can pass this info onto us

Agree 100%. If anyone gives you shit feel free to name and shame and a few of us will have your back.

 

[brad sue well]

Firstly, no names. Sorry but I wasn't given any openly. The name(s) I was given I was told not to mention this far out of the draft and I'm going to honor that. I may not like him but I'm not going to endanger his job so stop reading now if you want.

Well I'm trying. In the latest edition of 'what the feck do I know?' which should be 'what the feck does my ex really know?', here's the latest and it's not much. At all.

We're known by other clubs to be "open" to live trading going into next year but the opinion is our first wont be on the table (depending on a very good offer) so we are more interested in trading 22 and a future 1st to take another pick inside the mid-first round if a specific player we are looking at is available.
We are looking at someone specifically.

We are interested in two players very much with our first but also really rate another that we think wont be available at our second. The over-riding opinion is that if we traded into before our first we'd probably target this boy initially.
Personally, this makes me go into 'Weddle-mode' but who knows really how they'll turn out. If we get them.

Sorry in advance, that's all I'm allowed to give and that's all I'm giving so feel free to bag me if you want but it is what it is.
Stay happy. Only twelve more days. We can do this, right?

Mazzy Star.


While the draft this high up his Plan B after Zach fell through, it seems they will still embrace the next opportunity even if it is at the other end of the age spectrum. Maybe I am looking at this too simplistically though.

I wonder if recent dynasties show that filling gaps when in the premiership window shows that there is an age profile deficiency amongst the younger part of the list. Could missing out on Zach and taking advantage of this draft actually fill something that previous dynasties have not.

Not saying one is better than the other, but it’s great that this could potentially be a different complexion on what we have seen in the past.

 

[Davo-27]

Dyson Sharp or bust

 

[FB19]

Firstly, no names. Sorry but I wasn't given any openly. The name(s) I was given I was told not to mention this far out of the draft and I'm going to honor that. I may not like him but I'm not going to endanger his job so stop reading now if you want.

Well I'm trying. In the latest edition of 'what the feck do I know?' which should be 'what the feck does my ex really know?', here's the latest and it's not much. At all.

We're known by other clubs to be "open" to live trading going into next year but the opinion is our first wont be on the table (depending on a very good offer) so we are more interested in trading 22 and a future 1st to take another pick inside the mid-first round if a specific player we are looking at is available.
We are looking at someone specifically.

We are interested in two players very much with our first but also really rate another that we think wont be available at our second. The over-riding opinion is that if we traded into before our first we'd probably target this boy initially.
Personally, this makes me go into 'Weddle-mode' but who knows really how they'll turn out. If we get them.

Sorry in advance, that's all I'm allowed to give and that's all I'm giving so feel free to bag me if you want but it is what it is.
Stay happy. Only twelve more days. We can do this, right?

Thanks Maz as always love the intel and anyone doing those yards with forced painful socialising has to be comended!
If the strategy is for 2 players around our pick, why aren’t we simply getting 2 picks in that area without using our f1?
Eagles get 10 from us give 13 and 34
Hawks give 22/34 and f2 to blues for pick 11.

Eagles move up into top 10, blues get good Dean and Ison matching points plus a f2 to help with Cody walker next year and we take picks 11 and 13 to the draft and keep our f1.

 

[Noel Gallagher]

Dyson Sharp or bust

So the only way to get him is trade out our future first?

Would love to get Greaves as well and give him time to develop.

 

[Davo-27]

So the only way to get him is trade out our future first?

Would love to get Greaves as well and give him time to develop.

Sharp is pick 1 quality who could slide, it's why Cal Twomey, an Essendon fan wants Sharp at the Bombers.

 

[lethalselbow]

Some more thoughts...

 

[Davo-27]

If we can't get Dyson Sharp (i hope we trade up and get him) ... he will make our midfield premiership ready, Newc, Day, Sharp with Nash and Ward as support we are challenging

Our backup plan:

Josh Lindsay and Mitch Marsh/Cam Nairn which are likely available at our picks i think?

 

[sohsam]

If we can't get Dyson Sharp (i hope we trade up and get him) ... he will make our midfield premiership ready, Newc, Day, Sharp with Nash and Ward as support we are challenging

Our backup plan:

Josh Lindsay and Mitch Marsh/Cam Nairn which are likely available at our picks i think?

cam nairn available with our original pick in 30s, most likely. M Marsh for future, Josh Lindsay not really a midfield option, more good field kick, not a comparison with sharp.

 

[sohsam]

Some more thoughts...

makes sense, I think Cummings/Sharp/Farrow with our first makes sense, M Marsh with our second if he slips that far makes sense, pretty much what we have been saying, nothing too out of this world. Even if we miss M Marsh, apparently phillipou is a good fit.

 

[matey]

The thing with our recruiters/Sam which isn’t shown in the draftee highlights is attitude and character. In the past this has also been an important trait that we have looked for

 

[mustang]

Dyson Sharp or bust

Read reports Davo that his pace isn't that best, and when we have a one paced midfield already he would be just adding to that, is that true?