BigFooty Official 2025 BIGFOOTY PHANTOM DRAFT - TRIAL RUN

[PMBangers]

Howdy all, later than usual but the trial run/ earlish season run for the Bigfooty phantom draft is here, to bring discussion and knowledge about the exciting prospects this year, with 10 teams already casting their eye further ahead.

We like to remind everyone that Drafting and Ranking is an opinions based exercise, so while we encourage positive discussion (e.g. "Hey Bangers, haven't seen that guy spoken about that highly, what do you like about him for GWS?") there will be ZERO tolerance towards anything close to abusive =)

If you want to just see the picks/ selections, click on 'READER MODE' at the top of the thread

Teams and Selectors
Adelaide - Thunderstruck
Brisbane - noobermensch
Carlton - Thunderstruck
Collingwood - Pie 4 Life
Essendon - eDPS
Fremantle - Chris25
Geelong - Smythe
Gold Coast - noobermensch
GWS - PMBangers
Hawthorn - Pie 4 Life
Melbourne - goodcop badcop
North Melbourne - roos_fanatic08
Port Adelaide - Chris25
Richmond - Smythe
St Kilda - roos_fanatic08
Sydney - eDPS
Western Bulldogs - goodcop badcop
West Coast - Monocle

F/S, NGA and Academy Bidding
Bidding has received a change given the DVI index changes, all bid matching will receive a 10% discount, so a bid at Pick 1 only requires 2700 points to match as opposed to the former 2400, and less picks are worth points, with Pick 54 being the last pick worth points (14) as opposed to 72. I'm not 100% certain but believe the new deficit amount a team can go into is 1167 Points, which means that this phantom will see a few prospects going unmatched given we don't do pick trading. Any drafter bidding on a player is REQUIRED to tag the relevant poster

No time frame on selections as per usual, but don't take the piss =)

 

[PMBangers]

Round 1
Pick 1 - Brisbane Lions (MATCHED BID) - Dan Annable (Brisbane Lions Academy/ QLD) [Picks 16, 37, 40, 46, 48 used for a total of 1695 Points, Brisbane incur a 1005 Point Deficit]
Pick 2 - West Coast - Dyson Sharp (Central Districts/ SA)
Pick 3 - Richmond - Willem Duursma (Gippsland Power/ VIC C)
Pick 4 - Gold Coast (MATCHED BID) - Zeke Uwland (Gold Coast Academy/ QLD) [Picks 7 & 13 Used for a surplus of 857 points]
Pick 5 - Gold Coast (MATCHED BID) - Dylan Patterson (Gold Coast Academy/ QLD) [Pick 16 Used + 857 surplus from Uwland match used, get Pick 45 back)
Pick 6 - Richmond (FROM NM) - Sam Grjl (Oakleigh Chargers/ VIC M)
Pick 7 - Essendon - Cooper Duff-Tytler (Calder Cannons/ VIC M)
Pick 8 - Essendon (FROM MELB) - Sam Cumming (North Adelaide/ SA)
Pick 9 - St Kilda - Josh Lindsay (Geelong Falcons/ VIC C)
Pick 10 - Hawthorn (FROM CARL) - Xavier Taylor (Eastern Ranges/ VIC M)
Pick 11 - Sydney - Aidan Schubert (Central Districts/ SA)
PIck 12 - Carlton (Matched Bid) - Harry Dean (Murray Bushrangers/ VIC C) [Picks 33 and 41 Used, 424 point defecit]
Pick 13 - Western Bulldogs - Lachy Dovaston (Eastern Ranges/ VIC M)
Pick 14 - West Coast (FROM HAW) - Mitch Marsh (West Adelaide/ SA)
Pick 15 - Fremantle - Jacob Farrow (West Perth/ WA)
Pick 16 - GWS - Harley Barker (Sturt/ SA)
Pick 17 - Geelong - Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves (Dandenong Stingrays/ VIC C)
Pick 18 - Adelaide - Oliver Greeves (Eastern Ranges/ VIC M)

Round 2
Pick 19 - West Coast - Jevan Phillipou (WWT Eagles/ SA)
Pick 20 - North Melbourne (FROM RIC) - Riley Onley (Murray Bushrangers/ VIC C)
Pick 21 - North Melbourne - Louis Emmett (Oakleigh Chargers/ VIC M)
Pick 22 - Essendon - Matt LeRay (Central Districts/ SA)
Pick 23 - Melbourne - Archie Ludowyke (Sandringham Dragons/ VIC M)
Pick 24 - Sydney (MATCHED BID) - Max King

Multiple players found. Use birthday to differentiate. eg [PLAYERCARD="23/11/1962"]Joe Smith[/PLAYERCARD]

(Sydney Academy/ NSW) [Pick 27 Used]
Pick 25 - Port Adelaide - Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier (North Adelaide/ SA)
Pick 26 - Sydney (MATCHED BID) - Lachie Carmichael (Sydney Academy/ NSW)
Pick 27 - Sydney (MATCHED BID) - Harry Kyle (Sydney Academy/ NSW) [Pick 40 used, incur 803 Point deficit over both bid matches]
Pick 28 - Essendon (FROM STK) - Max Kondogiannas (Oakleigh Chargers/ VIC M)
Pick 29 - Gold Coast (MATCHED BID) - Beau Addinsall (Gold Coast Academy/ QLD) [ Picks 44 + 51 used, defecit tbc]
Pick 30 - Gold Coast (MATCHED BID) - Jai Murray (Gold Coast Academy/ QLD)
Pick 31 - Essendon (MATCHED BID) - Adam Sweid (Calder Cannons/ VIC M)
Pick 32 - Hawthorn (FROM CARL) - Fred Rodriguez (South Fremantle/ WA)
Pick 33 - Western Bulldogs - Avery Thomas (Tasmania/ TAS)
Pick 34 - West Coast (FROM HAW) - Sam Ainsworth (Norwood/ SA)
Pick 35 - Fremantle - Oskar Taylor (Eastern Ranges/ VIC M)
Pick 36 - Collingwood (MATCHED BID) - Zac McCarthy (Oakleigh Chargers/ VIC M)
Pick 37 - Carlton (MATCHED BID) - Jack Ison (Oakleigh Chargers/ VIC M)
Pick 38 - GWS - Talor Byrne (GWV Rebels/ VIC C)
Pick 39 - Geelong - Sam Swadling (West Perth/ WA)
Pick 40 - GWS (FROM ADL) - Hunter Holmes (Oakleigh Chargers/ VIC M)

Round 3
Pick 41 - Fremantle (FROM RIC) - Latrelle Pickett (Glenelg/ SA)
Pick 42 - North Melbourne - Jett Dahlitz (Sturt/ SA)
Pick 43 - Adelaide (FROM MELB) - Cameron Nairn (Central Districts/ SA)
Pick 44 - Port Adelaide - Blake Thredgold (Sturt/ SA)
Pick 45 - Collingwood (MATCHED BID)- Tom McGuane (Western Jets/ VIC M)
Pick 46 - Essendon (MATCHED BID) - Hussein Al Ackar (Calder Cannons/ VIC M)
Pick 47 - St Kilda - Cody Curtin (Claremont/ WA)
Pick 48 - West Coast (FROM HAW) - Jack Dalton (Sandringham Dragons/ VIC M)
Pick 48 - Fremantle - Koby Evans (Perth/ WA)
Pick 49 - Adelaide (FROM GWS) - Sullivan Robey (Eastern Ranges/ VIC M)
Pick 50 - St Kilda - Kye Fincher (Sandringham Dragons/ VIC M)
Pick 51 - Melbourne (FROM BRIS) - Tom Burton (Western Jets/ VIC M)
Pick 52 - Geelong - Liam Hetherton (Murray Bushrangers/ NSW)
Pick 53 - Adelaide - Jack Cook (WWT Eagles/ SA)

Round 4
Pick 54 - Hawthorn (FROM WCE) - Koby Coulson (GCS ACADEMY/ QLD)
Pick 55 - North Melbourne - Finnegan Davis (Western Jets/ VIC M)
Pick 56 - Melbourne - Zane Peucker (WWT Eagles/ SA)
Pick 57 - Port Adelaide - Felix Kneipp (Calder Cannons/ VIC M)
Pick 58 - Fremantle (MATCHED BID) - Toby Whan (South Fremantle/ WA)
Pick 59 - Brisbane (FROM STK) - Kalani White (GCS ACADEMY/ QLD)
Pick 60 - Western Bulldogs - Will Darcy (Oakleigh Chargers/ VIC M)
Pick 61 - Hawthorn - Noah Roberts-Thomson (Sturt/ SA)
Pick 62 - Adelaide (FROM GWS) -
Pick 63 - Collingwood
Pick 64 - Brisbane -
Pick 65 - Geelong -
Pick 66 - Adelaide -

 

[Monocle]

Pick 1. West Coast. Bid on Daniel Annable.

noobermensch does Brisbane match ?

 

[noobermensch]

Pick 1. West Coast. Bid on Daniel Annable.

noobermensch does Brisbane match ?

On the one hand, I don't think he's worthy of pick 1 or even close to that really... but on the other hand, Bris will definitely match a pick 1 bid in reality given the combination of the discount and getting access to an elite talent that would otherwise be out of reach for them... so I suppose I should match.

I don't usually follow these phantom draft threads so I'm not sure what I need to do from here - could someone give me a primer?

 

[PMBangers]

On the one hand, I don't think he's worthy of pick 1 or even close to that really... but on the other hand, Bris will definitely match a pick 1 bid in reality given the combination of the discount and getting access to an elite talent that would otherwise be out of reach for them... so I suppose I should match.

I don't usually follow these phantom draft threads so I'm not sure what I need to do from here - could someone give me a primer?

Just add a little write up, and then it's back to Monocle <3

 

[noobermensch]

Pick 1: Brisbane Lions - Daniel Annable (matching bid by West Coast for 2700 points)

Annable is a powerful and hard working midfielder with strong leadership skills. Reasonable size and athletic profile without wowing in either area. He leans more inside with strong contested ball winning at the coalface and defensive pressure around stoppage, but has an underrated outside game with the endurance to spread hard and an attacking mindset to take territory which results in a reasonably high rate of score involvements as well as the ability to chip in with a goal or two. His only slight weakness is his kicking which can vary from tidy to wayward at times. Having mentioned that he's not my top pick, I do still have him comfortably inside the top 10 and he's probably the most certain from this pool to end up a strong AFL player and (injuries permitting) a locked in 200 gamer with future club captain potential.

Back to Monocle

 

[M Malice]

On the one hand, I don't think he's worthy of pick 1 or even close to that really... but on the other hand, Bris will definitely match a pick 1 bid in reality given the combination of the discount and getting access to an elite talent that would otherwise be out of reach for them... so I suppose I should match.

I don't usually follow these phantom draft threads so I'm not sure what I need to do from here - could someone give me a primer?

Good decision, Lions have no other choice than to match no matter how high the bid is, our first selection will likely be right near the end of the first round at best. If we passed we could get no other player with comparable ability to Annable with that selection.

 

[Monocle]

Pick 2. West Coast - Dyson Sharp. 187 cm Midfielder . Central Districts.






The selection of Sharp is one that both is a mix of best available whilst also being a player who fills a real list need.
No secret that over the past few years West Coast have been exposed badly in the centre clearances and stoppage phases of the game, clearly their midfield cohort's lack of production has been their achilles heal.

Sharp has excelled over the past two season as one of, if not the best midfielders, who's centre square work is of the highest order. His work in this years Championship was recognised with him winning the Larke Medal.
He is a player who has elite hands and he uses them to extricate the ball from stoppage situations with accuracy and ease.

Has also been a regular at hitting the score board, at all levels where he has played and I rate goal kicking midfielder highly, as they are hard to find and prised and valved when they are.

Sharp does have some position versatility as he has not looked out of place in the forward line.

Additionally he has also shown that he can play amoungst men, as he has done at the back end of this season when he had played in the seniors for Central Districts. This suggests that a transition to the next level is closer than some of his cohort.

I genuinely believe that he comes into the West Coast side next year and plays from day one, he will be a valuable counter punch to Harley Reid going forward and whilst the are both midfielders I feel that they have slightly different, but complimentary skills. Some times in a list build it is the compatibility and combination of the moving parts that make it work, mores so that the talent mix as you want in your players is wanting them to be seamlessly working with each other.

Considered Duursma with this pick, he has probably got more upside and a potential higher a ceiling, and maybe is I had had a second early pick this may well have been the way I would have gone.

 

[Smythe]

Pick 3 - Richmond - Willem Duursma - 191cm Mid/Def


Will has great body shape, size, athleticism and top tier traits that will translate to the higher level.
His body of work has been very good and his multi-positional output has given rise to his solid claims for the number one pick this year, if WCE do not take him i would be shocked and the tigers would snatch him up here as has happened in this mock.

 

[Smythe]

Pick 4 - Richmond - BID - Zeke Uwland - GC Academy

noobermensch

 

[noobermensch]

Pick 4: Gold Coast Suns - Zeke Uwland (matching bid by Richmond) - 180cm HBF/Wing/Util

Zeke has popped up in a couple of draft ranking lists at pick 1, and I'm not as big on him as that. More comfortable at pick 4 although I'd probably rank him lower than this in a vacuum... but of course its the same story as with Annable, GCS will definitely match for a host of reasons.

Getting the negatives out of the way first, Uwland the younger is a bit undersized, and lacks elite foot speed. His kicking I find to be a little overrated. If you value penetration then he's your man, able to roost the ball 60 meters with ease, but his accuracy tends to be more middle of the pack, perhaps slightly above average.

On to the positives. Uwland loves to attack off the backline, with elite endurance to roam up the ground which combined with his booming kick allows him to bypass layers of defense to hit up F50 targets or kick goals himself. He very much reminds me of a left footed version of Dan Houston

9

Dan Houston

Age

28

Ht

186cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.2

5star

K

11.8

4star

HB

6.4

4star

M

4.9

5star

T

3.0

5star

MG

289.2

4star

D

17.6

4star

K

11.6

4star

HB

6.0

3star

M

3.3

3star

T

3.4

4star

MG

319.9

5star

D

16.6

4star

K

12.4

5star

HB

4.2

4star

M

7.0

5star

T

2.6

4star

MG

279.8

5star

when he was at port, only perhaps even more capable of bouncing out of the back line to kick a long running goal. Given he's only 180cm tall, Uwland is surprisingly strong in the air, typically able to mark himself or disrupt taller opponents. He plays with immense self confidence, taking on opponents and backing his ability and reading of the play. Given his somewhat lacking pace, this can lead to him getting caught with the ball, or getting into situations where he needs to rush a quick disposal, and probably makes him more suited to roles like half back or wing where he can naturally find more space to operate. Uwland reportedly has a strong leadership presence among his peer group.

 

[Smythe]

Pick 5 - Richmond - BID - Dylan Patterson - GC academy

noobermensch

 

[noobermensch]

Pick 5: Gold Coast Suns - Dylan Patterson (matching bid by Richmond) - 183cm HBF/Wing

There are elite athletes and then there's Dylan Patterson, whose combination of pace, agility and power needs to be seen to be believed. His build and athletic profile draw obvious comparisons to rugby wingers, and its probably no surprise that he's had rugby talent scouts sniffing around throughout his junior development.

Currently he operates at his best in the open field where he can take meters by foot, burning off chasing opponents, making tacklers miss with his incisive and lightning quick changes of direction. His kicking technique doesn't strike me as ideal, and he can blow what appear to be straight forward options at times, but with Dylan just about every option ends up being straight forward, with his ability to burn off opponents meaning that he's rarely ever under pressure when it comes time to execute, and this diminishes the impact of any technical flaws.

The major criticism I have with Dylan is his, at times, disregard for the defensive aspects of his role. Its a rare small defender that can get away with completely disregarding his matchup at AFL level, so some adjustment will be needed. However, we have on occasion seen that his ultra elite athleticism allows him to make some spectacular disruptive defensive plays, so we're likely only scratching the surface of his potential.

 

[Futbolista]

This is a fascinating but complicated draft.

 

[Smythe]

Pick 6 - Richmond - Sam Grjl - 183cm Mid

Sam has many AFL traits, including speed. He has a high football IQ and decision making skills along with clean ball use and the ability to get his hands free for a disposal if tackled, all very coachable at the higher level and the burst of speed through the middle the tigers need

eDPS

 

[eDPS]

Pick 7 - Essendon - Cooper Duff-Tytler
200cm - Ruck/Key Forward

I consider Cooper to be among the elite level talent in this draft and can’t ignore him here. He is a 200cm player who moves and uses the ball like a midfielder and although his ruck craft and marking are inconsistent I feel those can be easily developed especially the marking with the likes of Cloke and Hurley currently at Essendon.

With uncertainty that Draper is still at the club next year Essendon could use a high level talent who could help assist Nick Bryan or even surpass him down the line, his game as a forward in his VFL debut for Essendon shows what he can do in that role aswell.

Pick 8 - Essendon - Sam Cumming
186cm - Midfielder/Forward

Tough choice between Lindsay and Cumming but have gone with Cumming here who should help compliment Essendon’s current group of midfielders and with his ability forward a big selling point.

He shares some traits with Port stars Butters and Rozee and even a bit of Heeney and when you have potential to play like those players your certainly worth the risk of the top 10 pick.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

Pick 9 - St.Kilda - Josh Lindsay - 183cm Defender.

Saints go best available here and get some
real class behind the ball, which will work out well with NAS moving into the midfield permanently. Lindsay is a prototype half back who has high footy IQ, excellent decision making, composure and the skill level to cut teams apart.

Considered Schubert & Dovaston here, but Lindsay’s class was just too good to overlook.

Pie 4 Life Hawks are on the clock.

 

[Pie 4 Life]

Pick 10 - Hawthorn - Xavier Taylor (Eastern Ranges/Vic Metro)

Defender | 191cm | 30/01/2007

Spare a thought for those who line up inside forward 50 and see Taylor walking over at the start of the game, they’re probably in for a bad day. The Eastern Ranges prospect is as competitive as they come, boasting solid defensive attributes which are complimented by deceptively good athletic traits. Running the 20m sprint in under three seconds, Taylor is capable of intercepting the ball or beating his opponent one-on-one before taking off on the rebound. At 191cm he has the versatility to play on talls and smalls, looming as a potential Mr Fix It for clubs looking to bolster their backlines. After a consistent start to the season at Coates Talent League level, Taylor became one of the many versatile rebound defenders who helped Vic Metro transition the ball so fluently. His reliability belies his statistical output, which is by no means poor, and a lack of defensive talent in the draft only boosts his stocks.

Reasoning:

I was looking to grab someone who is versatile with great run-and-carry and goes both ways which Taylor certainly does. I can see him having hte capability of playing up on a wing as well as half-back, freeing up the potential of Josh Weddle to do the opposite. I considered a few here, with Josh Lindsay and Taylor the two main ones I had on the board. With Lindsay gone the pick before, it made my choice easy.

Over to eDPS again who has more top 10 picks than Richmond last year.

 

[eDPS]

Pick 11 - Sydney - Aidan Schubert
198cm - Key Forward

For the swans im looking at potential top end key position talent and Schubert seems perfect with his contested marking and upside. His workrate and willingness to get better will hold him in good stead at the next level.

He has the tools to also play as a key defender and could be moulded into a gun at either end of the ground. I considered a bid on Dean but happy to just take Schubert here

 

[goodcop badcop]

Pick 12 - Dogs bid on Harry Dean

Thunderstruck

 

[Thunderstruck]

Pick 12 - Dogs bid on Harry Dean

Thunderstruck

Whoops didn't see this sneaky bid. Blues will match. Consider this about right for Dean.

Pick 12 - Harry Dean - Carlton Murray Bushrangers 193cm

This kid is a ripper and Carlton won't hesitate to match a bid here or even earlier. He's what I describe as an aggressive intercepting defender. I like him a little bit to Cal Wilkie in how he goes about it, a little taller but a supreme reader of the flight of the ball and positions himself accordingly. Carlton have relied far too much on Weitering for too long but this bloke should come in and develop quickly into a capable support act. Good hands, good leap and can be creative on the offensive as well, not just a pure stopper with solid skills by foot and ha effective leadership potential. A true for Carlton fans, you will enjoy this lad.

 

[goodcop badcop]

Pick 13 - Western Bulldogs - Lachy Dovaston
177cm, Small forward

Dovaston has been shifted around over the years. Previously was an All Australian wing at u16 level and then was used as a small defender for the majority of last year, Dovaston has found another home this year as a small forward to tremendous effect.

A very creative, high energy player, Dovaston possesses a strong work rate pushing high up the ground then involving himself in attacking chains on the way back. He also has very good goal sense and some swagger about him averaging above 2 goals at nationals and over 3 goals at Coates league level. His defensive pressure is also exciting, averaging 5.6 tackles at Coates league level. His agility is also elite as shown by his 7.81 time in pre season testing.

Some improvement I'd like to see from him is his disposal can be a tad scrappy, I think because he plays at such a fast pace and high energy he can lose some composure and just throws it on to the boot. Also his straight line speed could get better. Whilst not bad, it's only about average for the position he plays.

Monocle

 

[Monocle]

Pick 14 - West Coast - Mitch Marsh - 191 cm - Forward - West Adelaide.





Mitch Marsh is a third tall forward thats had a prolific year kicking goals at every level that he has played at.
An accurate left footer that gets good depth to his kicks and is in the main, a reliable shot at goal.
One of the attributes of his game is his ability to read the play well ahead of him and this is an elite feature of his game, as it enables him to lead firstly into good spaces to advantage, but also with precise timing.
His over head marking is also strong and he plays taller that his 191 cm.

Over the Championship he was the most productive of all the forwards and lead the goal tally.
He has followed that up at Under 18 level in the SANFL and in 13 games has kicked 37 goals.

An interesting feature of his play with The Bloods has been Marsh's ability to play on a wing in some of the games and done well in that position, which presents another variable to consider when predicting his future in the AFL.

• Accurate kick at goal.
• Leads well into space.
• Picks good leading lanes.
• Play's taller than his height.
• Is a consistent goal scorer.
• Strong over head.
• Cunning and crafty at the goal face.

Ticks most of the desirable features you would want of a forward, and with West Coast having lost Darling, last year, most probably Ryan this year and Cripps at the end of next year, there is an immediate need and a spot up for grabs.




Chris25 you are up.

 

[Chris25]

I’ll keep it nice and simple.

Pick 15 Fremantle - Jacob Farrow (188cm mid/def from Western Australia)

I have him at #7 overall at the moment and think he has one of the higher ceilings among the group of midfielders. Someone will take him early with dreams of him being the next Young or Dawson. Start down back, move into the middle. Good overhead, nice left foot kick. He’d add some class to Fremantle’s ball movement.

It was either him or Harley Barker here for me.

PMBangers

 

[Thunderstruck]

I’ll keep it nice and simple.

Pick 15 Fremantle - Jacob Farrow (188cm mid/def from Western Australia)

I have him at #7 overall at the moment and think he has one of the higher ceilings among the group of midfielders. Someone will take him early with dreams of him being the next Young or Dawson. Start down back, move into the middle. Good overhead, nice left foot kick. He’d add some class to Fremantle’s ball movement.

It was either him or Harley Barker here for me.

PMBangers

Ahh the dream ended. If he got to crows pick I'd have done a fair dance. Great pick!