List Mgmt. 2026 Draftee/NGA/FS Discussion

[Keys]

https://archive.md/QL0xc

Article provides a brief description of the most likely draft hopefuls from the WA Colts system - including the following West Coast Father/Sons and NGA tied players listed below:

Spoiler: Harper Banfield (181cm, midfielder/forward)

The son of two-time premiership Eagle Drew and younger brother of St Kilda draftee Charlie, Harper is hoping to become the Banfield’s latest AFL star. He’s smaller than his brother, but he’s a competitor with elite endurance. His sprinting and agility have also improved significantly in the last six months, suiting a half-forward, midfield role.

Spoiler: Robert Farmer (179cm, forward)

Farmer is out for revenge in 2026 after missing Claremont’s premiership. The West Coast NGA prospect kicked nine goals from seven games as a bottom-age player and he was also a train-on with the State 18s quad.

Spoiler: Noah Braun (183cm, midfielder)

The son of 2006 West Coast premiership player Michael, Noah is a goalkicking midfielder-forward who has had some big games for Claremont last year. Is pushing to make WA’s 18s squad after missing out on the summer training block.

Spoiler: Garrison Kenh (181cm, defender)

An attacking halfback who is part of West Coast’s Next Generation Academy, Kenh announced himself as one to watch a couple of years ago after winning WA’s MVP award at the Under-16 national championships. Originally from Liberia in West Africa, Kenh takes the game on with his speed and agility. He’s also trained with West Coast as part of national academy commitments.

Spoiler: Lachlan McGlade (177cm, forward)

Exciting, agile and crafty, McGlade is everything you want in a small forward. The Eagles NGA prospect likes to take the game on with his run and carry, making him one of the Royals’ most exciting players to watch. Kicked five in one game last year and will be hoping another good start to the year will cement his spot in the state squad.

Spoiler: Cody Lee (193cm, forward)

Is linked to West Coast as an NGA prospect and the Eagles would be pleased with Lee’s development. The developing tall has grown a few centimetres of late and grown into his body. His athleticism has been on show at summer squad training, finishing third in the running vertical leap at pre-season testing.

Spoiler: Jamayson Ketchup (178cm, forward)

Another Eagles NGA prospect, Ketchup isn’t just another condiment. The electric forward has an unbelievable work rate, clean skills and he always knows where the goals are. Ketchup plays his best footy at half-forward, but he can also push into the midfield when needed.

Spoiler: Kyle Perera (170cm, forward)

The West Coast NGA prospect missed most of last year with a stress fracture in his back but made an impact in the last four games of the season. Perera has been training with the State summer squad and his smarts and speed make him one to watch.

Spoiler: Lorenze Cole

The West Coast NGA prospect is known for his speed, power and X-factor. The Karratha product played in the State trial game recently and will be one to watch this year.

Spoiler: David Shanahan

Not mentioned in the article, but is a potential KPD from Swan Districts in our NGA who was on the radar of some posters last year

 

[AsterixTheGaul]

Will be stoked if we draft any combination of:
Van Hattum
Van Dyk
Van Rooyen
Van Nistelrooy
Van Morrison

We need a KPP so why not the Flying Dutchman - Paul Van der Haar?

 

[Obeanie1]

Is Le cras a factor in this draft?

 

[eaglevision]

Is Le cras a factor in this draft?

Good player but probably not a position of need with our 2R.

 

[PremiershipNo4]

It will be very interesting to see how McCarthy progresses as a midfielder this year, he knows how to get the ball, has good pace and evasive skills, if he can get the same 30 possessions a game as he gets in the backline and Harley, Hewett, Davis and Duursma improve along with a couple of others our centreline might actually start to look pretty good.
We may go into next years draft with a midfielder not our top priority.

 

[Obeanie1]

Good player but probably not a position of need with our 2R.

Saw a ranking at 9.

Seemed very high. Top 10?

Can't see us using a top 10 pick on him at the current exposed form. Never mind need.

 

[Obeanie1]

It will be very interesting to see how McCarthy progresses as a midfielder this year, he knows how to get the ball, has good pace and evasive skills, if he can get the same 30 possessions a game as he gets in the backline and Harley, Hewett, Davis and Duursma improve along with a couple of others our centreline might actually start to look pretty good.
We may go into next years draft with a midfielder not our top priority.

The three highest rated pure mids are academy and father son picks. Again.

Port, Blues and Freo have 1st dibs.

 

[eaglevision]

Saw a ranking at 9.

Seemed very high. Top 10?

Can't see us using a top 10 pick on him at the current exposed form. Never mind need.

I definitely don’t have him ranked that highly and would be surprised if any club does. Undersized to be considered a KPF, there are plenty of mids and talls who will go before him in my view. 20-35 would be my range atm. Cameron Nairn and Mitch Marsh are recent examples of mid sized forwards going in the 20s despite having excellent seasons kicking regular bags.

 

[We_The_West]

It will be very interesting to see how McCarthy progresses as a midfielder this year, he knows how to get the ball, has good pace and evasive skills, if he can get the same 30 possessions a game as he gets in the backline and Harley, Hewett, Davis and Duursma improve along with a couple of others our centreline might actually start to look pretty good.
We may go into next years draft with a midfielder not our top priority.

Either TMac becomes a genuine mid or we need Yeo or Kelly to have one more decent season before they retire to take the pressure off the kids to allow them to develop.

The fact Tom Gross was the best mid in our WAFL team last year as an 18 yr old speaks for itself.

Still got high hopes for Grossy hope he gets a few games this year and rips the WAFL apart.

 

[PremiershipNo4]

Who knows what will happen in the 2026 draft it’s a long way off.
I suggested that we draft a ruckman last year, which we did with our 2nd pick and was ridiculed by unintelligent individuals.
Anything can happen this year.

 

[wafooty2]

Either TMac becomes a genuine mid or we need Yeo or Kelly to have one more decent season before they retire to take the pressure off the kids to allow them to develop.

The fact Tom Gross was the best mid in our WAFL team last year as an 18 yr old speaks for itself.

Still got high hopes for Grossy hope he gets a few games this year and rips the WAFL apart.

Have high hopes for TMac. Looking forward to hopefully seeing him run through the middle for the majority of the season.

I think Grossy may find it very tough to break in this year with the players we have added plus the emergence of somebody like TMac as an inside mid. I think his genuine lack of pace and power is going to make it tough on him long term as an inside mid. As Mini's game plan is starting to evolve I just cannot see how Grossy is going to fit in. But yes, having a big WAFL season from him would be a positive either way.

 

[Obeanie1]

Have high hopes for TMac. Looking forward to hopefully seeing him run through the middle for the majority of the season.

I think Grossy may find it very tough to break in this year with the players we have added plus the emergence of somebody like TMac as an inside mid. I think his genuine lack of pace and power is going to make it tough on him long term as an inside mid. As Mini's game plan is starting to evolve I just cannot see how Grossy is going to fit in. But yes, having a big WAFL season from him would be a positive either way.

Who lacks pace?

Tmac?

Gross isnt slow. He fits in as one of the future 5 to 6 mids we need to develop.

If he's good enough he makes it.

 

[Mighty Eagles]

Either TMac becomes a genuine mid or we need Yeo or Kelly to have one more decent season before they retire to take the pressure off the kids to allow them to develop.

The fact Tom Gross was the best mid in our WAFL team last year as an 18 yr old speaks for itself.

Still got high hopes for Grossy hope he gets a few games this year and rips the WAFL apart.

That’s the plan - McCarthy to be a midfielder.

I’m also a big fan of Grossy, and the benefit of having the likes of Robertson, Macrae & Schoenberg is he’ll be afforded time to develop at his own pace. Too often in the past four years kids were required to play bigger roles than they were ready for due to our injury list and lack of quality personnel. He’s a gun of the future.

 

[Mighty Eagles]

I think Grossy may find it very tough to break in this year with the players we have added plus the emergence of somebody like TMac as an inside mid. I think his genuine lack of pace and power is going to make it tough on him long term as an inside mid. As Mini's game plan is starting to evolve I just cannot see how Grossy is going to fit in. But yes, having a big WAFL season from him would be a positive either way.

I get the sense that Mini wants to make the side versatile.

Cripps is in his last year and his likely replacements in Hutchison, Brockman and Long are far from locks. With Flying Ryan leaving, this opens spot up for a crumbing forward which I expect the likes of Champion, TWilliams and Newton to fight for. So I think in the short-term Gross’ opportunities may come in the role of being a HFF who rotates in the midfield. If he can impact games in this role it’s a massive boon for us. I think Hough was set to play a similar role but as a HBF not a HFF. Clever direction IMO.

 

[MrWoollie]

Will be stoked if we draft any combination of:
Van Hattum
Van Dyk
Van Rooyen
Van Nistelrooy
Van Morrison

Apparently Van De Graaff is generating a bit of interest.

 

[WCE777]

S Ainsworth from SA was very unlucky to go un-drafted last year and came from a long way back at the start of the year to be named in the 2025 All Australian squad.
Apparently training with the Norward SANFL senior team and would be a great KP player if he tracks well enough this year.
At 198cm and playing a decent amount of his career as a KPD he looks an ideal candidate for a MSD or later pick in 2026.
Really looking forward to how he progresses.

 

[wafooty2]

Who lacks pace?

Tmac?

Gross isnt slow. He fits in as one of the future 5 to 6 mids we need to develop.

If he's good enough he makes it.

Not TMac. He has all the tools to become an elite midfielder.

Gross is 1 paced and lacks power. Hoping he might get some opportunities in the forward line where we have some spots up for grabs. I think that will be where his best chance is.

 

[Monocle]

S Ainsworth from SA was very unlucky to go un-drafted last year and came from a long way back at the start of the year to be named in the 2025 All Australian squad.
Apparently training with the Norward SANFL senior team and would be a great KP player if he tracks well enough this year.
At 198cm and playing a decent amount of his career as a KPD he looks an ideal candidate for a MSD or later pick in 2026.
Really looking forward to how he progresses.

I would be keeping a very close watch on both Sam Ainsworth ( Norwood - SANFL ) and Floyd Burmeister ( who will be playing right under ours noses at Peel Thunder this season).

Both have interesting skill sets which could be utilised as KPD's.

Being a left handed ruckman gives Burmeister a real point of difference, particularly when you couple that with his great natural leap to his game, and it's him in particular that I will be intrigued to see, just how the new ruck rules benefit his game.

Burmeister was on our recruiters watch list last season for the MSD and he was on The Unwashed list too.
So I don't think it's any coincidence that he has decided to head West to continue his quest to eventually land on an AFL list.

 

[We_The_West]

Not TMac. He has all the tools to become an elite midfielder.

Gross is 1 paced and lacks power. Hoping he might get some opportunities in the forward line where we have some spots up for grabs. I think that will be where his best chance is.

I asked chatgpt and it appears he has a profile that we could develop into a good inside mid

 

[WCE777]

I would be keeping a very close watch on both Sam Ainsworth ( Norwood - SANFL ) and Floyd Burmeister ( who will be playing right under ours noses at Peel Thunder this season).

Both have interesting skill sets which could be utilised as KPD's.

Being a left handed ruckman gives Burmeister a real point of difference, particularly when you couple that with his great natural leap to his game, and it's him in particular that I will be intrigued to see, just how the new ruck rules benefit his game.

Burmeister was on our recruiters watch list last season for the MSD and he was on The Unwashed list too.
So I don't think it's any coincidence that he has decided to head West to continue his quest to eventually land on an AFL list.

Burmeister is an interesting prospect looking at him.
His athleticism, vertical leap and upside are huge.

His kicking looks very awkward at times and at other times looks ok, if that's fixable he could be an exciting, athletic, freakish KPD with that mobility and leap.

We are sure to have a MSD spot with a LTI and they both definitely fill the space for that KPD with a big athletic profile massive upside looking at them.
I like that you have him on your watch list and WC had a bit of a look last year, hopefully we end up with 1 of them at the MSD.

 

[Monocle]

Burmeister is an interesting prospect looking at him.
His athleticism, vertical leap and upside are huge.

His kicking looks very awkward at times and at other times looks ok, if that's fixable he could be an exciting, athletic, freakish KPD with that mobility and leap.

We are sure to have a MSD spot with a LTI and they both definitely fill the space for that KPD with a big athletic profile massive upside looking at them.
I like that you have him on your watch list and WC had a bit of a look last year, hopefully we end up with 1 of them at the MSD.

He moves a gangly infant giraffe , is as skinny as.

It's why young tall's need time invested in them.

Those old enough to remember a young Michael Gardiner will have visions of him being the same at time when accelerating and running as a kid he looked like a new born calf trying to stand up.

 

[Keys]

He moves a gangly infant giraffe , is as skinny as.

It's why young tall's need time invested in them.

Those old enough to remember a young Michael Gardiner will have visions of him being the same at time when accelerating and running as a kid he looked like a new born calf trying to stand up.

Had the same problem driving cars

 

[Obeanie1]

Not TMac. He has all the tools to become an elite midfielder.

Gross is 1 paced and lacks power. Hoping he might get some opportunities in the forward line where we have some spots up for grabs. I think that will be where his best chance is.

Gross isnt one paced.

Priddis was one paced, Gaff was one paced.

 

[Happy Mastenator]

It will be very interesting to see how McCarthy progresses as a midfielder this year, he knows how to get the ball, has good pace and evasive skills, if he can get the same 30 possessions a game as he gets in the backline and Harley, Hewett, Davis and Duursma improve along with a couple of others our centreline might actually start to look pretty good.
We may go into next years draft with a midfielder not our top priority.

He doesn't need 30 touches.

If he can get to 25 a game playing as a genuine mid, that would be a top ~20'ish possession midfielder. That's enough.

 

[Elite Pete]

He doesn't need 30 touches.

If he can get to 25 a game playing as a genuine mid, that would be a top ~20'ish possession midfielder. That's enough.

Yep. McCarthy as the link mid. Showed he could do it last year and by all reports this pre-season. Huge asset if he can cement that spot.

Harley plays the season they way finished the last month will be another boxed tick to resetting the midfield. His last 3 full games he avg 26 disposals and coped run with player during some of that (Drew vs PA)

Defensive/clearance mid, Dev, Shoenberg and Yeo. If they can fill this role it will be another box ticked. Don’t have to be a superstar but just play your role. Ned Long, Atkins and Worpel/Nash have shown that with their sides all top 4 last year.

If Flynn can do his part and help just restrict the opposition ruck we are set up to improve a lot.

Does it happen? It’s why we play the games

 

[Happy Mastenator]

Yep. McCarthy as the link mid. Showed he could do it last year and by all reports this pre-season. Huge asset if he can cement that spot.

Harley plays the season they way finished the last month will be another boxed tick to resetting the midfield. His last 3 full games he avg 26 disposals and coped run with player during some of that (Drew vs PA)

Defensive/clearance mid, Dev, Shoenberg and Yeo. If they can fill this role it will be another box ticked. Don’t have to be a superstar but just play your role. Ned Long, Atkins and Worpel/Nash have shown that with their sides all top 4 last year.

If Flynn can do his part and help just restrict the opposition ruck we are set up to improve a lot.

Does it happen? It’s why we play the games

Agreed. The below was our possesion per game leaders. MCCarthy boosted by being in the backline early.


If in the midfield we can have:

• McCarthy ~25 touches
• Reid ~ 25 touches
• Hewett ~20 touches
• Kelly ~20 touches
• Dev ~20 touches
• Hall ~20 touches

All of a sudden we've added ~25/30 touches to our midfield (lets say Dev replaces a ~15 touch player). That would half our current possession differential (-56 per game in 2025) natural growth by all the kids could see us really close the gap. If we could get to even a negative differential of ~10/15 per game we are back in a semi-competitive world