Recruiting AFL Draft Watch 2026

[nipst@r]

Let it go. Dodo was a average list manager, not good not hopeless but average shouldn't keep you in a job for twenty years in a elite sporting industry.

Dodos longevity was the problem.

Hobbs was a bad pick - every mid needs a bigger bodied player. We went undersized again.

Parish, hobbs, merret, caldwell - tell me how that mid would ever physically compete with the bont, cripps, youngs, days, Dawson, dunkley.

Durham is even giving up 4-5cm and close to 5-10kg on most taller mids.

 

[andleanback]

We don't need a ruck.

We need a mid with pace and skills or a gun forward

A player like HVH, yeh we definitely need that

 

[ydc55]

Hvh is certainly physiically imposing.
However butler, edwards and Williams are all very good footballers and we will most likely have access to a couple of players.

 

[ydc55]

Which picks in the last 10 years at the time of the draft should dodo not have taken (talking top 2 rounders) is more lottery past that point (and dodo was pretty good there - Im sure even the greatest haters can acknowledge that) (Voss, Massimo, Durham, Fantasia, Nic Martin, Tippa, Mckenna, Ambrose ect)

Everyone man and his dog was taking Hobbs and Tsatas where they went with that pick or the next. Maybe a couple had Humphrey ahead, dees/dogs ect

Redman, Ridley, Zerrett, A.Roberts, Langford, L.Hayes*




My 1 and only issue was taking 2 talls top 10 in covid draft with Eyre, Brand and plenty more. I wanted Tanner Bruhn (but then this entire board was sick of 182cm midfielders) and said we had too many. It was either him or Tom Powell

You are right.
He is really killing it at his new club!!!!!

 

[noobermensch]

Gus Teixeira was back for his first game of the season and looks to have shifted into a mid/fwd role this year, part of a deep and talented Dragons team that looks to be shaping as a strong contender yet again. He was very good here in tricky conditions, his clean hands and skills especially impressive after the rain started belting down in the second quarter. Teixeira shapes as a well rounded prospect, strong overhead, works hard defensively, solid skills with the ball and capable of hitting the scoreboard.

 

[Donflicted]

ydc55 i dont know about you but i really really want Arki Butler i reckon he would fit well in the team and along side all the new rookies we have bought in

His a Dons supporter as well so its just icing on the cake imo

 

[noobermensch]

Another prolific game from Knapp, finding a significant amount of the footy and playing a critical role in a dramatic late win for his team. Knapp's gut running and movement in congestion allowed him to find space all over the ground, both inside and outside, and he was regularly the connecting piece for Eastern's attacking moves. The strong wind effected his kicking like many on the day but nailed a number of important inside 50 kicks including a dart onto his teammates chest that led to the winning goal.

 

[Old Campaigner]

I reckon we should draft Menzie again so we can sell him to tassie next year. We'd get him for **** all this year but tassie need to offload a bunch of the picks they've been gifted and they'll be desperate to get their hands on a local

 

[Yoda_]

I reckon we should draft Menzie again so we can sell him to tassie next year. We'd get him for **** all this year but tassie need to offload a bunch of the picks they've been gifted and they'll be desperate to get their hands on a local

just on this, genuinely curious who, what, when, where, why, how, the Tassie VFL Devils go in MSD calculations

Looks like a few could put there names up after starting off super. Do they nominate and go with a guaranteed shot at the top or wait and hope the AFL devils sign you?

 

[Yoda_]

deserves to go here and not just the NGA thread

Port Adelaide apparently got up front and centre and made sure the AFL big wigs knew their stance on the NGA bidding changes and how unfair it would be with the clubs mooted to benefit from changes the most, the ones in desperate need of some help

 

[Burzum]

What's the incentive for clubs to invest the sufficient resources into NGAs if the prospects that emerge from it potentially might be taken away from them because they haven't don't have the points? If the AFL is going to disincentivise it, they should just manage the whole system themselves.

I still think F/S picks should be a free hit, but with an increased games threshold (e.g. 200). Anything under should go to the open market. The whole draft is a Jenga tower that the AFL is embarrassingly trying to micromanage when the whole thing should just be stripped down.

 

[Old Campaigner]

What's the incentive for clubs to invest the sufficient resources into NGAs if the prospects that emerge from it potentially might be taken away from them because they haven't don't have the points? If the AFL is going to disincentivise it, they should just manage the whole system themselves.

The incentive eventually boils down to maybe knowing a bit more about a kid because they’ve spent a little bit of time around the club compared to a non-academy draftee. Otherwise the cost of matching a bid on an NGA is pretty much the same as spending those picks on the open draft, so why invest the money?

 

[Yoda_]

I agree with a few of your points here

What's the incentive for clubs to invest the sufficient resources into NGAs if the prospects that emerge from it potentially might be taken away from them because they haven't don't have the points? If the AFL is going to disincentivise it, they should just manage the whole system themselves.

Think this is the reason northern clubs are essentially trying to blackmail the AFL into (not) "growing the game" with these Academies. If they wish for the clubs to do the hard work, the clubs want the reward for effort.

I actually think the game would grow if Dan Annable went to Melbourne or Sam Marshall ended up with Port Adelaide.

Those developing clubs could then be rewarded with different incentives for developing AFL quality players. Be it extra rookie or national draft spots perhaps. A scale on where an Academy player was taken comparable to the reward perhaps.

I still think F/S picks should be a free hit, but with an increased games threshold (e.g. 200). Anything under should go to the open market. The whole draft is a Jenga tower that the AFL is embarrassingly trying to micromanage when the whole thing should just be stripped down.

Agree with this as well,

the father/son notion is great but lets stop pretending that 112 game Port superstar David Rodan set the world alight and as such son Tevita is eligible for them. Ditto Louie Salopek also for Port Adelaide. Dont get me wrong, we have had our fair share of almost father sons, but increasing the qualification even from 100 > 150 would narrow down a lot of these 'almost' kids we are starting to see.

Furthermore, the eligibility for the NGA kids should also be increased from ones 16th year of birth (16, 17 & 18th year sees them drafted at the end of there 18th year) and make it younger to there 14th year (14, 15, 16, 17 , 18th year) which I think may already be in play.



** From memory, a player must live in a teams /zone' for 12 months making them eligible, and then must be enrolled before there 16th birthday (or 3 years before draft eligible).






** im not 100% sure but know this was floated amongst changes. May be in the works and not actually finalised

 

[Yoda_]

The incentive eventually boils down to maybe knowing a bit more about a kid because they’ve spent a little bit of time around the club compared to a non-academy draftee. Otherwise the cost of matching a bid on an NGA is pretty much the same as spending those picks on the open draft, so why invest the money?

I have often thought, imagine "buying" the player.

Imagine seeing Essendon (pick 2) bidding on Dougie Cochrane with pick 4, Port Adelaide have to satisfy us with an offer and not AFL house through a myriad of draft points and maths equations.

We could be satisfied through a combination of picks + players with each club valuing things different.

aka, we bid with our first pick, Port could satisfy us with JHF + a future 1st whilst the next pick could be Wines + a 2026 1st. Does this make sense??

 

[Burzum]

The incentive eventually boils down to maybe knowing a bit more about a kid because they’ve spent a little bit of time around the club compared to a non-academy draftee. Otherwise the cost of matching a bid on an NGA is pretty much the same as spending those picks on the open draft, so why invest the money?

I just can't see the value there for clubs to invest ~7(?) years of resources for that advantage only for them to potentially lose a player because they couldn't get the points because a club bid pick 1 on them.

I actually think the game would grow if Dan Annable went to Melbourne or Sam Marshall ended up with Port Adelaide.

The game would probably grow more if they decreased the cost of attending games. Not just ticket prices, but parking and concessions.
Is there any verifiable evidence that the northern academies are growing the game, or is just them being able to pluck a few kids away from playing League and then pat themselves on the back about what a success the system is?

the father/son notion is great but lets stop pretending that 112 game Port superstar David Rodan set the world alight and as such son Tevita is eligible for them. Ditto Louie Salopek also for Port Adelaide. Dont get me wrong, we have had our fair share of almost father sons, but increasing the qualification even from 100 > 150 would narrow down a lot of these 'almost' kids we are starting to see.

We wouldn't have gotten Joe with an increased threshold, and I'm ok with that. I have thought the bidding system was silly and just a knee jerk reaction because the Cats got Hawkins for cheap when he would've been the number one pick. Now the whole draft system has got much more complex since then because of it, and the expansion clubs.

 

[Yoda_]

The game would probably grow more if they decreased the cost of attending games. Not just ticket prices, but parking and concessions.
Is there any verifiable evidence that the northern academies are growing the game, or is just them being able to pluck a few kids away from playing League and then pat themselves on the back about what a success the system is?

Think I heard recently there was something like less than 100 AFL auskickers registered in western Sydney

** dont quote the # or location but it was genuinely horrible for AFL house

 

[Lance Uppercut]

I have often thought, imagine "buying" the player.

Imagine seeing Essendon (pick 2) bidding on Dougie Cochrane with pick 4, Port Adelaide have to satisfy us with an offer and not AFL house through a myriad of draft points and maths equations.

We could be satisfied through a combination of picks + players with each club valuing things different.

aka, we bid with our first pick, Port could satisfy us with JHF + a future 1st whilst the next pick could be Wines + a 2026 1st. Does this make sense??

what the ****?

Horne-Francis and a future 1st for an unproven player? Holy shit.

Now do it for what we will have to pay for Bewick when another club bids

 

[Old Campaigner]

I have often thought, imagine "buying" the player.

Imagine seeing Essendon (pick 2) bidding on Dougie Cochrane with pick 4, Port Adelaide have to satisfy us with an offer and not AFL house through a myriad of draft points and maths equations.

We could be satisfied through a combination of picks + players with each club valuing things different.

aka, we bid with our first pick, Port could satisfy us with JHF + a future 1st whilst the next pick could be Wines + a 2026 1st. Does this make sense??

You’d just be replacing bidding with pick trading. I doubt allowing players to be traded on draft night would work because there’s far more stakeholders to work through the details, and it’s not really feasible to give someone 5 minutes notice that they’re moving interstate.

 

[noobermensch]

Albert MacGowan continues to be one of the most prolific ball winners through the opening rounds of the Talent League season. Here he particularly impressed with his clean hands at ground level and tidy skills in slippery conditions effected by heavy rain. He's not express pace, but his balance, size and strength allow him to change directions quickly or absorb contact while staying in control and poised with the ball.

 

[ghostdog]

Think this is the reason northern clubs are essentially trying to blackmail the AFL into (not) "growing the game" with these Academies. If they wish for the clubs to do the hard work, the clubs want the reward for effort.

I actually think the game would grow if Dan Annable went to Melbourne or Sam Marshall ended up with Port Adelaide.

Those developing clubs could then be rewarded with different incentives for developing AFL quality players. Be it extra rookie or national draft spots perhaps. A scale on where an Academy player was taken comparable to the reward perhaps.

How does this make any sense?
Speaking with my Qlder hat on; we love a homegrown champion representing a Queensland team, and baulk when they represent someone else. You want Qlders following the GC? ...and vicariously developing their interest in footy? Load them up with homegrown talent. Qlders would vomit in their mouths knowing their homies went to play elsewhere. People up there are not interested in watching a team full of players from everywhere else. No one up there cares if the number one draft pick is from Victoria or anywhere else up there, unless they already follow footy.

 

[Yoda_]

what the ****?

Horne-Francis and a future 1st for an unproven player? Holy shit.

Now do it for what we will have to pay for Bewick when another club bids

It was a hypothetical Lance,

 

[Yoda_]

You’d just be replacing bidding with pick trading. I doubt allowing players to be traded on draft night would work because there’s far more stakeholders to work through the details, and it’s not really feasible to give someone 5 minutes notice that they’re moving interstate.

With how much power the AFLPA hold, live player trading will almost never come into it

 

[ant555]

Think I heard recently there was something like less than 100 AFL auskickers registered in western Sydney

** dont quote the # or location but it was genuinely horrible for AFL house

No it was 97 players registered at under 13 level across the under 13 sides and it was not an up to date figure and there are not a lot of junior AFL clubs and it doesn’t include school footy which tends to be where the kids play until the get to under 15 level.

People say it is horrible but it is basically a generational plan. The kids that will drive expansion are not there in 15 years. It will be the kids of the 10 to 20 year old supporters that will start playing football.

It is pretty much like saying Storm have been here 25 plus years but the junior numbers are crap in the Eastern suburbs.

Sydney’s west is genuine NRL heartland. The AFl is only ever going to be looking at a small slice of the pie.

Success for GWS is getting their home crowds up to around 20k average.
It took the Swans over 25 years to hit that number regularly.

 

[Yoda_]

thank you for clarifying those numbers Ant

 

[noobermensch]

Williams is making a habit of picking up these BOG medals on the biggest of junior footy stages and picks up another one here. It was a difficult day for his team, but Noah was one of the few who stood out. Difficult to showcase his dash on such a heavy deck, Noah instead attacked the contest, winning plenty of footy but shining the most with his defensive actions, tackling hard and making them stick against mature bodies, and coming up with a number of other disruptive defensive actions.