Resource Noob's 2025 Draft Prospect Video Thread

[noobermensch]

The draft never ends, and we're already building up to what might be a bumper 2026 draft crop. Cody Walker always seems to deliver a strong performance, no matter the level or stage. Here we saw his pace and power on full display in the opening half as he dominated his opponents, won a stack of his own footy at the coalface and drove his team forward. He was quieter in the second half with a shift out of the midfield to give others a chance in there but overall was still one of the best performed on the day. Two things to note were an improvement in his kicking which can be iffy at times, and an increase in his clearance rate which hasn't always been a feature for him at the Pioneers.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

The draft never ends, and we're already building up to what might be a bumper 2026 draft crop. Cody Walker always seems to deliver a strong performance, no matter the level or stage. Here we saw his pace and power on full display in the opening half as he dominated his opponents, won a stack of his own footy at the coalface and drove his team forward. He was quieter in the second half with a shift out of the midfield to give others a chance in there but overall was still one of the best performed on the day. Two things to note were an improvement in his kicking which can be iffy at times, and an increase in his clearance rate which hasn't always been a feature for him at the Pioneers.

Plz for the love of our draft picks don't grow to his dad's size til after the draft

 

[noobermensch]

Malady's movement and clean marking was difficult for his opponents to handle, seeming to pop up in space whenever team Boak broke forward and capitalizing to the tune of 5 goals. Malady didn't have the most consistent season for Gippsland, but a strong performance in the first Champs game for Vic Country and this excellent outing stamp him as one to watch in 2026.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

The Mad Hatter please Noobs.

 

[tigs2010]

The Mad Hatter please Noobs.

Felt like he was off the ground for large chunks yesterday.

 

[noobermensch]

Noah turned in a dynamic and exciting performance and was named best on ground for his victorious Team Boak. He was especially impactful early, playing on a wing and using the space to take territory with elite pace and regularly hitting up targets inside 50 with pinpoint disposal. He was a little quieter later in the game, not quite as productive after a move on ball, but showed more than enough to have draft watchers excited for what we might see next year.

 

[noobermensch]

Statistically one of the best performances from the Futures game came from Marlon Neocleous who was typically hard working and involved in a number of forward moves for Team Boak. His radar was a bit off with his kicking, particularly on forward 50 entries, either under or over kicking his target a number of times. Still, he kept popping up in the right spots and was rewarded with three goals including a goal of the day contender from the pocket.

 

[noobermensch]

Eagles tied via their NGA program, Garrison Kenh was impressive in the Futures game providing rebounding run out of the back line for Team Boak with dash and class. Kenh showed his poise with the ball and ability to find room in tight spaces. He was caught out defensively a couple of times, but in the Futures game defence tends to be low on the list of priorities for all the kids out there.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Felt like he was off the ground for large chunks yesterday.

Maybe but, when he was on, I thought he played well.

Didn’t seem to lose his positioning.

 

[noobermensch]

It didn't quite come together for Dougie in the Futures game. He didn't get any midfield time, played exclusively forward in the first half. On a number of occasions he created space on the lead but the hit up kick was short or over his head. When things aren't going your way you have to find ways to impact and he did do that with three direct goal assists and a major of his own. In the second half he was moved to play key defender, a role he hasn't played all year, and he struggled to have an impact. The future couldn't be brighter for Dougie but this is a game he'll move on from quickly.

 

[noobermensch]

Tanner started slowly but got better as the game went on, ending up as the equal game high possession winner. He went up a gear with a shift into the midfield in the second half which saw him take over at stoppage, regularly winning the footy and feeding it out to his runners. He's a super hard worker with an ability to get from contest to contest and find space on the spread, as well as the composure, agility and low center of gravity to find pockets of space in traffic.

 

[noobermensch]

Not the biggest game for Harry but he showed in moments why so many are big on his prospects for the future. His movement and skill level are excellent for a guy his size, and when he gets to leap and stretch into a marking attempt there are very few that can out reach him. He's going to enter 2026 as one of the elite forward/ruck prospects in the pool.

 

[noobermensch]

The uncontested and free flowing nature of the Futures game wasn't really the ideal place for Dockers NGA Lucas Robinson to show his best stuff. Robinson is a big, tough, contested inside mid who shares some similarities with Dyson Sharp: elite in the clinches, diligent with his defensive work, loves a tackle, and surprisingly strong overhead able to impact in contested marking situations around the ground. Lucas found plenty of the footy here but was mostly doing the grunt work to release his outside runners with hands in close, racking up 7 clearances for the game.

 

[noobermensch]

Not the most prolific game for Arki but he remains one of the elite prospects to keep an eye on heading into 2026 and he showed his talent here in moments. He combines athleticism with excellent ball skills and some real x-factor around the forward line. He's already proven this year that he can kick bags of goals playing almost exclusively forward for the Dragons, with more midfield minutes likely to be on the cards next season.

 

[noobermensch]

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be going back to fill in early season games for some of the top prospects in the pool to give a fuller picture of their journey and development this season.

It’s instructive to go back and have a look at how far Xavier and Eastern came over the course of the season, from this first game where they struggled to overcome the Knights to ultimately taking out the CTL title.

 

[noobermensch]

A late starter, Sullivan Robey's Talent League debut came in round 12 against the Power, and though Eastern lost the game and Robey looked a little tentative at times, there were enough moments of power and quality to hint at his surge up the draft ranks through the second half of the season.

 

[noobermensch]

A huge early season performance from Farrow, an early indication of his quality and part of an outstanding block of form before the champs that saw him move firmly into draft calculations. He was still playing as a rebounding defender at this point for West Perth, the full midfield move yet to emerge, but he pushed up high to sweep behind stoppages and showed that he could win his own footy and impact defensively with a strong tackling display. As always, his classy left boot was a weapon in setting up the play for his team.

 

[noobermensch]

A huge game from Harry Dean, one that started to solidify his place as the best key defender in the draft pool. His kicking was horrific at times, but he impacted in the areas that count for his role, taking some towering intercept marks and crashing packs for big spoils. He was surprisingly active at D50 stoppages and threw himself into tackles showing how disruptive he can be at ground level as well as in the air.

 

[nineteen eighty]

A huge game from Harry Dean, one that started to solidify his place as the best key defender in the draft pool. His kicking was horrific at times, but he impacted in the areas that count for his role, taking some towering intercept marks and crashing packs for big spoils. He was surprisingly active at D50 stoppages and threw himself into tackles showing how disruptive he can be at ground level as well as in the air.

What's the general consensus of Harry Dean vs Xavier Taylor as a KPD?

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

What's the general consensus of Harry Dean vs Xavier Taylor as a KPD?

Taylor is more Tom Stewart/James Sicily intercepting half back than genuine KPD.

 

[noobermensch]

Taylor is more Tom Stewart/James Sicily intercepting half back than genuine KPD.

He's definitely less of a true key position defender given his 191cm height and his reliance more on athleticism to impact at this stage. Its really tricky with trying to predict future intercepting defenders. Nobody really intercepts to that elite level in juniors, that takes years to develop and can be impossible to predict with accuracy, hence Stewart floating around in the local leagues in his early 20s. The one thing I think we know for sure with Taylor is that he can play a strong shut down role on a wide range of forward types, and he's become increasingly confident in his rebound game as the season has developed. There's enough there to be a top prospect even if he never quite develops that super elite intercepting game.

 

[nineteen eighty]

He's definitely less of a true key position defender given his 191cm height and his reliance more on athleticism to impact at this stage. Its really tricky with trying to predict future intercepting defenders. Nobody really intercepts to that elite level in juniors, that takes years to develop and can be impossible to predict with accuracy, hence Stewart floating around in the local leagues in his early 20s. The one thing I think we know for sure with Taylor is that he can play a strong shut down role on a wide range of forward types, and he's become increasingly confident in his rebound game as the season has developed. There's enough there to be a top prospect even if he never quite develops that super elite intercepting game.

How would a Taylor rate compared to a Gibcus (back in his draft year...not the injured version)?

Nice notes by the way!

 

[noobermensch]

How would a Taylor rate compared to a Gibcus (back in his draft year...not the injured version)?

Nice notes by the way!

Quite different. Similar in that they're both excellent athletes, but Gibcus was always taller and a proper key defensive prospect. My memory of Gibcus is that he would dash off his man at times, but was nowhere near as adventurous with his attacking runs as Taylor and found much less of the footy, which you'd expect from a proper key tall.

 

[noobermensch]

Typical of the consistently excellent form Taylor found this season. As disruptive as always in the air and on the ground, throwing himself into aerial contests and tackles. He found a decent amount of the footy but was quite conservative with his ball use, still lacking some of the confidence that he developed later in the season.

 

[noobermensch]

Robey's second talent league game was much like his first, playing high half forward and impacting with his long leads up through the middle of the ground and the wings to offer an option in transition, and using his physicality to impact in contested situations. Worth mentioning is how clean/soft his hands are in marking contests, able to securely one grab on a lead at pace or through contact. As always, he hit the scoreboard with a couple of goals and was heavily involved in scoring chains for Eastern in a strong win.