Resource Noob's 2025 Draft Prospect Video Thread

[noobermensch]

When it comes to small forward prospects in this draft pool there's Lachy Dovaston and then daylight to second. He continues to consistently perform for a dominant Eastern Ranges team that's stomping their way through the finals, and this game was no different. Dovaston worked well up the ground to link the play and was typically busy in the forward 50 to swoop on loose balls and create for himself and teammates.

 

[noobermensch]

Before his recent hot streak of form, we had a few indications from Robey that there was some latent talent there just waiting to break out. Back in round 14 he had a near BOG performance in helping Eastern get up against the Chargers. Playing 90% high half forward with only a brief midfield cameo right at the end, Robey used his endurance and size to roam up to the wings, taking marks and getting heavily involved in the play, throwing his big frame into contested situations. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of his performance was his ability to use his size, pace and physicality to apply some ferocious defensive pressure on the opposition.

 

[noobermensch]

The dragons surged into yet another grand final in pursuit of their 4th straight flag on the back of an even team performance. Kye Fincher was one of their best, impacting through the midfield and forward line. He ran hard to find space around the ground, offering himself for the outlet kick and linking play with solid and efficient disposal. He slotted a couple of goals and could have had more.

 

[noobermensch]

What a moment to have your best performance of the season! Xavier Taylor stepped up to the occasion, thriving under the pressure of the big stage to dominate defensively for Eastern. His team were sliced open at times by the Dragons ball movement and run, but Taylor was the defensive wall all game, disrupting moves and intercepting the ball, then running hard the other way to take on the game in buccaneering style. It's been a strong close to the season for Xavier, and this performance will have done his top 10 chances no harm.

 

[noobermensch]

Sullivan Robey capped off his amazing late rise into top 10 contention by kicking 4 goals for his team as they triumphed in the CTL Grand Final. Apparently playing with a cracked collarbone, and occasionally looking visibly in pain, he battled on manfully, throwing himself into contests with his usual zeal. It'll be fascinating to see just how high this year's bolter ends up going on draft night.

 

[noobermensch]

Lachy was among the best in Eastern’s CTL Grand Final winning performance. He mostly started forward, but attacked the center bounce contest hard off the square and would typically push up to stoppages around the wings to give Eastern extra numbers. Lachy hit the scoreboard as he always does, but it was his work high up the ground that caught the eye, his clever movement and skill execution often being incisive in helping Eastern break free from the Dragons pressure.

 

[noobermensch]

A solid game from Greeves, not quite at the level of his match winning performance in the Prelim, but Eastern didn't need him to be at his best to take out the title. Ollie has been playing an increasing amount of forward late in the year and has looked excellent doing it, his aerial prowess again on show here and he demonstrated a bit of class with a lovely, dribbled goal from deep in the pocket. His decision making seemed a little slower than usual, resulting him nearly being run down on a few occasions.

 

[noobermensch]

There weren't a lot of strong performances for Sandy in their Grand Final loss, but Rory Wright had his moments across half back. His marking strength continues to be a standout and again he impressed in that area. His run out of defence and through the middle was an important part of the Dragon's attacking flow, although he did struggle hitting targets more than usual and had a couple of poor turnovers by foot in the opening quarter.

 

[noobermensch]

Sturt ran out comfortable Grand Final winners in a game they controlled from beginning to end. Jett Dahlitz was statistically dominant, finding an incredible amount of uncontested footy with West Adelaide seemingly content to fold back into a deep zone and allow Sturt to control the ball with their kick mark game. Dahlitz wasn't called upon to do a great deal of defending but was not found wanting on the few occasions he needed to commit. His kicking was the feature of his game, not always finding clean targets given how congested the Bloods made Sturt's front half, but his ability to take space with penetrating 50+ meter punchy kicks was critical in helping Sturt consistently break through for scores.

 

[noobermensch]

A brilliant way to cap off an excellent final stretch to close the season for Charlie Banfield who was clear best on ground in helping his Claremont team to yet another Colts Grand Final triumph. There seems to be very little that Charlie can't do, prolific in the contest and on the spread, neat with his skills, strong in the air and capable of hitting the scoreboard both as a midfielder and a forward. Charlie will be another fascinating watch come draft day to see just how early a bid comes.

 

[noobermensch]

With Toby Whan going down early Fred was called on to step up and carry the Bulldogs midfield and he responded with a strong performance. He found the ball at the coalface, applied strong tackling pressure, and as always showed his class with the ball in space. The scoreboard didn't tell the true tale of this game with South Freo sticking close for most of the contest before Claremont piled on a number of goals in the last 10 minutes.

 

[noobermensch]

There's a strong argument that Blake Thredgold was BOG for Sturt, given the big matchup on Mitch Marsh and blanketing him so completely that Marsh had zero influence on the contest. Showing the impact of a lockdown job is difficult in a video like this. Thredgold did rack up a lot of marks, but most of them were uncontested from switches of play, and his most impactful work typically occurred in the lead up before the ball arrived, using canny bodywork to block Marsh's run or muscle him away from marking contests.

 

[noobermensch]

Curtin's goals were a critical factor in helping Claremont secure a comfortable victory in the end and yet another Colts premiership. The game was close most of the way, but Claremont really broke things open in the last 10 minutes of the fourth quarter with Cody kicking 4 of his six goals in that game ending blitz. Overall, he struggled a little to hold onto his marks, but his work rate to continually present was strong and he was able to pop up in the right place at the right time on a number of occasions.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.