Resource Noob's 2025 Draft Prospect Video Thread

[noobermensch]

The premier ball hunter in the draft pool was back this week in talent league action. Eastern made some interesting tactical choices here. Up against an extremely strong GCS academy team they played a bunch of young debutants and chose to play Greeves exclusively forward for the first quarter and a half, which led to them being dominated in the middle and Greeves starved of opportunities. Once he moved into the midfield Ollie did what he always does, hunted the footy, won clearances and delivered the ball to his teammates with variable kicking accuracy.

 

[noobermensch]

An excellent first talent league game of the season for Annable as he led his Brisbane Lions Academy team to a strong win. As always, Annable's power and strength over the footy and in contested situations was a standout feature, able to win the footy, create space for a teammate, or apply heavy physical pressure on the opposition. He was regularly able to navigate into enough space to get ball to boot, although as is becoming a trend for the inside mids in this pool, the quality of his kicking was variable on the day.

 

[noobermensch]

A recommendation from Futbolista, Rae-Anthonysz is an all action small defender with strong athletic traits and full commitment to everything he does on the footy field. The defensive side of his game is strong, and his pace and agility allow him to be a weapon on rebound at times, although he can get a bit adventurous and doesn't always seem to have a plan when he sets off on a run.

 

[noobermensch]

Liam could have kicked a big bag here given that in addition to his 3 goals 2 he also had two gettable chances that didn't score. Liam was solid overhead, especially considering the strong wind that made judging high marks difficult on the day, and was active in applying pressure.

 

[noobermensch]

Kellaway had a fantastic performance here, barely putting a foot wrong all game. He cracked in hard in contested situations, laying tackles or winning the ball and distributing with creative hands, he ran hard outside the contest and his disposal by foot was solid. He showed strong, clean hands in the air, and even hit the scoreboard, kicking a goal of his own and setting up the shot on goal that tied the game late.

 

[noobermensch]

A strong game from Jevan, one of the few we saw from him in the new season before going down with a broken arm. He showed here that he's more than just a special athlete, able to exert a strong influence at stoppage and impacting the scoring for his team with setup disposals and a goal of his own. Unfortunately the broadcast missed the first 8 minutes of this game.

 

[noobermensch]

His first Talent League game of the season for Dylan Patterson was an excellent one. Close to best on ground, Patterson consistently damaged with his dash and long delivery off the half back line, as well as throwing himself into spoils and tackles when the occasion demanded. The only real negative for him is that he butchered a couple of kicks on his non-preferred left boot suggesting that he still needs to do more work there.

 

[noobermensch]

Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier entered the season considered by many as one of the elite prospects from SA. He missed the start of the season through injury and took a couple of weeks to shake off the rust, but if this performance is anything to go by, he might just be ready to start justifying those earlier lofty expectations.

BOB is a powerful inside midfielder, able to extract the footy from congestion with a burst of speed and agility to get outside into space. One of his real points of difference from the rest of the inside midfield prospects in this draft is his strong and penetrating kick. In this game we saw that kick deployed to damaging effect for the most part, although he did miss a couple of targets along the way.

 

[noobermensch]

A change of role for Cumming who played exclusively forward this week kicking 4 goals and looking dangerous. Its possible this shift signals a forward line role for Cumming at the Champs, which could be a real weapon for SA if they're able to feed him with enough quality ball given his diverse array of traits and talents. In this game he regularly got out on the lead and took comfortable and clean grabs, using his athleticism to launch into spring heeled leaps at the footy.

 

[noobermensch]

I'm pretty sure Dyson Sharp had a brilliant game here, but I can't say for sure given the "interesting" quality of the broadcast footage. I'm pretty sure there are two teams playing footy, but I guess it could be cricket. I've done my best to ensure that the tiny blurry dot in the middle of the screen is Dyson Sharp as much as possible.

 

[noobermensch]

Hunter Wright is quietly putting together a strong season for the Pioneers and bolstering his draft stocks. In this game he wasn't as dangerous in the forward 50 as we've seen at other times, but through the midfield his clean and slick hands were a real feature in helping his team chain out into space a number of times, and his pressure around the ball was strong.

 

[noobermensch]

Swadling just doesn't stop finding the footy, dominating the Colts competition week after week in a way that we haven't seen in some time. 39 possessions this week, falling a fraction short of his third straight 40 disposal game in a row. His work rate and positioning are first rate.

Last week there were a lot of negative comments on Swadling's kicking which was definitely a little off. This week he was back to being solid again, missing a couple (which will happen when you have 39 disposals) but mostly lacing out his targets or putting the footy to his teammates advantage. His hands around the contest were again slick and creative.

 

[noobermensch]

A real mixed bag of a game from Willem Duursma here. He had some thrilling moments, such as a bursting run out of the middle for a shot on goal in the fourth quarter and a lovely snap for goal in the first. His pressure around the contest was excellent all game. He threatened the score sheet all game but was let down in that department and in general by his poor kicking, in particular on his non-preferred left which he had the confidence to use but butchered badly on a number of occasions.

 

[noobermensch]

This was a pretty strong game from Fred although there are still signs that he's yet to hit top form. He was prolific around stoppage, winning first possession and releasing teammates into space or getting the ball forward himself. His kicking was a little off compared to his typical excellence with a couple of shanks in the mix, and so far this season he hasn't been able to find as much space on the spread to really damage with his elite skills.

 

[noobermensch]

Another outstanding performance by Whan who's been one of the biggest improvers in the draft pool through the first block of games. His spearing left foot kick into the forward 50 is an elite weapon and it was on full display here with him setting up his teammates with a number of direct score assists. His powerful frame is an asset in contested situations, and his midfield combination with Fred in this game was far too much for Claremont to handle.

 

[noobermensch]

Sweid has been Mister Consistent so far this season, producing solid performances every time he's stepped onto the field. Here he had some issues with his disposal but was strong and tough on the inside as he always is, winning the ball and generating forward momentum for his team. While he was only credited with 4 tackles I felt that his pressure around the ground was excellent, creating a number of rushed possessions and turnovers.

 

[noobermensch]

The weather got a bit wild up in Brisbane with heavy wind, a bit of rain, and even some thunder and lightning in the fourth quarter. Lachy was buzzing around all game, clean at ground level and doing some creative things with the footy. He had a bit more of a chance up the ground and through the middle and was productive with those opportunities which might suggest more midfield time as the season progresses. He kicked a couple of goals, but was a bit wayward in the windy conditions and his and his teammates missed opportunities cost Eastern in a close loss.

 

[noobermensch]

Finn Davis played his first Talent League game for the season in the Darwin heat and turned in a strong performance. He displayed some traits that should have any watching recruiters interested, doing damage with his run and carry out of defence and his strong ball use. NT are a team that players will often rack up big numbers against so it'll be interesting to see how Finn's season progresses against tougher opponents.

 

[noobermensch]

This was Floyd's first game of the 2025 Talent League season, and it got people's tongues wagging about his potential as a mid season draftee. He was the main target for his team in the front half of the ground, and while he didn't clunk them all he competed strongly in the air and on the ground. In addition to his three goals, a number of other scores for the Rebels were a direct result of his actions.

 

[noobermensch]

Players regularly put up impressive numbers against the NT Academy side, but in this case it's a continuation of what we've been seeing from Tom Burton all season who's averaging 33 disposals per game in the Talent League and also solid for the AFL Academy.

Burton lacks the size that clubs tend to prefer with their midfield recruits, but he has a dash of pace, and the agility to navigate traffic and get inside to out for damaging disposals. This game in the Darwin heat showed Tom's elite endurance and gut running at their best, able to get from contest to contest all over the ground and a few times showing repeated efforts to pop up multiple times in possession chains down the ground.

 

[noobermensch]

A look at Talor Byrne from the Rebels, a midfield prospect with enough exciting traits to potentially overcome his lack of size for the position. He had a big game here, racking up possessions and tackles around the ground and proving difficult for the Swans Academy to contain. His size and burst of pace through congestion in particular challenged the Swans players tackling technique and Byrne drew a number of free kicks for high tackles. His field kicking on his left foot was strong for the most part although he squandered opportunities to hit the scoreboard along with many others on the day.

 

[noobermensch]

We missed the first quarter from the broadcast, but what we did see was a solid performance in this pre Champs trial match from Dyson Sharp in difficult rainy conditions. Sharp was industrious as always around the contest and won first possession regularly to get the U18s moving forward. As the rain increased and the game became scrappy Dyson applied strong defensive pressure, smothering and laying a number of tackles.

 

[noobermensch]

Thrillem continues to put up big numbers and influence games for his Gippsland Power team. Here we again saw issues with his disposal effectiveness at times, but its one of very few weaknesses in his game. His combination of size, speed and reaction times around congestion allows him to swoop on loose balls rapidly or close space quickly to apply pressure. With his team trailing entering the fourth quarter Willem lifted and was a significant factor in helping the power surge to victory.

 

[noobermensch]

Toner put himself into the mid season draft conversation with a strong double performance across the two Young Guns games, kicking 7 goals, impacting in the air and on the ground and exciting watchers with his raw potential. Signed with the Richmond VFL program for 2025 he's yet to show his full capability at that level and would be a longer term prospect if picked.

 

[noobermensch]

A bit of a break out game for Cody who we know seems destined to be a star but has been ticking along just solidly up to now in his bottom age season. In this game we got the full Cody Walker experience. Power through the contest, ferocious tackling, pace and agility, strong in the air, and most importantly able to impact the scoreboard through his own goals and setting up teammates. A performance to leave Carlton fans pumped.