Resource Noob's 2026 Draft Prospect Video Thread

[noobermensch]

In his first VFL game of the season for the Lions Cooper Hodge turned in a sold, hardworking display in a losing effort. This version of the Q clash was full of academy products on both sides, though there were still plenty of mature bodies out there and Hodge did not look out of place, crashing in to contests as well as showing his outside run.

The quality of the broadcast image isn't great which made it tough to pick out everything, so there may be a few moments missed in this compilation.

 

[noobermensch]

Another strong performance from Kodah Edwards who you can mark down for mid to high 20 disposals, a handful of tackles, marks and clearances and a goal or two every time he takes the field in the SA U18s comp. His moments of power and skill in this one were perhaps another step above recent games from him, a really nice way to tune up for the Champs, with SA playing in the opening game of the carnival this coming Saturday.

 

[noobermensch]

The Blues are on the verge of recruiting a gun father-son in Cody Walker this year, and it looks as though they have another exciting father-son prospect emerging in Lukas Koutoufides, son of club icon Anthony. The U16 Champs series kicked off today, and young Kouta turned in a solid first up performance. He had a few stints in the forward line but did his best work as a midfielder at the coalface, winning heaps of contested ball, impressing with his size, athleticism and repeat efforts. It wasn't a flawless game as he wasn't as clean at times as he'd like, but there was enough there to excite Blues fans who will no doubt be closely watching his development over the coming years.

 

[noobermensch]

The weekend saw a change of role for Ethan Herbert, deployed as a deeper key forward, and he responded with a pretty impressive display. At 200cm tall Herbert is on the shorter side for a ruckman at AFL level, so proving himself capable in other roles will be big for his draft stocks. He took a number of impressive marks, showed some nice leading patterns and finished off his work with 4 majors including some nice set shot finishes.

 

[noobermensch]

One SA prospect flying massively under the radar this season is Gabriel Patterson, limited in his appearances due to a shoulder injury. He was clearly underdone in this one, flying out of the blocks in the first quarter before fading largely out of the game in the second half. Fingers crossed that he's able to show his best stuff at the upcoming Champs as he's one that has the talent to push inside the top 10 and SA will need him at his best given their injury woes.

 

[Futbolista]

One SA prospect flying massively under the radar this season is Gabriel Patterson, limited in his appearances due to a shoulder injury. He was clearly underdone in this one, flying out of the blocks in the first quarter before fading largely out of the game in the second half. Fingers crossed that he's able to show his best stuff at the upcoming Champs as he's one that has the talent to push inside the top 10 and SA will need him at his best given their injury woes.

Yes, bring on the SA's

 

[noobermensch]

1. Dougie Cochrane
2. Cody Walker
3. Harry Van Hattum
4. Ethan Drever
5. Arki Butler
6. Noah Williams
7. Kodah Edwards
8. Clancy Snell
9. Gabriel Patterson
10. Ethan Herbert
11. Gus Teixeira
12. Harrison Chapman
13. Marlon Neocleous
14. Jordan Knapp
15. Cody Templeton
16. Heath Mellody
17. Mitch Harris
18. Jackson Phillips
19. Wil Malady
20. Khaled El Souki

My pre champs top 20 as its that time of year.

Main takeaway for me is that there’s a solid gap between the top 9 and the next bunch. I haven’t been able to see Gus Teixeria at his best, as both his reportedly strong performances in trial games were not broadcast, so I can understand expanding that 9 into a top 10.

For me Cochrane is a standout at 1, and has been for a couple of years now. Cody Walker’s lack of progress with his kicking skills concerns me enough that I’d be happy to take either he or HVH at pick 2.

The next 4 (Drever, Butler, Williams, Edwards) I don’t have a strong preference, and would be happy to pick from for needs.

 

[noobermensch]

Will Thornton is the second Carlton father-son prospect to impress in the opening game of this years U16 Champs series. He started super slowly in the first half, not touching the footy until well into the second term, but exploded after half time with a move from the wing into the back line. He certainly leans more outside, but showed that he can be disruptive enough in the air that he may end up as a third tall with a little more growth. His outside run was strong, and he showed a burst of pace on a few occasions including his exciting running goal. His disposal by foot didn't always connect, but he looks to have a fluid action and gets penetration. Another one for Blues fans to keep track of over the next couple of years leading up to the 2028 draft.

 

[noobermensch]

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Charlie Robbins has been growing nicely into the season, putting up some impressive numbers and round 8 might have been his best performance to date. Charlie was a big part of Calder's midfield dominance, strong over the ball for his size, winning plenty of contested footy and showing his clean and quick hands in tight. He ran hard both ways, linking well in transition and rounded things off with a couple of nice goals.

 

[noobermensch]

In the opening game of the 2026 Champs series Leo Steed set down an early marker with a big performance in helping WA to a close win over a fast finishing SA. Steed was everywhere in the opening half, racking up more than 20 disposals to half time, using his running power to get from contest to contest to create the outnumber, and burning off opponents to find space in transition. His attack on the contest and the man was strong, especially early as his team burst out of the blocks and built a huge lead. It’ll be interesting to see if Steed and WA can maintain this level as the competition heats up.

Apologies to the commentators, I had to mute the audio as there were too many issues, starting out with poor levels and then getting increasingly de-synced in the second half.

 

[noobermensch]

George Gale started out his Champs series with a strong performance, among the best for the victorious WA. He played largely on a wing with occasional rotations on ball, provided fantastic outside run all game and finding space to be used as an outlet for his teammates. There have been question marks on his pace, but he proved here that he can motor in space, racking up the meters gained. He didn't connect with his kicking as much as he'd like which will be a watch going forward.

 

[noobermensch]

Recently returned from a shoulder injury the expectation is that Patterson will get better as the tournament progresses and he plays himself into match fitness. He spent plenty of time on the bench here and didn't find heaps of the footy but still showed signs of his elite talent, kicking three goals and looking dangerous with his attack on the footy and slick skills.

 

[noobermensch]

Unfortunately Cody Walker suffered a shoulder injury early in the third term as up to that point he was dominating statistically. He was the dominant force at stoppage, crashing in to extract the ball with power and clean hands, and his outside run as always was impressive. This display won't change the narrative around his poor kicking as he butchered the ball plenty, although he did connect on a few nice kicks to advantage. Fingers crossed for Cody and junior footy enjoyers that his shoulder isn't too bad, and the choice to sit him out for the rest of the contest was precautionary.

 

[noobermensch]

Ethan Matthews has been one of the form players so far this season, moving steadily up draft boards, and he proved that he's more than capable of sustaining that level even with the step up to National Champs. He has that Nas-like quality of relentless running to continually overlap and present with repeat efforts during a possession chain, always there for a handball or a pop kick into space. He may only be slight of frame at this stage, but he showed in this game that he's no slouch when it comes to getting first hands on the footy at stoppage, racking up an impressive 11 clearances for the game. If Matthews manages to maintain this level through the Champs he looks poised to give the top 10 a shake.

 

[noobermensch]

A strong first up Champs performance from bottom ager James Artemis who was one of his team major conduits to goal, having the largest number of score involvements in the game, kicking 2 goals himself and denied a third by shaving the inside of the goal post. He functioned mostly as first receiver on the outside of the stoppage, dealing damage with his pace, excellent decision making with the ball and skill execution, exemplified by one fantastic highlight in the third quarter where he gathered cleanly at half back, executed a blind turn out of trouble and then kicked to a teammate in the corridor.