Resource Noob's 2026 Draft Prospect Video Thread

[SaintLoopy]

Big Harry has reportedly grown to 206cm now and looks set to be the dominant ruck from this draft crop. In this game he featured his excellent movement for his size, ground game and follow up at stoppage given the early rain made the ball slippery. As things dried out later in the game, he started to show his ability to impact in the air and clunk big marks which makes him dangerous during his rotations forward.

He looks really good. What are you guys thoughts on the new ruck rules & do you think it will affect the type of rucks the clubs look at in the future.

 

[noobermensch]

The Power Cube Marlon Neocleous got off to a strong start in round one of last season, showing his ability to damage through the middle of the ground and inside the forward 50. He had some lovely slick clearances from stoppage, hit up leading targets with F50 entries, and got on the end of a couple himself to hit the scoreboard. The strong wind didn't help his disposal accuracy, but he managed to work through it to become increasingly damaging as the game progressed.

 

[noobermensch]

Marcus Prasad was a star at U16 level and showed some flashes of that talent in his bottom age season at Talent League level. At 167cm he'll need to overcome his lack of size, but plenty of other small forwards have proven over the years that its not an insurmountable problem if the talent is there.

This performance was one of his best of the season, dangerous at front half stoppage, hitting the scoreboard and most impressively applying elite defensive pressure.

 

[noobermensch]

A good test for one of SA's top prospects Archie Van Dyk with his team facing off against Sturt who would ultimately end the season as premiers. Van Dyk showed his excellent aerial strength for a midfielder and racked up plenty of the footy, having a strong impact around the contest. His disposal by foot suffered under the pressure of the Sturt midfielders, his left foot kicking particularly scrappy.

 

[noobermensch]

It's surprising to see Jack Pickett being left out of some of the top prospect lists heading into the new season. Pickett is a slightly undersized but exciting and damaging tall forward. Jack loves a fearless leap at the footy and has the athleticism to sit on heads which combined with bucket hands makes him a significant aerial threat. He's shown strong forward craft and an ability to kick bags of goals and has the competitive fire to apply strong defensive pressure.

 

[noobermensch]

Noah Williams is an undersized wing and midfielder with some exciting traits who could be ready to break out with a big top age season. He wasn't often prolific at finding the ball in his bottom age season but has the pace and disposal skills to do maximum damage with ball in hand and loves to lay a tackle. In this game he showed an ability to sense the moment, lifting in the final term with the game on the line and kicking a couple of goals in a late Falcons surge that ultimately just fell short.

 

[noobermensch]

Freo NGA Lucas Robinson has long been considered as one of the best of the WA crop for 2026, bolstered by his elite performances at the U16 champs. His performance as a bottom ager in the Colts grand final demonstrated what he brings. A huge and powerful frame for a mid, along with the ability to impact aerially around the ground. There are concerns around his athletic profile, which may see him start to slide down the draft rankings a little under the intense top age spotlight.

 

[noobermensch]

Heath Mellody played an important role in helping Claremont secure victory in last year's Colts grand final. The Bulldogs struggle to handle his potent rebounding run off the half back line, one particular highlight being a running goal in the first quarter that helped Claremont get up and about. His athleticism allowed him to impact defensively in the air and at ground level.

Considered by many to be one of the top prospects from the 2026 WA crop it'll be interesting to see if Mellody gets a move into the midfield this season and how that effects his game.

 

[noobermensch]

Every season there seems to be a club linked talent for the Lions pushing up into first round contention and Caylen Murray could be that guy for season 2026. Murray played the first half of the Futures game in defence, finding plenty of the ball and showcasing his rebounding run. He moved further up the ground in the second half, playing mostly on a wing, and drifted out of the game somewhat but still showed enough to get Lions supporters excited.

 

[noobermensch]

Hi Everyone, apologies for being a bit late with this opening round of SA matches. At a minimum I'll have Kodah Edwards, Ethan Herbert, Archie Simpson and KMH up later today and tomorrow.

Unfortunately the AFL have copyright struck my channel, which is a bit of a punch in the gut. Three strikes and youtube shuts the channel down. The video struck was a Harley performance from three years ago. I'm trying to reach out the AFL for more info and see if there's anything I can do. Of course the footage I use is all theirs and they're well within their rights to assert ownership. The uncertainty makes things difficult.

I know for a lot of draft nuffies on here and elsewhere my videos have become a part of the way you follow the draft, so I wanted to keep you all in the loop and I'll let you all know if anything major happens from here.

 

[noobermensch]

Kodah Edwards put a serious marker down in his first game of the season, although unfortunately his heroics were unable to lift his team to a win. Playing largely forward in the first quarter he was starved for opportunities with West Adelaide dominating the ball and territory as they took an early lead. Kodah exploded in the second quarter, kicking a couple of 1v1 goals playing deep forward in a setup that reminded a little of Pagans paddock. He started to find more footy through the middle and was the major factor in a big Souths comeback, however he missed some very kickable opportunities late in narrow loss.

 

[bluebaggerjuls]

Hi Everyone, apologies for being a bit late with this opening round of SA matches. At a minimum I'll have Kodah Edwards, Ethan Herbert, Archie Simpson and KMH up later today and tomorrow.

Unfortunately the AFL have copyright struck my channel, which is a bit of a punch in the gut. Three strikes and youtube shuts the channel down. The video struck was a Harley performance from three years ago. I'm trying to reach out the AFL for more info and see if there's anything I can do. Of course the footage I use is all theirs and they're well within their rights to assert ownership. The uncertainty makes things difficult.

I know for a lot of draft nuffies on here and elsewhere my videos have become a part of the way you follow the draft, so I wanted to keep you all in the loop and I'll let you all know if anything major happens from here.

Leave it to the AFL to not promote the talent league at all, and then complain when someone else is doing it for them. Sounds very on-brand for this administration.

 

[Giant Strides]

Unfortunately the AFL have copyright struck my channel, which is a bit of a punch in the gut. Three strikes and youtube shuts the channel down. The video struck was a Harley performance from three years ago. I'm trying to reach out the AFL for more info and see if there's anything I can do. Of course the footage I use is all theirs and they're well within their rights to assert ownership. The uncertainty makes things difficult.

I feel for you (as I am sure most of us who watch your thread would). You do a much better, more consistent job of marketing the junior footy boys than the AFL does. It would be frustrating that they couldn't reach out to you to find an acceptable outcome before giving you a strike. Hope that you can sort something mutually acceptable out - we certainly want you to keep doing what you do so well!

 

[noobermensch]

I feel for you (as I am sure most of us who watch your thread would). You do a much better, more consistent job of marketing the junior footy boys than the AFL does. It would be frustrating that they couldn't reach out to you to find an acceptable outcome before giving you a strike. Hope that you can sort something mutually acceptable out - we certainly want you to keep doing what you do so well!

Thanks mate, appreciate it

 

[noobermensch]

Exciting first up performance from Ethan Herbert who's shaping as one of the best pure rucks in this year's pool. He was up against a taller opponent and didn't have it all his own way but showed some excellent ground level work on the follow up, able to field the ball below his knees with clean hands and possessing the poise to choose the right option. A few strong contested marks rounded out a pretty complete demonstration of his skill set.

 

[noobermensch]

If we didn't already have enough super exciting prospects for 2027 Archie Simpson announced himself as another one to watch in his first U18's performance for North Adelaide. As we saw in his U16 Champs run, Archie doesn't always find a stack of the footy, but he's absolutely maximum damage when he does get it, his blistering pace, power, and agility allowing him to break lines, dance around opponents, and find space inside 50 for shots on goal, his four majors in this game key in helping the Roosters to victory.

 

[Mutineer]

If we didn't already have enough super exciting prospects for 2027 Archie Simpson announced himself as another one to watch in his first U18's performance for North Adelaide. As we saw in his U16 Champs run, Archie doesn't always find a stack of the footy, but he's absolutely maximum damage when he does get it, his blistering pace, power, and agility allowing him to break lines, dance around opponents, and find space inside 50 for shots on goal, his four majors in this game key in helping the Roosters to victory.

So no live streaming of the Talent League, could have sworn in their promo they said 1 match a week via Kommunity TV on the Hun and the rest on the AFL App?

 

[Mutineer]

Hi Everyone, apologies for being a bit late with this opening round of SA matches. At a minimum I'll have Kodah Edwards, Ethan Herbert, Archie Simpson and KMH up later today and tomorrow.

Unfortunately the AFL have copyright struck my channel, which is a bit of a punch in the gut. Three strikes and youtube shuts the channel down. The video struck was a Harley performance from three years ago. I'm trying to reach out the AFL for more info and see if there's anything I can do. Of course the footage I use is all theirs and they're well within their rights to assert ownership. The uncertainty makes things difficult.

I know for a lot of draft nuffies on here and elsewhere my videos have become a part of the way you follow the draft, so I wanted to keep you all in the loop and I'll let you all know if anything major happens from here.

Who do we get up at the AFL...Nicky Couston?

 

[noobermensch]

So no live streaming of the Talent League, could have sworn in their promo they said 1 match a week via Kommunity TV on the Hun and the rest on the AFL App?

They are live streaming the games via the app, at least most of them as far as I can tell. VOD's for yesterday's games have started to drop, so everything feels basically the same as last year at this stage.

 

[noobermensch]

Who do we get up at the AFL...Nicky Couston?

I do have a name of someone at AFL media that I'm trying to contact to discuss this. No success at this stage.

 

[Mutineer]

They are live streaming the games via the app, at least most of them as far as I can tell. VOD's for yesterday's games have started to drop, so everything feels basically the same as last year at this stage.

I can't find the link on the app any chance you can post the link to the live streams?

 

[noobermensch]

I can't find the link on the app any chance you can post the link to the live streams?

They're not listed on the AFL website, but on the phone app the live games have a "watch live" button you can click.

To find the games in the app you select "Matches" down the bottom, then drop down the competition menu up the top and select "Talent League Boys".

 

[noobermensch]

A decent first up performance for one of this year's "big two" draft prospects. Cody Walker found plenty of the ball but had some struggles to overcome. In theory the CTL doesn't allow tagging, but Cody was paid extremely close attention when playing through the midfield, making it difficult for him to find space for clean disposal. His kicking accuracy remains a watch, but he still had moments of strength and power to cut through congestion, kicked two goals of his own and directly assisted two more.

 

[noobermensch]

Big HVH monstered the ruck in this game with his size, competitiveness and touch, providing silver service to his midfielders. He also clunked a couple of big contested marks, kicked a couple of goals and all around put together an exciting first up performance.

 

[Boristown]

Any Western Jets footage?