AFL DRAFT combines have wrapped up around the nation, giving an insight into how each elite level hopeful stacks up athletically. For most prospects, it was a chance to showcase just how much they had improved since preseason, especially after a full season of football – albeit compromised. For the Victorians in action, they finally got to show their wares after a substantial amount of time away from the field, with a number of them registering results indicative of remarkably hard work in the meantime.
Having taken a look at the top 10 results from each test, we now look back at the combines as a whole to further put under the microscope those who performed well across the board. Needless to say, these athletes can certainly play too, with plenty of first round prospects scattered across the pointy end of each leaderboard. Furthermore, these are the players who have earned National Combine invites; meaning they have done so at the request of at least three-four AFL clubs, or by having previously earned passage into their respective academy hubs.
>> SCROLL for all the top 10 results
Among the top overall performers, three West Australians managed top 10 results across four different tests. Peel Thunder’s Isiah Winder is arguably the best draft prospect of the lot, a classy small midfielder who achieved top two results in the standing vertical jump and running vertical jump (right). To top it off, he also came fifth in the 20m sprint and sixth in the agility test. He uses all those traits on-field too, and looms as a potential second round pick. West Perth defender Kellen Johnson and Fremantle Next Generation Academy (NGA) member Chris Walker were the other two WA products to complete the feat, doing so in all three jumps and the agility test.
Godfrey Okerenyang, who took out the 2018 AFL Grand Final sprint and comes from a strong athletics background, was the only other player to manage top 10 results in four different tests. The GWS Academy hopeful leapt for the biggest standing vertical jump (84cm) and running vertical jump (right, 92cm), while also placing third in the 20m sprint. His podium finish in the running vertical jump (left) rounded out the four-peat. He looms as a more prospective pick at this year’s draft, having only recently committed to pursuing a footballing career.
Another two high-upside late chances who are already tied to clubs in Josh Eyre (Essendon, NGA) and Aiden Fyfe (Gold Coast, Academy) each racked up hat-tricks of top 10 features. Like most of the others, they were prominent in the jumping tests, while also respectively running the eight and ninth-best 20m times. In the most compromised draft crop ever, the likes of Reef McInnes (Collingwood NGA) took out first place in the speed test with a searing time of 2.78 seconds, while Sydney Academy member Braeden Campbell and Bulldogs NGA gun Jamarra Ugle-Hagan were also among that top 10 with equal times of 2.90 seconds. The latter two are expected to attract bids within the top 10.
There were plenty of other first round prospects to light up the track, too. WA key defenders Denver Grainger-Barras and Heath Chapman showed their wares in the agility and endurance departments respectively, while fellow sandgroper Jack Carroll was a standout jumper – even while sporting a cast on his broken wrist. Archie Perkins was another to impress in multiple categories, with Vic Metro hub teammates Finlay Macrae and Nikolas Cox acing the 2km time trial. Others to excel across the board included Nathan O’Driscoll, a second round candidate, and Brodie Lake, who hails from the Northern Territory but made the move to South Australia this year. He is eligible to be pre-listed by the Gold Coast Suns via their access to the Darwin zone.
NATIONWIDE AFL DRAFT COMBINE TOP 10s
Standing Vertical Jump:
1. Godfrey Okerenyang (GWS Academy) – 84cm
=2. Isiah Winder (Peel Thunder) – 76cm
=2. Pierce Roseby (Sydney Academy) – 76cm
=4. Jack Carroll (East Fremantle) – 74cm
=4. Chris Walker (East Fremantle) – 74cm
=6. Kellen Johnson (West Perth) – 73cm
=6. Shannon Neale (South Fremantle) – 73cm
8. Harry Grant (GWS Academy) – 70cm
=9. Jaiden Hunter (Perth) – 69cm
=9. Sam Frost (GWS Academy) – 69cm
NORTHERN Knights lead the way with three representatives in our Round 2 Talent League Team of the Week, after their thumping 58-point win over reigning premier Eastern. All 14 teams who turned out over the weekend feature in our 23-player squad. See who made the cut. >> Round 2: Snapshot | Player of the Week […]
PRESEASON Draft hope Jaime Henry has picked up where she left off last year for Swan Districts, with the McSherry Medallist (club best and fairest) having a huge game in Round 1. She was borderline untackleable with the tall midfielder having somehow increased her physicality and strength to go with a far larger tank for […]
GIPPSLAND Power’s talent continues to grow with the girls program having its best season on record last year and earning a finals spot. Headlined by a couple of star top-agers, the Power have some nice draft prospects again in 2026 and will look to continue their upward trajectory. LAST SEASON Played: 14Wins: 9Losses: 5 Gippsland […]
SANDRINGHAM Dragons’ hard-running wing Grace McIntyre has set her sights on improving the fundamentals in her game ahead of her top-age season. The talented outside player has the need for speed and competes well in the air, with plenty of experience on the wing in recent years. We spoke to the Vic Metro hub member […]
AN EVEN round of WAFL Women’s action opened the 2026 season with six of the eight sides in action having three or more representatives in our Round 1 Team of the Week. South Fremantle racked up a league-high five players in the team, while West Perth was not far behind with four. Fellow winners Swan […]
AAMI Talent League Player Focus: Lachie Werts (Sturt)
FEW FORWARDS, if any, can lay claim to a better opening two rounds in the AAMI Talent League than Sturt’s Lachie Werts. The speedy goalsneak has kicked four goals in each of the Double Blues’ first two matches, the latest being a win over Woodville-West Torrens on Saturday afternoon. Werts is a prospect from outside […]
Scouting Notes: 2026 Talent League Girls – Round 1
COMING away with the first four points of the Talent League Girls season, Brisbane Lions Academy won the Q-Clash battle for points to kick off 2026. In what was a tight tussle with the Gold Coast Suns Academy in perfect conditions, the Lions got up 6.5 (41) to 4.8 (32) thanks to a three goals […]
OAKLEIGH Chargers forward Sebastian Marsic is our Talent League Player of the Week after booting a big bag of goals in Round 2. The 194cm tall broke out with seven majors from 15 disposals and six marks as the Chargers claimed a 24-point upset win over local rival, Sandringham on Saturday. >> SNAPSHOT: 2026 Talent League […]
2026 Talent League Girls preview: Bendigo Pioneers
BENDIGO Pioneers always tend to have a young list given the large landmass region and always looking to develop those from across north west Victoria, and in 2026, the team will have a nice balance of top and bottom-age prospects once again. LAST SEASON Played: 14Wins: 2Losses: 12 Bendigo had to wait until the second […]
Stay informed
If you like the content that Draft Central provides and don’t want to miss any of it, then sign up to our subscriber list where you can be emailed out the latest AFL Draft Guide or sport-specific magazines, as well as the option to sign up to a monthly newsletter.