NORTH Melbourne might not have had a high-volume of selections in this year’s AFL Draft, but the Roos were able to pinpoint a couple of needs with some top 30 selections. Picking up the draft’s best small forward alongside an draft-bolting tall defender, North also secured the services of another talented ball-winner.

>> EVERY PICK: National Draft | Rookie Draft
>> 100+ PROFILES: View the 2025 AFL Draft Guide

DRAFT HAUL

NATIONAL DRAFT:
Pick 16. Lachy Dovaston
Pick 26. Blake Thredgold
Pick 48. Hugo Mikunda

>> CLICK each player’s names for full profiles & highlights

After trading out their first selection in this year’s draft in the highly publicised Matt Whitlock deal last year, the Roos traded back into the opening night with an upgrade to earn Pick 11 off Carlton, which became Pick 16. With the selection, the Roos selected the damaging Dovaston who immediately adds both pressure and X-factor to the front half.

Having been a menace around the big sticks for Eastern Ranges and Vic Metro this season, Dovaston plays with a similar spunk to Nick Watson, and while he can be that pure scorer, also makes his presence felt off-ball. Though he could work on his accuracy at times, he has an outstanding athletic profile and will be a walking highlight reel at the next level.

Perhaps the biggest need for North Melbourne coming into the draft was another tall defender and they secured that by picking up Sturt’s Thredgold. The 194cm talent is an elite aerialist, but he is not just purely an interceptor, in fact he is more of a lockdown defender which the Roos will love. He has the combination of athleticism and strength which helps him match up on a variety of opponents and be able to impact both ways.

With the final selection in their draft, the Roos picked up the versatile forward-midfielder in Mikunda. Out of the footy factory Geelong Falcons, Mikunda is a damaging player who is a highly creative type with fantastic footy IQ. He has great offensive abilities, and if he can add a touch more defensive measures to his game, watch out. Adds the other layer to the front half with Dovaston, whilst being a midfield rotation option for the future.

GRADE: B+

North Melbourne achieved what they wanted to out of the draft, picked up two needs and a third player who can also slot in well to the front half. All three significantly improved throughout 2025 and naturally will be pushing their case to crack in for debuts in 2026, particularly in Dovaston’s case.