A COUPLE of Stephen Wells specials were on the menu for the Cats as Geelong entered the draft near the end of round one, and had an early round two selection. Both players are high-upside prospects who love to run and have some outstanding outside traits. In the rookie draft, the Cats were able to pick up one local prospect as well as a developing midfielder-forward who also possess some great speed.

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DRAFT HAUL

NATIONAL DRAFT:
Pick 24. Harley Barker
Pick 33. Hunter Holmes

ROOKIE DRAFT:
28. Nicholas Driscoll
Jesse Mellor (Cat B NGA)

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

Geelong became the team to pounce on the currently injured, but supremely talented Barker. The South Australian did get a full national carnival under his belt impressing with his work out on a wing before unfortunately going down with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Essentially the Cats will put a line through any realistic senior chances in 2026.

Barker showed plenty of dare and dash and coupled with his kicking makes him a perfect winger of the future to pair up with Ollie Dempsey. The South Australian was a chance to go in the first round prior to injury, and the Cats were able to snap him up despite having to wait a little longer to see him in the blue and white hoops.

It is not too often that clubs pick two wingers within the National Draft, but the Cats did just that with Hunter Holmes. The younger brother of Cats star Max can also play on-ball, but with some serious wheels and a developing outside game, he is another long-term prospect. Much like his brother, Holmes might not be an immediate senior player, but with work on his kicking and composure, can follow a similar mould.

The Cats survived a National Draft bid on high-upside forward-midfielder Mellor, signing the 185cm prospect as a Category B rookie. As part of their Next-Generation Academy, Mellor has a clean set of hands, commands a presence inside 50 and can hit he scoreboard consistently. He starred for Vic Country through the national carnival, bagging an All-Australian spot and really cemented his spot as an AFL Draft prospect.

Mellor joined Northern Knights’ Driscoll who spent more time through the middle than up forward, but had a scintillating mid-season purple patch which really saw him bolt into draft contention. Driscoll still has areas to work on, but has nice clean hands and loves to move the ball in transition from inside to outside.

GRADE: B

Geelong went for the high-reward type players, all of whom have the potential to add some serious flair and excitement to the Cats. While all will be more longer-term talents as they either recover from injury – in Barker’s case – or work on developing their deficiencies to be ready for AFL level, the Cats can be pleased they have some outside and forward depth waiting in the wings.