PREVIEW | 2022 AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft
THE 2022 AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft is fast approaching, with the intake set to get underway at 6:30pm tonight. More than 200 players have nominated, though up to just 23 will end up on an AFL list with only three clubs – Brisbane, Melbourne, and the Western Bulldogs – not taking a selection into the […]
The only exemptions – AFL hopefuls pushing for mid-season call-up
THE number of exemptions granted for AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft qualification has reached double digits, after league headquarters reconsidered the applications of another eight hopefuls. With the list now sitting at 11 players, covering a range of ages and leagues, the pool of potential draftees is now building ahead of the June 1 intake. We […]
2020 AFL Draft standouts: Sydney and Essendon
AHEAD of the 2021 AFL National Draft, we cast our eyes back 12 months ago to when the newest draftees had their names read out, and what they have accomplished since at the elite level. In the sixth piece of 2020 AFL Draft standouts (first chance at AFL level), we look at the 7th and […]
2021 VFL: Round 1 Draftee Focus – Tigers pair push for early debuts
THE Victorian Football League (VFL) returned over the weekend after a year away, with the revamped structure seeing 22 teams battle it out across 11 fixtures up and down the eastern seaboard, stretching from Friday to Sunday. Senior-listed players who missed AFL selection were able to get some run in their legs through the state […]
2020 AFL Draft recap: Sydney Swans
DESPITE the final standings showing a 16th place finish, Sydney was a side which produced plenty of promise throughout 2020. Much of that came down to young talent rising the Swans’ ranks and with an eventual draft haul boasting two top five picks, that factor is set to be compounded heading into next season. Pick […]
2020 AFL PSD & Rookie Draft: Pick by Pick
THE 2020 AFL Pre-Season and Rookie Drafts completed today, with just one pick in the Pre-Season Draft, and in the Rookie Draft Pre-Season Draft: #1 Adelaide – Jackson Hately (GWS GIANTS) Rookie Draft: #1 Adelaide – Bryce Gibbs (Adelaide) #2 North Melbourne – Patrick Walker (North Hobart/Tasmania) #3 Sydney – Malachy Carruthers (Sturt/South Australia) #4 […]
From the clouds: This year’s biggest AFL Draft bolters
EACH year a great deal of AFL Draft intrigue surrounds the prospects who seemingly come from the clouds to land on clubs’ radars. Labelled the bolters, these players are the ones who enjoy steep rises as top-agers to trade obscurity for potential stardom. Last year we saw Will Day, Mitch Georgiades, and Sam Philp taken […]
EXPLAINER | Pocket Podcast: Offence from defence
THIS week, Draft Central launched its brand new series of pocket podcasts, a collection of short-form discussions which narrow in on a range of topics heading into the 2020 AFL Draft. In the second edition, Chief Editor Peter Williams again sat down with AFL Draft Editor Michael Alvaro to discuss some of the best attacking […]
Scouting Notes: 2020 SANFL Grand Finals
GRAND Final week in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) brings along with it another edition of our scouting notes, focusing on the top draft-relevant performers from around the competition this weekend. In this instalment, we widen our scope to cover the prospects running around across all three grades, with a particular focus on […]
Young gun focus: 2020 SANFL Grand Final wraps
WOODVILLE-WEST TORRENS (WWT) took out both senior South Australian National Football League (SANFL) premierships on Sunday, defeating North Adelaide in the League and Reserves Grand Finals at Adelaide Oval. Meanwhile, Norwood’s even team spread helped the Redlegs take home the Under 18s flag. With young guns impressing at state league level, we again narrow our […]