AFL Draft trends: The balancing act
WHILE this year’s National Draft produced record low numbers, several clubs still took the opportunity to cash in on major hauls of new players. With that often comes a balancing act, configuring a draft haul around the ability to add depth in multiple areas of the ground and with diverse traits. Perhaps the most pertinent […]
AFL Draft trends: Mature-age list balance
IN THE wake of the latest AFL Draft, the time to reflect allows for insights around how each club approaches their intakes. Trends appear and shift all the time, and looking at the post-Covid era (2022 onwards), a few recruiting teams have opted to dip into the mature-age talent pool. It continued in 2025 with […]
2025 AFL Draft Review: Collingwood
MIDFIELD depth was Collingwood’s priority at the 2025 AFL Draft, with several unique onballers recruited alongside a pair of Next Generation Academy (NGA) graduates. The Magpies entered proceedings on night two, making four selections before adding a single rookie. >> EVERY PICK: National Draft | Rookie Draft>> 100+ PROFILES: View the 2025 AFL Draft Guide DRAFT HAUL NATIONAL DRAFT:Pick […]
AFL DRAFT | 2025 Night Two fallout
AFTER a whirlwind opening round on Wednesday evening, the 2025 National AFL Draft concluded with an additional 45 selections made on night two. Among them were 43 fresh faces, a quartet of mature-agers, and plenty more surprises throughout the order with many highly regarded talents left overlooked. >> EVERY PICK: 2025 National AFL Draft>> NIGHT […]
2025 AFL Draft Preview: Brisbane Lions
TWO-TIME reigning premiers Brisbane Lions are once again set to benefit from their club-tied talent come draft time, with a leading Academy graduate bound for the top five. Elsewhere, there are plenty more local prospects vying for promotion to the current most dominant club in the land. >> FREE: View the 2025 AFL Draft Guide […]
Academy Update: The graduates in line for promotion
WITH the 2025 season quickly drawing to a close, the pieces are close to being set in stone on how club-tied players will impact the draft order. Inevitably, many will be scattered throughout the order in what is being labelled as the most compromised draft in history. We run through where the leading top-age prospects […]
Up the Grades: Dovaston shines on VFL debut
EASTERN Ranges forward Lachy Dovaston was among the latest batch of state league debutants over the weekend, impressing in a lively performance for Box Hill. Meanwhile, a pair of top five prospects locked horns in the VFL, and club-tied talent broke through into the senior WAFL grade. SANFL League & Reserves Round 17 Norwood defender […]
Up the Grades: Star bottom-agers break through
A PAIR of promising bottom-agers were among the weekend’s state league debutants, headlined by star 2026 prospect Dougie Cochrane. Elsewhere, West Coast blooded another club-tied talent in the WAFL, and a Victorian dasher impressed in his maiden VFL appearance for Richmond. SANFL League & Reserves Round 16 Central District bottom-ager Dougie Cochrane was the talk […]
Up the Grades: Club-tied guns unleashed in VFL
A BUNCH of club-tied talent was unleashed unto the VFL over the weekend, including a pair of debutants from the Swans Academy. Recently crowned Allies MVP Lachlan Carmichael made up half of said pair, posting 15 disposals and six tackles in his maiden state league appearance. The running defender was one of five current academy […]
RECAP | 2025 AFL U18s: Allies
HAVING come into the Under 18 National Championships as a title fancy, the Allies were hit by injuries to key players and came away with a 1-3 record. In what was a competitive campaign nonetheless, they had three matches decided by two goals or less, and won a thriller over Western Australia in the dying […]
