AFL 2021: The train-on players and clubs which have list spots available

From delisted players to unlucky draft prospects, here’s who has been invited to train at your club in the hope of winning a final list spot.

There could be another “Wizard” at Melbourne with Jeff Farmer’s son being considered for a rookie spot.

Kobe Farmer, 18, will train with the Demons in January and could potentially land one of two remaining vacancies on the list.

He is an exciting small forward like his father who played for the Peel Thunder this season, kicking 10 goals from seven WAFL Colts games.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE FULL LIST OF TRAIN-ON PLAYERS

Melbourne list manager Tim Lamb said the club had been monitoring Kobe’s progression through the junior ranks.

“As a list management team, we have been tracking Kobe’s progress for a number of years, and we thought this would be a great opportunity to get a closer look at him,” Lamb said.

“We are pleased that Kobe has accepted the offer to train with the team throughout the pre-season and we look forward to welcoming him to training in January.”

The son of Jeff Farmer has been given a chance to train with the Demons in January.

Should Melbourne elect to sign Farmer, he will be able to join the list through the Pre-Season Supplemental Selection Period, which closes in early March.

Jeff was one of Melbourne’s favourite sons, playing 118 games and kicking 259 goals between 1995 and 2001.

He then continued his career at Fremantle, finishing in 2008 with a career total of 483 goals.

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Giants Academy graduate training with Crows

- Reece Homfray

Young New South Wales key defender Nick Murray will start training with Adelaide in January in the hope of being selected by the Crows in the pre-season supplemental selection period.

The 20-year-old was a member of the Giants academy and played in the NEAFL in 2019 before signing with VFL club Williamstown when the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19.

He played footy with Ganmain Grong Grong Matong in the Riverina League this year and is currently on the family farm at Henty in NSW before reporting for pre-season training at West Lakes on January 6.

Murray is the younger brother of former Collingwood defender Sam Murray, who played 13 games for the Magpies in their Grand Final year of 2018 before serving an 18-month ban for a positive drug test.

The Crows have also named Ayce Taylor as a train-on player for January after he was signed as a supplementary rookie in March and delisted in September.

Clubs can add players during the pre-season supplemental selection period from January 6 to March 9 and then in the mid-season rookie draft on June 2.

Derek Eggmolesse-Smith will audition for a return to Richmond in the new year. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Surprise Tiger axing headlines list of train-on players

- Matt Turner

Delisted Tiger Derek Eggmolesse-Smith will audition for a return to Richmond after being among 16 players given permission to train at clubs from early next year.

Eggmolesse-Smith played six games in 2020 but was a surprising casualty of cuts to list sizes and could earn another opportunity as the Tigers seek to fill their two vacant list spots.

Richmond has also asked two South Australians, West Adelaide midfielder Nick Couroupis and Woodville-West Torrens defender Rhyan Mansell, as well as Josh Green – the brother of GWS youngster Tom Green – to train from January 6.

Clubs can add players from that date during the Supplementary Selection Period, ending March 9, or via the mid-season draft on June 2.

As reported earlier this week, Carlton has invited axed key backmen Oscar McDonald (Melbourne) and Callum Moore (Richmond), along with unlucky Victorian draft prospect Zavier Maher, as it seeks to fill one spot.

Ex-Collingwood defender Flynn Appleby and former Brisbane key-position player Sam Skinner are vying for one vacancy at North Melbourne, while delisted Crow Ayce Taylor is among two players set to train at Adelaide.

Ewan Macpherson will be hoping he can follow in his father Steve’s footsteps by landing with the Bulldogs.

Train-on players will be paid $1000 per week.

Murray Bushrangers midfielder Zavier Maher has be invited to train with Carlton. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos

AFL TRAIN-ON PLAYERS

Adelaide: Nick Murray (Williamstown, VFL), Ayce Taylor (Crows)

Carlton: Oscar McDonald (Melbourne), Callum Moore (Richmond), Zavier Maher (Murray Bushrangers)

Collingwood: Jack Briskey (Sherwood Magpies, Queensland)

Melbourne: Kobe Farmer (Peel Thunder, WA)

N orth Melbourne: Flynn Appleby (Collingwood), Sam Skinner (Brisbane Lions)

Richmond: Nick Couroupis (West Adelaide), Josh Green (Marist AFC, ACT), Rhyan Mansell (Woodville-West Torrens), Derek Eggmolesse-Smith (Tigers)

Western Bulldogs: Ewan Macpherson (Northern Knights), Corey Preston (Eastern Ranges), Anthony Scott (Footscray)

Which clubs have spots open for hidden gems?

- Matt Turner

Smaller drafts, late bloomers and a swag of Victorian prospects who have not played for a year will ensure plenty of talent available for clubs that have kept list spots open for 2021.

That is the view of AFL talent guru Kevin Sheehan, less than three weeks before teams can add players again.

There were 82 new players to enter the competition in last week’s drafts – down from a recent average of 105 due to list size cuts – and no underage football in Victoria in 2020 due to COVID.

Eleven clubs – Adelaide, Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Richmond, St Kilda, Sydney and the Western Bulldogs – have kept spots vacant and will be able to rookie-list players via either the supplemental selection period, starting January 6, or mid-season draft, to be held on June 2.

The Saints have three positions to fill, while Melbourne, Richmond and Collingwood have two and the other sides each have one.

The teams will have until March 9 to decide whether to sign a player during the SSP or wait until mid-year to fill their list spots.

Sheehan said there were hidden gems still out there.

Sydney Stack was picked up by the Tigers during the supplemental selection period in 2019. Picture: AAP

“Jack Macrae and Toby Greene couldn’t get a game in their 17th year, then all they needed was a month of footy in their 18th year to show how good they were and by mid-year they were All-Australian, and they were top-10 draftees,” Sheehan said.

“Who are the Greenes and Macraes – we don’t quite know yet because they haven’t played.

“In Victoria particularly, you’d some will just bob up at the start of next year and you’ll think ‘where did he come from?’

“There might be a Marlion Pickett or a Sydney Stack around.”

Pickett went from mid-season draftee to Grand Final hero for the Tigers in 2019, while Stack was an SSP selection in February that year.

Clubs can add train-on players from January 6 and those auditioning for a spot will be paid $1000 per week.

Further list vacancies could open if clubs moved players with long-term injuries, such as at Hawthorn (James Sicily), Essendon (Irving Mosquito) and the Bulldogs (Toby McLean), to the inactive list, enabling them to be replaced.

A list spot will become available at Adelaide in the new year once Bryce Gibbs becomes an inactive player.

The Crows were forced to choose him with their sole rookie draft pick under AFL rules due to the club paying the retired midfielder a portion of his salary in 2021.

Adelaide has said it will invite at least one player to train with the club over summer before signing someone ahead of the start of the season.

Sam Lloyd’s retirement this week with a year to run on his contract opened a spot at the Bulldogs.

Geelong Falcons ruckman Henry Walsh – brother of Carlton’s Sam Walsh – is one player who may have been a victim of smaller list sizes and no football in Victoria, and will be on clubs’ radars.

Originally published as AFL 2021: The train-on players and clubs which have list spots available