AFL Draft 2023: All the latest news and intel as bolters make their move
Zach Reid is developing nicely at Essendon – but it’s the rapid rise of his younger brother that has recruiters talking. Get all the latest AFL draft news and whispers.
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The AFL national draft is now only a touch over three weeks away.
Here’s the latest news and views from around the country.
Pick 1 battle set to go down to the wire
Any trade for West Coast’s No. 1 pick might not be done until draft night as the Eagles sit back and assess their options.
Rival clubs said this week that if they were West Coast, they would hold on to the selection and take Harley Reid in the draft — unless North Melbourne presented a too-good-to-refuse offer.
“The only way I’d give up pick 1 is if you got picks 2 and 3 back,” one recruiter said.
North Melbourne reportedly made a fresh offer to the Eagles which involved one of its first two picks (2 and 3), as well as two of its later first-round selections (15, 17 and 18) for the prized No.1 pick.
However, the Eagles knocked that back, like they with an offer from the Kangaroos of a suite of later first-round picks during the trade period.
Hawthorn (pick 4) has also had an unsuccessful crack at trading for pick 1 with West Coast.
Reid, who hails from the Victorian country town of Tongala, has repeatedly said that he is happy to move interstate to live out his AFL dream.
The powerful midfielder-forward has been earmarked as the clear No. 1 pick since the middle of last year.
Clubs are able to trade draft picks until November 10, however very few swaps are expected during the window.
It is more likely that most clubs will hold their picks and then consider live trading during the draft on November 20 and 21.
Clubs get to work on VFL bolter
A rebounding defender from Werribee is firmly in the sights of multiple AFL clubs as he looks to join his younger brother in the big league.
Sam Clohesy – the older brother of 2022 Geelong draftee Ted – won the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal as the VFL’s most promising player this year, adding to a wave of late AFL interest.
Some recruiters believe that Clohesy could now be an early second-round pick in next month’s national draft.
“Clubs are doing a lot of work on him,” one recruiter said.
“The Fothergill-Round-Mitchell medallist has a good history of getting drafted.”
Last year’s winner of that award – Ethan Phillips – was the first player in the past 16 years not to be drafted to an AFL club.
Clohesy, 20, averaged 16.8 disposals and 5.6 marks across 21 games for Werribee this season, including racking up 22 disposals, seven marks and six rebound 50s in a losing VFL grand final last month.
“He’s driven, competitive, tough,” outgoing Werribee coach Michael Barlow said of Clohesy earlier this month.
“He played for his team, got the trust of his teammates, then he had some fun in the back half of the year when he was playing freely and running off halfback.”
Miller-like midfielder a Sun-sational prospect
Gold Coast Suns Academy prospect Jake Rogers says he felt like a “first-year player” in the AFL this season after being provided with plenty of development opportunities at the club.
The 170cm midfielder, who shapes as a first-round draft prospect, trained with the Suns’ senior group across pre-season and went on to spend many more hours at Metricon Stadium each week across the course of the year.
“They treated me as more of a first-year player in the club, because I wasn’t at school and I wasn’t working,” Rogers said.
“I was in there most days, went to meetings, they chucked me in any training I could do and then I got opportunities at VFL level.”
Recruiters have compared Rogers to Gold Coast co-captain Touk Miller, who he has spent time working with this year.
“I’ve had plenty of chats with him at the club and just even talking to him,” Rogers said of Miller.
“You idolise players like that. I try to model my game off similar players, take attributes that they have. He’s a ripper bloke and a ripper player.”
Originally from Melbourne, Rogers moved up to the Gold Coast at a young age and has been part of the Suns Academy since under-12s.
While a lot of his family remain in Victoria, he is more than content in Queensland if the Suns decide to match an early bid on him.
“I have family down in Melbourne and I’m always down in Melbourne so that would be an option if that came about. I wouldn’t be against that,” Rogers said.
“But I’m very happy on the Gold Coast. I love it up there.”
Pair of top-10 chances emerge
Tasmanian utility James Leake is attracting significant interest from clubs with top-10 picks in this year’s draft.
However, he isn’t the only player who recruiters say has “come with a bolt” to join the top group of prospects in recent months.
Eastern Ranges wingman Caleb Windsor is now considered to be a top-12 prospect by some clubs after a big second half of the season and a strong showing at the national draft combine earlier this month.
Windsor started the season slowly with the Ranges in the Coates Talent League, having returned from an ankle injury which hampered him last year.
However, he hit form during the under-18 national championships with Vic Metro, averaging 15.8 disposals and putting his speed, foot skills and decision making on show.
“He’s got AFL traits,” Ranges coach Danny Ryan said last month.
“He’s an elite player but he’s become a really good team player as well, bringing others into it.
“We’re really excited about the prospect of draft night for him.”
Windsor finished third with a time of 2.916 seconds in the 20m sprint test at the draft combine, while also placing top-10 in the vertical jump and running vertical jump tests.
Brother of Bomber a big watch
A towering tall could be the second top-20 draft pick in his family after showing more than a few glimpses of his huge potential this year.
Archer Reid – the younger brother of Essendon defender Zach – measured 203.1cm at the national draft combine earlier this month and impressed in the back half of the season playing as a key forward who could also rotate through the ruck with Gippsland Power.
He had not played ruck before this year but came on “in leaps and bounds” in that area in the latter part of the season to add another string to his bow.
“My aerial power is my main strength and then this year I’ve learnt a bit of ruck so I think that’s become a strengths as well,” Reid said.
“I think my main position is a key forward and ruck.
“It’s been really good (spending time in the ruck) because I’ve really improved on it, worked hard on it. It just gets me into the game.”
Recruiters think the upside for the raw Reid is sizeable, with the main question marks on him centring around his competitiveness and consistency at times.
However, Reid’s best footy this year has stood out in the Coates Talent League.
In a round 11 match against Sandringham, he logged 17 disposals, eight marks, 17 hit-outs, three clearances and kicked four goals for a total of 170 SuperCoach ranking points.
The Inverloch local also had an impact in some senior country football this year with Inverloch-Kongwak in the West Gippsland Football League.
Reid booted 11 goals across two senior games in April and May.
He slotted one major in a winning Grand Final side Phillip Island in September, but had that match cut short by injury.
“I dislocated a finger in the second quarter,” Reid said.
“So I missed a quarter and a half. But I still got to play so I was pretty happy.”
What Bulldogs fans can expect from Croft
Western Bulldogs fans can expect to see Jordan Croft “crash packs and make a contest” in the years to come when he adds to what is already becoming a potent forward line.
Croft officially nominated as a father-son for the Bulldogs earlier this month, where he is set to follow in the footsteps of his father Matthew, who featured in 186 AFL games for the club.
The 18-year-old spent his junior football days at Maribyrnong Park playing a variety of roles in defence, forward and assisting in the ruck.
However, he has found his best position as a hard-working lead-up key forward with the Calder Cannons in recent years.
“Calder just kind of threw me up forward and I obviously excelled a little bit in that position and they kept me there and I’ve excelled throughout the years and developed as a forward,” Croft said.
“Just being able to play to my role and play to the strengths (this year), I think it really helped in my mindset.”
Croft finished fourth in the 2km time trial at the national draft combine earlier this month, but believes his biggest weapon is his aerial work.
While still lean, he measures 200.3cm as a towering mobile big man.
Asked what he believed his biggest strengths were, Croft responded: “Just my ability to crash packs and make a contest, just making sure the backs aren’t intercepting and we can get our smalls involved. That’s probably the biggest strength in my game.”
Croft averaged 10.2 disposals, 3.5 marks (2 contested) and 2.1 goals across 11 games in the Coates Talent League this year.
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