Round 15 AFL Rising Star nomination Finn O’Sullivan on his draft class and future at North Melbourne
North Melbourne’s list is ready to take off. But where exactly does Finn O’Sullivan’s future lie? The Rising Star opens up on his debut season and names the other young Roos to watch.
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Rising Star Roo Finn O’Sullivan is already “getting a bit toey” thinking about the stacked midfield stocks at North Melbourne as he sees the club’s rebuild as ready to take off.
O’Sullivan earned the round 15 AFL Rising Star nomination for his polished 18 disposal effort in Saturday’s win over Carlton, a reward for a strong debut season in which he has played 12 out of 13 games.
That debut season has largely been spent on at half-back or the wing, with the No.2 pick happy to learn another position as the Roos balance an already deep midfield rotation.
This year, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Luke Parker, Tom Powell, George Wardlaw, Jy Simpkin and Harry Sheezel have averaged the most centre bounce attendances for the Roos alongside ruck Tristan Xerri, leaving the likes of Colby McKercher and O’Sullivan looking for a way in.
Like most youngsters, O’Sullivan sees himself as a midfielder when he matures, but it might not be easy to crack the rotation in coming years.
“To be honest I get pretty toey when I hear all the blokes who aren’t playing midfield already that will turn into midfielders,” he said.
“We have already got one of the best midfields in the comp I reckon and then you add in blokes playing in different positions, obviously Colby is playing as a half-backer.
“When you hear the names in there and the names that will be in there in the next few years you get very excited and then for me, playing off the half-back and a bit on the wing has been awesome to see what it is like in those positions.
“Hopefully that will give me a bit more understanding of the game when I play midfield.”
O’Sullivan has become the frontman of a four-man North Melbourne 2025 draft class that includes pick 27 Matt Whitlock, No.57 selection Luke Urquhart and father-son River Stevens.
Whitlock has already drawn headlines after the Roos gambled by trading their 2025 first-round pick to Richmond in November to select him, and he has played one game, while the other youngsters continue to develop.
O’Sullivan, from Koroit, west of Warrnambool, has run his eye over his draft class in his laid-back style, and the budding star defender nobody is talking about.
FINN’S DRAFT CLASS TAKES
Matt Whitlock
Pick 27, 1 AFL game, 8 VFL games
The swingman made his AFL debut in round 4 against Sydney and has played largely as a defender in the VFL, with some solid outings.
O’Sullivan says: “You have big Matty Whitlock who is about 29kg lighter than some of the boys he is playing against who are more like 28 years old.
“I think for any of the boys he plays on (at training) like big Souva (Nick Larkey) or even sometimes when he is up forward and on big Corry (Aidan Corr), he is hard to play on. He is pretty switched on, very skilful, composed. He will be no worries.”
Luke Urquhart
Pick 57, 8 VFL games
A tough midfielder, Urquhart has shown some strong signs – including a 23 disposal, seven mark VFL game against Collingwood – but has recently been battling a hip flexor injury.
O’Sullivan says: “With Urq, obviously he is a big body frame and you can already see that he is putting it to the older midfielders like LDU (Luke Davies-Uniacke) and Jyser (Jy Simpkin) and the explosiveness and power is definitely a strength of his. That is something he will keep working with.”
River Stevens
Pick 67, 11 VFL games
The son of former skipper Anthony, young Stevens has been playing as a small forward in the VFL side.
O’Sullivan says: “With Riv, he is one of the most skilful players at the club. So dangerous around goals, got obviously great goal sense, so can’t wait to see how he keeps developing.”
UNDER THE RADAR GEM
When asked to nominate a young Roo who’s development has gone unnoticed externally, O’Sullivan quickly named half-back flanker Riley Hardeman.
Hardeman has only missed one game since round 4 and the No.23 pick from the 2023 draft has found plenty of ball in defence.
O’Sullivan says: “I think he is already well known now but he is an absolute gun. The way he has been playing has been exceptional and definitely been a key for us winning. He will definitely be one to keep improving and he will definitely be on the radar I am sure in the next couple of years.”
Originally published as Round 15 AFL Rising Star nomination Finn O’Sullivan on his draft class and future at North Melbourne
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