AFL 2024
What’s it like to be a draft hopeful ahead of the big night?
The AFL draft has finally arrived, and The Age checked in with the three prospects we have followed all year to see how they are feeling ahead of the biggest moment in their sporting lives to date.
- by Marc McGowan
Latest
Reality bites as crisis in the number of Indigenous AFL players gathers pace
The number of Indigenous players on AFL lists will continue its alarming decline in 2025 as few players are considered for selection in the national draft.
- by Peter Ryan
One sleep to go: The latest mail on who your club will pick in this year’s AFL draft
The best and brightest prospects in the land will learn their fate on Wednesday and Thursday in the AFL draft. We’ve studied the form and the needs of the clubs to devise our final phantom draft for the first round.
- by Marc McGowan
Richard Goyder wants to remain as AFL chair until 2028
Goyder surprised senior AFL people when he revealed his intent to remain in the top job until 2028.
- by Michael Gleeson
He’s tipped to go No.1, but this draft hopeful might not even be the best athlete in his family
Sam Lalor, who is likened to Dustin Martin, is the popular choice to join the Tigers on Wednesday night and be the dux of this year’s draft class. His family is chock-full of sporting talent.
- by Marc McGowan
The Hawks won TikTok this year. Now they’re cashing in
After their breakout year, the Hawks are back as a prime-time AFL team, and their fans are getting swept up in the excitement with membership and merchandise sales soaring.
- by Michael Gleeson
Analysis
Draft
He’s the ‘most talented’ kid in the draft. So why isn’t Finn O’Sullivan a lock at No.1?
Finn O’Sullivan is routinely referred to as the most talented player in this year’s AFL draft class, but there is no certainty about where he will end up on Wednesday night.
- by Marc McGowan
Not the Kings or McKays: Meet the anti-twin big men who had 16 AFL clubs visit their country home
Matt and Jack Whitlock were born two minutes apart, are each almost 200 centimetres tall and will be first-round picks in the AFL draft – but they want to be known for more than being twins.
- by Marc McGowan
Call for McClelland Trophy rethink; Where the Hawks went wrong; Grand final planning underway
What makes a champion? That’s the question being asked of the AFL’s all-club award as Hawthorn lament their heartbreaking loss to Port Adelaide and the AFLW starts planning where to play its grand final.
- by Roy Ward, Steve Barrett and Hannah Kennelly
Opinion
AFL 2025
The fix-ture is in: Why handicapping teams flies in the face of AFL’s integrity
The fixture should not be another lever for equalisation. The premiership race should be run at even weights, like the Derby – not weighted in the manner of the Melbourne Cup.
- by Jake Niall
‘Just a reco’: Blues superstar Charlie Curnow reveals the extent of surgery that ended his season
The two-time Coleman medallist has spoken about his progress in returning from the injury that curtailed his 2024 campaign.
- by Andrew Wu
Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/topic/afl-2024-6gat