AFL Draft 2025: All the reaction and every pick from night two
60 young guns have officially realised their AFL dreams, while some others were left to wait until Friday’s rookie draft. But a glimmer of hope remains after a night filled with bolters.
It was the hard-luck AFL draft, but among it there was a glimmer of hope for those who missed out on achieving their dreams.
Only 60 players were picked across the two nights – just above the record-low of 59 – with some highly-touted prospects including big-bodied midfielder Ollie Greeves, X-Factor forward Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves and West Australian captain Fred Rodriguez left on the board.
SCROLL DOWN TO RECAP EVERY PICK AS IT HAPPENED
FULL PROFILES: THE BEST AVAILABLE LEFT UP FOR GRABS
Sandringham Dragons key forward Archie Ludowyke missed the moment his name was called, having left family and friends to take time alone as he feared his name would not be called late in the draft.
But he was one of the lucky ones as Adelaide selected him at pick 50.
Others would have had sleepless nights after years of hard work did not receive the pay off they were hoping for.
Greeves undoubtedly has some talent and finished equal-second in the Larke Medal this year.
But there was a knock on his running, with one recruiter noting recently that “transition running in the AFL has never been more important”.
Hibbins-Hargreaves showed this year that he can turn games of football off his own boot but lacked consistency at times, while Rodriguez knows how to win the footy but wasn’t as dynamic or versatile as some other players who were picked.
Those are just three of countless stories of players overlooked in the national draft.
Some 985 draft nominations meant there were 925 players who missed out on selection.
A few more opportunities will come in the rookie draft on Friday, before the real hard work begins for many who will instead have to take a different path to the AFL.
However, five players who were selected as overage and mature-age players provide hope that the national draft at 18 years old is not the only route to the big league.
Latrelle Pickett (Melbourne), Tobyn Murray (Fremantle), Billy Cootee (Sydney), Tai Hayes (Brisbane Lions) and Angus Anderson (Collingwood) were all first draft eligible two or more years ago but were recruited from state leagues this year.
Cootee is the oldest of the five, set to turn 23 in December.
He captained the Western Jets in the Coates Talent League in 2021 but is getting his opportunity four years later.
“He’s had a crack in the VFL a couple of years ago at Essendon and then went over to South Australia to pursue some SANFL footy and it’s a great story that he finally gets to live out his dream and get drafted,” Sydney list boss Chris Keane said.
“He’s played some really good footy for Norwood this year as a mid. We like his fast feet getting out of traffic and neat ball use. We reckon he can play around the square and high half-forward but maybe pinch-hit inside. He’s a great character, a ripping person, and we’re pumped to bring him into the footy club.”
Keane said stories like Cootee’s did provide hope to others who miss out in their 18th year.
“The same thing happened for us with Riley Bice last year,” he said.
“We had a similar pick around that 40s range and we feel like that part of the draft, it’s good to balance your list out with a more mature age option if you can.
“I think the AFL does it really well with the mid-season draft and other opportunities. If 18 year-old’s miss out, there’s so many more opportunities for them to persist and chip away and play some good footy.”
Persistence is the name of the game.
CATS COMPLETE FAMILY FAIRYTALE
- Dan Batten
A family fairytale is complete for Geelong with Hunter Holmes joining his dual best and fairest brother Max at the club, as Cats recruiting veteran Stephen Wells insisted he was drafted on his football ability.
The Cats had just one selection on night two of the draft and picked Holmes, who shares countless similarities to his brother Max at the same stage of his football career – even studying the same university course.
Their mother, two-time Olympic sprinter Lee Naylor, told this masthead ahead of the draft that it would be a “fairytale” having the two brothers combine at the Cats.
Naylor got her wish after Geelong read out the Oakleigh Chargers runner’s name at pick 33, another sign of Wells’ long-term vision after taking South Australian wingman Harley Barker the previous night.
The Holmes brothers reuniting came after Latrelle Pickett was handed his Melbourne guernsey by his cousin, Melbourne star Kysaiah on Wednesday night.
Wells credited the Holmes brothers’ former junior coach and ex-Sandringham Dragons talent manager Wayne Oswald for his inside word on the pair as he made clear that it wasn’t just a sentimental selection.
Hunter said at the draft combine that Max had been in their ear about selecting him, but Wells said it was Oswald’s opinion rather than Max that mattered most.
“We didn’t talk a lot about Hunter during the year. Max was very hopeful that Hunter might develop into an AFL draft prospect, and very supportive of Hunter,” Wells said.
“But I know he’s very, very excited about the thought of Hunter joining him down at Geelong, but he was just looking for Hunter to have an opportunity anywhere - as was Hunter, he would have been happy to play anywhere.
“The fact that he is Max’s brother is a bit of a bonus, and I know Max and the whole family will be very, very excited about Hunter joining him, but we’re very excited about Hunter the footballer.
“We’ve picked Hunter the footballer. We think he’s really earned an opportunity, he’s a young man who’s very, very determined, but some brilliant athletic traits, of course.
“It’s fair to say, Wayne’s thoughts on the boys and their prospects as AFL players was the opinion that I took into consideration the most when deciding whether to draft them or not.”
The lightning-quick Oakleigh Chargers prospect is a late developer and has had limited time in the elite pathway just like his brother Max.
Max has enjoyed a meteoric rise since he was taken with pick 20 in the 2020 draft, winning the past two Carji Greeves Medals.
Wells believes Hunter has similar scope as a balanced and athletic midfielder.
“I’ve seen Hunter play a bit more than Max, in that Max was in a Covid year and hardly played at all,” Wells said.
“But definite similarities. They’re both very coachable, very willing to do what they can to help the team. Of course, brilliant athletic traits and Hunter’s got so much scope for development there that probably Max showed at the same time. And if he comes along like Max did, we’ll be very happy.
“(Hunter) does very, well as an inside midfielder. His hands are very clean in the contest, and he’s a brilliant handballer in tight.
“But he’s also got those athletic capabilities to be able to get out, play on the wing or half back. So he’s a genuine inside, outside mid prospect.”
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