Power’s access to Dougie Cochrane as an NGA selection to be determined by AFL review

Port Adelaide’s access to potential 2026 No. 1 draft pick Dougie Cochrane as an NGA selection is set to hinge on an AFL review after new information came to light about the famous SA family.

Port Adelaide’s access to potential 2026 No. 1 draft pick Dougie Cochrane as a Next Generation Academy selection will hinge on an AFL review.

Cochrane, the son of former Power and North Melbourne player Stuart and younger brother of current Port forward Tom, is already being touted as the top pick of next year’s draft after being the standout of last year’s under-16 championships.

Last year Stuart wrote to the AFL to see whether his sons could join the Power’s NGA program after a subsequent discovery of Indigenous lineage on his maternal side.

It is understood that ascertaining this has progressed significantly of late with a family member providing unseen documentation regarding their Indigenous lineage.

This is a big step towards Cochrane being able to join the Power’s NGA and this week he was invited to be in the AFL’s National Indigenous Academy.

Dougie Cochrane is one of the top 2026 draft prospects. Picture: Maya Thompson/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

But to have access to Cochrane, likened to Fremantle great Matthew Pavlich and Sydney two-time Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes, in the draft the Power need a big rule to change.

Current criteria doesn’t allow Indigenous metropolitan based players to be drafted by the South Australian clubs as NGA selections before pick 40 but does allow players from other backgrounds to be selected – such as the Power adding Benny Barrett to its list as a category B rookie through his Papua New Guinea heritage last year.

There is the potential this could change for SA clubs with a review into NGA zoning by the AFL continuing, which is still a couple of weeks away from being finalised.

The Power would also need the decision by the AFL last year to remove the rule that didn’t allow clubs to match bids on their NGA players inside the top 40 picks of the draft to remain.

When it comes to the Crows and the Power they have been only able to have draft access to Indigenous NGA players from rural, remote and regional areas.

Port was able to match a bid for Lachie Jones in 2020 because he was from the Yorke Peninsula but the Crows were unable to have access to now St Kilda star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera in 2021 because he was a metropolitan product.

Victorian clubs can have draft access to Indigenous NGA players from metropolitan areas.

While Cochrane plays for Central District, a club tied to the Crows under the AFL’s NGA program because of the SANFL’s father-son rule, he actually lives in Port Adelaide’s NGA zone – which is how the league determines how those eligible are tied to each club.

2026 AFL draft prospect Dougie Cochrane playing for Central District. Picture: Peter Argent

In the SANFL under 18 competition he has kicked 13 goals and is averaging 19.8 disposals from five games so far this year.

That isn’t the only hurdle the Power could face.

There are also stipulations around how long a player has to spend in a club’s program to be eligible to be drafted as a NGA selection.

Whether metropolitan Indigenous prospects can be accessed as NGA selections isn’t the only aspect of the AFL’s review that the Crows and Power are keeping a close eye on.

There are large parts of outback South Australia which are still unassigned to a club, because of the low population in that area.

The two SA clubs have asked that the unassigned region be split up and tied to them with the area to be allocated when the review is finalised.