Top 30 AFL draft prospects: Full guide to this year’s South Australian AFL draft hopes
On the eve of the national under-18 boys championships, SANFL coaches reveal the state’s leading draft hopes and what they bring to the table. See the full list.
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National Academy stars, sons of guns, a former state under-age cricketer who was tipped to follow in the footsteps of Lloyd Pope and a young gun who shares a name with a Test cricketer are among South Australia’s top 2025 AFL draft prospects.
While the names Dyson Sharp, Matt LeRay, Sam Cumming and Harley Barker are the talk of the town as South Australian AFL National Academy members, there are another batch of teenagers who have caught the eye of recruiters and been earmarked as possible draftees.
Sharp is SA’s tall poppy.
The State under-18 captain, who is a regular member of Central District’s league team after shining in last year’s finals series, is tipped to be the first Croweater picked in November’s national draft and is in top-five contention overall.
Fellow Bulldog LeRay, North Adelaide’s Cumming and Sturt’s Barker are also in first-round contention.
But a host of other highly-talented young SA dynamos are also making waves and will get the chance to push their draft claims when the AFL National U18 Boys Championships kick off on Sunday, with the Croweaters playing the Allies in New South Wales.
So who are they and how good are they?
The Advertiser asked the eight SANFL under-18 coaches to nominate their most exciting, 2025 draft-eligible players and give an insight into just why they are on AFL clubs’ recruiting radars.
Most have been selected in this year’s SA under-18 state squad but a couple haven’t.
The list includes one over-age player, Glenelg defender Tom McKay, and a giant Northern Territory player, Taj Murray, who plays at North and is boarding at Prince Alfred College but will represent the Allies in the national champs.
Here are the SANFL’s top 30 draft candidates, listed in alphabetical order.
SAM AINSWORTH
(Norwood/Pedare Christian College)
Defender/ruckman, 17, 194cm
“Prior to Christmas, Sam hadn’t been a part of any elite state programs. He’d always been an intercept defender but we got to round 1 and had no rucks, so we had to throw him in there. Surprisingly, for someone who hasn’t rucked or learnt the craft of rucking for very long, he has shown a fair bit. He’s very mobile and his post-clearance work has been so good that he’s almost been like an extra midfielder for us. His ground level stuff for a big man is really good, he gets 18-to-20 disposals a game and gets involved in offence. For someone who has hardly ever rucked in his life, to be thrown in the deep end only a couple of months ago and show the growth that he has, well, you look at it and you think ‘he could be anything’. There’s probably always been a little bit of a knock on Sam about his professionalism and how much he wanted it, but this year it’s chalk and cheese compared to what it was. He hasn’t missed a beat, has taken his footy seriously and his output has been rewarded. Ned Bowman came from nowhere with us last year to be drafted by Sydney and Sammy’s story could be the same. He’s a unique player who is a really interesting watch because he’s so big and agile and his skills are quite good. At this stage, I think someone will take a punt on him.’’ – Norwood under-18 coach Alex Newell.
TIM ALVER
(Glenelg/Westminster School)
Midfielder, 17, 181cm
“Timmy’s your inside, absolute grunt midfielder. He has a pretty strong conditioning base but as he continues to build that and get stronger he will impact games more and more. He hunts the footy really well and has been working pretty hard on just adding that little bit of polish to his game and defensively locating opponents when the ball gets turned over.’’ – Glenelg under-18s coach Ben Kane.
HARLEY BARKER
(Sturt/Heathfield High School)
Wingman/midfielder, 18, 187cm
“Harley is in the AFL National Academy and while he’s been playing on the wing for the past few years, we’ve been trialling him in the centre square. He’s been excellent there too, showcasing his speed and power, which has stood out as he’s burst out of stoppage. I think he’ll play on a wing in the national championships but he’s been able to show his versatility for us. Apart from his speed and power, Harley has been really impactful with his kicking and ball use. He is a player who gets the game moving forward and has some Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide) attributes about him, so we’d expect him to be the first player drafted from our club this year.’’ – Sturt under-18 coach Scott Prebble.
LUKE CANDY
(Glenelg/Sacred Heart College)
Half-back flanker, 18, 184cm
“Luke’s a highly-rated talent who plays well off half-back. He’s been working on getting the balance right between zoning off his opponent and locking on. He’s also shown some good forward craft. Luke actions feedback well and possesses elite speed. He has really good lateral movement and really solid foot skills.’’ – Glenelg under-18s coach Ben Kane.
JACK COOK
(Woodville-West Torrens/Immanuel College)
Midfielder/defender, 17, 181cm
“Jack is a really tough midfielder who can also play down back. The son of former Crows player Tim Cook, I think at the next level he will probably be used as a small defender-type. Apart from being tough, he is really clean with his hands, tackles strongly and has a penetrating, left-foot kick. He’s an Adam Saad (Carlton) type of player in that he can kick or handball the ball and keep running to get it again. He’s quick and runs really hard in games, so hard that he’s like an Energiser Bunny for us. At the moment, he’s spending 80 per cent of his time in the midfield and 20 per cent in defence and hopefully he’ll get that same sort of mix in the state program. He’s certainly going well but there’s other good midfielders in the program too.’’ – Eagles under-18 coach Shane Reardon.
SAM CUMMING
(North Adelaide/Prince Alfred College)
Midfielder/forward, 17, 186cm
“Sam’s an elite athlete but his contested game is his real strength and go-to. He’s a midfielder who can go forward and have a huge impact on a game. For a medium-sized forward his overhead marking is very powerful. He has a bit of (Sydney’s) Isaac Heeney about him. Heeney’s probably got a couple of inches on him in terms of height but he has similar attributes in that he can go forward and take a mark but also go inside the contest as an inside mid and have an impact there as well. Sam’s the ultimate professional on and off the field and we expect him to go high in the draft. He’s A-plus in all areas, not just technical but also with his preparation and professionalism. The kid just ticks all the boxes.’’ – North Adelaide talent manager and under-18 coach Mitch Clisby.
JETT DAHLITZ
(Sturt/Heathfield High School)
Half-back flanker, 17, 187cm
“Jett’s an offensive, hard-running half-back flanker whose best attributes are his kicking and decision making. He is a player who can take the game forward by opening up the angles with his kicking, vision and decision making. He plays a bit like GWS’s Lachie Whitfield.’’ – Sturt under-18 coach Scott Prebble.
NOAH DAW
(Norwood/Rostrevor College)
Key defender, 17, 192cm
“Noah’s a key, intercept defender who has had an outstanding start to the year, really putting his hand up (to be drafted) from a performance point of view. His aerial ability is definitely his biggest weapon, he doesn’t get beaten in the air too much. He’s also a great anticipator of play, knowing when to peel off and when to lock on. He’s had a history of some quite severe injuries, including a broken leg a few years ago, which cost him a lot of footy. But the way he’s handled himself this year has been second to none. He’s shot the lights out. Noah certainly has all the attributes physically and skill-wise to play at the highest level. He has a little bit of (Adelaide’s) Max Michalanney about him, not so much from a speed or agility point of view, but in the way he defends, intercepts and uses the ball, along with how tough he is.’’ – Norwood under-18 coach Alex Newell.
ELLIOTT DUFFIELD
(South Adelaide/St Francis de Sales College)
Defender, 17, 192cm
“He’s a third tall defender who works hard and uses the ball really well. Elliott has a basketball background, so he’s good in traffic and has good awareness of what’s around him. He can mark the ball okay but I think what the state team is looking for him to do is to defend really tight because his offence is okay.’’ – South talent manager and under-18 coach Mark Clayton.
KOBE GIBSON
(Glenelg/Henley High School)
Midfielder, 17, 179cm
“Kobe has elite attributes. He had a bit of a rough start to the season (because of injury) but showed some really good resilience to get back. He played his first game for us on May 7 against Norwood and considering he was out with a knee injury for the entire season prior to that, the way he played was exceptional. He’ll only build and get better from there. Kobe’s a kid who missed out on the (State) under-16s due to injury and unfortunately he’s had some bad luck at the wrong times. He’s not an overly big kid but he has some really good speed and lateral movement through the midfield, along with really nice foot skills, spatial awareness and peripheral vision. He uses the ball quite well and has some really good forward craft. He’s one that moved up from the south-east to commit to footy, been hit with an injury and now he’s back and I think is set to take the competition on.’’ – Glenelg under-18s coach Ben Kane.
LOUIS KELLAWAY
(Sturt)
Midfielder, 18, 180cm
“The son of Duncan Kellaway (former Richmond star), he’s eligible to be selected as a father-son pick by the Tigers and is a classy, inside mid who can also play on the outside – as a wingman, half-forward or half-back. He has beautiful skills, is really clean and a good decision maker. Louis is one of those players who appears to have more time than the rest, a bit like Collingwood’s Scott Pendlebury. He has the ability to go through gaps and open the game up, without having a high amount of speed or power, because of his awareness, which is exceptional. Combine that with his good ball use and he’s a very good player.’’ – Sturt under-18 coach Scott Prebble.
JIM KELLY
(Norwood)
Midfielder, 18, 179cm
“Jim’s the son of our former player Richard Kelly (current Norwood general manager football) and is an inside-outside midfielder who plays mainly on a wing or at half-forward for us. He’s exceptionally clean with the ball, a one-take player who never fumbles, whether it be with ground balls or in traffic. He’s not the biggest midfielder but he’s a very classy player, with polish, great ball use, decision making and smarts. He hits the scoreboard and works hard both ways.’’ – Norwood under-18 coach Alex Newell.
MATT LERAY
(Central District)
Midfielder, 18, 189cm
“Matt’s our under-18 captain and is an outstanding kid who is tall and athletic and can play as an inside and outside midfielder. He reads the play really well, can drift across and take a really nice mark and he kicks the ball well too. Coming from a cricketing background (he was an SA under-19 leg-spinner with Lloyd Pope-type qualities) and not having ever done a full football pre-season, he had a bit of work to do to catch up this year but in the past few weeks he’s started to come along really well. He’s an outstanding on-field leader, really directional, and a really nice size.’’ – Central Centre of Excellence and under-18 coach Kyle Jenner.
MITCHELL MARSH
(West Adelaide)
Forward, 18, 191cm
“He’s a medium forward but, being the son of Ben Marsh (former Bloods and Crows 1998 premiership ruckman who measured 201cm), he might still have a little growth spurt left in him. I think Ben kept growing until he was 20. Mitch is a long, left-foot kick who also is a very good field pass. He takes a decent catch, both contested and moving up and down the ground, and has excellent endurance. Mitch runs a 6 min, 15 sec 2km time trial, which allows him to work up and down the ground at good speed for long periods. The way he plays reminds people of GWS forward Adam Cadman.’’ – West talent manager and under-18 coach Russell Godson.
TOM McKAY
(Glenelg)
Key defender, 18, 193cm
“Tommy’s an overage (under-18) prospect, turning 19 this year, who played some state footy last year and then put on 6kg over the pre-season. He did the full pre-season with the league program, which gave him a bit of a leg-up, and he’s played some really good footy for us. He’s very good in the air, dropping off his opponent or coming off to support. He’s pretty raw still but he’s come a long way in a short space of time. His foot skills for a big fella are pretty good and he’s really mobile. We’ve just been working with him around maintaining his focus defensively for four quarters.’’ – Glenelg under-18s coach Ben Kane.
TAJ MURRAY
(North Adelaide/Prince Alfred College)
Ruck/key forward, 18, 202cm
“Taj has been with us for two years but is a NT boy who is boarding at PAC and will play for the Allies at the national under-18 championships. He’s 202cm, moves well and jumps high, so I’ll be shocked if he’s not drafted. He’s in the national academy and has played a handful of games for us this year when he hasn’t had school commitments. While he rucks, his aerial game forward of the ball is what sets him apart from other players. When he jumps and extends his arms, not too many defenders are able to get a fist on the ball. His marking in the forward line is his strength but he can go into the ruck and is quite crafty at centre bounces. For someone who’s 202cm, he’s pretty agile and his lateral movement is very good.’’ – North Adelaide talent manager and under-18 coach Mitch Clisby.
FERGUS MYALL
(Norwood/Rostrevor College)
Tall forward, 17, 192cm
“Fergus has only been playing footy for a few years, meaning he’s coming from a long way back. He’s very lanky but is very good aerially, possessing a massive leap. Apart from being good overhead, he’s very mobile and agile but isn’t quite strong enough to ruck yet. He has a nice left-foot on him. He is a raw, project player with plenty of potential and upside, who we are looking to impact games more.’’ – Norwood under-18 coach Alex Newell.
CAMERON NAIRN
(Central District/Kapunda High School)
Half-forward, 17, 189cm
“He’s improved his aerobic capacity massively this year, so his workrate to be able to get up and down the ground has been outstanding in our games. Aerially, he takes some terrific marks, with contested marking being one of his strengths, and he’s a damaging left-foot kick. He’s been really good for us this year with his ability to work hard and find lots of footy as a high half-forward, while also kicking goals.’’ – Central Centre of Excellence and under-18 coach Kyle Jenner.
JESSE NYE
(South Adelaide)
Midfielder, 18, 176cm
“Jesse just outworks everybody. He’s a quality kid who I’ll go as far to say, as far as character goes, he would be in the top three players I’ve ever coached. He works extremely hard. He wasn’t in the state hub over summer but he put his head down, worked really hard and earnt his opportunities. I think I nominated him five times in the first seven games as our MVP for our under-18 team. He just outworks his opponent, kicks the ball well and his effort is unconditional, working both in offence and defence. He plays as an inside mid for us but for the state side I think he’ll play as a high forward/wingman.’’ – South talent manager and under-18 coach Mark Clayton.
BALYN O’BRIEN
(Norwood)
Defender, 18, 187cm
“Balyn’s a medium-sized defender who is very adaptable and can play on smalls and talls. He’s a country boy from our Eyre Peninsula zone, near Wudinna, who is very quiet and almost introverted, but he’s one of the most competitive, non-negotiable people I’ve ever coached. He refuses to be beaten at anything. He’s very trustworthy in the sense that if you give him a job you know it’s going to get done. Probably the area Balyn’s most needed to work on is getting involved in offense. He’s super, super reliable defensively but he wasn’t getting involved when we had the ball. But he’s made inroads this year in doing that. He’s an allrounder but his toughness, defensive side and competitiveness is second to none. There’s a bit of (Hawthorn great) Luke Hodge about him with the way he goes about his footy and I know when Nathan Bassett (Melbourne assistant coach) was at our club he was a big fan of Balyn’s.’’ – Norwood under-18 coach Alex Newell.
BLAKE OUDSHOORN-BENNIER
(North Adelaide)
Midfielder/half-back, 18, 182cm
“Blake’s predominantly an inside midfielder who is a real winner across all programs. He’s our under-18s captain and also was last year as a bottom-ager. Coming off a very successful individual season last year when he was a joint winner of the (SANFL) under-18 medal, he had an interrupted pre-season with a shoulder injury and is just a few games back from that injury. His kicking game is his real weapon and while he loves being in the contest he can also play on the outside. His kicking probably sets him apart from others. He has a very powerful and effective kick. You talk about leadership, professionalism and preparation, he and Sam (Cumming) are high quality in those areas and hopefully, by ticking those boxes, it will take them a long way. While he plays mostly as a midfielder, I also like using Blake across half-back because that’s where he can use his kicking game and open games up for us. We will consider doing that after the national champs to give AFL clubs something else to have a look at.’’ – North Adelaide talent manager and under-18 coach Mitch Clisby.
ZANE PEUCKER
(Woodville-West Torrens/St Michael’s College)
Forward/midfielder, 17, 179cm
“Zane has real genuine speed and power. He tests really well for speed and can drive his legs through stoppages and congestion. He’s also a nice finisher in front of goal, possessing a powerful kick. The son of Simon Peucker (former North Adelaide and Port Adelaide SANFL player), he’s worked really hard. He wasn’t selected for the SA Academy last year and was really motivated to try to make the state squad, so he got himself super fit in the summer, running some really good times. I’ve told AFL clubs that he trained with us like he was our best player. He’d drive himself that hard and it translated into games and then into being selected in the State squad. He has small forward traits along the lines of (Adelaide’s) Josh Rachele and (Collingwood’s) Jamie Elliott in that he has spring and power and can take a good mark.’’ – Eagles under-18 coach Shane Reardon.
JEVAN PHILLIPOU
(Woodville-West Torrens)
Midfielder/forward, 18, 183cm
“Jevan’s sidelined with a broken wrist and hasn’t played since round 5. But he’s so diligent with his rehab that he’ll probably come back quicker than most. That’s his greatest strength, that he’s so driven and has great training habits and standards, which is a family trait. (Jevan is the younger brother of St Kilda midfielder/forward Mattaes Phillipou, son of former Eagle and Western Bulldog Sam Phillipou and grandson of former West Torrens captain Peter Phillipou). Jevan’s a real footballer, who is two-sided and a real competitor. He has some explosive qualities and can really explode away from congestion when he puts his mind to it. He’s not as tall as Mattaes but they have some similar traits as far as their motivation and drive are concerned. Jevan’s a mid-forward, who has spent 80 per cent of his time with us this year in the midfield and 20 per cent forward. He was killing it before he got injured, really ripping games apart, so the injury was really unfortunate for him.’’ – Eagles under-18 coach Shane Reardon.
JOSH REICHELT
(Central District/Nuriootpa High School)
Half-back, 17, 180cm
“Josh is a great ball user. He finds a lot of the footy off half-back. He’s averaging about 28 disposals a game at 90 per cent efficiency. His kicking efficiency is really high. A lot of our ball movement starts with him because he’s so damaging. He works really hard and while he needs to continue to work on his defence, he has nice speed and runs and carries the ball really well.’’ – Central Centre of Excellence and under-18 coach Kyle Jenner.
NOAH ROBERTS-THOMSON
(Sturt/Pembroke School)
Midfielder, 18, 181cm
“Noah’s a powerful inside mid who can go forward and impact the scoreboard. He has great strength and power and also good skills with his left-foot kick, along with a strong ability to win contested ball.’’ – Sturt under-18 coach Scott Prebble.
BRYCE SANDERS
(North Adelaide/Prince Alfred College)
Key forward/key defender, 18, 196cm
“Bryce is our draft smoky this year. He jumped back on the radar in the pre-season after having not played SANFL footy for three years because of basketball commitments. Although he was playing school footy for PAC, he didn’t play any SANFL footy for those three years. He came to us as a forward and was one of our most impressive performers through pre-season and in the trial games. His form early in the year helped him get involved in the state squad but over the past month I’ve played him as a key defender and now we’re in a really tricky, but good, position in that we don’t know what end to play him at because he’s done so well in defence. I think we’ll see him line up at centre half-back for the state team through the championships and going forward. His weapon is his aerial game, he’s very good in the air and in the contest, rarely getting beaten. For someone who hasn’t played a lot of football he’s a really intelligent footballer in terms of reading the ball in the air and positioning himself. In one-on-ones, he plays a bit like Carlton’s Jacob Weitering because he doesn’t lose too many contests. ’’ – North Adelaide talent manager and under-18 coach Mitch Clisby.
AIDAN SCHUBERT
(Central District/Trinity College)
Key forward/ruckman, 17, 198cm
“Aidan is a workhorse. He’s super fit for a key forward/ruckman and loves to play on-ball because that’s where he can use his weapon, which is his running. He’s also good aerially, a really good contested mark, and kicks goals for us. He loves to get out and run and knows that at AFL level he’s going to have to be an athletic key forward who can get up and down the ground and take some really nice marks in a contest. He has a basketball background, so he hasn’t played heaps of footy, but he continues to get better.’’ – Central Centre of Excellence and under-18 coach Kyle Jenner.
DYSON SHARP
(Central District/Xavier College – Gawler)
Midfielder, 18, 187cm
“I’ve seen a lot of kids come through the system and Dyson’s the ultimate professional who just does everything right. He’s a contested beast who loves the contest and hates getting beaten in one-on-one situations, which he rarely does. He’s clean by hand, clean at ground level, takes a nice mark and is good by foot as well. He drives himself really hard and is an outstanding leader, someone who brings other guys along with him. We think he’ll be a top-five draft pick but that will be determined a bit by how he goes in the national champs. He has a bit of (Carlton’s) Patrick Cripps about him with the way he goes about his footy.’’ – Central Centre of Excellence and under-18 coach Kyle Jenner.
DARCY SPEYER
(Norwood/Gleeson College)
Midfielder, 17, 188cm
“Our (under-18) captain Darcy isn’t in the state program but we rate him really highly. He is a big-bodied mid who is getting 30-to-35 touches and kicking a goal a week. He’s a good leader and ticks a lot of boxes. Darcy’s played a handful of reserves games for us and is your Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide) type of player – that bid-bodied, no-fuss, clearance and contested ball winner who can hit the scoreboard. He’s not super quick, but he accumulates the footy and uses it well. He’s a bull.’’ – Norwood under-18 coach Alex Newell.
BLAKE THREDGOLD
(Sturt)
Key defender, 17, 193cm
“Blake’s a key defender who does some terrific work in the air. He’s a Darcy Moore (Collingwood) type of player in that he can contribute offensively with his nice running ability but his key attributes are his ability to read the play, be good in the air and take strong marks. He’ll be sidelined for a few more weeks with a broken wrist but we’re hoping he’ll be back towards the end of the national carnival.’’ – Sturt under-18 coach Scott Prebble.
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Originally published as Top 30 AFL draft prospects: Full guide to this year’s South Australian AFL draft hopes
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