AFL News: All the SSP signing news ahead of the deadline

Richmond has settled on a winner of the SSP race, having trialled two forwards in the practice match against Melbourne on Sunday. Meanwhile, North Melbourne has locked in a tall forward ahead of the deadline.

Ethan Phillips landed at Hawthorn during the SSP. Picture: Dylan Burns

Richmond has settled on the big body of VFL player Mykelti Lefau to fill its final list spot.

Lefau, a former rugby player who plays with the Tiger’s VFL team, has won the race to be the club’s summer signing over East Perth forward Mitch Schofield.

Lefau impressed with his aerobic capacity and ability to play as a key forward, with the Tigers revamping their forward line under new coach Adem Yze.

He kicked a clever dribble goal late in Sunday’s match simulation clash against Melbourne after applying strong forward pressure.

It’s understood his wide, 194cm frame appealed to Richmond, ahead of Schofield’s ability to play as a high half-forward.

Schofield will return to East Perth in the hope of being in the mix for the mid-season draft.

Mykelti Lefau has landed at Richmond. Picture: Jonathan DiMaggio

If Richmond signs Mykelti Lefau as an SSP it'll add to the club's rich VFL breeding ground under impressive coach Steve Morris. James Trezise, Tylar Young, Sam Durham (Ess), Massimo D'Ambrosio (Haw) all products of the VFL program. Mykelti might be made official today.

— Sam Landsberger (@SamLandsberger) February 19, 2024

Meanwhile, North Melbourne locked in tall forward Tyler Sellers for its final list spot ahead of the deadline.

Sellers booted three goals in the Kangaroos’ recent intra-club clash, with the 20 year old booting 30 majors in North Melbourne’s VFL program last season.

With North Melbourne short on key position targets up forward to pair with Nick Larkey, Sellers could be in line for an early-season debut.

‘Deserves a crack’: How Phillips finally broke onto AFL list

A pre-season injury to James Blanck helped hand Ethan Phillips an AFL list spot, and his former coach believes he’ll take the chance with two hands.

Ethan Phillips’ VFL coach believes his vast improvements in fitness and one-on-one defence give him a chance to make a strong impact at AFL level for Hawthorn this season.

The former Port Melbourne intercept defender was on Saturday handed a football lifeline after James Blanck’s ACL tear ahead of Monday’s deadline for summer rookies.

A raft of clubs look set to leave open mid-season draft spots with Carlton, Fremantle, Gold Coast and North Melbourne among the clubs who will pass on using their final list spot.

But VAFA defender Sam Sofronidis is still awaiting news from Essendon about a last-gasp AFL chance after taking part in match simulation on Saturday with the Bombers.

Sofronidis had trained all summer at the Pies, who overlooked him on Thursday for ready-made defender Josh Eyre despite a recent hamstring tendon injury for the ex-Essendon tall.

Essendon could elevate Sofronidis to cover the medium-term loss of defender Kaine Baldwin after he suffered a navicular stress fracture.

But even Sofronidis’ biggest admirers believe the 24-year-old is a project player rather than a quick fix for a team missing an established defender.

Phillips had joined Box Hill in recent months after emerging as a Port Melbourne key defender under senior coach Gary Ayres and then putting in two dominant seasons under current coach Adam Skrobalak.

Skrobalak said on Sunday Phillips had worked on his fitness after being questioned by AFL recruiters and also played deeper on quality forwards after his freewheeling 2022 season earned him the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal.

Port Melbourne coach Adam Skrobalak believes Phillips can be a contributor at AFL level. Picture: Andy Brownbill

While Skrobalak says Phillips will need to prove he has the pace to play on elite AFL forwards, he has no doubt an AFL program will help a player who has worked full time in freight management in international shipping.

“In my first year we tried to free him up as much as possible because we had quite a young team and the feedback about why he didn’t get drafted was he didn’t play on the best opponents enough,” Skrobalak said of a player who averaged 4.9 and 5.1 intercept marks in the past two seasons.

“So that was what we needed to do and he did it really well. His intercept marking numbers were still really good.

“He has definitely got some things to work on and the worry would be the speed of the game but he does read the ball extremely well and he’s just such a good mark.

“He got stronger and he got fitter and he got out on the training track more and he did a lot more work on his kicking and he deserves a crack at it. His intercept numbers were that high for two years in a row. So he has definitely got the talent.”

Sam Sofronidis is a chance of a remarkable AFL listing with Essendon.

Ayres said on Sunday he was thrilled another VFL player had been given a chance as the 18th player from 2006-2023 to win an AFL spot after being officially recognised as the VFL’s best young player.

“He’s always been a good reader of the play and a great intercept mark and I saw James Sicily the other day” the former Hawks star said.

“He said it’s all about team defence and how your defence works as a whole. It’s a great story and you just have to take your hat off to him. He’s one of the premier defenders in the VFL competition and he has had to do the hard work. All you want in life is an opportunity.”

Fremantle has a vacant list spot despite securing former Essendon forward Patrick Voss this week but will retain it for the mid-season draft.

Originally published as AFL News: All the SSP signing news ahead of the deadline