Whispering_Jack

Spoiler alert: The 2025 AFL Rookie Draft could well be almost a whitewash for Demon fans with no action other than the nomination of Kalani White as a father/son pick.

The Herald Sun's late mail for tonight:- MELBOURNE First night selections: Xavier Taylor (Pick 11), Latrelle Pickett (Pick 12) Remaining picks: 30, 56, 58 Melbourne provided the most heartwarming story on Wednesday night when Latrelle Pickett received his Demons guernsey from his cousin Kysaiah. Demons recruiting manager Jason Taylor was just as pleased to secure gamebreaking defender Xavier Taylor, but he said he doesn't view him as a midfielder. It means the Dees may look to bolster their engine room after losing Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver during the trade period. Melbourne is among the clubs in the 30s who could put bidding pressure on St Kilda for NGA prospect Kye Fincher, who shone in a midfield role for Sandringham VFL. Mercurial forward Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves and ruck Marcus Krasnadamskis would also be in their thinking, while Tairon Ah-Mu is a key forward consideration later in the piece. Melbourne committed mid-year to taking 201cm developing tall Kalani White, son of Melbourne great Jeff, as a father-son prospect, and he appears unlikely to receive a national draft bid. In that scenario, the Demons could either add him as a rookie or take with their last national draft pick. The Demons have filled their Category B rookie allotments after selecting college basketballer Oscar Berry, but NGA graduate Toby Sinnema is expected to be a train-on player with the Dees if he isn't picked as a rookie.

Kozzy’s around 171cm and here’s proof that Shifter was wrong

Cal Twomey is still working on Day Two. • South Australian defender Blake Thredgold right in North Melbourne's mix if they hold at opening pick tonight. • Carlton considering trading back again from pick 28 even though bid for Jack Ison won't precede it. • Louis Emmett, Marcus Krasnadamskis among Dogs' options.

To be honest, I was misled by a dodgy stat about LSP published in the lead-up to the draft. Some reports had him at 170 cm tall, but he's apparently 182 cm, which is a huge difference! It makes you wonder how many others were misinformed like me. The above is from a Shifter Sheehan article on the afl.com.au website (the figure was also published elsewhere).

The first day of the 2025 AFL National Draft is over and I have some mixed feelings about Melbourne’s selections to date. Xavier Taylor is a dream selection for the club but Latrelle Pickett is something of an unknown quantity for such a high pick. If he can translate his form at SANFL level into AFL standards then his selection will go down as another inspired Jason Taylor selection. If not, the risk is that it could well and truly bite the club in the rear end given the players who were overlooked, notably Dyson Sharp, Lochy Dovaston, Cameron Nairn and a handful of others who staked their claims at the elite Under 18 National Championships level. The pointy end of the draft is where you go for best available and not necessarily your needs but given the club has just parted ways with two of its best midfielders, it was expected that the Demons would pick up some midfield talent on day one. The good news is that there’s still some very talented midfield potential left out there. The other good news is that the club is five picks away from its next selection so the possibility remains that its need to fill midfield spots can still be satisfied. Not only that but Melbourne has two later selections left in the draft. One of them will no doubt be held to take Kalani White as a father/son, the other to possibly pick up a value selection or a smokey. Here are some of the players left in the field. I’m sure the list can be added to over the next 20 hours or so;- Jack Ison* 191cm Fwd/Mid VIC Blake Thredgold 194cm Def SA Oliver Greeves 191cm Mid VIC Archie Ludowyke 197cm Fwd VIC Jevan Phillipou 183cm Mid/Fwd SA Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves 186cm Fwd/Mid VIC Tylah Williams* 175cm Fwd WA Max King* 192cm Fwd NSW Louis Emmett 199cm Fwd/Ruck VIC Rory Wright 182cm Def/Mid VIC Riley Onley 195cm Mid VIC Matthew Leray 188cm Utility SA Zac McCarthy 199cm Ruck/Fwd VIC Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier 181cm Mid SA Sam Swadling 189cm Mid/Fwd WA Fred Rodriguez 184cm Mid WA * nga This from Zero Hangar ~

Tomorrow’s Day Two Draft Selections ROUND TWO 26 North Melbourne 27 Western Bulldogs 28 Carlton 29 West Coast Eagles 30 Melbourne 31 Richmond 32 Collingwood 33 Geelong 34 West Coast Eagles 35 Sydney Swans 36 Essendon ROUND THREE 37 Collingwood 38 Carlton 39 Fremantle 40 St Kilda 41 Sydney 42 Brisbane Lions 43 Brisbane Lions 44 Carlton 45 North Melbourne 46 Adelaide 47 Collingwood 48 Gold Coast 49 Gold Coast 50 Brisbane Lions 51 Collingwood ROUND FOUR 52 Hawthorn 53 Sydney 54 Adelaide 55 St Kilda 56 Melbourne 57 Fremantle 58 Melbourne 59 Hawthorn 60 Collingwood ROUND FIVE 61 Richmond 62 Port Adelaide 63 St Kilda 64 Sydney 65 Fremantle 66 GWS Giants ROUND SEVEN 67 Port Adelaide

And that's Round One done and dusted ... ROUND ONE 1 West Coast Eagles Willem Duursma 193cm Utility VIC 4 West Coast Eagles Cooper Duff-Tytler 201cm Ruck VIC 7 Richmond Sam Cumming 184cm Mid SA 8 Richmond Sam Grlj 182cm Mid VIC 9 Essendon Sullivan Robey 192cm Mid/Fwd VIC 10 Essendon Jacob Farrow 188cm Def/Mid WA 11 Melbourne Xavier Taylor 192cm Def VIC 12 Melbourne Latrelle Pickett 182cm Fwd SA 13 Essendon Dyson Sharp 187cm Mid SA 15 GWS Giants Oskar Taylor 183cm Def VIC 16 North Melbourne Lachy Dovaston 178cm Fwd VIC 19 West Coast Eagles Josh Lindsay 183cm Def/Mid VIC 20 Hawthorn Cameron Nairn 188cm Fwd SA 21 Western Bulldogs Lachie Carmichael 184cm Def NSW 22 Adelaide Mitch Marsh 191cm Fwd SA 23 Hawthorn Aidan Schubert 197cm Fwd SA 24 Geelong Harley Barker 188cm Mid SA 25 Fremantle Adam Sweid 176cm Mid/Fwd VIC

And that's Round One done and dusted ... ROUND ONE 1 West Coast Eagles Willem Duursma 193cm Utility VIC 4 West Coast Eagles Cooper Duff-Tytler 201cm Ruck VIC 7 Richmond Sam Cumming 184cm Mid SA 8 Richmond Sam Grlj 182cm Mid VIC 9 Essendon Sullivan Robey 192cm Mid/Fwd VIC 10 Essendon Jacob Farrow 188cm Def/Mid WA 11 Melbourne Xavier Taylor 192cm Def VIC 12 Melbourne Latrelle Pickett 170cm Fwd SA 13 Essendon Dyson Sharp 187cm Mid SA 15 GWS Giants Oskar Taylor 183cm Def VIC 16 North Melbourne Lachy Dovaston 178cm Fwd VIC 19 West Coast Eagles Josh Lindsay 183cm Def/Mid VIC 20 Hawthorn Cameron Nairn 188cm Fwd SA 21 Western Bulldogs Lachie Carmichael 184cm Def NSW 22 Adelaide Mitch Marsh 191cm Fwd SA 23 Hawthorn Aidan Schubert 197cm Fwd SA 24 Geelong Harley Barker 188cm Mid SA 25 Fremantle Adam Sweid 176cm Mid/Fwd VIC

And that's Round One done and dusted ... ROUND ONE 1 West Coast Eagles Willem Duursma 193cm Utility VIC 4 West Coast Eagles Cooper Duff-Tytler 201cm Ruck VIC 7 Richmond Sam Cumming 184cm Mid SA 8 Richmond Sam Grlj 182cm Mid VIC 9 Essendon Sullivan Robey 192cm Mid/Fwd VIC 10 Essendon Jacob Farrow 188cm Def/Mid WA 11 Melbourne Xavier Taylor 192cm Def VIC 12 Melbourne Latrelle Pickett 182cm Fwd SA 13 Essendon Dyson Sharp 187cm Mid SA 15 GWS Giants Oskar Taylor 183cm Def VIC 16 North Melbourne Lachy Dovaston 178cm Fwd VIC 19 West Coast Eagles Josh Lindsay 183cm Def/Mid VIC 20 Hawthorn Cameron Nairn 188cm Fwd SA 21 Western Bulldogs Lachie Carmichael 184cm Def NSW 22 Adelaide Mitch Marsh 191cm Fwd SA 23 Hawthorn Aidan Schubert 197cm Fwd SA 24 Geelong Harley Barker 188cm Mid SA 25 Fremantle Adam Sweid 176cm Mid/Fwd VIC

Sam Grlj 182cm Mid VIC - now that has made things interesting

Pick 2’s a law student and a paralegal. Can play too!

Well that was a surprise … Duursma. Father and uncle played for us. And a Casey Demons player as well!

Sully Robey’s mother’s uncle is David Allday who played in the ruck for Melbourne. Pity they didn’t invent a great-uncle rule.

We can all relax for a while. I doubt that Melbourne’s first selection will be called out until at least 8.00pm.

People should be aware that Shane McAdam suffered an Achilles injury in February of this year. I'm not an expert but I know of an athlete who took 12 months to recover so it's likely that even if he attends training, he's going to be in the rehab group so it shouldn't be a big deal if he doesn't start till next week.

The Herald Sun today reports on where each club stands ahead of tomorrow’s draft. Here’s the take on the Demons - MELBOURNEPicks: 7, 8, 37, 63, 65 Melbourne has two picks at the top of the order and Cam Nairn is firmly in the Demons’ sights, having received a late invite to night one of the draft. The SA medium forward or winger is highly rated by clubs, offers versatility and is well-rounded with elite endurance and clean hands overhead. WA defender-midfielder Jacob Farrow is also right in contention, with his range set to start at Melbourne’s two picks, while Sam Cumming will be difficult to pass up if Essendon doesn’t pounce first. Eastern Ranges goalsneak Lachy Dovaston will enter draft calculations from Melbourne’s selections onwards, while SA tall Aidan Schubert fills a need as an athletic forward-ruck. The Demons have shown interest in Schubert, but there is a view he slides further. There were also early murmurs Melbourne will partner Kysaiah Pickett with his cousin, Glenelg goalsneak Latrelle Pickett. Melbourne is among the clubs in the 30s who could put bidding pressure on St Kilda for NGA prospect Kye Fincher. Melbourne committed mid-year to taking 201cm developing tall Kalani White, son of Melbourne great Jeff, as a father-son prospect, and he appears unlikely to receive a national draft bid. In that scenario, the Demons could either add him as a rookie or take him with their last national draft pick. The Demons have filled their Category B rookie allotments after selecting college basketballer Oscar Berry, but NGA graduate Toby Sinnema is expected to be a train-on player with the Dees if he isn’t picked as a rookie.

Cal’s Phantom Draft in pictures

I have long been one to shy away from highlight reels so I would suggest that the critics/analysts who have the time catch up with vision of longer pieces of games in which players are involved. It might lead to some reassessment of some of those thoughts. In the meantime, here’s an interesting read about Jacob Farrow that’s been around for a little while but, in light of Cal Twomey’s last draft, I now highly recommend. Aussie Rules Rookie Me CentralFarrow blocks out the noise in golden top-age campaignTop West Australian prospect Jacob Farrow has stormed up draft boards this year, but has remained laser focussed along the way.

It seems that he has a rival …

Aussie Rules Rookie Me Central2025 AFL Draft Preview: MelbourneOn the back of an 11-player turnover, Melbourne once again has the opportunity to make two first round selections at this year's draft.

Never in doubt.

Zero Hanger’s Final Top 40 - lots of trade picks and player nominations (NGA & F/S) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zFloipIadzg ROUND 1 SELECTIONS 1 West Coast Eagles — Willem Duursma 2 Gold Coast Suns — Zeke Uwland * 3 West Coast Eagles — Cooper Duff-Tytler 4 Gold Coast Suns — Dylan Patterson * 5 Richmond — Sullivan Robey 6 Richmond — Sam Grlj 7 Brisbane — Dan Annable * 8 Carlton — Harry Dean * 9 Essendon — Sam Cumming 10 Essendon — Dyson Sharp 11 Melbourne — Xavier Taylor 12 Melbourne — Cam Nairn 13 West Coast Eagles — Jacob Farrow 14 Hawthorn — Oskar Taylor 15 Melbourne — Josh Lindsay 16 GWS Giants — Latrelle Pickett 17 Western Bulldogs — Lachy Dovaston 18 Adelaide — Harley Barker 19 Essendon — Jevan Phillipou 20 Sydney Swans — Harry Kyle * 21 Geelong — Aidan Schubert 22 Essendon — Adam Sweid * 23 Fremantle — Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves 24 Hawthorn — Ollie Greeves ROUND 2 & 3 SELECTIONS 25 North Melbourne — Blake Thredgold 26 Gold Coast Suns — Jai Murray * 27 Carlton — Jack Ison * 28 Collingwood — Zac McCarthy * 29 North Melbourne — Mitch Marsh 30 Sydney Swans — Max King * 31 Western Bulldogs — Marcus Krasnadamskis 32 West Coast Eagles — Tylan Williams * 33 Richmond — Leon Kickett 34 Sydney Swans — Lachy Carmichael * 35 GWS Giants — Archie Ludowyke 36 Gold Coast Suns — Beau Addinsall * 37 West Coast Eagles — Fred Rodriguez 38 Brisbane — Max Kondogiannis 39 St Kilda — Kye Fincher * 40 Collingwood — Jack Dalton * Matched bids They have us trading into a third first round pick (15) which I doubt will happen although it was something I advocated for last year (and might have gotten us a Murphy Reid) but that’s water under the bridge. This year our drafters were somewhat negative about the draft’s strength so I would be surprised if they wanted a third pick in the first round.