Arguably the best kicker in this year’s AFL draft class is in-demand, with several clubs assessing whether to take Geelong Falcons star Josh Lindsay with fresh first-round picks.
AFL dreams will come to fruition on Wednesday night when the first round of the 2025 AFL national draft takes place at Marvel Stadium.
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The draft will be staged across two days, beginning with the first round on Wednesday November 19, followed by the rest of the rounds on Thursday November 20. Coverage of both nights begins at 7pm (AEDT), live on Fox Footy — via Foxtel and Kayo Sports.
Between 26 and 29 players are expected to be drafted onto AFL lists on Wednesday, with the compromised nature of the draft leading to the possibility of the first round having more picks than the entire second night.
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Fourteen prospects have received an invite to Marvel Stadium for the first round: Willem Duursma, Zeke Uwland, Harry Dean, Cooper Duff-Tytler, Dylan Patterson, Daniel Annable, Sullivan Robey, Sam Cumming, Xavier Taylor, Sam Grlj, Dyson Sharp, Jacob Farrow, Cameron Nairn and Lachy Dovaston, with the latter two late call-ups.
Duursma (West Coast), Uwland (Gold Coast), Dean (Carlton), Duff-Tytler (West Coast), Patterson (Gold Coast) and Annable (Brisbane) are widely expected to be the first six picks in the draft, with the Eagles and Tigers set to bid on the four club-tied players.
Richmond is weighing up a mix of five players: Robey, Cumming, Taylor, Grlj and Farrow. Whichever player the Tigers select will have a significant bearing on what Essendon and Melbourne do with the next four picks, with the Bombers and Demons looking at a similar group of players.
Lindsay didn’t receive an invite — he’ll be on Zoom watching from home — but has received ample interest from clubs in the middle to late stages of the first round.
A great decision-maker who rarely wastes a disposal with that precise left boot, Lindsay will be in the mix to be taken by Essendon with Pick 9 — the selection the Bombers will receive from Carlton at the start of the night in order to help the Blues match bids on Dean and NGA gun Jack Ison. But the Bombers are said to be also weighing up whether to take Dovaston, mature-age bolter Latrelle Pickett or key forward Aidan Schubert.
Hawthorn (Pick 10) has also been linked to Lindsay. But if the Geelong Grammar product slips through both the Bombers and Hawks, he’ll be strongly considered by North Melbourne, which will also trade with Carlton early on the night and acquire Pick 11. The Kangaroos are considering an array of other players at that selection, including South Australian trio Pickett, Schubert and Blake Thredgold, while some sources believe it’s the latest pick Dovaston would slide to.
The club most strongly linked to Lindsay in the first round over recent weeks has been the Western Bulldogs, who are said to be eyeing a half-back at Pick 14 — hence their interest in Eastern Ranges’ Oskar Taylor and Swans academy prospect Lachlan Carmichael.
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It’s why Geelong (Pick 19) is now seen as a big trade watch, with sources suggesting the Cats would be prepared to move up the order and grab, most likely, Lindsay — the top Geelong Falcons prospect in this year’s crop who reportedly met with Geelong on Monday — ahead of the Bulldogs.
The Giants (Pick 12) are seen as the Cats’ best chance of moving up the order, with the Sydney-based club prepared to listen to offers for its selection if its tier of players at that point in the draft are all off the board. Grlj, Pickett, Oskar Taylor and key forward Archie Ludowyke are the players most commonly linked to the Giants.
Hawthorn’s Pick 10 could be another trade option for Geelong, but seen as a far less likely chance than a Cats-Giants trade as it’s understood the Hawks wouldn’t want to drop down the draft order too far.
Outside of Uwland, Dean, Patterson, Annable and Ison, another five club-tied prospects are being tipped to attract first-round bids: Harry Kyle (Swans academy), Jai Murray (Suns academy), Beau Addinsall (Suns academy), Tylah Williams (Eagles NGA) and Adam Sweid (Bombers (NGA). If the Bulldogs don’t bid on Carmichael, it’s likely he slips to the second round of the draft, while Max King (Swans academy) and Zac McCarthy (Magpies NGA) are also set to attract night two bids.
Outside of Carlton’s trades with Essendon and North Melbourne respectively, the Suns will also acquire later draft selections from the Giants, Crows and Power to boost their draft points tally. But it’ll unlikely be enough to match bids on their top five academy players, should all of them come in the national draft.
Considering the two clubs’ tight points hauls, Gold Coast and Sydney could let Addinsall and Carmichael go to rivals if their bids come earlier than expected. West Coast has been strongly linked to Addinsall with its third pick, where it could also bid on fellow Suns academy midfielder Murray.
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