Steven Salopek, Louis Salopek, Koby Bewick and Darren Bewick. Pictures: AFL Photos

DARREN Bewick and Steven Salopek have called on the AFL to avoid implementing a draft lockout for early bids and to retain father-son access at all parts of the draft as their sons get closer to following them to the top level.

Koby Bewick and Louis Salopek are both eligible for the draft in 2027 and starred at the Marsh AFL National U16 Boys Championships this year, with the duo winning selection in the All-Australian team. Bewick is eligible to follow two-time flag winner Darren to the Bombers and Salopek qualifies as a father-son at the Power, where Steven played 121 games for the club.

But as the AFL contemplates a restricted early part of the draft where bids cannot be matched on father-sons and Academy players, Bewick said he was set to write to the League to express his concerns at any significant changes as classy midfielder Koby eyes joining the red and black in two years.

“He wants to play for Essendon. All his life that opportunity has been presented to him and he gets into the James Hird Academy and they work with him and he knows what’s going on,” Bewick told AFL.com.au.

“We were talking a few weeks ago and he said ‘Dad, you’re in the last team to play in a premiership at Essendon’. I said ‘Yep’. He said ‘That’d be pretty good if you played in the last one and I played in the next one’.

“He has known through his life if he’s good enough he could go there and obviously he has a few more years to get there but it flattens him a little bit that he doesn’t have that certainty about where he could go now.”

Darren Bewick celebrates Essendon’s win over Melbourne in the 2000 Grand Final. Picture: AFL Photos

Bewick, who played 238 games for the Bombers and retired after the 2000 flag, is familiar with the talent pathway having been a long-term coach of the Eastern Ranges and also at Rowville Secondary College. He said the focus on the father-sons had come as a result of the Daicos and Ashcroft brothers but that they were the exceptions to the norm.

“I’m thinking I’m going to write a letter to the AFL because I just don’t understand how you could come to a decision like that. I reckon it’s great seeing ‘Daics’ (Peter Daicos) jumping up and down because his sons are guns, but one of them was pick 57 so it’s not as if everyone didn’t have a chance to get him,” Bewick said.

“The facts are there’s about four per cent of players in every draft who are father-sons. And half of them don’t go on to play very many games. If you lock out the first round or first 10 or whatever it is, it means if your kid is half-good he might get to the club but if he’s rated higher than that then you can’t get to your father’s club.

“I’d be really disappointed and not just from that romantic point of view, but it’s traditionally been something that has happened for a while. It’s not as if there’s 100 of them running around winning Brownlow after Brownlow.”

Koby Bewick in action during Vic Metro’s clash with Vic Country at the 2025 Marsh AFL National U16 Boys Championships. Picture: AFL Photos

Since 2010, there have been 13 players in 15 drafts picked as father-sons in the first round of the draft: Mitch Wallis, Tom Mitchell, Joe Daniher, Luke McDonald, Darcy Moore, Sam Darcy, Nick Daicos, Will Ashcroft, Jaspa Fletcher, Max Michalanney, Jordan Croft, Will McCabe and Levi Ashcroft.

Salopek is based in Victoria with his family but his children – Louis is the oldest of four kids – are eligible to join the Power.

He said reaching his 100-game milestone, and opening the door to them accessing a list spot as a father-son, was the best achievement of his career at the top level.

“It’s a legacy, that’s how I look at it. It’s my greatest achievement to be able to provide my boys a pathway to get assistance or generate getting to an AFL program. To have that as my greatest achievement to be able to give them has been such a great part of my life and to have that taken away potentially…I don’t know how that sits,” he said.

“Some players have best and fairests, others have All Australians, premierships and Norm Smiths. But the 100 games or whatever I played wasn’t easy to get to, it was a battle, but that is my parting legacy to the boys.”

Steven Salopek in action during Port Adelaide’s clash with Adelaide in round six, 2009. Picture: AFL Photos

Louis Salopek has been a part of the Power’s father-son program despite playing for the Dandenong Stingrays, and also projects as an early pick in 2027.  

“I’m a traditionalist at heart and I use the analogy of what does it look like if Gary Ablett Junior played for West Coast? It doesn’t feel right. I’m getting to the age where I’m seeing players I played with having their kids coming through at the same rate, it probably adds a bit more to it because you want to see them follow in their father’s footsteps,” Steven said.

“[Louis has] always grown up following Port. His first footy jumper was Port Adelaide, he ran out with me for a 100th game so that photo is in his bedroom. One of the highlights of anyone’s career is running out with their kids.”

Steven Salopek and his son Louis before Steven’s 100th AFL game in round six, 2010. Picture: AFL Photos