It was the burning question the AFL industry – most notably Eagles fans – were most keen to hear answered by star Victorian draft prospects Willem Duursma and Cooper Duff-Tytler.
How prepared were they for the prospect of playing for a non-Victorian AFL club?
They were both asked the question at October’s national draft combine, just as it was emerging Duursma and Duff-Tytler were the hot favourites to join West Coast with the club’s first two national draft picks.
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Foster product Duursma – the fourth sibling in his family to join the AFL/AFLW ranks after Willem (Essendon), Yasmin (Carlton) and Zane (North Melbourne) – came loaded with a gag.
“It would be a nice thing to happen, it’d be nice to live over there. It’s pretty cruisy, nice and warm. Hopefully I can get a tan up if I move over there!” he told foxfooty.com.au with a laugh.
“I think I like the idea of WA. And so as a country boy, you’re going to move regardless, so I’m just happy to be wherever to be honest.”
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No. 1 Draft Prospect Willem Duursma with his parents Dean and Susie. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia
Calder Cannons star Duff-Tytler – an Australian junior basketball rep who turned into one of the best ruck-forward draft prospects of this decade – was a little more diplomatic, yet realistic, about leaving his home state.
“It’s always been my dream to AFL and I’m happy to do whatever it takes to get there. Whether that’s moving interstate, I’m happy to do that,” Duff-Tytler told foxfooty.com.au.
“It might be a little bit tough at first being away from family and stuff. But once you get over there and in the club and meeting the boys, I’m sure I’ll love it.”
And we’re sure Eagles fans will love him and Duursma, who are both set to join the Eagles on Wednesday night at the national draft.
West Coast is expected to take Duursma – a silky 191cm utility with an elite kick, great lateral movement and the versatility to play in any third on the field – at Pick 1 – a decision many of his peers agree with.
“I think it’s pretty clear-cut now,” Oakleigh Chargers star Sam Grlj told foxfooty.com.au of Duursma.
“He’s just played some really good footy this year, he’s a really quality player with some really good attributes and can play anywhere on the ground – I think that’s something that’s really exciting. He’s 190cm and moves really well, so I think he’ll be a real player.”
Willem Duursma of the Gippsland Power. Picture: Craig Dooley/AFL PhotosSource: Herald Sun
Eastern Ranges bolter Sullivan Robey, who lined up on Duursma in his first Coates Talent League match, said the Gippsland Power star had “all the skillsets you need” in an AFL player and predicted he’d “have a 300-game career”. Suns academy gun Dylan Patterson dubbed Duursma “an athletic freak”, adding: “Sometimes you just need someone like that to be entertaining, be able to do some crazy things — and he’s the type of person who can do some crazy things.”
Asked about the prospect of being taken with the first selection in the draft, Duursma said: “Obviously it would be really nice to go Pick 1 and have that accolade. But to be fair, to me at the end of the day as a person, I don’t really care too much about it. All I really care about is just get the opportunity to be in a club and just show what I’m about.”
After taking Duursma, the Eagles should launch bids on club-tied prospects Zeke Uwland (Gold Coast) and Harry Dean (Carlton), with the Suns and Blues to respectively match.
The Eagles are then set to draft Duff-Tytler in what will, ultimately, be Pick 4.
But for some clubs – and fellow draft prospects – Duff-Tytler is the best player in this year’s pool.
“He’s such a special talent, he’s such a special human, like such a great bloke,” Cannons teammate Adam Sweid told foxfooty.com.au of Duff-Tytler.
AFL Draft Prospect Cooper Duff-Tytler. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia
“He runs better than a midfielder at times, he’s cleaner than midfielders – and he’s six-foot eight. He can do things that not many tall players can do.”
Eastern Ranges small forward Lachy Dovaston said Duff-Tytler was “a midfielder who plays ruck but can also play forward”, adding: “At Metro and even in his VFL game, he showed he can play out of the square and take some good marks and kick some goals. He’s a bit of an all-rounder.
Duff-Tytler came into his draft year as a top-five prospect and will ultimately end it as a top-five prospect.
A potential AFL unicorn at 200cm, Duff-Tytler has impressed draft watchers with his unique athleticism, aerial ability, competitiveness, speed, strong overhead marking skills and cleanliness with ball in hand, especially below his knees for a player of his size. Crucially, he can play as an extra midfielder around the ground, prompting recruiters to draw comparison to gun rucks like Luke Jackson and Tim English.
He showed off his freakish athleticism at the national combine, finishing eighth in both the 2km time trial (6:21) and 20m sprint (2.922 seconds).
Whether it was for his Coates Talent League team (Calder Cannons), school (PEGS), AFL Academy or his VFL cameo, Duff-Tytler showed off his high-end talent at every level in 2025.
“In your top-age year, you go between a few different programs, so it was sometimes tough. But I just wanted to try and stick to my strengths and continually sharpen whatever team I was playing for,” he said.
Cooper Duff-Tytler at the CDG Sports Management pre-draft training session. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia
“I was very lucky that all five programs were very welcoming and fully embraced me as a person and footballer, which made it pretty easy. They allowed me to go out there and focus on doing what I do well.”
Duff-Tytler’s Bombers VFL cameo was arguably his most eye-catching performance of 2025, booting 3.2 from 13 touches against the Sandringham Zebras in an impressive display of forward 50 craft.
“It was a bit different. Just the speed of the game and how quickly you’ve got to react to what happens up the field, it was definitely a step up from the junior ranks. But Essendon were really good and supported me on the day,” he said.
“I was lucky to get on the end of a few and we got a good win. I think the gamestyle suited me, just being able to run without the density rules of the junior footy. So being able to run further up the ground and use my tank to try and lose my opponent and work back to goal, I think that style suited me probably more than the juniors.”
Duursma, by his own admission, had an “up and down” start to his 2025 campaign before finding consistency midway through the season.
Asked why he found his groove after a patchy start to the year, Duursma said: “It was a pretty big mindset change for me.
“Going into the year, I had a pretty fixed mindset on just being full-time midfield and just wanting to be midfield only. Then I started to realise that sometimes I don’t have to be always in the midfield to have a big impact for my team. Because that’s all I really care about: I just want to win and have a really big impact for my team.
Willem Duursma of Victoria Country. Picture: Paul Kane/AFL Photos/via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
“It was after the GWV Rebels game, where I just got taken out of the midfield again and I was a bit unhappy. I think I realised that week that I don’t have to be playing in the midfield to have the big impact.
“After I realised that, I rolled into nationals and then after the nationals, I just kept going. I started to play some really dominant footy.”
Duff-Tytler said he “played my best footy in the ruck this year”, but understood he would likely have to begin his AFL career in a 50m arc.
“When I go in (to AFL level), it’ll be as a forward or even a backman to start with if the coach sees fit. You don’t really see any 18-year-old rucks in the AFL, so I’m very open to that … I played back all my juniors until I was about 16,” he said.
“I’m excited as to what I can become at the next level. Mentally, I’m ready to go into that environment and try and get the best out myself. Physically, I’ve still got a lot of development left, but I feel like my strengths will stand up in the AFL and I can have an impact.”
Duursma, too, believes he has “a little bit more developing to do” but was mentally “ready for that next step up” – to the point where he wants to play Round 1 next AFL season.
“I think as soon as I get to a club, I think it’ll be a goal of mine to just play as many games as possible next year and just have as big an impact as I can for the club immediately. I just want to get in there and get cracking,” he said.