With the 2025 AFL Draft reaching a conclusion on Thursday night, seeing a total of 60 selections made, clubs now turn their attention to Friday’s recruitment mechanisms.
The Rookie Draft will take place from approximately 3:20pm (AEDT) along with the Pre-Season Draft, while clubs have the power to lodge paperwork and automatically list category B rookies in the morning for the appropriate players they have priority access to.
The Pre-Season Draft isn’t expected to include many clubs, with Adelaide’s anticipated addition of Callum Ah Chee the headline.
The Rookie Draft is set to feature a handful of clubs, who each possess varying list vacancies as teams weigh up selecting the best names not selected at the National Draft.
Among the confirmed selections for the Rookie Draft are: Tyler Welsh (Adelaide), Lincoln McCarthy (Brisbane), George Stevens (Geelong), Keighton Matofai-Forbes (Geelong), Ben Jepson (Gold Coast), Conor Stone (GWS), Patrick Said (St Kilda), Dane Rampe (Sydney) and Jake Lloyd (Sydney). Other clubs with earlier selections do have the ability to select these players, however.
Geelong have a third rookie spot open and will assess their options when the count opens on Friday, with Hawthorn, Melbourne, West Coast, Collingwood and Port Adelaide also set to consider their options.
The Magpies have just one rookie spot and will consider father-son talent Tom McGuane and NGA prospect Jai Saxena with that pick, as well as the open pool.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 28: Thomas McGuane of Team Heppell looks to pass the ball during the Marsh AFL National Futures Boys match between Team Heppell and Team Sloane at Melbourne Cricket Ground, on September 28, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)
Melbourne have access to father-son Kalani White, and West Coast have ties to NGA talent Wes Walley as a likely category B listing.
The Eagles have a category A list spot to open the Rookie Draft, but could hold that selection over for the Supplemental Selection Period. They’re anticipated to sign ex-AFL trio Deven Robertson, Harry Schoenberg and Finaly Macrae through that window when it opens on Monday.
Fremantle too will use the SSP, signing Collingwood premiership ruckman Mason Cox to bolster their ruck list. The Dockers will also list NGA duo Ryda Luke and Toby Whan as category B rookies on Friday.
GWS will also list Academy graduate Riley Hamilton as a category B addition after taking Jake Stringer in the National Draft on Thursday.
Gelong have access to NGA pair Jesse Mellor and Ben Rongdit, with the former seen as a likely list addition.
After not taking a single selection at the AFL Draft, Port Adelaide have decided to upgrade Logan Evans to their primary list. The Power will have three rookie spots open for 2026, and will consider both the Rookie Draft and SSP for those vacancies.
Logan Evans of the Port Adelaide Power in 2024 (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos)
Carlton, too, have a single rookie list spot to fill, but will instead hold that for the SSP.
The Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne are not expected to be active on Friday.
A host of overlooked AFL Draft prospects will come into consideration for clubs with list spots, with highly-rated contingent Ollie Greeves, Marcus Krasnadamskis, Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves, Liam Hetherton, Rory Wright, Leon Kickett, Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier and Fred Rodriguez potentially earning selections.
Richmond father-son Louis Kellaway is another name that will come into consideration, with the Tigers’ busy conclusion to the draft leaving some uncertainty surrounding the South Australian.