Melbourne’s Parade College looks set to have as many as five players drafted to the AFL this year as students from private schools again dominate draft rankings.
An analysis of the schools attended by 70 top draft prospects found the Bundoora-based Parade College was the most represented school in the country.
Sam Gayfer, Toby Krasna, Harvie Cooke, Lewis Houndsome and Kai Parker have all attended the school and were all invited to the AFL national draft combine as likely selections.
Previous Parade College graduates to have made their names in the AFL include Trent Cotchin, Ben Johnson, Paul Licuria, Blake Caracella, Daniel Harford, Jade Gresham and Nate Caddy.
But Parade College isn’t the only school with at least a few players firmly in draft calculations.
Adelaide’s Prince Alfred College has four players in the mix – Mitchell Harris, Jack Slattery, Anthony Long and Sam Tassone.
Melbourne’s Brighton Grammar had three players – including top-five prospect and school captain Arki Butler.
Butler kicked 8.7 from 33 disposals in one school football game mid-year.
“I think it’s probably the best game we played,” Butler said.
“We had a pretty good team this year and we had some good midfielders. I played a little bit more forward that day and was able to get on the end of a couple after some good delivery from the boys. If I could have kicked straight, it might have been a little bit better.”
Top-30 draft prospects Wil Malady and Marlon Neocleous have both been boarders at Caulfield Grammar, where former Geelong star Jimmy Bartel serves as head of football.
“Having Jimmy has been awesome,” said Neocleous, who hails from Traralgon.
“I catch up with him every now and then, once a week really. There are even times where the gym’s not open and he just sat in the gym and let me do my work. Just having him there, he’s always there to have a chat. If it’s footy, if it’s not, if it’s school, he’s just always there, which has been awesome.”
Carlton father-son prospect Cody Walker finished school at St Joseph’s College in Echuca last year, where he used to bump into 2023 No. 1 draft pick Harley Reid in the corridors.
Fellow top-five prospect Ethan Drever is set to join a long list of graduates from Ballarat’s St Patrick’s College who have made their way to the AFL.
The school has helped produce more than 120 AFL players, including two of the past four No. 1 picks in Aaron Cadman (2022) and Sam Lalor (2024).
“St. Pat’s has been awesome for me,” Drever said.
“I’ve got a lot of strong relationships at St. Pats, with the teachers as well. So it’s been a good journey through. There’s been a lot of good footy players come from St. Pat’s. It’s got a pretty rich history of AFL players, so hopefully I can add to that list.”