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While Dean is locked in to join Carlton early in the first round, Schubert\u2019s landing spot remains somewhat unclear.<\/p>\n
Essendon (Picks 5 and 6) is likely where his draft range starts, with the Bombers putting a fair bit of work into the South Australian, who\u2019s also been linked to Melbourne (Picks 7 and 8). But both clubs, according to rivals, are also keen to bolster their midfield stocks at this point in the draft.<\/p>\n
So if Schubert is overlooked there, could Adelaide \u2013 looking at life after Taylor Walker \u2013 pounce? There\u2019s a chance Schubert could still be on the board at the Crows\u2019 natural first-rounder (Pick 16), but they have been eyeing off one of Carlton\u2019s first-round picks and could get him if they traded up.<\/p>\n
Aidan Schubert poses during the Telstra AFL Draft Combine Headshots Session. Picture: Graham Denholm\/AFL Photos\/via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
For what it\u2019s worth, Gawler Central product Schubert isn\u2019t a Crows fan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI go for Port Adelaide,\u201d he told foxfooty.com.au with a laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cMum and Dad, they went for Crows and Hawks and they always wanted me to go for their teams. But I couldn\u2019t choose one, so I went for my own in Port.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also a scenario, according to sources, where Schubert is still on the board by the time Essendon picks again .<\/p>\n
No matter how proceedings pan out, the club that lands Schubert will be acquiring a 198cm young gun with big upside at AFL level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was after the national champs where I thought: \u2018Yeah, I\u2019m actually a real chance to live out the childhood dream.\u2019 Ever since then and now coming to the combine, it\u2019s really starting to kick in that (I\u2019m a) big chance now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Schubert said he\u2019d only spoken \u201cto two or three clubs\u201d prior to this year\u2019s Under 18s carnival. He said he \u201cprobably wasn\u2019t rated anywhere high \u2026 I was just on the edge, maybe, of I could get drafted\u201d.<\/p>\n
Then he produced four quality matches on the national stage that changed everything.<\/p>\n
Aidan Schubert celebrates a goal for South Australia.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Schubert was a constant forward-half presence, kicking 10 goals for the carnival \u2014 ranked second behind teammate Mitch Marsh. He also racked up 21 and 19 disposals respectively in his final two SA games, showing off his ability to win the ball around the ground as a second ruck. <\/p>\n
He finished fourth in the Larke Medal voting and earned All Australian honours.<\/p>\n
Schubert said he put his improved fortunes down to two significant off-field moves.<\/p>\n
He credited ex-Crows and Kangaroos assistant coach Heath Younie \u2013 the SANFL\u2019s Head of Development and Under 18s assistant coach \u2013 for guiding him through a thorough review process. The paid, according to Schubert, \u201chad clear focus of what I had to do each week and what I could focus on\u201d.<\/p>\n
Secondly, Schubert reached out to a sports psychologist prior to champs, to help him \u201cfocus mentally and not overthink too much\u201d.<\/p>\n
The moves paid dividends.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always thought: \u2018My opportunity will come. I\u2019ve only got four games to show, but my opportunities are going to come.\u2019 So it was just waiting for the opportunities and, when they come, making sure I\u2019m taking the most of them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a consistent four games, I left everything out there and then when I got All-Australian, that also changed my thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aidan Schubert of South Australia. Picture: Jason McCawley\/AFL Photos\/via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
It also set Schubert up for a strong finish to his draft year.<\/p>\n
He was a powerful presence at SANFL Under 18s level, kicking 28 goals and averaging 19.2 disposals, 7.5 marks and 4.4 clearances from 13 matches to win the comp MVP Award.<\/p>\n
But Schubert\u2019s big goal was to get a taste of league footy.<\/p>\n
Schubert approached Central District league coach Paul Thomas six weeks out from finals, asking him if he had a chance to play at top state level. The initial response wasn\u2019t what Schubert wanted to hear.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said I had a few things to work on and wasn\u2019t ready for the level yet,\u201d Schubert said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA little bit with my leading patterns, just needed fine tuning a bit was the major one.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the six weeks I had, I wanted to try and prove him wrong. I feel like I played some good footy after that and played with a bit of freedom. I wanted to have fun with my footy for the last few weeks junior footy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five stunning matches for the club\u2019s Under 18s team led to an impressive reserves debut where he booted 3.1 from 14 disposals, six marks and 14 hit-outs against Glenelg.<\/p>\n
Aidan Schubert during the 2025 SANFL Elimination Final between Central District and Norwood at Adelaide Oval. Picture: James Elsby\/SANFLSource: Supplied<\/p>\n
Coach Thomas had seen enough.<\/p>\n
Schubert as picked to make his league debut for Central District \u2026 in a final.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he (Thomas) rang me Monday, it was a great, great feeling. It felt really cool,\u201d Schubert said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo go out there and, I wouldn\u2019t say I performed \u2013 kicked a nice goal \u2013 but I was led by some like pretty good leaders like Kyle Presbury, as well as Aiden Grace in the forward line who helped me a lot and directed me where to go because I was a little unsure at times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schubert is a key forward-second ruck who should suit the AFL system with his excellent mobility, aerobic capacity, competitiveness and ground-level cleanliness.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel I have a good work rate, so when I\u2019m in the ruck I like to really work my opposition ruck around the ground and win some of my own footy. I feel like I\u2019m a good contested mark, kick goals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I watch games of footy, I like to take a bit off every key forward because they\u2019re all different. But mainly, I like watching Shannon Neale. I feel like at the next level, I have some similarities to him, so I like watching a lot of how he plays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schubert was mightily impressive in the 2km time trial at the national combine last month, covering the distance in 6:21 \u2013 ranked equal-eighth.<\/p>\n
The foundation for his excellent aerobic base was set 12 months ago when he embarked on a relentless running program.<\/p>\n
Aidan Schubert of Central District. Picture: James Elsby\/SANFLSource: Supplied<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been, I\u2019d say, average to good at running. I\u2019ve competed in school cross country events and stuff like that, but at the start of this year I really wanted to make it something where I could stand out from the rest of the key forwards in the crop,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really put a lot of time into it. In the pre-season, that\u2019s something you can really control and you can really own. So I wanted to really make that elite, which I think I\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really focusing on doing everything to the best of my ability and getting everything out of every session, leaving everything out on the park. <\/p>\n
\u201cI always did 5km runs \u2013 because the 2km (time trials), they can be a lot mentally. So if I\u2019ve gone into a 2km knowing I\u2019ve done lots of 5ks, that helped mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schubert said he knows he must hit the gym to become stronger to be a force at AFL level. But with patience and a natural fortitude, he can have an impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like mentally, I\u2019ve been able to take a couple strides this year and gotten better at that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhysically, I think I\u2019ll just take time. I\u2019m prepared to put in the work, I\u2019m prepared to work hard. I\u2019ll get bigger as time goes on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m prepared to enter the AFL environment if I get the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arguably the two biggest bolters off the back of the national championships ultimately turned into the two highest-rated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287245,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[9126,638,3531,12259,24164,64,2347,63,689,55,165658,639,3423,161647,61785,165672,165663,3474,161661,32121,165670,2105,3527,2536,165659,165662,165671,15695,165660,165667,83080,39212,165664,18092,3453,161665,165665,677,147202,165669,6082,165673,29962,16694,165675,1124,85,16702,165661,165666,165668,3485,165674,15630,9020],"class_list":["post-287244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-adelaide-crows","tag-afl","tag-aidan-schubert","tag-andrew-dillon","tag-assistant-coach","tag-au","tag-august","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australian-honours","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-brilliant-campaign","tag-childhood-dream","tag-country-events","tag-curious-draft","tag-draft-class","tag-draft-range-starts","tag-elimination-final","tag-first-round-calculations","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-ground-level-cleanliness","tag-harry-dean","tag-heath-younie","tag-highest-rated-key-position-prospects","tag-impressive-reserves-debut","tag-jason-mccawley","tag-key-forward-second-ruck","tag-kyle-presbury","tag-landing-spot","tag-league-debut","tag-league-footy","tag-midfield-stocks","tag-mitch-marsh","tag-natural-first-rounder","tag-natural-fortitude","tag-oceania","tag-opposition-ruck","tag-paul-thomas","tag-port-adelaide","tag-quality-matches","tag-rapid-rise","tag-real-chance","tag-relentless-running-program","tag-south-australia","tag-sports","tag-taylor-walker","tag-thorough-review-process","tag-time-trials","tag-top-state-level","tag-vic-country","tag-weeks-junior-footy","tag-work-rate","tag-young-gun"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}