When to expect trades and how bids work<\/a><\/p>\nNo. 1 Draft Prospect Willem Duursma with his parents Dean and Susie. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
Calder Cannons star Duff-Tytler \u2013 an Australian junior basketball rep who turned into one of the best ruck-forward draft prospects of this decade \u2013 was a little more diplomatic, yet realistic, about leaving his home state.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always been my dream to AFL and I\u2019m happy to do whatever it takes to get there. Whether that\u2019s moving interstate, I\u2019m happy to do that,\u201d Duff-Tytler told foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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\u2019m sure I\u2019ll love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
And we\u2019re sure Eagles fans will love him and Duursma, who are both set to join the Eagles on Wednesday night at the national draft.<\/p>\n
West Coast is expected to take Duursma \u2013 a silky 191cm utility with an elite kick, great lateral movement and the versatility to play in any third on the field \u2013 at Pick 1 \u2013 a decision many of his peers agree with.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s pretty clear-cut now,\u201d Oakleigh Chargers star Sam Grlj told foxfooty.com.au of Duursma.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just played some really good footy this year, he\u2019s a really quality player with some really good attributes and can play anywhere on the ground \u2013 I think that\u2019s something that\u2019s really exciting. He\u2019s 190cm and moves really well, so I think he\u2019ll be a real player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Willem Duursma of the Gippsland Power. Picture: Craig Dooley\/AFL PhotosSource: Herald Sun<\/p>\n
Eastern Ranges bolter Sullivan Robey, who lined up on Duursma in his first Coates Talent League match, said the Gippsland Power star had \u201call the skillsets you need\u201d in an AFL player and predicted he\u2019d \u201chave a 300-game career\u201d. Suns academy gun Dylan Patterson dubbed Duursma \u201can athletic freak\u201d, adding: \u201cSometimes you just need someone like that to be entertaining, be able to do some crazy things \u2014 and he\u2019s the type of person who can do some crazy things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about the prospect of being taken with the first selection in the draft, Duursma said: \u201cObviously 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\u2019t 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\u2019m about.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Eagles are then set to draft Duff-Tytler in what will, ultimately, be Pick 4.<\/p>\n
But for some clubs \u2013 and fellow draft prospects \u2013 Duff-Tytler is the best player in this year\u2019s pool.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s such a special talent, he\u2019s such a special human, like such a great bloke,\u201d Cannons teammate Adam Sweid told foxfooty.com.au of Duff-Tytler.<\/p>\n
AFL Draft Prospect Cooper Duff-Tytler. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
\u201cHe runs better than a midfielder at times, he\u2019s cleaner than midfielders \u2013 and he\u2019s six-foot eight. He can do things that not many tall players can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eastern Ranges small forward Lachy Dovaston said Duff-Tytler was \u201ca midfielder who plays ruck but can also play forward\u201d, adding: \u201cAt 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\u2019s a bit of an all-rounder.<\/p>\n
Duff-Tytler came into his draft year as a top-five prospect and will ultimately end it as a top-five prospect. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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). <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Cooper Duff-Tytler at the CDG Sports Management pre-draft training session. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duff-Tytler\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a bit different. Just the speed of the game and how quickly you\u2019ve 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duursma, by his own admission, had an \u201cup and down\u201d start to his 2025 campaign before finding consistency midway through the season.<\/p>\n
Asked why he found his groove after a patchy start to the year, Duursma said: \u201cIt was a pretty big mindset change for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing 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\u2019t have to be always in the midfield to have a big impact for my team. Because that\u2019s all I really care about: I just want to win and have a really big impact for my team.<\/p>\n
Willem Duursma of Victoria Country. Picture: Paul Kane\/AFL Photos\/via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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\u2019t have to be playing in the midfield to have the big impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter I realised that, I rolled into nationals and then after the nationals, I just kept going. I started to play some really dominant footy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duff-Tytler said he \u201cplayed my best footy in the ruck this year\u201d, but understood he would likely have to begin his AFL career in a 50m arc.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I go in (to AFL level), it\u2019ll be as a forward or even a backman to start with if the coach sees fit. You don\u2019t really see any 18-year-old rucks in the AFL, so I\u2019m very open to that \u2026 I played back all my juniors until I was about 16,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited as to what I can become at the next level. Mentally, I\u2019m ready to go into that environment and try and get the best out myself. Physically, I\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duursma, too, believes he has \u201ca little bit more developing to do\u201d but was mentally \u201cready for that next step up\u201d \u2013 to the point where he wants to play Round 1 next AFL season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think as soon as I get to a club, I think it\u2019ll 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was the burning question the AFL industry \u2013 most notably Eagles fans \u2013 were most keen to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294299,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[3484,3437,64,63,689,3449,169043,25584,3423,3526,3434,169041,93797,134629,169044,169042,169039,93812,3451,168476,139160,2105,3420,2485,2536,35808,169038,150056,84699,134316,19276,3415,15626,33348,169040,3436,677,3473,167482,68832,701,134638,169045,134632,63405,85,51349,134631,169046,3482,7067],"class_list":["post-294298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-adam-sweid","tag-aerial-ability","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league-academy","tag-australian-junior-basketball","tag-being-able","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-calder-cannons","tag-cooper-duff-tytler","tag-country-boy","tag-craig-dooley","tag-crazy-things","tag-density-rules","tag-dominant-footy","tag-draft-prospect-willem-duursma","tag-draft-prospects","tag-dylan-patterson","tag-father-son-rules","tag-fellow-draft-prospects","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-gippsland-power","tag-gold-coast","tag-harry-dean","tag-home-state","tag-junior-basketball-rep","tag-junior-footy","tag-junior-ranks","tag-kevin-sheehan","tag-lachy-dovaston","tag-lateral-movement","tag-luke-jackson","tag-national-draft","tag-national-draft-picks","tag-oakleigh-chargers","tag-oceania","tag-paul-kane","tag-pre-draft-training-session","tag-quality-player","tag-queensland","tag-real-player","tag-ruck-forward-draft-prospects","tag-special-human","tag-special-talent","tag-sports","tag-state-of-play","tag-suns-academy-gun","tag-top-five-prospect","tag-victoria-country","tag-west-coast-eagles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294298","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=294298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}