![\"Marc](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792461255_178_1fd9e8feb443a3c0e7ff1305e00989af6ff0ed64.png\")
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October 20, 2026 \u2014 11:00am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n No gift articles left<\/p>\n You’ve used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.<\/p>\n Close<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Wil Malady will be drafted into the AFL next month.<\/p>\n Most prognosticators expect the jack-in-the-box forward, who boasts some of the best aerial highlights of any prospect in this year\u2019s class, to be gone inside the first 15 picks.<\/p>\n The AFL academy member has long arms, a big leap, and ran the 20-metre sprint at the draft combine in a blink-of-the-eye 2.9 seconds. Malady\u2019s aunty also happens to be Nicki Malady, Richmond\u2019s media boss.<\/p>\n Yet not that long ago, the country boy from Bairnsdale had to resort to begging to land a scholarship at Caulfield Grammar.<\/p>\n Malady previously aborted his plans to relocate to Melbourne for school \u2013 privately conceding he was not ready to move 280 kilometres away from family \u2013 but a standout performance at the AFL under-16 championships on the Gold Coast two years ago stoked the fire again.<\/p>\n He returned home as an All-Australian after being the hero in Victoria Country\u2019s under-16 title win, and told his parents he wanted to apply.<\/p>\n Football was a key driver in Malady\u2019s decision, but he also wanted to prioritise his schooling, given he was weighing up dropping out to be an apprentice electrician if he stayed home.<\/p>\n The problem was the scholarship deadlines had long since passed.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the applications were closed for scholarships, so I sat down and wrote these rogue emails, with spelling mistakes everywhere. It was horrible,\u201d Malady told this masthead, laughing.<\/p>\n Editor’s pick \u201cI sent one to Dad, and he\u2019s like, \u2018You\u2019ve got to fix all this\u2019. I was like, \u2018It\u2019s too late. It\u2019s already sent\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI wrote heaps of emails to all the boarding schools in the APS. I was lucky enough that a few got back to me, which were Melbourne Grammar, Scotch [College], and then Caulfield.\u201d<\/p>\n Fortunately for Malady, those schools found his mistakes charming.<\/p>\n Staff at each of the three institutions rang his dad and cheerily told him it was abundantly obvious that his son\u2019s email was authentic and sincere.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wrote that I was a country boy from Bairnsdale, and I wanted to play footy and better my schooling,\u201d Malady said. \u201cThey rang Dad and were like, \u2018We can tell this kid\u2019s written it. There\u2019s no AI \u2013 it\u2019s truly from the heart\u2019, which was pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n After all that, he never met with Melbourne Grammar, and Scotch College pulled out, but Caulfield Grammar came to the party.<\/p>\n Fellow Gippsland Power rising star Marlon Neocleous went to Caulfield, too, which helped Malady\u2019s transition as a boarder, and he never looked back.<\/p>\n It meant more travel at times, but that is nothing new for Malady or many of his Power teammates.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cIt\u2019s crazy. To get to \u2018Gippy\u2019 training when I was back home [in Bairnsdale], it was almost two hours,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d leave school at 3.15, bus it down [to Morwell], get back at 10, sleep, get up the next morning, and go to school. It was a struggle, but Mum and Dad helped a lot and would sometimes pick me up instead of me going on the bus that goes through all the towns.<\/p>\n \u201cMaking the AFL is my dream, so it was all worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n Malady played only seven matches for Gippsland this past season, but kicked 18 goals, including five in the Power\u2019s drought-busting grand final triumph over the Dandenong Stingrays, the same opponent they beat for their inaugural premiership 21 years earlier.<\/p>\n The Power were coached by Kris Pendlebury, brother of AFL games record-holder Scott.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a massive day,\u201d Malady said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe build-up was crazy, and then game day came around and nerves were high, but after a bit of a slow start, everything clicked and came together. I was lucky enough to kick five in the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n Malady\u2019s athleticism, rangy frame and marking ability often see him likened to Carlton forward Will Hayward or Geelong\u2019s All-Australian winger Ollie Dempsey, who Malady has studied closely this year. Hawk Jack Gunston is another star he looks up to.<\/p>\n Related Article Recruiters mostly view 193-centimetre Malady as a forward, but believe he could also be effective on a wing or even at half-back.<\/p>\n The 18-year-old\u2019s marking ability will be an asset in any of those roles.<\/p>\n It was on display for Victoria Country at the national championships, including one acrobatic leap against Western Australia on the wing. Malady followed up with an even better one in the APS grand final.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ball was put up high, and I had a free path in front of me, jumped, and he sat underneath it, so I got a good ride,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty good when you bring them down. It\u2019s a bit annoying when you\u2019re up there and hold it all away, then you get to the ground and drop it \u2013 but I love taking a big hanger.\u201d<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Wil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f4d8d550ddd79ef01a18e36e9e3df1482c5b761c.jpeg\")
Wil Malady is tipped to be a first-round selection at next month\u2019s AFL draft.via Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"AFL](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/7e1f99a72297b87f18fb2d3b324ef9c593e8d5d2ee51c11a14f2ab0efcb87c87.gif\")
AFL draft hopeful Wil Malady takes a strong mark playing in the APS grand final for Caulfield Grammar. TikTok<\/p>\n![\"Draft](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792461261_156_7eca05b451e0e1e2ee3ccdcee5cb27e5081dc28303b44b26b5af78191c66a768.jpeg\")
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Malady\u2019s athleticism is one of his key appeals to recruiters.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Cody](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/c813c7620e2bc91ef745f1d97c5bb97f71796d43.jpeg\")
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Malady, left, kicked five goals in Gippsland Power\u2019s Talent League grand final win.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792461264_510_9fffc1812841d9f51f8659e4e945b6dd429ed637.jpeg\")
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