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Almost half of this year’s AFL draft combine invitees are from Victoria, headlined by potential top-10 picks Willem Duursma, Cooper Duff-Tytler, Harry Dean, Josh Lindsay and Oliver Greeves.
The league has handpicked 64 prospects from across the country – including 19 from Victoria Metro’s national under-18 championships squad, and nine Victoria Country representatives – to attend the combine in Melbourne from October 3 to 5.
Zeke Uwland is the younger brother of Suns gun, Bodhi.Credit: Getty Images
Gippsland Power midfielder Duursma is the latest AFL/W prospect from his family, behind siblings Xavier (Essendon), Yasmin (Carlton) and Zane (North Melbourne), and is a genuine contender to be the No.1 pick.
Dean is the son of dual Carlton premiership player Peter and eligible to join the Blues as a father-son selection. Like his father, the 17-year-old is a key defender and his strong championships form means Carlton will almost certainly have to match an early bid for him.
The early favourite to be this year’s No.1 selection is classy Gold Coast academy product Zeke Uwland, brother of current Sun Bodhi.
Uwland, who is likened to Sydney star Errol Gulden, missed this year’s championships recovering from a back stress fracture, but was an under-18 All-Australian in 2024 and made his return in the VFL last weekend.
Another Gold Coast academy prospect, speedster Dylan Patterson, is also headed to the combine and a potential top-five selection, so the Suns are poised to add two more top-line teenagers to their emerging list.
After securing father-son pair Will and Levi Ashcroft in recent years, the Brisbane Lions are set to add another blue-chip midfielder, Daniel Annable, who finished equal-second with Victoria Metro’s Greeves behind South Australian onballer Dyson Sharp for the Larke Medal at the championships.
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Sharp is one of 14 players from South Australia’s title-winning squad who scored an invitation to the combine, including Mitch Marsh, Sam Cumming, Aidan Schubert and Harley Barker, who could all be top-20 choices.
Other interesting names among the South Australian invitees are Louis Kellaway, son of 180-game Tiger Duncan; Jevan Phillipou, brother of Saint Mattaes; and Noah Roberts-Thomson, cousin of two-time premiership Swan Lewis.
Another Darcy could be on the way to the Western Bulldogs, too, with 197-centimetre defender Will Darcy to attend the combine as well.
Willem Duursma is the younger brother of Xavier (Essendon), Yasmin (Carlton AFLW), and Zane (North Melbourne).Credit: AFL Photos
Forward-ruck Taj Murray is the sole Northern Territory footballer on the list but shows great promise and is a potential top-30 pick, while medium-sized defender Avery Thomas is Tasmania’s representative.
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Four of the five players on the list from NSW/ACT are Sydney Swans academy prospects: Max King, Harry Kyle, Lachlan Carmichael and Noah Chamberlain.
Seven Western Australians made the cut, with Jacob Farrow, Sam Swadling and Fred Rodriguez among the names to watch. Also in that group is key forward Cody Curtin, younger brother of Adelaide rising star Daniel.
The combine selections are based on nominations from AFL recruiters, with each club putting forward up to 50 prospects.
The first 25 invitations have also been sent out for the state combines. That list includes father-son prospects Tom McGuane (Collingwood’s Mick) and Kalani White (Melbourne’s Jeff). White is also eligible for Gold Coast as an academy player.
At the draft combine, prospects are put through a battery of athletic testing, including a 20-metre sprint, two-kilometre time trial and standing vertical jump, while they are also quizzed by recruiting teams.
The 2025 AFL draft will be held over two nights from November 19-20 at Marvel Stadium.
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