The goal at the start of this exercise was to identify the top 15 prospects to watch at this year’s AFL under-18 championships, which begin on Sunday and runs until July 20.
One rising star who would have featured in that group is No.1 pick contender and Gold Coast academy product Zeke Uwland, but he is nursing a stress fracture in his back and almost certainly won’t feature for the Allies.
Sam Grlj, Dylan Patterson and Daniel Annable are among the top prospects for the 2025 AFL draft.Credit: AFL Photos
The other problem with reaching 15, particularly once you filter it to players considered first-round “locks”, is the recruiters The Age spoke to still have question marks about a considerable number of players on the fringes. Instead, we ended up with a consensus for this class that stopped at 11, or 12 with Uwland.
However, as AFL talent guru Kevin “Shifter” Sheehan points out, this championships and the rest of the year are about finding roughly 70 draftable prospects – not just those at the pointy end.
Other players who came up were Beau Addinsall, Rory Wright, Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves, Noah Chamberlain, Riley Onley, Zac McCarthy, Cody Curtin and Noah Roberts-Thomson, while father-son prospects to track include Harry Dean, Tom McGuane, Kalani White, Louis Kellaway, Charlie Banfield and Mitch Stevens.
Daniel Annable
Mr Reliable. The consistent word from recruiters is that the margin between Annable’s best and worst is smaller any player in this class. He is headed to the Lions as a potential top-three pick, unless he unjustifiably slips like past academy prospects such as Tom Green and Nick Blakey. He is tough, clean and wins his own ball, and his leadership skills were evidenced in him captaining the AFL Academy team this year.
“Shifter” says: “He has as good hands as anyone we’ve seen in recent years. He doesn’t fumble, and whatever the situation, he is so clean and has great vision, with the ability to quickly making the right decision by hand and foot. He’s a rock-solid, early choice.”
Cooper Duff-Tytler
Duff-Tytler, who is considered a similar player – but more advanced with his football smarts at the same age – to fellow junior basketball standout Luke Jackson, is the rare ruckman in the No.1 pick mix. He dominated another standout big man, Louis Emmett, in round one of the Talent League, but talent scouts would love to see more of him as a key forward to figure out whether he genuinely has that in his toolkit.
Shifter says: “Cooper’s a dual-sports athlete, and the type of boy the youth of today are jealous of. He covers the ground as an athlete but also wins the ball, which not all boys at his size can do. He kicks goals on the run, can ruck, play a key position, and the early observation is whichever club he goes to will get the best out of him.”
Willem Duursma
The brother of AFL players Xavier and Zane and the AFLW’s Yasmin, the next Duursma might be the best and most talented of them all. He is capable of brilliance that other players are not – and often demonstrates that several times a game – but recruiters would like to see a higher work-rate and more toughness. There is significant upside here if he puts it together.
Shifter says: “It comes with a price when your brothers are just ahead of you, and your surname is known, but he’s lived up to every bit of that the last three years … he needs the challenge of nationals. He’s a tall midfielder, but can play back or forward as well, is a good user of the ball, strong overhead and a good athlete.”
Louis Emmett
Louis Emmett flies high for a mark for Victoria Metro at last year’s national championships.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Emmett’s appeared just twice at Talent League level this season, and lowered his colours to Cooper Duff-Tytler in one of those games, but they have shared the honours across the years. They will be Vic Metro teammates. Emmett is not overly tall for a ruckman, but his excellent running ability separates him, and he also gets involved in the play and demonstrated last year he can make his mark as a forward.
Shifter says: “He’s not too dissimilar to Duff-Tytler: a super athlete, lovely size, covers the ground, marks it and gets dangerous when he’s forward. He is that modern-day type, [similar to] Rowan Marshall or Luke Jackson. He placed in the best-and-fairest as a bottom-ager, which is unusual as a ruckman, and is certain to be one of the first talls taken.”
Oliver Greeves
Eastern Ranges/Victoria Metro, midfielder, 191cm, 7/2/2007
Key Talent League stats (averages): 25 disposals, 5.7 inside 50m, 5 clearances.
Meet the grandnephew of the first Brownlow medallist, Edward “Carji” Greeves, a tall, strong and powerful midfielder with good skills. There are mixed opinions on whether he can be a genuine midfielder-forward at AFL level, as a Christian Petracca or Cam Rayner-type, or whether he projects more like a Patrick Cripps or Ollie Wines. There are some queries on Greeves’ running ability, but he could be a top-three selection by year’s end.
Shifter says: “He’s a bull who loves to hunt the ball and win the footy. He’s done it so regularly for three years, so there’s a line of sight now, but he’s raised the bar each year, in terms of performance and ball-winning ability. He’s got a wonderful, effervescent personality, and I’m expecting him to have a great championships.”
Sam Grlj
Grlj (pronounced “grill”) is the most explosive midfielder among this year’s prospects, and a footballer who is confident enough to take the game on, break tackles and play with speed. He takes his football seriously and brings an intensity with that approach. The most common knock from recruiters is on Grlj’s kicking, but they believe his strengths are so plentiful that it won’t be an issue in the AFL.
Shifter says: “Sam was forced out of the midfield last year because of the teammates he had who became AFL-listed players. He’s played across half-back, but jumped in as a midfielder in his 18th year, and he breaks lines with his dazzling pace to open the game, which is a priceless commodity. He is brave and exciting.”
Max King
Sydney Swans Academy/Allies, forward/midfielder, 192cm, 1/9/2007
Key Talent League stats (averages): 14 disposals, 8.8 contested possessions, 5.8 score involvements
King’s raw athleticism and potential make him an exciting prospect to monitor, with his leaping and marking ability among his most eye-catching traits. He is playing various roles, including trying to go head-to-head with Dyson Sharp in the midfield last weekend, but has probably shown the most as a forward. Improving his decision-making will be crucial to whether King ends up being a top-10 selection.
Shifter says: “Max is highly promising, and an exciting prospect out of the Swans Academy. He is the perfect athlete, has a great spring, and he’s taken some wonderful marks the last two years. He’s a boy who is all promise and potential, and we want to see him have that breakout game, so we look forward to that in the champs.”
Geelong Falcons footballer Josh Lindsay has performed well in representative matches.Credit: Geelong Falcons
Josh Lindsay
Lindsay could hardly have proven his bona fides more as one of the best-performed players in the 2025 draft class. He won the medal as Team Heppell’s best player in the 2024 Futures game on grand final day on the MCG, and collected another best-on-ground honour in this year’s first AFL Academy game. Recruiters believe Lindsay projects as a defender or wingman at this stage, but has the potential to develop into a midfielder.
Shifter says: “His performance is so consistent. He’s a smooth mover, covers the ground brilliantly, hits every target with pinpoint accuracy, and can play down back or on a wing. He’s a bit like [Melbourne’s] Xavier Lindsay, and he has not done anything wrong.”
Archie Ludowyke
Sandringham Dragons/Victoria Metro, key forward, 197cm, 19/11/2007
Key Talent League stats (averages): 9.5 disposals, 5 marks, 3 goals
Ludowyke (pronounced “loo-doe-wick”) is viewed as this year’s best key forward prospect at this stage and a surefire top-10 selection. He is lightly framed, but the consistent view among recruiters was that he had emphatically answered queries entering the season about his combativeness and competitiveness. Ludowyke reads the play well, flies for marks, is also effective at ground level and gets into the right spots with his high IQ.
Shifter says: “Like all talls, it’s hard because you’re trying to project three years on with how he will develop physically, but he’s got all the tools. He’s a great size, a good athlete, his marking is spectacular, he has a lovely left-foot kick, and I liken him to a Matthew Lloyd when he was 16 or 17. He looks pretty special.”
Dylan Patterson
Patterson is all about speed, talent and power, has an unreal highlights reel, and scope to improve as a rugby league convert. There are recruiters who think the athletically gifted teenager could emerge as a top-five selection with an outstanding under-18 championships, whereas others are concerned with him going missing at times during matches and his willingness to commit in contests.
Shifter says: “Dylan was an All-Australian in the under-16s, but that was more on the glimpses he had shown. He’s had some exciting moments this year, and he has breathtaking pace and the ability to break lines, whether playing at half-back or on a wing. He has a step, too, and the ability to change lanes is so vital at AFL level.”
Dyson Sharp
Central District/South Australia, midfielder, 188cm, 23/5/2007
Key SANFL U18s stats (averages): 31 disposals, 6 clearances, 5 marks
Sharp has long been touted as one of the best players in the 2025 draft crop, but that also means he has been scrutinised more closely than most. Not every recruiter loves him, but those who do rate him as a genuine top-five prospect and point to his outstanding trial game last weekend for South Australia as evidence. Sharp’s supporters believe his “man-child” tag is unfair. He thrives in the contest and seems primed for a huge carnival.
Shifter says: “Another of the bulls. He debuted at senior SANFL level at 17, just like [Jason] Horne-Francis and these kids do, and reminded us last weekend of his elite ability in the final trial for SA against the NSW academies. He was the best player in that game, and he’s going to be highly sought-after at the end of the year.”
You won’t see him at the championships, but…
Zeke Uwland
Gold Coast Academy/Allies, midfielder/defender, 180cm, 24/4/2007
Key Talent League stats (2024 averages): 24.5 disposals, 2 intercept marks, 2 goals
Uwland’s back stress fracture, an affliction his brother and Gold Coast defender Bodhi also dealt with, means he is highly unlikely to play at the championships, but he was an All-Australian as a bottom-ager in 2024. He is widely seen as one of a few players who could be the No.1 pick, and it might not be in doubt if he was fit. Uwland influences the game wherever he plays, and is a thumping and accurate kick with elite vision and evasive skills.
Shifter says: “Zeke is Errol Gulden mark two. He’s a prolific ball-winner, and can play anywhere – wing, inside-mid, back pocket. He has a sense when in traffic about how to get through, and he hits his targets magnificently with his left-foot kicking. He will 100 per cent be an early choice at the end of the year if he recovers from his injury.”
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
