With the VFL, SANFL and WAFL grand finals to take place this weekend, a host of AFL hopefuls will have the chance to flex their attributes on the biggest stage, often in front of recruiters and list managers.
Three years ago, it was Shaun Mannagh who rubber-stamped his spot on an AFL list with a 27-disposal, six-goal performance for Werribee to take home the Norm Goss Medal, despite the 'Bees falling to Gold Coast in the season decider.
In 2026, another Werribee product looms as a likely AFL Draft selection, with key forward Brady Wright now 'expected' to get picked up after booting 45 goals in 15 games, even though Werribee's season came to a conclusion with a semi-final loss to Port Melbourne.
Wright's abilities as a hit-up forward with a clean goalkicking routine have him in good stead to land on an AFL list, and potentially do so as a National Draft selection in November.
The 22-year-old isn't alone in being right in the mix to move from the state leagues to the AFL, with Coburg's Tom Barnett, East Perth's Jake Soutar and Essendon VFL pair Tyler Sellers and Deacon Kalpakis also fetching interest as defensive prospects.
On this week's episode of Craft of the Draft, the team highlighted some of the leading mature-aged draft prospects on offer in 2026.
"Brady Wright is definitely one we expect to get drafted now," draft analyst Jonty Ralphsmith said.
"He's a little bit more ready-made than the others, has had a couple of years in the VFL system.
"One who is starting to get a fair bit of interest is Jake Soutar from out west. He's an intercept defender and is putting good performance on top of good performance with his aerial ability and ability to distribute off the back of that.
"Tom Barnett, unfortunately injury ended his year early, but for Coburg he's been an excellent lockdown defender.
"Tyler Sellers, he had a sterling performance on the weekend. Was probably best afield for Essendon in what was a high-quality game against Box Hill. He's starting to generate some interest.
"At his size, doe she move well enough? That's one (knock) I've heard in the last couple of days, but there's a lot of momentum coming off what he's been able to do across the back end of the season.
"His teammate, Deacon Kalpakis, is getting a fair bit of interest as well. He was really hard to get past for Box Hill on Saturday. So there's a couple of Essendon VFL players who are in the mix."
