AFL Draft: GWV forward continues sharp rise with eight-goal outing

A 17-year-old from a 350-acre dairy farm in Warrnambool is making waves in the Coates Talent League after kicking eight goals for GWV against the Western Jets on Sunday at Mars Stadium, Ballarat.

Charlie McKinnon's form reached a crescendo after kicking two goals from eight shots in his first game of the season, before four goals last week.

The Emmanuel College school captain's bout with the Jets was a complete performance, showing off his noted marking and one-on-one strength, alongside his combativeness at ground level, which is a current focus to help round off his skillset.

“I feel like every game I'm starting to click a little bit more,” McKinnon told Zero Hanger's Craft of the Draft. 

“I didn't drop as many marks and played more of a complete game today.

“I was starting to click (with my) leading patterns and bodywork.

“It's simple stuff that I probably lost without doing a pre-season.

“I was a little bit rusty doing just two weeks of training before the season started so it was good to find myself into form with simple fundamentals and footwork.”

As well as eight goals, the 190cm forward had three direct assists and took eight marks.

McKinnon kicked five first-half goals, with his eighth coming in the last two minutes of the game, marking a personal best at any level for the North Warrnambool youngster who kicked seven in a Hampden League match last year.

McKinnon has played in the last two senior grand finals for his local club and has a total of 22 senior games to his name for 36 goals, with that exposure shining through with the way he's able to utilise his strength to manhandle opponents at the underage level.

“I love playing up there and there's a great group of lads," he added.

“I was looking at the schedule and all our byes (for GWV) fall on the same week as the Hampden League so I might not play there again until finals so I was flat about that but obviously I have a great opportunity here.

“We've lost four grand finals in a row at North (Warrnambool) so there's a bit of hurt in that but the crowds are unbelievable, pretty much the whole of Warrnambool rocks up.

“Everyone comes and supports, there'd be 10,000 there – you look around and it's unbelievable how many there are.”

His form follows a delayed start to the season for McKinnon due to stress fractures in his fibula, a recurrence of a previous injury he's now confident he is on top of, making the 250-plus-kilometre trek into Melbourne regularly alongside teammate Talor Byrne to best condition himself to play talent pathway sport.

Byrne has been a surprise packet for the Rebels so far in 2025, averaging 21 disposals and five tackles in midfield and impressing with his speed and power, which is expected to secure him a Vic Country berth.

“He's a gun,” McKinnon said of Byrne, one of his close mates.

“I've always rated him really highly, he just probably hadn't clicked at Rebels level yet but he'd always dominated local footy and school footy.

“He's a hard worker, will always have a crack and is one of the nicest blokes you'll meet.”

A dual sportsman, McKinnon was an emergency for the U16s Vic Country basketball squad, while making the U16s Vic Country football squad, which sealed his decision to pursue the footy route.

He balances his sporting endeavours with school captaincy and farm life, which give him a release from the pressure of performance.

“I looked up to (2023 Geelong draftee) George Stevens with all the injuries he went through and the way he went about his footy and he's a really good fella," McKinnon said.

“He was school captain (of Emmanuel College) a couple of years ago and said he really enjoyed it, so I set myself for it and wanted to improve my public speaking.

“I really enjoy getting out on the farm as well.

“I probably don't get out as much as I'd like in footy season but I do a little bit in summer with him and use it as a release.

“I can milk the cows with Dad for a few hours if I need a break or I'm stressed out.

“I don't like cricket much but Dad's president of the local cricket club and is (in charge) of the local cricket pitch so at 6.30am on Saturday mornings in summer when I was injured , I was a little bit flat, I'd get dragged up there and I ended up really enjoying it and using it as a distraction.”