It was a massive weekend of talent pathways footy, with Mid-Season prospects making their draft case, Northern Academy players building into strong form and a Geelong Next Generation Academy prospect playing a breakout game.
There was also a full round of Coates Talent League footy, with all the talking points below.
Mid-Season prospects shine
Richmond VFL's Sam Toner, Calder's Cooper Herbert and Eastern Ranges interceptor Rod Ali all entrenched themselves in Mid-Season Draft discussions with strong showings in the Young Guns' second match on Sunday.
Toner kicked four goals, including three in a dominant first half where his marking and work rate off half forward stood out.
The hybrid forward kicked seven across the Young Guns series after narrowly missing out on the draft last season and has plenty of eye-catching attributes.
He'll face the tricky prospect of breaking back into Richmond VFL's lineup in the next few weeks given the health of the AFL-listed forwards but, having suffered perhaps from underexposure last year, AFL clubs are now well aware of what he offers.
Herbert kicked two goals, with his marking, power and athleticism making him a dangerous asset, with interest already high after he got some late attention from AFL clubs last year.
Ali, meanwhile, is much rawer than that pair given his limited background in the talent pathways, but there's excitement about his ceiling given his combativeness and athleticism.
While quieter across the series than that trio, Caleb Lewis is another with genuine interest, kicking five goals across the two games and showing his contested marking.
The Casey-listed player has played just one VFL game in 2025 given the health of Melbourne's AFL forwards, but has attributes that appeal to AFL clubs.
โHe's very tall and takes the ball at the highest point and he's a really good finisher," Casey coach Taylor Whitford told Craft of the Draft.
โI think his skillset is his aerial game โ his running capacity is high for a guy his size.
โEvery time he plays VFL, he's kicking two or three goals so he's been able to show he can have an impact on games and he's at the level."
Bendigo utility Tom Evans and Sandringham forward Charlie Rozenes also had a strong Young Guns series, with both players starting the year impressively after injury-interrupted years in 2024.
Another name who Craft of the Draft put on the radar early in 2025 after a State Combine invite last year was developing ruck Ajang Kuol Mun.
Having shown moments during the first month of the season, the Port Melbourne player turned in a best afield performance against the Northern Bullants, finishing with 40 hitouts, 20 disposals and two goals.
Geelong NGA prospect bags six
Jesse Mellor was the star of the show for Vic Country, bagging six goals, including four in a rampant final term to seal the game for his team.
Born in Thailand, Mellor kicked his goals in a variety of ways, with the outing following an excellent start to the season for Geelong, averaging 19 disposals, four marks and six tackles.
Touted as a player to watch by Geelong in pre-season, Mellor's versatility to impact as a marking forward, at ground level or in the midfield, is attractive.
โWe love what (Jesse) does forward because he's so strong one-on-one but we also love his presence around the footy with his ability to win clearances and contested ball,โ Geelong Falcons coach Paul Corrigan told Craft of the Draft in pre-season.
The Cats also have AFL Academy prospect Ben Rongdit in their Next Generation Academy.
Others to press their case for Vic Country selection included Geelong Falcon Hugo Mikunda, Gippsland's Tom Matthews and Dandenong pair Jay-De Varlet and Sam Lewis.
In his second game of the season after a stress fracture in pre-season ruled him out of the early rounds, Mikunda was lively with the footy for Vic Country.
โHe's a super powerful athlete whose contested ball and explosiveness from the contest is second to none,โ Corrigan said.
Matthews kicked four goals as a speedy front-and-centre forward after getting injured in the first Vic Country trial three weeks ago.
โHis want and ability to defend, just as much as he likes kicking goals is his point-of-difference as a small forward at CTL level,โ Matthews' Coates Talent League coach, Rhett McLennan said.
Varlet's acceleration and running power complement his skill off half forward, while Sam Lewis was clean and clinical in the midfield.
Willem Duursma was also in action and, while below his best, still had moments of class in the midfield.
Brother of Cats star shines
If it hadn't already, the time has come to get excited about Hunter Holmes โ the brother of Geelong midfielder Max.
Holmes led an understrength Oakleigh midfield against a strong Sydney Academy outfit on Saturday, with the majority of his 22 disposals coming in the first half.
The hard-running, cleanly-skilled 187cm winger/onballer had split his time between the midfield and wing until Saturday, where he played exclusively in the midfield.
"He's a winger and we've given him an opportunity as a midfielder and he's looked at home there," Oakleigh coach Ash Close told Craft of the Draft.
"His attitude to want to get better and take on challenges has been great.
"I love his clean hands, he's crafty around stoppages and he has natural burst so can be a metres-gained player."
Having graduated last year, Holmes will be given every opportunity to take centre stage for the Chargers through the middle of the season, and is putting himself firmly in Vic Metro calculations.
Saturday's strong game follows a solid start to his year, where he averaged 18 disposals and four tackles, with his athleticism and aggressiveness both eye-catching.
Son of Giants boss performs
GWS football boss and former Adelaide, Collingwood and North Melbourne player Jason McCartney has a son in football's talent pathway โ and he showed he has some ticker.
A 191cm forward, Aidan McCartney kicked 3.3 from 11 disposals and was a dynamic forward presence for Sydney's Academy.
His day was highlighted by a goal on the run from 50, with the 2026 draft-eligible prospect also linked to North, with his Dad having played 108 games for the club.
Little-known Sydney NGA putting himself on radar
Sydney Swans Academy midfielder Nick Andreacchio has been among his team's best in both of its official Talent League games in 2025.
After a classy 32-disposal game against Tasmania last weekend, Andreacchio gathered 30 disposals on Saturday against Oakleigh, with his clearance-winning and clean hands catching the eye.
While caught behind first-round prospects Noah Chamberlain, Max King and Lachie Carmichael in conversations about Sydney's 2025 tied prospects, Andreacchio is a fine player in his own right, representing the Allies at the U18s National Championships last year.
Chamberlain and King both took some strong marks, with King in particular looking dangerous inside 50 for Sydney, kicking two goals, while Carmichael got 30 disposals as a distributor out of defence.
2027 Essendon NGA prospect dominant on debut
Essendon Next Generation Academy prospect Koby Bewick finished with a game-high 28 disposals to go with a goal and six marks in his Coates Talent League U18s debut for Calder on Thursday night.
Playing against NT Thunder, Bewick spent time off half-back and as an outside runner with his counterattacking impressing.
Bewick is set to represent Vic Metro at the U16s National Championships later this year and will likely get more opportunities to play for Calder as the year progresses.
For Essendon, the pipeline of talent adds them to a long list of clubs with the good headache of searching for points to match likely high bids for their tied prospects.
As well as Hussien El Achkar and Adam Sweid potentially attracting top 30 bids in 2025 after brilliant starts to the season, the Dons also have creative forward Blake Justice as part of their NGA, with the Calder Cannon a 2026 prospect.
Justice had 20 disposals and a goal on Thursday.
Calder rested several players while losing others to school football commitments, which opened up opportunities for younger players, including North Melbourne father-son prospect Sam Harris and Adelaide father-son prospect Jack Rutten.
Harris blended 23 disposals with six tackles, while Rutten's debut netted 11 touches and a goal.
The next four Gold Coast Academy prospects
AFL Academy quartet Zeke Uwland, Dylan Patterson, Beau Addinsall and Kalani White all appear close to draft locks - albeit the latter could choose to align with Melbourne as a father-son prospect.
While Patterson put forward a best afield performance with 27 disposals in his first official game in Suns colours in 2025, and White played his best game of the year, the storyline of the first fortnight for the Suns Academy has been its depth of top-end talent.
There was hope that Max Hudson, Koby Coulson, Jai Murray and Cooper Collins could all put themselves on the map this year - and all have delivered.
Hudson has kicked nine goals across his first two games, with his aerial capacity and strength impressing as a deep forward.
Coulson, a polished and tenacious utility, is shaping as a big early-season draft riser, with 26 disposals on Sunday following 28 last week.
Murray has been arguably the Suns Academy's best performer so far, taking into account the showcase practice matches before their official Coates League games.
The natural ball-winner's athleticism and defensive application have impressed, and despite being a touch quieter on Sunday due to a sore ankle, still showed moments of class.
Collins, meanwhile, is a dynamic forward.
All except Hudson have already received VFL exposure and will be given more chances to impress at the state league as the year progresses.
Small forward on radar
Sandringham small forward Ricky Theodorpoulos kicked four goals in the Dragons' loss to GWS Academy on Sunday.
Dragons coach Rob Harding noted to Craft of the Draft last week that Theodorpoulos has a focus on setting others up and wants to lead the competition in score assists, but Saturday was his turn to get on the end of a few.
โRicky's ability to hit the scoreboard, put on defensive pressure and set goals up has been impressive,โ Harding told Craft of the Draft last week.
He had 11 high-impact possessions, making the most of his team's forward forays in the loss and as an ultra-competitive and quick 170cm forward, and will hope clubs are willing to take a punt following the quick rises of Nick Watson and Isaac Kako.
Xavier Taylor rising up draft boards
Few players' form has been as strong as Xavier Taylor's across the past month.
The East Ringwood junior has been a force in defence for Eastern Ranges and in a pair of Vic Metro trial games.
Long known for his intercepting, but undersized at 191cm, Taylor has displayed speed and brilliant rebounding ability in 2025, increasing clubs' confidence that he could become a hybrid defender.
โHe's added a really nice element of offence to complement his defence and aerial skills,โ Eastern coach Lauren Morecroft recently told Craft of the Draft.
Mature-aged prospect injured
Coburg ruck Cooper Keogh suffered an injury midway through his side's 22-point win over Carlton on Sunday, finishing with his left foot in a moonboot.
The mature-aged player has emerged as a Mid-Season prospect in recent weeks after a hot start to the VFL season, with Essendon among those to show interest.
The severity of the injury is at this stage unclear, but if it is long term, it would be a blow to his chances, given part of his appeal is that he can fill an immediate role.
