Gippslander Clancy Snell had an excellent 2026 season from start to finish, starring for the premiership-winning Gippsland Power, the Vic Country squad and getting a chance to play in Collingwood's VFL side, where he did not look out of place against the bigger bodies.
He finished the year as one of the top key defensive prospects in the draft and a likely first-round selection.
Snell began the year with an awesome run of games, playing as an intercepting machine for the Power, peeling off at will to impact the play with an impressive mark or strong spoil.
He was truly dominant at times, particularly given the strength of this year's Gippsland squad. He carried that form into his performances for Vic Country, where he was forced to play a much more defensive role at times.
Given his impressive speed and reading of the play, Snell is rarely beaten on the lead. However, there were times this year when it looked like he was lacking some aggression, and therefore wasn't able to effectively negate his opponent.
Snell's strengths are his speed, his reading of the play, his strong hands and his skills by hand and foot. He spent a lot of time last year playing as a forward for the Power, before settling in defence this year.
He even had a short-lived stint in the midfield during a blowout victory against Bendigo. Snell has shown that he not only has sound kicking skills, but also the confidence to take on risky kicks or take off with the ball in hand to get his team's offence going.
Snell sits comfortably within the "big three" key defenders at the pointy end of this year's draft crop along with Sandringham's Tyson Bradley and Woodville-West Torrens' Mitch Harris. They all provide something different from each other, so it will be interesting to see who lands Snell. Whoever it is, they will have an exciting prospect on their hands.
Strengths
Speed
Marking
Ball Use
Reading The Play
Draft Range
Picks 10-20
Likely Landing Spot(s)
Collingwood
St Kilda
Gold Coast
Essendon
Key Quote
“He's taken some really good intercept marks and he's really good when he's behind and spoiling." - Kris Pendlebury
