It has been a terrific season for Sandringham Dragons key defender Tyson Bradley, and he is now arguably the second-best tall defender in the draft class.
Continually doubted due to perceived athletic limitations and whether he had as much upside as others, he stacked good performances on top of each other at every level he played, showed gradual improvement, and is now viewed as a Harris Andrews-style general available in the open draft.
Bradley's strengths are his dogged competitiveness and physicality to outbody and outmanoeuvre his direct opponents. He is an old-fashioned, crash-and-bash defender whose sole objective is to stop opposition spearheads.
Once he gets the ball, he does have a nice air of composure about him, which complements his leadership and allows him to see the game well before making a decision, heightening the prospects of a transition play, rather than the ball getting stuck in his team's backline.
Perhaps his most impressive scalp this year has been Wil Malady, who he beat in his last game of the season for Sandringham after a compelling battle in the schoolboy grand final between Brighton Grammar and Caulfield.
The Malady matchup during the Talent League finals came a week after beating Sam Gayfer, who also poses an athletic threat alongside his strength. Beating the two best key forwards in the crop was the cherry on top of a season where he took out Vic Metro MVP, won a premiership for Brighton Grammar and skippered Sandringham.
While his ruthlessness is clear, the improvement that allows him to go with the Malady types has been his athleticism, which he worked hard on through 2026. His National Combine results, which contained a sub-eight-second agility test, considered elite for players his size, and a personal best two-kilometre time trial as well as good leaping, proved the work he had put in.
Another attribute of Bradley's game is his kicking penetration, which is another tick with the ball in hand.
Strengths
Competitiveness
Strength
Kicking Penetration
Draft Range
10-20
Likely Landing Spot(s)
Collingwood
Essendon
Gold Coast
Key Quote
"My positioning allows me to play on a variety of players, and it's important on athletic players to stop their leads." - Tyson Bradley
