A Subiaco key forward is making his case as a potential Mid-Season Draft selection, while a handful of club-tied prospects are continuing to impress in the opening half of their draft campaigns.
An AFL Academy talent had a busy 13-day run - playing five games, while plenty of standouts emerged across the country over the past week.
Here's all the latest AFL Draft news and analysis.
WA key forward on Mid-Season radars
Subiaco spearhead Archer May has caught the eye of several AFL clubs in recent weeks as a pack-crashing tough 198cm 20-year-old forward, with a four-goal haul in a heavy defeat on Saturday further embedding his name in calculations.
It lifts his season tally to 13 goals from six games in his first season out west, having kicked 16 goals in 12 games for Richmond VFL last year.
May has been on the periphery of draft discussions for the past three seasons, stretching back to his time playing for Sandringham Dragons in the Coates Talent League in 2023.
AFL Academy's Sam Cumming shows versatility
Having started his 2025 campaign strongly as a powerful, ball-winning midfielder, North Adelaide AFL Academy prospect Sam Cumming played forward in his team's narrow loss last Tuesday night, kicking four goals.
Roosters coach Mitch Clisby has likened him to an Isaac Heeney type of player, forecasting that he'll be exposed forward more as the season progresses to showcase his overhead marking and strength.
The widespread view is Cumming will start his career at the next level as a half-forward, before graduating into the midfield.
Western Australians on a tear
After back-to-back 40-disposal weeks, West Perth midfielder Sam Swadling racked up 39 disposals in the WAFL Colts competition.
A clean and composed midfielder who is clinical at stoppage, Swadling now averages 35 disposals, four marks and four tackles in 2025.
Fremantle Next Generation Toby Whan is another catching the eye with his recent form, averaging 28 disposals in 2025, with his running power and efficient left-foot influencing games.
Their form is adding to the selection squeeze in Western Australia's engine room, with AFL Academy member Fred Rodriguez, Swan Districts' Blake Kelly and East Fremantle's Tom Phillips hunting for minutes on the ball.
Taj Murray backs up
Forget five-day breaks...
AFL Academy ruck Taj Murray played five games and represented three teams across a 13-day period from 27 April to 10 May.
After showing his wares in the second AFL Academy match, Murray had a four-day break before playing three games in five days.
He represented NT Thunder in the first two, named in the best for both matches, before returning home from Melbourne to play a Tuesday night SANFL U18s match for North Adelaide.
He then hopped on a plane to Darwin to represent the Thunder in the last of their three-game series in the Coates League
A ruck with boundless athleticism, Murray has had a solid start to the season.
Essendon NGA injured
Essendon Next Generation Academy prospect Hussien El Achkar is set to miss the next two to three weeks with a minor ankle injury.
The injury isn't expected to impact his availability for the U18s National Championships, and follows a strong Vic Metro trial and his first three games for Calder, which yielded 10.8 to have him on the map as a potential first-round option.
Tassie hybrid pushes case for Allies selection
Tassie forward Jack Miller played a breakout game in the Coates League against GWS Academy, kicking five goals in a big Devils win.
Miller has been his team's most likely forward across the first month of the season, but had yet to kick more than three goals in a match.
A crafty medium forward who's strong overhead and has a good turn of speed, the 181cm prospect finished with 14 disposals.
Guy Jenkin the hero
The talent keeps coming for the Sydney Swans.
After three likely first-round prospects this season, the Swans will next season gain priority access to U16s All-Australian Guy Jenkin next year, and he's shaping up to be a prospect in draft calculations.
The hard-running winger kicked the matchwinner for Sydney's Academy in a dour affair against GWV, capping off a promising three-game stretch averaging 18 disposals.
Aidan McCartney is another highly regarded Sydney-tied prospect, also eligible as a North Melbourne father-son.
Dandenong midfielder attracting interest
Club interest for Dandenong midfielder Sam Lewis has come thick and fast in recent weeks, after back-to-back 30-disposal, 10-clearance games in a pair of trial matches for Vic Country.
Lewis missed the Vic Country summer hub after a foot injury punctuated his 2024 season, which showed promising glimpses across five games.
While a touch quieter with 19 disposals, his clean hands, brute strength, power and ability to impact forward are all viewed as attributes transferable to AFL level.
Addinsall in purple patch
Gold Coast Academy midfielder Beau Addinsall continued his strong form on Sunday, racking up 35 disposals to go with two goals in the Suns' commanding victory over Oakleigh.
It follows 33 and two last week and a strong AFL Academy series as he franks his name in first round discussions as a clean on-baller.
Quintet return from injuries
Five highly-rated Coates Talent League footballers played their first game of the season on the weekend - and all were able to make an impact.
Finn Davis, a Western Jets defender part of the Vic Metro summer hub, returned from groin and hip injuries with 31 disposals as a rebounder to help the Jets hold off Northern Territory.
GWV pair Flynn Penry and Charlie McKinnon were arguably the two best on ground in the Rebels' one-point loss to Sydney's Academy.
McKinnon will be ruing some missed chances, kicking just two goals from eight shots, but showed his strong marking capabilities as the main target inside 50.
Penry had a game-high 20 hitouts alongside 19 disposals as the dominant ruck on the day.
Speedy Eastern Ranges winger Bailey Lloyd finished with 19 disposals and nine tackles as he played with a hard edge in the Ranges' three-point loss to Brisbane.
Lloyd is expected to be on the edge of Vic Metro selection.
Meanwhile, leading Tasmanian bottom-ager Charlie Bovill kicked three goals in his first game of 2025.
Collingwood-tied players shine
It was a great weekend for Pies fans.
After the AFL side had a gutsy win on Thursday night and key forward Charlie West continued his push for a debut in the VFL, potential future Magpies Zac McCarthy and Tom McGuane both had an excellent weekend.
Next Generation Academy key forward McCarthy kicked four goals for Carey Grammar, while father-son tied McGuane amassed 36 disposals in Western Jets' win over NT.
