Welcome to Craft of the Draft's maiden Mock Draft for 2025, with a total of 23 selections made in a 'live' count of how opening night for this year's intake might unfold.
Matched bids for Academy and father-son draft prospects are included in the Mock Draft, as are the estimated landing spots for free agency compensation selections.
Matched bids for clubs have seen their subsequent selection(s) dissolve from the draft order, pending the timing of the bids.
The 14 clubs involved in the Mock Draft were split between Craft of the Draft analysts Jonty Ralphsmith and Mitch Keating.
Jonty's Picks - West Coast, Essendon, Hawthorn, Sydney, Fremantle, GWS and Geelong
Mitch's Picks - Richmond, Gold Coast, St Kilda, Carlton, Western Bulldogs, Adelaide and Brisbane
Not Involved - North Melbourne, Melbourne, Port Adelaide and Collingwood
Pick 22 - Essendon (Sam Draper Compensation*): Harley Barker
| 21 RANK |  | Harley Barker Sturt Midfielder HEIGHT: 187cm | â–¶+ |
The Bombers hold the penultimate pick for night one in the draft in this exercise, and look set to get ahead of bids for their two leading NGA prospects in Adam Sweid and Hussien El Achkar.
After adding some defensive depth with Xavier Taylor and a midfield-forward hybrid in Sam Cumming in top 10, the Bombers add some outside run and speed with South Australian Harley Barker.
One half of SA's lethal wing pairing, Barker was as reliable as any player in the Croweaters' undefeated carnival, offering an outlet with his work rate into space and effective ball use.
Pure wingmen don't often come through the draft, but Barker has developed into a bona fide ball winner despite being isolated on one side of the field.
