South Adelaide teenager Angus White remains firmly in AFL Draft contention despite playing just two games this year due to an ACL rupture.
The ball-winning midfielder-forward was viewed as one of the state's top prospects in 2026 following Under-16s All Australian selection in 2024 and after some eye-catching moments in last year's Under 17s Futures game.
“Gus is a driven athlete,” Panthers coach Brett Hudson said.
“Even when he did his knee, we were confident he would throw himself into rehab and have a good attitude around it, which he has. He's one of those ones who if he could have showcased his talent this year, could have been a high end draft pick.”
AFL Draft Combine invites were sent out this week and White is understood to have received a National Combine invite, indicating significant interest.
Clubs have been enamoured by his clean skills around stoppage, contested work and ability to accelerate.
Hudson said White would likely have pushed to play senior footy this year with the Panthers SANFL side as well as his footy for South Australia after a blazing pre-season.
“Gus is very powerful – an inside mid who can push forward – and he's worked hard over the last 12 months on driving his legs from the inside to outside,” Hudson added.
“He was starting to show that at the back-end of last year and he's put on size to help him with one-on-one forward craft he's got in his game. He's a very good ball-winner on the inside and had started to progress to drive his legs.
“Gus is an impactful footballer, not necessarily a high numbers guy.”
The 185cm dynamic talent projects as a player who will likely start his career forward before getting more midfield exposure in time.
