Mini Mock Draft: Selecting the first nine picks of the 2026 AFL Draft

The first eight selections of the 2026 AFL Draft order have been locked following the conclusion of the home-and-away season, with Essendon to open this year's count at Pick 1. With these selections in mind, Craft of the Draft ran through how the opening to the 2026 AFL Draft might unfold with a 'mini mock draft' on this week's episode. Analyst Jonty Ralphsmith made picks for Essendon (Pick 1), West Coast (Pick 3), Melbourne (Pick 6, via Gold Coast) and GWS (Pick 7), with host Mitch Keating holding selections for Richmond (Pick 2), Port Adelaide (Pick 4), North Melbourne (Pick 5) and St Kilda (Pick 8). By the end of the mock draft, a total of nine selections and three bids were made. Here's how it unfolded... Pick 1 - Port Adelaide: Dougie Cochrane (Matched Essendon Bid) [draft_top10_widget player_id="Dougie Cochrane" season="2026"] Ralphsmith: The Port Adelaide-tied phenom who has played a few SANFL games and has looked pretty good off the back of no footy this year. Keating: He's going to be a fascinating one with where he starts for Port (at AFL level) given what he's doing behind the ball. He's been noted as a forward target or midfielder, but given his aerial ability and elite kick, it makes a lot of sense (to see him play defence) to start off his AFL career. *Port Adelaide will not have their Pick 4 selection in this exercise due to the Cochrane bid. Pick 2 - Carlton: Cody Walker (Matched Essendon Bid) [draft_top10_widget player_id="Cody Walker" season="2026"] Ralphsmith: That famous rivalry between Essendon and Carlton will continue into this draft. [Essendon] will put a bid on Cody Walker at Pick 2. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ajYDIuXUHDHOvCzSSkUdN?si=acbdf69c7be24795 Pick 3 - Essendon: Arki Butler [draft_top10_widget player_id="Arki Butler" season="2026"] Ralphsmith: No more bids. Essendon will take Arki Butler as their first player in this mock draft, the first open pool player. He fits what they need quite well. They've been linked to Harry Van Hattum. There's no gap between Butler and Van Hattum. He adds to that forward line mix of Hussien El Achkar and Isaac Kako, who they've drafted in the past couple of years. Pick 4 - Richmond: Harry Van Hattum [draft_top10_widget player_id="Harry Van Hattum" season="2026"] Keating: If Butler's off the table, [Van Hattum] would be a consensus selection. But even if Butler was up for grabs and it was between those two, I think Harry Van Hattum is still the one (for Richmond). A generational-type ruckman, he's a perfect fit for Richmond. They've built that midfield and have the talls at either end of the ground. He's the one. Pick 5 - West Coast: Gus Teixeira [draft_top10_widget player_id="Gus Teixeira" season="2026"] Ralphsmith: I'll take Gus Teixeira. We've seen what he's been able to do forward of the footy as a marking, difficult-to-beat one-on-one matchup. He'll go into the midfield eventually. He's a different sort of midfielder (to Harley Reid and Willem Duursma), and in the short term they'll get a bit more scoring punch with that medium, dynamic matchup. Pick 6 - North Melbourne: Heath Mellody [draft_top10_widget player_id="Heath Mellody" season="2026"] Keating: I'll be taking Larke Medal winner Heath Mellody. I think that's a nice addition. He doesn't have to be seen as a midfielder at all. Put him across half-back to at least start his career. Will add some polish and some run in that back half. It's an area North Melbourne have tinkered with a little bit. His form at league level in the WAFL at the moment has been exceptional. Ralphsmith: 33 disposals he had on the weekend. That was a really clinical performance. Pick 7 - GWS: Ethan Matthews (Matched Melbourne Bid) [draft_top10_widget player_id="Ethan Matthews" season="2026"] Ralphsmith: It's an interesting one... there aren't a whole lot of club-tied prospects (in the top 40), but there's three bids in the top seven. Ethan Matthews, that's the sort of player I'd lean towards for Melbourne; that burst midfielder. He's clearly one of the best in it. Keating: The timing of that Matthews bid and whether it comes before or after GWS's first selection is going to be a big watch on draft night if they carry that selection into the count. *GWS will not have their Pick 9 selection (originally Pick 7) in this exercise due to the Matthews bid. Pick 8 - Melbourne: Ethan Drever [draft_top10_widget player_id="Ethan Drever" season="2026"] Ralphsmith: I will take the boy from Ballarat, Ethan Drever, who has carried GWV's and Vic Country's midfields. Was named Vic Country MVP. I've talked about the Finn Callaghan comparisons throughout the season. His ability to be that polished mover on the outside would certainly complement that midfield mix. Pick 9 - St Kilda: Wil Malady [draft_top10_widget player_id="Wil Malady" season="2026"] Keating: The last pick of our mini mock draft. It's easily the hardest one I've had to do. I'm going to take Wil Malady. It's probably between him and Mitch Harris, but I'm going down the Malady path. He probably hasn't been as high as others have had him, and his Champs probably widened where some people have him. There's probably no clear consensus, but, for me, he's creeping into that top 10 range. The Saints would get a medium, athletic forward who plays tall with his aerial traits.

		P	W	L	PTS	%
1	FRE	23	19	4	76	137.2
2	SYD	23	18	5	72	136.1
3	BL	23	16	7	64	121.7
4	HAW	23	15	6	64	120.1
5	GEEL	23	15	8	60	122.3
6	ADEL	23	15	8	60	117.3
7	MELB	23	15	8	60	109.6
8	WB	23	13	9	54	95.4
9	COLL	23	12	9	52	102.4
10	CARL	23	12	10	50	101.5

Mini Mock Draft: Selecting the first nine picks of the 2026 AFL Draft

With the start of the 2026 AFL Draft order set, Craft of the Draft run through how the opening to this year’s count could unfold.

Pick 2 - Carlton: Cody Walker (Matched Essendon Bid)

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