The 2025 AFL Draft looks to be one of the more difficult to predict for some time, with the strength of the class, the amount of expected bids and the profile of players on offer set to offer plenty of twists and turns once clubs are actually on the clock.

With four clubs sharing the first eight picks, and five having access to the first 11, there'll be some key players at the top of the order that are set to heavily impact how the rest of the count might take shape.

West Coast will get things underway with Picks 1 and 2, and could be looking at multiple bids on rival-tied talent, while Richmond and Essendon may follow suit with their subsequent selections.

After the top 10, several sides look to be waiting on how the picks before them unfold before they too make key calls that will have a ripple effect on the rest of the draft.

Here we look at the selections set to significantly shape how the draft order unravels...

6Geelong - Pick 19

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 03: Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves of the Stingrays in action during the Coates Talent League Boys Wildcard Round match between Gippsland Power and Dandenong Stingrays at La Trobe University Sports Fields on September 03, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 03: Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves of the Stingrays in action during the Coates Talent League Boys Wildcard Round match between Gippsland Power and Dandenong Stingrays at La Trobe University Sports Fields on September 03, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

The Cats could be another club ready to pull the trigger on a bid for a rival's priority prospect, with Essendon NGA talent Adam Sweid, Sydney's Kyle and King, West Coast NGA Tylah Williams and Gold Coast's Addinsall in that range.

And if it's not the Cats, Fremantle could force some bids one pick later, making several sides nervous at this juncture of the draft, particularly cross-town rivals West Coast.

Bids in that range of the draft would significantly shift the order of the second and third rounds of the draft, where clubs needing to match would feature heavily.

The Cats will have to watch how the few selections before them unfold, but Schubert or Lindsay could be there for the taking.

If not, the roll-on effect might see them swoop on a Higgins-Hargreaves or Mitch Marsh, who could have interest from North Melbourne early into night two, should the Roos hold those picks.

The Roos could then look at bids on any of Collingwood's Zac McCarthy, Carlton's Ison or St Kilda's Kye Fincher if the Cats and Dockers swoop on names they wanted early into night two.

South Australian Blake Thredgold is another who has been linked to both Fremantle and North Melbourne.

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