Hello and welcome to foxfooty.com.au’s coverage of the 2024 AFL Mid-Season Draft!
Tonight’s intake is the sixth of its kind, with past success stories including Richmond premiership player Marlion Pickett, Hawthorn onballer Jai Newcombe, Collingwood defender John Noble and Essendon midfielder Sam Durham, among others.
Fourteen clubs will take at least one pick into Wednesday evening, with Fremantle, Gold Coast, GWS and Geelong the four clubs that won’t partake in the picking proceedings.
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While there are 23 potential selections scattered among the 14 clubs, not all picks are expected to be used.
Brisbane boasts four picks in they can use tonight, while Adelaide and Richmond each hold three.
North Melbourne wields Pick 1 and is widely expected to snap up Tasmanian product Geordie Payne at the top of the order.
Overlooked at last November’s national draft as a half-back-flanker, Payne shifted into an attacking role this year for the Tasmania Devils in the Coates Talent League.
The Burnie product logged 29 disposals, seven marks, seven clearances, six tackles, nine inside-50s and four goals in Tasmania’s Round 8 contest against Eastern Ranges, flexing his knack for finding the ball and explosion from stoppage.
Payne has booted 12 goals from five Talent League games, averaging 22 disposals and 13 contested possessions as a major ball-winning asset.
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Peel Thunder defender Jacob Blight, Geelong Falcons duo Will McLachlan and Joe Pike, West Perth key forward Jasper Scaife, East Fremantle ruckman Brynn Teakle and Central District defender Jez McLennan are also among the bevy of names expected to be firmly in the mix on Wednesday.
McLennan (Gold Coast Suns) and Teakle (Port Adelaide) were previously AFL-listed, the latter of which was scooped up in the 2022 mid-season draft.
Speaking on SEN SA on Tuesday, AFL Media journalist Josh Gabelich spoke of the interest surrounding McLennan, outlaying the “view” of AFL list operatives.
“He spent four years at the Suns, never played a game but he’s playing better footy now; that’s the view from recruiters … I think he definitely deserves a chance,” Gabelich said.
Gabelich also touched on Teakle’s hopes ahead of Wednesday’s intake, after playing six senior games at Port Adelaide across 2022 and 2023.
“I think we might see him get another chance,” he said. “He trained with Collingwood over the pre-season, but they’ve maintained a level of interest.”
After the Power delisted the 24-year-old at the end of last season, Teakle fell narrowly short of earning another AFL opportunity with the Magpies during the pre-season supplementary signing period. The tapster has also been linked with Richmond.
Adelaide SANFL ruck-forward Toby Murray has links to the AFL Crows, where his brother Nick plays in defence, while defender Matthew Ling has emerged as an attractive option for clubs after being delisted by Sydney at the end of the 2021 season — currently plying his trade with Norwood.
McLennan, Woodville-West Torrens rebounder Luke Beecken and West Adelaide defender Will Patton are among the South Australian-based players to be considered.
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Blight, Scaife and Teakle pose as the top West Australian talents on offer come Wednesday, while the VFL’s cream comprise of the likes of Collingwood high-flyer Jack Hutchinson, Essendon reserves forward Oskar Smartt, former Magpies AFL-listed midfielder Trent Bianco — who has been donning Footscray Bulldogs colours — and ex-Tiger Riley Collier-Dawkins, who has put together a standout campaign with Williamstown in a bid for a second AFL chance.
Hutchinson, if he makes it past Richmond at No.2, could be in West Coast’s sights, with the Tigers likely to strongly consider key-position talents such as the VFL Magpie, as well as the intercepting Blight and strong-marking Scaife.
Box Hill product Max Hall, Geelong VFL ruckman Ajang Kuol mun, Coburg half-forward Caleb Ernst and Williamstown’s Corey Ellison were also among the Victorian-based crop to be nominated for medicals by AFL clubs.
Hawthorn has a track record of affording AFL opportunities to its burgeoning VFL talents, with Jai Newcombe and James Blanck among the former Box Hill battlers who made their way to Waverley in the 2021 and 2022 mid-season drafts, respectively. Is Hall next?
The additional names to have been put forward for medical assessments include South Adelaide key forward Noah Howes, key-position Eastern Ranges goalkicker Remy Maclean, Sandringham defender Lachie Voss, Ranges tall Illiro Smit, Bendigo Pioneers skipper Dayten Uerata, Dandenong Stingrays rebounder Ben Hopkins, Geelong VFL’s Tobyn Murray and North Adelaide small forward Kelsey Rypstra.
AFL 2024 MID-SEASON ROOKIE DRAFT ORDER
Round 1
1. North Melbourne
2. Richmond
3. West Coast Eagles
4. St Kilda
5. Hawthorn
6. Brisbane Lions
7. Adelaide Crows
8. Western Bulldogs
9. Carlton
10. Collingwood
11. Melbourne
12. Port Adelaide
13. Essendon
14. Sydney Swans
Round 2
15. North Melbourne
16. Richmond
17. Brisbane Lions
18. Adelaide Crows
19. Collingwood
Round 3
20. Richmond
21. Brisbane Lions
22. Adelaide Crows
Round 4
23. Brisbane Lions
Follow the 2024 AFL Midseason Rookie Draft from 7pm AEST!