AFL draft 2025: Quick-fire reactions to night two
What the hell Fred Rodriguez
G’day friends. There’s a fair few new faces around here after yesterday’s post took off a bit. Welcome.
If you thought night one was eventful, hold on to your butts. Because lots of people have STRONG THOUGHTS on what happened on night two.
It was a record low number of picks overall in the national draft and WA contributed just six of them.
At least two more will be picked up on Friday, with the Dockers committing to taking Toby Whan and Ryda Luke as automatic Category-B rookies.
Eight is acceptable, but if someone doesn’t pick up Fred Rodriguez we should all take to the streets.
Coming towards the end of the season, we’re really thankful to launch partner Lightning Minds for supporting us. Whether you’re ditching the drink entirely, or taking a breather this festive season, their non-alcoholic craft beer is here to help you strike a healthy balance. Brightening minds one drink at a time.
WEST COAST
After taking Willem Duursma, Cooper Duff-Tytler and Josh Lindsay on night one, the Eagles backed it up by taking Victorian wing Sam Allen and NGA academy graduate Tylah Williams.
Allen is coming off an ACL injury he picked up about three rounds into the season, but his exposed form had a lot to like. He runs all day and is good overhead, which are two crucial elements of modern wing play.
Readers of this newsletter will already be familiar with Williams. He was the NGA player the Eagles prioritised over three others, matching a bid from Fremantle. He’s quick, creative, and a joy to watch.
But for many West Coast fans, Thursday’s selection meeting became more about who the club didn’t draft. The Eagles only had two spots left on their primary list, so they were hoping a couple of their NGA and father-son candidates made it to the rookie draft. In the end that didn’t happen. There’s blowback about the club not de-listing enough players at the end of the year to accomodate them. Time will tell.
Koby Evans was the first to go, with the Eagles failing to match Brisbane’s bid at pick No.38. This bid came BEFORE Williams and the Eagles let the Lions take him. This is the one which may come back to bite them. The kid from Kenwick has some elite traits, and if he can get through his injury issues he has a really, really high ceiling.
Charlie Banfield, the player of the colts finals in the WAFL, was snapped up by St Kilda. The son of Eagles premiership player Drew is a similar player to Sam Allen, who the club obviously preferred. They were out of list spots by this point.
Wes Walley is the only Eagles NGA player still on the board. He can be automatically added to the Cat-B rookie list, but the club hasn’t yet indicated if they’ll make that move. They have one other rookie spot open, but may hold it over and trial some potential SSP signings over the pre-season.
FREMANTLE
The Dockers obviously wanted small forwards to fill a list need. After picking up Adam Sweid in the first round, they added mature-aged Geelong VFL small forward Tobyn Murray, then tapped out.
Murray kicked 22 goals in 17 games for the Cats, and if you have to roll the dice in the State league, you might as well pinch one from that program. They tend to produce a few gems.
List manager David Walls confirmed to The West that Toby Whan and Ryda Luke will be Cat-B rookies, and Mason Cox will join the club as an SSP signing.
That leaves two rookie list positions open. They’re a good chance to pick someone up on Friday, then leave a spot open for SSP options over summer.
WA PLAYERS SELECTED
Jacob Farrow was the only first-round pick from WA, heading to the Bombers at pick No.10. Here’s where the others ended up:
Sam Swadling - Collingwood, pick No.37
The West Perth ball magnet has found a great landing spot. The Pies are short of promising young midfielders, so if he keeps progressing on the same trajectory as this year, he’ll have every chance of senior action.
Koby Evans - Brisbane, pick No.38
Love this pick for the Lions (less so for the Eagles). Evans barely got on the park this year but could have been the State’s best if he had. He’s a quick, aggressive forward who can develop into a midfielder. Being at the Lions gives him plenty of time to build into things. Plus they’ve proved to be great at helping injured players get on the park.
Tylah Williams - West Coast, pick No.39
See above.
Charlie Banfield - St Kilda, pick No.41
Banfield is exactly the type of player that Ross Lyon loves. Uncompromising effort, all the time. I think this is a terrific landing spot for Charlie, who projects as a wing/half-forward at AFL level.
Cody Curtin - Brisbane, pick No.43
They really got on a roll of picking WA players around this mark, hey? Despite spending all of 2025 as a forward, I’m guessing the Lions may look to use Curtin as a defender, where he played most of his juniors. Tough team to crack in the short-term.
STILL ON THE BOARD IN THE ROOKIE DRAFT
Fred Rodriguez still being available is a genuine crime. Leon Kickett is another who was expected to be a national selection who is ripe for a rookie spot. And could this be the year someone pulls the trigger and gives 32-time Simpson medallist (not really, but might as well have that many) Milan Murdock a shot?
That’s the lot for now, we’ll be back with an update after the rookies on Friday.
Jumper Punches is produced by Playbookx. We’re a sports marketing company that works to unite brands, sports and community. If you’re a brand looking to grow your business, or a sport looking for help with commercial strategy, content or marketing, let’s have a chat.