Overview
- The two‑night national draft begins Wednesday, November 19 at 7pm AEDT, with round one at Docklands and the remainder on Thursday.
- Four clubs control the early order before bids: West Coast holds picks 1–2, Richmond 3–4, Essendon 5–6 and Melbourne 7–8.
- Gippsland midfielder Willem Duursma is widely expected to be taken first by West Coast, which is tipped to trigger early bids on Zeke Uwland and Harry Dean before targeting ruck‑forward Cooper Duff‑Tytler.
- Richmond has indicated it will place multiple early bids, with industry mail pointing to calls on Dylan Patterson and Daniel Annable, while Essendon has a pre‑bid deal to secure Carlton’s pick 9 and could enter with three top‑10 selections after swapping 21, 27 and 30 for 9 and likely 43.
- Club‑tied prospects Uwland, Patterson, Annable and Dean are forecast to draw top‑10 bids as new AFL rules cut the matching discount to 10% and adjust pick‑points, reshaping how clubs value and match early calls.