Overview
- West Coast selected Willem Duursma with the top pick, then used early selections to lodge multiple academy and father‑son bids before adding ruck/forward Cooper Duff‑Tytler at No.4.
- Carlton traded pick No.9 to Essendon and No.11 to North Melbourne to stockpile points and successfully match an early father‑son bid for key defender Harry Dean.
- Gold Coast matched several academy bids, including Zeke Uwland at No.2 and Dylan Patterson at No.5, and finished the opening night with four first‑round additions.
- Essendon completed a three‑player first‑round haul, selecting Sullivan Robey at No.9, Jacob Farrow at No.10 and midfielder Dyson Sharp at No.13.
- The first round stretched to 25 picks with nine bids, featured Melbourne’s surprise selection of Latrelle Pickett at No.12, and drew strong fan criticism of the bidding system as the draft moves to night two.