Richmond and Essendon pulled top-10 shocks, Melbourne united Kysaiah Pickett with his bolter cousin and West Coast became bid city in a wild, unpredictable first night of the 2025 AFL draft.
Twenty-five players were selected onto AFL lists during Wednesday night’s rollercoaster first round, with many prospects in tears after being picked.
The Eagles, as expected, pounced on star utility Willem Duursma (Pick 1) and ruck-forward Cooper Duff-Tytler (Pick 4) with their two natural selections. In between those picks, the Eagles’ bids on Zeke Uwland (Gold Coast – Pick 2) and Harry Dean (Carlton – Pick 3) were matched.
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‘You’re still crying!’: Grlj breaks down | 02:04
Richmond then launched bids on Dylan Patterson (Gold Coast – Pick 5) and Daniel Annable (Brisbane – Pick 6), with both matched by the respective clubs.
Then things got wild.
The Tigers opted to pair Sam Cumming and, in an early shock, Sam Grlj, with Richmond going for two wiry midfielders with ample tricks.
It left Essendon to pounce on Eastern Ranges bolter – and big Bombers fan – Sullivan Robey at Pick 9, before the Bombers opted for star WA defender-midfielder Jacob Farrow over intercept defender Xavier Taylor. South Australian on-baller Dyson Sharp also landed at The Hangar in what seems a great fit – both on and off the field – for the Bombers
Melbourne, instead, pounced on Taylor as the Demons look towards the future in defence.
Then came one of the most heart-warming moments of the night, with Glenelg mature-age star Latrelle Pickett selected with the Demons’ second pick. He was presented with his jumper by Demons superstar – and his cousin – Kysaiah Pickett.
Live trading and bidding then heated up.
PILE ON! Father-son draftee swarmed | 05:07
Firstly, the Giants traded up to Hawthorn’s pick to firstly bid on Swans academy gun Harry Kyle – which the Swans matched – before taking speedy Ranges half-back Oskar Taylor.
The Eagles then traded up the order to launch two bids on Suns academy-tied prospects: Jai Murray and Beau Addinsall. Gold Coast, as tipped, matched on Murray then also used enough points to match on Addinsall, despite speculation it’d let the smooth-moving on-baller through.
West Coast then used its natural selection to take Geelong Falcons defender Josh Lindsay – a couple of picks before the Western Bulldogs, who’d been strongly linked to Lindsay in the lead-up to the draft as they sought a half-back.
With both Oskar Taylor and Lindsay off the board, the Bulldogs launched a bid on Swans academy prospect Lachlan Carmichael – a bid that wasn’t matched by the Swans, with the Bulldogs ultimately landing a half-back.
And Carmichael wasn’t the only player who attracted a bid that wasn’t matched. With the final pick of the night, Fremantle called Essendon NGA prospect Adam Sweid’s name – and the Bombers opted not to match as draft deficit loomed, allowing the Dockers to swoop on the Calder Cannons small forward-midfield prospect.
Elsewhere, North Melbourne and Hawthorn pounced on two mini sliders, with the Kangaroos taking star small forward Lachy Dovaston and the Hawks selecting versatile forward Cameron Nairn.
Nairn was one of three South Australians taken at the back end of the first round, alongside Aidan Schubert (Pick 23 – Hawthorn) and Harley Barker (Pick 24 – Geelong).
No. 2 pick ticks off childhood goals | 02:01
Re-live all the action in our blog below!
Each club nominated figures to present draftees with their new jumpers across the first night.
In a heart-warming moment, dual premiership Blue Peter Dean handed son Harry his Carlton jumper once the Blues match a father-son bid. Peter is expected to do the same for NGA prospect Jack Ison.
Harley Reid is set to present jumpers to West Coast’s recruits, while recently-retired players David Swallow, Oscar McInerney and Callan Ward will hand jumpers to Gold Coast, Brisbane and GWS’ draftees respectively.
Richmond premiership heroes Bachar Houli and David Astbury have been asked to present jumpers to the Tigers’ draftees, while Dyson Heppell will do the same for Essendon’s picks. Veteran midfielder Adam Treloar has the honours at the Western Bulldogs.
Premiership Cat Shannon Byrnes has been chosen to pass on Geelong’s jumpers, while club greats like Shane Crawford (Hawthorn), Brett Kirk (Sydney), Hassa Mann (Melbourne) and Glenn Archer (North Melbourne) will also be in attendance.
Senior coaches Justin Longmuir (Fremantle), Matthew Nicks (Adelaide), Craig McRae (Collingwood), Josh Carr (Port Adelaide) and Ross Lyon (St Kilda) will welcome their club’s fresh faces on stage too.
Fourteen prospects received an invite to Marvel Stadium for the first round: Willem Duursma, Zeke Uwland, Harry Dean, Cooper Duff-Tytler, Dylan Patterson, Daniel Annable, Sullivan Robey, Sam Cumming, Xavier Taylor, Sam Grlj, Dyson Sharp, Jacob Farrow, Cameron Nairn and Lachy Dovaston, with the latter two late call-ups.
Duursma (West Coast), Uwland (Gold Coast), Dean (Carlton), Duff-Tytler (West Coast), Patterson (Gold Coast) and Annable (Brisbane) were widely expected to be the first six picks in the draft, with the Eagles and Tigers tipped to bid on the four club-tied players.