Rick Edwards

After going to almost 30 u18 games this year from Ballarat to Craigieburn, and from Dingley to Bundoora, this is my top 30. With the exception of interstate lads such as Cochrane and Matthews, these are kids I’ve seen with my own eyes. I’ve not just seen their flashy bits of play. I’ve seen how hard they go when the ball has to be won, how much defensive running they do, and how much they sacrifice for the team. I also talk to people in and around the Talent League - players, parents and club officials - and take their insights on board when trying to assess a lad. As you may no doubt have heard, this is a deep draft. I could easily have put another 10 kids in my top 20. Then there’s a further 20 that wouldn’t surprise me if they get drafted. That means a total of 60 names who have a case to be picked. Good luck for the highly touted ones. But special mention to those on the fringe who don’t get talked about in rankings like this one. These kids want a chance just as desperately as the Arki Butlers and Ethan Drevers of the draft pool. They are the kids waiting for their agent to tell them there’s some interest. It is a particularly hard month for these lads. As I did last year, before the draft I’ll be doing some content on lesser-known kids. (Graphic made with Ai, writing my own)

And so it begins. Hope springs eternal.

In part two of an interview I recorded last month, Sandringham coach Rob Harding gives his assessment of Dragons players Arki Butler, Gus Teixeira, Tyson Bradley, George Dimer, Lochie Burrows, and Albert Macgowan. Harding also explains why he thinks former Sandy player Archie Roberts fell so late in the draft to Essendon. And how Roberts could be an emerging leader at Tullamarine. #SuperCoach #AFLFantasy patreon.com/RickEdwards/post…

So who are the players the Bombers should be considering drafting? Here’s some names you have heard of and perhaps a couple you haven’t.

Dyson Sharp and Sam Durham were two of 9 Bombers on the track this morning. The others were Jones, Langford, Kondogiannis, Reid, Bryan, Artemis and Martin. Official training starts next week. More footage on Patreon.

Captain Andy McGrath leads Brayden Fiorini and Xavier Duursma on some laps this morning. Rhys Unwin and Jayden Nguyen also did laps at The Hangar.