I listened to your chat with Don the Stat about the top 20 prospects (in your eyes). If all things remain equal (which they won’t…I know) I wonder if Rosa would be wondering which player serves our list best? Arki or HVH? I think Arki would be so complementary to the likes of Robey and Sharp I’d be leaning more towards him. I liked you had Jordan Knapp at 7! A lot of rankings had him in the teens/20s but watching @noobermensch videos of him I think he could be a bolter this year. I love his sidestep and ability to get out of the mess at stoppages!!
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Just pick the best player. They will all serve a need for us.
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Gabe Patterson is one I hope we have on our radar. He leans more towards the small forward than some of the other mid/fwd’s in the pool. He’s pacey, brave with his decision making, pretty strong in his pressure acts in F50, dangerous at F50 stoppage and a strong crumber. If we get back into the first round in that 8-15 kind of range he’s one that I’d be targeting.
One SA prospect flying massively under the radar this season is Gabriel Patterson, limited in his appearances due to a shoulder injury. He was clearly underdone in this one, flying out of the blocks in the first quarter before fading largely out of the game in the second half. Fingers crossed that he’s able to show his best stuff at the upcoming Champs as he’s one that has the talent to push inside the top 10 and SA will need him at his best given their injury woes.
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First off thanks for listening.
It’s a good question re Arki or HVH.
I don’t think there’s a wrong answer.
Imagine how good we would be if Harry was giving first use to Durham, Robey and (when he’s in the centre) Kako?
And then we had Harry as the down the line get out of jail option?
Arki is that elite goalkicking mid we could use. He can hurt in the midfield and up forward.
And yes I know the Knapp footage that the great @noobermensch has put together. And also having seen him live last year and this year, Knapp is a safe bet for me. Inside he attacks it like Butters and outside he runs all day like Daicos.
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Didn’t know you were there mate, I was in the seated crowd and it got a rise out of a lot of people. Clip doesn’t do it justice as he comes from a far way out to hit that crumb. Was probably the only good thing he did that game though he has some tough moments and would have liked him to play some midfield time.
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@THE_DON1
Ah only kings like you get a seat mate haha!
Ok he came from a fair way back?
Yep he was a bit quiet but did some other nice things including a contested mark late in the game. I’ll be putting a package out on him.
I was standing after HT with Jonty from Zero Hanger I’m not big on sitting but it was a nice spot 
Yeah he started his run behind a lot of players but just knew when to time his run to get it, very Nick Watson like. Didn’t break stride the moment he decided to hit the front of the contest.
I’d really like to see him play midfield at the champs im mostly interested in him in the top 5 as a Murphy Reid style of attacking/skillful mid who goes forward.
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Yeah, I’ve been keen on Gabe from a while back. Reckon he fits our needs perfectly
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Yeah so amazing he didn’t break stride. And I’ll have to look at it again but IIRC he sped up after taking the ball. Extraordinary!
Good point re midfield. I would like to see him play there a heap over the next few weeks.
Yeah but is it because he combines those things with being big, really big? If he was 192cm and he had the same attributes, would he be touted as #1 pick? If so, then fair enough. Think of Cox, who was considered to have the pace, athleticism and skills of a much smaller player, but who got elevated to a top 10 draft pick because he was 200cm and had those attributes. He spent about his first 3 seasons with us with everyone calling him a unique player just because he was so tall with the skills of a smaller player. Are the big guys’ skills and athleticism enough or are they around the same or less than the 188cm guys, and people get carried away with such a big player having athleticism? An analogy might an all rounder in cricket. If their batting or their bowling is good enough on its own, the fact they do both is a bonus which elevates their value. But if they’re both just pretty good but not good enough on their own, they are not elite.
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HVH is AFL ruckman size. You have to compare him to other ruckman and his athleticism and skills are elite compared to them which is why we expect him to be elite at an increasingly important position in the modern game. The Cox comparison doesn’t work because his biggest problem is that he’s not big enough to be a ruck/key position player and not as skilled or as athletic as smaller non key position players. He’s an inbetweener which HVH most certainly is not
Yeah, I agree with most of that. I have no idea how good HVH is as a ruckman. But as you say, he has to be good enough as a ruckman to warrant being #1 pick. His athleticism is a bonus, which could elevate him to be a top notch player, but only if he’s good enough as a ruckman.
And then there is the consideration of whether a ruckman, and what they give you, is enough to use a #1 pick on.
He’s the best combination of size (height and beef) and vertical we’ve seen in a long while. You can see in his tape that he can win the wrestling taps as well as just jump over the other ruck when he has space to time it.
I thought that was a clip of Bernie Vince for a second
Patterson is an ideal type for our forwardline imo, he complements our group of smalls really well being a pacey, rangey type with more aerial presence and can see him bringing that manic intensity on the defence.
He might also develop into that goal scoring wingman.
We will need to add at least one forward half small with our 1st round later picks. Are there any others that you have your eye that have that athletic ability? Obviously butler is likely to go higher at this point, Is Elliot a chance?
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My top 35 right before championships, I’m expecting a lot of movement after champs I have a fair few players from interstate I like that could easily come in to this with a strong champs.
2026
Douglas Cochrane - Central Districts - 196cm Power NGA
Cody Walker - Bendigo - 184cm Blues FS
Harry Van Hattum- Northern - 204cm
Gus Teixeira - Sandringham - 181cm
Ethan Drever - Rebels - 188cm
Arki Butler - Sandringham - 182cm
Clancy Snell - Gippsland - 197cm
Ethan Herbert - North Adelaide - 201cm
Noah Williams - Geelong - 177cm
Kodah Edwards - South Adelaide - 184cm
Harrison Chapman - Eastern - 190cm
Gabriel Patterson - Glenelg - 182cm
Ethan Matthews - Giants Academy - 189cm
Cody Templeton - Gippsland - 181cm
Lucas Robinson - South Fremantle - Dockers NGA - 192cm
Heath Mellody - Claremont - 184cm
Albert Macgowan - Sandringham - 187cm
Wil Malady - Gippsland - 190cm
Khaled El Souki - Western - 174cm Bulldogs NGA
Harrison Leeder - Northern - 193cm
Marlon Neocleous - Gippsland - 168cm
Jack Pickett - Geelong - 194cm
Darcy Szerszyn - Dandenong - 188cm
Jackson Phillips - Dandenong - 184cm
Henry Meaney - Swans Academy - 183cm
Koby Lecras - West Perth - 192cm
Wil Antrobus - Dandenong - 176cm
Sam Gayfer - Northern - 194cm
Mitchell Harris - Woodville WT - 196cm
Leo Steed - Swan Districts - 176cm
Lochie Burrows - Sandringham - 181cm
Jordan Knapp - Eastern - 180cm
Toby Krasna - Northern - 181cm
George Gale - Claremont - 190cm
Archie Elliott - Rebels - 182cm
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Hi all,
Here’s the top 20 of my pre-National Champs top 50:
1: Dougie Cochrane (Port Adelaide NGA)
2: Harry Van Hattum
3: Cody Walker (Carlton F/S)
4: Arki Butler
5: Gus Teixeira
6: Clancy Snell
7: Ethan Drever
8: Noah Williams
9: Kodah Edwards
10: Ethan Herbert
11: Heath Mellody
12: Xavier Ladbrook
13: Lucas Robinson (Fremantle NGA)
14: Gabriel Patterson
15: Jackson Phillips
16: Koby LeCras
17: Harrison Chapman
18: Darcy Szerszyn
19: Marlon Neocleous
20: Leo Steed
If you’re interested, you can read the full top 50 (plus about another 30 names) with individual profile write-ups of the draftees here:
https://readingtheplay.wordpress.com/2026/06/04/2026-top-50-draft-power-rankings-v2-0/
Otherwise, I’m at the point where (albeit very early), I’d be keen on getting:
#1: Van Hattum
#18 (AFL assistance): Szerszyn
#19 (bid match compo): Neocleous
#22: Harris
If we got a late first in a Merrett deal, I’d like Patterson.
And then use a Ridley acquired pick to match a bid or take outright Blake Justice.
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