The 2026 Telstra AFL Draft approaches with its first round scheduled for November 19 at Marvel Stadium, bringing a wave of changes to club lists across the league.
Clubs prepared for the national selection event through a series of athletic evaluations, including the national Draft Combine and state-level combines. AFL Talent Ambassador Kevin Sheehan released official profiles on the leading midfielders and small-to-medium forwards ahead of the selection nights on November 19 and November 20.
Port Adelaide holds the opening selection, with expectations pointing toward an early bid for Dougie Cochrane, who is tied to the Power via their Next Generation Academy. Cochrane has played a handful of games in the SANFL late in this season after his ongoing knee tendinitis issues. Standing at 196cm, Cochrane is the projected No.1 pick.
Next week, the Central Districts player will officially join the club, rewarding a year and a half of planning by the Power to secure him, with his style drawing inspiration from Marcus Bontempelli as a midfielder and Charlie Curnow up forward. Port Adelaide will use picks seven and 12, as well as 17 DVI deficit points to match the bid at the top of the board.
Cody Walker is a talented midfielder who is tied to Carlton via the father-son rule.
Across multiple pre-seasons, the young prospect has spent time training alongside both the Lions and the Hawks, gaining valuable insight into the standards expected of an AFL athlete.
Meanwhile, Essendon enters the draft following list changes, with Ethan Drever emerging as a prominent open-pool option. Positioned as the likely initial selection from the open pool in this year’s selection event, Drever appears to be an ideal match for the Bombers.
Having supported the Bombers enthusiastically throughout his childhood, the 188cm midfielder satisfies every requirement for the club as they commence a fresh chapter guided by coach Mark McVeigh. Possessing great strength, Drever excels at securing possessions both inside and outside stoppages while offering dependable speed.
Prospects showcased athletic capabilities during testing at the state combines and the national draft combine. Reaching 114cm, his vertical jump surpassed the prior benchmark previously set by West Coast ruckman Nic Naitanui and GWS defender Leek Aleer. Gayfer is currently projected to fall somewhere in the first round, likely just outside of the top 10.
Additional talents also displayed notable athletic capabilities, such as Lochie Burrows; because of sickness, he was absent from the national Draft Combine evaluation sessions but bounced back a week later at the Adelaide state Draft Combine, where he clocked 2.91 seconds in the 20m sprint alongside a matching stellar 8.18-second agility result.
Selections two, five, 44, and 76 currently belong to Richmond, and the club is also positioned to secure an early second-round compensation selection owing to fresh AFL regulations established for the 2026 season. Every athlete featured in the profiles was present at either the 2026 Telstra AFL State Draft Combine or the 2026 Telstra AFL Draft Combine during October.
With the AFL Draft just one week away, AFL Media's draft guru, Cal Twomey, has ranked the best 30 players in the pool. Click below to read ⤵️https://t.co/LJphzbfTQf
Following the conclusion of the two-night national selection meetings on November 19 and November 20, the rookie and pre-season drafts will be broadcast exclusively on AFL.com.au on the afternoon of Monday, November 23.