Young stars named in 2025 Marsh AFL National Academy squads

The 2025 Marsh AFL National Academy squads have been selected, featuring a host of the most promising young stars eligible for the 2025 Telstra AFL and AFLW Drafts

The AFL has announced the 2025 Marsh AFL National Academy squads.

The Marsh AFL National Academy squads comprise a selection of the most talented boys and girls footballers from across Australia who will take part in the program during their Draft year.

Both the boys and girls squads feature representatives from every state and territory.

All players named in the squads are born in 2007 and will be eligible to be selected in the 2025 Telstra AFL Draft and 2025 Telstra AFLW Draft.

The 2025 Academy program will be the 28^th annual intake for boys and ninth intake for girls.

The Marsh AFL National Academy is a holistic program that combines football and personal development.

The program provides the next generation of stars with valuable experiences, insights and opportunities in their Draft year which will best prepare them for the next steps in their football journey.

The Marsh AFL National Academy program is designed to ensure players are presented with unique opportunities and learnings that differ from other football programs they are involved in.

Content is delivered across three camps, commencing with a high-performance camp that will be held in Melbourne during December. The boys camp will be conducted from December 4-6, with the girls camp to follow from December 9-11.

Two additional camps will be held during the 2025 season which will involve talent showcase matches where the Academy squads will represent their country as part of the Australia U18 team.

Further details on all camps and matches will be confirmed at a later date.

AFL National Academy Manager Tarkyn Lockyer congratulated all players on their selection.

“Congratulations to all players selected in the 2025 Marsh AFL National Academy boys and girls squads.

“All players are extremely deserving of their selection and have demonstrated elite football talent and a commitment to further enhance their skillset on and off the field in a high-performance environment.

“We welcome them to the Marsh AFL National Academy and look forward to working closely with them throughout the program.”

2025 MARSH AFL NATIONAL ACADEMY GIRLS

The 2025 Marsh AFL National Academy Girls squad features five members of the 2024 Marsh AFL National Championships U18 Girls All Australian team.

They include Queensland MVP Georja Davies, Western Australian MVP Evie Cowcher, Priya Bowering, Eloise Mackereth and Olivia Wolmarans.

Davies became the inaugural female winner of the AFL Life Members Education Assistance Award in September, receiving a $10,000 scholarship to assist her education and personal development during her Draft year.

The 17-year-old ruck/forward starred for Queensland at this year’s National Championships, averaging 23 disposals, five marks, five tackles and 16 hitouts per game.

Cowcher has won Western Australia’s MVP and selection in the All Australian team in each of the past two seasons despite not being Draft eligible until next year.

The intercepting defender was again a standout performer at this National Championships, averaging 16.7 and 3.7 marks, with her fierce attack on the football a key feature of her game.

Allies MVP winner Isla Wiencke has also been named in the 2025 Marsh AFL National Academy Girls squad.

In addition to being a member of the 2024 U18 Girls All Australian team, Olivia Wolmarans was awarded the medal as Team Prespakis’ best player in the 2024 Marsh AFL Futures match, which was played at GMHBA Stadium in August.

Wolmarans is joined in the Marsh AFL National Academy Girls squad by Dekota Baron, who claimed the medal as Team Morrison’s best player in the Futures match.

2025 MARSH AFL NATIONAL ACADEMY BOYS

The 2025 AFL National Academy Boys squad includes several young stars who will be looking to follow in the footsteps of family members in the AFL system.

They include Zeke Uwland who was the sole bottom-age player named in the 2024 Marsh AFL National Championships All Australian squad following a dominant campaign for the Allies.

Uwland is the younger brother of Gold Coast Suns defender Bodhi Uwland, who finished second in the Suns’ best and fairest this year.

Willem Duursma will be striving to become the fourth sibling in his family to be drafted, with his three older siblings Xavier (Essendon), Zane (North Melbourne) and Yasmin (Carlton) all on AFL/AFLW lists.

Duursma was this year’s AFL Life Members Education Assistance Award recipient with Georja Davies, joining an illustrious list of winners that includes Harley Reid, Joel Selwood, Luke Hodge and Nic Naitanui.

The 2025 Marsh AFL National Academy Boys squad also features Cody Curtin, the younger brother of Adelaide Crows young gun Daniel, and Kalani White, the son of former Melbourne and Fremantle ruck Jeff.

Josh Lindsay and Beau Addinsall have both been selected after respectively claiming the Team Heppell and Team Sloane best player medals in the 2024 Marsh AFL Futures match, which was played on the MCG as a curtain-raiser to the 2024 Toyota AFL Grand Final.

North Adelaide ball magnet and SANFL U18 MVP Sam Cumming and Calder Cannons ruck Cooper Duff-Tytler, who was part of the Australia U16 basketball team which claimed gold at the 2023 FIBA Asia Cup, have also been included.