NORTH Melbourne opened night two of the 2025 Telstra AFL Draft by adding much-needed key defensive talent, selecting South Australian slider Blake Thredgold to kick off a night of surprises that saw several talented juniors overlooked.
The Kangaroos chose to hold their valuable No.26 selection overnight and secured a second highly rated talent, having already added exciting small forward Lachy Dovaston with pick No.16 on Wednesday night.
The tall defender became the eighth South Australian picked inside the top 30, with the State ending the Draft with a haul of 14 players selected after winning the 2025 Marsh AFL Under-18 Championships.
Night two of the Draft saw 35 players find AFL homes, making a total of 60 across the 2025 Draft, a record low that fell well short of last year’s 71, with players now looking to Friday’s Rookie Draft and pre-season training spots.
The pool of selected players included delisted pair Ryan Byrnes (St Kilda) and Jake Stringer (Greater Western Sydney), who made their way back to their clubs via late selections, and a further five mature-age players.
It was a night that saw Geelong pull a surprise by pairing wingman Hunter Holmes with his star brother Max at the Cattery, while key defender Will Darcy joined his brother Sam Darcy at the Western Bulldogs.
A total of 11 Academy and father-son players were picked up on night two, making a total of 20 across the Draft.
Amid the twists and turns of an unpredictable Draft, talented juniors were overlooked, including Victorian pair Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves and Ollie Greeves, and WA captain Fred Rodriguez.
Port Adelaide, which entered the second night of the Draft with pick No.62 as its highest selection, chose not to add a single player.
The Kangaroos kicked off the night by addressing a clear list need with Thredgold, pouncing before the Western Bulldogs selected Oakleigh Chargers ruck Louis Emmett.
Gold Coast traded in to pick No.28, sending Carlton a future second round selection and selecting defender Avery Thomas, who became Tasmania’s first player selected in this year’s pool.
West Coast added to its running stocks at pick No.29, securing balanced Oakleigh Chargers wingman Sam Allen, who is recovering from an ACL injury, with the Eagles escaping without a bid on talented goalkicker Tylah Williams.
Melbourne rounded out the top 30 by selecting small forward Thomas Matthews, with Richmond adding South Australian midfielder/forward Zane Peucker at No.31.
Zane Peucker celebrates kicking a goal during the Marsh AFL National Championships U18 Boys match between Allies and South Australia at Blacktown International Sportspark on June 1, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos
Collingwood finally entered the Draft at No.32 and launched a successful bid on Brisbane Academy midfielder Tyan Prindable, with the Lions choosing not to match.
Geelong used pick No.33 to select the raw but talented Holmes, with the speedster shaping as an exciting project player for the club, joining the Cats five years after brother Max was drafted with pick No.20 in 2020.
Pick No.34 was traded by West Coast, sending the selection to Hawthorn in exchange for No.52 and a pair of future third-round selections and allowing the Hawks to snare Sandringham Dragons midfielder Jack Dalton.
Sydney landed Woodville-West Torrens slider Jevan Phillipou at No.35, with the midfielder joining brother and St Kilda talent Mattaes in the AFL.
Essendon was back on the board at No.36 after a bumper first round, selecting 191cm defender Max Kondogiannis after addressing its midfield stocks on Wednesday night, with Collingwood then choosing West Perth ball-magnet Sam Swadling at No.37.
Sam Swadling during the AFL National Championships U18 Boys match between Allies and Western Australia at Marvel Stadium, June 29, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos)
With no bid coming for Carlton Academy player Jack Ison, the Blues traded down the order to accumulate later picks, sending No.38 to the Lions, who launched a successful bid on West Coast Academy midfielder Koby Evans.
The Eagles didn’t match the Evans bid, but they did match Fremantle’s bid on Academy forward Tylah Williams at the very next selection, No.39. The Dockers then pulled a surprise by selecting 20-year-old Geelong VFL small forward Tobyn Murray at No.40.
St Kilda continued the raid on West Coast-linked talent at No.41, bidding for father-son midfielder Charlie Banfield and landing the big-bodied onballer before Sydney snared mature-age Norwood midfielder/forward Billy Cootee at No.42.
Brisbane used back-to-back selections to recruit powerful key position player Cody Curtin, the brother of Adelaide’s Dan, and VFL midfielder Tai Hayes, who is the nephew of St Kilda great Lenny.
Cody Curtin in action at the Telstra AFL Draft Combine on October 5, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos
Carlton landed small forward/midfielder Talor Byrne at No.45 before North Melbourne forced Gold Coast and the Blues to match bids on Koby Coulson and Jack Ison at No.46 and No.47 respectively. The Kangaroos then selected Geelong Falcons midfielder Hugo Mikunda at No.48.
Sydney added a second Academy player at No.49, with key forward Max King joining first-round selection Harry Kyle at the Swans, with Adelaide then landing key defender Archie Ludowkye (No.50), and Greater Western Sydney securing defender Finnegan Davis (No.51).
Richmond launched back-to-back bids, missing on St Kilda Academy midfielder Kye Fincher and Essendon Academy forward Hussien El Achkar before picking Sturt midfielder Noah Roberts-Thompson at No.54.
Collingwood looked to its own Academy at No.55, landing Oakleigh Chargers big man Zac McCarthy, with Hawthorn snaring Central District wingman Matthew LeRay at No.56.
Mature-age Sturt midfielder Angus Anderson, 22, joined the Magpies at No.57, with the Saints using No.58 to re-list midfielder Ryan Byrnes as planned, with GWS doing likewise with their delisted forward Jake Stringer at No.59.
Key defender Darcy joined the Bulldogs at No.60, linking up with his star brother Sam as another father-son selection for the club that their father Luke played 226 games for.
