“Hopefully he gets his chance”: Shocking slider’s nervous wait continues into Rookie Draft
One of the biggest surprise stories coming out of the 2025 National Draft was the slide of Ollie Greeves – a player once viewed as a potential top 10 selection now entering the Rookie Draft after not being picked up in the 60 selections taken over the last two nights.
At the very minimum, Greeves was seen as a top 10 midfielder in this draft class for much of the season, having dominated with Vic Metro in 2025 as he claimed MVP honours at this year’s U18s National Championships, as well as captaining the Ranges to the Coates Talent League premiership.
The big-bodied ball winner claimed Team of the Year honours in both competitions, finished one vote shy of tying for the Larke Medal, and recorded 24 disposals and a goal in Eastern’s grand final win over the Dragons to cap off a memorable year across multiple levels.
His surprise fall out of National Draft considerations came eight months on from Hawthorn’s request to have priority access to the 191cm midfielder via their Next Generation Academy, which was ultimately rejected by the AFL.
Yet, even while still being available to be taken by the end of night two, Hawthorn decided to pass on him twice, taking small midfielder Jack Dalton with Pick 34 and South Australian winger Matt LeRay with Pick 56.
Hawks recruiter Mark McKenzie expressed his commiserations to the youngster but implied he was no longer on Hawthorn’s draft board.
“Ollie’s had a fantastic year and you definitely feel for a lot of the boys with expectations going into this year,” McKenzie said on Thursday night.
“What this period does provide though is there is the Rookie Draft, so he’s put himself in there. He’s done a lot this year to put his name up and see what happens tomorrow but he’s a great kid and hopefully he gets his chance.”
Greeves’ Vic Metro numbers of 25.0 disposals, 11.8 contested possessions and 4.5 clearances are comparable 2024 Vic Metro MVP Murphy Reid, who was selected 17th overall by Fremantle in last year’s National Draft.
Among the top 50 players in Zero Hanger’s prospect power rankings, Greeves is the highest yet to be selected (rank 23rd).
Friday’s Rookie Draft begins at 3:20pm (AEDT)
