AFL Draft 2025 LIVE updates: Willem Duursma expected to go first to West Coast Eagles as countdown to draft begins
Tonight’s AFL draft promises to be one of the most compromised and unpredictable editions on record.
There are academy and father-son players scattered throughout the pointy end and right through the first and second rounds. The evenness of the player pool after the top 10 means things could get wild.
Zeke Uwland, Daniel Annable, Harry Dean and Willem Duursma will be among the hot properties in this year’s AFL national draft.Credit: Artwork: Stephen Kiprillis
But we did take a stab at where bids might come because they will have a significant impact on what happens with the impacted clubs’ subsequent selections.
Carlton are poised to trade their No.9 and 11 picks to Essendon and North Melbourne, respectively, with those clubs able to offer more attractive packages than other interested parties, including Adelaide.
The Blues will gain a bunch of picks in the 20s in return in those likely deals, plus a future second-round selection from the Roos, to ensure they can match bids on Harry Dean and Jack Ison.
All signs point to Duursma becoming the third member of his family to be a first-round selection – joining Xavier (No.18 in 2018) and Zane (No.4 in 2023) – but the only one to be the No.1 pick. He is most commonly compared to Brendon Goddard for his size, positional versatility, bold but excellent kicking skills, and overhead marking. Duursma has also been likened to Hayden Young, while he considers himself a mix of Xavier and Zane.
The man viewed as Errol Gulden 2.0:
The towering key defender:
