A HOST of the top draft talents for 2025 will get a taste of AFL clubland this month with training stints across the country.
The valuable training experiences for draftees are part of the Marsh AFL Academy's program, with 16 players in the group locked in for training blocks in December.
Queensland northern Academy talents Beau Addinsall, Zeke Uwland and Dylan Patterson (Gold Coast) and Daniel Annable (Brisbane) will train with their tied clubs, while Melbourne father-son prospect Kalani White has already begun training with the Demons. He will continue next week as well, following the AFL Academy's training camp this week in Melbourne.
West Australian's top talents will be split, with Cody Curtin, the younger brother of Adelaide's Daniel, and Fred Rodriguez to train with the Dockers next week and Koby Evans and Wesley Walley to train with the Eagles. Both are tied to West Coast's Next Generation Academy.
A number of Victorian talents will also get insights into the top level, with big-bodied midfielder Riley Onley to be with Collingwood, ball-getter Oliver Greeves to be at Hawthorn and ruckman Louis Emmett to train with Richmond. Midfielder Thomas Burton will also be with the Western Bulldogs.
Club allotments are worked through by the AFL Academy and often in line with previous links between under-18 clubs, such as the Eastern Ranges and the Hawks (Greeves) and Oakleigh Chargers and the Tigers (Emmett).
Geelong Falcons duo Josh Lindsay and Ben Rongdit will be at the Cats, while Tasmanian prospect Jasper Hay will be with North Melbourne.
The boys' Marsh AFL Academy will take part in its first camp this week from Wednesday to Friday with a series of training runs and education sessions ahead of the majority of the players heading into club experiences from Monday next week.
More members of the AFL Academy will get to do their club experience weeks at different stages of the upcoming pre-season.
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The club stints have been just as valuable for recruiters, too, with the day-to-day insights into the draftees giving scouts a better guide of their mindset and talents.
From last year's AFL Academy training blocks, top-10 picks Sid Draper (Adelaide), Finn O'Sullivan (North Melbourne) and Harvey Langford (Melbourne) all trained at the clubs that went on to draft them, as did Archer Day-Wicks (Essendon) and tied talents Tyler Welsh (Adelaide), Levi Ashcroft and Sam Marshall (Brisbane), Malakai Champion (West Coast), Leo Lombard (Gold Coast) and Ben and Lucas Camporeale (Carlton).
Who is training at your club?
Brisbane: Daniel Annable
Collingwood: Riley Onley
Fremantle: Cody Curtin, Fred Rodriguez
Geelong: Josh Lindsay, Ben Rongdit
Gold Coast: Beau Addinsall, Zeke Uwland, Dylan Patterson
Hawthorn: Oliver Greeves
Melbourne: Kalani White
North Melbourne: Jasper Hay
Richmond: Louis Emmett
West Coast: Koby Evans, Wesley Walley
Western Bulldogs: Thomas Burton