THERE'S the son of a commentator, a club physio and a list manager. There's brothers of current stars – in both AFL and AFLW – and even the grand-nephew of a historic football figure.

All said, this year's draft crop is brimming with prospects who already have bloodlines to the top level. As under-18 competitions fire up, here's the familiar names who you should be tracking.

At the top of the pool are Zeke Uwland, the younger brother of Gold Coast's Bodhi, and Willem Duursma, the youngest of four Duursma siblings – Essendon's Xavier, North Melbourne's Zane and Carlton's Yasmin. Both Uwland and Duursma are top-five pick contenders in 2025.

Cody Curtin impressed again over the weekend in a trial game and is an exciting 200cm forward hoping to follow in the steps of his brother Dan at Adelaide, while Jevan Phillipou, younger brother of St Kilda's Mattaes, is also looking a promising prospect.

Ryan Ash (brother of GWS's Lachie), Archie Edwards (brother of Adelaide's Charlie), Fletcher Johnston (brother of West Coast's Harvey), Goy Jiath (brother of Hawthorn's Changkuoth and Collingwood's Tew) and Hunter Holmes (brother of Geelong's Max) are among the siblings also pushing their cases this year.

Tyson Gresham (brother of Essendon's Jade) and Seb Murphy (brother of Adelaide's Lachie) are sharing the captaincy at the Northern Knights, with Gresham also eligible as a Next Generation Academy player at Carlton.

Toby Callow, whose older brother Jackson was at Hawthorn, is among Tasmania's prospects, while Jonah Harris, the brother of Gold Coast's AFLW Academy recruit Havana, is a raw and tall talent tied to the Suns this year. Will Rantall, whose older brother Jay was on Collingwood's list, will also return as a 19-year-old this year.

Alijah Davey has brother and father links in the AFL. He is the younger brother of Essendon twins Alwyn jnr and Jayden Davey, and is eligible under father-son rules to follow his dad Alwyn to the Bombers.

He is among a cohort of prospects who qualify as father-sons this season.

Harry Dean looks one of the picks of the group, with the young Murray Bushrangers defender and son of two-time Carlton premiership player Peter emerging as an exciting player.

Tom McGuane, the son of former Magpie Mick, has spent time training with Collingwood and has an impressive bottom-aged season, while Kalani White has the choice of joining Gold Coast through its Academy or Melbourne as a father-son, where his dad Jeff was a former star.

Richmond has its eyes on Louis Kellaway, the son of ex-Tiger and current Adelaide physio Duncan, and he looks a promising player in the South Australia program, while Jack Graham, son of former Cats superboot and NFL player Ben, is tied to Geelong as a father-son.

Jagger Mooney (son of Cam) and Boston Riccardi (son of Peter) are both eligible at the Cats, Charlie Banfield (son of Drew) is aiming to follow his premiership-winning dad at the Eagles, and Oscar Lonie (son of Ryan) is father-son eligible at Collingwood. Ben Francou, son of Josh, is tied to Port Adelaide as is Gill Wakelin, the son of Darryl, who is eligible at both Port and St Kilda.

Archer Grant, whose dad Shannon won the 1999 Norm Smith Medal for North Melbourne, is a part of the Sandringham Dragons' program, while Alex Alessio, son of Essendon's Steve, is at the Calder Cannons. Oliver McManus, the son of former Docker Shaun, is eligible for Fremantle this year, while James O'Loughlin has also shown some classy moments playing for Sydney's Academy, with the young forward hoping to emulate his father, Michael, in playing for the club.

Mark Stevens played 101 games for Adelaide and 21 for North Melbourne, meaning his son Mitch is eligible as a father-son for the Crows, while Kobe Williams is eligible at Hawthorn, where his dad Mark got his name as a sharp-shooting forward, or at the Western Bulldogs, where he qualifies under Next Generation Academy rules. Elwood Peckett was overlooked by St Kilda last year but the son of former Saint Justin is also expected to feature again in the Coates Talent League.

Then there is the group of prospects whose fathers played at the level but did not reach the 100-game threshold to give them priority access.

Included in those is Mitch Marsh (son of Adelaide and Richmond's Ben), Bailey Warfe (son of Fitzroy and Sydney's Rowan), Nash Chandler (son of Fitzroy and North Melbourne's Brett), Ryder Stevens (son of ex-Port Adelaide and North player Michael) and Jack Cook (son of former Crow Tim). 

Jody Cripps, the son of former St Kilda player Jason, is also in the under-18 pathway with the Dragons. Jason Cripps is Port Adelaide's list manager.

The family links continue through the draft pool. Callum Smith, a midfielder with the Dandenong Stingrays, is a grandson of Richmond legend Kevin Bartlett, while Eastern Ranges midfielder Ollie Greeves is the grand-nephew of Geelong's 'Carji', who has the Cats' best and fairest award named in his honour.

Bendigo's Shaun Watson is the nephew of former AFL brothers Chris and Robbie Tarrant, while Freddy Brayshaw is the cousin of Fremantle's Andrew, Melbourne's Angus and West Coast's Hamish Brayshaw, and the son of prominent commentator and media figure James Brayshaw.

Noah Roberts-Thomson is a cousin to former Swan Lewis, while top-10 pick contender Riley Onley is a cousin of Richmond coach Adem Yze.