Draft gun could be stolen from under the Lions’ noses; future star sticks with Melbourne

July 28, 2026 — 6:40pm

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Five AFL draft prospects tied to a club through father-son or academy connections could attract top-20 bids in November.

No.1 pick-elect Dougie Cochrane (Port Adelaide), Cody Walker (Carlton), Ethan Matthews (GWS), Caylen Murray (Brisbane Lions) and Khaled El Souki (Western Bulldogs) are those players.

The situation is far more intriguing for the 2026 draft since the league’s rule changes in April made it more difficult to match bids, particularly for high-performing teams.

Clubs can use only two selections to match a bid – up to, and including, pick No.36 – while another key difference is that ladder position dictates whether they must pay a “loading” or receive a discount when matching.

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Each selection has a descending points value, starting with 3000 for pick No.1, 2481 for No.2, 2178 for No.3, and so on. The other change is clubs that finish in the bottom five and have their top pick pushed back because of a matched bid will be compensated with an extra second-round pick.

Cochrane and Walker appear certain to be the top two selections, via bids from whichever club – probably Richmond or Essendon – finishes on the bottom. Both the Power and Blues are well-stocked to match in that likely scenario.

The Giants are in 12th position and also won’t have a problem matching a top-10 bid on academy prospect Matthews, but it is a different story for Murray and El Souki.

Recruiters who spoke to The Age on condition of anonymity believe Murray is in the top-10 mix and........

© Brisbane Times