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The young or fringe player set to play more senior footy in 2025, according to AFL captains
SEN • February 26th, 2025 9:45 am
Which young, inexperienced for fringe player is set to force their way into the senior side at your club in 2025?
We asked 17 of the 18 AFL captains who they believe will play more regularly this season and some of the answers were very intriguing.
(A few to consider for your AFL fantasy sides perhaps…)
Read the thoughts of the skippers from AFL Captain's Day below:
ADELAIDE
“Sid Draper. He’s shown a lot this pre-season. He’s explosive, he’s got speed. A great kid, but also a really hard trainer. He’ll be the one that comes onto the scene pretty early.” - Jordan Dawson.
BRISBANE
“Ty Gallop is a young key forward who has dominated pre-season so I reckon he’ll play a fair few games this year for us.” - Lachie Neale.
CARLTON
“Lachie Cowan. He played a few games last year and will play a lot of footy this year. He’s a good Tassie boy, he’s hard at it, so I’ll back big ‘Moo’ in.” - Patrick Cripps.
ESSENDON
“I think Elijah Tsatas is set for a big season. He’s had an amazing pre-season and 24 months of development so I think he’ll hopefully be a big breakout player in 2025.” - Zach Merrett.
FREMANTLE
“Karl Worner.” - Alex Pearce.
GEELONG
“I think we’ll see some good stuff from Connor O’Sullivan this year.” - Patrick Dangerfield.
GOLD COAST
“Maybe Lachie Gulbin.” - Noah Anderson.
GWS GIANTS
“We recruited a kid called Cody Angove. He’s only in his first year but I reckon he might end up playing a fair bit of footy. He’s pretty electric on the wing.” - Toby Greene.
HAWTHORN
“Cam Mackenzie.” - James Sicily.
MELBOURNE
“I won’t go the two draft picks (Xavier Lindsay and Harvey Langford) because that’s obvious, so I’ll go (Matthew) Jefferson.” - Max Gawn.
NORTH MELBOURNE
“Josh Goater, once he gets back from his hamstring injury. He’s been on the fringe for a couple of years but once he gets a good run at it he’ll be one to take the next step.” - Jy Simpkin.
PORT ADELAIDE
“One of our new draftees, Joe Berry. He seems like he’s going to be a really good player.” - Connor Rozee.
RICHMOND
“We’ve got a few now. I think Josh Smillie is the one who has been really impressive for our midfield group.” - Toby Nankervis.
ST KILDA
“Tobie Travaglia, our first-round pick this year, has shown plenty in training. Hugo Garcia, who played a few games last year, is going to have a great year for us.” - Jack Steele.
SYDNEY
“I think Corey Warner will play a few games.” - Callum Mills.
WEST COAST
“Elijah Hewett.” - Liam Duggan.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
“One who played a little bit last year and got some exposure was Joel Freijah. He’s had a really strong pre-season. I wouldn’t say he’s a fringe player by any stretch, but he’s one I’m looking forward to playing a big role for us in the upcoming season.” - Marcus Bontempelli.
