PREPARED for every scenario.
Carlton heads into the 2025 Telstra AFL Draft with a different strategy to previous years, laying the groundwork for the potential to match bids on high-quality Carlton Academy talent when the draft kicks off on Wednesday night.
Blues GM of Football Chris Davies sat down with Carlton Media to discuss how things are placed at IKON Park leading into a big few nights.
On the Club's draft strategy:
"Firstly, it’s to match the bid on Harry Dean. We think that’s going to come relatively early, the Club is really well-prepared for when that bid comes - no matter where it comes. Priority No.1 is Harry Dean, secondly from a draft order perspective probably will be Jack Ison. From there, we’ll have to work out how the rest of the draft goes with the picks we’ve got left as to whether we take another selection or not."
On Harry Dean and Jack Ison:
"The Club believes that Harry is the best key defender in this draft, so to be able to bring this in is a fantastic thing for us. He’s quite young in draft terms, he’s a player who has taken some massive steps forward this year and also a player that we think can really help us into the future.
"For Jack, he’s quite a smooth-moving player. We think he can impact forward of the ball into the future. He’s another player that has come through the Academy and done fantastic things."
On potential for live trading:
"The reality of going into this draft is that the picks we have are only really points. The points system can be hard to follow, but the reality is pick No.9 is worth 1355 points and pick No.11 is worth a little bit less than that. Ultimately, the picks we have, their points value is more valuable than where they’re currently sitting in the draft. I do know that we’ve got some things up our sleeve which could end with us having more points than that. That’s the key thing early in the draft, expanding the number of points we have in the draft to match the bids I’ve spoken about."
On making two or three selections:
"I think that’ll be something we remain open to. Where that selection stands will be dictated by when Harry and Jack get bid on. We’ll have to remain open to that, we’ve got some things up our sleeve that we’re thinking about. How those transpire on draft night remain to be seen."
On future planning with Cody Walker:
"We’ve tried to factor that in, and you would’ve seen that during the trade period - trying to factor in what to have in mind for next year with Cody. We clearly think Cody is of significant talent and is going to be taken quite high in next year’s draft based off his current form. We have to make sure we’re well-planned not only for this year, but also for next year as well. I think we’ve been pretty well-planned, certainly through my time here at the Club."
On draftees complementing list and new additions:
"That’s more of a future question: bringing in young talent has been important to us over the last period of time. Bringing Jagga Smith in last year was a significant moment, bringing these two young players will also be significant. What we now have to do is make sure we’re creating the best environment for these players to develop, and develop quickly.
"It’s not just the players we’re bringing in via the draft now, it’s also the young group of players that we saw get some exposure towards the end of the 2025 season who we want to continue to develop. Ultimately, for us to get the success the Club wants, we’re going to need those guys to take some pretty big steps - and quickly."
