00Father-son selections are often a key area of discussion as the draft calendar rolls on, and 2023 looms to be no different.
Recent seasons have seen arguably the two best prospects from their respective classes land at AFL clubs as father-son picks, with Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos and Brisbane young gun Will Ashcroft following in their dads' footsteps to join the Magpies and Lions respectively as top-five selections in 2021 and 2022.
A total of seven father-son picks were taken last year, with Ashcroft joined by fellow first-round selection Jaspa Fletcher in heading to Springfield. Adelaide got their hands on Max Michalanney in the opening rounds as well, while Essendon came away with both Davey twins Alwyn Jr. and Jayden last November.
Daicos' draft saw a total of five father-son picks taken, with the 2023 Brownlow favourite the second to be recruited among the top four selections - coming two spots after Western Bulldogs tall Sam Darcy.
The Dogs could find themselves adding another familiar name to their key forward stocks this year as likely first-round prospect Jordan Croft continues to build his case as one of the leading attacking targets in this year's class.
Croft is one of four standout father-son prospects in 2023, withย Rookie Me Centralย draft analyst Michael Alvaro diving into potential selections for the Western Bulldogs, Hawthorn, Melbourne and Sydney on the latest episode of Zero Hanger TV.
AFL DRAFT: THE PLAYERS THAT SHINED AT 2023 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPSย
Here's a breakdown of some of the leading father-son names for 2023.
3. Kynan Brown (Melbourne)
Son of: Nathan Brown (146 games for Melbourne)
Height: 181cm
Position: Outside Midfielder
Club: Blackburn
The Demons snapped a seven-year father-son selection drought in 2021 when they took Taj Woewodin - the son of Brownlow Medal winner Shane - with the 65th and last selection of the National Draft.
Two years on, Melbourne looks a strong chance to follow suit as young midfielder Kynan Brown pieces together a formidable draft campaign.
The Oakleigh Chargers prospect is averaging 23.1 disposals, 5.0 tackles, 3.7 inside 50s and 4.3 marks from his seven Talent League matches in 2023, while he also took part in the recent National Championships carnival for Vic Metro, where he would be named among the team's best performers in all four games as an outside runner.
While Brown isn't seen as a first-round chance like Croft or McCabe, his standing will benefit Melbourne if a rival bid does come through on draft night, with the Demons unlikely to be needing to hand over a strong hand of draft points to match the bid.
In Alvaro's eyes, Brown could even slide outside of the National Draft and be taken as a rookie selection.
"He's a solid player, I think Melbourne will look at him later in the draft. He might even slip through to be that sort of Cat B selection," Alvaro said.ย
"There's so many NGA picks and father-sons who end up sort of slipping to the Rookie Draft. Like the Davey twins last year, with Jayden taken with their last pick in the National Draft, so that might be the case with Brown and Melbourne.
"He certainly knows how to rack up the ball. He works hard but he's probably just lacking that touch of polish and effectiveness on some of his disposal. But he had a great Champs really and did no harm to his stocks.
"So can't complain from his end and even from Melbourne, who have recently blooded a guy like Woewodin who came from a fair way back. So anything can happen."
