AFL Draft Profile: Malakai Champion

Another NGA talent, the Western Australian has proven to be a nuisance for opposition defenders.

EDITOR | November 16, 2024 - 1:00pm

Western Australia small forward Malakai Champion is tied to West Coast as a product of the club's Next Generation Academy, with the teenager getting exposure at the senior WAFL level this year on top of his commitments at the U18s National Championships.

Coming off a 22-goal season with Subiaco's Colts, Champion was always going to be a name to watch in 2024 as he looked to improve on his promising bottom-age campaign.

The zippy ground-level threat couldn't quite reach the same heights at the level as he did last year but remained a nuisance for opposition defenders to deal with, given his immense pace and pressure in the front half.

Champion ended up splitting his 2024 campaign with the Lions' senior and Colts teams, making his WAFL debut in Round 17 before ending his year with five games at the state league level to his name.

His first appearance came against West Coast's reserves, with Champion booting three goals - immediately finding some spark despite the tougher task at hand. He would follow up that performance with another two goals in each of the next two games against Swan Districts and Perth.

At the national carnival, Champion kicked six goals in four games for Western Australia - with half of those majors coming against eventual champions Vic Metro.

Champion capped off his draft campaign with solid testing at the AFL Draft Combine in October, finishing second for the agility test and fifth overall for the 20m sprint test.

A bid for Champion is expected to come in the second half of next week's AFL Draft, while the Eagles' NGA talent could slide to the end of the count or even be listed as a rookie if no bid comes his way.

His threatening speed and forward craft might earn Champion comparisons to AFL small forwards such as Bobby Hill or Kysaiah Pickett.