The 2025 AFL Draft is quickly posing as one of the most impressive, with some of the country's brightest talents already staking their claims for top-flight football.
Club-tied talent, mid-season prospects and some of the best in the 2025 and 2026 draft crops are performing strongly.
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And below, we've provided a quick overview of what some of the impressive talents have produced over the weekend.
It was another big week for Essendon's tied talent, with Adam Sweid and Hussein El Achkar again among Calder's best, while Tristan Leeds also had some nice moments.
Sweid had a massive first quarter, with his tenacity, pressure and clearance winning all features of a 26-disposal performance, while El Achkar kicked three goals in a clinical small forward's performance.
Leeds, meanwhile, kicked two goals and took six marks as a lively medium forward.
Collingwood Next Generation Academy prospect Zac McCarthy returned from a minor hamstring injury in fine style, combining 19 disposals with 17 hitouts in a near best-afield display. It follows a strong preseason as he firms for Vic Metro selection.
Geelong's Next Generation Academy prospect Jesse Mellor's running capacity, clean skills and poise were on show as a medium forward for the Falcons, finishing with 25 disposals and three shots on goal.
Carlton Next Generation Academy small forward, Tyson Gresham, was tough and had some nice moments on a difficult day for his team.
Richmond father-son prospect Louis Kellaway continued his excellent start to the season with 33 disposals and eight clearances for Sturt, while St Kilda Next Generation Academy prospects Kye Fincher were among Sandringham's best with 18 and 17 disposals apiece.
West Coast Next Generation Academy livewire forward Wes Walley started his season with 22 disposals in the WAFL Colts competition, while Fremantle-tied small forward Basil Hart kicked three goals.
GWV tall Floyd Burmeister and athletic Calder Cannon Cooper Herbert were the picks of the midseason draft prospects in the CTL across the weekend.
Fancied by their respective clubs entering 2025, both showed why on Saturday with best-afield performances.
Burmeister kicked two first-quarter goals and finished with 3.3 and 12 score involvements from 17 disposals, playing exclusively as a deep forward.
The key-position prospect kicked a stoppage goal as a crumber, found space on the lead inside 50, pulled down some big grabs and generated some scores by grabbing the ball out of the ruck in forward 50 stoppages.
While three goals doesn't jump off the page, it could quite easily have been a much bigger haul if for better accuracy and at times better service from up the field.
Herbert, meanwhile, finished with 17 disposals, eight marks and a goal, mixing his time between the forward line and midfield, and showing off his leap and athleticism.
Herbert's Calder teammate, Carled El Khodr finished with 2.3 as a strong key forward with a good ground level game, while key defender Gus Papal's intercepting was important.
Dandenong Stingray Henry Hayes backed up his four-goal round 1 outing with another two goals as a marking presence inside 50, while Eastern Ranges interceptor Rod Ali turned heads with his ferocity and athleticism on his Coates League debut.
For Sandringham, Jhett Haeata was a lively half forward presence, setting up four goals and kicking two himself with his ball-use excellent.
After a preseason at Richmond VFL, Hugh White worked hard in a heavy loss for his Northern Knights, while Tasmanian Ollie Depaoli-Kubank gathered 21 disposals in a solid performance.
In the VFL, Massimo Raso continued his strong form for Richmond, with three goals as a livewire inside 50 after spending more time up the field in the first fortnight of his season, while his Tigers teammate Mutaz El Nour was among the best in Richmond's win over Brisbane.
First-round key-position prospect Archie Ludowyke kicked five goals, including the match-winner for Sandringham against Eastern on Sunday.
Having somewhat flown under the radar amid the hyped preseasons of fellow talls Cody Curtin, Cooper Duff-Tytler and Liam Hetherton, round 2 was a reminder of his talents.
Eastern Ranges defenders couldn't get near him in the air, allowing him to pull in six marks, but just as impressive was his read of the game, skills in general play and understanding of the match situation on multiple occasions.
With just over a minute to go, and his team leading by six points, he found the ball inside 50 and unusually kicked it 20 metres directly backwards to enable a teammate to have a set shot and take time off the clock.
The match follows a 1.2 round 1 outing for the Dragons' top prospect.
Meanwhile, Hetherton booted five goals for Murray, following three in round 1, while North Adelaide AFL Academy tall Taj Murray scored 3.4 from 17 disposals.
Western Australian key-position prospect Cody Curtin has franked a brilliant summer, which included 8.4 in a preseason match against Subiaco, with five majors in his first official game of the season.
Capable of playing at either end, the Claremont product looks set to settle inside 50 in 2025 as a strong, aggressive and agile contested marking spearhead.
After playing all four games of the national championships last year, Curtin is set to spearhead WA in 2025.
While there has been a long held view that Fred Rodriguez is the top WA prospect of 2025, Curtin's size and skillset following a preseason of gaining strength is putting him in a similar echelon.
Elsewhere, Swan Districts midfielder Blake Kelly got his season going with 31 disposals, and the exciting Koby Evans combined 28 disposals with two goals.
Five goals and 27 disposals put the name Cody Templeton firmly on recruiters' radars on Sunday.
The courageous midfielder was one of many shining lights for Gippsland in round 1, but was the clear standout in round 2.
Having stood out with his stoppage work in the first half, Templeton kicked four of his team's six goals in the second half to help Gippsland clinch a tight victory.
Templeton represented Vic Country at the under-16s national championships, and showed promise, and his midfield craft and smarts have always been well regarded, but he was yet to show his versatility, until Sunday's goal kicking spree.
If he was born a day earlier, Templeton would be eligible for this year's draft and he has shown his ability to match it with the 2025 crop in consecutive weeks.
Those within Gippsland have long known of his talents, with Templeton shining at senior level since 2023, including against former AFL names such as Brent Macaffer.
The rest of the country is now getting a taste of the youngster's precocious talent.
His much-more known teammate and fellow 2026 prospect Marlon Neocleous was typically dynamic, as was Sandringham's Arki Butler, while Northern Knights tall Lewis Houndsome, Calder's Sam Harris and Geelong pair Noah Williams and Jack Pickett also put in strong performances in the Coates League.
South Australian Doug Cochrane delivered Central Districts six goals in a clinical round 3 SANFL under-18s display.
The athletic, big-bodied midfielder who won the Kevin Sheehan Medal for the best-performed player at the under-16s national championships in 2024 franked the high hopes that surround him.
As well as kicking 6.2, he finished with an equal team-high 20 disposals, and four clearances.
Central Districts top-ager Aidan Schubert continued his strong start to the season with 17 disposals, four goals and six clearances.
There was some discussion in the industry about little-known Rory Wright's head-turning round 1 performance against the Western Jets, and he backed it up with another fine display on Sunday.
In a free-flowing game of footy, he got first possession on several occasions, with his clearances winning and clean hands both impressive.
Wright finished with 21 disposals and a goal and looks locked in for a Vic Metro trial after a crunch match with local rival Oakleigh.
Top 10 draft hopeful Ollie Greeves racked up 31 disposals to lead the Eastern Ranges' midfield with authority against powerhouse Sandringham.
It was a step above his solid round 1 performance, with his bustling power and clearance-winning on show, alongside his work rate as he spent the match exclusively in the midfield.
Lachy Dovaston kicked three goals as he showed his aptitude as a fall-of-ball and stoppage specialist inside 50, proving too evasive and crafty on several occasions.
Fellow Vic Metro Ranges player Xavier Taylor finished with 17 disposals, with his clean hands and speed standing out as he intercepted and set up plenty of counterattacks.
