Another bloody draft ranking? Yes. But this one comes from watching full games and player-involvement vision, testing what actually makes a junior prospect likely to succeed at AFL level. This is my final Top 30 for the 2026 AFL National Draft, not a phantom draft, and not an attempt to predict the order in which clubs will call names. With Essendon holding Pick 1 and further selections expected later in the draft, there is an obvious Bombers lens to parts of this discussion

With 26 days to go until Essendon’s Round 1 clash with Hawthorn, Don The Stat continues its daily journey through Essendon’s guernsey history. Guernsey Number 26 has been worn by Essendon players across every era of the club’s VFL/AFL history and is strongly associated with goal-scoring excellence, leadership, and Premiership success. The jumper found its first defining custodian in Ted Freyer , who wore #26 from 1929 to 1937 , playing 124 games and kicking 372 goals . Fr