Talent expert Mick Ablett warns WAFL players may need to head to other competitions to further AFL credentials

The new boss of WA Football has defended the quality of the WAFL, but a leading talent expert has warned players could leave to head interstate after a barren mid-season draft for the league. Brad Wira, the new CEO of the governing body for football in the State, says having no players picked up in Tuesday night’s rookie draft does not “reflect the standard of our WAFL competitions and the talent we’ve got running around in WA”. West Perth ball-winner Kane Bevan, Claremont pair Jasper Peace and Zac Mainwaring, East Perth teenager Jake Soutar and Perth ruckman Josh Edwards had each drawn interest from clubs, but none of the group found themselves among 18 players plucked by AFL clubs. In last year’s mid-season draft, four players were taken out of the WAFL, but two — Archer May (Essendon) and Roan Steele (Collingwood) — were Victorians who had only joined the competition over the prior off-season. Talent guru Mick Ablett told The West Australian the journey of the draft’s No.1 selection Jaxon Artemis, a former WA under-18 captain and South Fremantle premiership player who has now headed to Essendon, may give other players something to consider. “He leaves WA, goes across to Tasmania, and I’m not saying it’s wholly and solely the reason why he got an opportunity, but it’s certainly going to push players down that path if WA Football don’t get their act together,” Ablett said. “The WAFL’s had a fantastic history of producing mature-age and mid-season draftees. “To go through the 2026 mid-season draft without anyone, it’s not setting massive alarm bells, but it should be setting off some red flags, that’s for sure.” In a statement to The West Australian, WA Football chief executive Brad Wira said Artemis remained a prime example of the talent within the WAFL. “Then you look at (the supplemental selection period) with WAFL State Team regular Milan Murdock getting picked up by West Coast and having an immediate impact, with fellow East Fremantle product Mitch Zadow also going to Port Adelaide and breaking through for his senior debut,” Wira said. “We think there’s plenty more Milan Murdock and Mitch Zadow stories out there if they’re given the opportunity to shine at the top level. “Only this month, our WAFL State side made it back-to-back wins over the SANFL in style, prevailing by 36 points with plenty of home-grown talents standing up.” Of the players taken in the mid-season draft, 11 plied their trade in the VFL, six played in the SANFL — whose representative side lost to the WAFL by 36 points earlier this month — and one remained eligible for Victoria’s underage Talent League. Ablett, who has been in talent management roles with both the AFL and WA Football, said the State game result was not worth reading too far into from a talent development perspective. “It’s certainly a great result for the SANFL, they seem to have really got their act together from a talent perspective,” he said.