Another day, another monster play from Will Ashcroft, who has now firmly established himself as the top player in this year’s draft class, before making a major decision about his footballing future.
Ashcroft produced an on-site best in Vic Metro’s emphatic 73-point win at the National Championships against South Australia at the GMHBA Stadium on Sunday, finishing with 38 dismounts, 12 contested possessions, 10 releases, 10 within the 50s, 10 goal involvements and five tackles .
His biggest highlight came in the last quarter when he charged forward from a stop of 50 and nailed a running goal across his body from 40m in difficult conditions.
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The father-son contender from Brisbane is now in prime position to win this year’s Larke Medal – the award given to the top player at the annual National AFL Under 18 Championships. Recent winners of the honor include Stephen Coniglio, Lachie Whitfield, Dom Sheed, Jack Graham and Sam Walsh – the latter has been compared to Ashcroft for his elite consistency and leadership on the field, as well as his professionalism off the field.
Ashcroft’s performance against SA was the latest in a stellar 2022 campaign in which he has starred at all levels, whether against boys his own age or against larger, more experienced men.
“He was in absolutely stunning form – there’s no other way to describe it,” AFL National Talent Ambassador Kevin Sheehan told Fox Footy on Sunday. “He has dominated every one of the three (Carnival) games so far – and that has been his dominance at every level he has played at, including the VFL with the Brisbane Lions.
βHe is a total professional in the way he prepares. He plays well in all conditions and he plays well both inside and outside. He’s so calm about football, doesn’t panic at all and sets up the game for his teammates – that’s his creativity.
“If he lands in Brisbane, he’ll be an instant star for them.”
A recruiter tells foxfooty.com.au Ashcroft “could play AFL this week” as he was at a “different level” than most of this year’s draft classes.
Ashcroft is the son of three-time Prime Minister Lion and 318-game player Marcus Ashcroft, which qualifies him for Brisbane under the father-son rule. However, for the Lions to have official rights to Ashcroft, he must name her as his preferred target before the AFL national draft later this year.
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When asked if he was leaning towards the Lions or the Open Draft, Ashcroft told Fox Footy on Sunday, “I’m still not sure. It’s a big decision so I will wait out the time off, talk to the right people and make sure I have all the information I need to make the right decision.
“I’m just going through the process right now and we’ll see what happens.”
While Ashcroft remains uncertain, at least publicly, about his decision, the feeling among club recruiters and draftees is that Ashcroft will nominate the Lions.
A strong club with an established roster in the Premiership window, Brisbane have already put work into Ashcroft. He trained with the AFL roster last summer and played two games with the club’s VFL side in early May. He, of course, played for the Lions against both Sydney and Coburg, averaging 28 disposals, eight tackles, six inside 50s and five clearances over the two games.
Ashcroft also spent many of his childhood years in Queensland and is ultimately a developmental product of Queensland football. He also has a younger brother Levi, who is equally highly rated in the Class of 2024 – he played for Vic Metro at the Under-16 level this year – so the prospect of playing with him at the same AFL club that their father does for played, would have romantic appeal .
But with Ashcroft Brisbane still not nominated, coupled with the fact that he moved to Melbourne with his family a few years ago and graduated from Brighton Grammar last year, he has given some hope to 17 other clubs that he is could nominate for the open draft.
Ashcroft’s main rival for the Pick 1 mantle is said to be George Wardlaw – a strong, competitive and fighting center midfielder who has modeled his game after Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver.
The Oakleigh Chargers on-baller couldn’t boost his prospects at the recent national championships, however, as a hamstring problem kept him out of Vic Metro’s first three games. However, Wardlaw is expected to return from injury in the coming weeks and, should he remain healthy, have another opportunity to shine on the national stage when Vic Metro and Vic Country meet in the final Champions game of the AFL Grand Final week .
But as the situation between Nick Daicos and Collingwood in 2021 demonstrated, in a year when many viewers believe you’re the top prospect of the draft class, a father-son prospect doesn’t necessarily mean you’re with Pick 1 are satisfied .
Collingwood didn’t have to bid on Daicos up to Pick 4 last year. North Melbourne picked Jason Horne-Francis on Pick 1 – with the Kangaroos clearly ranking the South Australian as the best player in the draft, rival recruiters believe they had to convince him he’s “their man” given he’s on Daicos bid before Horne-Francis left the latter feeling slightly offended – before the Giants bid on Pick 2 on Bulldogs father-son prospect Sam Darcy – the Giants first indicated they were interested in drafting a key player with the first pick – then Pick 3 to pick Finn Callaghan – a midfielder who ex-coach Leon Cameron was a big fan of.
Possibly complicating matters in a positive way for the Lions is that they have another father-son perspective in the first-round calculations, with Jaspa Fletcher – the son of Adrian Fletcher, who played 231 games for four clubs, including 107 for Brisbane β Bretter rose to the draft after three remaining Mardi Gras games for the Allies.
“Fletcher is a special player in midfield,” Sheehan said. “He can play on the outside of the wing, can play on the inside and is a wonderful natural footballer.”
It could mean that during the AFL exchange period, the Lions will focus primarily on racking up enough picks and points to meet early competing bids for their two father-son guns.
As for the humble Ashcroft, who played football for Morningside in 2020 when the opportunity to play in Victoria didn’t exist, his focus for now is just on his next game.
“I think I’m playing a pretty good footy and I’m happy with how I’m progressing, but there’s always room for improvement,” he said.
“I’m glad I made it onto the scoreboard today so I’ll just keep trying to do that week in and week out.”