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The hunt for the next Mason Cox is officially on.
The AFL will host a United States draft combine for the first time since 2017 between June 20-22 at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where Cox was raised before embarking on his remarkable and unlikely 132-game career for Collingwood.
Mason Cox played in Collingwood’s grand final win two years ago.Credit: Paul Rovere
Former college basketballer Cox, 34, also played soccer before he was unearthed at the league’s 2014 combine in Los Angeles. He made his debut for Collingwood on Anzac Day in 2016 and played in the 2023 premiership.
Cox’s three goals at the start of the second quarter in the 2018 preliminary final, when the Magpies upset Richmond, is part of football folklore.
There were annual US combines from 2012-17. The first American on the Magpies’ list was Seamus McNamara, an ex-professional and college basketballer, who spent three seasons in black and white but did not play an AFL match.
In an email sent to clubs, seen by this masthead, the AFL’s head of talent, Nicky Couston, said the “reignition” of the US combine aligned with its international strategy, including a “long-term goal” to establish a genuine fan base in the American market.
The league is targeting athletes taller than 206 centimetres who are currently competing in college-level sports, in particular basketball and volleyball, and coming to the end of their studies.
The AFL is working with RDK Sports International to identify and invite athletes who fit the criteria.
Club list management sources, who spoke to this masthead on the condition of anonymity, were sceptical of the league’s decision to target US talent again, at a time they would prefer more money was spent on keeping home-grown tall prospects who may instead choose to play US college sports.
Australia’s Alex Condon played in the Florida Gators’ two-point win in the 2025 NCAA championship game.Credit: AP/Getty
One source said American athletes effectively needed a “personal coach” to be developed properly.
NBA prospect Alex Condon, from Western Australia, committed to the Magpies as a category B recruit, but only if his basketball dream was extinguished.
Condon played his way into NBA draft contention with Florida this past college season, and is set to make the leap this year or next. Another source referenced Richmond’s Mate Colina, who is Australian and pursued an AFL career after playing division-one college basketball for the University of Hawaii.
The Tigers signed 211cm Colina – who is the cousin of their key defender Noah Balta – in September 2020, but he is yet to play an AFL game and has taken significant time to develop.
Recruiters would like to invest in Colina-types, given the dearth of tall prospects in Australia, but want more list flexibility.
The AFL has wedged this year’s US combine in a gap during the under-18 national championships on days when no boys matches are scheduled.
The itinerary for the trip includes professional development opportunities with the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks and FC Dallas.
The combine will include athletes being measured for height and weight, medically assessed, and introduced to the sport and given game education.
Richmond VFL footballer Tom McCarthy is a leading mid-season draft contender.Credit: AFL Photos
Other Americans in the AFL – excluding West Coast’s Don Pyke, who was born there but grew up in Australia – were Sanford Wheeler (43 games for Sydney, from 1989-94) and Jason Holmes (five for St Kilda, from 2015-16).
The first American-raised athlete to attempt to play in the AFL was Dwayne Armstrong, who made it onto Essendon’s supplementary list under Kevin Sheedy but never played a senior match.
Mid-season draft contenders
Richmond VFL utility Tom McCarthy continues to strengthen his case as the potential No.1 pick in this month’s AFL mid-season draft, while ex-Kangaroo Charlie Lazzaro could earn a career lifeline.
McCarthy, 24, has played various roles for the Tigers’ reserves, but predominantly in the midfield and across half-back. He is averaging 22 disposals, eight contested possessions and three tackles this season, with his neat foot skills catching recruiters’ eyes.
Ex-Kangaroo Charlie Lazzaro (left) could get a second shot at the AFL via this month’s mid-season draft.Credit: AFL Photos
West Coast are in pole position to pick first in the mid-season draft, on May 28, for the third time in four years, after selecting current Demon Jai Culley in 2022 and Ryan Maric in 2023.
North Melbourne used the No.1 selection on Tasmania’s Geordie Payne last year.
Among the mid-season draft success stories are Hawthorn’s Jai Newcombe, Sun and ex-Pie John Noble, Essendon’s Sam Durham, Hawk and former Bomber Massimo D’Ambrosio, Crow and ex-Giant James Peatling, Maric, St Kilda’s Cooper Sharman, and former Tiger Marlion Pickett.
Lazzaro, who is averaging 27 disposals and four clearances for Port Melbourne, is not the only ex-AFL footballer on the radar. Former Cat Brandan Parfitt’s blistering WAFL form for Perth has him in the mix, too.
Recruiting sources said tall swingman Nathan Kreuger, who played 15 games for Geelong and Collingwood, was also capable of filling a role, but Melbourne are not expected to pursue him despite being linked.
Others in contention include McCarthy’s Richmond teammates, 171cm midfielder-forward Massimo Raso and 184cm forward Sam Toner, Collingwood VFL forward Riley Mason – who kicked nine goals across a two-game stretch – and GWV Rebels’ 199cm forward-ruck Floyd Burmeister.
Calder Cannons midfielder Cooper Herbert and Eastern Ranges defender Rod Ali, a 19-year-old African late-bloomer and former basketballer, are also turning heads. Frankston forwards Corey Ellison and Matt Johnson have fans, as do their teammates, ex-AFL players Tom Murphy and Will Hamill.
Toner, 19, booted four goals in both Young Guns matches, while 195cm Mason, 23, came through the Cannons factory and kicked 72 goals for Seymour in the Goulburn Valley league seniors last year.
Burmeister, 19, is uber-athletic; a former high jumper who placed in the top 10 in the standing and running vertical jump tests at last year’s AFL combine. His father, Matt, is a world under-20s athletics bronze medallist, while his mother, Sybil, represented Australia in equestrian.
Essendon could recruit a ruckman, given the season-ending injuries to Sam Draper and Nick Bryan, and have three selections available if they choose to use them.
The Bombers, who are still settling on their strategy ahead of the mid-season draft, are impressed with rookie ruckman Vigo Visentini’s recent VFL form.
Unfortunately, Coburg ruckman Cooper Keogh (16 disposals, seven clearances and nine hitouts-to-advantage) suffered a Lisfranc injury at the weekend, in a huge setback for his chances of being drafted.
East Fremantle’s Lachlan Blakiston (18 disposals, five tackles and three hitouts-to-advantage) is considered one of the few big men worth selecting. Southport’s ex-Sun Brayden Crossley is another possible ruck addition.
Sun switches representation
Gippsland-raised Gold Coast midfielder Sam Flanders is the latest player to switch management companies, crossing to TGI Sport.
Sam Flanders, middle, with Matt Rowell and Touk Miller, has switched player management companies.Credit: AFL Photos
The star Sun, who averaged almost 31 disposals as a rebounding defender in a breakout campaign last year, previously signed a four-year deal to remain at the club until the end of 2027.
He is playing a midfield-forward role this season in Gold Coast’s impressive 5-2 start.
Flanders, 23, follows the likes of Christian Petracca, Dan Houston and the Reid brothers, Zach and Archer, in switching management companies this year. There are more to come, too, two agents told The Age. The number of players changing representation is a talking point among managers.
Petracca (2029) and Houston (2030) are locked away for years to come, too, but are considerably older than Flanders and highly unlikely to sign another long-term deal, so their motivations were different.
Houston, for example, signed his new six-year contract with Collingwood before crossing to Mercury Talent Management’s Jim Jarvis, who is a close friend and only months into his new venture. Jarvis also nabbed Essendon rising star Zach Reid, while Colin Young, who departed Corporate Sports Australia to launch Young Guns Sports Management, secured West Coast’s Archer Reid and Richmond defender Jacob Blight.
Zach is out of contract at season’s end, and on track for a tidy raise, given his excellent form, whereas Archer inked a deal until the end of 2027 in September.
However, one player agent, who this masthead granted anonymity to speak more freely, said management companies were willing not to get an instant reward on a fresh but contracted signing if they believed a footballer still had a potentially juicy long-term deal to come, such as in Flanders’ case.
Hawks keen to retain free agent
Hawthorn are keen to retain restricted free agent James Worpel and remain in discussions with his management about a new contract, but are yet to put a formal offer to him for consideration.
The hard-edged midfielder has been a constant and vital part of the Hawks’ ever-improving on-ball brigade since an injury-interrupted 2022.
Hawthorn wants to retain restricted free agent James Worpel.Credit: AFL Photos
Worpel, 26, was club champion in 2019 – his second season – and finished fourth in last year’s best and fairest. The only time he failed to sit inside the top 10 of the club best and fairest was in 2022, when a shoulder injury restricted him to 11 games.
Neither party appears in any rush, with two competition sources saying Worpel is happy for now playing good, consistent football, knowing he will be in demand if he fails to reach agreement with Hawthorn.
Competition sources said clubs are monitoring the situation.
Geelong have been linked to him, and there will be no shortage of suitors for the 132-game Hawk.
Josh Ward is also out of contract and wants to get a body of work behind him before ramping up extension talks, with Money Talks outlining the midfield squeeze at Hawthorn last month.
