AFL Draft 2023: Peel Thunder trio among eight West Aussies set to play in AFL grand final curtain-raiser

A trio of Peel Thunder talents are among eight 2023 draft prospects selected to play in the AFL grand final curtain raiser at the MCG. Giant ruck Mitch Edwards, part of Fremantle’s Next Generation Academy, joins medium-sized forward Ethan Logan and running machine Clay Hall as the Thunder’s contingent in the annual AFL Futures under-17s clash. It was a double dose of good news for Logan this week after he was cleared to return from a knee injury for Peel’s final-round colts match against Swan Districts at Lane Group Stadium in Mandurah on Sunday. All three mate the State 18s squad this season as bottom-agers with Edwards playing all four games in the national carnival. The 205cm giant is rated among WA’s best prospects for next year alongside Subiaco utility Koltyn Tholstrup, Claremont key-position player Daniel Curtin, Swan Districts winger Riley Hardeman and Perth ruck Coen Livingstone who also made the cut. Curtin has recently returned from a serious finger injury which saw him miss the entire under-18s championship. He booted two goals and took seven marks in a commanding performance for the Tigers colts in their last game of the season against East Fremantle last Saturday. Livingstone, the nephew of Hawthorn great Chance Bateman, is part of West Coast’s Naitanui Academy and has shown plenty in the PSA for Scotch, national under-18s level and WAFL colts for the Demons. Exciting East Fremantle speedster Koen Sanchez was the eighth player invited. “The AFL Futures match will give AFL club recruiting staff and football fans the opportunity to see the future stars of our game on the biggest day of the AFL season,” AFL talent ambassador Kevin Sheehan said. “This will be the fifth time the NAB AFL Futures match has been staged and the first 2019. “All players who feature in the 2022 NAB AFL Futures match will be eligible for selection in the 2023 NAB AFL Draft. “Among the names to have previously featured in the NAB AFL Futures match are AFL stars Luke Jackson, Andrew Brayshaw, Zac Bailey, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Caleb Serong, Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.”