L-R: Ben Jepson (Camberwell JFC), Jai Culley (Langwarrin JFC), Josh Lai (Cheltenham) and Jack Henderson (St Mary's Geelong)
The 2025 AFL Pre-Season Supplementary Selection Period (SSP) has concluded, with 14 players added to an AFL club list.
Included in that list are eight players with ties to Victorian community clubs, with five making their way onto an AFL list for the first time.
Click here for a full wrap of the SSP and the players selected.
Matt Carroll (East Malvern Knights) is back on Carlton's list after impressing throughout the summer as a train-on player. Carroll was originally selected by the Blues with Pick 15 in the 2023 Rookie Draft, before being delisted at the end of 2024 without playing a senior game.
Francis Evans (Brunswick JFC / Brunswick North) has earned his third spot on an AFL list, signing with Carlton in the 2025 SSP, after being delisted by Geelong and Port Adelaide in previous years. Evans was originally selected by Geelong with Pick 41 in the 2019 National Draft, and made his AFL debut in 2021 before being delisted after only seven games.
He signed with Port Adelaide as a delisted free agent for the 2023 season, and played 26 games over two years before being delisted again at the end of 2024.
Will White's (South Warrnambool) dreams of making an AFL list in 2025 were all but over when he was overlooked for a list spot before the SSP deadline on Friday, before a last minute change gave him his chance. White, who finished third in Carlton's 2024 VFL Best and Fairest, was announced as the Blues' replacement for injured draftee Jagga Smith late on Monday night.
Twelve months after moving to the Gold Coast for a lifestyle change, Ben Jepson (Camberwell JFC / Old Carey) hit the jackpot, and signed with the Gold Coast SUNS. Jepson, 23, spent three seasons with Coburg in the VFL before deciding to move north and play with Southport in 2024.
A close friend and former schoolmate of Suns' captain Noah Anderson and star Matt Rowell, Jepson finished second in Southport's 2024 best and fairest and was named in the VFL Team of the Year, earning his spot to train (and now play) alongside his best mates under Damien Hardwick.
Jai Culley (Langwarrin JFC) was originally selected by West Coast with Pick 1 in the 2022 Mid-Season Rookie Draft, where he played 12 games, including a 2023 AFL Rising Star nomination, before being delisted at the end of 2024. The 22-year-old signed with Casey in the VFL during the pre-season and has impressed, regularly joining Simon Goodwin's program during the summer. Like Will White, Culley was the beneficiary of a last-minute list spot opening up due to a serious injury in the weekend's AFL practise matches.
Joining Culley at Melbourne is Werribee VFL premiership player Jack Henderson (St Mary's Geelong), who was swept up by Melbourne after training with West Coast over the summer. Born in New South Wales, Henderson moved to Geelong during his school years, playing for St Mary's and the Geelong Falcons (Coates Talent League) before signing with Werribee in the VFL.
Josh Lai (East Sandringham JFC / Hampton Rovers / Cheltenham) made a remarkable rise from suburban footy to Port Adelaide's AFL list. Lai grew up in Singapore and played soccer before turning to footy when he moved to Melbourne. Lai played as a junior at East Sandringham and the Hampton Rovers, before playing at Cheltenham in the Southern Football Netball League where he caught the eye of Port Adelaide recruiters.
Lai landed on Port's radar when recruiters Brett Anderson and Geoff Parker went to watch Cheltenham play on Anzac Day last year and realised he had AFL traits, despite his lack of exposure to the traditional pathways, and he was awarded best on ground in Cheltenham's 2024 premiership win.
SANFL star Harry Boyd (Shepparton FC) was picked up by St Kilda after training with the Saints over the summer. Boyd started training at RSEA Park late last year after emerging as one of the best state league players in the country in 2024, sharing the Magarey Medal (SANFL Best and Fairest) with former Port Adelaide and Essendon midfielder Will Snelling.
The 26-year-old also won his second Norwood best and fairest after leading the Redlegs to another Grand Final appearance, as well as winning the SANFL coaches' award. Before Boyd became one of the premier players in the SANFL, the Shepparton product played for the Murray Bushrangers in the TAC Cup, then spent two seasons with Werribee in the VFL, before heading home to play in the Goulburn Valley Football League in 2019.