Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves (Mornington) and Jesse Mellor (Geelong West). Images: Paul Kane and Graham Denholm / AFL Photos
AFL Talent Ambassador Kevin Sheehan has released profiles on the top medium forwards ahead of the 2025 Telstra AFL Draft.
This year’s Telstra AFL Draft will be held on Wednesday, November 19 and Thursday, November 20. The 2025 Telstra AFL Rookie Draft will follow on Friday, November 21.
Sheehan's player profiles will be released via positional group each week ahead of the Draft. This week’s edition highlights the medium forwards in this year’s Draft pool.
All players profiled attended the 2025 Telstra AFL Draft Combine or 2025 Telstra AFL State Draft Combine in October.
Keep updated with all the latest news ahead of the 2025 Telstra AFL Draft at the AFL Draft Hub.
Below are the Victorian boys profiles, click here for profiles from all other states and territories.
NATIONAL DRAFT COMBINE
Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves
State: Victoria Country
State League Club: Dandenong Stingrays
Community Club: Mornington
Date of Birth: 16/11/2007
Height: 186cm
A midfielder/forward who is classy and creative, Hibbins-Hargraves is a real threat in the front half. He is very strong in the air, has good speed and generally makes the right decisions by foot. Captained the Dandenong Stingrays in the Coates Talent League this year and continued to display his enormous potential, averaging 16.3 disposals and kicking 16 goals in 11 matches. This included a standout performance against the GWV Rebels when he picked up 29 disposals and booted five goals. Hibbins-Hargraves started the National Championships in a similar vein, putting in a best on ground performance with four goals from 18 disposals in Victoria Country’s narrow loss to Western Australia. A collarbone injury interrupted his season at various stages, but he still was a worthy selection in the Coates Talent League Team of the Year. Illness kept him out of Draft Combine testing.
Jesse Mellor
State: Victoria Country
State League Club: Geelong Falcons
Community Club: Geelong West
Date of Birth: 04/01/2007
Height: 186cm
A clever and classy medium forward, Mellor is powerful in one-on-one contests and strong overhead, using his body cleverly to out position his opponents. He has a neat step through traffic and shows innate goal sense. Kicked eight majors for Victoria Country at the National Championships, including three against both South Australia and the Allies. Was rewarded for his impressive performances with selection in the U18 All Australian team. Earlier in the year he was a standout for Victoria Country in its match against the Young Guns, booting six goals in a best on ground performance. Kicked 24 across the Coates Talent League season for the Geelong Falcons, where he averaged 16.8 disposals in 13 matches and finished third in his team’s best and fairest award. Is the son of Greg Mellor, who captained West Adelaide and played nearly 200 SANFL games before having a lengthy coaching career, which included six years at Richmond as a development coach. Was born in Thailand where his parents were working at the time before growing up in Geelong’s NGA zone, making him eligible to join the Cats under current NGA rules. A calf strain stopped him from testing at the Draft Combine.
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