Analysis by Adam
At a glance
Top 5 Scorers
| Player | Games | Average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tim English | 23 | 110.8 | 5 |
| Lachie Ash | 23 | 100.1 | 25 |
| Isaac Heeney | 23 | 96.9 | 33 |
| Lloyd Meek | 22 | 93.3 | 45 |
| John Noble | 23 | 90.9 | 55 |
Season Summary
After 3 frankly dire seasons, that were preceded by a further 3 “eh” seasons, Te Puke Pukekos finally came to life in 2025.
Suddenly, this club seems primed for success. Their best players – English, Heeney, Ash, Meek, and Pickett, are in their primes. They are flush with young talent – Bpwey, Rivers, Reid, Ashcroft, Sanders, Curtin, Thilthorpe, Weddle, Phillipou, Humphrey.
Just imagine if Parish and Will Day were able to acquire body transplants.
So why aren’t they playing finals? A rough fixture to end the season proved the main barrier. But one does wonder how they missed when a team like the Vipers did.
The off-season hasn’t been kind on the injury front, and they aren’t the only improving team. But after the green shoots of 2025, Pukekos should be disappointed if they find themselves on the outside looking in once again come July.
Season Grade: B
All-Australians
3: Lachie Ash, Kysaiah Pickett, Tim English
DangerGawn Votes
| Rank | Player | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Tim English | 16 |
| 24 | Lachie Ash | 9 |
| 26 | Lloyd Meek | 8 |
| 34 | Isaac Heeney | 6 |
| 49 | John Noble | 4 |
| 54 | Ryley Sanders | 4 |
| 66 | Will Day | 3 |
| 85 | Tom Powell | 2 |
| 97 | Riley Thilthorpe | 2 |
| 99 | Harley Reid | 2 |
| 105 | Jake Bowey | 1 |
| 120 | Dan Curtin | 1 |
Pre-Season Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | GP | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Levi Ashcroft | 20 | 73.4 |
| 2 | 11 | Kane McAuliffe | 4 | 78.75 |
| 3 | 21 | Tom Brown | 7 | 55.86 |
| 4 | 31 | Bailey Humphrey | 19 | 69 |
| 5 | 41 | Reef McInnes | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 51 | Will Phillips | 2 | 71 |
| 7 | 61 | Ryan Byrnes | 17 | 67.06 |
| 8 | 71 | Cam Zurhaar | 9 | 57.78 |
| 9 | 81 | James Leake | 1 | 14 |
| 10 | 91 | Riley Garcia | 3 | 55 |
| 11 | 101 | Jake Bowey | 20 | 86.05 |
| 12 | 111 | Caiden Cleary | 7 | 53.14 |
| 13 | 121 | James Jordon | 16 | 55.06 |
| 14 | 131 | Alex Davies | 2 | 67.5 |
| 15 | 141 | Campbell Chesser | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 151 | Mitch McGovern | 9 | 74.56 |
| 17 | 161 | Brady Hough | 11 | 64.55 |
| 18 | 171 | Tyler Sonsie | 6 | 61.67 |
| 19 | 181 | Jaxon Binns | 3 | 54.67 |
| 20 | 191 | Koltyn Tholstrup | 1 | 47 |
Most Inspired Selection
Pick 101 – Jake Bowey
This is how you kick-off the back half of the draft folks. Someone who averaged over 85, and a long-term keeper? That’s value.
The other nominee to my mind was Bailey Humphrey. What’s that, they’re both former Roughnecks? Oh I didn’t realise that. Definitely haven’t been stewing on it. I am very chill.
I think this is a rock-solid draft. McAuliffe and Brown probably didn’t pay off the way you’d be hoping with those premium selections. But if you get something as good as Bowey later on, it takes the sting out of it.
It’s hard not to read this result as an endorsement for having a draft day plan and sticking to it. Nelson’s plan was obviously to grab as many youthful lottery tickets as possible. Three of them – Ashcroft, Humphrey and Bowey, undoubtedly paid off. When you’re building, getting 3 long term keepers out of a single draft is good going.
Trades
Nil.
List at end of 2025 season
| Player | Age | GP | AVG | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim English | 28 | 23 | 110.8 | 5 |
| Lachie Ash | 24 | 23 | 100.1 | 25 |
| Isaac Heeney | 29 | 23 | 96.9 | 33 |
| Lloyd Meek | 27 | 22 | 93.3 | 45 |
| John Noble | 28 | 23 | 90.9 | 55 |
| Kysaiah Pickett | 24 | 20 | 87.3 | 70 |
| Tom Powell | 23 | 23 | 86.9 | 73 |
| Will Day | 24 | 6 | 86.8 | 74 |
| Jake Bowey | 23 | 23 | 86.4 | 78 |
| Darcy Parish | 28 | 3 | 85.3 | 83 |
| Riley Thilthorpe | 23 | 23 | 82.9 | 97 |
| Trent Rivers | 24 | 23 | 82.3 | 101 |
| Sam Draper | 26 | 5 | 82 | 105 |
| Justin McInerney | 25 | 17 | 78.6 | 124 |
| Levi Ashcroft | 18 | 23 | 74.4 | 152 |
| Kane McAuliffe | 20 | 5 | 73.6 | 160 |
| Marc Pittonet | 29 | 7 | 70.3 | 180 |
| Josh Weddle | 21 | 15 | 69.7 | 184 |
| Bailey Humphrey | 21 | 21 | 68.3 | 192 |
| Ryan Byrnes | 24 | 17 | 67.1 | 202 |
| Harley Reid | 20 | 19 | 66.7 | 208 |
| Ryley Sanders | 20 | 21 | 66.1 | 215 |
| Daniel Curtin | 20 | 23 | 65.2 | 224 |
| Brady Hough | 22 | 22 | 64.1 | 233 |
| Mitch McGovern | 30 | 17 | 62.6 | 252 |
| Jaxon Binns | 20 | 5 | 61.8 | 268 |
| Jack Henry | 27 | 18 | 60.2 | 285 |
| Will Phillips | 23 | 7 | 59.1 | 297 |
| Cameron Zurhaar | 27 | 22 | 57.6 | 322 |
| Tyler Sonsie | 22 | 16 | 57.6 | 323 |
| Xavier O’Halloran | 25 | 22 | 57.5 | 325 |
| Tom Brown | 22 | 23 | 57.1 | 329 |
| James Jordon | 24 | 23 | 56.9 | 333 |
| Jade Gresham | 28 | 19 | 53.6 | 383 |
| Riley Garcia | 24 | 8 | 53.5 | 386 |
| Jackson Mead | 23 | 20 | 51.3 | 414 |
| Caiden Cleary | 20 | 12 | 47.2 | 461 |
| Mattaes Phillipou | 20 | 7 | 35.9 | 569 |
| James Leake | 19 | 3 | 31.7 | 599 |
| Jake Rogers | 20 | 9 | 27.3 | 625 |
Player to watch in 2026
Ryley Sanders
Te Puke Pukekos boast one of the more enviable collections of young keepers. Though perhaps you might remark they oughta given how long they’ve been out of finals.
There are probably a dozen players I could’ve picked here. I seriously considered Weddle (is he a fantasy player?), but I’ve opted for Sanders. A prized selection for this club who has endured a stop-start career to date. It’s clear he’s a fantasy player. Can he get a conducive role at the Dogs? And even if he doesn’t, does coach Nelson simply hold and hope he becomes midfielder #1 in a future Tasmanian Devils squad?