AFL mid-season rookie draft 2023: Kangaroos weigh up opening list spot following Jack Mahony and Hamish Free injuries

A week out from the mid-season selection meeting, North Melbourne could theoretically have the second pick in the draft. The only issue? They don’t have a list vacancy, writes DANIEL CHERNY.

Daniel Cherny

@danielcherny

less than 2 min read

May 24, 2023 - 3:58PM

Jack Mahony managed just two matches in 2023 before being ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

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North Melbourne is considering its mid-season draft options after shoulder injuries to forward Jack Mahony and ruckman Hamish Free.

The Kangaroos are second-bottom of the ladder just a week out from the mid-season selection meeting and could theoretically have the second pick in the draft, but do not currently have a list vacancy.

Mahony, 21, could be added to the inactive list after North ruled him out for the season following a shoulder injury in the round nine loss to Port Adelaide. It’s understood the club is yet to make a formal call on the out-of-contract 21-year-old small, who has played 44 AFL games.

Mahony was taken from the ground after sustaining a shoulder injury against the Power. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Meanwhile Free, who joined from the WAFL as a mature-ager late last year, is set for a stint on the sidelines after a shoulder injury in the VFL loss to Casey on the weekend. The Kangaroos have thus far opted against sending Free in for season-ending surgery however that remains an option. Free has been an AFL emergency already and is averaging 23 hit-outs and almost 13 disposals in the VFL this year, but is yet to make his AFL debut.

West Coast, who sits on the bottom of the ladder, has committed to taking at least one pick in the draft next Wednesday night following a season-ending knee injury to Jai Culley, who coincidentally was taken at pick No. 1 in last year’s draft.

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Third-from-bottom Hawthorn entered the season with a list vacancy, as did Essendon, Fremantle, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs.

Culley has been a significant loss for the already injury-ridden Eagles. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

However season-ending injuries or retirements have opened the door for other clubs including the Eagles, fourth-from-bottom Greater Western Sydney (Darcy Jones and Adam Kennedy), Sydney (Sam Reid), Richmond (Jason Castagna) and Port Adelaide (Mitch Georgiades), while the Hawks could pick twice in light of Max Lynch’s concussion issues that have ruled him out for the year.

Clubs have until next week to open list spots.