2026 AFL National Draft

Max Bartlett: 2026 AFL Draft profile

High-Ceiling Forward Spark

SotaramAFL scouting view · Website profile expanded 26 October 2026 · Draft ranges from 19 October snapshot

2026 NATIONAL DRAFTTop 60 · EDITORIAL RANGEVIC

Position: Forward
Listed height: 182 cm
Club / region: Eastern Ranges (VIC Country)
Projected range: Top 60 (editorial)

SOTARAMAFL SCOUTING VIEW

Max Bartlett scouting report

Max Bartlett is the 2026 draft crop’s "high-ceiling forward spark." Standing at an agile 182cm, the Eastern Ranges prospect has built a reputation internally as a serious, highly explosive natural talent within a powerhouse program. After getting a taste of Talent League action during Eastern’s deep run last season, Bartlett has fully stepped into a consistent front-half role for his 2026 top-age campaign. He is a dangerous, creative mid-sized forward who combines an incredible vertical leap with lethal ground-level instincts. Bartlett is the ultimate wildcard inside fifty; he has a knack for converting low-probability chances, flies high to pinch contested marks against bigger defenders, and applies suffocating forward-half pressure when the ball hits the deck

Bartlett can make a forward line less predictable by staying alert to a ball that falls loose or a defender who commits too early. His willingness to compete in the air gives him another route into an attacking passage. We would look for his movement and pressure to provide a steady base for that creativity, helping him remain useful when the defence takes away the more difficult finish or the chance to fly.

AFL player comparison

Zac Bailey

At 182cm, Bartlett plays with that exact same low center of gravity and high-velocity acceleration that makes Bailey so elusive in heavy traffic. Like Bailey, Bartlett’s absolute superpower is his lethal burst away from contact and his innate nose for the goals. He doesn't just look to blend into a forward structure; he actively hunts for opportunities to turn his opponent inside out, break a line with sheer pace, and finish on the run from steep angles. Whether he is leaping over a pack to pull down an unexpected grab or crumbing a loose ball at maximum speed, he brings a genuine x-factor spark that panics modern defensive grids and creates goals out of absolutely nothing.

Scouting text, projected ranges and comparisons are SotaramAFL editorial assessments, rather than confirmed club decisions or predictions of career achievements.

Where could Max Bartlett fit in the 2026 AFL Draft?

The simulator currently places Max Bartlett in the Top 60 group. Compare the role and scouting assessment with the players available at your club’s selection, then test an alternative in your own mock draft.

Match statistics and combine testing

The scouting view is written for this website. Published measurements and their sources appear in the athletic profile below where available; a missing result is not a zero or proof of non-participation.

PROSPECT INTELLIGENCE / 2026

The athletic profile

The numbers. The draft context. The bigger picture.

0/ 5core tests published

SOTARAMAFL SCOUTING VIEW

Top 60 projected band

74 profiles share this band · editorial snapshot, 19 October 2026

Pick 1Pick 30Pick 60

Highlighted span: picks 1–60. A range, not an exact ranking or consensus score.

Dots show known results from the same event and protocol. Higher on the bar means faster or higher. This leader-biased sample does not represent the whole draft class.

Compare with a named historical mark. These are benchmark gaps, not all-time rankings or percentiles. National and state conditions can differ.

No verified measurements to plot yet

We will add the bars when attributable results are available. Missing data is not a low score and does not establish whether a player tested.

20m sprint —Agility —2km time trial —Standing vertical jump —Running vertical jump —

How to read this profile

Rankings use only published results collected for the same test and event, with competition ranking for ties. The denominator is the number of known results, not all participants. Preliminary and unofficial figures are shown without ranks or historical comparisons. Reaching-hand, side-specific and counter-movement protocols stay separate.

Scouting bands are the site's existing editorial view; no numerical skill ratings have been inferred from prose. Historical marks use the AFL's records reference. The 2km event began in 2017; no 3km, beep-test or Yo-Yo conversion is used. Harry Sharp's 2020 mark is a historical reference across differing event conditions. Finlay Yeo's WA agility result may surpass the national benchmark without changing that benchmark's event scope.

Research reviewed 26 October 2026. Read coverage and source discrepancies →