WATop 5
Heath Mellody
Contested Defender
Claremont (WAFL Colts / WA)
Scouting profile
2026 AFL National Draft
Mitchell Stirling: 2026 AFL Draft profile
Immovable Object
2026 NATIONAL DRAFTTop 60 · EDITORIAL RANGEWA
- Position
- Key Defender
- Listed height
- 197 cm
- Club / region
- Peel Thunder(WAFL Colts / WA)
- Projected range
- Top 60 (editorial)
SOTARAMAFL SCOUTING VIEW
Mitchell Stirling scouting report
Mitchell Stirling is the 2026 draft’s "immovable object." Standing at 197cm, the Peel Thunder product is a commanding key defender who was one of the few bottom-age players selected for Western Australia’s state squad in 2025. Renowned for a "hates-to-be-beaten" attitude and an elite set of hands, Stirling is the prototype for a modern lockdown pillar. Unlike many talls who struggle once the ball hits the deck, he possesses surprisingly nimble ground-level agility and a clinical kicking style that allows him to initiate offensive chains after a turnover. A competitive beast who often finds himself at the centre of the action, he is the anchor of the WA defense and a projected top-tier talent.
Stirling's appeal begins with making an opposition forward work for a clean route to the ball. A defender who can control that first movement gives the rest of the backline a more manageable contest to support. We would look for his intercepting and possession work to grow from that foundation, with the judgement to help a teammate without surrendering the responsibility for his own opponent.
AFL player comparison
Harris Andrews
Stirling mirrors Andrews’ "aerial wall" archetype. At 197cm, he has the frame to neutralize the league's biggest forwards, but it’s his superior intercept marking and spoils—often recorded at the highest point—that draw the comparison. Like Andrews, he acts as the defensive "general," reading the flight of the ball earlier than his opponents and possessing the composure to distribute effectively under high-pressure scenarios.
Scouting text, projected ranges and comparisons are SotaramAFL editorial assessments, rather than confirmed club decisions or predictions of career achievements.
Where could Mitchell Stirling fit in the 2026 AFL Draft?
The simulator currently places Mitchell Stirling 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 →
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Listed measurements and club connections come from the public simulator pool. See sources, methodology and corrections.