Essendon will be closely monitoring the performances of father-son prospect Alijah Davey across the 2025 season.
The exciting teenager is the son of former Bombers small forward Alwyn Davey and is eligible to be taken under the father-son rule in this year's National Draft.
Alijah has delivered a string of eye-catching performances at Coates Talent League level and for his school side, Xavier College – including a standout showing last month that helped spark a remarkable comeback win over archrivals Scotch College.
It was a performance reminiscent of his father, with Davey booting two crucial final-quarter goals and narrowly missed a third from close range.
He also applied enormous defensive pressure inside forward-50, laying several big tackles and terrorising Scotch's defenders.
The 18-year-old is aligned with the Oakleigh Chargers in the Coates Talent League and has featured in two games so far this season.
His best outing came in Round 2 against the Northern Knights, where he kicked two goals and was named among the Chargers' best performers.
Davey has also represented the Northern Territory in two Coates Talent League matches and kicked a goal in a 32-point loss to the Western Jets at TIO Stadium.
Territory State Academy coach Dale Eames said Davey has a strong foundation to build on.
"He's blessed with pace and we definitely got to see a bit of that in our games," Eames said.
"He's got some serious pace, a really good footy IQ and understands that his role is largely revolved around that pressure aspect that modern AFL has turned into, the small forward role.
"You can definitely see the upside, I just hope he gets a little bit of luck and continuity his way for the rest of the APS season, and then Oakleigh Chargers.
"Speaking to the Oakleigh Chargers coach, he always regards him highly, and he gets to see him a little bit more than I do."
The 173cm small forward already has experience playing against men, having debuted for his junior club Palmerston during the 2022/23 Northern Territory Football League season.
He is steadily regaining confidence after missing most of last year with a ruptured ACL – the same injury that hampered his older brother Jayden's junior career.
Davey comes from rich football pedigree.
His father Alwyn thrilled Bombers fans across a 100-game AFL career, while his uncle Aaron played 178 games for Melbourne and won the Demons' best-and-fairest in 2009.
Now, Alijah is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his older brothers, Alwyn Jr and Jayden, who were both drafted to Essendon in 2022.
