Dougie Cochrane in action during the 2025 Marsh AFL Futures Boys game on Grand Final Day, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

PORT Adelaide will have access to potential No.1 pick Dougie Cochrane in next year's draft after the AFL approved his application to be a part of the Power's Next Generation Academy.

AFL.com.au can reveal the significant ruling came on Thursday, with clubs informed of the decision.

It has seen Cochrane and his family certify their Indigenous background over recent months, with the League ticking off that the family and club had met requirements for the talented youngster to be added to Port's Academy.

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Cochrane's father Stuart, a former player at Port Adelaide and North Melbourne, wrote to the League in the middle of 2024 requesting his sons be given access to Port's Next Generation Academy program as the family explored its Indigenous heritage on his maternal side. Throughout the process the AFL has worked with Port on the steps of the approval while his application has been pending. 

While Tom was drafted by the club as a rookie last year, Dougie was earlier this year included in the Indigenous AFL Academy squad, with the teenager also keen to delve into his Indigenous background.

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The exchange of relevant information has stretched out the AFL's determination period, with the League taking the same steps for Cochrane's application as all NGA prospects through the approval process, albeit none have come with the same profile as the Cochrane call. 

The League has waited for required paperwork and verification before Cochrane was approved, with a confirmation of Aboriginal descent certificate provided to the AFL. 

The family's Aboriginal heritage can be traced to the Ngunawal people, with the family over generations disconnecting from their cultural background. The process for proving Cochrane's family heritage took longer as Stuart Cochrane dealt with personal health issues in recent times, which began only months after he had been appointed as Port's head of its Next Generation Academy years ago. 

Tom Cochrane receives his Port Adelaide jumper from his father, former Power player Stuart. Picture: Port Adelaide

The AFL faced a similar decision in 2023, when Ryley Sanders' process of Indigenous identification took many months before he was added to North Melbourne's Next Generation Academy in his draft year.

That year, under previous NGA rules, the club wouldn't have been able to match a bid on Sanders given his status as an early pick, but with the rules now open for matching bids at any point of the draft, Port Adelaide will be able to access Cochrane next year.

The AFL will be tightening its bidding system next year and has advised clubs they are likely to be able to use two picks to match a bid, with other controls dependent on ladder position likely to also be included in the next iteration of the system.

However the League's decision on Cochrane's NGA status means the Power will be able to select him at the draft, with the unique talent the early favourite to be the No.1 pick in 2026.

Dougie Cochrane in action during the Marsh AFL U16 Boys National Championships match between South Australia and Victoria Metro at People First Stadium on July 9, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

The athletic 196cm prospect can play all over the ground, including as a tall defender, a midfielder and in the forward line, and he starred in his senior SANFL debut this year with four goals in the first half.

He missed South Australia's under-18 carnival as a bottom-ager through a hamstring injury, but was judged the best player in the under-16 championships last year. 

The 17-year-old's older brother, Tom, debuted for Port this season and showed some exciting signs in his three games, with the pair's father Stuart playing 50 games for the Roos and 54 games for Port, thus leaving his sons ineligible for the father-son rule.