Tasmania has added to its defensive stocks for the 2027 VFL season, signing former Collingwood-listed defender Joel Cochran.
The 195cm defender spent two seasons on Collingwood’s AFL list after being selected with pick 47 in the 2024 AFL Draft.
The 20-year-old played 28 VFL games for the Magpies, predominantly in defence, departing the club without having played at AFL level.
An athletic tall who can intercept in the air and provide run out of defence, Cochran turned heads in his draft year when he ran the fastest 2km time trial at the AFL Draft Combine, finishing in six minutes and five seconds.
The versatile defender was a member of the Sydney Swans Academy playing at under 16’s level in 2022 and 2023 before making his debut in the under 18’s side in the same year.
Cochran also played one VFL game for the Sydney Swans, coincidentally against Collingwood.
Cochran joins fellow former AFL-listed recruits Jack Williams, George Stevens and Xavier Walsh as Jeromey Webberley builds his squad for Tasmania’s second VFL season.