View Full Version : Intresting Article about Zaharakis
AndyLesPaul
3 May 2009, 10:41
ANZAC Day hero David Zaharakis almost did not go to Essendon. It has been revealed Zaharakis was earmarked to be taken by Hawthorn . . . with the pick used on Stuart Dew at pick 45 in the 2007 draft.
Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson clashed with recruiting staff in the lead up to the draft. Clarkson had sought a commitment on Dew but recruiters wanted to choose the best player available.
After a decent debate, Dew was chosen ahead of Zaharakis, who was 17 at the time. He went undrafted until the following year.
The decision on Dew ultimately proved best given his contribution to a premiership -- although no one at the Bombers is complaining now. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/spo...-19742,00.html (http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25417942-19742,00.html)
Bloody lucky we are :D:thumbsu:
ghostdog
3 May 2009, 10:51
Yeah we are lucky! Zak will prove to be very good (though I want to use the word 'elite' (whatever that means) I shall refrain for now).
Clarkson's selection of Dew though was a masterstroke. The stability and guidance he gave the young Hawks was terrific, and with the Lucas situation at the moment (though I hope he comes good sooner rather than later as well), the Dew selection speaks volumes for our selection of an established key forward at the next trade week.
AndyLesPaul
3 May 2009, 10:55
Yeah we are lucky! Zak will prove to be very good (though I want to use the word 'elite' (whatever that means) I shall refrain for now).
Clarkson's selection of Dew though was a masterstroke. The stability and guidance he gave the young Hawks was terrific, and with the Lucas situation at the moment (though I hope he comes good sooner rather than later as well), the Dew selection speaks volumes for our selection of an established key forward at the next trade week.
It is a masterstroke,
They get Dew, we get ZAHARAKIS ;)
Did Zaharakis improve that much in a year though?
He's was our second pick, and wasnt even chosen in '07
In 2010 Zaha > Dew. Both teams win though, Hawks got a flag and we got a good ten year player (hopefully)
AndyLesPaul
4 May 2009, 16:51
In 2010 Zaha > Dew. Both teams win though, Hawks got a flag and we got a good ten year player (hopefully)
Well, Dont write out the fact that Tsar (yes i'm going with Tsar or Czar) Will win us a flag in a few years :D
bombersno1
6 May 2009, 15:16
Dew was crucial to Hawthorn winning a flag, his performance in the 3rd quarter of the GF was amazing to say the least. Hodge got the Norm Smith but Hawthorn made the right call in drafting Dew
Both parties got what they wanted and what they required.
One thinks though that Essendon would trade Zaharakis for Dew at the moment with your current forward line problems.
RuckRyder
6 May 2009, 23:49
What that article points out is that we could have got him in the previous draft instead of Hooker for example. Instead we gave up pick 23. These are the sort of risks I would like the club to take late in the draft as they can pay off handsomely like in the Zaharakis case.
What that article points out is that we could have got him in the previous draft instead of Hooker for example. Instead we gave up pick 23. These are the sort of risks I would like the club to take late in the draft as they can pay off handsomely like in the Zaharakis case.
Thats what we did with Still this year i think. He is a bottom aged player and is still at school. Dodoro says in the Bomber magazine that he thinks Michael could be a first round selection this year and we used our fourth round selection on him plus he received an extra year of senior footy in him.
Buddy and the Hawk
7 May 2009, 13:47
Both parties got what they wanted and what they required.
One thinks though that Essendon would trade Zaharakis for Dew at the moment with your current forward line problems.
Very much doubt that, Essendon are looking long term, not short term fixes, Zaha is exactly what they needed. Dew would be a waste for them.
Hawthorn were in a position last year where we had plenty of young talent, but were just lacking in experience, mainly finals and big game experience.
This was definatly a win-win situation.
My only question is, if Hawthorn saw so much in Zaha why didn't they just delist another player and draft him anyway? We still had guys like Dawson(as good as he is going now) who were never going to last at the club. They can't have been that interested. Also, why didn't anyone rookie list him? Don't think this situation is as black and white as it seems. Zaha will be a very handy player for the Dons though, and Dew still has about 4 years of good footy at least.
Did Zaharakis improve that much in a year though?
Apparently his kicking was very ordinary. Clearly he went away and worked on that pretty hard. I wondered in another thread whether he is the player he is now because of the disappointment of not getting drafted in 2007?
Very much doubt that, Essendon are looking long term, not short term fixes, Zaha is exactly what they needed. Dew would be a waste for them.
Hawthorn were in a position last year where we had plenty of young talent, but were just lacking in experience, mainly finals and big game experience.
This was definatly a win-win situation.
My only question is, if Hawthorn saw so much in Zaha why didn't they just delist another player and draft him anyway? We still had guys like Dawson(as good as he is going now) who were never going to last at the club. They can't have been that interested. Also, why didn't anyone rookie list him? Don't think this situation is as black and white as it seems. Zaha will be a very handy player for the Dons though, and Dew still has about 4 years of good footy at least.
You cant rookie list a bottom aged player.
Buddy and the Hawk
8 May 2009, 09:16
You cant rookie list a bottom aged player.
Cool, I wasn't sure about that one.
Still, if they were interested enough they would have cut some of the dead wood off the list and used an extra pick in the draft.
Honestly, has worked out very well for both clubs.