This is the 18th post in a series of retrospective draft pools I've posted here starting with players turning 18 during the year 1975 and each subsequent year the next batch of 18 year olds. This is just a fun task to look back in the time that I been watching football in this league and wondering the quality of players that can be found retrospectively, as if drafts were done the same as they are now. Obviously in the some of these past decades, the national drafts as we know them now, did not exist. The late 1970's and 80's before the league expanded progressively from 12 to 16 clubs there were clubs having under 19's and no real restriction on ages to play seniors and later the early drafts of league had different rules regarding birth date eligibility to be in some draft pools. This series is to look back at each batch of players from same birth year and wonder whom would be the top draft picks and how deep in quality each yearly draft pool could have been.
If you watched football at least from the mid 1990's feel free to add your own thoughts on players you felt would have been number 1 in such retro-drafts of this batch of players and the following years.
This particular one of players born in 1975 for a retro-draft of 1993 has some of the first players in it that were really drafted through the new under 18's system in Victoria. Justin Leppitsch of the Southern Under 18 squad was drafted in first year without under 19's existing. However he was taken a year earlier as a 17 year old that was allowed in rules back then. Plenty of father-son type players such as Dustin Fletcher and Matthew Richardson would have featured in a retro-draft of 1993 had the rules existed then that do now.
They would be every chance to be bid on as selections in the new AFL bidding system of 2015. The gun midfielders of these 1975 born players were no doubt Michael Voss and Mark Ricciuto. Be hard placed to pick anyone else with first pick from this pool of players.
The AFL had now had it's second year without under 19's in the Victorian heartland as it had been replaced with an under 18 system independent of AFL clubs to groom teenagers ready for national draft pathways. Concessions to expansion clubs in WA, SA, NSW and Queensland were still in effect. This meant the pool of players still has these conditions existing that effect the pools of actual league draft of this time not having many of these players of this year born in it. In fact if you look back at the early 1990's league drafts you will not find many of these 18 year olds of that year in it. Players previously aged 16 or 17 in last year of under 19's teams existing may have been recruited to clubs directly via old club zones and could skip the need to be drafted in mid 1990's. Many of these early 1990's drafts also had pre-draft selections, mid-season drafts and various drafts going by different names and widely ranging ages of players. The AFL and it's clubs were still finding their way in transition to a full draft pathway system. As a result the so called national draft of the league for most of the 1990's had much talent already removed from a draft pool.
The pathway of all teenagers of similar age competing together in a truly national draft would still take close to end of the decade to be established as the only pathway into all AFL clubs.
Here is the retrospective draft pool of 18 year olds in year 1993:
1975 Born players (retrospective 1993 Draft)
Delaney, Tony
Lalich, Judd
Campbell, Brad
Beaumont, Simon
Campbell, Bradley
McFarlane, Sam
Matera, Phillip
French, Barnaby
Betheras, Rupert
Kellaway, Andrew
Bandy, Daniel
Gibson, Shannon
Venables, Cameron
Merenda, Mark
Stevens, Mark
James, Roger
Georgiou, John
Dooley, Paul
Leppitsch, Justin
Lloyd, Brad
Capuano, Matthew
Daniltchenko, Jason
Whitehead, Adrian
Kingsley, Adam
Barnett, John
Camporeale, Scott
Beinke, Bryan
Houlihan, Damian
Lord, Aaron
Darcy, Luke
Chandler, Brett
Bishop, Matthew
Bond, Shane
Voss, Michael
McKinnon, Martin
McPherson, Daniel
Anderson, Brady
Smith, Shayne
Liddle, Cain
Tallis, Rayden
Ricciuto, Mark
Colbert, Leigh
Ellis, Craig
Hargreaves, Tim
Hunter, Kingsley
Charles, Sean
Kitchen, Joshua
Nicks, Matthew
Chapman, Nathan
Fletcher, Dustin
Smart, Sam
Garlick, Simon
Gaspar, Damien
Richardson, Matthew
Sir, Sedat
Cockatoo-Collins, Che
Blurton, Ashley
Allan, Matthew
Barker, John
Schofield, Jarrad
Allen, Scott
Ramsey, Jason
Neitz, David
McMahon, Gavin
Harrison, Ben
Primus, Matthew
Hodges, Shane
Southern, Danie
Previous Retro-Draft Polls
1975 retro-draft
1976 retro-draft
1977 retro-draft
1978 retro-draft
1979 retro-draft
1980 retro-draft
1981 retro-draft
1982 retro-draft
1983 retro-draft
1984 retro-draft
1985 retro-draft
1986 retro-draft
1987 retro-draft
1988 retro-draft
1989 retro-draft
1990 retro-draft
1991 retro-draft
1992 retro-draft
If you watched football at least from the mid 1990's feel free to add your own thoughts on players you felt would have been number 1 in such retro-drafts of this batch of players and the following years.
This particular one of players born in 1975 for a retro-draft of 1993 has some of the first players in it that were really drafted through the new under 18's system in Victoria. Justin Leppitsch of the Southern Under 18 squad was drafted in first year without under 19's existing. However he was taken a year earlier as a 17 year old that was allowed in rules back then. Plenty of father-son type players such as Dustin Fletcher and Matthew Richardson would have featured in a retro-draft of 1993 had the rules existed then that do now.
They would be every chance to be bid on as selections in the new AFL bidding system of 2015. The gun midfielders of these 1975 born players were no doubt Michael Voss and Mark Ricciuto. Be hard placed to pick anyone else with first pick from this pool of players.
The AFL had now had it's second year without under 19's in the Victorian heartland as it had been replaced with an under 18 system independent of AFL clubs to groom teenagers ready for national draft pathways. Concessions to expansion clubs in WA, SA, NSW and Queensland were still in effect. This meant the pool of players still has these conditions existing that effect the pools of actual league draft of this time not having many of these players of this year born in it. In fact if you look back at the early 1990's league drafts you will not find many of these 18 year olds of that year in it. Players previously aged 16 or 17 in last year of under 19's teams existing may have been recruited to clubs directly via old club zones and could skip the need to be drafted in mid 1990's. Many of these early 1990's drafts also had pre-draft selections, mid-season drafts and various drafts going by different names and widely ranging ages of players. The AFL and it's clubs were still finding their way in transition to a full draft pathway system. As a result the so called national draft of the league for most of the 1990's had much talent already removed from a draft pool.
The pathway of all teenagers of similar age competing together in a truly national draft would still take close to end of the decade to be established as the only pathway into all AFL clubs.
Here is the retrospective draft pool of 18 year olds in year 1993:
1975 Born players (retrospective 1993 Draft)
Delaney, Tony
Lalich, Judd
Campbell, Brad
Beaumont, Simon
Campbell, Bradley
McFarlane, Sam
Matera, Phillip
French, Barnaby
Betheras, Rupert
Kellaway, Andrew
Bandy, Daniel
Gibson, Shannon
Venables, Cameron
Merenda, Mark
Stevens, Mark
James, Roger
Georgiou, John
Dooley, Paul
Leppitsch, Justin
Lloyd, Brad
Capuano, Matthew
Daniltchenko, Jason
Whitehead, Adrian
Kingsley, Adam
Barnett, John
Camporeale, Scott
Beinke, Bryan
Houlihan, Damian
Lord, Aaron
Darcy, Luke
Chandler, Brett
Bishop, Matthew
Bond, Shane
Voss, Michael
McKinnon, Martin
McPherson, Daniel
Anderson, Brady
Smith, Shayne
Liddle, Cain
Tallis, Rayden
Ricciuto, Mark
Colbert, Leigh
Ellis, Craig
Hargreaves, Tim
Hunter, Kingsley
Charles, Sean
Kitchen, Joshua
Nicks, Matthew
Chapman, Nathan
Fletcher, Dustin
Smart, Sam
Garlick, Simon
Gaspar, Damien
Richardson, Matthew
Sir, Sedat
Cockatoo-Collins, Che
Blurton, Ashley
Allan, Matthew
Barker, John
Schofield, Jarrad
Allen, Scott
Ramsey, Jason
Neitz, David
McMahon, Gavin
Harrison, Ben
Primus, Matthew
Hodges, Shane
Southern, Danie
Previous Retro-Draft Polls
1975 retro-draft
1976 retro-draft
1977 retro-draft
1978 retro-draft
1979 retro-draft
1980 retro-draft
1981 retro-draft
1982 retro-draft
1983 retro-draft
1984 retro-draft
1985 retro-draft
1986 retro-draft
1987 retro-draft
1988 retro-draft
1989 retro-draft
1990 retro-draft
1991 retro-draft
1992 retro-draft
