This is the 19th 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 1976 for a retro-draft of 1994 would feature many players that would be stars for clubs still considered expansion clubs. Brisbane and Adelaide in particular would look back in fondness at the fact players such Nigel Lappin, Chris Scott, Chris Johnson and Andrew McLeod would feature as premierships stars for these clubs. The Bulldogs featuring in preliminary finals in coming years would be fast forwarded with the likes of Brad Johnson and Nathan Brown from this 1994 retro-draft pool. Fraser Gehrig and Peter Bell would in time prove they were also some of better players from the 1976 born players.
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 the actual national draft of this time. Quite a few of players of this year born in it did not appear for this year. In fact if you look back at the early 1990's league drafts you will not find many of the 18 year olds of that year in it.
Being drafted at 17 was allowed in these times so quite a few players drafted earlier than year they turned 18. Many of these early 1990's drafts also had pre-draft selections, compensatory selections to clubs losing a player to a start up club such as Fremantle which could involve a 16 year old claimed by a club and therefore never in a draft pool with players of same age. There were also various drafts going by different names and widely ranging ages of players that would now get to clubs via free agency methods such as Paul Roos and Ross Lyon moving from Fitzroy to interstate clubs in the pre-season draft of this time. 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 1994:
1976 Born players (retrospective 1994 Draft)
Contessa, Adam
Robbins, Ben
Goodwin, Simon
Bassett, Nathan
Watson, Matthew
Bartlett, Trent
Bolton, Darren
Wilson, Michael
Schauble, Andrew
Stevens, Danny
James, Aaron
Kirk, Brett
Kirzner, Julian
Taylor, Scott
Fitzgerald, Ryan
Cripps, Jason
Rombotis, John
Porter, Mark
McDonald, James
Jones, Austinn
Biddiscombe, Craig
Brown, Michael
Harding, Greg
Polley, Michael
Elliott, Tim
Powell, Stephen
Clement, James
Daniels, Stephen
Hudghton, Max
Lane, Tyson
Brown, Nathan
Cook, Troy
McCabe, Luke
Edwards, Tyson
McLeod, Andrew
Howard, Dean
Cassidy, Brad
Walsh, Peter
Saunders, Nathan
Banks, Matthew
Johnson, Brad
Michael, Clem
Woewodin, Shane
Lade, Brendon
Marsh, Ben
Lekkas, Angelo
Bizzell, Clint
Cook, Sudjai
Jurica, Stephen
Warfe, Rowan
Lappin, Nigel
Stevenson, Robert
Bourke, Tony
Ormond-Allen, Trent
Maher, Paul
Johnson, Chris
Whitelaw, Martin
Ottens, Luke
Gaspar, Darren
Lawrence, Steven
Molloy, Jarrod
Gale, Mark
Shaw, Clinton
Scott, Chris
Scott, Brad
Seymour, Brad
Wynd, Paul
Myles, Dion
Murphy, Justin
Moorcroft, Gary
Wintle, Darryl
Cotton, Jarrod
Orchard, Mark
Green, Brent
Newton, Leigh
Heuskes, Adam
Keating, Clark
Powell, Robert
Callaghan, Craig
Lang, Damian
Gehrig, Fraser
Bell, Peter
Lindsay, Paul
Bellotti, Laurie
Sampson, Clay
Lappin, Matthew
Simpson, Adam
Arnott, Simon
Wild, Jason
Chick, Daniel
McManus, Shaun
Bird, Peter
Fiegert, Nigel
Vardy, Peter
Gorman, Glenn
Carey, Stefan
Hargraves, Daniel
Griffin, Daryl
Simpson, Hamish
White, Adam
Bourke, David
Chapman, Wade
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
1993 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 1976 for a retro-draft of 1994 would feature many players that would be stars for clubs still considered expansion clubs. Brisbane and Adelaide in particular would look back in fondness at the fact players such Nigel Lappin, Chris Scott, Chris Johnson and Andrew McLeod would feature as premierships stars for these clubs. The Bulldogs featuring in preliminary finals in coming years would be fast forwarded with the likes of Brad Johnson and Nathan Brown from this 1994 retro-draft pool. Fraser Gehrig and Peter Bell would in time prove they were also some of better players from the 1976 born players.
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 the actual national draft of this time. Quite a few of players of this year born in it did not appear for this year. In fact if you look back at the early 1990's league drafts you will not find many of the 18 year olds of that year in it.
Being drafted at 17 was allowed in these times so quite a few players drafted earlier than year they turned 18. Many of these early 1990's drafts also had pre-draft selections, compensatory selections to clubs losing a player to a start up club such as Fremantle which could involve a 16 year old claimed by a club and therefore never in a draft pool with players of same age. There were also various drafts going by different names and widely ranging ages of players that would now get to clubs via free agency methods such as Paul Roos and Ross Lyon moving from Fitzroy to interstate clubs in the pre-season draft of this time. 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 1994:
1976 Born players (retrospective 1994 Draft)
Contessa, Adam
Robbins, Ben
Goodwin, Simon
Bassett, Nathan
Watson, Matthew
Bartlett, Trent
Bolton, Darren
Wilson, Michael
Schauble, Andrew
Stevens, Danny
James, Aaron
Kirk, Brett
Kirzner, Julian
Taylor, Scott
Fitzgerald, Ryan
Cripps, Jason
Rombotis, John
Porter, Mark
McDonald, James
Jones, Austinn
Biddiscombe, Craig
Brown, Michael
Harding, Greg
Polley, Michael
Elliott, Tim
Powell, Stephen
Clement, James
Daniels, Stephen
Hudghton, Max
Lane, Tyson
Brown, Nathan
Cook, Troy
McCabe, Luke
Edwards, Tyson
McLeod, Andrew
Howard, Dean
Cassidy, Brad
Walsh, Peter
Saunders, Nathan
Banks, Matthew
Johnson, Brad
Michael, Clem
Woewodin, Shane
Lade, Brendon
Marsh, Ben
Lekkas, Angelo
Bizzell, Clint
Cook, Sudjai
Jurica, Stephen
Warfe, Rowan
Lappin, Nigel
Stevenson, Robert
Bourke, Tony
Ormond-Allen, Trent
Maher, Paul
Johnson, Chris
Whitelaw, Martin
Ottens, Luke
Gaspar, Darren
Lawrence, Steven
Molloy, Jarrod
Gale, Mark
Shaw, Clinton
Scott, Chris
Scott, Brad
Seymour, Brad
Wynd, Paul
Myles, Dion
Murphy, Justin
Moorcroft, Gary
Wintle, Darryl
Cotton, Jarrod
Orchard, Mark
Green, Brent
Newton, Leigh
Heuskes, Adam
Keating, Clark
Powell, Robert
Callaghan, Craig
Lang, Damian
Gehrig, Fraser
Bell, Peter
Lindsay, Paul
Bellotti, Laurie
Sampson, Clay
Lappin, Matthew
Simpson, Adam
Arnott, Simon
Wild, Jason
Chick, Daniel
McManus, Shaun
Bird, Peter
Fiegert, Nigel
Vardy, Peter
Gorman, Glenn
Carey, Stefan
Hargraves, Daniel
Griffin, Daryl
Simpson, Hamish
White, Adam
Bourke, David
Chapman, Wade
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
1993 retro-draft
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