Draft Expert Chris25's 2022 Young Talent Time

[Ysaye]

A recruiter will assess a different way to a coach who will offer a different way to an ex-footy great to a bigfooty fan.

I note that there was a long segment of arguments on WA radio about how Jai Newcombe was robbed because Daicos was selected over him for the rising star (chosen by washed up but totally unbiased ex-footballers) but Newcombe won the coaches medal. Who is better?

Or, at the end of the day does it really matter?

 

[Chris25]

I said it in another thread, I think comparing AFL players to draft prospects and trying to weave them into the draft mix is a pointless endeavour.

So I’ve answered the question based on junior career vs junior career.

Am I surprised at how well Daicos did this year? Not at all. Do I still think Horne-Francis has the potential to be the better player? Yes I do. Just unfortunate he was drafted to where he was.

 

[The Kaiser Chief]

I said it in another thread, I think comparing AFL players to draft prospects and trying to weave them into the draft mix is a pointless endeavour.

So I’ve answered the question based on junior career vs junior career.

Am I surprised at how well Daicos did this year? Not at all. Do I still think Horne-Francis has the potential to be the better player? Yes I do. Just unfortunate he was drafted to where he was.

unfortunate may have become fortunate with the arrival of Clarko

 

[Chris25]

unfortunate may have become fortunate with the arrival of Clarko

I certainly hope so. I want to see JHF reach his potential. I wouldn’t say Hawthorn was left flushed with well developed young players when he left though…

But anything is an upgrade.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

I certainly hope so. I want to see JHF reach his potential. I wouldn’t say Hawthorn was left flushed with well developed young players when he left though…

But anything is an upgrade.

Who do you feel will be of most benefit with Clarko's arrival?

 

[tenderwarrior]

Who do you feel will be of most benefit with Clarko's arrival?

Clarko

 

[pK75]

Who do you feel will be of most benefit with Clarko's arrival?

The AFLs agenda to relocate the Roos to Tasmania instead of starting a new team.

 

[Blackhawk42]

Who do you feel will be of most benefit with Clarko's arrival?

Liam Shiels

 

[tenderwarrior]

The AFLs agenda to relocate the Roos to Tasmania instead of starting a new team.

I think this conspiracy theory has more merit than most..

 

[Chris25]

Back to the draft...

If I was to update my board, one player who would be pushing into the top 30 is Jaiden Magor from South Adelaide. 185cm and 79kg forward/midfielder. Started the season really well showing his midfield power both in the U18s and at school level. Played well in SA's trial match against NSW, kicked two early goals in the opening round of the Champs and then hurt his ankle. But he still received a national combine invite for a reason.

He since returned to U18s football a couple of weeks ago. Playing almost solely as a forward in his comeback, he's kicked 11.4 in two games and averaged 7 marks and 15 touches. There's a few of these versatile 185cm types in this draft, but a lot of them project more as outside types. Few have the inside game as well as the forward ability like Magor.

Brayden Cook and Luke Pedlar both jumped up the draft order late on the back of some goal kicking...

 

[Heaps of fun]

I certainly hope so. I want to see JHF reach his potential. I wouldn’t say Hawthorn was left flushed with well developed young players when he left though…

But anything is an upgrade.

They hadn't had top picks for years when he left and did pretty well with the first batch of high picks he did have. I'm glad Hawthorn stumbled through his second rebuild at the Hawks, would have learnt a lot and now inherits a large group of talented high end picks.

 

[Yoda_]

Hey Chris, what’s Tom Emett’s story?

Noticed hes scored a testing invite. Only 20 I hear


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[philthy05]

Back to the draft...

If I was to update my board, one player who would be pushing into the top 30 is Jaiden Magor from South Adelaide. 185cm and 79kg forward/midfielder. Started the season really well showing his midfield power both in the U18s and at school level. Played well in SA's trial match against NSW, kicked two early goals in the opening round of the Champs and then hurt his ankle. But he still received a national combine invite for a reason.

He since returned to U18s football a couple of weeks ago. Playing almost solely as a forward in his comeback, he's kicked 11.4 in two games and averaged 7 marks and 15 touches. There's a few of these versatile 185cm types in this draft, but a lot of them project more as outside types. Few have the inside game as well as the forward ability like Magor.

Brayden Cook and Luke Pedlar both jumped up the draft order late on the back of some goal kicking...

Do you trust magors body?
What do you think his testing would say? I’ve watched him a couple of times over the past 2 years but without being at the ground wasn’t able to get a good read of his athleticism (and was ages ago since I last watched him)

I also worry about guys suffering a lot of injuries becoming plodders quickly.

I’m a big fan of his goal sense, and spatial awareness in congestion. At least they’re the things that stuck with me.

Port desperately needs to go after some small and medium forwards in the next two drafts.

 

[TheAthlete]

Back to the draft...

If I was to update my board, one player who would be pushing into the top 30 is Jaiden Magor from South Adelaide. 185cm and 79kg forward/midfielder. Started the season really well showing his midfield power both in the U18s and at school level. Played well in SA's trial match against NSW, kicked two early goals in the opening round of the Champs and then hurt his ankle. But he still received a national combine invite for a reason.

He since returned to U18s football a couple of weeks ago. Playing almost solely as a forward in his comeback, he's kicked 11.4 in two games and averaged 7 marks and 15 touches. There's a few of these versatile 185cm types in this draft, but a lot of them project more as outside types. Few have the inside game as well as the forward ability like Magor.

Brayden Cook and Luke Pedlar both jumped up the draft order late on the back of some goal kicking...

To be fair Chris while the Athlete likes and approves of your position regarding Mr Magor he is somewhat concerned about you saying he played well for school this year. Only because it is very difficult to perform for a school you have left the year before! Appreciate your work but the Athlete says it slightly undermines your position if you don't know basis facts.

 

[Chris25]

To be fair Chris while the Athlete likes and approves of your position regarding Mr Magor he is somewhat concerned about you saying he played well for school this year. Only because it is very difficult to perform for a school you have left the year before! Appreciate your work but the Athlete says it slightly undermines your position if you don't know basis facts.

Started the season really well showing his midfield power in the U18s as well as at school level last year.

Better? I’d no doubt point out the same with other posters, so I’ll accept that. I’ve seen probably about half of his games this year for South’s so far, and when you’re trotting out in the U18s week in and week out it clearly would leave little time for other levels anyway.

It was written poorly. But hey, it’s still better than writing in the third person.

 

[Chris25]

Do you trust magors body?
What do you think his testing would say? I’ve watched him a couple of times over the past 2 years but without being at the ground wasn’t able to get a good read of his athleticism (and was ages ago since I last watched him)

I also worry about guys suffering a lot of injuries becoming plodders quickly.

I’m a big fan of his goal sense, and spatial awareness in congestion. At least they’re the things that stuck with me.

Port desperately needs to go after some small and medium forwards in the next two drafts.

One thing I’ve never really been good at it is predicting how someone will go in testing. So many cases of players moving well on the ground, but having average results. And then the other way around. I’d guess Magor would be middle of the pack, but who knows.

Testing and medical stuff will be key for him, but it’s good he made it back for a couple of games.

The best thing about being an armchair recruiter is you don’t have to factor in health. I don’t know the details, and I don’t have a job riding on my calls.

 

[Chris25]

Hey Chris, what’s Tom Emett’s story?

Noticed hes scored a testing invite. Only 20 I hear


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I said this about Emmett…

Medium sized forward who showed a bit back in 2020 at U18s level, made his league debut in Round 6 this year and held his spot since. His last 6 weeks has been particularly strong, spending more time inside the forward 50. Strong body and a good mark, provides a presence up forward.

Worth a closer look at I think, potential rookie option. Sort of that Membrey, Zurhaar type. Deep medium forward, good mark. When you’re a club without this sort of forward option, you realise how important it is. I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes him another year of good league football to make it onto a list though.

 

[TheAthlete]

Started the season really well showing his midfield power in the U18s as well as at school level last year.

Better? I’d no doubt point out the same with other posters, so I’ll accept that. I’ve seen probably about half of his games this year for South’s so far, and when you’re trotting out in the U18s week in and week out it clearly would leave little time for other levels anyway.

It was written poorly. But hey, it’s still better than writing in the third person.

Hahaha way way better but not as fun!

 

[Chris25]

Since we're heading into the finals, it means 10 teams have nothing to look forward to except the draft. So why not do a quick top 10 mock for them...

I should note, I'm going to assume Adelaide trade #5 to the Gold Coast for Izak Rankine

23

Izak Rankine

Age

24

Ht

181cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.0

3star

K

9.0

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.7

4star

G

2.0

5star

D

13.0

3star

K

9.0

4star

HB

4.0

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.7

4star

G

2.0

5star

D

13.0

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

4.0

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.7

5star

G

2.0

5star

. It seems more likely than not. While other picks will no doubt change, it's not quite as clear.

1. Brisbane (matched bid) - Will Ashcroft
2. North Melbourne - George Wardlaw
3. West Coast - Elijah Tsatas
4. GWS - Aaron Cadman
5. Essendon - Harry Sheezel
6. Gold Coast (trade) - Jedd Busslinger
7. Hawthorn - Mattaes Phillipou
8. Gold Coast - Oliver Hollands
9. Port Adelaide - Bailey Humphrey
10. St Kilda - Cameron McKenzie
11. Carlton - Elijah Hewett

Nothing too shocking. We'll see if there are any big finals performances or strong draft combines to change it up, but it seems as though there's probably a fairly settled top 15 or so.

I do keep changing my mind on North's pick. But I think Wardlaw is the best available pure mid - while it might not be the ideal list fit at the moment, I think just go best on offer and fix the list balance later. The only other one I changed my mind on was if Gold Coast have two top 10 picks, in which case I think they can be strategic - either take Hewett and go with the two WA boys, or more likely pair up the Hollands brothers. I'm a big fan of Elijah Hollands, and Oliver is good enough that it's not a stretch to take him there.

 

[doug85]

Since we're heading into the finals, it means 10 teams have nothing to look forward to except the draft. So why not do a quick top 10 mock for them...

I should note, I'm going to assume Adelaide trade #5 to the Gold Coast for Izak Rankine. It seems more likely than not. While other picks will no doubt change, it's not quite as clear.

1. Brisbane (matched bid) - Will Ashcroft
2. North Melbourne - George Wardlaw
3. West Coast - Elijah Tsatas
4. GWS - Aaron Cadman
5. Essendon - Harry Sheezel
6. Gold Coast (trade) - Jedd Busslinger
7. Hawthorn - Mattaes Phillipou
8. Gold Coast - Oliver Hollands
9. Port Adelaide - Bailey Humphrey
10. St Kilda - Cameron McKenzie
11. Carlton - Elijah Hewett

Nothing too shocking. We'll see if there are any big finals performances or strong draft combines to change it up, but it seems as though there's probably a fairly settled top 15 or so.

I do keep changing my mind on North's pick. But I think Wardlaw is the best available pure mid - while it might not be the ideal list fit at the moment, I think just go best on offer and fix the list balance later. The only other one I changed my mind on was if Gold Coast have two top 10 picks, in which case I think they can be strategic - either take Hewett and go with the two WA boys, or more likely pair up the Hollands brothers. I'm a big fan of Elijah Hollands, and Oliver is good enough that it's not a stretch to take him there.

I’d be chuffed with Sheezel if it fell that way. If not, be nice if Tsatas fell to us.

 

[robbo1981]

Hi Chris do you know much about Shaun Bennier ? He played juniors with my god son was a class above. I know he did an acl at one stage but have seen his playing states under 18s.

 

[Blackhawk42]

Since we're heading into the finals, it means 10 teams have nothing to look forward to except the draft. So why not do a quick top 10 mock for them...

I should note, I'm going to assume Adelaide trade #5 to the Gold Coast for Izak Rankine. It seems more likely than not. While other picks will no doubt change, it's not quite as clear.

1. Brisbane (matched bid) - Will Ashcroft
2. North Melbourne - George Wardlaw
3. West Coast - Elijah Tsatas
4. GWS - Aaron Cadman
5. Essendon - Harry Sheezel
6. Gold Coast (trade) - Jedd Busslinger
7. Hawthorn - Mattaes Phillipou
8. Gold Coast - Oliver Hollands
9. Port Adelaide - Bailey Humphrey
10. St Kilda - Cameron McKenzie
11. Carlton - Elijah Hewett

Nothing too shocking. We'll see if there are any big finals performances or strong draft combines to change it up, but it seems as though there's probably a fairly settled top 15 or so.

I do keep changing my mind on North's pick. But I think Wardlaw is the best available pure mid - while it might not be the ideal list fit at the moment, I think just go best on offer and fix the list balance later. The only other one I changed my mind on was if Gold Coast have two top 10 picks, in which case I think they can be strategic - either take Hewett and go with the two WA boys, or more likely pair up the Hollands brothers. I'm a big fan of Elijah Hollands, and Oliver is good enough that it's not a stretch to take him there.

Phillipou at 7 and Hollands in the top 10 will certainly shock some. I like Phillipou but I would be somewhat surprised if we drafted him that high.

McKenzie seems the safe bet as far as Hawthorn is concerned. We simply need a top 10 midfielder and we cannot afford a bust.

 

[Chris25]

Hi Chris do you know much about Shaun Bennier ? He played juniors with my god son was a class above. I know he did an acl at one stage but have seen his playing states under 18s.

Bennier got a state combine invite, so there's some interest. Had a decent Champs for SA, playing very much as a swingman. Presented well when he went forward, defended well when he was back. Reasonably athletic, just a solid player. I think he projects best as a defender, but versatility is always an asset - bit of Mihocek about him. Rookie chance, but seems a likely mature aged target in a couple of years otherwise.

Phillipou at 7 and Hollands in the top 10 will certainly shock some. I like Phillipou but I would be somewhat surprised if we drafted him that high.

McKenzie seems the safe bet as far as Hawthorn is concerned. We simply need a top 10 midfielder and we cannot afford a bust.

I guess it depends on what you're looking for from a top 10 pick. Do you want a good, safe player or do you go for a potentially great player?

Phillipou has significantly higher upside than McKenzie in my opinion, as high as anyone in the draft pool. I view McKenzie as a good player, with perhaps like a Blake Acres level ceiling. Nothing wrong with that, but I'm going for the best talent if I'm picking top 10.

 

[Blackhawk42]

I guess it depends on what you're looking for from a top 10 pick. Do you want a good, safe player or do you go for a potentially great player?

Phillipou has significantly higher upside than McKenzie in my opinion, as high as anyone in the draft pool. I view McKenzie as a good player, with perhaps like a Blake Acres level ceiling. Nothing wrong with that, but I'm going for the best talent if I'm picking top 10.

I actually tend to agree in regards to Phillipou vs McKenzie and the upside potential. I would still be excited if we selected the Pou.

However with the state of our midfield we actually need to be careful with the risks we take when selecting a top 10 talent. I actually see McKenzie as a Jackson Macrae type. May not have the pure accumulation but he has an ability to link up in traffic and move the footy forward. Also appears to be ultra consistent. Yes, we NEED a Bontempelli/Josh Kelly type, but we're also crying out for a Macrae/Merrett/Oliver who you can rely on week in and week out.
Newcombe, Ward and Macdonald are a promising trio for the next decade, but it's so early in their development that we can't guarantee they are sure-fire A graders.

Interested to see how Mark McKenzie prioritises all of this on draft night.

 

[Chris25]

Newcombe, Ward and Macdonald are a promising trio for the next decade, but it's so early in their development that we can't guarantee they are sure-fire A graders.

I don't pretend to be an expert on other team lists, so I'll always defer to actual supporters...

But for me, this is a reason to go for high upside and a potential game changer when you have the chance. Newcome and Ward look like they belong at AFL level, I think they can be confidently pencilled in as B grade mids - with further growth to hopefully come. But if you view them as the solid building blocks, I think it's time to bring in a higher risk talent (not that I view Phillipou as all that risky). As opposed to bringing in someone who, at best, is on their level.

As an aside, I was very high on Finn Maginness in his draft year. Irrationally so. It's nice to see him find his spot.