Toast Pick #25: Welcome to the kennel Josh Dunkley

[BruceFromBalnarring]

Cool. Wasn't sure if you had any unused picks, your last 2 selections had a value of 453 which would have left you short.
A couple of picks in the 60's would cover that as you said.

Out of interest what picks were you left with? In hindsight would you have been better off not trading down? Or would it have not changed anything?

So many interesting repurcussions with the new bidding system.

Who could possibly know? Certainly if we'd matched an interstate club's bid for Dunkley it would've been worth it. But without looking into the "what if" scenarios, which would seriously take an hour, I suspect not much would be different. Mills was always going to cost us any picks we had up until the 50s.

 

[VitalDread]

Hes compared to Swans Luke Parker
Im ok with this

 

[doggies ftw]

His kicking just looks careful. Like Morris. As if he's not all that well equipped to damage opposition. Maybe Wallis too is a reasonable comparison

Yeah a young Wallis' kicking looks like a good comparison. He's tightened that up a huge amount and knows how to play within his limitations, no reason Dunkley cant do the same, its not like he's got a fundamentally flawed action like Clay. Starting to quite like him a lot, keen to see what he's got.

 

[Igloo]

No Talia discussion in here. * that.

Dunkley 4eva.

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

No Talia discussion in here. **** that.

Dunkley 4eva.

It's my understanding that Dunkley isn't prone to leaking sensitive material or misplacing his phone. He's also better than [redacted] at arts and crafts and the guitar.

 

[goodcop badcop]

His nickname's gotta be "The Nutcracker".

In one of those videos on the dogs website Dunkley said he did some ballet and apparently there's a famous ballet dance called "The Nutcracker".

 

[JAMES_B_101]

Yeah a young Wallis' kicking looks like a good comparison. He's tightened that up a huge amount and knows how to play within his limitations, no reason Dunkley cant do the same, its not like he's got a fundamentally flawed action like Clay. Starting to quite like him a lot, keen to see what he's got.

My personal comparison for him is Michael Barlow. Barlow has his flaws and isn't a super kick often picking fairly safe options but he is big, a good defensive mid and tackles well and can drift forward making the most of his height to be a goal a game mid. If he is as good as Barlow I am more than satisfied with this pick.

 

[Ant_]

The knock on his kicking just not justified imo, kids from elite footy family, tell me one father son have below pass kicking, if he didn't have it fixed from the get go in his past 18 years, probably never will, only explanation is he was playing injured.

His dad's kicking made Talia's look graceful

 

[Testekill]

His dad's kicking made Talia's look graceful

At least it sounds like he has inherited his dads workrate and toughness.

 

[Ant_]

At least it sounds like he has inherited his dads workrate and toughness.

Dunkley was a thug, typical of a FB in that era though.

 

[Testekill]

Dunkley was a thug, typical of a FB in that era though.

Still a hell of a defender though and he punched Hird that one time

 

[Ant_]

Still a hell of a defender though and he punched Hird that one time

Totally, would've loved him on our side. Hated that sniping scragging Sydney player though

 

[Pugz89]

Dogs were confident Swans wouldn't match the bid. Interesting, bevo looked a lil shocked they didn't.

 

[GreatSouthWest]

What a farken painful 8 minutes our first two picks were.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

What a farken painful 8 minutes our first two picks were.

I was so confused; I thought we'd gotten Ben Keays to start with but it seems the system just went mental. The Dunkley pick was anticlimactic in the end because of all the confusion around everything.

 

[JAMES_B_101]

I was so confused; I thought we'd gotten Ben Keays to start with but it seems the system just went mental. The Dunkley pick was anticlimactic in the end because of all the confusion around everything.

It was unfortunate, but I don't think it ended up being anticlimactic. I was still elated when I heard the names of the newest members of our talent wave announced. I think given the character of the boys they wouldn't be worried about the moment not being the norm rather they would just be happy to get drafted.

 

[Zeno The Great]

See below from Hun on why swans passed on Dunkley

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...l/news-story/5dfed7ae2cd9aba399c2a6c8cdf77ed9


A NEED for speed and good kicking has cost father-son prospect Josh Dunkley a spot on the Sydney Swans’ list and seen him go to the Western Bulldogs at pick 25 in the AFL draft.



The Swans say the choice to pass on the son of Andrew Dunkley was based on the club’s list needs.

“It was a tough call,” Swans list manager Kinnear Beatson said.

“We were mindful of the players we lost this year in Lewis Jetta, Adam Goodes and Rhyce Shaw and we needed to get some guys that can kick the footy well. Both Tyrone (Leonardis) and Jordan (Dawson) are left footers and are both beautiful kicks.

“We had some good discussions with Josh about his preferences. In the end it was a difficult decision and that’s what this bidding system is. We didn’t want to go too far back in the draft because we could have missed out on what we needed.”

Instead of matching the Western Bulldogs bid with points under the new system the Swans instead opted for Leonardis at pick 51 and Dawson at pick 56.
“Tyrone has real acceleration which can burst through packs and a kick with good penetration,” Beatson said.

“He was one of the players we identified and we had to roll the dice because of this new bidding system. Jordan played with Sturt at the senior level and he’s a powerful medium sized forward with a booming left foot kick.”

Before the draft Dunkley had made his desire to stay in his home state of Victoria well known and only nominated the Swans as a father and son when he didn’t receive assurances from Victorian clubs they would draft him.

The Swans said they had no problem with this but would only take him late in the draft.

“The guarantee we gave Josh was that if he was still available with our last pick in the draft we would take him,” Swans football manager Tom Harley said.

“Josh has got a home at the Western Bulldogs and doesn’t have to move too far from home. He will be a good player, he’s an outstanding character and has formed strong relationships with the footy club and we wish him the best at the Bulldogs.”

 

[dergert]

He will be fine. Good prospect.

 

[VitalDread]

MFW People say Dunkley was a bad pick
All aboard the Dunk Train

 

[Zeno The Great]

An article by Emma Quayle in the Age on him. Time will tell, lets hope he can improve his kicking and tear apart midfields with Libba and the Bont for the next decade.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...mma-why-sydney-opted-out-20151125-gl84z9.html

Josh Dunkley had nothing against the Swans. He has spent plenty of time in Sydney over the last year or two, and knew when he nominated as a father-son pick last Friday that if that's where he ended up, he would be at a strong club that would look after him and help him become a better player. Similarly, the Swans knew Dunkley well, as a tough, competitive kid who would do whatever he could to improve.

Dunkley was one of the most intriguing stories in Tuesday night's draft. Mostly – obviously – because he became the first father-son player to get passed up by his dad's old team, and go to the one that bid for him.

He wasn't alone. Dunkley became a Bulldog at pick 25 but not long after that the Lions opted not to match North Melbourne's bid for academy onballer Corey Wagner, making that decision because their next selection was only a few slots away, because it was their final pick, because they had other players ranked higher and knew at least one of them would make it there.

"We just thought, 'Well, OK, we'll hang in there'. We had a few ideas about who might still be there," said list manager Peter Schwab. The Lions ended up with a key defender, Sam Skinner, at pick 47. "It's tough, but that's what the new system is about. Fundamentally, you still have to go with the best player when it comes to your pick."

That's what the Swans did too. But the lead-up to them passing on Dunkley was far more interesting than what happened to Wagner. At the start of the year, the 18-year-old would have been seen by a number of clubs as a likely first-round pick, given his form as a 17-year-old and his attitude. He's a ripper. At the start of the year he had already spent some time at the club, learnt things, been assured by the coaches he had different things to offer than their other inside onballers, become close to some of the players and enjoyed himself. But he had grown up in Gippsland, and liked the thought of playing closer to home when it was time for his turn.

That desire never went away, but things became more complicated. Dunkley was held up by a back injury at the end of January. Finished at school, he moved to Melbourne to live with his sister, do less driving and be closer to his treatment. He came back through the Richmond VFL team, rather than the Gippsland Power, which some recruiters thought was the wrong way around, and for all his effort had a disjointed year. Everyone knows how tough he is, that he knows how to win the ball and that he will compete until the end. But the question marks over him at the start of the season – his pace and foot skills – were still there when it ended.

Still, the Bulldogs saw him in their first 25. They say he would have been on their minds at No. 11, had they not traded it for two picks in the 20s. The Swans could have matched that bid without going into deficit, but chose to take two picks in the 50s instead of him. (They would still have had to pick a third player later in the draft, in order to fill their quota, and possibly would have got one of the two boys they chose after letting Josh go).

Dunkley's hesitation – he signed on as a father-son nominee just before the deadline – came after no club could guarantee they would pick him. That's almost impossible for any club to do, unless they're choosing in the first few. It led to speculation that the Swans would let him go to a Melbourne club, but be there as a back-up in case a club from Adelaide, Perth or Queensland called his name.

Not so, say the Swans. They have had a closer look at Dunkley than any club but the Tigers, and understood his flaws and how he compared to player-types they already had on their list. They had to pitch 30 picks ahead in a not-so-great draft when discussing who might be there, but felt as though they needed to get some good kickers into the club and that they would have options. Tyrone Leonardis offers that, plus some run and creativity. The Swans rated Jordan Dawson's foot skills highly, too.

Time will tell. "It's always a tough call when it comes to father and son players, but as a recruiting department our job is to take the emotion out of it, to look at the needs of the list, look at what else is available in the draft and make the best possible decision," said Sydney's list manager, Kinnear Beatson.

"Josh is a fierce competitor and he'll maximise his chance and he'll do well at the Bulldogs, so it was a difficult call but that's what this business is about.

"We've lost Nick Malceski, Lewis Jetta, Rhyce Shaw and Adam Goodes in the last two years, and our foot skills need some attention. It was one of the major focus points for us leading into this draft and we think the two boys we picked up are both really nice left foot kicks who'll help us improve in that area."



Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...-opted-out-20151125-gl84z9.html#ixzz3sVM6H400
Follow us: @theage on Twitter | theageAustralia on Facebook

 

[dogwatch]

His nickname's gotta be "The Nutcracker".

In one of those videos on the dogs website Dunkley said he did some ballet and apparently there's a famous ballet dance called "The Nutcracker".

"Swan Lake" (since he was nearly a Swan) might be more apt, but why not just "SLAM"?

 

[Pugz89]

"Swan Lake" (since he was nearly a Swan) might be more apt, but why not just "SLAM"?

Shame North didn't take him up. I just picture the headline Dunk-A-Roo. If any of you were at school in the mid to late 90s and got a nice little snack in your lunch, you'll know what im talking about.

 

[Zeno The Great]

Shame North didn't take him up. I just picture the headline Dunk-A-Roo. If any of you were at school in the mid to late 90s and got a nice little snack in your lunch, you'll know what im talking about.

They were soooo good

 

[Libba39]

Watched highlights, like a few others I'm worried about his kicking.

 

[Glenn Barclay]

I'm not that concerned of what his kicking style looks like only the result. I'm also happy if he knows his limitations and plays safe with his kicking and just gets it out to the designated kickers like Hunter, Suckling and Murph.
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