Skippos's Final 2014 Phantom Draft

[Barrels]

Absolutely. Perhaps he's been smashing it in the gym as well hence the 5 kilos on the upper body or something

*if* true, exciting.

I'd like some confirmation too...

My Saints are desperate for a KPF at this stage, but with the possible emergence of Rhys Stanley (finally seems to have the belief to go with his athletic gifts), Bruce moving down forward with some success and - God willing - an injury-free preseason into Spencer White, it might be that our recruiters reckon a KPD to pair with Delaney, replace Fisher and relieve Gwilt of playing out of being back-up CHB would be just the ticket.

A 194cm (or more...) Lever would be a godsend at at CHB for us.

 

[Monocle]

It's going to be interesting come the combine to see how Lever checks in at height , weight and medical etc.

I think he is going to be this years Joel Selwood is so much as some Clubs are going to be a little shy given his knee. However the Club that backs it's self are IMO going to get a bit of a steal.
Although WC obviously need mids if Petracca and Brayshaw are off the board I would be very happy if we took the punt on Lever.

Skippos there are very mixed view regarding Pickett here in the West ..... Two camps .....the first who see the raw talent and the highlights and his pace is indeed impressive.
The second camp see the shortcomings in his game and are not convinced that he is a top 10 draft pick and see him more a mid to late first rounder . I am of the second camp.

Also I think he will be a flight risk for an interstate Club .
My mail is that there is already anxiety with in his close family of an interstate move. This may be able to be worked through with with good counselling however I thinks it's a serious consideration and as always the interview and home visits are going to be telling as to where he ends up.

 

[Skippos]

I'd like some confirmation too...

My Saints are desperate for a KPF at this stage, but with the possible emergence of Rhys Stanley (finally seems to have the belief to go with his athletic gifts), Bruce moving down forward with some success and - God willing - an injury-free preseason into Spencer White, it might be that our recruiters reckon a KPD to pair with Delaney, replace Fisher and relieve Gwilt of playing out of being back-up CHB would be just the ticket.

A 194cm (or more...) Lever would be a godsend at at CHB for us.

Yeah you guys really need to get Gwilt out of key defence. If Lever could make it to 195-196 it'd be amazing for him. He wouldn't lose much of his natural ability but he'd gain the opportunity to play as a genuine #2 defender and perhaps #1 depending on development. I still don't think he's got the tools to ever be an elite lockdown defender but it'd be a string to his bow that'd make him incredibly enticing and someone I'd be beginning to consider in the top 5-6.

It's going to be interesting come the combine to see how Lever checks in at height , weight and medical etc.

I think he is going to be this years Joel Selwood is so much as some Clubs are going to be a little shy given his knee. However the Club that backs it's self are IMO going to get a bit of a steal.
Although WC obviously need mids if Petracca and Brayshaw are off the board I would be very happy if we took the punt on Lever.

Skippos there are very mixed view regarding Pickett here in the West ..... Two camps .....the first who see the raw talent and the highlights and his pace is indeed impressive.
The second camp see the shortcomings in his game and are not convinced that he is a top 10 draft pick and see him more a mid to late first rounder . I am of the second camp.

Also I think he will be a flight risk for an interstate Club .
My mail is that there is already anxiety with in his close family of an interstate move. This may be able to be worked through with with good counselling however I thinks it's a serious consideration and as always the interview and home visits are going to be telling as to where he ends up.

Cheers for the insight. Always like reading the local knowledge. I too am in the second camp hence why he's so low in my power rankings and I scathe him a bit in my profile. I've heard only good things about him as a person and that, for an indigenous fella, he's a lot more immersed in 'western' society than the Josh Simpsons of the world and also has a fairly solid family setup. To hear that that all might not be the case and he could be a bit of a homesick risk, if true, would probably be enough for me to pencil him in to go to West Coast @8. I do think he's probably closer to Harley Bennell than Josh Simpson though in that he'll be homesick for awhile but once he finds his feed he'll be solid. But it's still a risk. Thanks for the insight

 

[LemmingMaster]

Skippos there are very mixed view regarding Pickett here in the West ..... Two camps .....the first who see the raw talent and the highlights and his pace is indeed impressive.
The second camp see the shortcomings in his game and are not convinced that he is a top 10 draft pick and see him more a mid to late first rounder . I am of the second camp.

Yeah the second camp for me as well, I've heard that it was hard to place him in the midfield due to his lack of defensive running and real desire to defend in the slightest. The games I watched him play where he had someone close checking him, he was destroyed in those games and often his opponent would hurt him in the opposite direction. Still that one game did stick in your mind and makes you want to jump into the first camp.

 

[Chris25]

Speaking of Hammelmann Knightmare thinks Fremantle should bud their first pick on him. Is he not worth it in your opinion? I doubt a Goddard type will last till our pick

Skippos is right - apart from Tanner Smith being a better forward that is. With the likes of Apeness, Taberner and Moller/Hannath as resting ruckmen we don't need yet another 196cm+ forward. Yes, you'd take them if it was Peter Wright or a Boyd/Patton from previous years. But, Hammelmann isn't anywhere near that level and chances are would be forced into the WAFL Reserves until injury. If we do go for a tall forward early, it's more likely to be a slightly shorter CHF type - more of a Pavlich replacement, or cover for Mayne if he is injured.

Tom Lamb if he somehow slides. Or if we're bidding on anyone, make it Jeremy Finlayson from NSW.

Just on Burton though, there's a chance he mightn't even go into next years draft as the best KPF from SA. One bloke down here I really like and I'm going to try and get another look or two at him over the next month and there's another who I think could well be a real option too. Both are just a little small at the moment - like Burton.

Can't mention South Australians without me popping my head in.

I like Ben Beioley and Keiran Agius, but neither are at Burton's level. They might end up playing deeper in the forward line for South Australia next year and kick more goals, but Burton is the real AFL talent. But as you said, a lot will depend on their measurements. Beioley should get up to the 192cm range and take over from Callum Wilkie at full forward next year, but I'd be surprised if Agius was any taller than about 188cm come the draft - he is quite similar to Brad Hartman, who was a late pick to Geelong. Can't deny their results though.

 

[bloke_]

Skippos is right - apart from Tanner Smith being a better forward that is. With the likes of Apeness, Taberner and Moller/Hannath as resting ruckmen we don't need yet another 196cm+ forward. Yes, you'd take them if it was Peter Wright or a Boyd/Patton from previous years. But, Hammelmann isn't anywhere near that level and chances are would be forced into the WAFL Reserves until injury. If we do go for a tall forward early, it's more likely to be a slightly shorter CHF type - more of a Pavlich replacement, or cover for Mayne if he is injured.

Tom Lamb if he somehow slides. Or if we're bidding on anyone, make it Jeremy Finlayson from NSW.

I think Lamb will be there at our pick anyway. I reckon he will be around 15-25 (well that's what I gather from reading these boards). Secretly I'm hoping we get a midfielder anyway - much more immediate excitement. De Goey sounds like another who we might look at.

 

[Skippos]

Can't mention South Australians without me popping my head in.

I like Ben Beioley and Keiran Agius, but neither are at Burton's level. They might end up playing deeper in the forward line for South Australia next year and kick more goals, but Burton is the real AFL talent. But as you said, a lot will depend on their measurements. Beioley should get up to the 192cm range and take over from Callum Wilkie at full forward next year, but I'd be surprised if Agius was any taller than about 188cm come the draft - he is quite similar to Brad Hartman, who was a late pick to Geelong. Can't deny their results though.

I had a measurement of 188 or 189 on Agius already at the start of the season but I can't remember where I got it from. I'm pretty sure it was Agius 189 and Beioley 192.

If Agius is already 188-189 with 18 months of growth left in him pre-draft then I'd hope he could get to 192ish. Right know I've got him as a smarter, fitter (assumedly, it'd be pretty hard not to be), harder working version of Tim Sumner. Hopefully the growth happens as if it does he's really quite exciting.

 

[Skippos]

I've done a small update with a little shuffle in the first round, Laverde's gone up two picks to West Coast, Pickett down one to Richmond, Lever up four to Adelaide and Ahern down five (though he's done nothing wrong!) to Port. I've also added in a second round. It gets a little more difficult in the second round and beyond; most of the players beyond the top 20 or so are open to more differences in opinion but I'm happy to discuss any selections I've made. I'm not really aware of what many clubs are targetting beyond the first round so if I've put a player in that you think doesn't fit your club at all then let me know, I'm always looking to improve this and make it a little more realistic

Second round can be found here

 

[Skippos]

It's true!

 

[LemmingMaster]

It's true!

2cm makes all the difference!

 

[Skippos]

He's gone from being an undersized KPD/third tall height to being someone who's at an appropriate height to play the role. If he's grown 2cm in 3 months there's a chance he's got another cm or two left in him too and it could be a sign of things to come.

2cm shouldn't mean much but it will.

 

[Yoda_]

Grant Birchall is 194cm

justsayin

 

[Skippos]

Grant Birchall is 194cm

justsayin

So is Brodie Smith.

But both play very different roles to Lever

 

[TheLastEmperor]

They bread them well at the Cannons.

 

[Silvagnis]

That frank berry poster claims Lever has a 208 cm wingspan. Both Lever and Marchbank might keep growing. His cousin Jay is 202 cms like Marchbank's cousin Josh who played ruck with the Northern Blues.

 

[dajesmac]

2cm makes all the difference!

Especially if there were midfield aspirations.

 

[Skippos]

I've added in a third round

 

[dajesmac]

I don't reckon you've got enough credit for the monumental effort you've gone to in this phantom. I presume the highlights videos are yours?

 

[Skippos]

I don't reckon you've got enough credit for the monumental effort you've gone to in this phantom. I presume the highlights videos are yours?

Yeah, I initially made them to compliment this phantom for when I did it but unfortunately the quality of them is a bit below par. My aim is to provide another point of view to compliment the amazing work the other guys do but at the end of the day I also think these phantoms can mislead people a bit - every spotter has their small biases towards certain things, players and sometimes states and it's bordering on impossible to provide a completely neutral opinion. My hope for the videos was that they would help allow others to have a look at the players and form their own judgements as opposed to blindly following others opinions. Hopefully they achieve that effect.

I've got a lot of time to do this stuff and watch a lot of football. I certainly don't think I've got the all round knowledge that people like Chris and KM have but I did feel it'd be a bit of a waste to have all this stuff going through my head and not pass it on for those who might get something out of it.

I appreciate the kind words mate

 

[dajesmac]

Yeah, I initially made them to compliment this phantom for when I did it but unfortunately the quality of them is a bit below par. My aim is to provide another point of view to compliment the amazing work the other guys do but at the end of the day I also think these phantoms can mislead people a bit - every spotter has their small biases towards certain things, players and sometimes states and it's bordering on impossible to provide a completely neutral opinion. My hope for the videos was that they would help allow others to have a look at the players and form their own judgements as opposed to blindly following others opinions. Hopefully they achieve that effect.

I've got a lot of time to do this stuff and watch a lot of football. I certainly don't think I've got the all round knowledge that people like Chris and KM have but I did feel it'd be a bit of a waste to have all this stuff going through my head and not pass it on for those who might get something out of it.

I appreciate the kind words mate

You obviously know more about the kids than I do so I couldn't say if your judgments were off centre. You do seem to have a particularly good understanding of Waterman's game though which impressed me for someone not based in WA.

Uploading the videos of just about every prospect you've listed sets a new standard of effort IMO. They've certainly proved helpful to me as I'm constantly going over them. Nah, the quality is fine. What I like about them is that they're not strictly highlights, they have the bad with the good which makes it easier to gauge a player as opposed to highlights which only show players strengths.

No problem mate. Keep up the good work and watch this thread explode come the end of the season.

 

[Skippos]

You obviously know more about the kids than I do so I couldn't say if your judgments were off centre. You do seem to have a particularly good understanding of Waterman's game though which impressed me for someone not based in WA.

Uploading the videos of just about every prospect you've listed sets a new standard of effort IMO. They've certainly proved helpful to me as I'm constantly going over them. Nah, the quality is fine. What I like about them is that they're not strictly highlights, they have the bad with the good which makes it easier to gauge a player as opposed to highlights which only show players strengths.

No problem mate. Keep up the good work and watch this thread explode come the end of the season.

Cheers mate. Waterman's been a little favourite of mine for awhile now so I've made sure I've seen as much of him as possible.

Yeah, I liked to chronicle every involvement of a player in a game. With the way I did it it wasn't much more effort to do it that way anyway and the 'bad' is a really relevant consideration in assessing players - just hoping they start televising some of the WAFL games that involve the kids so I can include those in the vids near the end of the season

 

[maverick001]

Cheers for the insight. Always like reading the local knowledge. I too am in the second camp hence why he's so low in my power rankings and I scathe him a bit in my profile. I've heard only good things about him as a person and that, for an indigenous fella, he's a lot more immersed in 'western' society than the Josh Simpsons of the world and also has a fairly solid family setup. To hear that that all might not be the case and he could be a bit of a homesick risk, if true, would probably be enough for me to pencil him in to go to West Coast @8. I do think he's probably closer to Harley Bennell than Josh Simpson though in that he'll be homesick for awhile but once he finds his feed he'll be solid. But it's still a risk. Thanks for the insight [/QUOTE]

Garlett sounds like the exact opposite of what we want. We are getting smashed in contested ball - something Adam Simpson has spoken about a number of times and expressed a desire to improve dramatically. Garlett sounds like the antichrist of contested ball. Personally I think we need leaders and the type of player that stands up to be counted when the game is on the line, too many go missing in the Eagles atm. Laverde sounds very appealing.

I notice a few people don't rate Garlett that highly but have him going to WCE in top 8 - what makes you think we're keen on him?

Whilst the Eagles have had a very WA focussed strategy in the last 5 years, I think it has proven unfruitful to date and I'm hoping we drop this obsession and just go after the best available. Although I'd much like to have Blakely on our list by the sounds of the consensus PD's.

 

[maverick001]

Apologies for my awful job Quoting in the previous post Skippos. Very good job by the way. Do you spot talent in a professional capacity or is it just a hobby?

 

[Skippos]

Garlett sounds like the exact opposite of what we want. We are getting smashed in contested ball - something Adam Simpson has spoken about a number of times and expressed a desire to improve dramatically. Garlett sounds like the antichrist of contested ball. Personally I think we need leaders and the type of player that stands up to be counted when the game is on the line, too many go missing in the Eagles atm. Laverde sounds very appealing.

I notice a few people don't rate Garlett that highly but have him going to WCE in top 8 - what makes you think we're keen on him?

Whilst the Eagles have had a very WA focussed strategy in the last 5 years, I think it has proven unfruitful to date and I'm hoping we drop this obsession and just go after the best available. Although I'd much like to have Blakely on our list by the sounds of the consensus PD's.

You're getting smashed in contested ball with a slow midfield with poor footskills. It's a bit of a sad indictment really.

Drafting is more about plugging future holes than current holes, if that makes sense. Problems now mightn't be problems in the future. Compared to most other sides, Essendon lack a spearhead right now. But they're not just going to go and draft one this year because while it's an issue now, Daniher is already the solution and already developing.

Sheed projects to be a solid inside leaning midfielder and with Waterman coming you're getting someone who functionally performs a similar role to Priddis.

While you probably need some assistance on the inside I think with Selwood coming back, Sheed and Yeo developing and Waterman jumping aboard you'll be able to at least partially be able to plug that hole from within. I'm not too sure you can do that with your outside stocks as Rosa and Wellingham are B/C graders at absolute best and Gaff is inconsistent in when he can impact games. There's not that potential present.

I personally prefer Garlett to Pickett, I think Garlett's more applied and more of a team player - and also more likely to end up the better player. But you don't want role players from early picks, you want stars. Pickett has the higher ceiling - and with what he *can* do it's wiser to risk it on him with an early pick. While I like Garlett I'd be surprised if he went in the top 20-25. If I were an Eagles fan I'd be hoping for Laverde, Weller, Pickett or even Ahern. Waterman will come in the second or third round and if you still feel you need help on the inside players like Hardisty, Walsh, Gregson, Goodyear, Urban, Coulson, Hislop, Jones and perhaps even Neal-Bullen and Evans are sure to be around in the third-fourth rounds.

Apologies for my awful job Quoting in the previous post Skippos. Very good job by the way. Do you spot talent in a professional capacity or is it just a hobby?

Not a problem. Thanks for the kind words.

I don't spot talent in a professional capacity - in fact I'd be surprised if any professional talent spotters openly posted on here. I just love watching football. I'm always able to catch up on AFL games I miss so I spend a lot of my weekends watching junior football as I can't catch up on that and well, the more the merrier.

 

[LemmingMaster]

I don't spot talent in a professional capacity - in fact I'd be surprised if any professional talent spotters openly posted on here. I just love watching football. I'm always able to catch up on AFL games I miss so I spend a lot of my weekends watching junior football as I can't catch up on that and well, the more the merrier.

Interestingly a few current recruiters used to post on this board and obviously now you don't get their updates, who knows there could be a new generation of recruiters posting as we speak.