BigFooty Official The 2013 BigFooty Phantom Draft

[tigs2010]

LemmingMaster I really like your work late there. Not sure what you did early but Holman and Apenness could be a lot higher in the real go. Holman is a kid i have a lot of time for.

15. Dunstan
36. Jones
41. Lobb.

I'd say he did pretty well all-around.

 

[LemmingMaster]

LemmingMaster I really like your work late there. Not sure what you did early but Holman and Apenness could be a lot higher in the real go. Holman is a kid i have a lot of time for.

The Cats fans will be a little annoyed, but I will have to get their defenders in the rookie draft. I just struggle to rate many of the defenders, so picking them in the main draft did not interest me. Maybe 2014 will be the year they replace their backline.

 

[Chris25]

Bit of a summary...

Adelaide
#23 - Cameron Giles
#46 - Matthew Fuller

Brisbane
#7 - Dom Sheed
#22 - Cameron McCarthy
#25 - James Battersby
#28 - Nick Robertson
#33 - Dwayne Wilson
#34 - Erinn Wasley-Black
#63 - Jonathon Freeman

Carlton
#13 - Matt Crouch
#39 - Darcy Hourigan
#51 - Malcolm Karpany
#69 - Jacob Chisari

Collingwood
#6 - Marcus Bontempelli
#10 - Blake Acres
#67 - Mitch Thorp

Essendon
#26 - Dayle Garlett
#55 - Ben Brown
#66 - Sam Heavyside

Fremantle
#17 - Jonathon Marsh
#37 - George Hewett
#58 - Mitch Harvey
#73 - Jackson Press

Geelong
#16 - Luke Dunstan
#36 - Zak Jones
#41 - Rory Lobb
#54 - Nick Holman
#64 - Liam Jacka
#72 - Michael Apeness

Gold Coast
#5 - Matthew Scharenberg
#20 - Patrick Cripps
#27 - Zach Merrett
#61 - Cain Tickner

GWS
#1 - Tom Boyd
#2 - Jack Billings
#14 - Kade Kolodjashnij
#29 - Billy Hartung
#48 - Darcy Lang
#75 - Will Maginness

Hawthorn
#24 - Eli Templeton
#38 - Daniel McStay
#56 - James Sicily
#59 - Ben Sokol
#74 - James Toohey

Melbourne
#9 - Nathan Freeman
#40 - Isaiah Miller
#57 - Tom Vandeleur

North Melbourne
#8 - Luke McDonald
#30 - Jay Kennedy-Harris
#47 - Matthew Sully
#65 - Riley Knight

Port Adelaide
#21 - Darcy Byrne-Jones
#45 - Jake Kolodjashnij
#52 - Jake Pitt
#70 - Josh Miller

Richmond
#12 - Christian Salem
#50 - Tom Cutler
#68 - Isaac Conway

St Kilda
#3 - Josh Kelly
#18 - Lewis Taylor
#19 - Trent Dumont

Sydney
#15 - Darcy Gardiner
#32 - Jarman Impey
#35 - Darcy Cameron
#44 - Joel Tippett
#53 - Nicholas Bourke
#71 - Luke Reynolds

West Coast
#11 - Ben Lennon
#31 - James Tsitas
#43 - Mitch Honeychurch
#49 - Charlie Cameron
#62 - Tom Hodgson

Western Bulldogs
#4 - James Aish
#42 - Cameron Conlon
#60 - Alex Spina

 

[LemmingMaster]

I like Brisbane's recruiting in the end.

 

[Chris25]

Brisbane certainly did well. With what little they had, I like what Melbourne, Port Adelaide and Sydney did.

Fremantle
#17 - Jonathon Marsh
#37 - George Hewett
#58 - Mitch Harvey
#73 - Jackson Press

I got what I wanted from the draft - a full forward, a big bodied contested ball winning midfielder and a tall utility who could be anything. Would have had a KPD at the end too if it were the real thing.

 

[dlanod]

I like Brisbane's recruiting in the end.

I'd be pretty happy with that draft come next Thursday.

 

[goodoldcats]

The Cats fans will be a little annoyed, but I will have to get their defenders in the rookie draft. I just struggle to rate many of the defenders, so picking them in the main draft did not interest me. Maybe 2014 will be the year they replace their backline.

Nope. Will have a major hard on if it falls like that on draft day

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Pick 60 - Western Bulldogs: Alex Spina​

Height: 181cm​

Weight: 74kg​

​

General Comments: Just when I thought Aish would be the skinniest kid I took in the draft...

Spina wasn't a player I was directly targeting, nor was he necessarily on my expanded 'wish list', but I did track him. I rate him in the 30-40 mark on talent, and once it got to my third pick he was just too highly rated to let him continue his slide. His champs looked decent on the stats sheet - averaging over 17 disposals, 3 marks and a goal - but I felt as though he was pretty inconsistent, both from match-to-match and within games. However, as with Aish, you can't disregard his SANFL form - where he's been quite good for a reasonable period of time. The champs have probably helped him slide, but there's undoubted talent there and I can see a lot to work with. It's also worth noting that he's suffered a few injuries.

The 'Dogs are likely to use this pick to upgrade Brett Goodes from the rookie list and then head to either the pre-season draft or the rookie draft - however if we do use it, Spina would be one that I'd love to see taken with it (provided he's there). I've seen enough to be seriously impressed, and was very happy to see him slide this far.

Strengths: The thing that stands out for me most with Spina are his skills. He's so dangerous with the ball in hand all around the ground, and it's something you won't get from a lot of prospects this far into the draft. His work through the midfield - while limited by his smallish tank - is outstanding, often identifying the best option under pressure and rarely selling himself or his teammates into trouble. He has a beautiful kick that hardly ever misses its mark regardless of the pressure he may be under and this should hold him in good stead at AFL level. He's not an incredibly powerful athlete, but he gets the best out of what he has. I wouldn't describe him as fast, per se, but he does have reasonable speed. He loves to sell candy - probably one of the biggest candy lovers in the draft - and is very, very good at it as quite an agile guy. Can stop himself quite quickly and get around much bigger and faster opponents when he gets going.
Up forward, his skills translate into goals. He's a very classy, dangerous forward who requires close checking or he'll get behind you and kick goals out of nowhere. Again, he's not overly fast but his ability to read the play faster and better than anyone else really allows him to get distance on his direct opponent, which is what makes him such a damaging player. He watches the play unfold from deep in defense and is rarely motionless, always making his opponent work for everything and keeping them on their toes. Once he builds that tank up his mobility is going to be really valuable in the forward line and ensure that it never looks stagnant.

The remarkable thing with Spina is that for such a dangerous offensive weapon, he's also more than capable of matching up on the opposition's dangerous smaller players in the back half of the ground, really giving him an extra dimension. His tackling pressure is quite good but what I've really been impressed with is his ability to keep those more dangerous guys in check, rarely letting them get away but also being able to take the game on himself and set up play. He's never going to be a natural lockdown small defender or a run-with player, but he's more than capable defensively, making him a potentially viable option off a half back flank.

For his size, Spina is quite strong through the body and really good overhead. At only 181cm, you're not going to use him as a marking option - but with a bit of muscle and strength added I wouldn't be surprised to see him out-compete a lot of the smaller guys in the air. Down at ground level he's also exceptional, rarely fumbling and keeping his feet in most cases where he needs to.
Overall, Spina's a very versatile, damaging footballer who makes his way into the AFL with great composure, excellent game sense and an elite kick making up for what is probably a lower base athletically for the sort of player he is.

What He Needs To Work On: I should really start putting the weaknesses section first, as I'm pretty sure I've just made him out to be Gary Ablett Jr. Indeed, regardless of his great strengths, there are a few weaknesses really holding him back from taking that next step. First of all, though, I should mention that he had some injuries late last year. Nothing super severe or ongoing as far as I know, however he did miss a bit of football and several AIS-AFL camps.

The biggest issue for me at the moment is his tank. It's by no means Patrick Veszpremi level low (ie. he won't get tired walking onto the ground from the change rooms) - in fact, it's not at all bad. The problem is that Spina's such a mobile little player. Without terrific athleticism, Spina is such a superb option as he effortlessly finds space by staying on his feet and in action at all times. It allows him to get separation from his man and lead into space, get to the ball with enough time to do something with it, and work himself into space and let him use that kick to the best of his abilities. This mobility is what makes him special, for me. At AFL level, however, two things will hold him back. Firstly, clubs will expect him to play more midfield time - and indeed, I'd be taking him to transition to - or at least spend time through - the midfield. With his average tank he's probably going to struggle to keep up that mobility forward of centre as well as spending time running through the wings. Secondly, defenders in the AFL have a much higher fitness base and will also be a bit more awake to his tactics, potentially cutting off more of his runs and making it difficult for him for him to out-work them. I don't see him as being incapable of building a tank - however, it's something that I feel will hold him back if he can't. He's a good forward, but that kick will be wasted to some degree as a permanent forward.

The second concern I have probably stems from his endurance base, however, he is quite inconsistent. He was named in SA's best players in most champs games and also featured in the goals on most occasions, however, he has a bit of a tendency to fade in and out and it's something I'd like to see him work on from multiple angles. Firstly - the obvious one: his tank, as addressed above. Secondly, I'd like to see him get a bit more involved in the contest and win more of his own ball. He's by no means an outside-only player but he's not exactly somebody you'd be confident in when fighting for the ball. Part of this is his strength but occasionally I find he runs away from the contest (not in any "he's afraid of the physical stuff" way; just thinking of the game ahead of where it's at, I suppose) and I think that being able to get the ball on his own terms will really help him with his consistency. A guy like Jack Steven or Tom Liberatore can get themselves into games by going in hard even if they're having a bad day, and while I don't expect Spina to ever get as good as them, of course, it's something I'd like to see him work on.

The above paragraph also touched on a few little tidbits in minor detail so I'll just brush over them now. First of all, he's only a little over 70kg and, like Aish, needs to build some strength and size. I don't expect it'll be too much of a problem, however, it's something to consider. I also find that often he thinks a little too far ahead. For example, he seems to just expect his side to win the ball out of contests a lot of times and sets up on the HFF before the ball's already been won. This isn't a huge issue playing as a forward but as a midfielder you really want him to make use of that defensive side of his game and not run forward quite so much. I'm probably being a little bit harsh here as, given how strong SA were inside the contest, he may have been instructed to do so, but regardless I feel as though he needs to spend more time "in the moment" than thinking one, two, three steps ahead. Of course his game sense is outstanding and I don't want to hide that, but occasionally I'd like to see him play it a bit safer.

He doesn't win a bunch of disposals but it's not a huge problem for him as, more often they're not, they're effective in either pushing his side forward, assisting in a goal or kicking one himself. Regardless, as a small forward, it'll be harder for him to get his 15-20 disposals at AFL level - especially if he gets to a point where he attracts a lockdown player.

Another area that he'll need to work on is his defensive pressure (ability to clamp down on an opposition player is good but his work once they get the ball is nothing to write home about).

How He Fits: Spina doesn't exactly fill a gaping hole in the Bulldogs' lineup - players like Hunter, Dahlhaus, Hrovat and Dickson are all (or will be) capable of playing somewhat of a dangerous small forward/midfielder role - but what he gives us is a slightly different player, a bit of variety, and some added depth. In the short term I see him potentially forming part of a really dynamic three-way rotation with Bob Murphy and Luke Dahlhaus, with Murph and Spina rotating between half back, the midfield and half forward, and Dahl moving through the midfield and the forward line. This sort of versatility is what really attracts me to the Spina pick - he can play as a bit of a small utility and play a role wherever we require him to. While he'll probably be a bit of a longer term player, when Murph will likely be gone, his ability to play around the ground will hold him in good stead regardless of who is on the field.


Draft review for the Dogs' three picks coming soon.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Bulldogs Summary
Pick 4 - James Aish
Pick 42 - Cameron Conlon
Pick 60 - Alex Spina

Wish List
No particular order, and just the types of players I was looking for, not necessarily all in this draft:

• Strong, marking tall forward.
• Small forward/midfielder with pace and skill.
• Outside midfielder with good pace and skill.
• Tall defender who can play tall or small.
• Running defender, again, with skill.
• Small lockdown defender.

Review
I went in directly targeting the types of players mentioned above. While they are quite broad categories and I wasn't restricting the draftable players to those that fitted into these categories, it worked out quite well in the end in my opinion. Pretty happy with how the draft turned out and, while I don't particularly rate the pool of U18s this year, I'm fairly confident in the players I selected.

First of all, a bit of background about my philosophy heading in. I see this as somewhat of a 'role' draft for the Western Bulldogs. We have some very capable young players, especially through the midfield, who really started to show some superb form in the last portion of the season. Guys like Campbell, Roughead, Talia, Libba, Dahlhaus, Wallis, Dickson etc started to show some really good form and give most supporters faith that we're headed in the right direction. We have a nice core of young guys and this year I feel like we're ready to take a bit more of a risk and take some high risk/high reward guys to fill some holes and really give us something to look forward to in the near future. It's not the time to take enormous risks with every pick, but calculated risks could have us really well placed in the future.

My first two picks typify this philosophy, with two pretty high risk guys. Aish offers everything the Bulldogs' midfield sorely lacks - pace, skill, and a midfielder who's decent overhead and in one on one contests - but is absolutely a risk. His uncontested:contested ratio is concerning any way you slice it, even though I think it's overstated. However, with the Dogs having so many options within the contest, Aish could really thrive as that outside guy. He's not going to get the tag for a while - and if he does, it leaves Griffen and/or Cooney free to do what they do best. His inside work is underestimated in my opinion and his work outside is truly superb. The biggest risk I took was with Conlon, who, admittedly, could become a massive flop. I simply don't rate the draft after about the 30-40 mark and, apart from a few here and there, I wouldn't be surprised if a huge majority end up failing at the highest level. This is why the risk with Conlon was more acceptable to me - if he comes good, I'm confident he'll solve our key forward woes, and if he doesn't he falls in a range where the failed picks will start becoming more and more prevalent. Spina I don't see as much of a risk at 60 and I think he'll offer something at AFL level, but of course, players taken that late are taken that late for a reason. We likely won't use that pick but Spina's a guy I wouldn't be disappointed to see taken there at all.

I'm not really happy to not fill the tall defender slot I wanted to in this draft (with Morris retiring in the next few years and Young and Wood both not really being the types to fill that role), but I simply didn't rate the ones available at my picks that highly and it wasn't a desperate need.

Overall I'd be pretty happy if that's how the draft pans out. A few guys who I had my eyes on - like Sicily, Vandeleur, Miller, Charlie Cameron and Jake Kolodjashnij - went a few picks before my latter two, but I'm quite content with the spread I got in the end.

 

[shinboner magic]

So who are the winners of this draft.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

GWS absolutely killed it I reckon.

Others that did very well include Brisbane, Geelong, St Kilda, Sydney (apart from the Tippett pick; don't like that one, personally) and West Coast imo.

 

[Offsider]

GWS absolutely killed it I reckon.

Others that did very well include Brisbane, Geelong, St Kilda, Sydney (apart from the Tippett pick; don't like that one, personally) and West Coast imo.

GWS were always going to do well with their picks, but KK at 14 was a massive bargain. I didn't mind your picks actually, Cameron Conlon was a high upside pick and in an average draft he is easily worth the risk imo. Spina is also a pretty decent prospect.

I thought Richmond did very well, I rate Salem, Cutler and Conway very highly and all above their draft positions. I didn't mind most of Brisbane's picks, but I am not a massive fan of Robertson, yet Quigley did well.

As far as Gold Coast I am very happy with Scharenberg and Cripps, but have a ton of potential. Zach Merrett I think has a fair bit of potential and has plenty to work with, although I am not overly enthusiastic about him as a prospect given his lack of an inside game. Tickner I was very happy to get in the fourth round and I rate him highly as a future CHB.

 

[missionpossible]

winners - Geelong, St.Kilda and Brisbane ( I have not counted myself in this)

losers - carlton, fremantle, Sydney

mind you that doesn't mean much as I have judged them by how I rate them.

Overall winner - St Kilda

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

GWS were always going to do well with their picks, but KK at 14 was a massive bargain. I didn't mind your picks actually, Cameron Conlon was a high upside pick and in an average draft he is easily worth the risk imo. Spina is also a pretty decent prospect.

I thought Richmond did very well, I rate Salem, Cutler and Conway very highly and all above their draft positions. I didn't mind most of Brisbane's picks, but I am not a massive fan of Robertson, yet Quigley did well.

As far as Gold Coast I am very happy with Scharenberg and Cripps, but have a ton of potential. Zach Merrett I think has a fair bit of potential and has plenty to work with, although I am not overly enthusiastic about him as a prospect given his lack of an inside game. Tickner I was very happy to get in the fourth round and I rate him highly as a future CHB.

Yeah absolutely, but I was looking from both a "filled holes" and player ratings perspective. While those sorts of judgments are always going to favour the teams with the good picks, I still think GWS did really well. They filled most of the holes I see them as having with guys I really like.
Left myself out of it as I obviously like my choices as I chose them, haha. But yeah, Conlon's a risk I'd be happy to take.

I'm not a huge Cutler fan, personally. With their picks where they are I think they did decently, but I don't think you can put them up there with the sides that really nailed the majority of their high picks.

Think you did pretty well with your picks. Scharenberg is a great pickup for the Suns and Cripps is very underrated. Merrett was one I had in my sights should he slip to 42 and think he's a good option for GC as well.

 

[Snoop Dog]

I reckon we did pretty well getting KK at #14, that will be the steal of the draft, and then Hartung at #29 was value and I very nearly went Lobb. Lang at #49 was pretty happy with to.

Re others I thought everyone actually did well and there werent many surprises in the names in the end but the order certainly baffled me at times. As a result I thought Cats got a lot of players under where I think they will go but that is a personal view as I thought the Dogs probably did. I liked what Hawks and Lions did but I thought a couple were a bit out but again thats just my view.

 

[Chris25]

losers - carlton, fremantle, Sydney

Well, guess we know who won't be participating next year.

Marsh was always going to be the most divisive pick, but I don't think I really missed out on anyone special and it suits Fremantle. The same goes for Harvey, I'd rather take the chance there because at least he could be a genuine KPP as opposed to most talls in this draft. Oh well, I'll make up for it in the rookie draft.

 

[nottenthagain]

I like Brisbane's recruiting in the end.

Stands out doesn't it. Reckon they'll have a fun time mopping up the second round sliders in the real thing. I'm even going to go out on a limb and say in 5 years time they'll wonder what all the fuss was about

 

[Footyking123]

will everyone be doing write ups?

 

[nottenthagain]

So who are the winners of this draft.

GWS, Brisbane, Collingwood and Geelong from my perspective

 

[Lemma]

Stands out doesn't it. Reckon they'll have a fun time mopping up the second round sliders in the real thing. I'm even going to go out on a limb and say in 5 years time they'll wonder what all the fuss was about

As long as all those kids don't flee home as well

 

[Scodog10]

GWS, Brisbane, Collingwood and Geelong from my perspective

In this draft it's hard to see them two not doing well...

 

[nottenthagain]

In this draft it's hard to see them two not doing well...

Totally agree, with where their picks fall there are only two options - nail it or bomb out.

 

[LemmingMaster]

Stands out doesn't it. Reckon they'll have a fun time mopping up the second round sliders in the real thing. I'm even going to go out on a limb and say in 5 years time they'll wonder what all the fuss was about

In saying that, I am bias my like of the Brisbane draft on my own personal rankings which as a mug punter are not nearly as informed as the real experts.

 

[Yoda_]

Essendon Review

Pick 26. Dayle Garlett (180cm, 76kg, 19, fwd/mid)
Pick 55. Ben Brown (199cm, 98kg, 20, fwd/rck)
Pick 66. Sam Heavyside (177cm, 73kg, 19, mid)

Summary

With the draft sanctions placed on us we will be looking for kids with good character I would imagine and as such, Dodoro insinuated that we will be overlooking Garlett whilst we will also be selecting a ruckmen at some stage in the draft (reaffirms my thoughts we are heavily linked to Ben Brown).


In this phantom draft, by taking Garlett we could potentially have a top 5 player from this draft at a bargain basement price of pick 26 that would be an absolute steal IMHO.
Ben Brown fills two glaring weakness' we have in both the forward 50 and in the ruck. At 20, he provides both a viable option NOW and someone with plenty of development still left in his game.
Heavyside I have come to like more and more that I see (and hear) of him. Caught his VFL games and they were super. Love his aggression for the contest and is a real 'goer'. Someone who has gone through heartache but come back stronger than ever. A good kid to IMO.

I was hoping to grab a 187cm - 192cm utility type but none I really, really liked at 66. Wasley - Black was one I liked late but Heavyside seemed to fit our needs much better.

In the rookie draft we'll probably see that utility type and a ruckmen or KPP also.

 

[Footyking123]

Essendon Review

Pick 26. Dayle Garlett (180cm, 76kg, 19, fwd/mid)
Pick 55. Ben Brown (199cm, 98kg, 20, fwd/rck)
Pick 66. Sam Heavyside (177cm, 73kg, 19, mid)

Summary

With the draft sanctions placed on us we will be looking for kids with good character I would imagine and as such, Dodoro insinuated that we will be overlooking Garlett whilst we will also be selecting a ruckmen at some stage in the draft (reaffirms my thoughts we are heavily linked to Ben Brown).


In this phantom draft, by taking Garlett we could potentially have a top 5 player from this draft at a bargain basement price of pick 26 that would be an absolute steal IMHO.
Ben Brown fills two glaring weakness' we have in both the forward 50 and in the ruck. At 20, he provides both a viable option NOW and someone with plenty of development still left in his game.
Heavyside I have come to like more and more that I see (and hear) of him. Caught his VFL games and they were super. Love his aggression for the contest and is a real 'goer'. Someone who has gone through heartache but come back stronger than ever. A good kid to IMO.

I was hoping to grab a 187cm - 192cm utility type but none I really, really liked at 66. Wasley - Black was one I liked late but Heavyside seemed to fit our needs much better.

In the rookie draft we'll probably see that utility type and a ruckmen or KPP also.

I also rate Heavyside highly