Mega Thread Official Draft thread.

[Sunny_]

Baby talk throws AFL recruiters.

AFL clubs are queuing up to re-interview one of the nation's top draft prospects after learning he is a father.

Lobbing a curve ball into the countdown to Thursday's national draft, recruiters have been surprised by news that electrifying wingman Josh Simpson has a one-year-old daughter near Geraldton, Western Australia.

With the help of Simpson's management, the AFL notified clubs of the development in an email yesterday.

Oh dear.

 

[Scotty_222]

i didnt realise he was indigenous.. wonder how this will play out come thursday

 

[supernova_]

Baby talk throws AFL recruiters.


Oh dear.

Pass in my opinion. I suspect he may drop because of this and could be a steal of a pickup for the likes of Freo/Eagles

 

[Sunny_]

Just asked Emma. She thinks most clubs knew about the baby stuff ages ago.

 

[exile]

Regardless of the fact he's a father, I'd rather us go for a Lonergan type who's an inside player. We've got Martin next year, plus Bennell + other speedy types.

 

[WrongUn]

So many "what ifs" surrounding Simpson, just doesn't seem
necessary we take the extra risk? Would rather take a guy like Lonergan, old fashioned hard nut midfielder. Sure he tested in the bottom 50% in running, but we have so much speed as it is, and these speedsters are ineffective if we can't dish the ball out to them.

Let's just take both Lonergan's, happy days

 

[WrongUn]

http://www.afl.com.au/tabid/208/default.aspx?newsid=150389

WA's Shane Nelson seems like the type of guy the Suns would approach for a rookie spot if he falls through to the PSD. Seems to be a diamond in the rough type of guy, with age and speed on his side, might be the type of player Clayton could mold into our senior midfield after a year in the reserves? Aka Horsely last season.

 

[Sunny_]

Don't know much about him. If he is good inside, which he seems to be if he's modelling himself after Swan and Murphy, then definitely could look at it. WA kid too.

Jeez. 2.82 is lightning.

 

[TheSunGod]

Baby talk throws AFL recruiters.


Oh dear.

Oh Baby

We should still go best available. If we rate Simpson best at #13 so be it. Being a dad might help him mature that bit faster.

 

[Sunny_]

With the draft only two days away, the following players appear to be the ones on our radar. Descriptions taken from the AFL mock.

Josh Simpson seems the most likely at this stage.

The Suns have long been fans of Simpson and there was talk earlier this year that they might even be tempted to choose him if they had kept their pick two. They didn't, and got Jack Martin, Simpson's close friend from Western Australia, with that pick through the mini-draft. The Suns have done a lot of work on Simpson, who moved from South Australia back to Perth at the end of last season to be closer to his family. He's very quick, takes on opponents, and zips through congestion.

Aidan Corr, if the Giants don't pick him up first. Will be considered.

Corr, the Northern Knights' aggressive, athletic and skillful key defender. Corr's year was interrupted by a few nagging injuries, but his standing as a top prospect was underlined at the NAB AFL Draft Combine. There he tested in the top in the top 6 per cent in the 20 metre sprint, and was ranked equal seventh in the kicking test.

Nick Vlastuin. If the Tigers don't pick him up at #9, we could look at him.

Although he played at half-back for Vic Metro (who he captained), Vlastuin will probably end up an inside midfielder. There's no fuss about the Northern Knights player: he puts his head over the ball, runs back with the flight, and hits targets by hand and foot. He will need to build up his tank a bit before he spends too much time in the midfield, and he can work on his takeoff speed, but he has a great attitude, and is one of the best leaders to have gone through the Vic Metro program in recent seasons.

Nathan Hrovat. Should be available at our pick. One of the premier inside mids in the draft.

If not for a few centremetres, Hrovat would be an outside chance to be a top-10 selection. Despite being one of the shorter midfielders, Hrovat has worked hard to be strong over the ball, and he is. He keeps his feet, sets up the play, and is a neat user of the ball. He was a standout for Vic Metro during the championships, winning its most valuable player award, and he just knows where to go and what to do to get the ball in his hands.

Jesse Lonergan. We've been linked to him, though he seems the least likely.

The Tasmanian is a lot like his uncle Sam, former Bomber, but has a more explosive streak that helps him not only win the ball in a contest, but then burst away from it. He's physically ready, too, with a man's body and senior experience for Launceston, where he debuted as a 15-year-old.

 

[WrongUn]

Jack Anthony delisted by Freo even though he had a year to run on his contract. They certainly are clearing out some cap space.

Worth a rookie spot to try and re-work/revive his full forward career? Could provide depth for our list at a cheap price for 12-months. Probably will be taken in the PSD by another club needing key fwd depth.

 

[Scotty_222]

He is hopeless, I wouldn't touch him

 

[juzzo]

Didn't realise Jack Martin and Josh Simpson were good mates, probably adds to why you like him so much.

 

[Iva Bigun]

Didn't realise Jack Martin and Josh Simpson were good mates, probably adds to why you like him so much.

It's hard to know whether being together will help them settle or exasibate the go home factor.

 

[Sunny_]

A little out from 24 hours, and it looks like Simpson has dropped off the radar. Experts appear to think Aidan Corr is looking like the guy we'll be picking up at #13.

Some descriptions:

Knightmare.

Height: 194cm, Weight: 80kg, DOB: 17/05/1994
Recruited from: Northern Knights
Style:
Player comparison: Tyson Goldsack
Range: 8-25
Profile: Key defender who has the ability to shut down but is probably more of a rebounding defender. Rebounding game above average and can set up play from the back half. Still to some extent Corr has the feel of a tall flanker when he plays and at this stage seems stuck between positions but hopefully as his body develops so does his game defensively. Corr is a long term project and still has a very slight build but with work could once he develops physically could become a solid key defender. Also has the ability to go forward where he can often present as a solid marking target. Has elite pace for someone his size and while he hasn’t been mentioned much on bigfooty expect him to go first round on draft day.

Snoop Dog.

AIS member who is a key defender from the Knights who has been at the forefront of recruiters minds for a while. I think he is another player who isn’t dissimilar to Michael Talia. I am of the view he is more a CHB / FB type although he has been trialled fwd a few times. He is a really good size and has a body that will fill out and get stronger. He is also pretty agile, with reasonable pace for that type of role and whilst when I have seen him he seems more negating than attacking I think has enough scope given the agility and the kicking efficiency to be more attacking. I can see him being a bit more Heath Grundy like. If Corr is gone expect Smith, Close etc to be in the mix.

Chris25.

In terms of the KPPs in this draft, Corr will be one of the more interesting ones to watch on draft day. He doesn't have the same profile as others, maybe because he is a defender and not a flashy forward. But he is maybe the most versatile of the tall defenders. He might not be the best pure defender or the best rebounding tall in the draft. But he is good at both, and more importantly he is an excellent size. And that should see him relatively highly sought after, well at least in the middle rounds of the draft. Interestingly, in the TAC Cup he tends to play further up the ground - including up on the wing at times which shows his running ability. But he played deeper for Vic Metro which is what I wanted to see from him and he did it reasonably well - showed his strength in the air and also his closing speed. I always like a defender who attacks the ball in the air, and Corr does just that. Unfortunately he was injured, and miss the last two weeks of the U18 Championships. Now he just needs to combine his attacking and defensive games into one, and he could be a very good player. AFL Comparison: Brian Lake.

Footy Tragic mock.

He’s really bulked up lately, because last time I checked he was at 80kg.
Corr’s a key defender, but more an attacking one who would ideally be the third one up instead of taking a key post.
He played a lot up the ground for the Knights as well, even going up to the wing at stages.
His kicking is a highlight for a guy his size.
Athletically, he’s one of the best talls in the draft.
He tested top 8% in the 5m sprint, top 3% in the 10m sprint and top 6% in the 20m sprint. He was also top 31% in agility and he ran a 12.7 shuttle run.

 

[Sunny_]

AFL website has Corr listed at 86kg, too. Not 80.

 

[supernova_]

is that Simpson dropped off the radar from predictions on bigfooty? Or is it a twitter journo comment?

 

[Sunny_]

Comes from two separate journos on Twitter when I probed them, yep. Since they're all on the Gold Coast now, seems some info is coming out.

Of course, it's all still speculation still.

 

[CoastBhoy]

Sunny do you think we will go for another KPD , after going for Schade last year ?? Vlastuin looks perfect for us , not sure he will last till pick 13 though.

 

[WrongUn]

If Tape can develop the offensive side to his game, and become a more aggressive running 3rd tall instead of just a shutdown player, then Corr may not be the type of player we need? We already have Thompson & Schade as our FB/CHB in training. Really would rather recruit the best midfielder available @ 13.

 

[TheSunGod]

If Tape can develop the offensive side to his game, and become a more aggressive running 3rd tall instead of just a shutdown player, then Corr may not be the type of player we need? We already have Thompson & Schade as our FB/CHB in training. Really would rather recruit the best midfielder available @ 13.

Agree with you there Wrongun. Whilst I see our depth of good young KPDs to take the big opposition KPFs as probably our weakest area - after Thommo and Schade there's not much else, would rather we go for best available player at #13 and that would appear to be a mid.

Edit: Just watched Corr's highlights. Good size already, moves well - was put off by the Goldsack comparison above - doesn't really remind me of Goldsack. Would not be disappointed if we picked him up

 

[supernova_]

I think we need best midfielder.

As for depth as defenders, what about May? Hutchins? As much as I hate to say it, but even Dixon proved he CAN play there, but I want him to fight Gorringe for the 2nd ruck/forward spot.

 

[juzzo]

You'll be very happy to know that Emma has come full circle back to Lonergan. Which like Grundy to Collingwood could mean absolutely nothing.

 

[Sunny_]

Yeah, she has GWS taking Corr at #12 and us taking Lonergan at #13. Wouldn't be against that at all.

From the way I read it, Corr is our first choice. But the Giants are keen on him too, so could take him at 12. Very possible.

If that's the case, our second choice appears to be Lonergan.

Other possibilities around there are Garner, Hrovat and Simpson, obviously.

 

[Sunny_]

Updated HS mock is up. They have us taking Garner at #13, as we've apparently shown late interest in him.