Each club's biggest first round draft flops

[_007_]

Remember that time Freo had two picks inside the top 5 and picked Brayshaw and Cerra instead of LDU and Stephenson?

 

[citizen-erased]

I’d have Gumbleton ahead of Wheildon personally. Of the next 11 selections 9 were still in the system in 2017, two are club captains and 4 of those 9 were KPP’s that played in premiership teams. Games wise it’s one of the best top 10’s ever with a current average across the board of 146 games per player and Essendon got just 35 out of him.

I have trouble calling a player a flop when its injuries that keep them out.

James Davies, Pick 17 in 2000 - next pick Daniel Kerr
Shane Garvey, Pick 18 in 2001 - i dont want to look at the remaining Superdraft talents.....SJ, Mitchell, Montagna, Swan, Lake...ergh

 

[Great8]

I have trouble calling a player a flop when its injuries that keep them out.

James Davies, Pick 17 in 2000 - next pick Daniel Kerr
Shane Garvey, Pick 18 in 2001 - i dont want to look at the remaining Superdraft talents.....SJ, Mitchell, Montagna, Swan, Lake...ergh

Injuries or not he was a flop and our biggest waste of a first rounder. Any win them all though and every club makes mistakes

 

[Ash05]

Surely Luke Livingston at pick 4 for Carlton would have rival Vance for their worst pick

 

[Le Archie]

Mark Bolton at pick 4 was worse than Gumbleton.

 

[citizen-erased]

Injuries or not he was a flop and our biggest waste of a first rounder. Any win them all though and every club makes mistakes

cant really call him a mistake though. He was a first pick prospect with Gibbs that year.
Picked himself. Injuries didn't hit until after we drafted him.

Not like a Toumpas who had fitness on his side and just wasn't up to the next level.

 

[citizen-erased]

Mark Bolton at pick 4 was worse than Gumbleton.

Adam Goodes disagrees

 

[Le Archie]

Adam Goodes disagrees

I would say in both their careers they had a very similar amount of good games - 4/5.

Gumby did it in far less games.

 

[Dogs_r_barking]

Gumbleton suffered a horrible back injury that ruined his career before it even got started, it wasn't talent that got in his way.

Walsh was a very talented footballer, just didn't have the body for football.

 

[Barry_Badrinath]

Tambling is the lazy option for Richmond.
JON was the worst player taken in the first round.

Bling: 124 games, 62 goals, 14.9 disposals
JON: 13 games, 1 goal, 7.6 disposals

 

[Wallaby]

Tambling is the lazy option for Richmond.
JON was the worst player taken in the first round.

Bling: 124 games, 62 goals, 14.9 disposals
JON: 13 games, 1 goal, 7.6 disposals

I hate to mention this - but Richard Lounder.

Sure JON was a complete disaster - but he was a project, and afterwards West Coast gave him a second chance (no good there, either).

Lounder was guaranteed-Number 1-can't miss.

He missed big time. And nobody else even considered him again.

 

[sonnywalters]

Cayden Beetham Saints pick 9 1999.

 

[yyou]

Freo Brayshaw pick 2 2017

 

[00Stinger]

Toumpas is ours.

Molan did break his leg and have a should reconstruction. Funnily enough they both happened in the same incident in the vfl. Talk about getting laid out

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[Deadly Darcy]

Yet Scott Clayton is still highly regarded in the industry. Can barely pick a first rounder to save himself.

I see he cornholed GC one last time on his way out the door.... seriously wonder if he actually gives a flying the way he squanders picks on skinny development players.

Here's a hint Clayton: It hasn't worked for 17 f'ing years, probably won't change at this point.

 

[Deadly Darcy]

Griffen was also taken ahead of Franklin at 3 wasn't he? Griffen is by no means a star either, good footballer but nothing more, Tambling whilst not the greatest, he had constant issues with his legs/shins, was wearing shin splints for a lot of the time that nobody knew about.

Griffen was a total star until Macca broke him physically and mentally by completely changing his game into an inside mid and giving him a captaincy he couldn't handle and didn't want. By the time he left for GWS he was a broken unit. We handled him terribly in his final years.

 

[citizen-erased]

Toumpas is ours.

Molan did break his leg and have a should reconstruction. Funnily enough they both happened in the same incident in the vfl. Talk about getting laid out

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Was it Mummy? he's the only player (other than Byron) i can think of doing that damage

 

[citizen-erased]

I see he cornholed GC one last time on his way out the door.... seriously wonder if he actually gives a flying the way he squanders picks on skinny development players.

Here's a hint Clayton: It hasn't worked for 17 f'ing years, probably won't change at this point.

Fogarty, Balta, Constable.
That pick will come back to haunt them.

 

[telsor]

I hate to mention this - but Richard Lounder.

Sure JON was a complete disaster - but he was a project, and afterwards West Coast gave him a second chance (no good there, either).

Lounder was guaranteed-Number 1-can't miss.

He missed big time. And nobody else even considered him again.

Famously described as "Built like a brick outhouse, and about as mobile."

Played one good game (well, part of), during which opposition coaches and defenders worked him out and word clearly got around quickly. Massive unit who could take a mark, but that was it...one trick pony, and defenders jumped all over him to spoil the ball, and then ran off with impunity because if he didn't take the grab, he contributed nothing.

Kicked 4 goals in his first game, 1 in his second, zero in his 3rd, zero in his 4th, and never played again.

Went back to SA, played 2 more years and retired at 24.


Makes Tambling (and JON) look like superstars.

 

[GoTigers2015]

Oakley Nichols?

Richard Anderson, didn't show up to the club.
Richard Lounder - 6 games

 

[GoTigers2015]

Griffen was also taken ahead of Franklin at 3 wasn't he? Griffen is by no means a star either, good footballer but nothing more, Tambling whilst not the greatest, he had constant issues with his legs/shins, was wearing shin splints for a lot of the time that nobody knew about.

AT least we turned Tambling into a premiership player:
In 2010 traded Bling to Adelaide for End of first round compensation pick (Nathan Brock compo) & draft pick #51
In 2011 traded compensation draft pick (end of first round) to GC for draft pick No. 26 & compensation draft pick (second round)
In 2012 Drafted Kamdyn McIntosh with the second round compensation pick.

 

[telsor]

Richard Anderson, didn't show up to the club.
Richard Lounder - 6 games

4 games, 5 goals.

 

[coniglio_number1]

Feel free to include us

Is o’rourke btw

 

[Crankyhawk]

Tambling wasn’t our worst selection far from it

Surely JON?

And beau dowler (also pick 6) would be as bad as thorp for us.

 

[Joao]

In our last piece, we highlighted the hidden treasures clubs had found from the 3rd Round and beyond.

That is where the niceties end towards recruitment teams though as today we apply the blow-torch to clubs and list your clubs biggest First Round Flop and why. We appreciate hindsight is a wonderful thing and a kid who looks a star amongst his peers might not look as flash in the big time, but for all time and effort and money clubs spend in this department, they should’ve done better.

Again, we’ve excluded the Gold Coast and GWS from this list.

Adelaide
Laurence Angwin Pick 7 2000
The Crows used their first pick in the 2000 Draft on the kid from Dandenong. He didn’t manage a single game for Adelaide. Perhaps the Crows would’ve been better placed looking closer to home as three of the next dozen names read out included South Australian trio Shaun Burgoyne (Pick 12), Scott Thompson (16) and Kane Cornes (20).

Brisbane
Billy Longer Pick 8 2011
In a rarity nowadays Brisbane took the punt on a ruckman with an early selection and settled on Longer. He lasted just two seasons in Brisbane before returning to Melbourne to play with St.Kilda. The 2011 draft was an ultra-important one to nail with the Giants having a raft of early selections and the Lions might have been wiser to focus on one of the classy Giants that were selected after Longer. They included Adam Tomlinson, Toby Greene, Taylor Adams and Devon Smith.

Carlton
Murray Vance Pick 6 1998
The early part of the 1998 Draft was not a time to butcher a pick. But the Blues did so choosing Vance who played just five times in the navy blue. Two picks later the Swans pounced on Jude Bolton and three picks after that the Saints selected Lenny Hayes. Essendon called out Adam Ramanuskas with the very next pick. Not the Blues’ finest drafting moment.

Collingwood
Danny Roach Pick 7 1999
Securing Josh Fraser with the first pick in the draft I suspect the Pies recruiters spent all their time and effort on Fraser and paid little attention to much else. Now to be fair it’s not an exact science and Roach might have been a superstar if not for injury, but how the Pies must look back and think if only we’d chosen Joel Corey (Pick 8), or Luke McPharlin (10), or Darren Glass (11), or Bob Murphy (13). And let’s not even mention Brad Green, Paul Chapman, Cameron Ling, Corey Enright or Ryan O’Keefe. Oops, too late, we did!

Essendon
Darren Wheildon Pick 15 1995
Never one to shy away from a left-field choice, Kevin Sheedy thought a punt on the ‘Doc’ was worthwhile. A talented, yet wayward forward who’d been discarded by Fitzroy must have celebrated his second chance a little too hard as he stumbled out of a King Street establishment in the early hours of one morning only to be run over and have his leg and his career broken. Maybe the Bombers should’ve favoured a punt on another young, hot-headed forward named Barry Hall instead who was called out just four selections later.

Fremantle
Ryley Dunn Pick 10 2003
Not too many early blunders from the Dockers but the one standout was the selection of Dunn in the 2003 Draft. Luring him from the Murray Region in Victoria across the country was always going to be a tricky ask. He featured just five times for Fremantle and whilst hindsight (as we’ve mentioned) is a wonderful thing, just three picks later, running machine Brent Stanton was called out by the Bombers and with his aerobic capacity on Subiaco Oval, he would’ve made a great fit for the Dockers.

Geelong
Leigh Willison Pick 11 1991
Willison, from East Perth, managed only three games for the Cats and at a time when Geelong was seriously challenging for that elusive premiership, how they would’ve loved to have had a kid named Shane Crawford running around in their midfield helping the likes of Garry Hocking, Paul Couch and co.

Hawthorn
Mitch Thorp Pick 6 2006
The Hawks had a shocker choosing Thorp with the sixth pick of the 2006 draft. The Tasmanian managed only two games for Hawthorn and despite the Hawks winning the premiership less than two years later and winning three more in the next decade, imagine how many more they might have won if instead they’d called out names like Joel Selwood (Pick 7) or Jack Riewoldt (13)?

Melbourne
Luke Molan Pick 9 2001
One club had to draw the short straw and be linked to the 2001 ‘Super Draft’! Apologies Demon fans but it is you. I’ll be blunt….. and brief. These are the players your club could’ve had instead of no-game wonder Molan: Nick Dal Santo, James Kelly, Steve Johnson, Sam Mitchell, Leigh Montagna, Dane Swan and Brian Lake. That’s enough torture for you.

Nth Melbourne
John McNamara Pick 4 1988
The Kangaroos have been quite good at getting their early picks right over the years but missed an opportunity early in the 1988 draft choosing McNamara from the South-Western Victorian beachside town of Port Fairy. McNamara never played for the Roos and perhaps the talent scouts needed to set up camp half an hour closer to Melbourne in Warrnambool where they might have seen Leon Cameron play. Cameron was called out by Footscray just three picks later.

Port Adelaide
John Butcher Pick 8 2009
He had some moments Johnny Butcher, but his lack of athleticism and inaccurate kicking never saw him reach consistent heights. Now whilst the 2009 Draft wasn’t exactly flush with talent, how the Power would’ve loved to have read out a name like Daniel Talia (Pick 13), Nat Fyfe (20), Mitch Duncan (28) or Jack Gunston (29) instead.

Richmond
Richard Tambling Pick 4 2004
The Tigers, Hawks and Bulldogs shared the first six selections in the 2004 draft. Whilst Richmond nailed the first of those picks with Brett Deledio, they’ll never ever forget the decision to select Tambling with the fourth pick of the draft leaving Lance Franklin gift-wrapped to the Hawks with the very next selection.

St.Kilda
Jody Arnol Pick 3 1989
At a time when shrewd recruiting, especially with high draft picks wasn’t commonplace, the Saints decided to select Tasmanian Arnol with the third pick in the 1989 draft. He only played 13 times for the Saints and they may have been better sending their recruiting teams to Western Australia where they may have spotted Peter Matera or Ben Allan running around. Better yet, they should’ve paid more attention to Arnol’s North Hobart teammate Paul Williams who was drafted by Collingwood over 60 selections later and managed almost 300 more games.

Sydney
Patrick Vezpremi Pick 12 2007
It’s a little known (and very unfortunate) fact that Vezpremi will forever be known as the player who was drafted in between a slightly more famous Patrick, in Dangerfield and perhaps the greatest ever Rioli (Cyril). There’s barely an honour those two haven’t shared whilst Vezpremi faded into obscurity after just 11 games with the Swans and another dozen with the Bulldogs.

West Coast
Shane Sikora Pick 12 1994
Granted they were probably still celebrating the premiership they had just won and given the talent at their disposal probably paid scant regard to the draft, but they must have seen something in Sikora who hailed from the Murray Region of Victoria. Unfortunately though he managed just the three games for West Coast who wouldn’t win another flag for a dozen years. It might have been sooner if they selected Scott Camporeale (Pick 15), Adem Yze (16) or Michael O’Loughlin (40).

Western Bulldogs
Tim Walsh Pick 4 2002
There weren’t too many misses in the early stages of the 2002 draft, however the Bulldogs selection of Walsh with the fourth pick is one they’d like to have over. Walsh managed just a single game for the Dogs whilst a couple of players they could’ve chosen instead will be remembered as 250 game champions and premiership heroes. Those players were Jarrad McVeigh (Pick 5) and Andrew Mackie (7).


https://downtheguts.com/2017/11/23/first-round-flops-afl-draft/

Interesting read but I am not sure that many Freo fans have sleepless nights wondering what could have been if Stanton played for us.