Preview 2020 AFL National Draft thread

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Age no barrier for Clarence defender who has earned a call-up for Devils first match on home soil

Highly-touted Clarence talent Sam Banks is yet to turn 16 but will be thrust into the excitement of the Devils’ first home NAB League clash in Penguin
ADAM SMITH, Mercury
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April 12, 2019 10:01pm


HIGHLY touted Clarence talent Sam Banks is yet to turn 16 but will be thrust into the excitement of the Devils first home NAB League clash in Penguin tomorrow.

Banks has not looked out of place training with some of his more senior counterparts and has earned a state debut when the Devils chase back to back victories against the Calder Cannons at Dial Park.

A running defender, Banks will be eased into action via the competition’s 23rd player rules — which allows teams to have an extra body on restricted minutes — with AFL Tasmania staff eager to see how the teenager stacks up at under-18 level.

“There has been in the NAB League a rule for the Victorian sides you are not eligible to play under-16s until after the national championships, but we have a bit of scope in terms of what we can do and Sam certainly deserves his opportunity,” AFL Tasmania Football Manager Craig Notman.

“He has trained with the under-18 group for the majority of the pre-season, he has certainly held his own.

“For a young guy we are very mindful that we don’t burn him out too early, with the ability to play that 23rd guy we can strictly monitor what he does in a game sense.

“We wouldn’t be throwing him into the mix if we didn’t think he could compete at that level.”

Banks made his TSL senior debut for Clarence against reigning premiers North Launceston last weekend, capping a whirlwind week for the youngster.

Notman believes the introduction to the NAB League will be the perfect platform leading into the under-16 nationals.


“His major focus for us is definitely the under-16 championships as there are a lot of other opportunities that can stem from that.

“This will be a good challenge for him and something that will benefit him when he gets to the under 16 champs.”

Notman said there was an element of the unknown about the Cannons, who are missing six first-choice players due to Vic Metro commitments, but his troops are determined to build on last Sunday’s breakthrough win against the Northern Territory academy.
 
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Sam Banks joins elite company after dominating national carnival

Sam Banks spends hours in the car each week getting to and from training, but his dedication has paid off joining some of the state’s finest footy products with a national award.
BRETT STUBBS, Mercury
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July 18, 2019 4:20pm


BRADY Rawlings, Mav Weller, Tarryn Thomas. Now Oatlands flyer Sam Banks has joined this exclusive alumni list for Tasmanian football talent.

Banks has become just the fifth Tasmanian to win the Alan McLean Medal after being named the most valuable player at the under-16s national carnival, joining an illustrious list of players who have gone on to be drafted into the AFL.

He averaged 24 touches a game across the three matches playing a combination of midfield and halfback.

“I wasn’t going away expecting to win it, but it is a privilege and an honour,” Banks said of winning the medal and being named in the All-Australian team.

“I got to know [North Melbourne’s] Tarryn a little bit when I was in the under-12s and he was in the under-15s and I’ve followed him very closely since the under-16s.

“And I got a message from [Richmond’s] Mav as soon as he found out I won it which was very nice of him.”

It is reward for family dedication with Sam’s parents, Joanne and Laurence, continually ferrying their son from Oatlands to various training venues around Hobart three or four times a week so the recently turned 16-year-old can chase his football dreams, including playing five games for the under-18s Devils in the NAB League.


“It is a big commitment but I love it and that’s the main thing,” the Year 10 Oatlands District High School student said.

“Every now and then it gets a bit much but after doing it for a few years now you get pretty used to it.

“With the Devils they give you a night off every now and then if you need it or if you’ve got important exams coming up.”

Playing in the NAB League has also fast-tracked his development.

“It has been a huge difference, just getting a taste for it at the highest level for your age group. It prepared me really well for the 16s carnival, you got used to flying and being around the same group of coaches most of the year, not going backwards and forwards, it gives you a lot of opportunities being in the NAB League with the Devils.”

He comes from a big footy family, with his dad only hanging up his boots after turning 47 and having played 550 games for Sorell, Mangalore and Woodsdale.
 
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Tasmania:

Samuel Banks (Southern Academy/Clarence)
184cm | 70kg | 2/04/2003
Midfielder/Half-Back

The Alan McLean medallist (Division 2 MVP) has already impressed enough in Tasmanian circles to feature in the state’s Under 18 NAB League side, and showed his class throughout the carnival. Able to play through midfield or more offensively off half-back, Banks has a penetrating kick which he uses to hit targets others wouldn’t dare try to through the corridor. Is also an apt interceptor in the back half, and was terrific in that role against NSW/ACT as he collected 25 disposals, 10 marks, and five rebound 50s.


Scouting Notes: U16 Division 2 – Round 3
NSW/ACT vs. Tasmania

#10 Samuel Banks (Clarence)

The 2019 Alan McLean medallist (Division 2 MVP) again showed his class to cap off a high quality carnival, collecting 25 disposals, 10 marks, four inside 50s and five rebounds through midfield and later off half-back. His best attribute is undoubtedly his booming right foot, and Banks used it well when placed behind the ball to set up Tasmanian forward forays. He attempted and made a wealth of attacking kicks into the corridor to put his side into dangerous positions, finding both distance and a direct target. Banks did purely go for distance on perhaps too many occasions though coming out of defence, compensating for accuracy with one kick and letting out an “oh no”. Like some of the better half-backs in this year’s draft crop, Banks showed his ability to read the play and intercept aerially with a couple of nice marks floating in from the side. Has obvious class and should build on having already being selected to play in the U18 NAB League squad, something 2018 draftee Tarryn Thomas also did as a 15-year-old.

Scouting Notes: U16 Division 2 – Round 2
Qld v Tasmania

#10 Samuel Banks (Clarence)

Caught the eye straight off the bat with a booming kick forward off the back of the first centre bounce, and continued on in similar fashion throughout the day to have a team-high 21 disposals (19 kicks) and eight inside 50s. He also hit the ground running straight after half time with a streaming clearance and long kick forward, which was a part of his game that featured most prominently. Put in a solid shift and possesses qualities which are easy on the eye.



Scouting Notes: U16 National Championships – Division Two - Round 1
Tasmania vs. Northern Territory

#22 Samuel Banks

Playing deep in defence, Banks quelled a number of dangerous NT attacks and was solid with his intercept marking. His point of difference was the run he created out of the back half, taking the game on at each opportunity. Most of Banks’ best work was done in the second half as the game opened up and he could easily snap up the quick kicks sent his way.


Stats




The stocks of Tasmania Devils U16 captain Sam Banks continue to rise, with the young midfielder today named in the 2019 NAB Rising Stars U16 Championships All Australian team.

The sole Tasmanian in the side, Banks has been rewarded for his outstanding 2019 Championships series, which saw him named the Alan McLean Medalist as the most valuable player for the Division 2 Championships.

Banks, who stood tall as captain, was the fifth Tasmanian to win the McLean Medal, following in the footsteps of Brady Rawlings (1996), Leon Noel (2003), Maverick Weller (2008) and Tarryn Thomas (2016).

2019 has been a big year for the talented midfielder, with Banks not only captaining the Tasmania Devils at the U16 Championships, but also making his NAB League U18 debut for the Tasmania Devils and senior Bupa Tasmanian State League debut for Clarence.





Sam Banks’ 2019 NAB Rising Stars U16 Championships stats:

v Northern Territory – Sunday 23 June, 2019 at Blacktown ISP

26 disposals, 11 marks, three tackles, three inside 50s, three inside 50s, two goals

v Queensland – Tuesday 9 July, 2019 at Metricon Stadium

21 disposals, eight inside 50s

v NSWACT – Saturday 13 July, 2019 at Aspley

25 disposals, 10 marks, four inside 50s, five rebound 50s


 
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Pykie

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Remembering Tassie get a VFL side in 2021, so he might potentially see a fair bit of senior action in his draft year as well.
 

Pykie

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Banks won’t be linked to our academy though will he? I thought it was only on indigenous/multi cultural players

Multicultural can mean many things.

Matt McGuiness isn't exactly a multi-cultural name, it's my understanding if that's his name included in our earlier NGA academies lists, he has to be eligible to be included.

Here's the formal rules, it can be as simple as being born in certain areas overseas. Or if one of his parents was born overseas on work assignments etc, which is what we've seen a few times and with someone like Borlaise next year who was born whilst his parents worked in Egypt for 2 years.

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Multicultural can mean many things.

Matt McGuiness isn't exactly a multi-cultural name, it's my understanding if that's his name included in our earlier NGA academies lists, he has to be eligible to be included.

Here's the formal rules, it can be as simple as being born in certain areas overseas. Or if one of his parents was born overseas on work assignments etc, which is what we've seen a few times and with someone like Borlaise next year who was born whilst his parents worked in Egypt for 2 years.

View attachment 787066


View attachment 787064

You would think that they would widen their parameters in regards to ‘Multicultural’. Surely if somebody has immigrated from say...Albania or Germany, that would also qualify them?
 
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Multicultural can mean many things.

Matt McGuiness isn't exactly a multi-cultural name, it's my understanding if that's his name included in our earlier NGA academies lists, he has to be eligible to be included.

Here's the formal rules, it can be as simple as being born in certain areas overseas. Or if one of his parents was born overseas on work assignments etc, which is what we've seen a few times and with someone like Borlaise next year who was born whilst his parents worked in Egypt for 2 years.

View attachment 787066


View attachment 787064

That is wide open for rorting.

But hopefully Banks qualifies.
 

Pykie

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You would think that they would widen their parameters in regards to ‘Multicultural’. Surely if somebody has immigrated from say...Albania or Germany, that would also qualify them?

Absolutely.

Aiden Bonar would of qualified for St Kilda as his mum is from PNG.

Majak would of come to us as a Cat B rookie.

Tim Taranto may have qualified for St Kilda under special dispensation.

Touk Miller would of qualified for the Dogs.



I'm surprised we haven't had anyone remotely close to being drafted out of the Western Jets yet. Even though we share part of it with the Dogs, traiditionally Werribee and Hoppers is a fairly strong region and is obviously a big immigration area, especially for the Sudenese...
 

Pykie

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The funny thing is, Collingwood are cleaning up with their affluent zone at the moment through the Doncaster through to Kew area of the Oakleigh zone.

They got Quaynor last year, they have 2 top prospects next year and have one of the u/16 AA wingmen in 2021.


It's a good zone for the rules, as there's a lot of expats, or corporate types that have had kids whilst working overseas.

Which is completely against what it originally set out to help.
 

Pykie

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That is wide open for rorting.

But hopefully Banks qualifies.

Every other club is rorting it, so we need the wins when we can get them.

Fremantle and WC will have a production line of WA indigenous kids for the foreseeable future.

Basically all of them come from rural areas anyway.
 

Palpatine

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Anyone can be in the tassie academies. The indigenous and multicultural kids are automatically included regardless of skill level.
The others have to "try out" to make the squad. The Majority of those Northern kids are not eligible to us.

On SM-G930F using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
Pykie I've asked the club and awaiting official response.

There was discussion this morning on ABC radio Tassie and they said he isn't eligible.



EDIT: Found the audio. Blair Brownless (Billy's brother) discusses the Tassie talent (11min - 21min )

19 min in for Sam Banks talk


 
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hilly

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The funny thing is, Collingwood are cleaning up with their affluent zone at the moment through the Doncaster through to Kew area of the Oakleigh zone.

They got Quaynor last year, they have 2 top prospects next year and have one of the u/16 AA wingmen in 2021.


It's a good zone for the rules, as there's a lot of expats, or corporate types that have had kids whilst working overseas.

Which is completely against what it originally set out to help.

Unlike the clubs to outsmart the AFL.
 
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Every other club is rorting it, so we need the wins when we can get them.

Fremantle and WC will have a production line of WA indigenous kids for the foreseeable future.

Basically all of them come from rural areas anyway.

While we’ll get * all from tassie - the most white state in Australia.
 
Devils named in NAB AFL Academy Allies squad

Devils named in NAB AFL Academy Allies squad



Five Tasmania Devils have been named in the initial 30-player NAB AFL National Academy Allies squad for 2020.
Sam Banks (Clarence)
, Jackson Callow (North Launceston), Sam Collins (North Hobart), Oliver Davis (Clarence) and Patrick Walker (North Hobart) have all been named in the squad that is made up of the best young talent from New South Wales / Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, Northern Territory and Tasmania.

Callow, Collins and Davis all got a taste for Allies action in 2019, while fellow draft-age player Walker and bottom-ager Banks have been named in the Allies squad for the first time.

Davis, the Tasmania Devils co-captain in 2019, took out the Best & Fairest and Midfielder of the Year awards at last week’s Devils Awards Night, while Callow took home the Forward of the Year award as well as Runner Up in the Best & Fairest.

Patrick Walker (seventh) and Sam Collins (10th) also featured inside the top 10, while rising star Sam Banks took home the U16 Best & Fairest Award in a year that also saw him claim the Alan McLean Medal as the U16 Division 2 Championships MVP, play eight NAB League games and two senior Bupa TSL games with Clarence.


Patrick Walker impressed as a bottom-ager in 2019. IC: Solstice Digital

The recently expanded NAB AFL Academy program will see 150 players across each state and territory take part in high performance camps focusing on players on and off-field education.

All five NAB AFL Academy Squads will come together for the first camps in the coming weeks, with the Allies squad training at AFL clubs from throughout November and December.

AFL National Talent Pathways Manager Marcus Ashcroft said it is an exciting time for the country’s best young talent.

“The new approach to the national NAB AFL Academy, introduced for the first time in 2018, will again ensure more of our most talented players have access to AFL facilities, while receiving the best quality coaching, high performance and well-being services in the country,” he said.


Sam Collins and Jackson Callow both took part in the U17 Rising Stars curtain-raiser on AFL Grand Final Day.

“Importantly these players will spend more time in their home states, with year-round first-class support that will enhance their opportunity to perform at an elite level.

“I congratulate all players who have been named in their NAB AFL Academy Squads today and I look forward to watching their development over the next few years.”

The best Under-17 and Under-18 players from the state academies will also have the opportunity to attend national camps. These activities include:
  • NAB AFL Under-17 Futures players to spend a week at an AFL club (December 2019)
  • The best 24 Under-18 players to represent Australia against VFL opposition (April 2020)
  • The best 24 Under-17 players to represent Australia against New Zealand (April 2020)
  • NAB AFL Under-17 Futures Game (2020 Toyota AFL Grand Final Day)
This year marks the 23rd NAB AFL Academy intake. Since its inception in 1997, 515 NAB AFL Academy players (81 per cent of all NAB AFL Academy players) have been drafted to AFL clubs.



 
Four Tasmanians drafted, but was in the real story?
COMMENT: Four Tasmanians were drafted into the AFL, but if you delve a little deeper, the analysis is not all that positive.
BRETT STUBBS, Sports Editor, Mercury

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November 30, 2019 4:28pm
Tasmanian Devils Sam Collins (left) and Ollie Davis have been selected to represent Australia in the All Australian team against New Zealand. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Tasmanian Devils Sam Collins (left) and Ollie Davis have been selected to represent Australia in the All Australian team against New Zealand. Picture: LUKE
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FOUR Tasmanians got a chance to chase their AFL dream this week, so lets celebrate.

But this is the glass half full analysis.

Delve deeper and there are some concerns after the first year of the revamped full time AFL Tasmania talent pathway.

There were no Tasmanians added to an AFL club’s primary list this year.

The four picks all came via the rookie draft and it could be argued only one was a legitimate selection.

Being in the AFL system is always the goal no matter how you get there.

Dean Cox, Matt Pridis, Josh Gibson, Matt Boyd, Brett Kirk, Tadhg Kennelly, Dale Morris, Dane Rampe and Nick Maxwell all started as rookies, so there are plenty who have taken this less travelled path to AFL stardom.

But the difference means a one-year rookie contract compared to a two-year national draft selection contract.

One serious injury in the pre-season or early in the campaign as a rookie and your career could be over before it begun.

Hugh Dixon was delisted from Fremantle’s senior list then retaken by the Dockers as a rookie.

Mitch Hibberd was rewarded for an outstanding season in the VFL with an Essendon rookie selection.

Matt McGuinness, an over-age Devil who had a strong season, was a category B rookie pick due to his indigenous background via North Melbourne’s Next Generation Academy.

Only Mitch O’Neill – with pick 25 in the rookie draft – could be viewed as the sole live selection from Tasmania.

O’Neill was a bottom-age under-18 All-Australian in 2018 – that is as a 17-year-old he was considered in the best under-18 team in the country before even being eligible to be drafted.

He was selected in that side again this year, but was not selected in the top 65 players in the national draft.
So what happened?

Tasmania Devils’ Mitch O'Neill breaks away from his opponent. Picture: GRANT WELLS

Tasmania Devils’ Mitch O'Neill breaks away from his opponent. Picture: GRANT WELLS


You could call the first year of the new talent pathway disappointing or a disaster depending on your point of view.

The appointment of Adrian Fletcher as the Devils inaugural coach was poor.

A great resume did not return great results, and he was gone after one season — a terrible look when trying to re-establish a stable, elite program.

With his family still in Brisbane, the appointment was always fraught with danger, and then the questions and comments started coming to AFL Tasmania from parents and player’s local clubs about his language and handling of the state’s best talent.

O’Neill was no doubt hurt by injuries but he started the year in the Devils as an inside midfielder, not his natural habitat.

It may have been to grow his game but it was noticeable he played his best for the Allies and the Australian under-18 team when moved to a wing where he was far better suited with his size and strengths.

Next year, the Devils will have Sam Collins, Jackson Callow and Oliver Davis right in the draft hunt who really should be selected.

Tasmanian Devils’ Jackson Callow. Picture: SOLSTICE DIGITAL

Tasmanian Devils’ Jackson Callow. Picture: SOLSTICE DIGITAL

But a program’s success should not be judged on turning the most talented players into AFL draftees, but from dust into gold, as the part-time program did in 2018 with Fraser Turner.

While Tarryn Thomas and Chayce Jones were hot property, Turner – a Clarence running machine – was on no AFL club’s radar starting that year, but burst the door down via an excellent season with the then Mariners and was drafted by Richmond.

After one year, it is far too early to make judgment on AFL Tasmania’s new full-time program, especially as it has to restart in just its second year with a new coach, former North Melbourne football manager Cameron Joyce.

But the program would not want to get to next year’s draft and see the likes of Callow, Davis and Collins fall through to rookie list selections as then serious questions would be asked.

 

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Do we have any NGA eligible players likely to get drafted next year?

We’ll probably never have another one. Surprising I know given the indigenous and multi cultural hotbed that Tasmania is. It was a miracle that Tarryn ******* moved there from NSW.
 
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