List Mgmt. Will Thursfield - National Recruiting & Retention Manager

[backtothedraft]

Yep I had watto, caddy and morris
Didn’t have hardeman I preferred Philactides and didn’t have goad I rather went shoenmaker

But I like the Hardeman pick

Thats good going by you. I know there is an increasing expectation for draftees to come in and perform straight away, but i think it will be a while until we can truly analyse the performance at this draft. W.Dawson, Goad and even Duursma are far from finished products. Picking McKercher was the right call imo. While these guys may not reach the heights of the players you've mentioned, there is still plenty of time for them to develop into elite AFL players.

 

[Chadwiko]

Just out of interest do genuinely have receipts stating pre draft you'd draft Watson, Caddy, Morris, Goad and Hardeman with our first round picks? Seriously impressive if that's the case

Can I share some of my own receipts? How about this post from 3 weeks before the 2023 draft?

Review - 2023 National Draft Review Thread II [McKercher, Z.Duursma, Goad, W.Dawson, Hardeman, Maley]

'You can never have enough half forward flankers' - Sun Tzu, The Art Of War Never interrupt your enemy while he is making a mistake, particularly when his half backs have committed to a forward press leaving your half forwards open on turnover - Sun Tzu, The Art of Phwoar

www.bigfooty.com

 

[hilly]

Joel Freijah pick 45, crikey.

 

[My Left Foote]

with our first rounders in 2023 imagine instead we pick watto, caddy, morris, hardeman and goad

larkey combining with caddy, morris and watto plus curtis and zurhaar , thats the forward line complete for a decade

This is all good in theory but the moment we take Watto at 3, the butterfly effect kicks in, every pick after that changes because there's different players available.

 

[My Left Foote]

Joel Freijah pick 45, crikey.

Every single club passed on this bloke at least twice, not just us.

 

[The Nostradamus]

This is all good in theory but the moment we take Watto at 3, the butterfly effect kicks in, every pick after that changes because there's different players available.

We could’ve had watto and caddy back to back picks

After that I agree there is the butterfly effect but seeing as Morris slipped to the second round I reckon he still would be on the board in the late first round picks

 

[chubbspeterson]

Just out of interest do genuinely have receipts stating pre draft you'd draft Watson, Caddy, Morris, Goad and Hardeman with our first round picks? Seriously impressive if that's the case

Nah Nostra didn't have Goad, said Schoenmaker or Mitch Edwards as ruck from memory and Philactides over Hardemann.

 

[chubbspeterson]

Joel Freijah pick 45, crikey.

Apparently clubs though he was timid in the contest. Fair to say he's worked on that working with Libba and co.

 

[My Left Foote]

Apparently clubs though he was timid in the contest. Fair to say he's worked on that working with Libba and co.

I read that too and thought it must have been common knowledge amongst recruiters, however Rookie Me Central don't even mention it, it's all about consistency and composure as his two main areas for improvement.

STRENGTHS:

• Clean hands
• Evasiveness
• Outside game
• Size
• Vision
• Work rate

IMPROVEMENTS:

• Composure
• Kicking consistency

A player that seems to have perfect understanding of his role as a winger, Freijah has a lot of traits that will hold him in good stead heading into the next level. Most significantly, he covers ground well end-to-end and hold his width from the contest, keeping him involved as an option throughout large stretches of games. Freijah was a consistent accumulator for the Rebels on the outside, only dropping below 15 disposals for two of his 14 games this year, with his best performance for the season coming in Round 4 against Dandenong, accumulating 26 disposals and slotting six straight goals. Albeit, he was also utilised at centre bounces with a forward rotation.

At the National Championships, Freijah was a lock for the wing each game, where his gut running and clean ball use benefitted teammates, particularly heading forward, generally looking to move the ball into the corridor to open up the ground. Freijah didn’t quite accumulate to the same level he did at Talent League level, but still managed to impact in little ways to make up for it, with some smart tap ons for running teammates standing out. Freijah produced a standout game at representative level against Vic Metro, logging 16 disposals and two goals to show his ability to impact the scoreboard at higher levels of play.

Freijah is a pretty silky operator in all areas of the game, demonstrated with his ability to consistently work through traffic or side step opponents in front of him. He doesn’t get to show off that level of evasiveness as much on the outside, but in his few games with more of an inside role, caused headaches for opposition and proved hard to tackle even when they got a hand on him due to his size.

His general cleanliness at ground level and when moving the ball by hand is another strength of Freijah’s, generally remaining one touch below his knees even with oncoming pressure or when moving close to top speed. Also at top speed, he can pull of terrific passes going inside 50, albeit somewhat inconsistently.

While Freijah has the ability to do some truly remarkable things, he does at times rush with ball in hand under pressure which leads to a dump kick or floating handball forward without any real target. Building some consistency with his composure will be a crucial part to him becoming as good of a player as he can be, but if he does iron this out, and find a way to bring his scoreboard impact to more of the games he plays than less, he presents as an ideal modern wingman or utility.

There are plenty of weapons in Freijah’s arsenal that point towards him being an effective AFL level player. His running capacity and willingness to empty the tank each game makes him an ideal wingman, with potential to pinch-hit through the centre bounces or even play a role up forward. At 190cm, he’s already a good size and has the type of versatility that clubs will look for. Freijah’s early-season exploits had him pushing into top 20 contention, though he now seems more likely to be taken in the second or third round.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

Joel Freijah pick 45, crikey.

I Freijah at 15 in my final draft rankings! Logan Morris at 23.

Busted my top 15 with Mitch Edwards (top 15) and Ollie Murphy (top 15) though.

 

[TiAn_]

I read that too and thought it must have been common knowledge amongst recruiters, however Rookie Me Central don't even mention it, it's all about consistency and composure as his two main areas for improvement.

STRENGTHS:

• Clean hands
• Evasiveness
• Outside game
• Size
• Vision
• Work rate

IMPROVEMENTS:

• Composure
• Kicking consistency

A player that seems to have perfect understanding of his role as a winger, Freijah has a lot of traits that will hold him in good stead heading into the next level. Most significantly, he covers ground well end-to-end and hold his width from the contest, keeping him involved as an option throughout large stretches of games. Freijah was a consistent accumulator for the Rebels on the outside, only dropping below 15 disposals for two of his 14 games this year, with his best performance for the season coming in Round 4 against Dandenong, accumulating 26 disposals and slotting six straight goals. Albeit, he was also utilised at centre bounces with a forward rotation.

At the National Championships, Freijah was a lock for the wing each game, where his gut running and clean ball use benefitted teammates, particularly heading forward, generally looking to move the ball into the corridor to open up the ground. Freijah didn’t quite accumulate to the same level he did at Talent League level, but still managed to impact in little ways to make up for it, with some smart tap ons for running teammates standing out. Freijah produced a standout game at representative level against Vic Metro, logging 16 disposals and two goals to show his ability to impact the scoreboard at higher levels of play.

Freijah is a pretty silky operator in all areas of the game, demonstrated with his ability to consistently work through traffic or side step opponents in front of him. He doesn’t get to show off that level of evasiveness as much on the outside, but in his few games with more of an inside role, caused headaches for opposition and proved hard to tackle even when they got a hand on him due to his size.

His general cleanliness at ground level and when moving the ball by hand is another strength of Freijah’s, generally remaining one touch below his knees even with oncoming pressure or when moving close to top speed. Also at top speed, he can pull of terrific passes going inside 50, albeit somewhat inconsistently.

While Freijah has the ability to do some truly remarkable things, he does at times rush with ball in hand under pressure which leads to a dump kick or floating handball forward without any real target. Building some consistency with his composure will be a crucial part to him becoming as good of a player as he can be, but if he does iron this out, and find a way to bring his scoreboard impact to more of the games he plays than less, he presents as an ideal modern wingman or utility.

There are plenty of weapons in Freijah’s arsenal that point towards him being an effective AFL level player. His running capacity and willingness to empty the tank each game makes him an ideal wingman, with potential to pinch-hit through the centre bounces or even play a role up forward. At 190cm, he’s already a good size and has the type of versatility that clubs will look for. Freijah’s early-season exploits had him pushing into top 20 contention, though he now seems more likely to be taken in the second or third round.

I don’t think it was about his hardness, more he had lower production than others (partly because he played his wing role really well and kept his shape) and also didn’t have a big impact at Champs. I wanted him pre draft, but because I thought he was a great needs pick for us as a genuine wingman, not because I thought he’d turn into a midfielder. I think the coaches did a great job developing him last year, putting him at half back at AFL level and giving him a chance to grow his composure and take the game on with the field ahead of him.

 

[hilly]

I Freijah at 15 in my final draft rankings! Logan Morris at 23.

Busted my top 15 with Mitch Edwards (top 15) and Ollie Murphy (top 15) though.

It's a shame we always have to take the 'consensus' pick.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

It's a shame we always have to take the 'consensus' pick.

It does seem to me that we often go that way. In saying that recruiters would've been aware that Duursma would have been a high risk/high reward type prospect. So I guess we took a bit of risk there.

 

[Samsquanch]

Oh well. Easy come, easy go as I always say.

 

[King Corey]

It's a shame we always have to take the 'consensus' pick.

We drafted Phillips so sometimes we're happy to take a stand. Yay.

 

[Arthur Cloke]

Joel Freijah pick 45, crikey.

Yeah but if he was at Nth Melb, he wouldn't be playing to this level. He would've been a slow churn.

 

[chubbspeterson]

It's a shame we always have to take the 'consensus' pick.

Not always. Goater, Curtis, Hansen Jnr, Trembath and Wawson weren't necessarily consensus picks.
Our interest in Tauru was seen as a bit of a reach, but clearly Crows and many teams had him top 5-7 by all reports.
We'll find out if Will and Brady are any good at drafting with picks in R2 and R3 this year.

 

[hilly]

Not always. Goater, Curtis, Hansen Jnr, Trembath and Wawson weren't necessarily consensus picks.
Our interest in Tauru was seen as a bit of a reach, but clearly Crows and many teams had him top 5-7 by all reports.
We'll find out if Will and Brady are any good at drafting with picks in R2 and R3 this year.

Yeah I meant more the early picks. Goater was seen to have been a slider from night one so I'll disagree with you there.

We love trading those picks away so I wouldn't hold your breath Chubbs.

 

[franjon]

Yeah but if he was at Nth Melb, he wouldn't be playing to this level. He would've been a slow churn.

You're probably right.

 

[chubbspeterson]

Yeah I meant more the early picks. Goater was seen to have been a slider from night one so I'll disagree with you there.

We love trading those picks away so I wouldn't hold your breath Chubbs.

Oh ok. I thought people were saying Goater was unexpected/reach at the time. Wasn't following it as closely as I do now.
Good point. We may trade them for players. No issue if we trade 39, but I don't see anyone worth 20 or 21 currently.
We might slide back in the order and get another F2/F3 for our F/S kids next year I guess as well.

 

[Masked Avenger]

Can I share some of my own receipts? How about this post from 3 weeks before the 2023 draft?

Review - 2023 National Draft Review Thread II [McKercher, Z.Duursma, Goad, W.Dawson, Hardeman, Maley]

'You can never have enough half forward flankers' - Sun Tzu, The Art Of War Never interrupt your enemy while he is making a mistake, particularly when his half backs have committed to a forward press leaving your half forwards open on turnover - Sun Tzu, The Art of Phwoar

www.bigfooty.com

Premature?

I want to see how they're all travelling after say 50 games each before we start drawing conclusions on who did or didn't nail the draft.

Humans do tend to develop at different rates in my experience - they're not machines.

 

[Zondor]

Premature?

I want to see how they're all travelling after say 50 games each before we start drawing conclusions on who did or didn't nail the draft.

Humans do tend to develop at different rates in my experience - they're not machines.

Yeah and also players can play their best football in their first 50 games. Stephenson comes to mind. Curtis Taylor, Aaron Black. So why do they regress after their first 50 games? :stern look

Plus making calls on recruits without them playing 50 games doesn't mean yah can't draw any conclusions on them. Jack Mahoney comes to mind. The first time I watched him play I wasn't impressed. The same could be said about Phoenix Spicer. :stern look

 

[chubbspeterson]

Yeah and also players can play their best football in their first 50 games. Stephenson comes to mind. Curtis Taylor, Aaron Black. So why do they regress after their first 50 games? :stern look

Plus making calls on recruits without them playing 50 games doesn't mean yah can't draw any conclusions on them. Jack Mahoney comes to mind. The first time I watched him play I wasn't impressed. The same could be said about Phoenix Spicer. :stern look

Injuries, lack of professionalism/workrate, private life or mental health issues probably part of certain players regressing.
Most usually need 4-5 years in the system and 50 games before you know what they are.
Taller players are usually a lot harder to assess early. Sometimes it just clicks for them at some point like Xerri.

 

[koshari]

Yeah and also players can play their best football in their first 50 games. Stephenson comes to mind. Curtis Taylor, Aaron Black. So why do they regress after their first 50 games? :stern look

Plus making calls on recruits without them playing 50 games doesn't mean yah can't draw any conclusions on them. Jack Mahoney comes to mind. The first time I watched him play I wasn't impressed. The same could be said about Phoenix Spicer. :stern look

I suspect none of our recruiters actually went and saw either of these blokes play. One allegedly was recruited based on statistical analysis and if our blokes went and watched the other they might have noticed beau mcreery who was playing in the same team.

 

[danj]

Premature?

I want to see how they're all travelling after say 50 games each before we start drawing conclusions on who did or didn't nail the draft.

Humans do tend to develop at different rates in my experience - they're not machines.

What type of machine are you? Or are you an alien