Player Watch 2025 AFL Draft Thread (Welcome to our new Central Districts overlords!)

[kirbatron]

How much more exciting was the night when you don't know who was going to be selected?

Richmond may have snagged Grlj, but they really made the draft exciting again.

Had this thought last few years... I used to like Cletus' intel but to his cred he started nailing most of the order making it boring & predictable... last night was better in that sense

 

[Since 2001]

Going into this off season desperate for gun mids and coming out with none is a fail no matter how we spin it.

IF Nairn and Schubert turn out to be gun players then our 2025 off season can be salvaged from the ashes. (I'm optimistic they could be in time)

If they don't and Sharp is then it gets even worse.

Sorry, but that's just facts.

So would you have given up 4 first round draft picks for merrett?

Please let me know what you wouldve done different in the trade period or this draft.

 

[Bugs1977]

I’ve got great news for you Bugs, 2007 is only 30 years after 1977

You see I'm so old I can't even count anymore

 

[eldorado]

Yet before trade week literally all of the discussions were around how we had to recruit a top midfielder. Then when that failed all of the discussions for draft night were how we had to draft a top midfielder. Because to not do this meant we couldnt get better next year and be able to beat Geelong and Brisbane and GCS.

Now that neither of these things happened it clearly looks like the revisionists are starting their thing.

Meanwhile GCS just picked up 4 top 20 picks and Brisbane picked up a top 10 pick.

Nothing to do with revisionists...

Merrett was a possibiility, and didn't happen.

So be it. End of story.

As for all the people who are wailing that we needed to bring in a top midfielder, we needed Merrett or we're ****ed...I just reckon that's a load of shite. If anyone believed your first paragraph to be true, I can imagine they'd be desolate right now. But that's on them.

I certainly never believed it for a second, and it doesn't suddenly become true just because panic merchants and snivelling little bitches keep repeating it as self-evident truth.

We've now had two good quality picks, and they could well become excellent players. Or maybe not. We shall see. Same as every draft..we need to think for the future, not just now.

As for GCS and Brisbane, I don't know what is has to do with us apart from just the general theme of 'woe is me!' What the hell are we supposed to do about their structural advantages?

 

[Blackhawk42]

I feel like it’s not a coincidence that we drafted 2 SA kids. Albeit 2 very talented kids. Thats now 4 very young SA we have. I would say the initial plan was to select a talented midfielder but when that didn’t materialise with the scum picking Sharp they opted for plan B being stockpiling SA kids as part of a potential future trade to Port for Butters. If that’s the plan and they don’t get butters anyway then they’ve got 2 talented kids anyway who will fill a long term need in forward line. It seems like a very clever strategic long term plan with many angles by the club

No, it's juat a coincidence.

No recruiter would ever use two first round selections on players based ONLY on the state they come from, in order to MAYBE use them both as trade bait in 12 months time (despite the fact they'd still be contracted) to lure a player who has shown zero indication of wanting to join them.

It's actually sounds insane when you put it that way.

 

[Since 2001]

Yet before trade week literally all of the discussions were around how we had to recruit a top midfielder. Then when that failed all of the discussions for draft night were how we had to draft a top midfielder. Because to not do this meant we couldnt get better next year and be able to beat Geelong and Brisbane and GCS.

Now that neither of these things happened it clearly looks like the revisionists are starting their thing.

Meanwhile GCS just picked up 4 top 20 picks and Brisbane picked up a top 10 pick.

Yes, hawthorn had to try to get an elite mid who offered himself to us. Would you have given up 4 first round draft picks for a 30 year old merrett?

If we were relying on this year's draft, specifically the midfielders, to take us to premiership glory in 2026, then yes we are screwed. But I think you forget the natural develop of our young crop.

Yes GCS and lions get the top picks, nothing anyone can do when they are in the academy and they can match the number 2 pick with picks in the 30's.

You're hyper reactionary, say general things without detail.

 

[H00t]

I feel like it’s not a coincidence that we drafted 2 SA kids. Albeit 2 very talented kids. Thats now 4 very young SA we have. I would say the initial plan was to select a talented midfielder but when that didn’t materialise with the scum picking Sharp they opted for plan B being stockpiling SA kids as part of a potential future trade to Port for Butters. If that’s the plan and they don’t get butters anyway then they’ve got 2 talented kids anyway who will fill a long term need in forward line. It seems like a very clever strategic long term plan with many angles by the club

I’d say it’s much more likely we drafted 2 SA kids this year as SA where easily the strongest at the state champs so it’s unsurprising they will have a number of their players get drafted.

 

[hawkinoz]

at that point you are looking at a team who is simply done and wanting out to take the picks instead of passing as those picks currently have a combined value of 42 points (59 has no points at all)

there are still some prospects that could get bids obviously to pull them in a bit. In a way Hawks now would be hoping Carlton can get pick 28 done before the Ison bid as it will eat some picks if it does but if it is before 28 it wont help Hawthorn moving in much at all

Had elaborated on this in earlier post & was backed up by eaglevision

WCE planned to take only 4 players in this draft. Have already picked 3 and now have picks 29 & 34. I bet they are trying to move pick 29 for a F2 and match their NGA Williams with 34 ( deficit 116 pts for their 2nd rounder next yr, unless they are able to trade in later picks). If no trade can be done, then they match him with 29 and then look to trade 34 for futures.

I am not keen to trade our 3 F2's but fine to move F3. Its unlikely but will offer
Syd F3+52+59 for pick 29 or 34 and wait it out, hoping they have no better offers

Blues have list spots to take 3 players and have picks 28, 38, 44. Their best case is no bid for Ison and they pick at 28.
Quite unlikely though and so when bid comes they straight out lose 28 and get pick 53 back. They are hoping they can move 28 before that to some one.
Will offer same Syd F3+52+59 for pick 28 and wait it out. If they get no better offers, they may bite to at least have a F3 and still have 2 50's pick to pick sliders.

If bid comes for Pies NGA Zac before picks 32 or 37, then they could be up for trade as well and same offer stands

Same for Saints NGA before pick 40.

Same for Syd NGA pick before 35 or even Scum's before pick 36

Remaining picks

Adelaide: 46, 54
Brisbane: 42, 43, 50
Carlton: 28, 38, 44
Collingwood: 32, 37, 47, 51, 60
Essendon: 36
Fremantle: 39, 57
Geelong: 33
Gold Coast: 48, 49
GWS: 66
Hawthorn: 52, 59
Melbourne: 30, 56, 58
North Melbourne: 26, 45
Port Adelaide: 62, 67
Richmond: 31, 61
St Kilda: 40, 55, 63
Sydney: 35, 41, 53, 64
West Coast: 29, 34
Western Bulldogs: 27

 

[RoughysMullet]

Do we trade up for greeves tomorrow, that's the big question for hawthorn.

But what a draft, the players we got, I would've been stocked to get them at our original picks of 10 and 21. But to trade back two times, get WCE and Stk future seconds, that give us great flexibility to re-enter this draft, going to the draft hard again in 2026 or trades for players.

Not getting Merrett hurt, but this has a great result for the club, fans, members and the two young men drafted.

Hearing there’s a fair chance Greeves lasts to our picks in the 50’s

 

[HedgeFund]

Going into this off season desperate for gun mids and coming out with none is a fail no matter how we spin it.

IF Nairn and Schubert turn out to be gun players then our 2025 off season can be salvaged from the ashes. (I'm optimistic they could be in time)

If they don't and Sharp is then it gets even worse.

Sorry, but that's just facts.

Sharp was already drafted before we even had a selection.

Sorry but that's an actual fact.

Which club was going to trade us their top 10 pick so we could grab him?

 

[The Gulden Child]

Love the new additions to the Hawks and the stockpiling of picks. Much happier with this (as opposed to ZM). Fingers crossed Day stays fit and Finn fills Worpel's shoes.

 

[Leather Poisoning]

Going into this off season desperate for gun mids and coming out with none is a fail no matter how we spin it.

IF Nairn and Schubert turn out to be gun players then our 2025 off season can be salvaged from the ashes. (I'm optimistic they could be in time)

If they don't and Sharp is then it gets even worse.

Sorry, but that's just facts.

It's not facts it's an assessment.

We missed trading in an established A grader and that's a failure because we said publicly that's what our aim was.

Beyond that we've just done the best we can with what we have. It's wrong to look at the draft as a failure because we didn't get an A grade midfielder in the trade period.

We could have pick one this draft and we still weren't going to get a midfielder that was going to come in and move us from a prelim team to a premiership team.

Sharp is irrelevant. I reckon he's a typical sugar hit type pickup where he will look great in his first season or two but plateau and never be a world beater. A real McGrath type for Essendon.

 

[Bugs1977]

Nothing to do with revisionists...

Merrett was a possibiility, and didn't happen.

So be it. End of story.

As for all the people who are wailing that we needed to bring in a top midfielder, we needed Merrett or we're ****ed...I just reckon that's a load of shite. If anyone believed your first paragraph to be true, I can imagine they'd be desolate right now. But that's on them.

I certainly never believed it for a second, and it's doesn't suddenly become true just because panic merchants and snivelling little bitches keep repeating it as self-evident truth.

We've now had two good quality picks, and they could well become excellent players. Or maybe not. We shall see. Same as every draft..we need to think for the future, not just now.

As for GCS and Brisbane, I don't know what is has to do with us apart from just the general theme of 'woe is me!' What the hell are we supposed to do about their structural advantages?

In regard to your last paragraph I think what irks me just as much as those obvious advantages is having to hear people whinge about them over and over again. Yes it sucks and it shouldn't be that way but being reminded about it through whingeing makes it worse.

 

[The Seaword]

Can mark too.

Ben Waterworth from Fox Sports 2022 Draft Grades

ESSENDON

Picks (at start of the draft): 4, 22, 54, 61, 66

Selections: Elijah Tsatas (5), Lewis Hayes (25), Alwyn Davey (45), Jayden Davey (54)


Close to an ideal draft campaign. They weighed up several big offers from rival clubs for their first pick and settled on keeping it. Then weighed up taking Tsatas or Mattaes Phillipou with that pick and settled on Tsatas, who was seen by rivals as the safer bet over Phillipou. And rightly so, for the explosive on-baller, who’s been likened to Chad Warner and has been in the top-five mix for the past 12 months, should bring an exciting dynamic to Essendon’s midfield brigade. The Bombers then picked up one of the best key defenders in the draft class in Hayes, who had genuine first-round interest. Hayes is an elite interceptor with the ability to play on forwards both taller and smaller than him. And the Alwyn Davey bid came a lot later than most thought after speculation the Bombers would have to match in the middle of the second round. Bringing both Davey boys in via the national draft was the romantic story of night two. In Tsatas and the Davey brothers, the Bombers have acquired some much-needed leg speed.

Grade: B+

HAWTHORN

Picks (at start of the draft): 6, 24, 41, 48, 50, 52, 63

Selections: Cameron Mackenzie (7), Josh Weddle (18), Henry Hustwaite (37), Jack O’Sullivan (46), Bailey Macdonald (51)

Industry sources were left puzzled by a few Hawks moves. After losing Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell during the trade period, an inside midfield chasm at the Hawks emerged. List boss Mark McKenzie even flagged last week they’d be looking for a “big-bodied midfielder”. Gun tall on-ballers Mattaes Phillipou and Reuben Ginbey were both still on the board when it was time for the Hawks to select, but they instead went for Mackenzie. The Dragons prospect will be a star and has a strong inside class, but isn’t as big as Ginbey and Phillipou and is renowned for his class on the outside, to the point where some analysts can see him starting his AFL career at half-back. And when the Hawks traded back into the first round, most recruiters initially thought they’d pounce on slider Ed Allan. Instead they took a defender in Weddle — even though the Hawks drafted Will Day and Denver Grainger-Barras with first-round picks in past years. In order to gain Pick 18 in the first place, the Hawks had to give up Pick 27 plus their future second and third round picks. That could be a very high price, since most expect them to be a wooden spoon contender in 2023. For example if they finish 17th next year, they‘d be giving up 20, 27 and 38 and only getting 18 back – that’s like giving Sydney a late first-round pick for free, using draft points. Coincidentally, Sydney used Pick 27 it got from Hawthorn to take Hawks NGA graduate Cooper Vickery, meaning the Hawks didn’t have bidding rights as Vickery’s name was called before Pick 40. Hustwaite, though, was a steal at Pick 37, while Macdonald will provide ample dash from the back-half. Some risks that, of course, could pay off big time down the track.

Grade: D+

I wish we didn’t get weddle, Ed Allan would have been much better

 

[butlers hawks]

Had elaborated on this in earlier post & was backed up by eaglevision
WCE planned to take only 4 players in this draft. Have already picked 3 and now have picks 29 & 34. I bet they are trying to move pick 29 for a F2 and match their NGA Williams with 34 ( deficit 116 pts for their 2nd rounder next yr, unless they are able to trade in later picks). If no trade can be done, then they match him with 29 and then look to trade 34 for futures.

I am not keen to trade our 3 F2's but fine to move F3. Its unlikely but will offer
Syd F3+52+59 for pick 29 or 34 and wait it out, hoping they have no better offers

Blues have list spots to take 3 players and have picks 28, 38, 44. Their best case is no bid for Ison and they pick at 28.
Quite unlikely though and so when bid comes they straight out lose 28 and get pick 53 back. They are hoping they can move 28 before that to some one.
Will offer same Syd F3+52+59 for pick 28 and wait it out. If they get no better offers, they may bite to at least have a F3 and still have 2 50's pick to pick sliders.


If bid comes for Pies NGA Zac before picks 32 or 37, then they could be up for trade as well and same offer stands

Same for Saints NGA before pick 40.

Remaining picks

Adelaide: 46, 54
Brisbane: 42, 43, 50
Carlton: 28, 38, 44
Collingwood: 32, 37, 47, 51, 60
Essendon: 36
Fremantle: 39, 57
Geelong: 33
Gold Coast: 48, 49
GWS: 66
Hawthorn: 52, 59
Melbourne: 30, 56, 58
North Melbourne: 26, 45
Port Adelaide: 62, 67
Richmond: 31, 61
St Kilda: 40, 55, 63
Sydney: 35, 41, 53, 64
West Coast: 29, 34
Western Bulldogs: 27

Yeah the list sizes are where it becomes interesting. Will teams leave spots open for MSD/SSP/Rookie elevations etc too? Gets real difficult to keep track real quickly

 

[sohsam]

Hearing there’s a fair chance Greeves lasts to our picks in the 50’s

how funny would that be if it came between say a small forward that we had our eyes on and not choose greeves again. I doubt he will last that long, I am suspecting his name will be called out within first 7-8 players, I mean how many other genuine footballers are left that were supposed to go in first round and have been pushed back, I can only think of half a dozen. Are we using both of our 50s picks. Does Greeves offer much more than what we already have? they all have a point of difference, I know, just saying we have a number of players that play the hybrid mid/fwd role.

 

[LukeHodge15]

Going into this off season desperate for gun mids and coming out with none is a fail no matter how we spin it.

IF Nairn and Schubert turn out to be gun players then our 2025 off season can be salvaged from the ashes. (I'm optimistic they could be in time)

If they don't and Sharp is then it gets even worse.

Sorry, but that's just facts.

Your making so many assumptions and half of them are wrong.

 

[yeahmate]

Sharp was already drafted before we even had a selection.

Sorry but that's an actual fact.

Which club was going to trade us their top 10 pick so we could grab him?

Sharp was drafted with pick 9 which we had traded trying to satisfy dons demands for merret

 

[CHUBBSS]

I’m actually so impressed with our draft so far, this is a proper 10 year plan and we have so much growth to come from what’s on the list already.

Nairn looks like a cracking kid, he will fit in instantly

 

[matey]

What I find intriguing re Sharp is how even the Dees overlooked him after just losing Petracca and Oliver

 

[burger09]

It's not facts it's an assessment.

We missed trading in an established A grader and that's a failure because we said publicly that's what our aim was.

Beyond that we've just done the best we can with what we have. It's wrong to look at the draft as a failure because we didn't get an A grade midfielder in the trade period.

We could have pick one this draft and we still weren't going to get a midfielder that was going to come in and move us from a prelim team to a premiership team.

Sharp is irrelevant. I reckon he's a typical sugar hit type pickup where he will look great in his first season or two but plateau and never be a world beater. A real McGrath type for Essendon.

I never said the draft was a failure.

Our off season goal, priority 1,2,3 was to bolster the midfield and be ready to contend now. FAIL.

 

[burger09]

Sharp was already drafted before we even had a selection.

Sorry but that's an actual fact.

Which club was going to trade us their top 10 pick so we could grab him?

I didn't watch Sharp but guess what?

We had that pick in our hand at one point.
FACT

 

[MazHawk]

I didn't watch Sharp but guess what?

We had that pick in our hand at one point.
FACT

Which we traded way before the draft to try get Merrett.
FACT.

 

[eldorado]

I never said the draft was a failure.

Our off season goal, priority 1,2,3 was to bolster the midfield and be ready to contend now. FAIL.

So you have just decided that we are not ready to contend now?

After making a prelim without our best player, and a young improving list?

Good on you.

 

[burger09]

So would you have given up 4 first round draft picks for merrett?

Please let me know what you wouldve done different in the trade period or this draft.

I already have may times.
Not try and trade for the Bombers captain. Was a terrible idea. They were just never going to do it.