List Mgmt. 2025 GWS Giants List Management - Academy, Free Agent, Trade & Draft

[dlanod]

"Draft on traits": GWS express excitement over addition of versatile half-back pair

The Giants selected two Victorian defenders at the AFL National Draft.

www.zerohanger.com

There were a few trade-up-for-bids lodged over the last two nights in an attempt to get a team to not match (at least three by my count). Something we've not really seen before.

 

[GWS Goose]

"Draft on traits": GWS express excitement over addition of versatile half-back pair

The Giants selected two Victorian defenders at the AFL National Draft.

www.zerohanger.com

excellent insight and makes perfect sense.

 

[Comedy Capers]

You need to compare the player with the pick. You should never miss on a top 5 pick so that covers Cadman, Finn and Ash plus Taranto.

My main concern was towrds the end of the first round

Bonar. 11
Calwell 11
Hately 14
Bruhn. 12
Stone. 15
Angwin. 18
Rowston 16


With those picks we needed 2 or 3 to become top tier.

He has picked well in the 20s especially Taylor and.Jones.

If Harrison x2, Gothard and Leake become players all is forgiven

 

[PMBangers]

You need to compare the player with the pick. You should never miss on a top 5 pick so that covers Cadman, Finn and Ash plus Taranto.

My main concern was towrds the end of the first round

Bonar. 11
Calwell 11
Hately 14
Bruhn. 12
Stone. 15
Angwin. 18
Rowston 16


With those picks we needed 2 or 3 to become top tier.

He has picked well in the 20s especially Taylor and.Jones.

If Harrison x2, Gothard and Leake become players all is forgiven

What clubs are currently running at a properly positive rate in that region of the draft?

 

[Mors]

Hately 14

Pick | Team | Draftee | Current Team | Games played - stolen directly from Footywire

14​	GWS​	Jackson Hately​	​	28​
15​	Geelong​	Jordan Clark​	Fremantle​	126​
16​	Adelaide​	Ned McHenry​	​	70​
17​	Fremantle​	Sam Sturt​	Fremantle​	31​
18​	Port Adelaide​	Xavier Duursma​	Essendon​	110​
19​	Carlton​	Liam Stocker​	St Kilda​	84​
20​	Richmond​	Riley Collier-Dawkins​	​	11​
21​	Brisbane​	Ely Smith​	​	0​
22​	GWS​	Xavier O'Halloran​	GWS​	90​

Rowston 16

Forced to bid, but here's the next 10 picks.

16​	GWS​	Harry Rowston​	GWS​	17​
17​	Adelaide​	Max Michalanney​	Adelaide​	66​
18​	Hawthorn​	Joshua Weddle​	Hawthorn​	60​
19​	Collingwood​	Edward Allan​	Collingwood​	15​
20​	Sydney​	Jacob Konstanty​	North Melbourne​	23​
21​	GWS​	Darcy Jones​	GWS​	37​
22​	GWS​	Max Gruzewski​	GWS​	11​
23​	West Coast​	Harry Barnett​	West Coast​	2​
24​	Western Bulldogs​	Charlie Clarke​	​	1​
25​	Essendon​	Lewis Hayes​	Essendon​	1​
26​	North Melbourne​	Brayden George​	North Melbourne​	0​

Bruhn. 12
Stone. 15
Angwin. 18

12​	GWS​	Tanner Bruhn​	Geelong​	66​
13​	North Melbourne​	Tom Powell​	North Melbourne​	91​
14​	Fremantle​	Heath Chapman​	Fremantle​	65​
15​	GWS​	Conor Stone​	​	20​
16​	Port Adelaide​	Lachlan Jones​	Port Adelaide​	74​
17​	Collingwood​	Oliver Henry​	Geelong​	85​
18​	GWS​	Ryan Angwin​	GWS​	30​
19​	Collingwood​	Finlay Macrae​	​	21​
20​	Geelong​	Max Holmes​	Geelong​	102​
21​	Melbourne​	Jake Bowey​	Melbourne​	84​
22​	Melbourne​	Bailey Laurie​	Melbourne​	12​

Very few players jump off the board here in terms of stars that we missed out on, many serviceable players yes, but very few top tier. Only Holmes in these three draft areas but many teams also skipped him (Covid year). You could definitely argue Bonar was a bad pick given who else was available in 2017, but every team misses, see the Eagles and the Swans' picks right after ours:

11​	GWS​	Aiden Bonar​	​	34​
12​	Adelaide​	Darcy Fogarty​	Adelaide​	126​
13​	West Coast​	Jarrod Brander​	​	27​
14​	Sydney​	Matthew Ling​	​	4​
15​	Brisbane​	Zac Bailey​	Brisbane​	166​
16​	Western Bulldogs​	Ed Richards​	Western Bulldogs​	148​
17​	Richmond​	Jack Higgins​	St Kilda​	145​
18​	Brisbane​	Brandon Starcevich​	West Coast​	132​
19​	Gold Coast​	Wil Powell​	Gold Coast​	130​
20​	Richmond​	Callum Coleman-Jones​	North Melbourne​	32​

 

[captainMyCaptain]

Confirmed as a Cat B selection

 

[dlanod]

You need to compare the player with the pick. You should never miss on a top 5 pick so that covers Cadman, Finn and Ash plus Taranto.

Gee wait until I reminisce you with stories of the picks before Caruso took over...

 

[GWS Goose]

You need to compare the player with the pick. You should never miss on a top 5 pick so that covers Cadman, Finn and Ash plus Taranto.

My main concern was towrds the end of the first round

Bonar. 11
Calwell 11
Hately 14
Bruhn. 12
Stone. 15
Angwin. 18
Rowston 16


With those picks we needed 2 or 3 to become top tier.

He has picked well in the 20s especially Taylor and.Jones.

If Harrison x2, Gothard and Leake become players all is forgiven

The aim is to turn your hand into a squad, what the picks are doesnt matter.
Teens are a much lower hit rate than you think, and top 5 picks often miss. In fact they miss an awful lot. At least 1 per draft on average. (Dow, Phillips, JUH,Tstasa, logan Mcdonald, Dylan Stephens all misses in the top 5 from 2017-22 too early for anything later.
But also,
Bruhn and Caldwell (who is good) were traded for a first rounder (who became Jones) and 2 second Rounders who became (Finn in a round about way as we traded one of those picks and our own second rounder to Collingwood)
Rowsten was matched and on the list and internally rated as a good player.
Angwin is still on the list and currently in when all available. That is not a miss.
Hately is a miss
Bonar is a miss
Stone is likely to be a miss, but still on the list 6 seasons on the list and he is not hopeless.

Most clubs teen selections would be similar.

Gee wait until I reminisce you with stories of the picks before Caruso took over...

that was horrible. so horrible.

 

[Mors]

that was horrible. so horrible.

Was a little too young to be following the draft, what was the reason why they were bad? I've definitely seen how shit the 2014 haul was

 

[Brave New World]

How many spots if any do we have through the PSSP?

 

[GWS Goose]

Was a little too young to be following the draft, what was the reason why they were bad? I've definitely seen how shit the 2014 haul was

SOS was continually picking guys at the time seemed to be odd choices, and none of them worked.

He had stacks of top 10 picks every year and barely got any right.

 

[dlanod]

Was a little too young to be following the draft, what was the reason why they were bad? I've definitely seen how shit the 2014 haul was

SOS thought he was a draft savant and was picking guys who might have one elite feature that he liked but nothing else when the successful clubs take the "safe" ones that tick as many boxes as possible, even if none are truly elite.

 

[Bjo187]

You need to compare the player with the pick. You should never miss on a top 5 pick so that covers Cadman, Finn and Ash plus Taranto.

My main concern was towrds the end of the first round

Bonar. 11
Calwell 11
Hately 14
Bruhn. 12
Stone. 15
Angwin. 18
Rowston 16


With those picks we needed 2 or 3 to become top tier.

He has picked well in the 20s especially Taylor and.Jones.

If Harrison x2, Gothard and Leake become players all is forgiven

If you look back, he initially overloaded the list with big-bodied mids just as the competition was shifting towards speed and agility. Then, in the years that followed, the pendulum swung too far the other way, over-investing in small forwards while leaving the midfield and ruck stocks thin. That imbalance has really hurt in recent seasons, even as both the forward line and backline have been good enough to win a flag.

The reality is that premierships are won in the midfield. If someone had told you at the end of 2016 that the Giants would only reach one grand final and make just one additional prelim in the next nine years, you’d have laughed. At the time, everyone was talking about them as the next early-2000s Lions, set up for a sustained dynasty.

And yes, he has recruited some good players. But the combination of burning picks to trade up unnecessarily, neglecting the core midfield group, and failing to bring in enough ready made talent during the premiership window has shifted expectations. Supporters seem content with being regular finalists, when really you’ve got to compare to where the club expected to be post 2016. By that measure, a couple of flags should have been well within reach, if not for an unbalanced list profile and a drafting philosophy that never quite matched the needs of a team in the premiership window.

 

[Vic pokiesmon]

If you look back, he initially overloaded the list with big-bodied mids just as the competition was shifting towards speed and agility. Then, in the years that followed, the pendulum swung too far the other way, over-investing in small forwards while leaving the midfield and ruck stocks thin. That imbalance has really hurt in recent seasons, even as both the forward line and backline have been good enough to win a flag.

The reality is that premierships are won in the midfield. If someone had told you at the end of 2016 that the Giants would only reach one grand final and make just one additional prelim in the next nine years, you’d have laughed. At the time, everyone was talking about them as the next early-2000s Lions, set up for a sustained dynasty.

And yes, he has recruited some good players. But the combination of burning picks to trade up unnecessarily, neglecting the core midfield group, and failing to bring in enough ready made talent during the premiership window has shifted expectations. Supporters seem content with being regular finalists, when really you’ve got to compare to where the club expected to be post 2016. By that measure, a couple of flags should have been well within reach, if not for an unbalanced list profile and a drafting philosophy that never quite matched the needs of a team in the premiership window.

Pretty easy saying this if your not specific .So your Caruso and recruiting staff who would you pick instead of each player they have picked from 2015 onwards?

 

[Orange crush]

If you look back, he initially overloaded the list with big-bodied mids just as the competition was shifting towards speed and agility. Then, in the years that followed, the pendulum swung too far the other way, over-investing in small forwards while leaving the midfield and ruck stocks thin. That imbalance has really hurt in recent seasons, even as both the forward line and backline have been good enough to win a flag.

The reality is that premierships are won in the midfield. If someone had told you at the end of 2016 that the Giants would only reach one grand final and make just one additional prelim in the next nine years, you’d have laughed. At the time, everyone was talking about them as the next early-2000s Lions, set up for a sustained dynasty.

And yes, he has recruited some good players. But the combination of burning picks to trade up unnecessarily, neglecting the core midfield group, and failing to bring in enough ready made talent during the premiership window has shifted expectations. Supporters seem content with being regular finalists, when really you’ve got to compare to where the club expected to be post 2016. By that measure, a couple of flags should have been well within reach, if not for an unbalanced list profile and a drafting philosophy that never quite matched the needs of a team in the premiership window.

Jeez I wish we had given you the job

Having read your stuff the last year or so not only are you a trade guru but a draft guru as well … all in hindsight, of course

 

[Ichabod Noodle]

Caruso (picks well outlined above, most are pretty good.) vs SOS

Need I remind you of the awesome talent of Jonathon O’Rourke (2), Kristen Jaksch (12) Jarrod Pickett

Jarrod Pickett

Age

29

Ht

178cm

Wt

77kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.8

2star

K

5.6

2star

HB

3.1

3star

M

1.9

2star

T

2.4

4star

G

0.5

3star

No current season stats available

D

8.2

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

3.2

3star

M

2.2

3star

T

2.2

4star

G

0.4

3star

(4), Caleb Marchbank (6), Paul Ahern

15

Paul Ahern

Age

29

Ht

183cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.5

4star

K

9.6

4star

HB

7.9

5star

M

2.3

2star

T

1.7

4star

MG

296.8

4star

D

4.0

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

1.0

1star

M

1.0

1star

T

0.0

1star

D

20.4

5star

K

9.6

4star

HB

10.8

5star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.4

4star

MG

334.4

5star

(7)

And they’re just the top 15 picks that didn’t work out, plenty outside that like Patrick McKenna or James Stewart

17

James Stewart

Age

31

Ht

199cm

Wt

99kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.4

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

4.7

3star

M

4.1

4star

T

1.9

4star

MG

193.5

3star

No current season stats available

D

12.4

4star

K

7.0

3star

HB

5.4

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

0.8

3star

MG

200.4

4star

.

So Bonnar was a miss. It happens. We also got Idun at pick 61.

But it has happened considerably less under Caruso than it did under SOS.

 

[PMBangers]

Essendon and North being traditionally strong finals teams by following consensus rankings and not being particular about the sort of player they bring in and 'maximising pick value' of course

 

[Giant Pete]

Hawks and North had Taylor in consideration, happy to trade out what looks likely bid matching fodder for Matthews next year to get our guy

Caruso (picks well outlined above, most are pretty good.) vs SOS

Need I remind you of the awesome talent of Jonathon O’Rourke (2), Kristen Jaksch (12) Jarrod Pickett (4), Caleb Marchbank (6), Paul Ahern (7)

And they’re just the top 15 picks that didn’t work out, plenty outside that like Patrick McKenna or James Stewart.

So Bonnar was a miss. It happens. We also got Idun at pick 61.

But it has happened considerably less under Caruso than it did under SOS.

Sumner

 

[captainMyCaptain]

How many spots if any do we have through the PSSP?

Just the one for Laverde

 

[Comedy Capers]

As if having a Green, and a.Greene wasn't enough we are about to get Laverde (the green one)

 

[Ichabod Noodle]

Sumner

Ah, yes. Liam Sumner at 10, Toby Greene at 11. Forgot about that one. SOS thought more of Sumner than he did of Toby. Great judge of football.

 

[Colonial]

Caruso is on borrowed time.
Only a 1st and 3rd rounder in next years draft.

IF Leake and Gothard don't kick on next year, their 3rd year, he should be out.

Signing Muff to a two year extension when he still has a year to run was madness.

People will say we have depth but most depth players arent even C graders.

Dude

 

[captainMyCaptain]

Ah, yes. Liam Sumner at 10, Toby Greene at 11. Forgot about that one. SOS thought more of Sumner than he did of Toby. Great judge of football.

If memory serves correctly it was Scully's dad who was pushing the most for us to take Toby.

 

[Bjo187]

Pretty easy saying this if your not specific .So your Caruso and recruiting staff who would you pick instead of each player they have picked from 2015 onwards?

It’s too much detail to unpack fully, but you need look at just how many high picks he accumulated by trades of high-quality players, many of whom brought back multiple first-rounders or second-rounders, you then realise he’s been sitting on an absolute war chest of premium draft capital over the years. Just because it gets whittled down to a lot less after throwing picks in the bonfire to move up a few places, doesn't mean it didn't start off as really significant.

Those picks came off the back of departures like Smith, Shiel, Cameron, Taranto, McCarthy, Lobb, Hopper, Patton, Bruhn, Caldwell and others, not to mention players like Wilson who were highly rated too at the time.

So in nine years, with all that draft capital he accumulated, excluding academy selections of course, through the midfield and ruck department, he’s essentially landed one star midfielder in Callaghan and one above-average mid in Taranto (and even that should have been McCluggage). In the most important part of the field with that many high picks, it's cost flags is my concern.

 

[captainMyCaptain]

Riley like every other previous winner of giants academy player of year has gotten picked up by the club