Resource 2025 AFL Draft prospects and discussion.

[crowutopia]

Considering we took a tall forward at 197cm I suspect it would be with the long term view to perhaps shift Thilthorpe into the middle at some point in a more permanent role due to his athletic ability.

As for a small crumbing mid, we do have a glut of depth mids who could fulfill that role. Draper is probably ideal to fill that role. Excellent speed to hit the front of packs at the ball drop once he gets going.

God I hope not, Filthy is a beast as our number one key forward. And I think he will improve so much more, he's young and I wouldn't personally risk an injury from being jumped into all the time. I get what people see, as in he becomes a 4th midfielder, which is a pretty exciting thing to think about, but this guy is going to be a very special forward.

 

[Scorpus]

You don't shift your best forward into the ruck because you used pick 50 on a tall forward

 

[Thylacinus]

You don't shift your best forward into the ruck because you used pick 50 on a tall forward

No, you put your best mobile ruck who can have an impact around the ground and kick goals and set up play from everywhere into the middle for significant bursts if you have excellent forwards who will enable this transition!

 

[StonesThrow]

No, you put your best mobile ruck who can have an impact around the ground and kick goals and set up play from everywhere into the middle for significant bursts if you have excellent forwards who will enable this transition!

He is by far our best forward and will be up there with one of the best in the league. We also don't have excellent forwards if you take him out and leave fog to the best defender.

I agree he is great to have around the ball and the use as a second ruck is important, but his worth is much greater up forward.

 

[Mutineer]

Yes, he definitely deserves a couple more years in my view. Not so much that he's def going to make it. There was a reason why he was listed as high as pick 5 in phantom drafts, he has some attributes.

I think we will really dial back on the amount of draftees we bring on board in 27/28/29. I won't be surprised if we only bring in one main draftee in each of those years. We only did two last year and two this year, so we're already dialling it back. We've only got a couple more older players to lose and after their spots are filled it's all young talent that has years to run on their career so we just trade or jettison the worst performer on the list, even if they're doing ok. If we finish up high on the ladder in those years, our second pick will be around the 40 mark. If you have a big bunch of young talent already, is pick 40 going to be a good chance of displacing any of them (and then dial in the effect of having tasmania in as well?). So if we have a high end talent but one that may take a bit of time we'll be better off retaining them than going with the new draftee.

On the subject of taking very few draftees, there's the trick of how you get around the AFL's rules of having to take 3 picks at ND. If you were clever you could, after their first year, delist and re-rookie your least valuable (and therefore least likely to be poachable) player/s and then the year after return them to the main list, thus satisfying the AFL's picks plus rookie upgrades must = 3 rules and allowing you to draft only one or two players. I think this is more the reason why Welsh was put on the rookie list rather than poor performance as some are interpreting it.

Welsh was there for all other 17 clubs to lure away when he was delisted, there was nothing stopping any club doing a Hugh Greenwood.

Welsh was in that situation for probably 2 reasons, 1. The club had no problems if another club swooped, 2. A timely kick up the bum to get his shit together pronto if he wants an AFL career.

 

[AFC979810]

No, you put your best mobile ruck who can have an impact around the ground and kick goals and set up play from everywhere into the middle for significant bursts if you have excellent forwards who will enable this transition!

Moving a 200cm, 60 goal key forward who was #3 in the AFL for contested marks away from the inside 50 is stupidity.

 

[LC40]

I find the subsequent narrative behind the Ollie Greeves pick perplexing.
Reading some of the comments about his future potential is baffling and he's been written off by some already .
Before the draft many phantom drafts had him in the top 30 and if his name had been called with our second pick we would have all been happy with this selection.
If we had taken him in the rookie draft our posters would have said he was the steal the draft.
I understand Curtin is being touted as our future big bodied midfielder so Greeves wasn't a necessity but if we hadn't committed to Welsh I'm sure Greeves name would have been called in a split second.
Taking Greeves at Pick 11 in the rookie draft is a can't lose scenario. If he succeeds , what a steal, if he doesn't succeed it cost bugger all to find out.
His highlights show a fine footballer perhaps lacking real pace but Hawthorn did well to select him. I wish he was on our list to explore his abilities or lack of.

 

[Mutineer]

I find the subsequent narrative behind the Ollie Greeves pick perplexing.
Reading some of the comments about his future potential is baffling and he's been written off by some already .
Before the draft many phantom drafts had him in the top 30 and if his name had been called with our second pick we would have all been happy with this selection.
If we had taken him in the rookie draft our posters would have said he was the steal the draft.
I understand Curtin is being touted as our future big bodied midfielder so Greeves wasn't a necessity but if we hadn't committed to Welsh I'm sure Greeves name would have been called in a split second.
Taking Greeves at Pick 11 in the rookie draft is a can't lose scenario. If he succeeds , what a steal, if he doesn't succeed it cost bugger all to find out.
His highlights show a fine footballer perhaps lacking real pace but Hawthorn did well to select him. I wish he was on our list to explore his abilities or lack of.

I wouldn't be too sure about that midfielders Fred Rodriguez pick 1(West Coast), Riley Onley pick 3 (Melbourne) taken well before Ollie Greeves pick 12 (Hawthorn) in the rookie draft. Both quicker more agile and seriously better runners.
I wouldn't have been happy taking Greeves while Onley and Rodriguez were still on the board and for that matter local lad Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier.

 

[LC40]

I wouldn't be too sure about that midfielders Fred Rodriguez pick 1(West Coast), Riley Onley pick 3 (Melbourne) taken well before Ollie Greeves pick 12 (Hawthorn) in the rookie draft. Both quicker more agile and seriously better runners.
I wouldn't have been happy taking Greeves while Onley and Rodriguez were still on the board and for that matter local lad Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier.

I know but they were gone by the time our rookie pick came along Greeves was still there.
You can honestly say if we had taken him it was worth the risk, what do you lose?
Greeves is being written off by some before a game has been played, I find the whole narrative puzzling.

 

[Mutineer]

I know but they were gone by the time our rookie pick came along.

BOB wasn't.

 

[Danger in Texas]

I wouldn't be too sure about that midfielders Fred Rodriguez pick 1(West Coast), Riley Onley pick 3 (Melbourne) taken well before Ollie Greeves pick 12 (Hawthorn) in the rookie draft. Both quicker more agile and seriously better runners.
I wouldn't have been happy taking Greeves while Onley and Rodriguez were still on the board and for that matter local lad Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier.

Ehh I would’ve been okay with Greeves, definitely a draftable player

Would’ve preferred Hetherton over Ludowyke too but at that point can’t complain about either

 

[Mutineer]

I know but they were gone by the time our rookie pick came along.

We could have done a Luke Nankervis and taken them in the PSD...

 

[Mutineer]

Ehh I would’ve been okay with Greeves, definitely a draftable player

Would’ve preferred Hetherton over Ludowyke too but at that point can’t complain about either

Like I just posted we could have used the PSD also if we really rated them couldn't we?

Have the AFL closed that loophole yet?

 

[LC40]

BOB wasn't.

Bob isn't being criticized like Greeves, I think your missing the point.

 

[StonesThrow]

How many midfielders that slide to the tail end of the draft (after being rated much higher) end up becoming A grade or better?

 

[Crow till I die]

You don't shift your best generational forward into the ruck because you used pick 50 on a tall forward

Amen

 

[Mutineer]

How many midfielders that slide to the tail end of the draft (after being rated much higher) end up becoming A grade or better?

Quite a few decent mids have gone late/rookie or been overlooked entirely in their draft year to get a shot the next year or as mature agers, I hardly see where being rated higher early is relevant. Nobody outside of the recruiters and list management really know where players are rated coming into the season other than the really outstanding talents like Daicos, Reid etc.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Like I just posted we could have used the PSD also if we really rated them couldn't we?

Have the AFL closed that loophole yet?

Yeah clearly we didn’t have a lot of faith in the depth of the draft

I want us to get BOB as a train-on, but feel like we’ll go with mature agers

 

[Mutineer]

Yeah clearly we didn’t have a lot of faith in the depth of the draft

I want us to get BOB as a train-on, but feel like we’ll go with mature agers

Is it really an advantage to keep a list spot open for the MSD etc if we rate our chances next year given it would be likely the really outstanding options would likely be gone before our pick....BOB could be one of them?

Surely we'd already have enough intel already on say Tom Blamires and Harry Scott or any other mature agers for that matter.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Is it really an advantage to keep a list spot open for the MSD etc if we rate our chances next year given it would be likely the really outstanding options would likely be gone before our pick....BOB could be one of them?

It’ll be for SSP, not MSD

I see no point keeping it open for mid season

 

[Mutineer]

It’ll be for SSP, not MSD

I see no point keeping it open for mid season

Surely we'd already have enough intel already on say Tom Blamires and Harry Scott or any other mature agers for that matter.

 

[Crow_68]

Don't get the writing off of Welsh (though I really should because that's all that happens in here).
He shows glimpses of freak AFL attributes, fast on the lead, good leap, good grab, good in traffic and especially a good kick. Even if he overcomes his fitness issues this off-season I still doubt he's that ready because he seems immature and not like someone who'll sit and study set plays. That'll delay him another year or two.

Think people are reading too much into his move to the rookie list.

It’s purely an admin move, his contract terms won’t have changed. Whether he was on the main or rookie list, still needs to prove he’s got what it takes to get an additional year or two.

 

[Thylacinus]

Moving a 200cm, 60 goal key forward who was #3 in the AFL for contested marks away from the inside 50 is stupidity.

Not if we develop another tall forward who can kick 50-60 plus goals a season, supplement by others who can kick 40 plus each.

 

[Mutineer]

Yeah clearly we didn’t have a lot of faith in the depth of the draft

I want us to get BOB as a train-on, but feel like we’ll go with mature agers

Why wouldn't Zac harding be a consideration?
High leaping athletic overage ruck that dominated the Coates Talent League and dominated the ruck for Vic Country at the Nationals. Arguably should have been the AA ruck at the Nationals over Sam Ainsworth, age probably got Ainsworth over the line plus SA winning the comp?

 

[Thylacinus]

I wouldn't be too sure about that midfielders Fred Rodriguez pick 1(West Coast), Riley Onley pick 3 (Melbourne) taken well before Ollie Greeves pick 12 (Hawthorn) in the rookie draft. Both quicker more agile and seriously better runners.
I wouldn't have been happy taking Greeves while Onley and Rodriguez were still on the board and for that matter local lad Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier.

The Crows still have a vacant list spot. We could have taken any of those you named in the main draft if we rated them highly enough.