1995 Phantom Draft

[footyfan1978]

This is the 20th post in a series of retrospective draft pools I've posted here starting with players turning 18 during the year 1975 and each subsequent year the next batch of 18 year olds. This is just a fun task to look back in the time that I been watching football in this league and wondering the quality of players that can be found retrospectively, as if drafts were done the same as they are now. Obviously in the some of these past decades, the national drafts as we know them now, did not exist. The late 1970's and 80's before the league expanded progressively from 12 to 16 clubs there were clubs having under 19's and no real restriction on ages to play seniors and later the early drafts of league had different rules regarding birth date eligibility to be in some draft pools. This series is to look back at each batch of players from same birth year and wonder whom would be the top draft picks and how deep in quality each yearly draft pool could have been.

If you watched football at least from the mid 1990's feel free to add your own thoughts on players you felt would have been number 1 in such retro-drafts of this batch of players and the following years.

This particular one of players born in 1977 for a retro-draft of 1995 is not a draft you call rich in pure midfield talent compared to many others. It is ideal for medium and small sized flamboyant goal kickers such as Jason Akermanis, Jeff Farmer and Michael O'Loughlin that probably considered forward/midfielders than your pure engine room grunt types. This is a draft full of flankers types more than most pools. There were some physical style players of note such as Byron Pickett, Aaron Hamill and Bary Hall to be found in this batch of 1977 born players.

Concessions to expansion clubs in WA, SA, NSW and Queensland were still in effect. This meant the pool of players still has these conditions existing that effect the pools of the actual national draft of this time. Quite a few of players of this year born in it did not appear for this year. In fact if you look back at the early 1990's league drafts you will not find many of the 18 year olds of their retro-draft year in it.
Being drafted at 17 was allowed in these times so quite a few players drafted earlier than year they turned 18. Many of these early 1990's drafts also had pre-draft selections, compensatory selections to clubs losing a player to a start up club such as Fremantle which could involve a 16 year old claimed by a club and therefore never in a draft pool with players of same age.
The AFL and it's clubs were still finding their way in transition to a full draft pathway system. As a result the so called national draft of the league for most of the 1990's had much talent already removed from a draft pool. Compromised draft pools was the norm in this transitional period of Fremantle getting established, the AFL trying to create Brisbane with a stronger footing and Fitzroy soon to be left with no option but to basically merge with Brisbane and open up space for Port Adelaide to become the 16th AFL club.
The pathway of all teenagers of similar age competing together in a truly national draft would still take close to end of the decade to be established as the only pathway into all AFL clubs.

Here is the retrospective draft pool of 18 year olds in year 1995:

1977 Born players (retrospective 1995 Draft)
Lucas, Scott
McLaren, Joe
Blumfield, Justin
Toia, Luke
Funcke, Ross
Dimattina, Andrew
Mahoney, Josh
Frewen, Brent
Turvey, Nathan
Franchina, Anthony
Rawlings, Jade
Donati, Daniel
Yze, Adem
Herbert, Lucas
Hemley, Chris
Biglands, Rhett
Jewell, Nick
Hamill, Aaron
Spaull, John
Crowell, Andrew
Rocca, Anthony
Pickett, Byron
Ryan, Damien
Corrigan, Paul
McMahon, Robert
Snell, Jason
Johnson, Troy
Fraser, Kane
AhMat, Robert
Pagan, Ryan
Hulme, Darren
Ward, Daniel
Collica, Michael
Smith, Bradley
Marshall, Neil
Di Rosa, Robert
Moore, Ben
Fernee, Ashley
Michael, Mal
Farmer, Jeff
Plapp, Justin
Torney, Jason
Dixon, Ben
Brown, Tony
Barry, Leo
Holland, Ben
Robbins, Matthew
Chaffey, Mark
Smith, Joel
Poulton, Jared
Lowther, Daniel
Grant, Shannon
Milburn, Darren
Manfield, Matthew
McHardy, Todd
Steinfort, Carl
Thompson, Ewan
Dodd, Brad
Crawford, Justin
Harford, Daniel
Caracella, Blake
Gowans, James
Lewfatt, Shawn
Steinberner, Nathan
Sikora, Shane
Griffin, Dwayne
Martin, Michael
Wilson, Ben
Martin, Michael
Akermanis, Jason
O'Loughlin, Michael
White, Jeff
Mangin, Stuart
Hall, Barry
Collins, Matthew
Cox, Simon
Bradly, Mark
Nelson, Ben
Liddell, Chad
Vandenberg, Richard
Warry, Marty


Previous Retro-Draft Polls
1975 retro-draft
1976 retro-draft
1977 retro-draft
1978 retro-draft
1979 retro-draft
1980 retro-draft
1981 retro-draft
1982 retro-draft
1983 retro-draft
1984 retro-draft
1985 retro-draft
1986 retro-draft
1987 retro-draft
1988 retro-draft
1989 retro-draft
1990 retro-draft
1991 retro-draft
1992 retro-draft
1993 retro-draft
1994 retro-draft

 

[blueiris]

Please stop

 

[footyfan1978]

Wow. Surprised at the lack of love for Byron Pickett so far compared to Aka.
Good to see Aka still rated highly despite his mouth at times not winning him many friends.

 

[Monkey King]

Aker for me. All class.