2006 U 18s Queensland team - Where are they now?

[Warwick]

Touted as the best junior squad Queensland has ever produced, the team went through the Div 2 champs undefeated and had a whopping 11 players selected in the AFL ND (including 8 of the first 32). And all of this in what was regarded as one of the strongest drafts in history. They eventually provided 18 to AFL clubs in one way or the other. So what happened?

2006 squad:

Albert Proud (2006 ND 22 - Brisbane)
Chris Smith (2006 RD 13 - Fremantle)
Shaun Hampson (2006 ND 17 - Carlton)
Simon Plummer (Undrafted)
Gavin Grose (2006 RD 21 - Port Adelaide)
Brent Renouf (2006 ND 24 - Hawthorn)
Dane Eaton (Undrafted)
Fraser Pope (undrafted)
Haydn Kiel (2006 RD 48 - Brisbane)
Tauryan Zimmer (Undrafted)
Kurt Tippett (2006 ND 32 - Adelaide)
Jesse White (2006 ND 79 - Sydney)
Ricky Petterd (2006 ND 30 - Melbourne)
Aaron Rolfe (Undrafted)
David Armitage (2006 ND 9 - St Kilda)
Jack Lawler (Undrafted)
Gavin Urquhart (2006 ND 21 - North Melbourne)
Ryan Holman (Undrafted)
Scott Clouston (2006 RD 20 - Brisbane)
Nikos Kiem (Undrafted)
Daniel Brittain (Undrafted)
Daniel Dzufer (2006 RD 35 - Brisbane)
Kyle Marchant (Undrafted)
Brody Johnson (Undrafted)
Shaun Tapp (Undrafted)
Rhys Magin (2007 RD 5 - Essendon)
Richard Wenham (Undrafted)
Adam Spackman (2008 RD 66 - Brisbane)
Ben Gibson (Undrafted)
Sam Reid (2007 ND 35 - Western Bulldogs)

Delisted
Traded to another club
Uncertain
Undrafted

At the start of the 2013 season, it's likely only 2 of the squad will still be playing at their original clubs. It's a great effort for a small Australian Rules state to have so many draftees from the same group but it's a shame that the Lions didn't benefit from this bounty. I doubt we will ever see so many taken from Qld in the same year again.

 

[Bert Man]

Is that the most players QLD U 18 have ever had drafted?

 

[Hollow Knight]

Is that the most players QLD U 18 have ever had drafted?

By a mile.

 

[Grimreepah]

It is representive of drafting as a whole, with most not becoming the players that were hoped for at the time.

 

[Haggis McHaggis]

I think it's a stretch to say we'll never see its like again. Junior participation is still growing. A successful Lions or Suns will give that another shot in the arm. If the NEAFL manages to keep the pick of them from comps like the SANFL, VFL, etc., and the quality of the comp continues to improve, we could see an upward curve in the average amount taken.

 

[SizeMatters]

Remembering that sometime during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, if Queensland was a separate country we would have been ranked 6th in the world at some point. Just a huge potential of untapped talent in QLD and with the game growing won't be long before we see 4 or 5 players drafted each year. Exciting times ahead.

 

[Harris Specter]

Wow, that's a lot of drafted players. Unfortunately, unless there's success in QLD, AFL will never reach the heights of rugby.
Thankfully, Broncos look like they're about to go down the ladder, can only mean better attendances for the Lions.

 

[captainrich]

Wow, that's a lot of drafted players. Unfortunately, unless there's success in QLD, AFL will never reach the heights of rugby.
Thankfully, Broncos look like they're about to go down the ladder, can only mean better attendances for the Lions.

you obviously dont follow league much, the broncos current roster is probably the most excitng young rosters in the NRL with some of the best young players, along with getting scotty prince they might be ready for another push for a premiership, however that is an argument for another forum i think