BigFooty Official 2011 Official Big Footy Phantom Draft - Selections Only

[Yoda_]

Pick 49 - Western Bulldogs
Samuel Kerridge (Bendigo Pioneers)
height: 187cm
Weight: 84kg
DOB: 24.4.1993
Profile: The thing that stands out about Sam Kerridge is how well he handles himself, not just on the field but off it, he carries himself exceptionally well.

He is a determined young man who had to endure a horror 2010 with a nasty case of osteitis pubis that saw his move from Mildura to Bendigo looking like a curse.

After months of hard work, he was able to force his way into the Pioneers line up, but after 6 matches for the year, Kerridge & co. decided to pull the pin and get his body right for 2011.

That they did, he was able to work on getting his body right, and added some much needed upper body strength (76kg in 2010 > 84kg in 2011) that has allowed him to really take games by the scruff of the neck.

To be honest, I would be staggered to see him slide to here (cliche I know), but, his numbers are pheonomal. He averaged 24 possessions per game, (10 contested), he also avereaged 3 clearances and 4 tackles per game to underline his work in contests whilst his 9 handball recieves and 1.2 goals per game also showed he is able to play outside just as well.

He has that rare breakaway pace that allows him to break away from the stoppages and set up his team mates in better positions, his footskills are very good for that inside midfielder type, and whilst he has exceptional sprint times, his endurance is actually very under rated. He ran a 13 + beep test and was in the top 25 percent for the 3km time trial.

He is very good mark overhead for his height and loves to kick a goal, he hunts the ball at will and just has that uncanny knack of finding the ball. Whilst the Bulldogs already have Wallis and Liberatore as inside midfielders, Kerridge's ability to hit the scoreboard, play outside and be a 'breakaway' inside midfielder that sets him aside from the two aforementioned.

Kerridge would be a steal at pick 49 and I personally think could be one of the best midfielders to come out of this draft.

I was tossing up between Kerridge, Clay Smith, Matthew Jacquier and Max Duffy.In the end went Kerridge as he offers something different from the other young Bulldogs midfielders, whilst Clay Smith shares similarities to newly promoted rookie, Luke Dalhause. Jacquier and Duffy could help fill the void of (the aging) Daniel Giansiracusa, (injury prone) Shaun Higgins and the inconsistent Patrick Veszpremi and the trading of Josh Hill.

 

[Knightmare]

Re: 2011 Official Big Footy Phantom Draft

RE took Lockyer.

Cheers Chris.

And this is the reason why I asked:


#50 Collingwood - Kyal Horsley (Mid/Util)
Profile: Mature age midfielder from WA. Is that class above. Finished second in the Sandover Medal. Really increased his production in 2011. Is the type of player I can see Nathan Buckley wanting because he has a really strong AFL ready body. Wins his own ball. Has pace and has a nice left foot kick on him. The versatility to play forward or back is also there which makes Horsley an ideal option.

Interesting side note: A few have linked Horsley to Collingwood because Scott Watters - ex assistant coach now St Kilda senior coach is a big fan and word was he recommended Horsley to Buckley.

Other considerations: Looking through my list of players left there are a few I still like (Tom Downie and Haiden Schloithe where two of them who stood out) but I just can't see Collingwood picking either since we added Jarrod Witts as a young ruckman, added Ceglar last year and also retained Shae McNamara for another year, then as forwards we added Jamie Elliott this trade period and then Kirk Ugle last year as well as retaining Brent Macaffer for another season.
The only other player I seriously considered for this selection was Jackson Merrett who I took in the trial, would be a really nice fit as an outside midfielder but instead I elected to go for a more immediate fit because with the list we have now it should be about winning a premiership now.

 

[Thunderstruck]

Re: 2011 Official Big Footy Phantom Draft

Pick #51 Port Adelaide Clay Smith 180cm 78kg Gippsland Power

Surprised to see Smith slide this far down, was keen on Sundberg with this pick but Smith was staring me in the face and had to take him. Quality footballer is Smith, in and under, agressive, tough and very nimble/quick thinking. Reads the play so well, always positions himself so he gets ahead of his opponent, has quick steps and a quick mind and loves to tackle as well. He has mongrel in him at times but excels at the stoppages. Not blessed with the best foot skills, not a long kick nor a crisp mechanical kick but has quick hands. Can occasionally rush his disposal and blaze away but I think in time with structures etc he will have no real worries with his disposal at AFL level.

Should become a long-term AFL player, hasn't huge huge size for a modern day mid but will fit into the a rover type of role fairly well, and would be chomping at the bit to play in 2012 which I believe he can do.

AFL like: Bit of Selwood in him and a bit of Josh Carr from his younger does.

 

[Humble Minion]

Re: 2011 Official Big Footy Phantom Draft

Whoops, for some reason I thought I had pick 54 instead of pick 52, sorry about that.

Pick 52 - Courtney Hylton (Western Jets) - 184cm 87kg

Overager of I think Jamaican extraction who had a really good season off half-back for Western in the Jets' best year in quite a while.

If you're looking for a current AFL comparison look no further than his near-namesake Courtenay Dempsey. Perhaps lacking Dempsey's extreme express pace, Hylton is nonetheless a very fast, potent rebounder off the halfback line whose run can split a side open and who provides a great deal of drive. Sometimes (again like Dempsey) prefers to dispose of the ball via sweeping attacking handball rather than by foot, and his hands are a strength though his kicking is perfectly adequate. Swerving bouncing run followed by a 20m attacking handball or short kick to an open player on the wing or in the middle is pretty much his trademark play. If he improved his penetration/confidence with his long kicking, he'd be an 80m player on a pretty regular basis.

Can do a lock-down job, but I've never seen him lock down at the same time as cutting up an opponent on the rebound like the very best small backs do. Can defend (not just a runner) and reads the ball coming in to the defensive 50 fairly well. His run would make him a very dangerous loose man - would need to be marked by a fwd with decent defensive play.

Good size, and as a 19yo this year, physically he's probably ready to go. Bulked up a bit in the 2nd half of the year from what I saw, so might be a bit heavier than his listed weight.

Potential to form a formidable half-back line partnership with Grimes in the upcoming years.

 

[Humble Minion]

Re: 2011 Official Big Footy Phantom Draft

Pick 54: Lin Jong (Oakleigh Chargers) - 188cm 85kg

With the Dees last pick I'm going for a bit of an 'upside' player. They've got two bonus first rounders to play with next year and a PSD pick up their sleeve for a mature-bodied mid from a state league, they can afford to take a bit of a high-return gamble now.

Right now Jong is your classic utility in search of a position. For the chargers he spent a bit of time on the wing, some across half-back and half-forward, but late in the season he changed in the ruck, and with his enormous leap managed to compete quite well and provide a more than handy option once the ball hit the ground.

He's an athletic freak, with nice size, a huge jump and excellent pace for a bigger mid-type. Good engine, covers a whole lot of ground and his work ethic is admirable. His disposal is generally very good in terms of effectiveness %, but I don't think he's all that confident in it since he goes the safe, low-hurt-factor option more often than not.

That covers the 'athlete' part, as for the 'footballer' bit - he's still something of a work in progress. As I said, I get the feeling he doesn't entirely trust his disposal/decision making at this point, and he still has his very good and very bad games. But his improvement since the start of the season has been really impressive, and by the TAC GF he was a vital part of the chargers side. He didn't have a particulaly great GF, but was very good indeed in the prelim - reading the play well, dropping a kick behind the play like a ruckman, taking contested marks, and then taking off like a midfielder.

I wouldn't really expect him to play senior footy in his first year, or even much in his second. He's got a bit to learn, but he's developed out of sight this season and I reckon this will continue under an AFL regime. As for position - I'd see how he developed. At the most basic, he could be an athletic half-back type who can cameo on the wing something like Adam McPhee, but i'm certainly not writing off the possibility of him continuing his improvement trajectory and ending up as a true midfielder - some of his centre-square work when playing as a ruckman hinted that he could do this, down the track.

Others I considered with this pick or pick 52
- Tom Downie (rate him highly as a talented raw prospect but decided the Dees have enough rucks already, especially with Clark coming along)
- Doug Morris and Alex Greenwood (but I reckon there'll be that type of honest, hard-working medium-sized inside mid available in the rookie draft, though if Kerridge had fallen a couple more spots I would have pounced)
- Uysal (I wanted to consider a small forward on a needs basis, but blokes like Maric, Anastasio, Gotch etc are all just a bit small. Eventually decided Uysal perhaps lacked the extra footspeed that you want in this position these days. Maybe as a rookie)
- Alex Brown (Went with Hylton instead, since a) Hylton's been more damaging when I've seen him, despite Brown's excellent footskills, and b) at 190cm I'm a bit worried Brown might fall into that indecisive doomy zone between 'genuine kpp' and 'rebounding hb')

Wasn't really looking for a kpp this year, once Melb secured Clark in trade week. Dees have a fair few project talls on the boil anyway, just wanted to get a bit of rebound into the hb line and maybe try to cover the loss of Scully a bit in the centre. Two of the three guys I took are good sizes too, too add some weight to a smallish side.

 

[Toadvine]

For some reason I thought hylton was ineligible. But he is! Good pick.

I struggled with this pick. I really wanted to pick Downie but I felt like I hadn't seen enough of him. So then I was split between O'brien and O'hanlon who are very similar player so I decided to go with the player who I think has the best skill set and talent.

#55 :Richmond – Brett O’Hanlon
Height: 189cm, Weight: 82kg, DOB 17/07/1993

Massive fan of this kid. Who had a great finals campaign. I'll do a proper write up tomorrow when I have the time.

 

[Snoop Dog]

Re: 2011 Official Big Footy Phantom Draft

# 56 GWS - Shane Nelson (West Perth / 179 / 73 / 93)

Little surprised this fella has fallen as far as this. Was going to take a mature age player here but there are two players I think have fallen well below where they will go in the draft and with the Giants singularly focussed on getting the best young kids I suspect they will defer to a quality youngster who is much higher on their ratings than a mature ager.

Nelson is a class act in my opinion and I liken him a fair bit to the kid Fasolo Collingwood took last year. Many peg him as simply an outside mid who is a huge accumulator (ave 22 poss at Nationals and 32 poss at Colts level) but that is selling him very short.

He has that mix of endurance, agility (8.13 = seriously good) which rates as well as say a Prestia etc, speed (2.83 which again is seriously good) and efficiency of disposal (29/30 at kicking test which is fantastic). His tackle pressure was also good in the games I saw and he showed a real willingness to put his head over the footy when he had to take his turn.

Notwithstanding he can play inside the stoppage where he is pretty creative with his hands, I think his go is for a team mate to get the ball out of the stoppage to him and let him use his pace, decision making and elite footskills to hit up a target. Thats his thing and he is darn good at it. Somebody compared him to Gaff but I think he is much quicker than Gaff and thats why I liken him more to Fasolo. He has speed and he also has an ability to play fwd of the ball. In fact I think he will start as a small fwd and then be pushed into the middle when the body is ready.

He is a bargain here because I think he could go between 18-30 in the draft proper. FWIW, I also understand he interviewed very well at DC so we aint getting an idiot either.

Ps Get a hair cut kid

 

[Yoda_]

Pick 57 - Western Bulldogs
Jimmy Webster (Tasmania)

At work at the moment but will do a write up when I get home (usually around 4ish).

Considered Jacquier, Duffy and Murphy but just think the outside ball use of this AIS/Tasmanian representative was too good to overlook.

 

[Chris25]

Re: 2011 Official Big Footy Phantom Draft

You'll get a write up later, but for now...

Pick 58 Fremantle - Nick Murphy
194cm, 85kg, Oakleigh Chargers

When I was picking at #29, I had a list of three people - Ellis-Yolmen, Murphy and Lockyer. So I was very happy to have Murphy just sitting here waiting for me to come along.

Personally, I rate Murphy higher than Paine and Dobosz. But he just hasn't gotten the attention that those have, and definitely not the attention that Murphy himself got last year when he was invited to the combine by GWS.

Murphy didn't really have the year he would have been hoping for, wasn't selected in the U18 Championships and missed out on a Draft Combine invite. But he was the leading goal scorer in the TAC Cup and had a big GF kicking 5 goals. After getting overlooked by GWS, he has put on more weight and that will help his already strong marking game. Another former basketballer but he is a very good and especially on goal, where he has an interesting yet effective kicking style.

I don't really see why he is rated so low compared to some other KPFs. Yeah, he could work on his opposite boot and his tank could become bigger - but he is a full forward anyway.

I think the talent among KPPs after the top 30 is pretty even. Wont be much difference between picking one in the fourth round or just waiting for the rookie draft. And that was initially my plan. But I rate Murphy in the top 30, so obviously I was going to take him.

I'm starting to sound like Rendell - no matter where you pick someone, they were at the top of your list.

 

[Monocle]

Re: 2011 Official Big Footy Phantom Draft

Write up to come.

Pick :60 St Kilda.

Jackson Merrett. Geelong Falcons. 187 cm 70 kg.

Gave him strong consideration at # 37 so I am delighted that he was still on the board.

 

[Raymann]

Re: 2011 Official Big Footy Phantom Draft

Pick #61 - Sydney

Jordan Kelly - Dandenong Stingrays - KPP

192cm/81kg/1993

I will do the write up tonight.

 

[WALL-e]

Re: 2011 Official Big Footy Phantom Draft

The Crows will PASS on this pick in the real thing, leaving open a spot to play in the pre-season draft. However, that's boring and doesn't get names out there.....nor does it steal others picks (mad?).

Really caught between Jack Frost, Brendon Ah Chee and Sundberg here. Having already picked up three project players I thought it was time to inject some ready to go player here. Also gave some thought to Sam Dwyer and Malcolm Lynch as well, but thought Sundberg fit the bill more so here.

# 64 Adelaide - Tom Sundberg (Collingwood (VFL) / 184 / 78 / 22/12/1988)

Tom really shot out of the blue this year with some scintilating form for the Collingwood VFL team. To put into terms what I mean about his form, he played 13 matches in the H&A season, garnering 11 bests and 11 goals. Of his 11 bests, 5 were best on, 3 were second best and the remaining 3 were third best. That's form. Injury slowed him down in the later part of the year and stopped him from doing testing at State Screening.

I'll get my little over the top player comparrison out of the way, but he reminds me a Dane Swan a lot. Burst speed, ability to stand up in tackles, the un-football like shape of his body and straight-back run and the get it done style in which he conducts himself.

Over the top comparrisons aside, Tom's calling card this year has been his work rate and ability to get on the end of loose footy. He takes off at the right times and works his ass of to find space. To compliment his hard running and good footy IQ are his good disposal (can be a tad loopy, but always hits its mark) and more importantly his decision making. He understands where to put the footy so his team mates can run onto it, this is both by hand and foot. It's increadibly frustrating to see the amount of current players who kick where their team mates are, and not where they will or should be. Also uses both sides of the body, though the right foot is 'workman like'

Like Swan (oh crap I did it again), besides being an outside mid because their nose for the footy and work rate, most of his good work is done in close. He has very quick hands and a quicker decision making ability in close. He'll whip a handball out in a flash to the right spot, and has the core strength and natural bult to get the hard footy and bully his way about in tight, as well as stand up in tackles while options open.

He has an aggressive mind set in the way he plays his footy (see all my picks ) where he's taking off quick, getting to dangerous spots and looking to use the center as much as he can. He's a big fan of gut running in wave down the center and linking by handball. Very good team mate as he'll give it off when appropriate. That said, he loves getting on the end of a shot at the sticks as he's pretty accurate around goals with a nose for the big one.

He is about to turn 23 later this year, so despite being a late bloomer, there isn't freak upside. He's also not extremely tall for the 'modern day' mid and will no longer be able to bully people like in the VFL. However I believe he has more than enough AFL tools and is far too good for a second tier league. Will play senior footy next year and will get the coach and players onside quick.

As for why Adelaide, we have a lack of mids who can really accumulate, not to mention those who can do so while using the footy correctly. Tom will give us a mid who can play both inside and out, make very good decisions and provide that infection work rate around the club.

Would be very happy to see him here come draft day, or if he slides, the RD.

 

[Knightmare]

Re: 2011 Official Big Footy Phantom Draft

#65 Collingwood - Tom Downie (VIC - Ruckman)
Profile: Downie is a 205cm ruckman from a basketball background. Very new to football and has played limited games. But have been very excited with what I have seen in the limited games he has played. Tap work is excellent and has that awareness of who is below him. Has a nice leap. Strong mark overhead and can take grabs around the ground.
Reminds me allot of a young Todd Goldstein.
Is very much a work in progress and will take time as is the case with all young ruckmen. But too much talent to let pass me by. My expectation is that Downie will feature somewhere in the 2nd round.

Why: Like the depth of the rucks this year and the value here is simply too good to pass up! With the addition of Downie we will have more ruckmen than we can field, but I like the fit long term - I don't see Wood being around much longer because he simply hasn't developed, McNamara will probably be delisted at the end of next season also and Jolly surely doesn't have many more seasons left in him. So while we have a surplus of ruckmen it just means we can do as Geelong have done over recent seasons and build some positional flexibility into these talls - which I don't necessarily view as a totally bad thing - so the likes of Witts and Ceglar can continue to play forward, Keeffe can continue to play down back, McNamara on the wing/forward and so on.

Other considerations: Haiden Schloithe (best small forward this year and in my mind represents big value here for a club looking for a player of his type), Lee Spurr (in my mind one of the best mature agers this year, offers positional flexibility), Cameron Valentine (one of the better marking 3rd tall forward options), Sam Dwyer (another mature agers I like, delivery to forwards through the midfield is first class), Brody Mihocek (liked what I saw during the u18 champs and offers some flexibility), Jack Charleston (high production midfielder who offers some flexibility), Mark Baguley (VFL defender who I think would be a solid fit).

 

[Knightmare]

Re: 2011 Official Big Footy Phantom Draft

#67 Collingwood - Jarrod Witts (NSW/ACT - Ruckman)
Profile: Monster ruckman measuring up at 209cm, 115kg. Collingwood did well to scout Witts at a young age and get him into the program. Is new enough to footy and comes from a rugby background. Has had injuries over the past few seasons but this year has been fine and has developed beyond belief. Showed some great signs throughout the u18 champs, but then really reached a new level when playing for the Collingwood VFL side.

Long term will develop into a ruckman but for the time being expect Witts to be used at full forward. At full forward Jarrod crashes packs, takes strong contested grabs (one grab and at it's highest point - which is a big win at his size) and even tackles strongly which for someone of his size is impressive.

In the ruck Jarrod doesn't have a huge leap, but can certainly hold his own and is already strong enough to compete and beat other more mature ruckmen.

Allot of non Collingwood supporters who have seen less of Witts will disagree with this, but because of his size, the attributes he posesses and the way he plays I consider him to have the greatest potential of the ruckmen in this years draft class. Would be very happy to take him in the 1st round, so being able to snag Witts through the NSW/ACT program with a late selection is a massive win!



Side note: Had this selection been a live selection would have selected Haiden Schloithe.

 

[Ysaye]

Re: 2011 Official Big Footy Phantom Draft

Pick 66(?) - Max Duffy 189cm, 78kg (Perth/East Fremantle)

Based on skill level, pace and X factor, this guy go Top 20, but due to poor attitude and not playing as a midfielder, has meant he has fallen right of the radar. Probably would be a stay at home forward pocket because of endurance issues, but just has one of the most damaging players by boot.

 

[Monocle]

Re: 2011 Official Big Footy Phantom Draft

Pick : 68. St Kilda.

Tom Lee. Claremont. 194 cm 94 kg. 02.01.91

Write up latter I am still at work.

ArdentEagle.

Tommy has been on my radar with thick pick for some time now.