2012 Draft Discussion

[dlanod]

Bert Man is really Dean Towers... I was really hoping it wouldn't lead to this

I'm seriously laughing now because I was going to make the exact same post but you beat me to it!

Edit: I guess I'm Joel MacDonald...

 

[Cousin Jed]

I'm Mitchell Johnson

 

[jackess]

I'm Gubby Allen.

 

[whatboutbob]

I'm Spartacus.

 

[Haso]

I'm Nick Rodda, and so is my wife!

 

[Quigley]

Below is my current write up for him:

Nicholas Rodda
DOB: 6/7/94 Ht: 194 Wt: 94

I am not afraid to admit I have absolutely no idea where Rodda will go in this draft. He has been a big improver this year but he had one of the worst games you are ever likely to see from a key position defender when playing on Daniher at the Champs. It was downright embarrassing, to such an extent that it made me question the coach’s acumen and then the other tall options that WA had. If Rodda was getting toweled up this badly and yet they refused to make a change how bad must those other KPDs be?

I watched Rodda in a couple of other matches at the Champs and he was not nearly as bad. If I disregard the Metro match I do not see all that much difference between Rodda and Clurey and seeing as Clurey didn’t get to play Daniher (but still got smashed by Boyd) that might be fair enough. Both play better in looser roles where they can play the ball rather than being lead to it. Rodda was most effective across the Champs when he played in front and paid more attention to the ball rather than his man. He did a very good job on Bourke from Qld playing this way but interesting when he went onto Tickner who was more mobile and forced Rodda to follow him around the ground he was not nearly as effective.

The player Rodda reminds me of most is Matthew Watson of Carlton. He does not quite have the cannon leg that Watson does but he is in the same ball park. He takes all the kick ins for WA and was very effective doing so. He has great length on his kicking and good weight in most cases. His decision making is usually pretty sound but occasionally there is a lapse. He has really made a jump this year though and the occasional lapse as he gets more experience and used to playing against better players is to be expected.

Another feature which is eerily similar to Watson is that for a big guy he does not play nearly as physically as you would expect and want to see. If anything you would say both of them are pretty soft as KPDs go. Rodda too often loses body on body contests and against guys 10-15kgs lighter than him that shouldn’t happen. He definitely needs some strength work but also a lot of coaching about how to use his body to best effect. Have a look at someone like Glass or Merrett and see how they work the man over physically. Against Daniher, Rodda seemed pathologically incapable of putting a body on Daniher and preventing him having an easy run at the ball. In that game I got the feeling that Rodda had never played on a KPF of that height and had no idea of what to do.

Against opposition his height Rodda is a pretty good spoil of the ball. He is not a particularly good mark of the ball and he has pretty hard hands both over his head and below the knees. He is prone to fumbling a bit when trying to recover balls on the deck and this could see him under pressure a lot at AFL level. He does have pretty good pace and is capable of going step for step with most forwards. A few worked him out a bit at the Champs and started to get separation on him but I think with some more experience he should work that out. His speed is sufficient to do that job and that is a significant factor when assessing 18 year old KPDs. When he goes to ground he needs to recover quicker and I notice a few times his man was back up and going well before Rodda got off the ground. Tackling wise he could be better.

Overall I would draft this kid because he has really good size and a very big and accurate leg. He has been improving very quickly and I think should continue to do so with good coaching. There are definitely deficiencies in his game but they should be able to be coached out of him and with his leg he could become a real weapon at the back.

 

[spotthedog1]

Hey Quigs - I'm interested... who would be your pick of those who MAY be available at pick 8... basically, anyone except Toumpas, Grundy and Whitfield (and Viney and Daniher).

 

[Quigley]

Guys I like for us at 8:

Toumpas (if Melb lose pick 4 there is a slim chance he slips to us so I am including him)
Wines
Mayes
Stringer
Garlett

Guys I don't:

O'Rourke
Plowman
Jaksch - too average
Shaw - risk too much for me.

Undecided:

Macrae

 

[whatboutbob]

Would you take Shaw with our second pick Quigs, on the unlikely chance he's available there?

I would, for the little that's worth.

 

[Quigley]

I would take him in the second round. Risk/reward heavily weighted in our favour at that pick.

 

[spotthedog1]

Guys I like for us at 8:

Toumpas (if Melb lose pick 4 there is a slim chance he slips to us so I am including him)
Wines
Mayes
Stringer
Garlett

Guys I don't:

O'Rourke
Plowman
Jaksch - too average
Shaw - risk too much for me.

Undecided:

Macrae

Thanks Quigs. Always interesting to get the opinions of those who know more (which, for me, is probably most on this forum)

I'm also unsure about Macrae - his improvement seems good, but is he going to improve through next year, or has he reached his level for a while... tough call... Plus, I don't think he'll have as much time and space as he's used to at an AFL level, and that's one of his big assets.

Don't get my hopes up on Toumpas - I have to keep telling myself he's sure to be gone. The only game I saw of Mayes though (the prelim where they were elim'd), he didn't do a whole lot. Roved the packs, picked up a few cheapies, but really had no impact. I'm trusting that this was an anomaly though, as many here love him. Would be very happy with Stringer, and if the coaches reckon Garlett's attitude is better, I'd be happy with him there. 8 is higher than most have him, but they seem to demote him for attitude, whereas from everything I've seen, Garlett has taken it like a man, apologised, and seems to be on the right track again. Brisbane could be a very good environment for that kind of person.

 

[13Beast]

I'm Spartacus.

No! I'M Spartacus!

 

[captainrich]

qu

Guys I like for us at 8:

Toumpas (if Melb lose pick 4 there is a slim chance he slips to us so I am including him)
Wines
Mayes
Stringer
Garlett

Guys I don't:

O'Rourke
Plowman
Jaksch - too average
Shaw - risk too much for me.

Undecided:

Macrae

hey quigley what are your knocks on O'Rourke everyone else seems to rate him very highly and have him going 3 to 4 cheers

 

[WhiteLionFeva]

I'm Spartacus.

Early on you gave me a serious spray for I can't remember what (probably deserved) so this revelation comes as no great surprise.

 

[Quigley]

Jonothan O’Rourke
DOB: 21/4/94 Ht: 183 Wt 75

Emma Quayle has O’Rouke in her top 5 and I am not discounting his chances of going there but for me that would be massively overpaying for him. Those rating him at 5 see him as an inside ball winner with great spread and an elite kick. Personally I think he shows great spread but I am not convinced of the other two elements.

I see O’Rourke as an inside receiver who benefited a great deal from the heavy lifting done by the likes of Viney. He is not a very big guy and does not work through the traffic to win the ball himself very much. He does it a bit but it is not a facet of his game which I would consider very strong. When he gets the ball in tight situations he gets flustered and is definitely not one who seems to have that bit of extra time to make decisions. His priority seems to be to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible and hitting targets is an afterthought. He does not ride contact he just rids himself of the ball.

By hand he has pretty quick hands but looks to go backwards a lot or to a player with the opposition sweating on him. His handball style can look pretty awkward at times and the ball hits the ground a lot. In the AFL with players being that much quicker and stronger I have serious concerns about whether O’Rourke’s game will stand up particularly the handball side of it. As it is now he flinches when he hears footsteps and he needs to address that before it becomes too ingrained.

By foot he is better although I still would not put him in the elite category by a long way. His decision making at times leaves quite a bit to be desired and I could see a lot of the kicks he gets away with now being cut out in the AFL. He will pull out a good flat kick every now and then but more often his kicks have a bit too much loop for my liking. I acknowledge that he has an elite DE% but to me that is deceptive. If the ball goes 35m to a contest it is considered effective O’Rourke goes with quite a few of those even when that is not the best option. On shorter kicks his kicks are also just getting there or are getting there on the bounce and these are considered effective where I think they will not end up being effective in the AFL. His set shot is not as accurate as you would like and his goal sense is probably only average for a midfielder.

Once he gets away from the clearance though O’Rourke is a great worker and spreads really well into space. He will link up well and will push himself immediately after making a pass to be available again if needed. He gut runs well and from watching him play I would think he had one of the better tanks in this year’s draft. It is this ability to get into space and provide a link that he will build his AFL career. I see O’Rourke as a Joel Corey / Nigel Lappin type guy who is not really an elite player but at his best could be an important element in a premiership side. Both Corey and Lappin were not the most skillful or the greatest ball winners but they were receivers and provided excellent safety valves.

At the Champs O’Rourke played that similarly link in the chain role receiving the ball from the clearance winners and getting it to the guys who could use it well. He looked for Macrae a great deal when he got the ball and fed him when he possibly could. Viney was the clearance winner and Macrae was the guy who made things happen. O’Rourke showed he could get the ball but too me he looked to lack a bit of class and had significant issues which gave me cause for concern about a transition to the AFL.

 

[captainrich]

thanks quigley, never seen such a deep insight on him no ones really revealed any of his flaws as of yet so cheers, im slowly starting to dislike any of the prospects i had previously liked cause of your write ups haha, as emma quayle revealed her top 25 already?

 

[whatboutbob]

For those not following at home, Quigs has just selected Garlett in the BF Phantom Draft.

Can't fault the selection given those left on the table (which is why I'm keen to see the Dees stripped of pick 4).

 

[jjami15]

So Macrae would make it happen, interesting.

 

[captainrich]

For those not following at home, Quigs has just selected Garlett in the BF Phantom Draft.

Can't fault the selection given those left on the table (which is why I'm keen to see the Dees stripped of pick 4).

read an article today which basically said that the by the time the process is done with the findings, penalities and appeals by melbourne it will be well past draft day, unfortunately all the ramifications will be felt in future drafts not this years which sucks

 

[jjami15]

read an article today which basically said that the by the time the process is done with the findings, penalities and appeals by melbourne it will be well past draft day, unfortunately all the ramifications will be felt in future drafts not this years which sucks

For this year. Would believe that we would finish above them for awhile yet thus moving up a spot and imagine if Adelaide also finsihed below us withe same ramifications- 2 spots.

 

[Ruse]

I think it might be in melbourne's best interest to do a settlement with the AFL and lose this year's 1st and 3rd round picks because if the AFL finds them guilty they might lose draft picks for 2 consecutive years instead of this year.

 

[captainrich]

For this year. Would believe that we would finish above them for awhile yet thus moving up a spot and imagine if Adelaide also finsihed below us withe same ramifications- 2 spots.

yeah it will help us in the future no doubt however it sucks for this year, I really wanted to see them hit hard, it would have been interesting what the league would have done if they were to be penalised this year in regards to jack viney would they end up doing it so he enters the draft and melbourne be inlegible to draft him or is that just too crazy

 

[Lionator]

If we want a midfielder that is ready to go next year and is in the same mould as Rich check this guy out

He is only 176cm but already 87kg and a big lefty

CHRIS DELUCA
Kevin Sheehan says: “Small forward/midfielder with a penetrating left foot and explosive turn of speed. Has the ability to win his own ball on the inside as well as being a dangerous finisher on the outside. A strongly built player with an appetite for the contest who reads the play very well. Currently playing senior football for Subiaco.”

 

[dlanod]

An interesting note I found in Inside Football:

Ethan Gill
DOB: 31/12/94 Ht: 194cm Wt: 94kg
Ethan might be one who doesn't get drafted this year because he's still very much a baby who hasn't had a proper pre-season yet. Came to us from the country late in the piece and he's a man mountain and plays his footy like a 24-year-old ... strong and hard at it. Still needs to get a bit of speed in the legs, which he will, and I know Brisbane had had a look at him but my feeling is clubs might wait and see what he can do after another season with us. He's more of a forward and as a 16-year-old he played in a senior premiership in the bush so he's happy to crunch it with the big boys.

- Brenton Hale, Glenelg talent manager

 

[jackess]

We must have a decent scout in outback South Australia.