2014 Draft Discussion

[Quigley]

Is Hunter from Redlands that mature age ruckman people were raving about a while back?

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-08-04/state-combines-named

Yep

 

[chopperduck]

Top post. Hard to argue with that break down. I think one area that it does show though is a ruck/forward. We have west, and his age profile isnt too old. Outside of West we dont have any other genuine ruck/forwards, and this is where I think Wright might come in handy for us. He will provide that big target up forward and he can kick a goal. The unknown is the likes of Smith and Freeman and their ability here, although Smith is more a ruck option post Bergs and Freeman a forward who might be able to give a hand in the ruck.

If we end up with about pick 5 at best, I think we just have to go best available. We could certainly use another mid, a key forward as well as another defender. We've done very well over the years at developing some good defenders on the cheap, and I could easily see us going with Jackson at the least. I do worry about our defence in 2-3 years time. Some bits are in place with Cutler and maybe even McStay rebounding, Bewick, Rich, Hanley, Mayes Aish could also assist here along with maybe Dawson long term. Gardiner I think will be a Patfull clone, tall or small and great as 3rd man up, but that only leaves Clarke as a genuine defender. We do need a genuine key defender still and we need to get them developing. Few academy options and maybe even another Clarke type pick wouldnt surprise me.

 

[carnthemlions]

I honestly don't get the logic behind letting him go in order to get the pick. He's still got 5+ more good years in him and pick 4 is no guarantee of a long term quality player. Obviously Melbourne might not be in the driving seat to re-sign him, but it's more a commentary on some of their fans who'd rather the pick than the solid CHB/ok CHF.

McDonald is injury prone, Garland is out of form, Dawes has regressed and Hogan still hasn't played. They can probably afford to offer overs to keep him, it's not like they've got many players who will be demanding big money.

The obsession with draft picks amongst some fans of struggling teams is a bit weird. The St Kilda board seem to want to trade Montagna now as well. It's just not healthy. Mind you, some of them also think Jeremy Cameron wants to move there

 

[James North]

I reckon our best picks have generally come from second-rounders of late, anyway.

Our best player was completely overlooked ... and our best defender was delisted. It's really about looking for that player that will suit our needs, I think, hence the litany of tall defenders (and a KPF?!) that we picked up last year.

 

[Ironmonger]

I reckon our best picks have generally come from second-rounders of late, anyway.

Our best player was completely overlooked ... and our best defender was delisted. It's really about looking for that player that will suit our needs, I think, hence the litany of tall defenders (and a KPF?!) that we picked up last year.

It occurred to me the other day that before the 2013 draft the consensus seemed to be that the quality fell away after about pick 20.

And yet the players taken from 21-29 have all been genuine successes in their first seasons. Not just Taylor, Gardiner and McStay, but also Impey, Merrett, Lemmens, Crouch and Hartung. Even Lobb has done well in his first season as a ruckman at GWS, albeit without getting much senior gametime.

It shows a couple of things: always take draft groupthink with a grain of salt, and there's more to drafting than just picking the player that most people rate the highest.

 

[James North]

Mmmm draft salt.

 

[snooplions]

I would be surprised if Hammelman doesn't end up on our list. So that's another developing tall forward and would bring us to 5 - Close, McStay, Freeman, Paine, Hammelman. Uebergang is a possibility too. That is quite a few options, albeit most are quite speculative at this point.

Spoke to Matthew Uebergang recently, he said that he had an interview with the club recently and they gave him the impression that it's either Hammelman or him, not the both of them, if Hammelman gets drafted by the lions than it's unlikely that they'll draft Matt.

 

[Cockliff38]

Spoke to Matthew Uebergang recently, he said that he had an interview with the club recently and they gave him the impression that it's either Hammelman or him, not the both of them, if Hammelman gets drafted by the lions than it's unlikely that they'll draft Matt.

Hopefully someone else takes a punt on him then. Hammelmann is a sure thing

 

[snooplions]

Hopefully someone else takes a punt on him then. Hammelmann is a sure thing

bugger

 

[Quigley]

Maybe the interview was when we were drafting in the bottom 3 and very likely to take a KPF with our first pick. As we drop down our chances of going another way increase and both the Qld guys might be on the cards again.

 

[WhiteLionFeva]

Maybe the interview was when we were drafting in the bottom 3 and very likely to take a KPF with our first pick. As we drop down our chances of going another way increase and both the Qld guys might be on the cards again.

In what order of preference would you rank Andrews, Jackson and Uebergang?

 

[Kevvo]

Just had a peek at TAC cup results for this weekend.

Queensland beat Geelong Falcons 82-81. Hammelmann and Dawson kicked 3 each, and Hammelmann and Harris Andrews (and Keays) were named in the bests for Queensland.

Hammertime is certainly getting goals week in week out at the moment.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Spoke to Matthew Uebergang recently, he said that he had an interview with the club recently and they gave him the impression that it's either Hammelman or him, not the both of them, if Hammelman gets drafted by the lions than it's unlikely that they'll draft Matt.

Tough year for the club in regards to academy selections. Plus the Father-son boys make it even more difficult.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Won't be the worst thing in the world if a few academy kids end up at other clubs.

Justifies the existence of the academies as a good thing for the entire code and makes it harder for Eddie to say we have exclusive rights to stockpile players in our zone.

Also by not matching some bids and letting some players through to other clubs, we send a message to other clubs that we aren't going to pay overs and we will call their bluff if they get cute with their bids.

 

[BuntonRules]

Won't be the worst thing in the world if a few academy kids end up at other clubs.

Justifies the existence of the academies as a good thing for the entire code and makes it harder for Eddie to say we have exclusive rights to stockpile players in our zone.

Also by not matching some bids and letting some players through to other clubs, we send a message to other clubs that we aren't going to pay overs if they get cute with their bids.

Then in 2 years we can get them back cheap.

 

[Crusha]

In what order of preference would you rank Andrews, Jackson and Uebergang?

I have witnessed all in action recently, and for what it's worth, my current assessment would be:
1 Andrews
2 Jackson
3 Uebergang.

"Ueber" has been the slider for me - I had him up there with "The Hammer" earlier in the season (on the back of some performances with the Lions Reserves), but his recent showings (for Redlands v Southport & QLD v Nth Ballarat) saw him lose ground (for mine).

Andrews impressed in the Gabba Curtain Raiser v Aspley recently, & again for QLD v Nth Ball. In the Nth Ball. game, he was sent forward late in the game and provided an excellent tall target up forward. He clunked several good marks and his strong presence freed up space for Hammelmann. Unfortunately, his set shot kicking let him down a little (from memory 1.3 from marks in fwd 50), but coupled with his earlier work in defence, overall a very good showing.

Jackson also played in the above two games and showed potential as a close marking defender - at the least showed that there is certainly something to work with.

I haven't given up on "Ueber", because he has some runs on the board, for mine, from earlier this year.

I think I also highlighted, earlier in this thread, someone I wasn't aware of prior to the QLD v Nth. Ball. game - Robert Blood. He caught my eye in that game, and I was interested to note that was named today for the State Combine Testing (although I was disappointed to find out he was from Southport - and therefore probably part of their Academy).

Just my "two bobs worth" (if you understand geriatric speak).

 

[Dan12]

As an example, if we informed say Uebergang that we wouldn't take him because he didn't suit our list's needs, but that he was likely good enough to go in the national draft, would we nominate him and let him go through to another club?

The positive would be that the kid could have certainty and time to adjust much earlier than most draftees, the negative would be that if no one bids then we're forced to take a kid we don't particularly want. Could be a curious situation, especially if we don't match a bid on a player that someone bid on with a very late pick.

 

[Hollow Knight]

As an example, if we informed say Uebergang that we wouldn't take him because he didn't suit our list's needs, but that he was likely good enough to go in the national draft, would we nominate him and let him go through to another club?

The positive would be that the kid could have certainty and time to adjust much earlier than most draftees, the negative would be that if no one bids then we're forced to take a kid we don't particularly want. Could be a curious situation, especially if we don't match a bid on a player that someone bid on with a very late pick.

Nominating them for the bidding process isn't a commitment to take them. We are only committed once another club has bid on them and we match it.

I think...

 

[iBeng]

I wonder if we'll send Polks to a Melbourne club for a late pick so we can grab another academy kid/Roos...

 

[dlanod]

Nominating them for the bidding process isn't a commitment to take them. We are only committed once another club has bid on them and we match it.

I think...

Nominating for the bidding process means, at the minimum, we will have to take them with a live pick if they're not bid on.

We can nominate them as a rookie which means we get to prelist them on to our rookie list if no one takes them in the ND/PSD... or we can just use our normal zone rookie picks, so I don't see any of the northern clubs using that clause very often on academy players.

 

[dlanod]

I wonder if we'll send Polks to a Melbourne club for a late pick so we can grab another academy kid/Roos...

Polks only signed a one year deal, so delisting him would open up that same list spot.

 

[Quigley]

In what order of preference would you rank Andrews, Jackson and Uebergang?

I would have Andrews a fair way in front and Jackson and Uebergang pretty close to a dead heat after that. Uebergang is a decent package who whilst he has dropped off a little did have a few runs on the board from earlier in the year. Both could end up being nice players.

 

[Crawb]

Whilst we're not getting Pick 1 (thankfully), we are probably still on track for a Top 4 pick. I think best case scenario we're finishing 15th, which is were we are now. GWS have a few winnable games to come, Melbourne a due for a win. Whilst our recent results have been good, I think we're getting a Pick in the 2-4 range.

 

[12Chill]

Jealous that you guys have rights to Ben Keays next year haha.

 

[POBT]

It occurred to me the other day that before the 2013 draft the consensus seemed to be that the quality fell away after about pick 20.

And yet the players taken from 21-29 have all been genuine successes in their first seasons. Not just Taylor, Gardiner and McStay, but also Impey, Merrett, Lemmens, Crouch and Hartung. Even Lobb has done well in his first season as a ruckman at GWS, albeit without getting much senior gametime.

It shows a couple of things: always take draft groupthink with a grain of salt, and there's more to drafting than just picking the player that most people rate the highest.

Yeah. Agree entirely.

However, it is also the case that guys like Taylor, Gardiner, Crouch slid down the draft order, which probably suggests that sometimes the groupthink is right.