2015 Draft Discussion

[Bucking Beads]

So we've got a Robbie Gray clone and a Harris Andrews clone coming through the academy this season... Keen for these boys to get our guernsey on!!

 

[xplo]

From what I have seen he reminds me of Robbie Gray. Just a few things like his tenacity towards the ball, inside winning ability and also his ability to Impact the scoreboard. I heard Schwab liken him to Terry Wallace in that he just turns up to play no matter where. Was only a kid when Wallace played so others here might be able to show the comparison.

Plough was like Diesel Williams. Long torso, shortish legs, great balance, low centre of gravity, hard to bring down, not quick over the ground but great hands. Plough was well suited for wet, mucky grounds and lots of stoppages. The grounds are better now, but tactics have re-engineered lots of stoppages.

I can see that a bit in Keays.

 

[Fatcat08]

Been mentioned a bit on the drafts board that he has similarities to sidebottom in that he gets a lot of the ball without looking terribly athletic. Tends to get to the right place a lot.

 

[whatboutbob]

Been mentioned a bit on the drafts board that he has similarities to sidebottom in that he gets a lot of the ball without looking terribly athletic. Tends to get to the right place a lot.

...and the goal sense. Yeah, I like that comparison.

 

[WhiteLionFeva]

Been mentioned a bit on the drafts board that he has similarities to sidebottom in that he gets a lot of the ball without looking terribly athletic. Tends to get to the right place a lot.

Sounds like Rocky but doesn't play like him.

 

[acuguy]

Maybe a bit of Scotty West in him from what I have seen

 

[POBT]

Maybe a bit of Scotty West in him from what I have seen

I reckon that's a good comparison too. He's probably a bit bigger and a little less "inside" though.

 

[xplo]

I reckon that's a good comparison too. He's probably a bit bigger and a little less "inside" though.

West started very 'outside' on a wing. It was really only the end of Libba, Chocco Royal, Simon Adkins, Stephen Wallis etc that forced him 'inside'. A little like Jude Bolton in that regard. Looked light, blonde and a little soft in his first two years but put paid to that pretty soon after. He came through in a good crop but none of those Leon Cameron, Roh Smith, Brad Johnson types etc were very good in-and-under, so he got the tap on the shoulder.

 

[Forward We Go]

I hope that the Lions recruiters are workshopping how to get more than just Keays & Hipwood on their lists. IMO, Wagner,William & Chol are also going to be AFL footballers and ones that should be wearing a Lions jumper if possible. With the "go home" factor so devastating for Brisbane, these kids are perfect profiles to be long term clubmen.

 

[xplo]

I hope that the Lions recruiters are workshopping how to get more than just Keays & Hipwood on their lists. IMO, Wagner,William & Chol are also going to be AFL footballers and ones that should be wearing a Lions jumper if possible. With the "go home" factor so devastating for Brisbane, these kids are perfect profiles to be long term clubmen.

If we could wrangle a late second round pick as part of the Aish thing I'd be happy to grab Williams. Not sure if we have enough available points to snag anyone else this year (assuming we get Keays & Hipwood).

Maybe Wagner makes it through to rookie list. I feel there's been too much talk about Chol for him to not get drafted late by someone.

 

[thoselionslads]

I've seen a fair bit of Keays over the last 18 months and he is very similar to Dayne Beams at the same age. Good ability on the inside, with a great ability to accumulate on the outside, good but not elite kick, goal-kicking mid. I imagine he could play a similar role to Dayne did in his first season at the Pies as a high half forward for us next year.

 

[neg99]

If we could wrangle a late second round pick as part of the Aish thing I'd be happy to grab Williams. Not sure if we have enough available points to snag anyone else this year (assuming we get Keays & Hipwood).

Maybe Wagner makes it through to rookie list. I feel there's been too much talk about Chol for him to not get drafted late by someone.

I don't think we'll need something that high. From 56 onwards we can use late picks for free anyway and the points drop off fast after the second round. I'd surprised if Williams Wagner and Chol are too much higher than 3rd rounders and I think we'd have no issues going into debt for our 3rd rounder next year to get them.


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[captainrich]

I don't think we'll need something that high. From 56 onwards we can use late picks for free anyway and the points drop off fast after the second round. I'd surprised if Williams Wagner and Chol are too much higher than 3rd rounders and I think we'd have no issues going into debt for our 3rd rounder next year to get them.


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really? what has chol shown? been alot of hype about reuben and everyone seems to rate what wagner has to offer, not as sure about chol

 

[jjami15]

Williams and Wagner will be Lions next year. It's a weak draft supposedly and we would now exactly what we would be getting with these two and it won't really cost us more than a third rounder.

 

[neg99]

really? what has chol shown? been alot of hype about reuben and everyone seems to rate what wagner has to offer, not as sure about chol

Xplo was the one talking about Chol, I was just pointing out I doubt any of the 3 would be bid on before the 3rd round...


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[AFLQLD]

The talk of a weak draft keeps coming up everywhere. But it strikes me that it may be a weak draft for everyone but us. It looks pretty strong from our perspective.

Pick 2 plus Keays plus Hipwood gives us effectively three picks in roughly the first 25 to 30 picks regardless of where the two academy boys are actually taken. They are top 30 players, perhaps even top 15 according to some. There seems to be agreement that the draft only weakens after the top 30 or so and it is really the late second round on that the weakness exists.

This draft looks like it could be delivering us three genuine quality players which means it will be as strong as the last two at least. If we did get a start of second rounder for Leuey then we are possibly in for four players in the first 30.

I know trading may upset the actual pick order yet but the potential is there for this draft to be a very special one for the Lions.

Everyone else can call it a weak draft but it might be a golden draft for us.

 

[Old Den]

I hope that the Lions recruiters are workshopping how to get more than just Keays & Hipwood on their lists. IMO, Wagner,William & Chol are also going to be AFL footballers and ones that should be wearing a Lions jumper if possible. With the "go home" factor so devastating for Brisbane, these kids are perfect profiles to be long term clubmen.

I am sure that William is going to be taken in the National Draft and I think we will need to nominate him to have any chance of getting him - that way when another club calls out his name we can make a decision about the points situation.

 

[whatboutbob]

I am sure that William is going to be taken in the National Draft and I think we will need to nominate him to have any chance of getting him - that way when another club calls out his name we can make a decision about the points situation.

Do the Lions still need to nominate them? I think that changed with the introduction of the points system. dlanod...

FWIW I too am confident William (NB to others - it is not Williams) will be picked up in the ND.

 

[dlanod]

Do the Lions still need to nominate them? I think that changed with the introduction of the points system. dlanod...

FWIW I too am confident William (NB to others - it is not Williams) will be picked up in the ND.

I think we still do, but it's not what people were considering nominations last year. We still have the initial nomination step that saw us nominate eight last year, including Dawson, Andrews, Hammelmann, Uebergang and others. However when it comes to the bidding, we no longer nominate who we want to take in the ND explicitly - instead that's done by other clubs nominating our players where they think they're worth.

Relevant dates:

Friday 25 September 2pm - Draft Eligible Academy Player Nominations Lodged

Friday 30 October 2pm - Nomination of Draft Eligible Father/Son Players Lodged

If we nominate the academy players we don't have to match for them, if we nominate them and no one takes them we can prelist them as rookies (Hammelmann last year). It's just that we don't choose who to put forward for the bidding, instead that's done live as part of the draft.

 

[whatboutbob]

Ah, ok. I just remember making a mental note that the Lions didn't have to show their cards as much as in previous years. Ta.

 

[thoselionslads]

I'm not as big as others on William. I think his ball use really lets him down at times, but does have some really nice attributes. I think if he has a future in the AFL its is as a forward/winger.

What do people see as his strengths besides his athleticism and ability to accumulate?

 

[POBT]

The talk of a weak draft keeps coming up everywhere. But it strikes me that it may be a weak draft for everyone but us. It looks pretty strong from our perspective.

Pick 2 plus Keays plus Hipwood gives us effectively three picks in roughly the first 25 to 30 picks regardless of where the two academy boys are actually taken. They are top 30 players, perhaps even top 15 according to some. There seems to be agreement that the draft only weakens after the top 30 or so and it is really the late second round on that the weakness exists.

This draft looks like it could be delivering us three genuine quality players which means it will be as strong as the last two at least. If we did get a start of second rounder for Leuey then we are possibly in for four players in the first 30.

I know trading may upset the actual pick order yet but the potential is there for this draft to be a very special one for the Lions.

Everyone else can call it a weak draft but it might be a golden draft for us.

I also think that people have failed to factor in the influence of the Academies in producing more top end talent out of Qld and NSW. 5 of the top 20 look likely to be from Academies. Using Twomey's phantom draft of a couple of months ago, that potentially includes pick 3, 5, 9, 14 and 15. There has never been that sort of production out of the non-football states before. What that means is that the Vic/WA/SA clubs get better players with lower picks. The kid who might have been pick 12 before the Academies started delivering more talent is now available at pick 18.

If the non-football states previously produced about 1 elite junior player a year previously, and the Academies can lift that to 4 or 5 a year, then the quality of the drafts will inevitably improve.

 

[POBT]

What do people see as his strengths besides his athleticism and ability to accumulate?

I think he reads play really well, particularly when playing back half. I see him as someone with pretty good nous.

 

[Fatcat08]

I'm not as big as others on William. I think his ball use really lets him down at times, but does have some really nice attributes. I think if he has a future in the AFL its is as a forward/winger.

What do people see as his strengths besides his athleticism and ability to accumulate?

I haven't seen a whole lot of him but I do like his tendency to run off the half backline and with decent angles. Unless you're absolutely fantastic at it, the whole chip around possession game is very hard to replicate in finals especially. If we're going to be a force in finals down the track then i think our run and carry from that part of the ground/especially through the middle needs to be much better, it breaks open defensive structures. Harwood does that sometimes (and has scope for improvement) but I like the look of William in that regard. Still the issue is finishing the work and not turning it over remains but at least he goes for it a bit. Thats only in my limited uneducated viewing of him so I may be off the mark for the majority of the time.

 

[SizeMatters]

Do the academies now have an advantage over traditional footballing pathways in the footy States in terms of player development?