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Universal Love 2016 Draft Discussion

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This is Quigley 's Draft Ranking

1. Sam Petrevski-Seton

Petrevski-Seton is at the pointy end of most mock drafts but having him go first will surprise some. To me SPS is quite simply the best player in this draft. At number 1 I want someone who can take over a game and dominate and SPS is the guy I see doing this most often. The other guys I would consider at 1 I think will be very good players but I could easily see them playing forward or back and not really making it in the midfield. SPS is a pure midfielder.

If you are looking for a comparison to a current player I would say he reminds me of a young Shaun Burgoyne. Like Burgoyne he is good on the outside but he is at his most dangerous in tight. SPS' vision and awareness in the contest is fantastic and streets ahead of anyone else in this draft. He has an uncanny ability to know where his teammates are and hit them and he is very smart about how he goes about it. I have watched him keep the ball down low or out in front of himself where most would bring into their body and in doing so it allows him to get the ball away rather than be wrapped up. Very much like Burgoyne he is one of those players who seems to have time in the contest. He is composed and innately knows where he needs to go to buy himself the time he needs. He picks the seams really well and he has an explosive first couple of steps that lets him clear packs. When he is in the grasp he is strong and well balanced and keeps his arms free well. He reads the taps as well as anyone in this draft and his hands are right there to receive the ball cleanly. He has confidence in his ability to collect at pace and he regularly attacks the ball at pace and comes away with it. I like Brodie and Ainsworth as inside prospects but I consider SPS a tier above.

SPS has had hamstring injuries this year and that is a bit of a concern if they look like they could be chronic. I do not think he has been as fit as he can be but that is understandable and explains a fair bit for me why he perhaps did not have the season many expected of him. He was the standout 17 year old last year and for me was the clear cut number one prospect coming into the year. The injuries affected his season and he did not reach the heights that I think are available to him. With that said, I liked the development I saw in his kicking this year and that was a very big plus for me. Last year his kicking was a bit rough around the edges and that was my big question mark about him. This year he still has had games and parts of games where his kicking falls away but at other times his kicking has looked elite. He is good off either foot now and some of his kicking into 50 has been top shelf. He has shown the ability to weight his kicks really nicely and lead his forwards well. There is still room to improve his consistency but the curve has trended up markedly and if that continues he is going to have kicking in the class of Burgoyne as well before long. By hand he is good and can have good penetration although not always so.

As already mentioned SPS is explosive over the first couple of steps and generally his straight line speed is good. Not elite, but he is not getting run down by a lot of people. In tight I think he is very deceptive. He does not appear terribly elusive but he is very difficult to tackle. He has a nice little body swerve that not many opponents can read and a go-to spin move which gets him in and out of trouble nicely. He is a well-balanced player and has the ability to go left or right at any time and does not seem to telegraph where he is going to go.

SPS will play some time up forward especially early in his career and I can see him being serviceable without being in the same category of forward as McCluggage or Ainsworth, both of whom are clearly superior forward prospects. Petrevski-Seton is a pretty good contested mark for his size and reads and moves to space well. When he is playing through the midfield he will more often play behind the ball rather than working forward into the forward 50. He does play that role well and gets where he is needed defensively and provides a nice avenue forward. He is not a big runner with the ball but when he gets out in space he can cover the ground.

For me there are 6 clear top prospects this year and SPS is head and shoulders the hardest defensive worker through the midfield of that group. He is the one that will appear deep in defence when needed. He tackles well both in tight and in space and he works hard to close down a man even when he is not going to get there. That perceived pressure I think is very underrated by most but I am sure top line coaches know how much that is worth if you have a team doing it.

SPS has an enormously high football IQ and I think has a very good chance of ending up being the best player to come out of this draft.
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20. Zac Fisher

Yep he is short. That makes things more difficult for him but I am glad we have moved into a stage where that is no longer terminal for his AFL career. We operate in a copycat league and with Caleb Daniel succeeding as he did last year teams are going to be more willing than ever to take a punt on shorter guys. Fisher is shorter than ideal but at 175cm he is only 2cm shorter than McGrath and Ainsworth who are likely to be taken in the top 3 or 4. Fisher played WAFL seniors all year and has shown he can adapt to playing against senior bodies. In the WAFL, Fisher averaged a very nice 19.2 disposals a game.

Fisher was selected in the All Australian side and won the award for WA's player of the Champs, averaging 21.5 disposals a game through the midfield. He consistently gave his team first use of the ball and provided great run forward. Fisher is one of those players who gets the ball and flows forward. He keeps his head up when running forward and assesses options nicely across all three levels. Execution-wise he could be better at hitting those targets but technically I am not seeing much wrong with his kicking that some time in a fully professional program will not fix. He is a left footer and looks stylish, like a lot of lefties do, and whilst he can have ordinary results at times he is certainly trending in the right direction after coming from the clouds a bit this season.

Fisher has a one for one handball to kick ratio which is pretty normal for a mid who wins as many balls inside as he does. I rate his handball skills highly and he often delivers his handballs with the zip that other mids lack. I am not sure Fisher is an elite read of the ball off hands but he moves through traffic very nicely and is excellent at positioning himself in the right spots. This positioning intelligence applies not only when he is on the inside but also when he is moving forwards. He will position himself to receive, run and deliver. He is not one of those guys who is always flatfooted facing away from goals.

I am not sure I have described this before but Fisher is a player who has really good fingertip control. He is not one of those inside mids who has big mitts that swallow up the ball, instead he controls the ball with his fingertips and he is very effective in gathering and directing the ball like that. I would classify him as a clean player who has excellent feel for the ball. Fisher plays the game with speed and makes good use of the pace that he has. He is very good at putting on a burst of pace to get into the right position to receive and he does it early so his teammate gets time to realise that he is there and in a position to receive. The player I think he plays most like is Jack Steven of the Saints. If he keeps developing as he has, he could give a team the kind of things that Steven brings to the Saints.

A wrist injury late in the year impinged on his ability to finish off the year with a flourish but as far as I am aware there is nothing in the injury which should affect his offseason. He did some of the tests at the Combine and I am not sure how much the injury affected his preparation. Hopefully it affected his beep test preparation as he only managed a 12.5 which is very poor for anyone but particularly a mid. His 10.58 in the 3km was better and would reassure teams that perhaps there is a bit of endurance there to work with. His 3.03 in the 20m was a bit slower than I expected given the way he plays but was acceptable and his 25.31 repeat sprint time was good, being in the top 20%. The beep test is a little bit of a concern but overall I thought the testing pretty much reflected a kid who has not really done this type of thing before and although it didn't do any favours I would have not thought it hurt him too much especially given the injury uncertainty.
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25. Harrison Macreadie

At the beginning of the year Macreadie was being talked about as a possible number 1 pick after making the All Australian team last year. I always thought that was a bit fanciful and I had him more in the 10-20 range rather than right at the pointy end of the draft. He has slipped a bit since that time but I still think he is a good prospect for what he is and I am sure GWS are not worried about picking him up cheaper. He never had the skillset of someone like Weitering to be a defender who was in consideration to be taken at number 1.

Macreadie should end up a very solid AFL defender and possibly better than that. I would perhaps compare him to his captain at GWS, Phil Davis. Davis is a good player who is a very valuable member of his team but he is never going to be one of the stars of the competition or even of his own side. He will bring his lunch pail, do a job and involve himself a bit going the other way.

The one thing which Macreadie needs to do is play within his capabilities more. I think he read his press clippings a bit this year and often tried to do more than he should with the ball in his hands. He has solid skills but he is not an elite user of the ball and often went for too much with his kicks. I saw the Qld v NSW game live this year with Watson at one end and Macreadie at the other. It was very clear to me that Watson was a much better user of the ball notwithstanding Macreadie did not seem to realise that and was going for the same type of kicks. Those kicks were coming off for Watson but not for Macreadie but he kept going for them. That is not to say that Macreadie has poor skills, in fact he is pretty decent by foot and I think once he starts just using the open targets he should operate at a very high percentage. He did take a fair few kick ins this year and coaches do not let players who can't kick do that. Under pressure Macreadie seems composed but he does cough it up a bit, especially by hand.

Macreadie did not test at the Combine but he did measure well at 195.5 and if the heights can be believed he is one of the few KPDs this year who have good height in the new supersized AFL. Macreadie plays as a CHB and should do that at AFL level as well. He gets around the park really nicely and from watching him play I would suggest his endurance and speed testing are good for a KP without being elite. The big strength athletically I notice when I watch him is his agility. For a big guy he stops and goes very nicely and he is fluid and sharp with his changes of direction.

He is already over 90kgs and plays with strength. He is not often overpowered. When he is beaten it is often because he has given his opponent too much space and has been caught out of position. He seems a confident player who backs himself but occasionally that will lead him to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and he will find himself looking silly. That is not that common though and he benefited from playing with Garthwaite who took the close checking jobs that allowed Macreadie scope to play a looser role. He takes quite a few intercept marks but I would not say he is elite overhead either in regards to his hands or his reading of the play. He is good enough at both those but there are a few better marking defenders available this year. I like the chase that Macreadie can sometimes bring out. He will work hard and he will make sure the guy he is chasing has to operate under pressure.

I see Macreadie as a bit of a conundrum at the moment. I rate his football IQ and he does a lot of smart things on the football field. By the same token he also does quite a few things which a guy of his smarts should not. I think a bit of coaching and settling into a clearly defined role will help him a lot and GWS should end up with a very nice player if they match the bids on him.
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30. Patrick Kerr

If you categorise Himmelberg as a KPD, I would probably have Kerr as the second KPF off the board after Marshall. Some would have Battle next but the weaknesses of Kerr I think are less career limiting than Battle's are. Kerr is probably ahead of Marshall on production this year and current state but it’s hard not to take Marshall ahead of Kerr on potential. I see Kerr potentially developing into a nice second or third banana but I find it hard to see him being the primary focus of a forward line. Marshall I could see leading an offence.

Kerr is a bit of a straight line player who leads hard out from goal. He does his best work in the forward 50 out to about a kick and a half from goal. He is not going to be a wide-ranging type. He can sustain a lead but I am just not seeing him having the tank to run an opponent into the ground. He has been criticised for not having enough strings to his bow but I am not as worried as some. Kerr has a nice burst to get separation and as mentioned he can sustain a lead. He is not going to use sharp cuts or multiple leads but as a second forward he is going to give you a target and create space for his fellow forwards to lead into. He is not going to clutter up the forward 50 mucking around with repeat leads in the other forward’s lanes. Kerr is already a big body and he is only going to get stronger. There are not a lot of wrestling forwards at the moment but the ones that are good at it are effective and I think that could become his second fiddle. If nothing he will give his team a physical presence up forward and he is not afraid to crash a pack and get the ball to the ground for his small brigade. For those going back a few years I would compare Kerr to Daniel Bradshaw who was very effective playing opposite Jonathan Brown. If Kerr can play off a similarly talented primary target I expect him to have a similarly successful career.

Kerr managed a very respectable 9 goals at the Champs and showed some really nice hands above his head. Somewhat surprisingly for me he also managed a couple of very good crumbing goals with snaps from spillages. Overall I would consider his work when the ball hits the ground to be a weakness. Below his knees he is not very clean and too often is standing around and not moving to position himself to be an option or to win the ball himself. When he is not the focus of a play he is too often stagnant, offering his team mates nothing. He gets a large percentage of his possessions from marks and he needs to work harder to position himself to receive from handballs and to win the ball when it is in dispute.

It is similar defensively where Kerr seems to think he is above the defensive side of the game. I can tell you he is going to be quickly disabused of that notion when he hits the AFL. He is going to get a swift kick up the arse every time he slacks off and I am expecting him to have trouble sitting down for the first half season or so. He had only one tackle in all his TAC and Championship games. That is quite simply not good enough even for a KPF. He has the pace to close down opponents he just lacks the inclination at the moment.

I was very interested in his endurance results coming into the Combine but unfortunately he didn’t test. If I was to guess I think he would have returned a beep test in the low 13s or perhaps even in the 12s. Agility is often quoted as another weakness of Kerr's and for good reason. He does not do well when he has to stop and go or change direction violently. His pace seems good for a power forward type and I think if he can use a block or push off he should be able to get and sustain separation.

There are differing opinions on Kerr's kicking ability. Some really rate it whilst others consider it a weakness. Personally I am somewhere in the middle. I think he is a very capable kick but he has a bit of a variable style which can results in misses of targets and shots on goal. Sometimes he closes his body too much whilst at others he leaves himself too open. Work needs to be done to ensure that he does the same thing every time he kicks the ball. He has a good punching handball that is delivered with power.

Overall Kerr is a fair prospect but I would not want to overpay for him. Next year has a really good crop of KPFs, a significant number of whom I would have well ahead of Kerr as a prospect. If you get him for bargain all's good, but I would not be overpaying for him.
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Azul said:
you should be thanking MrsCoach16 - if slobbering :drunk: yowie hadn't found her so pleasing... ;)
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She does deserve some credit, poor thing. He had her cornered, and I remember him showering her with the little bits of food that he was spitting out as he spoke....
 
Looking good! At the very, very, very least I can see the NBs playing exciting footy and moving up the ladder quick smart in 2017. By 2018 there will be intense pressure for spots in the senior team with little sprouts becoming big sprouts (not brussel sprouts!) all over the place!
 

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rog1995 said:
Williamson could be a Walker clone. Except a better kick.
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With these exceptional athletes that have nice kicking skills and IQ, my primary concern is whether they'll attack the contest and put their bodies on the line.

That's one major obstacle to being a successful AFL player.

Any pick in the 60's is a low probability of success, hoping for some good signs from Tom next year.
 
Harry Mackay is practically a new recruit for us as well, plus I expect big things from CJ (CharlieJack) next season, plus Weiters to keep growing.

Exciting times ahead, there is a foundation now for our next premiership side, i dream that SPS plays a blinder and kicks the winning goal against Richmond in rnd 1.

I am not easily impressed, but tonight again was superb work by Silvangi and his brains trust. Superb.
 

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Reading Quigleys summary, am I the only one who reads Fevola in his description of Kerr?
If so, I like it!!!
Love those straight ahead lead up forwards. Call me old fashioned but it's how I like to see the game played.
 
RiteBak@Ya said:
I think it'd be 2020 before Marshall gets a look in . Kids gunna get monstered in the sanfl
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If he gets a consistent run at it, by this time next year he'll be 95 kgs and pushing for a senior berth. Played through injury this year and if it's in his rear view mirror he's going to put on size.

As for the SANFL, thanks for the laugh. The state leagues are now so far behind it's a joke to consider them a hindrance for any kid picked in the top 30.

LemmingMaster said:
Carlton people need to just swap draft spots of Kerr and Fisher. Then everyone would be happy.
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If it had've been Atley's name instead of Fisher, I'd still be doing cartwheels.
 
I hate when you guys kill it!

See a lot of Zach Merrett in Fisher, Macredie had an average year but you don't lose talent, with his attributes he's every chance to be the best tall from the draft. Kerr in the 60's is ridiculous, had a better champs than Marshall or Battle and SPS is going to be so damn influential. SOS bringing the goods again.
 
Jimmae said:
If he gets a consistent run at it, by this time next year he'll be 95 kgs and pushing for a senior berth. Played through injury this year and if it's in his rear view mirror he's going to put on size.

As for the SANFL, thanks for the laugh. The state leagues are now so far behind it's a joke to consider them a hindrance for any kid picked in the top 30.


If it had've been Atley's name instead of Fisher, I'd still be doing cartwheels.
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You shouldn't be sweatin' it about Atley jimmae....you got Macreadie at 50 who you picked at 15. What a win.
 

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