Review 2017 AFL National Draft - Friday 24th November

Dow, LDU & Rayner are taken. Who do you select at pick 4?


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roos_18

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Stephenson has his knocks but he’s more then just a flanker.
I respect his game, but he's not a 30 plus possession AFL mid. Cunnington is the closest thing we have to a genuine midfielder but the rest are not. LDU, cerra, Dow look to be and Rayner is a freak
 
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We'll take 4 or 5 live picks. Just wait.
hmmm.....seems odd to trade out 45 if that were the case. I reckon Zurhaar upgrade, we use 4 and 21, and strong feeling we pick up a delisted player.....Hartung perhaps? or is he likely to get a 1 yr deal from the hawks? Thoughts?
 

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I want Stephenson or Rayner at 4

Both have high ceilings to be elite

Would not even blink before taking Cerra or Brayshaw before Stephenson.
We need to bank this pick 4.
Stephenson is a high risk selection.
Don’t mind taking a risk with 24, but this #4 is the most important selection in a decade and we must nail it.
 
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I respect his game, but he's not a 30 plus possession AFL mid. Cunnington is the closest thing we have to a genuine midfielder but the rest are not. LDU, cerra, Dow look to be and Rayner is a freak
Hopefully Rosco with his high emphasis on pressure picks Stephenson at 2 and it will be happy days.
 

giantroo

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The 2017 AFL National Draft Guide

ByMatt Palf
Posted on October 19, 2017


With the footy season finished and the trade period done and dusted, the AFL now has its sights firmly on the National Draft. While the senior players and coaches enjoy a rare ‘quiet’ spell, it’s the recruiters’ turn to get busy, with recruiting teams around the country ramping up their preparations to welcome in the next wave of talent at the Sydney Showground Exhibition Centre on the 24th of November. The work doesn’t stop at Footy Prophet either, as our team looks to bring you all the latest Draft content all the way to Draft night itself, with interviews, profiles and previews.

In this guide we’ll give you everything you need to know about the big night in November.

THE BIDDING SYSTEM

Introduced two years ago, the bidding system for Academy and Father/Son prospects has perhaps been the draft’s most confusing, and controversial, element. At the core of the bidding system are the points that the AFL have assigned to each pick. These points give each draft pick a numerical value, and when a bid is placed on a player, it determines what picks will be needed to counter that bid, after a deduction of 20%. The value of the picks are as follows:



The one change which the AFL has introduced since its inception was the removal of hidden picks to discourage teams from ‘trading down’ the draft order. These hidden picks were activated when multiple draft picks were used to acquire players, and subsequently shifted any other picks after them down the order. This rule means that clubs can only enter the draft with as many picks as they have room for on their list, and if they use multiple picks to bid on a player then the replacement picks will be added at the end of the draft.



WHO HAS WHAT PICK?
With the trade period over, we now have a good understanding of where each team’s picks are. Until the final squad lists are announced, however, we won’t know every pick.

WHO ARE THE ACADEMY AND FATHER/SON PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR THIS YEAR ?
One of the biggest stories this year revolved around the much-maligned GWS Academy, who lost a huge catchment area along the NSW/Vic border. This meant that they were not given priority access to highly regarded players such as Jarrod Brander and Charlie Spargo, with Brander a big loss in particular given he is touted as a likely top 10 pick. The Giants do still have some talent available at their disposal, however, with the likes of midfielders Jack Powell and Nick Shipley.

Their neighbours to the east, however, look like they’ll be quiet once more this year after back to back success stories in Heeney and Mills in 2014/15. James Bell certainly showed some impressive signs in the U18 Championships, however, and could be one to watch develop.

The Suns have some interesting prospects in the form of Harry Simmington and North Queensland product Kwaby Boakye, but their best talent lies in ruckman Brayden Crossley. The big man made his senior NEAFL debut as a 16 year old and impressed in his 13 games for the Suns NEAFL side in 2017.

It’s the Lions that no doubt have the pick of the academy talent now that the Giants’ reach has been reduced, with Connor Ballenden. Whilst the key position talent hasn’t progressed in his senior year as well as many hoped, there are not many 198cm players that can move and kick like him. His switch from forward to back has proven a success this year, and there is no doubt he has plenty of upside.

For father/son nominations, they are few and far between this year. Patrick Naish is certainly the standout, with Richmond no doubt hoping that they can avoid having to use their first pick on him. The winger, who can also play from half-back, can really make things happen with his outside run and big right boot, and looks likely to attract a first round bid.

Tyler Brown will likely join his brother Callum at the Magpies after a solid year for Eastern Ranges. Despite not quite matching his brother in terms of ballwinning or contested footy, Tyler looks to be more effective by foot, and being nearly 10cm taller, he has plenty of scope for development.

Perhaps the only other father/son pick likely to get snapped up in the National Draft is Jackson Edwards, son of Adelaide 300 gamer Tyson. The balanced midfielder is incredibly calm and composed in congestion, efficient on either side of his body. He lacks the acceleration that would set him apart, but he’ll certainly be on the Crows’ radar.

HOW IS THIS YEAR’S DRAFT SHAPING UP?
The 2017 Draft certainly looks like it’s sandwiched between two potential ‘superdrafts’. We all know of the talent that came out of 2016, with 26 out of the top 30 making their AFL debut this year. It’s also well understood that next year is also shaping as a Draft chock full of talent. Just a quick look at the trade period will tell you as such, with over 25 future picks traded as clubs jostle for a prime spot in the draft order.

That’s certainly not to say there isn’t any talent this year, as although it is considered a shallow draft, there are plenty of players with a big future ahead of them.




THE TOP 5
The top ten, and particularly the top four or five have set themselves apart this year, and yet again it is midfielder, and Victorian, heavy.Cameron Rayner has been long held as the favourite to be the first name called in November, and it’s easy to see why. The powerful half forward/midfielder has been one of a few to build on their promising bottom age year, and he has excelled when it counted in some huge games for Vic Metro and the Academy. He’s joined at the top by speedy inside midfielder Paddy Dow, the explosive Luke Davies-Uniacke and the classy Adam Cerra. Recruiters’ lists are a closely guarded secret, especially at the top end, but these are the names well believed to be the first four off the board.

There’s plenty of talent in and around the top 5 mark, however. Eastern Ranges star Jaidyn Stephenson has been looked at as a potential number one since he blew apart the TAC Cup final 2 years ago as 16 year old. Primarily a mid-sized forward, he’s worked on his midfield craft, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he turned out to be the best of this year’s draft – he has X-Factor in spades.

The same could be said for South Australia’s big bodied midfielder/forward Darcy Fogarty. A disappointing season, hindered by injury, has many seeing him slide out of the top ten, but prior to the start of 2017, he was well in the pick one mix. Adelaide will surely be hoping they can snap him up at 12, but he is a bona fide top 5 on talent.

I’ve been big on Western Australia’s key defender Aaron Naughton all year, and I firmly believe he should be the first tall off the board. With Fremantle now owning picks 2 and 5, they may be tempted to make a reach for the player that has been outplaying some of their listed players for Peel in the WAFL. An outstanding intercept defender, with elite agility and an impressive tank, he ticks plenty of boxes.




WHO ARE THE VALUE PICKS?
Two ACL surgeries meant Aiden Bonar missed the majority of his junior footy, but some fine performances at the end of the year along with a superb combine performance give the impression he is well over those troubles. Despite rocketing up the ranks into first round contention there is no doubt the powerful forward/inside mid is still very undervalued on potential heading into the draft.

Another likely first rounder who seems to be sliding down the rankings is Morrish Medal winner Jack Higgins. A lot of pundits have him in the 10-20 range but he is another that could well be considered in the top 5. A natural footballer, the small forward/midfielder has the ability to win a game off his own back, and is so determined to be the best, that I wouldn’t want to bet against him becoming it.

Value could also be found in ex-basketballerJack Petruccelle and ex-cricketer Nathan Murphy. Both have had limited exposure to footy, with Murphy only making the decision to focus on footy late in the year and Petruccelle making the switch in 2016. Murphy can play as a mid-sized forward or defender, and has been impressing more and more as the year has progressed, especially considering his scope for improvement. The super quick and agile winger Petruccelle has had an inconsistent year, but when he’s been ‘on’, he’s looked as good as anyone in this draft. Great overhead, incredible agility and quick hands.

Perhaps the biggest value of all will be this from year’s Western Australian cohort, who were given little fanfare heading into the season. After a string of stunning performances in the U18 Championships, the likes of Larke Medalist Oscar Allen and Brayden Ainsworth put themselves well in the recruiters’ eyes, and after eyecatching performances in the combines from Ben Miller, Kyron Hayden and Brandon Starcevich, they could well gatecrash Draft night
 
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giantroo

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Weight of Grief and Expectation Can’t Slow Stephenson

ByCraig Byrnes
Posted on August 23, 2017


The 2015 TAC Cup Grand Final between Oakleigh and the Eastern Ranges produced a quality contest that saw the Chargers ultimately bring home the silverware in a tight tussle, but is equally remembered for the emergence of a lively, fresh faced 16 year old. While recruiters had their immediate mindset on draft eligible names like Ryan Clarke, Tom Phillips, Blake Hardwick and Ben Crocker, a kid by the name of Jaidyn Stephenson stole the limelight with his electrifying pace, x-factor and goal sense.


It is now almost two years since that eye-catching three goal performance and his opportunity of finding an AFL club is now less than three months away. Having seen two lots of teammates get drafted and now become regular AFL players, the wait has appeared an eternity. “It has been a long time coming though, like I’ve seen Ryan Clarke and Sam Weideman all training for the combine and then Gallucci and Begley last year, its finally my turn,” Stephenson said with excitement.

After an impressive bottom age season at Eastern that saw the dynamic forward kick 23 goals in 11 games, he entered the 2017 season as a genuine contender for the No.1 pick and justified the hype with a five goal, best on ground performance in Round 1. Although with that tag comes expectation, and ultimately greater attention from the opposition as he got more opportunities up the ground.
“It was hard at the start of the year. The last few years it’s been pretty easy, especially playing as that deep forward. This year I’ve been getting a lot more attention early on and you have a bloke on your shoulder every time you come out there.You get two or three quick touches and the (opposition) runner would come out (and say) ‘don’t let him get a touch and stay on him’“, he explained.

Stephenson described his pre-championships form as “average”. He wasn’t playing bad football, but wasn’t meeting his own lofty standards in the new found wing role. Finding the ball up the ground didn’t come as instinctively as playing in the forward arc at first, while constant opposition attention meant rapid development in the position was difficult.

“I think he’d beat me over 20 (metres), but 50 plus I’ve probably got him”

Although a turning point wasn’t far away and a return to the output we all knew existed came in a big way. The championships provided freedom and a greater opportunity to learn the role, before it all came together at Etihad Stadium against South Australia. He would produce arguably the most impressive individual performance of the tournament, gathering 28 disposals and a remarkable five goals. You could see the confidence build with every possession, as he showcased his athletic attributes and destroyed the Crow-eaters on the offensive side of the contest.

Stephenson was quick to acknowledge the contribution of his teammates too. “It’s the best team game I’ve played in for a long time. Everyone was out there playing for each other and I guess that’s why we won by so much,”

Since returning to Eastern, the wing role is now coming more naturally and he is far more involved, but most importantly has created the opportunity to showcase his vicious turn of speed. Describing the willingness to take the game on with his pace as a key strength, it begged the question as to who is the fastest between he and Vic Metro teammate Jack Petruccelle.

“I think he’d beat me over 20 (metres), but 50 plus I’ve probably got him,” Stephenson stated with a respectful confidence. “Most 100 metre races I do at school I’m always a slow starter and once I start moving I can hit that top speed,”

It would be a fascinating race. Petruccelle recorded an electrifying 2.82 second 20 metre sprint earlier in the year to Jaidyn’s also impressive 2.91 seconds, but the latter has a remarkable 10.97 second 100 metre time up his sleeve. Hopefully, there is a finals one on one match-up to see the score settled!


While Stephenson’s athletic profile indicates he could become one of the most dangerous players available on the outside, in recent weeks he has been given the opportunity to develop his inside game and the results have been noteworthy. In Round 15 against Sandringham, he gathered 39 disposals which included 22 contested possessions and five clearances. “It was actually 40, they robbed me of one. It was a kick off the ground at goal that they didn’t get, which I was shattered with,” he described jokingly, a character trait that makes him immediately likeable.

“It was good (playing as an inside midfielder), I didn’t really know what I was doing in there to be honest, so I just ran around, chased the ball and tried to get to every contest. I thought I did alright on the day, then I looked at the footage and I was a bit too stationary at stages when I was hit too. I think I need to learn to get on the move a bit more at those stoppages,” he described with honesty.

It is a quality that stands out as soon as you speak to Jaidyn, he understands where he is at with his football and is open to what improvements need to be made. Field kicking is an area of scope that has presented itself since moving up the ground and he has already implemented plans to get on top of it.

“It’s not more the kick, it’s the consistency I need to find. I’ve been working at training on that and spending more time watching the ball onto my foot. Sometimes I forget to take two or three slow down steps to get your balance and kick at goal, so I’ve missed a few there as well,” he explains.

On face value, Stephenson comes across as your everyday talented young footballer with the world at his feet, but there is a sad chapter to his story.

He, Sam Hayes and Riley Nicholas are all from the Ferntree Gully Football Club, a sporting community that is still grieving from the tragic deaths of Niall Hargreaves and Jack Fitzsimmons last November. Jaidyn was particularly close to Niall, who was a very talented footballer in his own right. They first met at under 12 trials and developed a friendship from there. The two both ended up at St Joseph’s College, where Jaidyn was able to talk Niall into switching from his original club of South Wantirna to Ferntree Gully and they became great mates.

“The morning after he passed, I was supposed to be playing golf with him. Mum woke me up and said ‘Jaidyn, Jaidyn’. I thought I was late for golf and she said Niall has passed away. It was a pretty tough time,”

“I tried to get on with it, he is still always in your memories. I don’t know what I was doing early season, I couldn’t get into it.

A tough time would be an understatement, as Jaidyn would be assigned the task of the eulogy at his mate’s funeral. When dealing with such grief, the expectation of anyone would be to shut down and switch off from usual duties. Although that was hard for Jaidyn and he found himself back at training within a week, not knowing exactly how much of a toll the situation had taken.

“I did struggle for a little bit. That Friday we had the 2km time trial at Eastern. I’m usually about a 6.30ish (minutes) sort of time trial at that time of the season. My legs could not go and all these people are passing me. My legs just couldn’t do it and I ran like a 7.37 or something. I guess I didn’t realise how much it had actually taken out of me,”

Footy would end up playing an important role in the grieving process though, as it has done in similar cases involving Ollie Florent, Phil Walsh, Jarrad McVeigh and John McCarthy in recent years.

“Going to Darwin, training at North Melbourne and then off to America, I think they were all pretty good distractions. Apart from Mick Ablett and Nicky Couston (the National Talent Wellbeing Manager), none of the boys really knew what had happened, so it didn’t get talked about. It was a good escape to get my mind off it,” he described.

It is easy to associate the effects of such a tragic event being a key factor of Stephenson’s minor early season blip on the radar form wise, but he refuses to make such excuses.

“I tried to get on with it, he is still always in your memories. I don’t know what I was doing early season, I couldn’t get into it. I guess the tag, I didn’t really know how to deal with it. It could have played a part, but I’m certainly not blaming it on that,”

The fact he has been able to carry on with minimal fuss and determination to succeed, proves the character and mental strength that he possesses.
After being viewed as one of the most sought after juniors in the country for a long period of time, Stephenson has to be admired for the way he has dealt with expectation and life’s challenges. The return to form has been pleasing for many in the industry as he is one of those people that you just don’t hear a bad word about.

While he is currently fulfilling his potential in the midfield and taking inspiration from the way Josh Kelly plays, his elite forward traits just can’t be forgotten. With word circulating of Brisbane’s keen interest recently, don’t expect him to be falling too far down the order come November.

http://footyprophet.com/weight-of-grief-and-expectation-cant-slow-stephenson/
 

giantroo

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Hmmm, watches Josh Kelly....

While he is currently fulfilling his potential in the midfield and taking inspiration from the way Josh Kelly plays, his elite forward traits just can’t be forgotten. With word circulating of Brisbane’s keen interest recently, don’t expect him to be falling too far down the order come November.
 
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Shermanator

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Jesus Christ, this kid should have an Athletics Australia scholarship
Like I said throw him on the wing from RD 1.. In 3 years time he will be an inside/outside force in the Fyfe mould.
 

Kanga1996

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The 2017 AFL National Draft Guide

There’s plenty of talent in and around the top 5 mark, however. Eastern Ranges star Jaidyn Stephenson has been looked at as a potential number one since he blew apart the TAC Cup final 2 years ago as 16 year old. Primarily a mid-sized forward, he’s worked on his midfield craft, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he turned out to be the best of this year’s draft – he has X-Factor in spades.
Torn between Cerra and Stephenson,Comments like these don't help and we have to remember that Cerra only played 2 games last year.





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Groucho

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Torn between Cerra and Stephenson,Comments like these don't help and we have to remember that Cerra only played 2 games last year.





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Stephenson for me. Forget all this high risk high reward stuff I reckon he 's a dead cert and if we don't take him if available then we'll regret it .
 
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