2018 Draft thread

[mish33]

I'm hoping the younger Berry develops along the lines of the younger Crouch. Wasn't as highly touted going into his draft year either (may have even been picked up a bit earlier than expected too?). Has since gone past big bro in most respects.

If young Thomas comes in with a little bit to prove to the footy world, that can't be a bad thing.

 

[jackess]

I'm hoping the younger Berry develops along the lines of the younger Crouch. Wasn't as highly touted going into his draft year either (may have even been picked up a bit earlier than expected too?). Has since gone past big bro in most respects.

If young Thomas comes in with a little bit to prove to the footy world, that can't be a bad thing.

TBerry is much, much better athletically. He’ll be a different player.

 

[Bicks]

 

[Bicks]

TBerry is much, much better athletically. He’ll be a different player.

Saw plenty of the Crouch boys and the Berry boys Ballarat Rebels footy, Tom is much, much more Brad Crouch than Matt Crouch. Matt Crouch as a junior was an inside bull ball magnet with poor endurance mainly due to being unable to do any pre-seasons due to his cricket commitments [Victorian State Junior rep (wicket-keeper)], A grade for Melbourne CC at 16. Tom has Matty's contested ball winning ability plus with his speed and agility he's very good on the outside. Very good when used forward with his leap and strong hands overhead, took a mark of the year contender on the forward flank here at Mars Stadium early in the year before his injury woes. Tom's only slight weakness is his kicking which can be a tad inconsistent, just needs to lift the eyes a bit more before putting it on the boot, that said he's a 55 metre kick when he pulls the trigger.

 

[bungalow_bill]

Never thought I'd say this but our current team is shaping up to potentially be as good (or perhaps almost as good) as the 2001-2004 era team.

 

[Cousin Jed]

Post draft euphoria just peaked

 

[POBT]

Never thought I'd say this but our current team is shaping up to potentially be as good (or perhaps almost as good) as the 2001-2004 era team.

Wow!

 

[Hollow Knight]

 

[briztoon]

One question that keeps nagging away in the background for me is young Berry. Part of me hopes we haven’t been caught up in the nostalgia of the two brothers being together. I haven’t seen much of Tom so would appreciate if the draft watchers could drop a few thoughts strengths weaknesses etc. and whether in your view this is a good selection or a bit of a reach.


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Berry jr is basically a bigger, stronger version of Zac Bailey. Elite speed and agility, with better endurance. Just needs to get his disposal sorted and his body right from several consecutive contact injuries.

 

[Comeback Lions]

Never thought I'd say this but our current team is shaping up to potentially be as good (or perhaps almost as good) as the 2001-2004 era team.

No one to rival Martin Pike or Darryl White yet.

 

[jonnobackpocket]

Never thought I'd say this but our current team is shaping up to potentially be as good (or perhaps almost as good) as the 2001-2004 era team.

Love where it's heading but this is premature mate.

 

[Tassie4ever]

Never thought I'd say this but our current team is shaping up to potentially be as good (or perhaps almost as good) as the 2001-2004 era team.

I'd strongly suggest we win more than 5 games before coming to any conclusions.

Although the building blocks are gradually being put in place.

Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk

 

[bungalow_bill]

No one to rival Martin Pike or Darryl White yet.

Still some way from the finished product. Perhaps William will decide to move from B ball to AFL

 

[LongLion]

Still some way from the finished product. Perhaps William will decide to move from B ball to AFL

Yes please

 

[mpal6]

Anyone coasting on potential will be quickly sent back to 2s in 2019.
Feels like the battle for the spots become even harder.

Side shaping up to knock the finals door now. Exciting times !!

 

[Viceregal]

Still some way from the finished product. Perhaps William will decide to move from B ball to AFL

Which NGA would he come under?

 

[spotthedog1]

Again, not having a go, but you keep on about going too early on Ely Smith. What were we supposed to do? Our pick was where it was. He was the player we wanted. We did not have a pick 5 spots later. We went with who we rated highest at our pick. We also wanted Tom Berry with our next pick. Again, what else were we supposed to do?

I've stated this all before, but I'll cover it again.

On the Thursday night, I stated that I thought we'd gone early on Smith. My logic for this is that if no other club invited him into the draft (known as he was a late call up by us), that'd imply that roughly the 5 clubs before and 1 club after didn't have him as even a slight option at their picks. Not certain, but highly likely correct. That said, our pick was unfortunately positioned - it was just after that 2nd tier of player, and none of them slid through. Fair enough. But this year we have live trading.

Reported we tried to trade up and failed. Fair enough - not going to criticise us for not overpaying. But if it's likely that Ely would've slid a bit (based on the logic in my first point), we could've tried to trade down, and still get him, and possibly get more. Reports from Thursday function attendees was that we were also looking at moving up the order with later picks in order to get in 2 before McFadyen was bid on. On Friday morning (pre-round 2), I suggested this as a trade:

You asked what I would have done (and I've no evidence that the club didn't try this - they might have):
Talk to Gold Coast. Offer 18+35 for their 24+29. Given McFadyen is likely to go by 35, this could quite possibly have resulted in us having picks 29+30, instead of 30+56. The trade is in their favour, but depending on their boards, even if we had to throw in a pick swap in their favour, I'd have done it.

Now, it's possible that we tried that and got rebuffed. Possible, but unlikely. The reason I say unlikely is that just two picks later, Gold Coast traded those two picks for pick 23 and a 5th rounder. So my theory of pick 21 + 32 (which is roughly where our picks would've been at that time) would likely have been snapped up by GC. Quite likely (given original logic above) that Smith would've been there at GC's pick. And then we'd have Smith+29 instead of Smith+35, which (when it's been reported we were concerned about a McFadyen bid before our 35) would've been good breathing room. May have still got the same players, may have not.

We do seem like we go into drafts with set ideas of the players we want. I've heard reporters like Twomey state that quite often, a player will slide longer than they should because clubs are set on who they like, and just take the guy they thought would be available at their pick, instead of taking the one that slid, and they didn't really consider being available at their pick. I don't know how much that's true, but I'd say off the back of the last few years, we're probably the type of club who'd do that. Not being critical of the club there - they have finite resources, and they can't do a head-to-head of every single player in the draft ahead of time. I just find it interesting.

Also - I didn't criticise the club for taking Berry. I actually stated that we likely did more research on Berry than anyone else (given family connections) and had a good idea what he was worth, and while he reportedly wasn't great this year, he was also reportedly played out of position and sore. If just one other club knew that (and it was public information), and factored it in, it's quite likely Berry wouldn't have slid, regardless of what reporters said.

 

[BRAB]

REEEEEEEEEEE-ached

 

[spotthedog1]

REEEEEEEEEEE-ached

Lol. I've been busy, so just getting back on here now. I've made peace with it. I still think we reached, but oh well. The past is the past. Now I'm just responding to people who have quoted/queried me. That was a specific question I was responding to.

 

[BRAB]

Lol. I've been busy, so just getting back on here now. I've made peace with it. I still think we reached, but oh well. The past is the past. Now I'm just responding to people who have quoted/queried me.

I actually enjoy your posts and I like that you back yourself in and explain your reasoning in detail.

It's not a crime to question the club.

I do disagree though but tbh I really don't know much about footy so I just shit post.

 

[spotthedog1]

Maaaate, I reckon I've seen Tom Berry play live around the 15 games mark here in Central Victoria between Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong over the last 2 years, let me assure you Tom is much more than an inside midfielder, he's as hard as a cat's head at the contest [inside] and has amazing burst speed [2.94 - 20m] and agility off the charts testing a 7.92 at the pre-season TAC testing to go with his excellent endurance. I'd class him as an inside/outside mid/forward on everything I've ever seen up close.

For reasons known only to the Vic Country coaching staff he was played out of position at the Championships this year playing as a lock down defender on the other teams most dangerous small forwards, the reason given was the VC coaches thought with his blend of speed, agility and endurance he was the best option they had in the squad. When fit he's been the Rebels No.1 midfielder with stints up forward where he's very dangerous with his leap and strong hands. Tom's only real slight weakness at this point is his field kicking that can be a little inconsistent at times, just needs to lift the eyes a little more before getting it on the boot, that said he has a very penetrating kick when he really goes for it. I think a little of that comes from playing in Rebels sides the last 2 years that have lacked for top end talent across the board especially Talls in the Forward line so Tom has tended to go for yardage a lot of the time.

If it wasn't for his injury riddled year and his concussion early in the year when he collided with the point post at Mars Stadium with his manic attack on the footy I seriously doubt you'd have secured him at #36. IMO he has all the attributes to be even better than Jarrod who I also saw plenty of if he remains free of injury and his development goes to plan.

Cheers mate. Thanks for your input.

Don't disagree with you. From my (very amateur and very limited) knowledge, Berry was mostly inside, but had the pace to make it outside with a bit of development. If you reckon he's already good enough to be inside/outside, fair enough.

I definitely bought into the romance of getting the brothers back together as well, so was quite happy to pick him up. Well... partially it was romance... partially it was because family can be a tough pull, and while Jarrod isn't the homesick type, I wouldn't blame Jarrod for wanting to go home given the history of tragedy, and the unusually strong bond that can create between family members, and the Berry clan appear to have. So picking up his brother, whose draft rankings appeared to slide most after the season, not during it... Fair enough, no criticism here.

 

[jackess]

If you look at the picks after 20 most seem like they’re either sliders or reaches because the media coverage usually focuses on the first round which they basically nailed the top 20 in a rough order.

 

[jackess]

The draft also seems very even after the top 20. Not sure McLennan looks that much better than Answerth.

 

[spotthedog1]

If you look at the picks after 20 most seem like they’re either sliders or reaches because the media coverage usually focuses on the first round which they basically nailed the top 20 in a rough order.

Very true. I had a little spreadsheet averaging a bunch of journos phantoms. I've done this for a couple of years, as it's a bit of fun crossing them off, and I highlight the players I like (based on my expert youtube highlight watching), and see where people go.

Before pick 20, the order wasn't perfect, but it was pretty close. After pick 20, picks started coming from just about anywhere. Was quite interesting to watch. I think clubs all have similar-ish top ends, but after a certain point, later picks I think they are looking for rarer glimpses of potential - more guesswork and less certainty who will make it, results in clubs varying far more than early in the draft.

I'm not sure if the late prospects were better or worse than previous years, but from memory, in previous years the divide where clubs start varying a lot more has been around pick 30 - this year was around that 20 mark.

 

[Brett C]

Which NGA would he come under?

Cat B rookie like Fullarton so wouldn’t cost a draft pick either