2019 Draft thread

[bungalow_bill]

B

What are the chances he is snapped up before our second?

 

[ZoBlitz]

Interesting that at the same stage last year this thread had almost 2000 posts while we're only on about 400 at the moment.

As it should be, I reckon.

 

[Lazza16]

“Impact per possession” - what a wanky phrase.

Not to mention "highly explosive and loves to receive my hand"!!!!!!!!!

 

[AFLQLD]

Noah Cumberland

Brisbane Academy prospect Cumberland has been one of the surprise packets for the Allies with numerous moments of brilliance and playing a high-impact-per-possession brand of football. At 183cm, Cumberland is an ultra-explosive utility who loves receiving by hand and taking on opponents with his line-breaking speed. Every time Cumberland has ball in hand there is a feeling he will make something happen - he often breaks games open, racing 30 metres at a time with ball in hand.

His leap and contested marking are great strengths that have allowed him to provide a threat at either end of the field and there is significant aggression to Cumberland's tackling. When he has his hands on the ball inside-50m, Cumberland can make something out of nothing and hit the scoreboard.

Possessing attributes and a style of play comparable to Collingwood' Sam Murray, it is unclear at this stage whether Brisbane will nominate Cumberland, but his chances with each performance throughout the carnival have strengthened along with his reputation. The queries with Cumberland are his relatively low numbers and a lack of a clear best position. If those two boxes can be ticked while retaining his heavy impact per possession, he will be difficult for Brisbane to pass on.

https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_...s-5-afl-draft-prospects-elevated-their-stocks

I have seen Noah play for a number of years now and he does have two outstanding AFL traits - he is very tough and aggressive (at times Mitch Robinson tough) and he can be genuinely explosive out of congestion. He also has very good anticipation especially playing in a small forward or clearance role where he will read the ball better than those around him. He probably only shows glimpses of these traits but they are certainly the hardest things to coach.

He would definitely have the work ethic for AFL level. It will be interesting to see if the Lions nominate him or actually pick him up, most likely as a rookie if they do. They have had discussions with him about performance and training goals for the remainder of this season.

I would agree with the article that he is versatile without having a particular position he would be drafted for. But there is certainly something to work with in this kid.

 

[M Malice]

Elijah Taylor from WA.

There has been talk from multiple quarters, including Cal Twomey, that he has some issues going on outside of football, but put in the right environment, with the right support, he might come good like Sydney Stack.

I just had a quick read over some stuff on him on the Draft board, looks good, I would pack in our welfare/off field set up if he is deemed a Sydney Stack type risk.

I also see that Knightmare and Pie4Life have both mentioned our academy boy Noah Cumberland as one to watch, have you seen much of him and what do you think? Has he gone past Martyn as our number 1 rated academy prospect? ... Apart from Keidean Coleman of course .

 

[Brett C]

Ok draft hypothetical for our draft needs.

It’s a shallow draft, and come our second pick at 19 the two best players are;

A) an undersized ruck at 198cm who is Kreuzer like.

B) a high risk, high reward X factor medium forward who has the scope to play wing. The risk being the player needs the right culture and support around him. The reward being a taller Charlie Cameron who can play more wing.

I'd go with B, the club seems to have the culture side spot on after a poor few years. Great coaching staff and leadership means we can take a chance on these types of players. Plus we are crying out for that type of player on the list.

 

[CarterS]

I haven't seen a huge amount of these guys and I'm only really going on the descriptions from Knightmare's latest piece, so my opinion not worth much, but the ones that leap out to me are

Liam Henry (small forward) (tied to Freo)
Will Gould (defender)
Devon Robertson (mid)
Elijah Taylor (forward)
Cody Weightman (forward)

Funny that I picked 3 small forwards out even though that's probably our least area of need in the team.

 

[jjami15]

I haven't seen a huge amount of these guys and I'm only really going on the descriptions from Knightmare's latest piece, so my opinion not worth much, but the ones that leap out to me are

Liam Henry (small forward) (tied to Freo)
Will Gould (defender)
Devon Robertson (mid)
Elijah Taylor (forward)
Cody Weightman (forward)

Funny that I picked 3 small forwards out even though that's probably our least area of need in the team.

I disagree with small forward being our least area of need. If Charlie and Linc go down where is the depth? You can’t say Keays as he is not a natural small forward. I feel it is an area of need and need to bring in one or two over the coming years. Not only will it give us depth but flexibility of line ups as well. However I wasn’t impressed with any of this years small forwards bar Henry but as noted is tied to Freo.

 

[Mayestro]

I disagree with small forward being our least area of need. If Charlie and Linc go down where is the depth? You can’t say Keays as he is not a natural small forward. I feel it is an area of need and need to bring in one or two over the coming years. Not only will it give us depth but flexibility of line ups as well. However I wasn’t impressed with any of this years small forwards bar Henry but as noted is tied to Freo.

Coleman could start as a small forward.

 

[spotthedog1]

Worth noting that Sydney Stack was a well-known talent. Richmond get a lot of praise for picking him up "undrafted", but he wasn't undrafted because of lack of AFL traits. He was just a knob, and clubs didn't want him. Some phantoms had Stack as a late R1. Worth noting that we passed on him at every pick, and every rookie pick. I think that shows our philosophy with that sort of player.

Personally, I think that we've had success with guys like MRobbo because he had a legitimate scare, and was made to consider his own mortality, if you like. Sydney Stack, likewise, went through the ND, PSD, RD undrafted. This might have caused him to pull his head in. I don't know. Take him in the draft - may be a different story.

 

[briztoon]

B

What are the chances he is snapped up before our second?

50/50 as there are a few academy and father son kids projected as mid/late first or early second round prospects, and if those teams trade back for later picks or future picks, it's line ball that he's there.

This draft is really open after the first dozen or so picks, so team boards could vary significantly based on team needs. There are no KPF's worth a first round selection, and if you don't count Will Gould as a KPD, there's only two KPP's worthy of first round discussion, KPD Fischer McAsey and Ruck Luke Jackson. So most clubs ofter the top 10 might prioritise Mids, except for the one club that picks McAsey.

Possibly depends on what happens with the Tim Kelly trade, if West Coast is involved and what West Coast lose in the trade. I'll mention it in the trade thread, I would love to see Brisbane get involved in the Tim Kelly trade if it meant shipping out our Gold Coast pick for Jarrod Cameron.


There's a small possibility Elijah Taylor is the player I like best come our first pick if Collingwood make the grand final.

My uneducated opinion of this years draft, and removing the possible early father son or academy kids from the draft pool in this discussion, is that you're happy if you're picking in the first 13 picks of the draft. You're probably drafting a kid who can contribute in his first year, or you're getting a skinny kid who will be a player once he's had two preseasons in the system.

Like last year, I really don't like where our first pick projects to be. Last year I said ideally we wanted a pick inside the first 15 picks of the draft.

I'd be happy with any of Trent Rivers, Mitch O'Neill or Trent Bianco at our first pick, as they all fill a list need, project as dual position players, and play contested footy, even if their first position is not as an inside mid. But there's every chance they're all gone if clubs prioritise mids first, and plan on picking a HBF or HFF in the second round.

Worth noting that Sydney Stack was a well-known talent. Richmond get a lot of praise for picking him up "undrafted", but he wasn't undrafted because of lack of AFL traits. He was just a knob, and clubs didn't want him. Some phantoms had Stack as a late R1. Worth noting that we passed on him at every pick, and every rookie pick. I think that shows our philosophy with that sort of player.

Personally, I think that we've had success with guys like MRobbo because he had a legitimate scare, and was made to consider his own mortality, if you like. Sydney Stack, likewise, went through the ND, PSD, RD undrafted. This might have caused him to pull his head in. I don't know. Take him in the draft - may be a different story.

I agree with everything you say. The only note I'll make is we technically didn't have any rookie draft picks last year, as we committed to re-drafting Bastinac and Allison and both were contracted.

I'm not sure what Taylor's off field issues are. I'm not suggesting they are similar to Sydney Stack. Just that it's been mentioned by multiple, legitimate media, that there are some off field issues.

But they weren't serious enough for the WA coach Peter Summich to drop Taylor from the squad like Sydney Stack was last year. *Just went back to listen to WA Talent Manager Adam Jones on Road to the Draft, talking about Elijah Taylor, and he said that Taylor has a lot of similar off field challengers as Sydney Stack had the year before. But Jones also said that Taylor is driven to have an AFL career and his life should become a lot simpler once he's on a list.

 

[Fatcat08]

Gut feel, but I don't see us our first two pick remaining even remotely the same this year. I won't be surprised if we utilise the first two in some sort of trade scenario. Who for and how far we shift them down the order I have no idea but when I look at our list, the fact that we were the 5th or 6th most experienced side on the weekend yet we're the second youngest list says to me that we still need some better depth in that early to mid 20's age group. We've had a really good run the last 2 years injury wise, and while the medical staff are doing a great job, if we do get some injuries to key guys we're back to playing a few too many kids for my liking if we're really going to keep pushing ourselves up in contention in the next couple of years. We will lose some experience in the off season so I think we will need to work on replacing it and our picks will form the basis of that.

 

[briztoon]

I haven't seen a huge amount of these guys and I'm only really going on the descriptions from Knightmare's latest piece, so my opinion not worth much, but the ones that leap out to me are

Liam Henry (small forward) (tied to Freo)
Will Gould (defender)
Devon Robertson (mid)
Elijah Taylor (forward)
Cody Weightman (forward)

Funny that I picked 3 small forwards out even though that's probably our least area of need in the team.

Will Gould should be a top 10 pick, but I'd bet a carton of your favourite he doesn't last to our first, unless Collingwood go out in the first week of finals.

Henry as you mentioned is tied to Freo, and they'll match a bid with their second pick.

Robertson I'm not so keen on. Yes he'd be an upgrade on Mathieson in a year or two, but I don't know if he projects to be any better than Tom Joyce and they're basically the same size.

I'd take Keidean Coleman ahead of Weightman.

Taylor, you can go to episode 5 of Road to the Draft to the 24:30 mark and hear about Elijah Taylor. What I really like about Taylor is that he has that extra bit of height, but has exceptional agility and evasiveness to go with his top line speed. He's not just a straight line runner.

Whooshkaa Player

player.whooshkaa.com

 

[briztoon]

Gut feel, but I don't see us our first two pick remaining even remotely the same this year. I won't be surprised if we utilise the first two in some sort of trade scenario. Who for and how far we shift them down the order I have no idea but when I look at our list, the fact that we were the 5th or 6th most experienced side on the weekend yet we're the second youngest list says to me that we still need some better depth in that early to mid 20's age group. We've had a really good run the last 2 years injury wise, and while the medical staff are doing a great job, if we do get some injuries to key guys we're back to playing a few too many kids for my liking if we're really going to keep pushing ourselves up in contention in the next couple of years. We will lose some experience in the off season so I think we will need to work on replacing it and our picks will form the basis of that.

Yeah, this is a draft where I wouldn't be against this at all.

 

[Lace Out]

Worth noting that Sydney Stack was a well-known talent. Richmond get a lot of praise for picking him up "undrafted", but he wasn't undrafted because of lack of AFL traits. He was just a knob, and clubs didn't want him. Some phantoms had Stack as a late R1. Worth noting that we passed on him at every pick, and every rookie pick. I think that shows our philosophy with that sort of player.

Personally, I think that we've had success with guys like MRobbo because he had a legitimate scare, and was made to consider his own mortality, if you like. Sydney Stack, likewise, went through the ND, PSD, RD undrafted. This might have caused him to pull his head in. I don't know. Take him in the draft - may be a different story.

Might have to wait a few years to properly assess the Stack drafting as well

 

[M Malice]

I disagree with small forward being our least area of need. If Charlie and Linc go down where is the depth? You can’t say Keays as he is not a natural small forward. I feel it is an area of need and need to bring in one or two over the coming years. Not only will it give us depth but flexibility of line ups as well. However I wasn’t impressed with any of this years small forwards bar Henry but as noted is tied to Freo.

Ideally we'd want small pressure forwards who can rotate through or move into the midfield when and if required, ah la what Lincoln McCarthy showed v the Giants.

 

[briztoon]

Ideally we'd want small pressure forwards who can rotate through or move into the midfield when and if required, ah la what Lincoln McCarthy showed v the Giants.

So a Ben Ainsworth type small forward, who can rotate through the middle as a small contested mid. There's two in this years draft that fit that role. Caleb Serong and Sam Flanders, and they're probably top 10/12 draftees. The rest of this years small/mid forwards project to be out and out small forwards, or look like they play up on the wing.

Better off looking at Tom Berry for that role.

Or you have a couple of small outside mids who have a genuine contested side to their game and aren't afraid to put their head over the ball, Mitch O'Neill from Tasmania and Trent Bianco from the Oakleigh Chargers. And I can see Gold Coast drafting Bianco with our pick as he fits a need for them, and plays with Matt Rowell who they're most likely to pick at 1.

 

[jackess]

I think a players hunger for the contest and poise under pressure are the 2 things we need to look at. Which is hard when they’ve mainly played against kids. A bit of speed would be handy too.

Our recent draftees Bailey, Starcevich, Joyce, Berry, Answerth, etc. are good examples of this compared to others like Keays, Allison, NRobbo, Squizzy, etc. who could never develop this skill.

 

[Tom14]

I think a players hunger for the contest and poise under pressure are the 2 things we need to look at. Which is hard when they’ve mainly played against kids. A bit of speed would be handy too.

Our recent draftees Bailey, Starcevich, Joyce, Berry, Answerth, etc. are good examples of this compared to others like Keays, Allison, NRobbo, Squizzy, etc. who could never develop this skill.

Answerth's composure has been outstanding. Can't remember him panicking once which is a reasonably rare thing for a lateish draft pick playing in his first year.

 

[bungalow_bill]

Answerth is playing like a top end pick. Pretty impressive how he's seamlessly slotted into a top 4 team and not missed a beat

 

[briztoon]

I think a players hunger for the contest and poise under pressure are the 2 things we need to look at. Which is hard when they’ve mainly played against kids. A bit of speed would be handy too.

Our recent draftees Bailey, Starcevich, Joyce, Berry, Answerth, etc. are good examples of this compared to others like Keays, Allison, NRobbo, Squizzy, etc. who could never develop this skill.

Trent Rivers, Mitch O'Neill and Trent Bianco tick most of those boxes. Rivers doesn't have the speed of the other two, but he would have superior poise and decision making. He's a tall mid, who was played as a general defender for WA in the Championships.

 

[mpal6]

Answerth's composure has been outstanding. Can't remember him panicking once which is a reasonably rare thing for a lateish draft pick playing in his first year.

I like Hinge as well.
Hope we hold on to him, looks a likely type to come good for defense.

 

[jjami15]

Trent Rivers, Mitch O'Neill and Trent Bianco tick most of those boxes. Rivers doesn't have the speed of the other two, but he would have superior poise and decision making. He's a tall mid, who was played as a general defender for WA in the Championships.

I feel dirty saying this, but I think with how we play that elite run off the hbf won’t fit. That’s not to say our game style won’t change and players with elite run to cover the ground will still be needed but from the small bits that I saw Rivers’s poise, reading of play and decision making was very evident. I didn’t get to see much of if anything at all of O’Neill and Bianco but will definitely do some catch up with those two. Seen us with Worrell I one of the mocks so will have a look there as well.

 

[royboys4eva]

Didn't see any under 18s carnival footy this year. Saying that it didn't appeal as much because most likely we wont be having a pick till late first round. Outside of the top 5 /6 it's normally a bit of raffle who goes where depending on clubs evaluations and needs.

I look at our side now and to me we still need pace coming out of the back line and another mid with speed preferably on the wing. McCluggage has been outstanding on the wing but he will naturally move into the centre over the next 12 /18 months. Mitch Robinson often starts on the wing for us but he probably has two years left after 2019. Berry is an inside player. Zorko can move out to the wing if needed but I think we all agree he would be handy in the coming years playing half forward where he can kick multiple goals and apply great forward pressure which the modern game demands.

Bailey is a exciting prospect who could play wing but he might be needed down back more for his pace? Lewy Taylor and Tom Cutler can't get regular games and perhaps one of them might be gone by seasons end?

If we cant trade for a Zak Jones or Jack Martin who I think would be perfect players to play wing for our club then I hope in the draft we look at a quick skilful player who can play this part of the ground in the coming years.

Finally just reading the profiles of the likely top 20 players in this years draft and the one that stood out to me most was Gould from SA. Was described as someone who plays round 1 next year off half back / back pocket and has a great build already. Has played SANFL as well.

If i'm the Gold Coast Suns im doing everything possible to get 3 picks inside the 10 and making sure he is one of the players they get.

 

[briztoon]

Didn't see any under 18s carnival footy this year. Saying that it didn't appeal as much because most likely we wont be having a pick till late first round. Outside of the top 5 /6 it's normally a bit of raffle who goes where depending on clubs evaluations and needs.

I look at our side now and to me we still need pace coming out of the back line and another mid with speed preferably on the wing. McCluggage has been outstanding on the wing but he will naturally move into the centre over the next 12 /18 months. Mitch Robinson often starts on the wing for us but he probably has two years left after 2019. Berry is an inside player. Zorko can move out to the wing if needed but I think we all agree he would be handy in the coming years playing half forward where he can kick multiple goals and apply great forward pressure which the modern game demands.

Bailey is a exciting prospect who could play wing but he might be needed down back more for his pace? Lewy Taylor and Tom Cutler can't get regular games and perhaps one of them might be gone by seasons end?

If we cant trade for a Zak Jones or Jack Martin who I think would be perfect players to play wing for our club then I hope in the draft we look at a quick skilful player who can play this part of the ground in the coming years.

Finally just reading the profiles of the likely top 20 players in this years draft and the one that stood out to me most was Gould from SA. Was described as someone who plays round 1 next year off half back / back pocket and has a great build already. Has played SANFL as well.

If i'm the Gold Coast Suns im doing everything possible to get 3 picks inside the 10 and making sure he is one of the players they get.

I regards to Gould, I’ve already said that on the Suns board.