Resource 2019 Draft Watch (we have picks 6 24 25 39 46)

Who will we take with our first pick (#6) in the 2019 draft?


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We draft a Vic Country lad like usual.

Flanders has to be an option; Vic Metro lad and has the Simpson’s name already.
Sam Flanders is a Vic Country lad hailing from Fish Creek and suiting up for Gippsland Power, currently attending Lowanna College.
Riley Baldi an industrious midfielder another from the same neck of the woods likely to go in the top half of the draft and definitely also worth tracking.

Of interest to Adelaide supporters we've had 2 other Crows from Fish Creek on our list Wayne [The Weed] Weidamann and Barry Standfield.
 
Mar 21, 2016
73,868
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Down South Corvus Tristis
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Sturt, White Sox
Sam Flanders is a Vic Country lad hailing from Fish Creek and suiting up for Gippsland Power, currently attending Lowanna College.
Riley Baldi an industrious midfielder another from the same neck of the woods likely to go in the top half of the draft and definitely also worth tracking.

Of interest to Adelaide supporters we've had 2 other Crows from Fish Creek on our list Wayne [The Weed] Weidamann and Barry Standfield.
Barry 'showboat and never play another game' Standfield
 

Bicks

Cancelled
10k Posts
Jun 10, 2009
29,795
44,888
Victorian Central Highlands
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Panthers, GWV Rebels Beaufort Crows
Top performers from Victoria's NAB League [Formerly TAC Cup] Rookie Me testing on the weekend. Couple of my GWV Rebels lads featuring prominently. ;) Over ager James Cleaver really looks to have gone up a gear. Not too many of the high profile prospects figured prominently.

NAB League Boys
Standing Vertical Jump:

1 Thomas Cartwright (Calder) 79cm
2 Max Simpson (Calder) 70cm
3 Jonah Potter (Northern) 67cm
4 James Cleaver (GWV) 66cm
5 Daniel Mott (Calder) 63cm
5 Jackson Hannah (Sandringham) 63cm
5 Blake Kuipers (Dandenong) 63cm
5 John Roysmith (Dandenong) 63cm
5 James Mittel (Bendigo) 63cm

Running Vertical Jump (Right):

1 Thomas Cartwright (Calder) 84cm
2 Jay Robertson (Oakleigh) 81cm
3 Riley Clarke (Bendigo) 77cm
4 Sam Flanders (Gippsland) 76cm
4 Brady Rowles (Bendigo) 76cm
4 Nick Bryan (Oakleigh) 76cm
4 Nathan Howard (Northern) 76cm
5 Tom Graham (Oakleigh) 74cm

Running Vertical Jump (Left):

1 Thomas Cartwright (Calder) 85cm
2 Cooper Vick (Bendigo) 84cm
3 Sam Flanders (Gippsland) 80cm
3 James Cleaver (GWV) 80cm
5 Oscar Sasalu (Calder) 79cm
5 Giacomo Thomas (Calder) 79cm
5 Hugo Ralphsmith (Sandringham) 79cm

20m Sprint:

1 Jonah Potter (Northern) 2.84 seconds
2 Archie Perkins (Sandringham) 2.85 seconds
3 Tom Fitzpatrick (Gippsland) 2.86 seconds
4 Kade Brown (Murray) 2.88 seconds
5 Joshua Crawford (Murray) 2.89 seconds
6 Nick Bryan (Oakleigh) 2.91 seconds
6 Regan Uwandu (Northern) 2.91 seconds
6 James Cleaver (GWV) 2.91 seconds

Agility:

1 James Cleaver (GWV) 7.87 seconds
2 Blake Reid (Geelong) 7.88 seconds
3 Mitch Riordan (Dandenong) 7.93 seconds
4 Riley Ironside (Bendigo) 7.96 seconds
5 Jake Bowey (Sandringham) 8.01 seconds
6 Charlie Ham (Geelong) 8.02 seconds
6 Thomson Dow (Bendigo) 8.02 seconds
6 Jack Hickman (Bendigo) 8.02 seconds
9 Lachlan Smith (Geelong) 8.03 seconds
9 Joey Ayton-Delaney (Oakleigh) 8.03 seconds

Yo-yo:

1 Harry Sharp (GWV) 22.4 level
2 Jack Hickman (Bendigo) 22.1 level
2 Chas Karpala (Geelong) 22.1 level
2 Mitch Mellis (Eastern) 22.1 level
2 Jay Rantall (GWV) 22.1 level
6 Nicholas Kitchell (Northern) 21.8 level
7 Matthew Rowell (Oakleigh) 21.7 level
8 Ben Nikolovski (Northern) 21.6 level
8 Cooper Barbera (Northern) 21.6 level
 

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eDPS

Premium Platinum
Nov 4, 2010
24,967
41,173
Melbourne - Eastern Suburbs
AFL Club
Essendon
Top performers from Victoria's NAB League [Formerly TAC Cup] Rookie Me testing on the weekend. Couple of my GWV Rebels lads featuring prominently. ;) Over ager James Cleaver really looks to have gone up a gear. Not too many of the high profile prospects figured prominently.

NAB League Boys
Standing Vertical Jump:

1 Thomas Cartwright (Calder) 79cm
2 Max Simpson (Calder) 70cm
3 Jonah Potter (Northern) 67cm
4 James Cleaver (GWV) 66cm
5 Daniel Mott (Calder) 63cm
5 Jackson Hannah (Sandringham) 63cm
5 Blake Kuipers (Dandenong) 63cm
5 John Roysmith (Dandenong) 63cm
5 James Mittel (Bendigo) 63cm

Running Vertical Jump (Right):

1 Thomas Cartwright (Calder) 84cm
2 Jay Robertson (Oakleigh) 81cm
3 Riley Clarke (Bendigo) 77cm
4 Sam Flanders (Gippsland) 76cm
4 Brady Rowles (Bendigo) 76cm
4 Nick Bryan (Oakleigh) 76cm
4 Nathan Howard (Northern) 76cm
5 Tom Graham (Oakleigh) 74cm

Running Vertical Jump (Left):

1 Thomas Cartwright (Calder) 85cm
2 Cooper Vick (Bendigo) 84cm
3 Sam Flanders (Gippsland) 80cm
3 James Cleaver (GWV) 80cm
5 Oscar Sasalu (Calder) 79cm
5 Giacomo Thomas (Calder) 79cm
5 Hugo Ralphsmith (Sandringham) 79cm

20m Sprint:

1 Jonah Potter (Northern) 2.84 seconds
2 Archie Perkins (Sandringham) 2.85 seconds
3 Tom Fitzpatrick (Gippsland) 2.86 seconds
4 Kade Brown (Murray) 2.88 seconds
5 Joshua Crawford (Murray) 2.89 seconds
6 Nick Bryan (Oakleigh) 2.91 seconds
6 Regan Uwandu (Northern) 2.91 seconds
6 James Cleaver (GWV) 2.91 seconds

Agility:

1 James Cleaver (GWV) 7.87 seconds
2 Blake Reid (Geelong) 7.88 seconds
3 Mitch Riordan (Dandenong) 7.93 seconds
4 Riley Ironside (Bendigo) 7.96 seconds
5 Jake Bowey (Sandringham) 8.01 seconds
6 Charlie Ham (Geelong) 8.02 seconds
6 Thomson Dow (Bendigo) 8.02 seconds
6 Jack Hickman (Bendigo) 8.02 seconds
9 Lachlan Smith (Geelong) 8.03 seconds
9 Joey Ayton-Delaney (Oakleigh) 8.03 seconds

Yo-yo:

1 Harry Sharp (GWV) 22.4 level
2 Jack Hickman (Bendigo) 22.1 level
2 Chas Karpala (Geelong) 22.1 level
2 Mitch Mellis (Eastern) 22.1 level
2 Jay Rantall (GWV) 22.1 level
6 Nicholas Kitchell (Northern) 21.8 level
7 Matthew Rowell (Oakleigh) 21.7 level
8 Ben Nikolovski (Northern) 21.6 level
8 Cooper Barbera (Northern) 21.6 level
I liked Cleaver in a few games last year, hope to see him move to a wing this year.

Nick Bryan with 2.91 for 3m sprint not bad for a ruckman
 

Bicks

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Victorian Central Highlands
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Other Teams
Panthers, GWV Rebels Beaufort Crows
I liked Cleaver in a few games last year, hope to see him move to a wing this year.

I agree, he's got a bit of size about him too, played some pretty decent footy in defence last year so you'd expect he'd be given some opportunities further up the field this season..
 

Tex Danger

Premiership Player
Mar 20, 2013
4,906
4,910
AFL Club
Adelaide
found this posted on the GC board which is relevant here...



Ok it’s been a while since I last posted but I had a last minute reprieve and went back into AFL system again so kept quiet whilst employed – but now definitely retired so want to share my thoughts again.
I would like to share some thoughts of how things work inside AFL land with regards recruiting and how that differs a little from what I sometimes read here.
When looking at a draft crop I think the one thing that sometimes is over looked by many here but absolutely is the most important issue for recruiters is a boy’s exposure and performance to top level footy at a young age. For many the AFL is the first exposure to ‘open age’ football so we are really interested in performances of boys against older peers. So that means National Championships (and to a lesser degree TAC finals) and school footy is really important in your bottom age years. If you look at last few drafts there have been high end picks who didn’t have great draft years but have shown earlier they can mix it against older bodies and that is what AFL is – look at Caldwell, McHenry & Butters from 2018 – all high picks). So if we look at 2019 draft crop what have AFL recruiters noted to this point?
Overall 2019 is a very strong draft – it’s way deeper than 2019 – but will be judged harsher purely on the lack of high end talls – there are basically none at this stage who are demanding a top 10 pick (although Luke Jackson you could make a case for). Vic Metro will be seriously strong in 2019 and will provide a large number of high picks.
Ok I just wanted to get this started before giving my opinions below. Please note my opinions are based on my first hand experience only at this stage – so I am only commenting about performances that I have witnessed live. So this is largely based on U16 Nationals, APS/AGSV footy (17-18), AFL Academy (NZ game), U18 Nationals and TAC.
I have deliberately left out the Futures GF game as whilst we watch it – most recruiters discount performances as it brings together a large number of boys who have not played for weeks and isn’t a level playing field. And if you watched closely this year the game was coached from a very different angle by both coaches. Tony Bamford coached Black team and played his best players in best positions all day – whilst Luke Power (White) gave priority to players not part of AFL Academy particularly in mid field and this impacted greatly on the game. So don’t read much into this game – that said Rowell and Serong were outstanding…

So for 2019 this is where most AFL recruiters have things at this stage - there are 9 standouts above all others at this time:
Vic Metro: Rowell, Anderson, Mahony & Williams
Allies: O’Neill & Green
WA: Sharp & Jackson
Vic Country: Serong

The tier below include Gould, Kemp, Gardner, Flanders & C Stephens (Vic Country).

And there are 5 at the moment who are clearly at the top end (in no particular order):

Matt Rowell (Nationals : 19.5 disposals per game (0 goals) & TAC Finals (22.6 disposals/0.6 goals):
Already been a lot written about him so I will not go on too much here – I first saw him at U15 Nationals and have seen him at U16 Nationals, APS and TAC many times. The boy is a star – ultra professional and one of best mid fielders of last few years. Has comprehensively beaten older boys almost every time he has played against them. Ignore his height – he is now 180cm but strong, fast and determined. Only possible criticism from AFL standpoint is his versatility in that he has had very little exposure forward or back over last few years – that said it doesn’t worry me at all he is going to be a star.

Noah Anderson: (NC: 18.0 disposals/2.0 goals & TAC Finals: 18.3 disposals/1.5 goals):
Again no surprise here – player of U16 Nationals, perfect size, elite endurance and a natural leader (was captain of AFL Academy team – voted by players). Big game player – his game against WA in Nationals was almost as good as Izak Rankine against Metro. It is important with Noah to realise how he was used in Nationals and with Chargers late in TAC year – everyone knows he can play in midfield but was predominately used forward only to develop his AFL versatility but his numbers and impact was outstanding – will most likely move to full time mid- field role in 2019 and expect him to dominate. I think most clubs see him as a logical pick 1 at this stage as his size and endurance would see him likely to play in round one 2020.

Jack Mahony: (NC: 17.0 disposals/1.5 goals & TAC Finals: 21.0 disposals/1.5 goals):
I think Jack is the one flying under radar in threads but certainly not with recruiters. I think this is largely due to him breaking his collarbone in first TAC game after Nationals and missing rest of school and TAC season. He returned in Dragons first final after 8 weeks out and had 25 touches in limited mid field time and then kicked 2 goals as predominant small forward against Stingrays in a depleted Dragons team in Prelim. Important here to recognise how Dragons use bottom agers – they rarely play them in influential roles and thus it seems always the Dragons is where draft bolters come from (think Mcgrath and Taranto in 2016, Brayshaw in 2017 and again Bailey Smith last year) – Mahony is that player in 2019. Was arguably best on ground in first half of WA Nationals game – changed the game with Rowell when moved to outside mid in SA game and was outstanding in NZ game (as were Rowell and Anderson). Can play mid and forward and has dominated school team since first playing as a 15 year old. Tied with Sam Walsh in Yo Yo test at 2018 TAC testing so speed/endurance is elite. Like Rowell people are concerned about his size – although I hear he is now 179cm and November born so size isn’t an issue.

Mitch O’Neill: (NC: 20.0 disposals/0.8 goals):
Like Mahony is a bit under the radar – which is hard to say about a boy who was All Australian as a bottom ager. He had an outstanding Nationals and that just backed up what we saw in NZ in AFL Academy game. This game is a bit of a joke from a results aspect but the NZ team are adults with big bodies and it has always been fascinating to watch young boys work the way through this problem. Mitch got added to Academy squad for this Trip and really impressed us both during the game and at training and interviews. On field he is an elite 2 way runner who never stops working and will definitely benefit from his exposure through 4 games of Nationals in 2018. The change to TAC for a Tassie based player will only help Mitch’s development further in 2019. I have only seen him live in Nationals, NZ and GF game so I personally have limited exposure but he is on this list because he is rated very highly by a large number of clubs.

Dylan Williams (NC: 12.0 disposals/4.0 goals & TAC Finals: 11.0 disposals/4.7 goals):
Dylan is the tricky one on this list. There are some who will say that he has to be in mix for pick 1 purely on what he did in 2018 – and then there are others who will say that Vic Metro rated him below Rowell, Anderson & Mahony as he only played one game in Nationals and not against SA in final game – and they will also highlight the nature of his goals – he gets an incredible amount of his goals from snaps and leading his defender under the ball and getting it out the back – the criticism here being he will not get away with this at AFL level. My view – whilst he is not a high possession winner, he is a very clever footballer who has performed extremely well both forward and back and that versatility will hold him in good stead. 2019 will define his draft position but in 2020 he will be playing AFL football.

Please note that I have only mentioned players who have has bottom age experience in 2018 Nationals because at this point clubs have them at the top of their lists. There are plenty of boys with promise who we will find out more shortly…
 

Bicks

Cancelled
10k Posts
Jun 10, 2009
29,795
44,888
Victorian Central Highlands
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Panthers, GWV Rebels Beaufort Crows
found this posted on the GC board which is relevant here...



Ok it’s been a while since I last posted but I had a last minute reprieve and went back into AFL system again so kept quiet whilst employed – but now definitely retired so want to share my thoughts again.
I would like to share some thoughts of how things work inside AFL land with regards recruiting and how that differs a little from what I sometimes read here.
When looking at a draft crop I think the one thing that sometimes is over looked by many here but absolutely is the most important issue for recruiters is a boy’s exposure and performance to top level footy at a young age. For many the AFL is the first exposure to ‘open age’ football so we are really interested in performances of boys against older peers. So that means National Championships (and to a lesser degree TAC finals) and school footy is really important in your bottom age years. If you look at last few drafts there have been high end picks who didn’t have great draft years but have shown earlier they can mix it against older bodies and that is what AFL is – look at Caldwell, McHenry & Butters from 2018 – all high picks). So if we look at 2019 draft crop what have AFL recruiters noted to this point?
Overall 2019 is a very strong draft – it’s way deeper than 2019 – but will be judged harsher purely on the lack of high end talls – there are basically none at this stage who are demanding a top 10 pick (although Luke Jackson you could make a case for). Vic Metro will be seriously strong in 2019 and will provide a large number of high picks.
Ok I just wanted to get this started before giving my opinions below. Please note my opinions are based on my first hand experience only at this stage – so I am only commenting about performances that I have witnessed live. So this is largely based on U16 Nationals, APS/AGSV footy (17-18), AFL Academy (NZ game), U18 Nationals and TAC.
I have deliberately left out the Futures GF game as whilst we watch it – most recruiters discount performances as it brings together a large number of boys who have not played for weeks and isn’t a level playing field. And if you watched closely this year the game was coached from a very different angle by both coaches. Tony Bamford coached Black team and played his best players in best positions all day – whilst Luke Power (White) gave priority to players not part of AFL Academy particularly in mid field and this impacted greatly on the game. So don’t read much into this game – that said Rowell and Serong were outstanding…

So for 2019 this is where most AFL recruiters have things at this stage - there are 9 standouts above all others at this time:
Vic Metro: Rowell, Anderson, Mahony & Williams
Allies: O’Neill & Green
WA: Sharp & Jackson
Vic Country: Serong

The tier below include Gould, Kemp, Gardner, Flanders & C Stephens (Vic Country).

And there are 5 at the moment who are clearly at the top end (in no particular order):

Matt Rowell (Nationals : 19.5 disposals per game (0 goals) & TAC Finals (22.6 disposals/0.6 goals):
Already been a lot written about him so I will not go on too much here – I first saw him at U15 Nationals and have seen him at U16 Nationals, APS and TAC many times. The boy is a star – ultra professional and one of best mid fielders of last few years. Has comprehensively beaten older boys almost every time he has played against them. Ignore his height – he is now 180cm but strong, fast and determined. Only possible criticism from AFL standpoint is his versatility in that he has had very little exposure forward or back over last few years – that said it doesn’t worry me at all he is going to be a star.

Noah Anderson: (NC: 18.0 disposals/2.0 goals & TAC Finals: 18.3 disposals/1.5 goals):
Again no surprise here – player of U16 Nationals, perfect size, elite endurance and a natural leader (was captain of AFL Academy team – voted by players). Big game player – his game against WA in Nationals was almost as good as Izak Rankine against Metro. It is important with Noah to realise how he was used in Nationals and with Chargers late in TAC year – everyone knows he can play in midfield but was predominately used forward only to develop his AFL versatility but his numbers and impact was outstanding – will most likely move to full time mid- field role in 2019 and expect him to dominate. I think most clubs see him as a logical pick 1 at this stage as his size and endurance would see him likely to play in round one 2020.

Jack Mahony: (NC: 17.0 disposals/1.5 goals & TAC Finals: 21.0 disposals/1.5 goals):
I think Jack is the one flying under radar in threads but certainly not with recruiters. I think this is largely due to him breaking his collarbone in first TAC game after Nationals and missing rest of school and TAC season. He returned in Dragons first final after 8 weeks out and had 25 touches in limited mid field time and then kicked 2 goals as predominant small forward against Stingrays in a depleted Dragons team in Prelim. Important here to recognise how Dragons use bottom agers – they rarely play them in influential roles and thus it seems always the Dragons is where draft bolters come from (think Mcgrath and Taranto in 2016, Brayshaw in 2017 and again Bailey Smith last year) – Mahony is that player in 2019. Was arguably best on ground in first half of WA Nationals game – changed the game with Rowell when moved to outside mid in SA game and was outstanding in NZ game (as were Rowell and Anderson). Can play mid and forward and has dominated school team since first playing as a 15 year old. Tied with Sam Walsh in Yo Yo test at 2018 TAC testing so speed/endurance is elite. Like Rowell people are concerned about his size – although I hear he is now 179cm and November born so size isn’t an issue.

Mitch O’Neill: (NC: 20.0 disposals/0.8 goals):
Like Mahony is a bit under the radar – which is hard to say about a boy who was All Australian as a bottom ager. He had an outstanding Nationals and that just backed up what we saw in NZ in AFL Academy game. This game is a bit of a joke from a results aspect but the NZ team are adults with big bodies and it has always been fascinating to watch young boys work the way through this problem. Mitch got added to Academy squad for this Trip and really impressed us both during the game and at training and interviews. On field he is an elite 2 way runner who never stops working and will definitely benefit from his exposure through 4 games of Nationals in 2018. The change to TAC for a Tassie based player will only help Mitch’s development further in 2019. I have only seen him live in Nationals, NZ and GF game so I personally have limited exposure but he is on this list because he is rated very highly by a large number of clubs.

Dylan Williams (NC: 12.0 disposals/4.0 goals & TAC Finals: 11.0 disposals/4.7 goals):
Dylan is the tricky one on this list. There are some who will say that he has to be in mix for pick 1 purely on what he did in 2018 – and then there are others who will say that Vic Metro rated him below Rowell, Anderson & Mahony as he only played one game in Nationals and not against SA in final game – and they will also highlight the nature of his goals – he gets an incredible amount of his goals from snaps and leading his defender under the ball and getting it out the back – the criticism here being he will not get away with this at AFL level. My view – whilst he is not a high possession winner, he is a very clever footballer who has performed extremely well both forward and back and that versatility will hold him in good stead. 2019 will define his draft position but in 2020 he will be playing AFL football.

Please note that I have only mentioned players who have has bottom age experience in 2018 Nationals because at this point clubs have them at the top of their lists. There are plenty of boys with promise who we will find out more shortly…
Reckon he's missed one WA high end talent there in Mitchell Georgiades, a silky skilled 191cm forward with great overhead prowess and sticky fingers matched up with a supremely accurate kick. Not hard to see why he's so good overhead with those long arms.

1552715656084.png
 

eDPS

Premium Platinum
Nov 4, 2010
24,967
41,173
Melbourne - Eastern Suburbs
AFL Club
Essendon
Reckon he's missed one WA high end talent there in Mitchell Georgiades, a silky skilled 191cm forward with great overhead prowess and sticky fingers matched up with a supremely accurate kick. Not hard to see why he's so good overhead with those long arms.

View attachment 636041
The “191cm” forward would be the reason for that, you don’t often see pure forwards of that height going early, that’s not to say he couldn’t be in the mix for a top 20 pick.
 
Apr 1, 2002
2,654
3,887
Perth
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Kilkenny Cats, WWT Eagles
The prospect of being able to select a Rowell or Anderson is delicious. There's a lot of footy to be played yet, but the 2018 draft class looks to be pretty strong so far, and this year's top prospects have done well playing against those same guys in their under age year.

So the first few look like guns. Rowell would be a sensational get, and have Carlton supporters hanging their heads for a decade on the pick trade.
 
Last edited:

Mike Dawson

Debutant
Oct 12, 2018
104
75
AFL Club
Hawthorn
found this posted on the GC board which is relevant here...



Ok it’s been a while since I last posted but I had a last minute reprieve and went back into AFL system again so kept quiet whilst employed – but now definitely retired so want to share my thoughts again.
I would like to share some thoughts of how things work inside AFL land with regards recruiting and how that differs a little from what I sometimes read here.
When looking at a draft crop I think the one thing that sometimes is over looked by many here but absolutely is the most important issue for recruiters is a boy’s exposure and performance to top level footy at a young age. For many the AFL is the first exposure to ‘open age’ football so we are really interested in performances of boys against older peers. So that means National Championships (and to a lesser degree TAC finals) and school footy is really important in your bottom age years. If you look at last few drafts there have been high end picks who didn’t have great draft years but have shown earlier they can mix it against older bodies and that is what AFL is – look at Caldwell, McHenry & Butters from 2018 – all high picks). So if we look at 2019 draft crop what have AFL recruiters noted to this point?
Overall 2019 is a very strong draft – it’s way deeper than 2019 – but will be judged harsher purely on the lack of high end talls – there are basically none at this stage who are demanding a top 10 pick (although Luke Jackson you could make a case for). Vic Metro will be seriously strong in 2019 and will provide a large number of high picks.
Ok I just wanted to get this started before giving my opinions below. Please note my opinions are based on my first hand experience only at this stage – so I am only commenting about performances that I have witnessed live. So this is largely based on U16 Nationals, APS/AGSV footy (17-18), AFL Academy (NZ game), U18 Nationals and TAC.
I have deliberately left out the Futures GF game as whilst we watch it – most recruiters discount performances as it brings together a large number of boys who have not played for weeks and isn’t a level playing field. And if you watched closely this year the game was coached from a very different angle by both coaches. Tony Bamford coached Black team and played his best players in best positions all day – whilst Luke Power (White) gave priority to players not part of AFL Academy particularly in mid field and this impacted greatly on the game. So don’t read much into this game – that said Rowell and Serong were outstanding…

So for 2019 this is where most AFL recruiters have things at this stage - there are 9 standouts above all others at this time:
Vic Metro: Rowell, Anderson, Mahony & Williams
Allies: O’Neill & Green
WA: Sharp & Jackson
Vic Country: Serong

The tier below include Gould, Kemp, Gardner, Flanders & C Stephens (Vic Country).

And there are 5 at the moment who are clearly at the top end (in no particular order):

Matt Rowell (Nationals : 19.5 disposals per game (0 goals) & TAC Finals (22.6 disposals/0.6 goals):
Already been a lot written about him so I will not go on too much here – I first saw him at U15 Nationals and have seen him at U16 Nationals, APS and TAC many times. The boy is a star – ultra professional and one of best mid fielders of last few years. Has comprehensively beaten older boys almost every time he has played against them. Ignore his height – he is now 180cm but strong, fast and determined. Only possible criticism from AFL standpoint is his versatility in that he has had very little exposure forward or back over last few years – that said it doesn’t worry me at all he is going to be a star.

Noah Anderson: (NC: 18.0 disposals/2.0 goals & TAC Finals: 18.3 disposals/1.5 goals):
Again no surprise here – player of U16 Nationals, perfect size, elite endurance and a natural leader (was captain of AFL Academy team – voted by players). Big game player – his game against WA in Nationals was almost as good as Izak Rankine against Metro. It is important with Noah to realise how he was used in Nationals and with Chargers late in TAC year – everyone knows he can play in midfield but was predominately used forward only to develop his AFL versatility but his numbers and impact was outstanding – will most likely move to full time mid- field role in 2019 and expect him to dominate. I think most clubs see him as a logical pick 1 at this stage as his size and endurance would see him likely to play in round one 2020.

Jack Mahony: (NC: 17.0 disposals/1.5 goals & TAC Finals: 21.0 disposals/1.5 goals):
I think Jack is the one flying under radar in threads but certainly not with recruiters. I think this is largely due to him breaking his collarbone in first TAC game after Nationals and missing rest of school and TAC season. He returned in Dragons first final after 8 weeks out and had 25 touches in limited mid field time and then kicked 2 goals as predominant small forward against Stingrays in a depleted Dragons team in Prelim. Important here to recognise how Dragons use bottom agers – they rarely play them in influential roles and thus it seems always the Dragons is where draft bolters come from (think Mcgrath and Taranto in 2016, Brayshaw in 2017 and again Bailey Smith last year) – Mahony is that player in 2019. Was arguably best on ground in first half of WA Nationals game – changed the game with Rowell when moved to outside mid in SA game and was outstanding in NZ game (as were Rowell and Anderson). Can play mid and forward and has dominated school team since first playing as a 15 year old. Tied with Sam Walsh in Yo Yo test at 2018 TAC testing so speed/endurance is elite. Like Rowell people are concerned about his size – although I hear he is now 179cm and November born so size isn’t an issue.

Mitch O’Neill: (NC: 20.0 disposals/0.8 goals):
Like Mahony is a bit under the radar – which is hard to say about a boy who was All Australian as a bottom ager. He had an outstanding Nationals and that just backed up what we saw in NZ in AFL Academy game. This game is a bit of a joke from a results aspect but the NZ team are adults with big bodies and it has always been fascinating to watch young boys work the way through this problem. Mitch got added to Academy squad for this Trip and really impressed us both during the game and at training and interviews. On field he is an elite 2 way runner who never stops working and will definitely benefit from his exposure through 4 games of Nationals in 2018. The change to TAC for a Tassie based player will only help Mitch’s development further in 2019. I have only seen him live in Nationals, NZ and GF game so I personally have limited exposure but he is on this list because he is rated very highly by a large number of clubs.

Dylan Williams (NC: 12.0 disposals/4.0 goals & TAC Finals: 11.0 disposals/4.7 goals):
Dylan is the tricky one on this list. There are some who will say that he has to be in mix for pick 1 purely on what he did in 2018 – and then there are others who will say that Vic Metro rated him below Rowell, Anderson & Mahony as he only played one game in Nationals and not against SA in final game – and they will also highlight the nature of his goals – he gets an incredible amount of his goals from snaps and leading his defender under the ball and getting it out the back – the criticism here being he will not get away with this at AFL level. My view – whilst he is not a high possession winner, he is a very clever footballer who has performed extremely well both forward and back and that versatility will hold him in good stead. 2019 will define his draft position but in 2020 he will be playing AFL football.

Please note that I have only mentioned players who have has bottom age experience in 2018 Nationals because at this point clubs have them at the top of their lists. There are plenty of boys with promise who we will find out more shortly…
8 months is a long time in footy. There's a few kids here in WA that are smokies at this stage. Like Clark last year, once the seasons commence I think more kids will press for selection.
 

Tex Danger

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Reckon he's missed one WA high end talent there in Mitchell Georgiades, a silky skilled 191cm forward with great overhead prowess and sticky fingers matched up with a supremely accurate kick. Not hard to see why he's so good overhead with those long arms.

View attachment 636041
May be as to him saying it was from what he had seen which appeared skewed to Victorians
 

Tex Danger

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I am in agreeance with the idea that those that play against older players and perform are rated higher

Walker and Fogarty come to mind
Interesting the interpretation if that including how the my perform in their underage years. Always talked about in the sense of SANFL, Tassie and WAFL exposure. But that little exposure in underage year of U18s etc also makes sense.
 

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Interesting the interpretation if that including how the my perform in their underage years. Always talked about in the sense of SANFL, Tassie and WAFL exposure. But that little exposure in underage year of U18s etc also makes sense.
Its why he has Jackson and Gould also in there

Jackson yes, Gould maybe. But Gould will know he is being watched
 
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Our NGA prospect Daniel Sladojevic with 2 goals for the Panthers reserves in their trial game against the Roosters on the weekend.
Would want to start getting a few more in the reserves and push for a few senior games to get me interested. Will probably be one of the KPFs for SA in the championships where we will get a good enough look into whether he looks like a player worth persisting with. At AFL level he looks like he could be a good third tall especially if come end of the year we have Fogarty and H.Himmelburg on the list. Or we could develop him as a defender?
 

ChilliP

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