Unofficial Preview 2020 Draft Discussion

[danielG]

When you run some comparisons he's playing at roughly the same level as Day, wouldn't it have been nice to get both of them!

We’d have missed out on Day and got Noah and Finn if Dean Anderson played 17 more games for the mighty Hawks.. At this stage I’m ok with having Will by chance instead of Anderson.. or we may have gone into points defecit and missed a chance our number one target this year..

 

[Adrian Dodoro]

Why wouldn’t we if we had a top 3-4 pick?

I wrote this post before JOM and Sicily went down.

We will absolutely have the opportunity to get McDonald, Thilthorpe or DGB.

 

[Sirlemsip]

With Sydney tied to Campbell it really doesn't matter if they pick just before us and also Freo is in points deficit so they may not matter either. Who do we feel Adelaide and North will go for?

Of course it matters if Sydney get a pick before us. If we finish above them on the ladder it will look more like:

Pick 1 - Western Bulldogs - Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (bid matched from Adelaide)
Pick 2 - Adelaide - Riley Thilthorpe
Pick 3 - North Melbourne - Logan McDonald
Pick 4 - Sydney - Elijah Hollands
Pick 5 - Sydney - Braeden Campbell (matching Hawks Bid)
Pick 6 - Hawthorn - Denver Grainger-Barras

I would be happy with DGB, but Hollands or one of the three tall forwards would be a much better fit for us.

 

[Adrian Dodoro]

If we have pick 3 I have a sneaking suspicion we will get Hollands, seems like he could make immediate impact.

But if we do not, Phillips is not the answer. We have too many players who can eventually play inside mid. And I think Mitchell and Worpel performances this year proves that inside mids cant perform with too many cooks in the kitchen

 

[Bugs1977]

I hate this way of thinking. How long should we tank for, according to you? Just this year, or do we stunt any attempt to climb the ladder in the name of draft picks?

It really depends on what you class as tanking. IMO there is tanking (losing on purpose) and then there is what you call development whereas you play some young kids to see if they should be retained and also maybe trial some guys in different positions to see if that might be an option come next season. To the outside some might see what I describe as tanking and it might be to a degree but there's a big difference in losing games on purpose and using the rest of the season to better your list for next season. Finals are almost mathematically gone and will be after the Port game so I'm definitely in favour of going the development route the rest of the way and then also giving guys like Burgoyne, Poppy and Stratts a send off for the last game.

 

[cryptor]

I hate this way of thinking. How long should we tank for, according to you? Just this year, or do we stunt any attempt to climb the ladder in the name of draft picks?

"Tanking" to me suggests going out there with the intention to lose, or to not win (semantics). I agree that should never be our 'goal'.

What I think we should be doing is recognising that wins don't benefit us for the rest of this season, but what would benefit us is getting some experience into younger players on the list whilst also seeing what they offer against AFL opposition. The fact that this also makes wins less likely is simply a positive side effect as far as our draft hand is concerned.

The instructions to the team should still be to try and win every game. A win in our remaining games with a team full of young players would still have value for the club/team, just not for the draft.

Then in 2021 we should be trying to win the flag until we're potentially in the same position we are now.

 

[Bugs1977]

Are we looking at a rebuild or a retool? There's little point rebuilding with so much invested in Mitchell, O'Meara and Wingard already.

That said, if we trust our talent ID then it makes sense to trade out of next year and into this year given there'll be a lot of clubs wanting to do the opposite.

I don't think you will ever hear the HFC come out and say we are rebuilding but it doesn't mean we aren't or have already sort of started. I guess if guys like Breust or Gunston get traded this offseason then that's what it will be signalling (rebuild). I'd call what Port did as a retool with the difference to rebuilding being that you don't totally bottom out but rather just have a season or 2 picking in the top 10 combined with some savvy trades.

 

[theiaofseed]

Don't we need points for Downie though?

Wouldn't cost much I'd assume, say if a bid at 35 comes it would only cost us Picks 54 and 55. Since he was only seen as a mid range bid last year and not playing for the year he should slide

 

[hawkheart]

In terms of final ladder position and therefore an early pick, at least we’re not conflicted having to play our main early pick rivals, North and Syd. Basically we have to barrack for them both to win games.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Campbell will be a swan 100%

No doubt, but we can still bid on him

 

[Stratton24]

GC get to add Davies straight to their list for free, no bids or draft picks used. Total joke.

 

[Noel Gallagher]

No games in TAC cup this year may well be a blessing in disguise re Downie. Is a established outside midfielder with speed and a lovely left boot. Was poised to spend more time as an inside mid this year. May well have dominated in this position which could have easily pushed him into top ten.

We should get him pretty cheaply now I think

 

[JaegarTime]

I hate getting tunnel vision for a kid like I do with Elijah Hollands haha. Will be so disappointed if we don’t get him

 

[KermitJagger]

GC get to add Davies straight to their list for free, no bids or draft picks used. Total joke.

After Gold Coast's improved performance this year I hope they remove those concessions.

 

[rei154]

I hate getting tunnel vision for a kid like I do with Elijah Hollands haha. Will be so disappointed if we don’t get him

Have done the same thing- to the point where I'm less interested in players like Thillithorpe haha
Would love to some how get an extra pick in the first round

 

[KermitJagger]

I hate getting tunnel vision for a kid like I do with Elijah Hollands haha. Will be so disappointed if we don’t get him

By the same token, it also makes it far more exciting when you pick up a different player who had less hype but turns out to be a great pick.

 

[JaegarTime]

Have done the same thing- to the point where I'm less interested in players like Thillithorpe haha
Would love to some how get an extra pick in the first round

Would love to get another first round to get someone like DGB to be honest. Not overly enthused but Thilthorpe either. McDonald looks like the best KPF

 

[Brishawk]

Are we looking at a rebuild or a retool? There's little point rebuilding with so much invested in Mitchell, O'Meara and Wingard already.

That said, if we trust our talent ID then it makes sense to trade out of next year and into this year given there'll be a lot of clubs wanting to do the opposite.

Regardless, we are not going to devalue our first pick (whatever round that is) when we can bring in late picks to cover the points. I'm ok with trading a future first for a current first.

 

[Brishawk]

Been watching a fair few Youtube content and I must say that if he's available when we pick it's going to be virtually impossible to not pick Elijah Hollands. Yes the knee is concerning but it could very well end up being the reason we get him. I don't mean that in the sense of he's no good but rather that he'd likely have gone pick 1 or 2 if not for being injured. He really does have everything we need. Looks to be able to deliver the ball well into the forward line and can also kick them from well outside 50 too. Just like Downie it's a pity he didn't get to show off more of his talents this year especially more as an on baller. The kid also has that confidence about him and always looks to be having fun (similar to Isaac Smith) and I feel this kind of attitude rubs off on your teammates and shouldn't be understated.

If the draft was held today and assuming Adelaide don't get a priority pick then you'd think it could go:

Pick 1 - Western Bulldogs - Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (bid matched from Adelaide)
Pick 2 - Adelaide - Riley Thilthorpe
Pick 3 - North Melbourne - Logan McDonald
Pick 4 - Hawthorn - Elijah Hollands
Pick 5 - Sydney - Braeden Campbell
Pick 6 - Fremantle - Denver Grainger-Barras
Pick 7 - Gold Coast - Alex Davies
Pick 8 - Carton - Will Phillips

Either way we'll be getting a good kid in but we obviously need so x-factor and I truely believe Hollands has that. If everything plays out like above the only thing I could see us maybe doing something different is putting in a bid for Braeden Campbell to keep Sydney honest. You'd think the club would only do this if they felt Campbell was in fact better than Hollands just in case Sydney call your bluff. Campbell is gonna be gun so a bid could very well be in play.

With Sydney tied to Campbell it really doesn't matter if they pick just before us and also Freo is in points deficit so they may not matter either. Who do we feel Adelaide and North will go for?

Hollands does look an excellent prospect. I'd be happy with any of the top 6 you have listed. We could use all of them

 

[TylerDurden]

DGB at 4? Surely we take Phillips the mid before a key defender? We lack class in the middle. We're desperate for it.

 

[Falco131415]

I don't know about others here, but I get excited about the prospect of injecting top quality youngsters back into the fold.
Though will be tough at times the anticipation of building us up again is salivating.
Yes I know the draft isn't the complete panacea to success, but we desperately need top talent to enter the club.

 

[Brishawk]

DGB at 4? Surely we take Phillips the mid before a key defender? We lack class in the middle. We're desperate for it.

From what I saw of him last year and on video he isn’t class, he is grunt. We could very much us DGB. He and frost would anchor the defence. Yeah d probably go Hollands ahead of him.

 

[burner1]

With swans writing off a few more players for the season it’s going to be touch and go whether we finish below them or north. If swans get below us and already have Campbell in the bag as a academy player could see them taking on Hollands etc. Feels like it evens out after the top 4-5 so a win or two by us could make a material difference in who we get.

With an early pick it’s hard not to go best available but feel Phillips is the worst fit for us (unless we plan on trading out our existing mids).

 

[Mercy Seat]

I don't think you will ever hear the HFC come out and say we are rebuilding but it doesn't mean we aren't or have already sort of started. I guess if guys like Breust or Gunston get traded this offseason then that's what it will be signalling (rebuild). I'd call what Port did as a retool with the difference to rebuilding being that you don't totally bottom out but rather just have a season or 2 picking in the top 10 combined with some savvy trades.

I know this years draft is compromised, but it's a perfect year to finish bottom 3. Season way shortened, the integrity of the comp incredibly compromised, etc etc. I think our form and our position would be way more depressing in a normal year. If we get this off season right, and potentially even pick up some good FA / DFAs, we could be feeling far more optimistic about going into next season (which is only a few months away).

 

[almuz]

First round should be best player available and same with our second - might be able to get a player who slides.

Wouldn’t mind a later pick on a speedy forward pocket - we need more pace above most other things IMO so it’d be a good area to hit on a ‘needs basis’.