Analysis 2021 draft thread

[WhiteLionFeva]

A few here not happy but over at the Eagles for some reason a lot are unhappy with Chesser -perhaps part of that is swapping picks with Port who snapped up Sinn. Probably more than a few Tigers fans unhappy with Brown as well.

I thought that swap of picks was a bit strange.

 

[Dalions]

Or the player ranked 12 & 13 were taken prior to Wilmot

Very real chance we rated both Brown and JVR ahead of Kai.

About time we got a good mullet to the club anyway.

 

[scoman]

I thought that swap of picks was a bit strange.

I think they were all in on Chesser and managed to nab a future pick (I think that's what it was?) by shuffling down a couple of picks. It was a good example of being agile im the draft.

 

[ItsRaynerGoals]

Surely Pepsi Max come onboard as sponsors

 

[Warwick]

Oh and another point.

Why is no one talking about the most disappointing aspect of the entire night?

Our new polo shirts.. Yuk!!

And it may be my imagination, but I swear that bloody lion has snuck even further down the guernsey. Cut half the blue yoke and get that bloody thing back up on the tit where it belongs!!

 

[martinson]

Very real chance we rated both Brown and JVR ahead of Kai.

About time we got a good mullet to the club anyway.

Definitely in the case of Van Rooyen.

I've got no knock on our picks last night just our tactics over the last few years or so . But unless you're in the inner circle and specifically know the circumstances it's hard to comment. But this is a blog and we're entitled to our opinions.

The club is always happy with the outcome but they did seem genuinely satisfied last night.

 

[Gibbo_88]

I get that everyone is passionate about the club and some people really like the drafting side and have an eye for talent. How many people are dedicating significant amounts of time every week and have followed these kids for years? Talk to the parents, club coaches, school teachers? Yes, the club will make mistakes as do all but it's so strange to make big calls about who we drafted the next day. If you're so good at seeing talent and know how the system works, you'll know it takes years to evaluate if a club got the draft right.

The club wants really good depth and to have sustained success of top 8 finishes like Geelong, at this stage everything is heading in the right direction. One player that you think we reached for outside of the top 10 picks is so unlikely to make a difference in the end.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

Very real chance we rated both Brown and JVR ahead of Kai.

Nope. Both after if I recall correctly.

 

[Mighty Lions]

I was left wondering if Kai Lohmann pick would've changed if Van Rooyen wasn't selected by Demons.

Kai fitted our list perfectly and although we probably picked him earlier than the "experts" predicted, the intel yesterday was that he would definitely be picked up in the mid 20 pick's and we would have missed him had we not selected him with our second pick......allegedly.

 

[WhiteLionFeva]

I think they were all in on Chesser and managed to nab a future pick (I think that's what it was?) by shuffling down a couple of picks. It was a good example of being agile im the draft.

I thought from the graphic last night that they swapped future second round picks but that wasn't the case. My mistake. Agree, it was a deft swap but not one West Coast supporters will necessarily appreciate.

 

[mattsmob]

Kai fitted our list perfectly and although we probably picked him earlier than the "experts" predicted, the intel yesterday was that he would definitely be picked up in the mid 20 pick's and we would have missed him had we not selected him with our second pick......allegedly.

Not disagreeing but what in your opinion makes him a perfect fit for our list?

 

[Mighty Lions]

Not disagreeing but what in your opinion makes him a perfect fit for our list?

Not my opinion. I've never seen him play or even seen his "tiny" highlight reel. Just what I've heard from the club.

 

[Crusha]

Not sure whether these are accurate ..... but loved reading them just the same .

Had a colleague call me today to talk about Willmot, apparently his father was as tough as nails in his playing days and he is the same too.

Brisbane may have snagged a really good one here.

Going to be a star IMO. Hodge like hardness off the HBF.

Music to my ears

 

[mpal6]

Kai fitted our list perfectly and although we probably picked him earlier than the "experts" predicted, the intel yesterday was that he would definitely be picked up in the mid 20 pick's and we would have missed him had we not selected him with our second pick......allegedly.

Yep, no question about Kai's selection.
I was curious whether Van Rooyen availability would've changed our decision in anyway, even if it meant missing out on Kai.

 

[mattsmob]

Not my opinion. I've never seen him play or even seen his "tiny" highlight reel. Just what I've heard from the club.

Feel free to not answer this but did the club also see Ely as a perfect fit in his draft year? Or do you sense there's a different feeling around our draftees this year?
Not knocking the Ely pick as there weren't many options still available when we selected him but maybe he wasn't as high on their list as Wilmot and Lohman seemed to be this year.

 

[Berrygood]

Given the comments re. a tall being sought at 41, and given there is no move up to an earlier pick, I would expect that Bazzo, Dean and Williams (the most mentioned, still available, talls) to be likely gone by then.
Does that leave a possibility of another GWV Rebel in Josh Rentsch ....... Morrish medal winner, 197cm 100kg Tall Fwd.

Anyone seen him play?

(Couldn't find any vision (read: Highlights video) .......... so might just be a Lions type player ...... )

Yeah mate, I don't mind Rentsch either, he reads pretty well but could be seen as the big kid v smaller yet to develop kids. How would that transfer into the afl, I don't know but I think that size gives him a head start v others. I'd be happy to take the chance on him. I like Jack Williams as well, he would be my preferred if he slipped to our pick. One can hope. The lad delisted by Geelong, name beginning with S that I can't remember or spell atm could be an option too.

For a kp defender, Dean probably best left but I think he may go before we can get to him. Bazzo has been mentioned here as well.

I'm only guessing here on the players I've mentioned. I'd like to see us take a tall kpp, even a tall utility if available. It depends on how many other clubs are looking for the same. If we are keen on that type, maybe 41 and next yrs second round (if we got one) could bump us up enough to get one.

Who knows what will happen with our third but I'm ready for anything.

 

[Dalions]

Feel free to not answer this but did the club also see Ely as a perfect fit in his draft year? Or do you sense there's a different feeling around our draftees this year?
Not knocking the Ely pick as there weren't many options still available when we selected him but maybe he wasn't as high on their list as Wilmot and Lohman seemed to be this year.

The 2 from last night seemed over the moon to be selected by the Lions, which automatically puts them ahead of the Ely curve.

 

[briztoon]

I was left wondering if Kai Lohmann pick would've changed if Van Rooyen wasn't selected by Demons.

No.

 

[briztoon]

I thought it was interesting that Wilmot was rated 11 and Lohmann 14 by us. Means two of Brown, Sheldrick and JVR were ranked 12 and 13 assuming we picked going down our board.

12. Sinn
13. chesser

 

[Saucery]

The more I read about Lohmann, looks like he'll take over from Robbo and fill the larrikin quota in the team.

Sharp and Lohmann on either wings feels like a good investment to me.

This kid does a better interview than half the mutts running around now, number one media draft pic IMHO.

 

[KissKiss]

12. Sinn
13. chesser

Interesting to see 3 HBF style players in a row in our rankings there and then another forward flanker

 

[Dalions]

12. Sinn
13. chesser

So we would have still taken Wilmot over Sinn!

 

[scoman]

I thought from the graphic last night that they swapped future second round picks but that wasn't the case. My mistake. Agree, it was a deft swap but not one West Coast supporters will necessarily appreciate.

Yeah it was curious that they went for Chesser over Sinn. There was some suggestion they were interested in Sinn as well at some point, because he was listed on a couple of Phantoms as going to them.
Imho they are similar players. Both having performed at a very high level at u16 level and then had interruptions since. Both quick and athletic and better on the outside. However, I heard it mentioned last night that Sinn is crazy quick, like 100m time in the 10's quick and seems a better kick. My theory is they rated Chesser higher on character and less of a flight risk.

 

[WhiteLionFeva]

Yeah it was curious that they went for Chesser over Sinn. There was some suggestion they were interested in Sinn as well at some point, because he was listed on a couple of Phantoms as going to them.
Imho they are similar players. Both having performed at a very high level at u16 level and then had interruptions since. Both quick and athletic and better on the outside. However, I heard it mentioned last night that Sinn is crazy quick, like 100m time in the 10's quick and seems a better kick. My theory is they rated Chesser higher on character and less of a flight risk.

Chesser mentioned we were also showing interest. Definitely doesn't seem as quick as Sinn, but good hands.

 

[briztoon]

Couple of points.

I have absolutely zero knowledge of any of the players so can’t make a call one way or another in terms of how well we did or otherwise. Sure, I know the names Sonsie, Draper, Johnson, Goater, Butler and think “wow, how are they still on the board!” They could all belong to Qanon and drown cats for all I know.

But there’s been multiple incidents of people blowing up on draft night because the Lions haven’t followed BigFooty or the other phantoms’ groupthink (Starc and Sharp a couple of recent examples). Even Bailey was thought as being way too early.

One argument that I will never get is the thought that we could move 10-15 places down the order and still get the same player. How would you possibly know that? Short answer - you don’t.

Another point is that we can all have an opinion about a young player and why they should have gone earlier and all the rest of it - and in many instances, after a few years, it does look like we could do a better job than the experts. However we have absolutely no idea how they interview, whether they’d be happy relocating, what their personal situation is like and so on. This is where you need to trust the recruiters who have actually met the kids.

I will say that we have probably been one of the worst clubs in maximising our assets since future and live pick trading came in. That’s a combination of bad luck (have lost out on all of our future first round gambles), early bid for Coleman etc, and bad business (subsequent pick swaps losing significant value over time).

Anyway, can’t wait to see the melts on here when we pick a complete random at 41 tonight!

There’s a small group here who do watch a bit of underage footy during the year, some who post more than others (and I’m not including myself here). It’s clear there’s a couple of Victorian based posters who watch a fair bit live, and others who watch as much footy as they can (the nab league app is garbage btw).

So there’s a few here who form their opinions not based on phantom drafts or media rankings, but on there own viewing.

There’s a heck of a lot of posters on the draft board who watch a lot of live footy.

I’ll give you on example, who has commented here over the years. Mutineer lives out Ballarat way and watches every GWV Rebels games, and the local league. He’s probably watched every kid out that way from about 14 years of age.

There are people here (BigFooty) worth listening to and respecting their opinion.


As for Starcevich.

Well the recruiter at last night’s function said in Starcevich’s draft year, he went over and watched Starcevich play live 6 times. Reckons he didn’t see Starcevich get a touch, and couldn’t see what Conole saw in him.

Sometimes people see players differently. Even amongst those paid to evaluate talent.