2023 AFL Draft General Discussion

[Davo-27]

I was told the three U18 boys training with the pies are tassie boys. Jack, Colby and Riley

Might be Jack Callinan(Tas), Colby McKercher(Tas) and Rhyley Sanders?(Sand/Tas) they are the 3 Tassie boys in my top 50.

 

[giantroo]

Might be Jack Callinan, Colby McKercher and Rhyley Sanders?

Yes.

 

[RanaNaved]

I wouldn't be shocked to see Croft have a similarly dramatic bolt into the first round though, Metro staff very very high on him

Big call.

Who do you think are the most likely NAB league key position players this year?
Also, do you happen to know Noah Longs' 20m time? His quick acceleration at training was a little surprising to me

 

[PMBangers]

Big call.

Who do you think are the most likely NAB league key position players this year?
Also, do you happen to know Noah Longs' 20m time? His quick acceleration at training was a little surprising to me

Long had 3.05 as his best run at the combine, but was pretty sore from the season as well.

Thankfully there's a few that I think will be worth tracking this year, from last seasons performances; Connor O'Sullivan (Murray), Riley Weatherill (Eastern), Logan Morris (Western) and Will Brown (Sandringham) are the ones I like the most, and if Nate Caddy can get to 194cm+ he'll likely be the first of the lot taken. George Stevens also one to watch on return from his ACL, but being so physically developed may not attract as much early attention at the draft

 

[pushintheback]

Breaking news apparently

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Might be Jack Callinan(Tas), Colby McKercher(Tas) and Rhyley Sanders?(Sand/Tas) they are the 3 Tassie boys in my top 50.

Is he ian's son?

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Is he ian's son?

Jack?

Yes.

 

[andleanback]

Can’t wait to see this kid light it up in 2023z

 

[pushintheback]

Can’t wait to see this kid light it up in 2023z

View attachment 1591721

He looks like he's ready to go now. I reckon there should be some flexibility in the draft age. eg if Harley had finished school last year in his bottom age year he should be eligible for the draft, but only if he has completed yr 12. This would keep the guidelines clear.
As for Harley being #1 pick I'm hearing some good things come out about other players so he may not have it all his own way. But its hard to see him losing the #1 spot.

 

[weltschmerz]

He looks like he's ready to go now. I reckon there should be some flexibility in the draft age. eg if Harley had finished school last year in his bottom age year he should be eligible for the draft, but only if he has completed yr 12. This would keep the guidelines clear.
As for Harley being #1 pick I'm hearing some good things come out about other players so he may not have it all his own way. But its hard to see him losing the #1 spot.

Can be good for a young bloke to spend a year working before going into the AFL.

 

[GC2015]

He looks like he's ready to go now. I reckon there should be some flexibility in the draft age. eg if Harley had finished school last year in his bottom age year he should be eligible for the draft, but only if he has completed yr 12. This would keep the guidelines clear.
As for Harley being #1 pick I'm hearing some good things come out about other players so he may not have it all his own way. But its hard to see him losing the #1 spot.

The same thing was said about Matt Rowell at the end of 2018 after his bottom age season and look how quickly his body broke down in 2020 when he faced the rigours of AFL footy. You can't underestimate the development that's required for a player to genuinely compete in an AFL level midfield for entire season. It's virtually impossible for a 17 year old to possess the kind of body that can handle the physicality that's applied from an opposition player that's battle hardened like Dangerfield or Dusty. We're seeing the same thing with Sam Walsh right now.

 

[pushintheback]

The same thing was said about Matt Rowell at the end of 2018 after his bottom age season and look how quickly his body broke down in 2020 when he faced the rigours of AFL footy. You can't underestimate the development that's required for a player to genuinely compete in an AFL level midfield for entire season. It's virtually impossible for a 17 year old to possess the kind of body that can handle the physicality that's applied from an opposition player that's battle hardened like Dangerfield or Dusty. We're seeing the same thing with Sam Walsh right now.

I agree and disagree. There are players in the draft every year that miss or qualify for the draft by a matter of days. IMO Harley Reid is good example of someone that if there was flex in the draft rules he could make the shift.

 

[andleanback]

He looks like he's ready to go now. I reckon there should be some flexibility in the draft age. eg if Harley had finished school last year in his bottom age year he should be eligible for the draft, but only if he has completed yr 12. This would keep the guidelines clear.
As for Harley being #1 pick I'm hearing some good things come out about other players so he may not have it all his own way. But its hard to see him losing the #1 spot.

I think he’d get a spot in a lot afl sides in round 1, so versatile and can play anywhere.

Yep the the top end of this years draft looks very exciting

 

[GC2015]

I agree and disagree. There are players in the draft every year that miss or qualify for the draft by a matter of days. IMO Harley Reid is good example of someone that if there was flex in the draft rules he could make the shift.

Sure but would he actually have success at the top level if he was getting ready to play in the AFL this year? Keep in mind the Victorian development pathway has these kids only competing against other kids their own age for the most part and very rarely do they get the opportunity to play against men in other top level leagues like the VFL. I know a lot of onlookers said Will Ashcroft could have played in the AFL in 2022 if the rules allowed it and he's an example of a player that finished school in his bottom age year due to moving from Queensland as a teenager. We'll never actually know if a 17 year old uni student Will Ashcroft would have been at the level required to play round 1 for Brisbane last year but his 2022 performances in the VFL (32 disposals, 6 tackles and a goal in his final 2022 VFL game against Sandingham) seem to suggest he would have been ok but it's entirely possible he would have gotten injured early on in the season ala Matt Rowell and could be stuck on the sidelines now.

Even 6 extra months can make a huge difference when talking about player development. Look at the last 10 winners of the Rising Star award and you'll see 60% of them were born in their first quarter of the year, 80% of them were born in the first half of the year and it would have been 90% if Walsh was born 3 days earlier - Daicos (Feb), Jackson (Sep), Serong (Feb), Walsh (Jul), Stephenson (Jan), McGrath (Jun), Mills (Apr), Hogan (Feb), Taylor (Feb) and O'Meara (Feb). Is that a coincidence or does a player that's born earlier in the year have an inherent development advantage when compared to their contemporaries that were born later in the year?

Now we're talking about potentially pulling the draft year back a further 12 months. It just feels like a bad idea to me. I think the AFL have it right at the moment because it allows these kids to finish year 12 and keep their options open should footy not work out while also not being thrown into the deep end when they're too young and don't have the body capable of handling the physicality of AFL footy over a 24 week season. We need to have a cut off somewhere and I think the end of their 18th year (usually the end of year 12) seems as logical as any for multiple reasons.

 

[pushintheback]

Sure but would he actually have success at the top level if he was getting ready to play in the AFL this year? Keep in mind the Victorian development pathway has these kids only competing against other kids their own age for the most part and very rarely do they get the opportunity to play against men in other top level leagues like the VFL. I know a lot of onlookers said Will Ashcroft could have played in the AFL in 2022 if the rules allowed it and he's an example of a player that finished school in his bottom age year due to moving from Queensland as a teenager. We'll never actually know if a 17 year old uni student Will Ashcroft would have been at the level required to play round 1 for Brisbane last year but his 2022 performances in the VFL (32 disposals, 6 tackles and a goal in his final 2022 VFL game against Sandingham) seem to suggest he would have been ok but it's entirely possible he would have gotten injured early on in the season ala Matt Rowell and could be stuck on the sidelines now.

Even 6 extra months can make a huge difference when talking about player development. Look at the last 10 winners of the Rising Star award and you'll see 60% of them were born in their first quarter of the year, 80% of them were born in the first half of the year and it would have been 90% if Walsh was born 3 days earlier - Daicos (Feb), Jackson (Sep), Serong (Feb), Walsh (Jul), Stephenson (Jan), McGrath (Jun), Mills (Apr), Hogan (Feb), Taylor (Feb) and O'Meara (Feb). Is that a coincidence or does a player that's born earlier in the year have an inherent development advantage when compared to their contemporaries that were born later in the year?

Now we're talking about potentially pulling the draft year back a further 12 months. It just feels like a bad idea to me. I think the AFL have it right at the moment because it allows these kids to finish year 12 and keep their options open should footy not work out while also not being thrown into the deep end when they're too young and don't have the body capable of handling the physicality of AFL footy over a 24 week season. We need to have a cut off somewhere and I think the end of their 18th year (usually the end of year 12) seems as logical as any for multiple reasons.

Very valid summary and I love the stats element (I trust they're accurate). I also think the current system is fine but all I am saying is I still think there is room to draft a 17yr old if they have finished school. If they're not up to playing AFL then a year in the VFL would serve them well. Its never going to happen, its just a discussion topic. Ashcroft would have played more AFL games than VFL this year. I get the Matt Rowell point but he was thrown into the midfield from pretty much game one because GC had next to no decent mids. If he had of gone to say Richmond or Melb he probably would have started as a HF.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Zane Duursma and Cooper Simpson are training with Melbourne this week.

This follows McKercher, Callinan and Sanders training with Collingwood and Harley Reid training with Essendon plus McAuliffe and Moir with Adelaide.

 

[Boots73]

He looks like he's ready to go now. I reckon there should be some flexibility in the draft age. eg if Harley had finished school last year in his bottom age year he should be eligible for the draft, but only if he has completed yr 12. This would keep the guidelines clear.
As for Harley being #1 pick I'm hearing some good things come out about other players so he may not have it all his own way. But its hard to see him losing the #1 spot.

Can you throw out some names please mate ?
Would be good to follow some of these young guns when they play

 

[TDS7]

Zane Duursma and Cooper Simpson are training with Melbourne this week.

This follows McKercher, Callinan and Sanders training with Collingwood and Harley Reid training with Essendon plus McAuliffe and Moir with Adelaide.

Duursma, Reid, and Watson were seen down at Hawks training through the week. McCabe was up for the Christmas training sessions, even snuck in the team Christmas photo.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Duursma, Reid, and Watson were seen down at Hawks training through the week. McCabe was up for the Christmas training sessions, even snuck in the team Christmas photo.

Wonder how often McCabe will train with the Hawks.

Feel like him and Kynan Brown will get more training opportunities with Hawthorn and Melbourne respectively.

 

[TDS7]

Wonder how often McCabe will train with the Hawks.

Feel like him and Kynan Brown will get more training opportunities with Hawthorn and Melbourne respectively.

I imagine it will be sparingly given his school, local, and state commitments from now until the end of the season. It's quite a bit to ask of a kid to come up to Melbourne just to have a run with the lads.

 

[Suntory Boss Coffee]

Harley Reid training footage.

 

[JT_the_Man]

Can we keep him pretty please?

 

[Davo-27]

Archer Reid and Nick Watson performing well in match sims at Hawks training.

 

[PMBangers]

Harley Reid training footage.

I'm exclusively watching Bendigo Pioneers games this season, and that would be the very first time anyone has said that

 

[pushintheback]

I'm exclusively watching Bendigo Pioneers games this season, and that would be the very first time anyone has said that

I might join u, although I suspect it will be a Nick Daicos type season only playing a handful of NAB games. He absolutely dominated in the mid.