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- Sep 4, 2014
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- Western Bulldogs
Was recently in the bigfooty phantom draft and finally got to doing the writeps
So I basically missed out on Croft because someone bid on him at pick 9 and I chose not to match. Lual went at pick 31 as well and I have to say I wasn't disappointed I missed out on both because there's still some very good players at pick 35. Small forwards in Callinan, Anasastopoulos and Sanchez I rate all above Smith, but chose not to take them because I do think we need a developing inside mid with a good defensive mindset.
Anyway it was an interesting exercise.
So what's everyone's thoughts? Am I sacked?
So I basically missed out on Croft because someone bid on him at pick 9 and I chose not to match. Lual went at pick 31 as well and I have to say I wasn't disappointed I missed out on both because there's still some very good players at pick 35. Small forwards in Callinan, Anasastopoulos and Sanchez I rate all above Smith, but chose not to take them because I do think we need a developing inside mid with a good defensive mindset.
Anyway it was an interesting exercise.
So what's everyone's thoughts? Am I sacked?
Joel Freijah
191cm, 86kg
Winger/Midfielder
Freijah is a wingman first with very good decision making and composure skills that regularly delivers well by hand and foot to his team mates advantage.
He's quite a good all round athlete as well, with a good burst of speed and can duck and weave his way through traffic showing good agility. He can also play as an onballer where he is quite clean and has good vision inside the contest. He will need to improve the physical side of his game and be a bit quicker by hand to be a full time mid though. It is possible, as this year he's shown quite a good level of improvement particularly in the physicality side of things and is now having a big impact in games. In the last three games he's played he's kicked 6 goals, had 26 disposals and laid 7 tackles in what was a complete performance. In the next game he had 35 disposals in a Vic Country trial game. Then in the Young guns game, whilst he had much quieter game, the quality of his disposal particularly by hand really stood out. Some of his taps to teammates also showed his footy smarts and awareness.
With a latish birthday, it looks like there's plenty more upside to come and it will be interesting to see the heights he reaches this year. I dare say he won't be available at this pick, but if he was, he would be a great pick up for the dogs especially with the lack of wing options we have on our list.
191cm, 86kg
Winger/Midfielder
Freijah is a wingman first with very good decision making and composure skills that regularly delivers well by hand and foot to his team mates advantage.
He's quite a good all round athlete as well, with a good burst of speed and can duck and weave his way through traffic showing good agility. He can also play as an onballer where he is quite clean and has good vision inside the contest. He will need to improve the physical side of his game and be a bit quicker by hand to be a full time mid though. It is possible, as this year he's shown quite a good level of improvement particularly in the physicality side of things and is now having a big impact in games. In the last three games he's played he's kicked 6 goals, had 26 disposals and laid 7 tackles in what was a complete performance. In the next game he had 35 disposals in a Vic Country trial game. Then in the Young guns game, whilst he had much quieter game, the quality of his disposal particularly by hand really stood out. Some of his taps to teammates also showed his footy smarts and awareness.
With a latish birthday, it looks like there's plenty more upside to come and it will be interesting to see the heights he reaches this year. I dare say he won't be available at this pick, but if he was, he would be a great pick up for the dogs especially with the lack of wing options we have on our list.
Logan Evans
188cm, 78kg
Medium Defender
Evans is an intercept defender that reads the play well and is a good overhead mark. His ability to turn defence into attack is first rate with his speed, agility, penetrating foot skills and intercept ability all impressive. Defensively he's more then capable one on one and has good closing speed. He's also been able to stand up physically to bigger bodies, already playing 4 senior games for his SANFL side Norwood and averaging over 4 tackles a game.
To be a bit nit picky, while he has shown he's more then capable defensively, sometimes the balance is not always right and he can play a bit too loose although that can be coached in time. Another one, whilst his disposal is good, to take his game to the next level I would like to see him pull off some more riskier options. His disposal is very good though going at 92% at U18 level last year and at 80% at senior level.
From a needs perspective he's not really a big need for the dogs, but thought he was too good to pass up. That said, I think this could release Richards or Dale to play further up the ground. I had Richards in mind in particular as has the capabilities to move into the midfield.
188cm, 78kg
Medium Defender
Evans is an intercept defender that reads the play well and is a good overhead mark. His ability to turn defence into attack is first rate with his speed, agility, penetrating foot skills and intercept ability all impressive. Defensively he's more then capable one on one and has good closing speed. He's also been able to stand up physically to bigger bodies, already playing 4 senior games for his SANFL side Norwood and averaging over 4 tackles a game.
To be a bit nit picky, while he has shown he's more then capable defensively, sometimes the balance is not always right and he can play a bit too loose although that can be coached in time. Another one, whilst his disposal is good, to take his game to the next level I would like to see him pull off some more riskier options. His disposal is very good though going at 92% at U18 level last year and at 80% at senior level.
From a needs perspective he's not really a big need for the dogs, but thought he was too good to pass up. That said, I think this could release Richards or Dale to play further up the ground. I had Richards in mind in particular as has the capabilities to move into the midfield.
Jake Smith
185cm, 79kg
Midfielder
Primarily an inside mid at this stage, Jake is a very clean and composed player inside the contest with a good physical presence. He's building pretty well into this season increasing his disposal numbers and getting more outside ball which is good to see. He's also been very good defensively averaging 7 tackles a game. In terms of foot skills, he has a nice penetrating left foot which can really break the play open and it's nice to see him use it a bit more often as he can handball a lot. Some of the knocks I have is I'm not sure what other position he can play. Lacks a bit of goal sense, so probably not a forward and probably needs to improve his aerial game to be a backman.
With the loss of Dunkley and our other mids getting older, the dogs really do need to find replacements to develop into the future. This is probably a bit high for Smith, but we do have a need for defensive mids and I thought he was the best one available.
185cm, 79kg
Midfielder
Primarily an inside mid at this stage, Jake is a very clean and composed player inside the contest with a good physical presence. He's building pretty well into this season increasing his disposal numbers and getting more outside ball which is good to see. He's also been very good defensively averaging 7 tackles a game. In terms of foot skills, he has a nice penetrating left foot which can really break the play open and it's nice to see him use it a bit more often as he can handball a lot. Some of the knocks I have is I'm not sure what other position he can play. Lacks a bit of goal sense, so probably not a forward and probably needs to improve his aerial game to be a backman.
With the loss of Dunkley and our other mids getting older, the dogs really do need to find replacements to develop into the future. This is probably a bit high for Smith, but we do have a need for defensive mids and I thought he was the best one available.
Coby James
176cm, 72kg
Utility
Primarily playing as a midfielder this season, where he can dart in and out of congestion. James can play in a number of different roles for a side with his defensive game and his combination of speed, agility and endurance also a feature. He's also quite a confident and creative player taking the game on when he can. Perhaps he could use it better at times, although he's someone that generally takes the riskier option and can pull it off.
It will be interesting to see where he develops. For the dogs, I'd be attempting to develop him as a lock down small defender as he is ok overhead or use him as a pressure forward that could take turns in the midfield.
176cm, 72kg
Utility
Primarily playing as a midfielder this season, where he can dart in and out of congestion. James can play in a number of different roles for a side with his defensive game and his combination of speed, agility and endurance also a feature. He's also quite a confident and creative player taking the game on when he can. Perhaps he could use it better at times, although he's someone that generally takes the riskier option and can pull it off.
It will be interesting to see where he develops. For the dogs, I'd be attempting to develop him as a lock down small defender as he is ok overhead or use him as a pressure forward that could take turns in the midfield.
Tom Beaumont
186cm
Midfielder/Forward
Strong, big bodied inside midfielder, that can push forward and kick goals. Very clean player and a bull at the clearances. Also has good endurance and a good leap making him a threat when up forward along with his one on one work.
186cm
Midfielder/Forward
Strong, big bodied inside midfielder, that can push forward and kick goals. Very clean player and a bull at the clearances. Also has good endurance and a good leap making him a threat when up forward along with his one on one work.
Clay Tucker
204cm, 99kg
Ruckman
Has really improved from last season and caught my in the last young guns game. Starting to impose himself a bit more around the ground and in the ruck contests. He is pretty mobile with good agility and is starting to improve his forward game with his marking and is getting into better positions to receive the ball.
The dogs could do with another developing ruckman with Sweet as the only backup option.
204cm, 99kg
Ruckman
Has really improved from last season and caught my in the last young guns game. Starting to impose himself a bit more around the ground and in the ruck contests. He is pretty mobile with good agility and is starting to improve his forward game with his marking and is getting into better positions to receive the ball.
The dogs could do with another developing ruckman with Sweet as the only backup option.
