Remove this Banner Ad

BigFooty Official 2024 BIGFOOTY OFFICIAL PHANTOM DRAFT

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

PICKS AND SELECTIONS
    • Thread starter
    • Moderator
    • #2
    Round 1
    Pick 1 - Richmond - Sam Lalor (GWV Rebels/ VIC C)
    Pick 2 - North Melbourne - Finn O'Sullivan (Oakeigh Chargers/ VIC C)
    Pick 3 - Brisbane - Levi Ashcroft (Sandringham Dragons/ VIC M) [Matched Bid, used Picks 27, 34,42 and 43, receive Pick 3 and 230 points for Marshall bid)
    Pick 4 - Carlton - Sid Draper (South Adelaide/ SA)
    Pick 5 - Adelaide - Jagga Smith (Oakleigh Chargers/ VIC M)
    Pick 6 - Melbourne - Harvey Langford (Dandenong Stingrays/ VIC C)
    Pick 7 - Richmond - Alix Tauru (Gippsland Power/ VIC C)
    Pick 8 - St Kilda - Josh Smillie (Eastern Ranges / VIC M)
    Pick 9 - St Kilda - Harry Armstrong ( Sandringham Dragons/ VIC M)
    Pick 10 - Melbourne - Murphy Reid (Sandringham Dragons/ VIC M)
    Pick 11 - Richmond - Bo Allan (Peel Thunder/ WA)
    Pick 12 - Essendon - Isaac Kako (Calder Cannons/ VIC M) [Matched Bid, used Picks 28 and 31, receive Pick 12]
    Pick 13 - Richmond - Tobie Travaglia (Bendigo Pioneers/ VIC C)
    Pick 14 - Gold Coast Suns - Leonardo Lombard (Gold Coast Academy, VFL/ QLD) [Matched Bid, used Picks 37 and 39, receive Pick 14]
    Pick 15 - West Coast - Xavier Lindsay (Gippsland Power/ VIC C)
    Pick 16 - Port Adelaide - Taj Hotton (Sandringham Dragons/ VIC M)
    Pick 17 - Fremantle - Joe Berry (Murray Bushrangers/ VIC C)
    Pick 18 - GWS - Harrison Oliver (Sandringham Dragons/ VIC M)
    Pick 19 - GWS - Jack Whitlock (Murray Bushrangers/ VIC C)
    Pick 20 - Western Bulldogs - Ollie Hannaford (GWV Rebels/ VIC C)
    Pick 21 - Richmond - Cooper Hynes (Dandenong Stingrays/ VIC C)
    Pick 22 - Sydney - Jobe Shanahan (Bendigo Pioneers/ NSW)
    Pick 23 - Richmond - Alex Dodson (Sturt/ SA)
    Pick 24 - GWS - Tom Gross (Oakleigh Chargers/ VIC M)
    Pick 25 - Brisbane - Sam Marshall (Sandringham Dragons/ QLD) [Matched Bid, Used Picks 44 and 55]
    Pick 26 - Sydney - Luke Trainor (Sandringham Dragons/ VIC M)
    Pick 27 - Richmond - Jonty Faull (GWV Rebels/ VIC C)

    Round 2
    Pick 28 - Richmond - Thomas Sims (Northern Knights/ VIC M)
    Pick 29 - Western Bulldogs - Hamish Davis (Claremont/ WA)
    Pick 30 - West Coast - Christian Moraes (Eastern Ranges/ VIC M)
    Pick 31 - Port Adelaide - Jesse Dattoli (Northern Knights/ VIC M)
    Pick 32 - Fremantle - Angus Clarke (Glenelg/ SA)
    Pick 33 - St Kilda - Matt Whitlock (Murray Bushrangers/ VIC C)
    Pick 34 - Hawthorn - Hugh Boxshall (Claremont/ WA)
    Pick 35 - Carlton - Ben Camporeale (Glenelg/SA) [Matched Bid, used Pick 38)
    Pick 36 - Western Bulldogs - Jasper Alger (Oakleigh Chargers/ VIC C)
    Pick 37 - Hawthorn - Cody Anderson (Eastern Ranges) [Matched bid, used picks 65 & 71)
    Pick 38 - Port Adelaide -Will Hayes (Claremont/ WA)
    Pick 39 - GWS - Jack Ough (GWV Rebels / VIC C)
    Pick 40 - Essendon - James Barrat (Bendigo Pioneers/ VIC C)

    Round 3
    Pick 41 - Sydney - Luke Urquhart (East Fremantle/ WA)
    Pick 42 - Geelong - Lachie Jacques (Geelong Falcons/ VIC C)
    Pick 43 - Essendon - Lennox Hofman (Sandringham Dragons/ VIC M) [St Kilda elected not to match]
    Pick 44 - St Kilda - Kayle Gerreyn (West Perth/ WA)
    Pick 45 - Western Bulldogs - Harry O'Farrell (Calder Cannons/ VIC M)
    Pick 46 - Port Adelaide - Noah Mraz (Dandenong Stingrays/ VIC C)
    Pick 47 - Gold Coast - Archer Day-Wicks (Bendigo Pioneers/ VIC C)
    Pick 48 - Collingwood - Charlie Nicholls (Central Districts/ SA)
    Pick 49 - Essendon - Sam Davidson (Richmond VFL)
    Pick 50 - Essendon - Charlie West (WWT Eagles/ SA)
    Pick 51 - GWS - Logan Smith (GWS Academy/ ACT) [Matched Bid, Used pick 52 to match)
    Pick 52 - Collingwood - Josh Dolan (Sandringham Dragons/Vic M)
    Pick 53 - Geelong - Clancy Dennis (Claremont/WA)
    Pick 54 - Adelaide - Tyler Welsh (WWT Eagles/ SA) [Matched Bid, using pick 59]
    Pick 55 Collingwood - Floyd Burmeister (GWV Rebels/VIC C)
    Pick 56 - Sydney - Zak Johnson (Northern Knights/ VIC M)

    Round 4
    Pick 57 - Gold Coast - Rhys Unwin (GWV Rebels/ VIC C)
    Pick 58 - West Coast - Malakai Champion (Subiaco/ WA) [Matched Bid, used pick 67]
    Pick 59 - North Melbourne - Gabriel Stumpf (Northern Knights/ VIC M)
    Pick 60 - Carlton - Jaxon Artemis (South Fremantle/ WA)
    Pick 61 - Essendon - Jacob Newton (Norwood/ SA)
    Pick 62 - Brisbane - Harry Charlson (GWV Rebels/ VIC C)
    Pick 63 - Fremantle - Bailey McKenzie (Sandringham Dragons/ VIC M)
    Pick 64 - Carlton - Tom Bell (South Fremantle/ WA)
    Pick 65 - Carlton - Lucas Camporaele (Glenelg/ SA)
    Pick 66 - Gold Coast - Phoenix Hargrave (South Adelaide/ SA)
    Pick 67 - Carlton - Adrian Cole (Sandringham Dragons/ VIC M) [Saints no more picks]
    Pick 68 - GWS - Cody Angove (Claremont/ WA)
    Pick 69 - Geelong - Sam Toner (Dandenong Stingrays/ VIC C)
    Pick 70 - Gold Coast - Nathaniel Sulzberger (Sandringham Dragons/ TAS)
    Pick 71 - Gold Coast - Lucas Ravenhill (Claremont/ WA)
    Pick 72 - Hawthorn - Rome Burgoyne (WWT Eagles/ SA)
     
    Last edited:
    • Pick 1 - Richmond - Sam Lalor
    • PICK 1 - RICHMOND - Sam Lalor - 187cm - Mid/Fwd

    Sam is a bustling bid bodied mid who can play forward. He is just as adept above his head as he is below his knees. Winning his own possessions with a mongrel attack on the ball is his fortè. He tackles hard, can feed it out to options not many others can visualise and also provides a burst away from the pack providing an outside option for his team mates. It is easy to see how he draws comparisons to a young Dustin Martin with his power and explosiveness.
    When forward he can get separation, attack packs, take strong marks, and has a very sound set shot goal kicking routine accompanied by a strong leg making shots from just outside 50 no problem. He is a definite POD having these attributes as a mid who can go forward and should slot into a team round 1 if he has a great preseason and can get over his hamstring injury.

    roos_fanatic08
     
    Last edited:

    • Log in to remove this Banner Ad

    Pick 3 - Brisbane (Matched Bid) - Levi Ashcroft
    • LemmingMaster said:
    Sorry, I will bid on Levi Ashcroft.
    ModernArtillery
    Click to expand...
    Brisbane will match

    Pick 3 - Brisbane
    Levi Ashcroft
    Sandringham Dragons / VIC Metro

    Ranked number 2 on my board, Levi has that premier ball winning type talent and doesn't mind popping up forward to hit the scoreboard. He just knows how to find the footy and doesn't really possess any glaring weaknesses in his game. I'll be intrigued to see how he develops over the coming years with the plethora of midfielders that Brisbane have at their disposal.

    LemmingMaster
     
    Last edited:
    • Pick 4 - Carlton - Sid Draper
    • Pick 4 - Carlton - Sid Draper 182cm 05/07/2006

    With a different set of list needs, this selection can go in a number of directions, there are a number of other players I would happily take here.
    Carlton have come out and stated that speed is something we plan to add in this draft. Lombard and Draper feel like the perfect fit for the blues, if trading with the Suns was not so valuable, I would have really considered bidding on Lombard here. He just has a certain level of strength that Draper currently does not have.

    Drapers strengths - Agile, Quick, Leader, Professional with a strong work rate. He has also performed at all levels, at senior level he did not look out of place. He is a meters gained player, run 10m, kick 40m style player. He will complement the inside ball winners of the blues and break lines.
    Weakness - His kicking is not in the higher end of this draft class. Has had a few injury issues over the years and with Carlton's injury prevention team, that is a concern. (Hopefully that has changed)


    While there was an element of me that wanted two bites of the cherry, Carlton moving up to this selection, I feel this was to get a guy with pure pace. FOS and Draper seem like the most logical selections based on all conversations. Draper can go from 0 to top speed quicker than most people on an AFL list, let alone this draft class. Unlike Dow that had speed he just did not use it, Draper's speed is very noticable. He has been stepping up in big moments even in his younger years, when a big play is required, he makes something happen. Due to his top end speed, there are times when he will need to learn to compose himself before the point of contact, this will help to reduce his kicking errors. Having the ability to take a hit will also help, so that will come with development of his body.

    Thunderstruck
     
    Last edited:
    • Pick 5 - Adelaide - Jagga Smith
    • Adelaide - Pick 5 Jagga Smith Oakleigh Chargers 182cm

    For me this was a simple decision and a win-win with Draper or Smith being the targets. The need for zip and dash around the contests was the number 1 identifier going into this draft for the crows with many same-same one paced onballers. With Draper gone, Smith was the logical choice here.

    Smith is a very studious onballer who demands high standards from himself and his teamates week in week out. He very rarely puts in a poor game, racking up big numbers and setting up numerous forward forays with his agility in congestion, clean hands and vision to be that half a step ahead of his tacklers. Whilst not a powerfully built mid, he is still dangerous with his ability to outwork and outrun his opponents over 4 quarters. Perhaps his main weakness might be his impact per possession and metres gained/penetration however he has had some games where he simply dominates both by hand or foot and is a difficult player to contain. The main comparison to a current player is Zak Butters but without the crazy hard edge or sheer speed of Butters. I can see him playing 300 games fairly easily and becoming one of the premier on-ballers in the comp

    Pie 4 Life
     
    Last edited:
    • Pick 6 - Melbourne - Harvey Langford
    • Harvey-Langford-1.jpg


    Pick 6 - Melbourne - Harvey Langford (Dandenong Stingrays/Vic Country)

    SNAPSHOT: “One of the year’s steepest risers and most reliable performers, boasting a well-rounded game and the ability to impact results through midfield or up forward.” – Michael Alvaro

    Harvey Langford’s top-age season has been one to marvel at. The Dandenong Stingrays star went from a first round chance to bonafide top 10 prospect with an accumulation of best on ground performances, which culminated in him taking out the Larke Medal. What’s more, he led the Stingrays to a Coates Talent League preliminary final.

    This year marked Langford’s third season in Dandenong’s Under 18 program. He debuted as a 16-year-old in 2022, playing one game, before putting together 14 as a bottom-ager. Even then, he posted strong numbers as a mainstay for the Stingrays, who were bundled out in Wildcard Round that year.

    The 190cm midfielder-forward then took his game to new heights. He was selected for the AFL Academy and co-captained Dandenong alongside good mate, Cooper Hynes. His consistency was outstanding all year, only dropping below 20 touches in one of 15 Coates Talent League appearances, and being held goalless just thrice.

    What truly elevated Langford’s standing, though, was his performance at the Under 18 National Championships. Utilised almost exclusively through midfield, he averaged 25.5 disposals, and 6.3 marks, clearances, and inside 50s while being named Vic Country’s best two players across all four games.

    Langford, a boyhood Richmond supporter, was also among the few prospects who earned a VFL berth with the Tigers this year. He managed 12 disposals and three marks in his sole appearance, playing a half on-ball before showing his wares up forward. Few other top prospects have been so prolific and reliable in 2024.



    Smythe
     
    Last edited:
    • Pick 7 - Richmond - Alix Tauru
    • PICK 7 - RICHMOND - Alex Tauru - 194cm - Def/Fwd
    Alix is a super athletic defender, and whilst still a little raw, he has a lot of AFL traits already and they will only flourish and get better with time and a few preseasons.
    He can attack the ball in flight and is excellent overhead, taking many intercept marks with his innate ability to read the play ahead of him. Alongside that, he can also lock down and defend one on one quite well, then be used as that rebounding defender, a lot of the time, using the ball quite well in finding team mates up the ground.
    He generally has an aggressive attack on the ball, and is seen as a general across the backline.
    He also has dual positional traits, moving down forward to show recruiters the other side of his game and it translated seamlessly as he was able to lead up to the ball well, take grabs, and kick goals.
    He will learn to pick the right option more often with coaching and more footy under his belt and also use hands to a running defender instead of going back on the mark to kick it, but they are both easily coached.
    His athleticism and attack on the ball, coach-ability and dual position play got him over the line here. I see traits from players like, Sicily, Ridley and the athletic traits of Howe.
    Armstrong was going to be the option here if Tauru was gone. The other big mids were Smillie and Allan coming into consideration and I knew I would be able to get one of them in my next bunch of picks, which left the choice of Tauru or Armstrong.
    Harry Armstrong definitely came under very, very strong consideration here, but my draft plan needed a good defender with a POD to the others, and Alix is miles ahead of any other defender in those terms, so I was not going to pass him up, and with other forwards in the plan, I knew I could snare them later to headline a dual attack down forward, and as such, it worked out perfectly.


    ModernArtillery
     
    Last edited:
    • Pick 8 & 9 - Josh Smillie and Harry Armstrong
    • Pick 8 - St Kilda
    Josh Smillie
    Eastern Ranges / VIC Metro

    This was the definitely the easier of the two picks. I was always going a midfielder here and Smillie was the highest rated player on my board, from those available. I rate his stoppage craft really highly and think he's a pretty solid user, which is rareish for the tall, big-bodied midfielders. Maybe a lower floor than the other top-end mids but I think his ceiling is a genuine number 1 midfielder.

    Pick 9 - St Kilda
    Harry Armstrong
    Sandringham Dragons / VIC Metro

    This was a much harder selection. I was very tempted to go back-to-back midfielders and take Murphy Reid but I ultimately couldn't pass on adding the highest rated key forward in the draft. The Saints are light on for genuine key position size forwards and Armstrong could develop into a nice foil for Max King. He just consistently hits the scoreboard and doesn't need many chances to run up his tally. Happy to pair him with Smillie with back to back picks.


    Pie 4 Life
     
    Last edited:

    • Remove this Banner Ad

    Pick 11 - Richmond - Bo Allan
    • PICK 11 - RICHMOND - Bo Allan 191cm - Def/Mid
    Langford was gone, Smillie was gone, Bo Allan was next in line as a big bodied mid.
    We all knew what he can do across the backline, so what can he do through the midfield.
    Allan this year showed his class and explosive traits away from the pack in the midfield this year and whilst his numbers (although very good for a new midfielder) might not get you super excited, it’s the class of what he did that has recruiters grinning.
    Some times he showed that he was already a level above this class of under 18’s. His explosiveness in bursts away from the pack coupled with his reading of the play and ability to muscle the ball away in a clearance was exciting, as was his sidestepping agility in traffic to get the ball forward for his team.
    He was awarded senior footy over in the west and did not disappoint, also using that time to lean in and learn from AFL players as he was playing for Peel, Fremantle's affiliate.
    He has leadership in spades, and ready made frame that can only get stronger, athleticism and agility, and a high in game IQ, generally using the ball by hand or foot very well, and although sometimes he chooses the wrong option to go to, that’s ok, it is easily trained out of his game. He can shrug off tackles, drive away from a pack and use his long kick to send the ball forward as well as using some of his smarts and leadership in that midfield pack helping his team mates.
     
    Last edited:
    • Pick 13 - Richmond - Tobie Travaglia
    • Pick 13 - RICHMOND - Tobie Travaglia - 188cm - Utility

    I was not letting him go any lower. I knew he would be next picked, but I also knew I was going to pick him here.
    Xavier Lindsay did slightly come into consideration, but with Rioli leaving, and Tobie Travaglia being available here, it was a no brainer.
    Tobie has all the traits of being able to replace that loss in time as a rebounding defender, intercepting and using his run, carry and long boot to be an 80-100m player across the half back line, down the wing and even going through the middle at stages.
    He played in the all Australian under 18 sides against coburg and Footscray and absolutely held his head high in those games against the bigger bodies.
    Toby received a VFL call up as the year went on and once again held his own playing across the backline for Carlton in the VFL.
    He is good above head and attacks the ball in flight. It is easy to see the comparisons to Will Day and Hayden Young, with his rangy running across the field, and play across the half back, in time, he could absolutely provide relief on the inside at the centre of the ground, especially with his endurance and agility.
    Tobie could definitely put on some size, and also learn to use the ball a bit better but both I see as easy things to do once in an AFL system, and once he does, he could become an extremely dangerous player at the next level.

    Monocle
     
    Last edited:

    • 🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

    Pick 14 - Gold Coast Suns (Matched Bid) - Leonardo Lombard
    • Pick 14 - Gold Coast :goldcoast:- Leo Lombard - 179 cm - Midfielder - Suns Academy.

    download-3.jpg

    Fast, ferocious, clean, poised, ball winner and very very consistent.
    GCS - spoilt to pick him up to add to the plethora of free hits, through their academy program.

    Really impressive young player, I haven't seen him play a bad game.
     
    Last edited:
    • Pick 15 - West Coast Eagles - Xavier Lindsay
    • Pick 15. West Coast :westcoast: - Xavier Lindsay - 183cm - Midfielder - Gippsland Power.


    download-1.jpg

    Lindsay is a classy midfielder that has very neat footskills, a commodity that West Coast are short on.
    A reliable and accurate left footer that has some positional versatility, he may start off a HBF who eventually makes his way onto a wing and into midfield rotations at stoppages.
    Has clean skills has poise and finds his targets, bonus is that he is generally moves the ball on quickly.

    For a team that often misses its targets by foot, Lindsay will be a very handy pick up, to help rectify that situation.

    I wont hide the fact that I really wanted Travaglia, but Oliver is a pretty hand consolation prize.
     
    Last edited:
    • Pick 16 - Port Adelaide - Taj Hotton
    • Monocle said:
    West Coast select Xavier Lindsay.

    Write up latter.

    Port up eDPS
    Click to expand...
    You make me sad

    Pick 16 - Port Adelaide - Taj Hotton
    182cm/Midfielder-Small Forward

    Really wanted Lindsay here but happy to take Hotton as my next best available player who has some real unique traits and star factor . Hotton likely goes top 10 if he doesn’t do his ACL, he likely sits out 2025 but that’s not a bad thing as Ports starting midfield is still pretty strong.

    Once Hotton is ready I feel he will make an instant impact at AFL level and although he is likely to wait for midfield opportunity he should still be damaging forward or on wing early days.

    Chris25
     
    • Pick 17 - Fremantle - Joe Berry
    • I’ll keep it simple.

    Pick 17 Fremantle - Joe Berry

    Best small forward in the draft for me and one I’d happily take earlier than this. I’ll edit in more of a write up later.

    PMBangers
     
    Last edited by a moderator:
    • Pick 18 & 19 - GWS - Harrison Oliver & Jack Whitlock
    • Thread starter
    • Moderator
    • #27
    Life's funny, in the space of 3 picks I've gone from having my 6th and 11th highest ranked players to my 16th (who I'm not taking), 17th and 19th =(

    GWS Pick 18 - Harrison Oliver - Sandringham Dragons | VIC Metro
    Small Defender
    181 cm

    I really liked Darcy Wilmot in 2021 and I see Oliver as a player with many of the same strengths and then some, with his tenacity at the contest and opponent, a well balanced offense and defence game, and deadly left boot, there's really not much to dislike about him as a prospect, and with Perryman leaving over the trade period there's a clear path into the senior side for Oliver when he's ready.

    I do love his ability to lockdown but I truly think Oliver is a top 3-5 kick in the draft which is something that will compliment our gameplan long term with his ability to hurt opposition teams in transition from the defensive half.


    GWS Pick 19 - Jack Whitlock - Murray Bushrangers | VIC Country
    Tall Forward/ Ruck
    200cm

    Pretty simply the best talent that fits the list left imo, with Hogan growing older getting Jack in now would give us some time to put the required work into his body for him to eventually impact consistently at AFL level. I've been pretty impressed with Jack's improvement through the season in terms of his physicality and all round contested craft, along with his week on week growth in the ruck in the second half of the year.

    Also considered; Luke Trainor (don't need another tall defender), Jobe Shanahan

    goodcop badcop with Bulldogs
     
    Last edited:
    • Pick 20 - Western Bulldogs - Ollie Hannaford
    • Pick 20 - Western Bulldogs - Ollie Hannaford
    Forward/Mid
    180cm

    Wasn’t selected in the midseason phantom which goes to show how remarkable his rise has been. After the 1st half of the season not working out playing as a small rebounding defender, Hannaford made the shift forward in the 2nd half of the season and hasn’t looked back. He kicked 21 goals in those 9 games with 5 of those coming against Oakleigh in round 18 and 6 goals against Geelong in the Quarter Finals. He also made the shift into the midfield in the Grand Final after the ball hardly came down there and collected 24 disposals, 15 contested, 9 tackles including a bone crunching tackle that took Murphy Reid out of the game.

    What you get - Blessed with high end pace and agility Hannaford is one of the quicker players in the draft with a 2.95 over 20m and 7.92 agility time. He plays the game with such a high intensity and in a physical approach that he doesn’t need many touches to make an impact. His pressure and tackling is elite and it’s why he always seems to be in the game. He has a good eye for goal and has shown he can kick them from all angles. His set shot goal kicking is also quite good and does have the penetration to kick them from outside 50 as shown in the Grand Final. He also possesses good overhead ability and has a very nice leap with an 86cm running vertical jump. He’s generally quite clean at ground level also making him a dual threat inside forward 50. He should have a bit of upside as well, as he’s said it himself that he’s never really played the forward role until the midseason shift.

    Weaknesses – His endurance is potentially the biggest area he needs to work on with quite a poor time of 7.26 for his 2km time trial. However, he had an elite yoyo testing of 21.5 in the preseason testing and ran out the game well in the midfield in the final, so I don’t think it’s a big concern. As for other areas, his kicking can be a little untidy at times mainly because he plays at such a frenetic pace and forgets to slow down. I also think he needs to work on reading the ball a bit better from a crumbing point of view and reading the ball off the ruckman as well. But these are all very nit picky things.

    Needs – The dogs forward line in 2016 was built on manic pressure and was perhaps one of the teams that kickstarted the small forward craze. After the loss of Picken, Clay Smith and Dahlhaus in very quick succession, this is a hole that’s never really been filled. Over the years Ed Richards and Johannisen have tried to fill these roles without much success and the young players drafted to try and fill these roles in Clarke, O’Driscoll and Rypstra are no longer on the list. Currently McNeil and Vandermeer are trying to fill these roles, but are very much like poor man’s, poor man’s versions of the 2016 three. So quality is certainly needed in this area and with the three tall forward set up, the manic pressure that Hannaford brings is needed more then ever.

    Smythe you're up again
     
    Last edited:
    • Pick 21 - Richmond - Cooper Hynes
    • PICK 21 - RICHMOND - Cooper Hynes - 191cm - Mid/Fwd

    Cooper Hynes or Joe Berry was the plan here. If Joe got through it would have been a tough call but once he left the board I hoped that Cooper would be left alone, and that he was. My plan was working well.
    The best and most accurate summary of Cooper, which reflects my thoughts exactly, was written by Michael Alvaro on Rookie Me Central,
    “A powerful midfielder-forward capable of posting dominant statlines, racking up possessions and both scoring and assisting goals in bulk.” – Michael Alvaro
    The 191cm midfielder/forward, co-captained the stingrays this year alongside Harvey Langford and played 15 games, kicking 23 goals whilst averaging 24 disposals.
    He is a hard nut, and attacks with vigour and smarts. Tackles to hurt, knows where the goals are and also has a beautiful combination of athletic traits and ball winning ability to go with his overhead marking and cleanliness below the knees. He can easily win his own ball, knows how to extract a clearance and when forward, creates space, rotates around and leads into the right areas.
    Cooper has excellent vision, composure and smarts, often bringing team mates into play with his amazing kicks or burst away handballs in front of said team mates to get them running away from the pack.
    Unselfish and a team first player, when he builds his tank more there is no saying to what his ceiling could be in the midfield, rotating forward when needed.
    This kid bases his game on his AFL hero, and has been learning everything he can from tapes of said hero……Dustin Martin.
    With Harvey Langford having the year he did, Cooper has seemed to go through a little unnoticed…but not by those in the know.
    Personally I would not be surprised to see this guy go much earlier on the night.
    LemmingMaster
     
    Last edited:

    • Log in to remove this Banner Ad

    Pick 22 - Sydney - Jobe Shanahan
    • Pick 22 - SYDNEY - Jobe Shanahan - 194cm Tall forward

    With this selection, I was going to move in a number of directions. I came close to bidding on Marshall here, but I really wanted to boost Sydney's forward half. Sydney's current talls at times can go missing and they really need someone to crash packs and Shanahan is the best in this draft class. While Armstrong may look nicer, I think Shanahan is going to do the hard work for the small forwards, creating a contest all the time.
    Lovely contested mark player and moves up the wings to create a bail out kick. He moved into Essendon's VFL team and did not look out of place and kicked 11 goals in a three game stint. He does have mobility as well, that is an important trait in the modern day forward.


    Smythe
     
    Last edited:
    • Pick 23 - Richmond - Alex Dodson
    • PICK 23 - RICHMOND - Alex Dodson - 204 cms - Ruck
    I have loved watching what Alex has brought this year. Hoping he would choose football, and he did.
    I personally am not one to draft rucks, I have said it many times, but I see Alex as the next gen of rucks, and a mile and a half above other ruck choices this year, and with a playing list in need of stashing a future ruck star into its folds, Alex is my choice here and now before anybody else gets the chance, especially with my next two players seemingly falling into the spots I want.
    Alex had the choice, bball or football, his super athleticism from his basketball background shone through into his football play when he laced up the boots for South Australia this year.
    After taking a year off footy and only coming back into it this year it showed how good he could be as he dominated the position for the croweaters.
    His mobility around the ground and clearance winning ability, pieced together with his tap work and follow up work with tackles and blocking for the clearance show that he has a high in game IQ and an excellent starting base for a ruck prospect.
    He averaged over 24 possessions and 27 hit outs over the last part of the year and earned all Australian honours.
    Whilst all this is good, he will need to learn another skill or two, whether it be dropping back to help intercept and/or going forward to take marks and kick goals whilst also improving his tank.
    But, whilst being a raw talent with extremely limited exposure, what he has shown is tremendous to say the least and he shapes as an amazing ruck talent with the possibility of having an enormous ceiling and maybe becoming the best ruck in the game in a few years time.



    PMBangers
     
    Last edited:
    • Pick 24 - GWS - Tom Gross
    • Thread starter
    • Moderator
    • #33
    Pick 24 - GWS - Tom Gross
    Oakleigh Chargers | VIC M
    Midfielder/ General Forward

    Harder choice than the first two picks but I landed on Gross with his athleticism just too hard to pass up for what I wanted at this pick. Essentially, we don't have heaps of midfield depth or many youngsters developing to eventually replace the likes of Kelly and Cogs when they retire, so Gross comes in as someone that's hard as a cats head at the footy and can burst out of congestion with his acceleration and raw power. There's elements of Toby Greene in Gross's ability overhead for his height and tenacity at the contest, and he likely starts his career as a forward, but I think he possesses the traits to be a really strong clearance player long term

    LemmingMaster
     
    • Pick 25 - Brisbane (Matched Bid) - Sam Marshall
    • LemmingMaster said:
    Sydney bid on Sam Marshall

    If you match, please tag Smythe, as I've sent him my pick.
    ModernArtillery
    Click to expand...
    Brisbane will match.

    Pick 25 - Brisbane
    Sam Marshall
    Sandringham Dragons / Allies / Brisbane Academy

    I'm probably not as high on Marshall but he does possess desirable traits. He's a good runner and has the speed to break the lines. He moves through traffic pretty well too and links up nicely with teammates. I absolutely think he can be a complementary piece at the next level and there's no doubt Brisbane will match a bid for him come draft night.

    LemmingMaster Smythe
     
    Last edited:
    • Pick 26 - Sydney - Luke Trainor
    • PICK 26 - Sydney - Luke Trainor 194cm Key Defender

    Everyone is going to think they've nailed their draft, but Sydney really have secured two great talls with their picks. This guy has that element of defensive ability with great kicking skills. Very strong overhead and can cut a defensive press with his kicking ability. He really showed his worth in the game for the AFL academy, that is what really highlighted to me his ability, against men he did not look out of place, mixing great defensive ability with offensive flair.
    My only thought on why he has made it to this selection is the fact BF drafters are worried about his concussions, otherwise he feels like the biggest slider in this draft class.
    With these two selections, Sydney have potentially got two bookends for a number of years to come.
     
    Last edited:
    • You must log in or register to reply here.

    Remove this Banner Ad

    Similar threads

    PMBangers
    • Sticky
    BigFooty Official BIGFOOTY OFFICIAL PHANTOM DRAFT
    3 4 5 6 7
    Replies
    156
    Views
    19K
    Haggas
    H
    PMBangers
    BigFooty Official 2025 BIGFOOTY PHANTOM DRAFT - TRIAL RUN
    3 4 5 6 7
    Replies
    169
    Views
    33K
    Stamos
    Stamos
    txbyhull
    Phantom Draft txbyhull's Phantom Draft 2025
    2 3 4
    Replies
    80
    Views
    7K
    Johnny Bananas
    Johnny Bananas
    damo27
    Phantom Drafts
    Replies
    0
    Views
    753
    damo27
    damo27
    eth-dog
    Phantom Draft eth-dog's 2025 Phantom
    2 3 4
    Replies
    86
    Views
    16K
    Kiama Chris
    Kiama Chris
    Plastic_Hawk9
    Phantom Draft Plastic_Hawk9's Mock Draft 2025
    Replies
    0
    Views
    536
    Plastic_Hawk9
    Plastic_Hawk9
    Davo-27
    Phantom Draft Davo-27's 2026 Draft Thread
    Replies
    6
    Views
    1K
    Warhorse
    Warhorse

    🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

    Back
    Top