Phantom Draft Chris25's 2009 Phantom Draft

[HolyRioli]

#24 Hawthorn - Dylan McNeil (Hawthorn need some inside midfielders to help out Mitchell, and McNeil who has been likened to Hayes and Foley could be the one)


I would seriously review this. We have that many inside midfielders we don't know what to do. See Mitchell, Sewell, Lewis, Kennedy, Tuck, Hodge. Outside midfielders or genuine defenders would have to be on our radar at the moment.

 

[swannies]

I was going to make the same comment as Holy Rioli, but about West Coast. I think they have 5 who will be good quality inside mids and there's another 2-3 sitting in the WAFL on the rookie list. I would have thought we'd go a decent outside mid or a tall. However, Chris, if it was me recruiting you have it spot on , I love my inside mids, the workhorses of the team. BTW, I think Naita qualifies as an inside mid as well, by characteristics.

 

[Richo83]

Dockers will still finish 15th
just coz they had 1 win it doesnt mean they'll win anymore and i highly doubt they will.

but besides that i think its a good guess for what'll happen

I think they will, I think they'll beat Melbourne and take 14th spot, which will leave us with 3rd pick (or 2nd?) Anyway of Scully or Trengove will do.

 

[Chris25]

I would seriously review this. We have that many inside midfielders we don't know what to do. See Mitchell, Sewell, Lewis, Kennedy, Tuck, Hodge. Outside midfielders or genuine defenders would have to be on our radar at the moment.

That's true, and Kennedy does look to be a good clearance player. While guys like Mitchell, Sewell, Lewis and Hodge are obviously talented.

But my theory is you can never have too many inside players, especially ones with good kicking and clearance skills. This would allow Rioli to play a more attacking outside role, along with Young and Ellis. While Hodge would be able to play a range of positions, where he could use that kick of his to best effect.

Basically I agree that Hawthorn would be after an outside mid or two but outside midfielders can be made, clearance skills can't.

 

[EIGHTYEIGHTEIGHTYNINE]

That's true, and Kennedy does look to be a good clearance player. While guys like Mitchell, Sewell, Lewis and Hodge are obviously talented.

But my theory is you can never have too many inside players, especially ones with good kicking and clearance skills. This would allow Rioli to play a more attacking outside role, along with Young and Ellis. While Hodge would be able to play a range of positions, where he could use that kick of his to best effect.

Basically I agree that Hawthorn would be after an outside mid or two but outside midfielders can be made, clearance skills can't.

I'd still swap Colyer for McNeill for the Hawks second pick

 

[Chris25]

If I was to change the Hawthorn selection it would be to Roland Ah Chee. Definitely looks to be the type of player Hawthorn like, and could have a real impact playing off a wing.

Still, until the draft camp it's all just one big guess.

 

[halfback dasher]

That's true, and Kennedy does look to be a good clearance player. While guys like Mitchell, Sewell, Lewis and Hodge are obviously talented.

But my theory is you can never have too many inside players, especially ones with good kicking and clearance skills. This would allow Rioli to play a more attacking outside role, along with Young and Ellis. While Hodge would be able to play a range of positions, where he could use that kick of his to best effect.

can be made, cleBasically I agree that Hawthorn would be after an outside mid or two but outside midfielders arance skills can't.

ELITE SPEED AND ACCELERATION cant be made....id take Rohan type b4 an inside mid....

 

[Chris25]

I had Rohan being taken 2 spots ahead of Hawthorn taking a key defender (Talia) in the first round. The inside midfielder talk is in regards to their second round pick.

 

[BigCat2]

#13 Brisbane - Jack Fitzpatrick (I still have Brisbane taking Fitzpatrick, despite slipping lower in the draft order. I just think they need another option in the ruck and another option in the Bradshaw succession plan)

Like your work Chris25. Appreciate the read mate. I can see why you think we need another tall option, but you'd find that most Lions supporters think differently.

Clark will play more as a versatile tall/wingman/back up ruck when Leuenberger returns.

Henderson is being groomed as a CHB or CHF. Long term most likely up forward when Bradshaw gives it away.

We've got Merrett and Patfull as our tall defenders, and they do the job. Recently the Lions have preferred the extra run out of defence over the extra tall defender.

We've got Collier, Cornelius and Clouston who are 1st or 2nd year players and they can't break into the team. They're highly regarded by the current coaching staff.

As for our areas of need, I think
- classy mid: can never have too many of these
- line breaking mid: we've looked slow at times, help here would be good
- small forward: with Hooper on thin ice, insurance here would help

Voss showed last year also that he prefers footballers over athletes.

But of course if a bargain comes along we won't ignore it, like taking Cornelius at 57 last year.

 

[Chris25]

Yeah, to be honest I wasn't too sure about Brisbane. This is how I see your talls...

Ruck - Leuenberger/Clark

FB/CHB - Merrett/Henderson
3rd tall defender - Patfull

Forward - Brown/Bradshaw
3rd tall forward - Cornelius/???

I picked Fitzpatrick for Brisbane, because I believe Charman will be gone at the end of the season. So it was to give you extra cover for the ruck positions, but also to have another option to replace Bradshaw with up forward.

But, it completely slipped my mind that Brisbane drafted McCulloch last year. I was under the impression that the only ruckman they drafted was Merrett in the RD.

So having said that, I would consider changing the Brisbane pick to someone like Allen Christensen. Who would fill the first two areas you mentioned - classy mid and line breaking mid.

 

[BigCat2]

Cheers mate. McCulloch is a bit of a project player though and won't be expected to do much next year.

Charman is contracted (for another year or 2 - conflicting reports) but he'll be a Lion next year, unless traded.

Will be really interesting to follow this year's draft.

 

[goodie23]

#16 St Kilda - Mitchell Duncan (I think the one thing the Saints might be lacking in is another small/medium sized forward, and although I'm a fan Gwilt probably wont be a long term option up forward)

Just so you know, we drafted Tom Lynch last year to take up the third/medium forward role

 

[Chris25]

Yeah, you're right. I was under the impression that Lynch was more a key forward prospect, and not a hard running medium sized forward. Looks like I might have been mistaken.

I'll keep that in mind for next time I update it.

 

[Chris25]

Just following up on Duncan, I think I may have given the wrong impression about what type of player he is.

He played as a lead up forward for WA in the U18 championships, and did so very well too averaging 20 touches and kicking 8 goals. But he isn't just a forward.

Duncan has played midfield and across half back, and would offer a lot more versatility to the Saints than I initially let on. An attribute which is pretty handy if you are coming into a team like St Kilda.

 

[LemmingMaster]

Duncan is having a good year in the WAFL, he does know his way around the goals. I think the only question mark over his head at the moment is his leg speed. He will be a very solid player and may go late 1st round.

I just love his goal sense, very handy for a midfielder.

 

[halfback dasher]

I had Rohan being taken 2 spots ahead of Hawthorn taking a key defender (Talia) in the first round. The inside midfielder talk is in regards to their second round pick.

Sorry my mistake....

 

[Lach72]

This weekend has changed a fair bit in the potential draft order. Looks like Fremantle aren't actually tanking, and we will be a genuine chance of winning a couple more games.

As uni finished early today and I have nothing to do, I've changed the order and also a few picks. The bolded picks are the ones I changed.


#4 Fremantle - Kane Lucas (initially I had Fremantle taking Morabito, but with him gone they will go for the other WA midfielder)

#20 Fremantle - Alex Carey (should probably go for a tall here, but there aren't really any left who I would be willing to take at pick 20 at this stage. But Carey is a big bodied inside midfielder and good at the clearances, which Fremantle are crying out for)
#21 West Coast - Lewis Jetta (he wont make it to the third round, so the Eagles will take him here. His speed and skill is exactly what they need)

If we take Carey over Jetta
Carey is a plodder

 

[Chris25]

I was wondering when the first Fremantle supporter would be along to mention Jetta.

Obviously I haven't seen as much of Jetta as most Fremantle supporters would have, not living in WA and all. And clearly he is rated very highly, particularly by Fremantle and West Coast supporters.

But I'm not sold on how much of an impact he will have in the centre at AFL level, I feel he is more likely to play on a wing or off a flank. Which is a position we have plenty of guys capable of playing. An inside midfielder is the position I think we are seriously lacking in, which is why I picked Carey.

Carey might not be the quickest player (I'll wait for his draft camp results), but his other attributes more than make up for this in my opinion. From what I've seen he looks to be a genuine clearance player, almost a midfield version of Nic Suban.

For what it's worth though, I did actually have Jetta at our second pick initially. But in the end I decided to just throw another name in the mix.

 

[Barnzy]

#2 Richmond - Anthony Morabito

From what I've seen Morabito has question marks over his kicking. If we pick up a mid over Butcher, I'm sure we would be looking for elite kicking skills.

 

[hedgehog]

But I'm not sold on how much of an impact he will have in the centre at AFL level, I feel he is more likely to play on a wing or off a flank. Which is a position we have plenty of guys capable of playing. An inside midfielder is the position I think we are seriously lacking in, which is why I picked Carey.

I agree. I'm not a big follower of junior footy so I don't know many of the names, but IMO we must take either on-ballers or KPP with our first two picks. We have plenty of young players capable of playing wings/flanks (Suban, Hill, Hinkley, Ruffles, Ballantyne, Duffield, Mundy, Ibbotson, Mayne, Pearce, Walters, Broughton, van Berlo and hopefully Pratt, Bucovaz and Hall) whilst only a few who can play on the ball (Palmer, DeBoer, perhaps Hill and Ibbotson again). I know most of these guys are lightly built and still in their first year and could end up moving into the centre as their body stregth improves, but I still believe that it's the lack of young on-ballers and quality young KPP that will be our weakness going forward.

 

[Tulip]

new to bigfooty and dont know how to make my own post so i'll just have to make my phantom draft here...

1: Melbourne - Tom Scully
2: Melbourne - Jack Trengrove
3: Fremantle - Anthony Morabito
4: North Melbourne - Ben Cunnington
5: Richmond - John Butcher
6: West Coast - Kane Lucas
7: Sydney - Daniel Talia
8: Essendon - Dustin Martin
9: Port Adelaide - Matthew Panos
10: Hawthorn - Gary Rohan
11: Carlton - Koby Stevens
12: Brisbane - Luke Tapscott
13: Western Bulldogs - Jack Fitzpatrick
14: Collingwood - Nathan Vardy
15: Adelaide - Mitchell Duncan
16: Geelong - Andrew Moore
17: St Kilda - Roland Ah Chee
18: Melbourne - Jordan Gysbergs
22: West Coast - Travis Colyer
38: West Coast - Lewis Jetta

what do u all think about that order?
should be intresting to see what changes after draft camp...

not a chance that Jetta will drop to 38, he'll be taken to join Neville at pick 18

 

[Eastern Rangers]

not a chance that Jetta will drop to 38, he'll be taken to join Neville at pick 18

Jetta is suffering from serious levels of hype at the moment, if you use pick 18 on him then your probably making a mistake. You guys already have players of a similar mold to him so if your club picks him up on need.

 

[Ysaye]

I agree. I'm not a big follower of junior footy so I don't know many of the names, but IMO we must take either on-ballers or KPP with our first two picks. We have plenty of young players capable of playing wings/flanks (Suban, Hill, Hinkley, Ruffles, Ballantyne, Duffield, Mundy, Ibbotson, Mayne, Pearce, Walters, Broughton, van Berlo and hopefully Pratt, Bucovaz and Hall) whilst only a few who can play on the ball (Palmer, DeBoer, perhaps Hill and Ibbotson again). I know most of these guys are lightly built and still in their first year and could end up moving into the centre as their body stregth improves, but I still believe that it's the lack of young on-ballers and quality young KPP that will be our weakness going forward.

At draft level I don't think recruiters pigeon hole players as types so much as concentrate on their skills, physical attributes and habits. Lewis Jetta has a very good combination of speed and skill, mixed with reasonable endurance and reaonable size (over 180cm), and has good habits of playing a highly effective, attacking brand of football, which is why you would expect him to feature early in the draft.

Realistically though, Suban and Walters projected as "inside" footballers (Interpreted as a rover whose role is to extract the ball around stoppages) promise a lot more than any "extractor" type that we are likely to get around our second pick. That is partially because this is a weak draft, but is also due just to this crop of players coming through.

 

[Chris25]

So I've changed my mind on some of the picks, also changed the draft order a tad. I've put the changes in brackets after the new picks.

PP Melbourne - Tom Scully
#1 Melbourne - John Butcher (Jack Trengove)
I still think Melbourne need another key forward, and they might as well go for the best especially given they will pick up the best midfielder with Pick 1. Some Melbourne supporters might not agree, and they could argue that Watts and Jurrah are more than good enough. But a forward line of Butcher at FF, Watts at CHF and Jurrah roaming as the third tall sounds even better. And the less pressure on Jurrah, the better.
#2 Fremantle - Jack Trengove (Kane Lucas at #5)
Fremantle will more than likely stick to home grown talent, and go for Morabito. But I rate Trengove as the second best midfielder, and while Morabito could be anything, Trengove will come in and fill a bigger hole right from day one.
#3 Richmond - Anthony Morabito
#4 North Melbourne - Ben Cunnington (John Butcher at #3)
Now that I have Melbourne taking Butcher, North will look to the midfield. I think they might just pull a little surprise and pick Cunnington ahead of Lucas.
#5 West Coast - Kane Lucas (Koby Stevens)
Will pick the next best midfielder, and luckily for them Lucas is still there.
#6 Sydney - Gary Rohan
#7 Port Adelaide - Dustin Martin (at #9)
#8 Hawthorn - Daniel Talia
#9 Essendon - Koby Stevens (Ben Cunnington at #7)
Essendon will look to take the best midfielder available, and that means Stevens. A damaging midfielder, and can play inside or outside. Should form a pretty good partnership with some of Essendon's outside runners.
#10 Brisbane - Luke Tapscott (Jack Fitzpatrick at #13)
I had Brisbane taking Fitzpatrick before, but I have changed it to a midfielder and Tapscott is the next best. Will help out Rich in the centre and will provide another option across half forward. Tapscott and Rich should form a partnership more than capable of taking over from Black and Power.
#11 Carlton - Mitchell Duncan (Luke Tapscott at #10)
Similar reasons as to why I initially had them taking Tapscott. A big bodied midfielder to provide the hardness they are sometimes lacking, while providing another option going forward.
#12 Adelaide - Jordan Gysberts
#13 Western Bulldogs - Jake Melksham (Jesse Crichton at #12)
I thought my draft might have been lacking a bolter, so I've thrown Melksham in at #13. At this stage, he might be more of a second rounder but he could definitely move up the order after the draft camp.
#14 Collingwood - Nathan Vardy
#15 Geelong - Ryan Harwood (Andrew Moore)
Geelong just don't have any real deficiencies, so I've gone with a midfielder. Harwood will take a bit of development but he has plenty of potential, and there probably isn't a better place to develop as a midfielder than at Geelong. Could have picked a number of different players here though, come the second round there is really no clear order of midfielders.
#16 St Kilda - Andrew Moore (Mitchell Duncan)
Like Geelong, I don't think the Saints are lacking in any area. Their midfield is strong, and I wouldn't expect any draftee to come in and be in the 22. Moore will offer them versatility, and will probably be developed into a genuine utility like Goddard.

 

[Chris25]

#17 Melbourne - Lewis Jetta (Jake Carlisle)
After picking Scully and Butcher, Melbourne would be looking to once again strengthen their midfield. Jetta would fit in well with their new crop of young players, and with his brother already on the list Lewis Jetta will be appealing.
#18 Fremantle - Matthew Panos (Alex Carey at #20)
Fremantle need a key forward, and Panos is the next best and could well go in the first round. Honestly I don't think Fremantle will pick him, I think they are more likely to pick up some talls from WA later on in the draft. But hopefully they go for Panos, and continue the SA theme along with Trengove.
#19 Richmond - Jack Fitzpatrick (Matthew Panos at #18)
I'd imagine Richmond would be looking at a tall, and Fitzpatrick just seems like a Richmond selection to me. He has huge potential and could be anything, and I think the potential/versatility will get him across the line with Richmond.
#20 North Melbourne - Jake Carlisle (Allen Christensen at #19)
Like Richmond, will be looking towards a tall forward. After missing out on Butcher and Panos, North will take the third best key forward on offer.
#21 West Coast - Bradley Sheppard (Lewis Jetta)
I'm of the opinion that West Coast will stick with WA boys, and for that reason I have them taking Sheppard.
#22 Sydney - Ben Griffiths
#23 Port Adelaide - Daniel Menzel
Sticking with the home grown theme here, with Port taking Menzel. Should add some class to their midfield, while once again offering some versatility in where he plays.
#24 Hawthorn - Roland Ah Chee (Dylan McNeil)
Hawthorn have quite a few players capable of playing as inside mids, but speed seems to be one area in which they are lacking. Ah Chee would offer them not only speed, but also the ability to play both inside and outside.
#25 Essendon - Ryan Bastinac
#26 Brisbane - Allen Christensen (at #29)
#27 Carlton - David Astbury (Sam Reid at #26)
After taking an inside mid with their first pick, Carlton would probably be looking at a KPP with their next pick. With Astbury they could develop him into a forward, or as a defender which would allow Waite to move forward.
#28 Adelaide - Alex Carey (Roland Ah Chee at #27)
Personally, I don't rate either Shirley or Doughty at all. Carey would offer the Crows a genuine big bodied inside midfielder, to hopefully take over from one of these guys. Would add some toughness to a young midfield including Vince and Mackay.
#29 Western Bulldogs - James Craig
I wanted to fit Craig into the second round, and was having some trouble. He might be a little undersized to be a premier AFL ruckman, but will be able to pinch hit in the ruck. However, I can see a team turning him into a big bodied full back like Merrett at Brisbane. The Bulldogs have a pretty good defence at the moment, so I can see them taking on a project.
#30 Collingwood - Kyle Hartigan
Presti wont be around forever, and as far as I'm aware Collingwood don't have a great deal of key defenders developing. Nathan Brown will settle at FB, while O'Brien and Maxwell aren't really suited to tall forwards.
#31 Geelong - Sam Reid
Similar to the Carlton selection, Geelong will get a player here who they could develop into either a tall forward or tall defender.
#32 St Kilda - Nicholas Winmar
Winmar could be anything, and the Saints can definitely afford to take a shot with him. He'll add some flash to the team, and with that last name how could he not go to the Saints?