Dean Whitten

[jim440]

Has been asked by the club to not nominate for the draft.

The club does not think he is worth a third round pick yet and wants him to bulk up for another year.

 

[OldSchool]

It is a wise move for both parties

 

[Westy_Boy]

Given that it's a "weak" draft, I reckon we should have traded a serviceable player for a late third round pick (#45 thorugh to #49), and snapped him up under the F/S rule this year.

We're gonna recruit him no matter what, so better to do it in a draft like this one instead of next year's which could be considerably stronger, with third round picks holding much more weight.

Don't think an extra year of development and experience with Werribee (playing against bigger bodied opponents) would have done him much harm either.

 

[OldSchool]

An artilce on Dean in todays Age.
Interesting that the Tigers are going to overlook McGhie.

The Whitten name will not reappear at the Western Bulldogs next year.

The Bulldogs have opted against using their third-round selection in the national draft next month to make Dean Whitten, the 17-year-old grandson of football great Ted and son of Ted junior, a third-generation Bulldog.

But, in consultation with his family, the club has encouraged the onballer not to nominate for the November 24 draft.

Instead, Whitten will play another season for the Western Jets in the TAC Cup competition in the hope the Bulldogs will devote their third-round pick in the 2003 draft to him.

The Bulldogs' recruiting manager, Scott Clayton, said Whitten, whose father retired in 1982 after 144 games for Footscray, would benefit from having another season to better prepare for a potential senior career.

"Dean's got another left at under-18 level, so we think he should do that before we start to think about anything else," said Clayton.

"I wouldn't think he would nominate for the draft this year. He has a bit of work to do and he has the year left, so there's really no reason why he shouldn't play it out."

Whitten trained one night a week with the Bulldogs for a month at the end of the season, at the ground named after his legendary grandfather. He hurt his ankle in his last session and missed the end of the Jets year.

Whitten surprised many at the under-18 club this season by not only winning a permanent spot in the side, but holding down a spot on the centre line.

"We were really pleased, but the family, along with the Bulldogs, have obviously decided to give it one more year in the TAC Cup," said Jets regional manager Shane Sexton.

"There's a good rationale behind leaving him there because he'll get bigger and stronger and more confident."

Should he improve enough to demand a place on the Bulldogs' list in 2004, Whitten will follow a few recent "sons of" into AFL football.

Essendon has promised Jobe Watson, the 17-year-old son of club great Tim, its third-round selection at this year's draft, while Geelong, which last year secured Gary Ablett junior, will draft Terry Callan's son, Tim.

But Richmond has told Lucas McGhie, the son of former Tiger and Footscray defender Robert McGhie, that it won't draft him as a father-son selection this year. The Tigers passed over Collingwood defender Jason Cloke, who they could have taken as a second-round pick, in 2000.

Lucas McGhie, a 191-centimetre Western Jet, was almost eligible to be chosen by the Bulldogs, but despite believing he had played 57 games for Footscray, the records say Robert turned out for them only 49 times, one game less than the 50-game cut-off for father-son eligibility this year.

From next season, the minimum number of games will rise to 100.

The official screening of this year's draftees yesterday finished at the Western Australian Institute of Sport, where more than 20 AFL hopefuls were tested in front of club recruiters.

It was the last of five state-based sessions in Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, following the draft camp at the Australian Institute of Sport, meaning almost 190 potential league players have been screened before the draft.