Draft Camp- Waste of Time!!!

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James2

Senior List
Jun 6, 2000
209
1
Canberra (Essendon)
Does anyone else think that the draft camp is a complete waste of time???

I believe it is. The philosophy behind it is utterly flawed. Whilst the elaborate set of tests may show that a paticular person has the potential to play AFL football, the only way you can tell, is by making them play FOOTBALL.

The draft camp attempts to find athletes, not footballers. The draft is hit and miss affair, the draft camp does not improve a club's chance of discovering a player's ability, it probably does the opposite- as I have said the only way a player can prove their potential is to play football, not by acheiving the best score in the beep test!

The AFL should scrap this expensive charade and spend the money elsewhere- like country football!!
 
James2 the draft camp is a great idea.
the clubs have already seen all the players in action, they know those who can get the footy and who cant, they then invite those players to the draft camp
i think each club can invite so many players
the clubs then get to judge the strength, fitness and athletesism of the boys

i reckon its a great addition to the draft, had great positive effects on the nfl in america and its had good results here
 
I completely disagree with you on this one.

Draft camp give teams an opportunity to find the players of the future.

Players such as Ramanauskas absolutely smashed some of the records at draft camp and look how good he is for the classy bombers. He manages to get a game in a squad full of champions.

Draft camp doesn't just find athletes. Also footy players. Yes, I admit, most of them are athletes but all footy players are good athletes otherwise they wouldn't be able to play the game.

If they do achieve the best score in a beep test, it will boost their reputation. AFL teams will recognize them and their ability to be such an athlete. Most kid's at draft camp end up being star, professional football players.

Phew. I was glad to get that out.
 

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Im split here

Draft camp is a good idea but it certainly aint the be all and end all

Top quality youngsters will still go early and draft camp doesn't have allot to do with it

It sole purpose is to be merely another avenue for scouts to build up a report on certain players.And it isn't the most important one at that.

Its great that it brings all the kids together and they can me compared.But like james2 said it doesn't test for a football brain.Arguably the most important possesion in football

Haselby for example,would not have been a over achiever at draft camp.He isn't the fastest nor the strongest nor highest jumper
But he has a great footy brain which will ultimately bring him sucess


It doesn't test for the ability to succeed under pressure from premier veterans of the likes of john worsfold who in their time would have defintely scared the hell out of many youngsters.

The list goes on for the does and doesn't
Leadership skills
team skills
and so on

It isn't as waste of time but it really doesn't have that much bearing on who teams chooses, it merely affirms what they already knew.
 
Yes, I said in my last post that draft camp brings out the best of athleticism in a young football player. James2 and saber_ac say that it doesn't expose if the person has a footy brain or not.

But the kid's do play other football and don't just do draft camp so teams would have recognized if they have a footy brain or not.

Draft camp gives clubs an opportunity to test the ability of young players when pressure is on to acieve and show all they've got.

Draft camp also lets players give it all they've got over a period of time. When they play footy throughout the season sometime, clubs may only see a few games but they may not be in their 'best of form'. Where as draft camp let's them expose themselves over a week or so. I don't really know for how long.
 
Well

Your basically making the same point i made

But the difference is that i believe that
when you have a whole group of 19 years old together sure some are going to excell

But there arnt the jonny worsfold nor the other veterans and class players their.

So the kids to watch are those that can be tagged by experienced players and still perform
This is something that draft camp doesn't
show
thats is why it is only a minor part in the recruiting business
 
The draft is a hit and miss affair.

The draft camp does not improve a club's ability to predict who will and who won't be a good footballer.

Performing at a draft camp does not show that you can perform under pressure in a game of football. How can it, it's not football. In fact, apart from a skills session, none of the other tests are part of a game of football.

Not all draftees are involved in the draft camp, only a select few. This puts in question the credibility of the camp. Only a fraction of the nominees actually take part in the draft camp. This disadvantages those who don't attend, as they are unable to display their "skills" in front of AFL coaches. Who is to say that those who don't compete in the draft have a less chance of succeeding as an AFL footballer, then those who do?? As I said the draft is hot and miss.

And just to drum in that point. If the draft camp had been instituted at the same time as the draft, how many now star footballers would have been missed. One parent of an AFL star thinks that this would have been the case. This player wears the number 5 for Essendon, and the reason Alan Hird gave, "they are too busy looking for athletes and not footballers."

I kid you not!!!
 
Good points raised all round, im sort of torn with it.

It can showcase a young blokes abilitys and desires within a 'sterile' enviroment. Yet how does that help show how they will cope with the scruitinisation of elite AFL play?

What it doesnt allow is for the development of the (as said) footballer vs athlete. Case in point from a Hawks perspective is a kid we drafted last year. Billy Nicholls i reckon is GOING to be a gun for us (ive probably just killed his career right there) yet even though he was playing senior football at 15, his body type wasnt 'right' for the camp and as such many scouts doubted whether or not to take him. We ended up picking him with a mid60's pick in last years draft and look at this stage to have a bargin.

I guess it has its pros and cons. The stand outs are always going to shine, and the others that may or may not make it at least get to show what they have. With the ever shorting of lists, the salary cap and expectations on the recruiters to get it right, the draft camp though maybe flawed is here to stay.
 

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Draft Camp- Waste of Time!!!

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