Analysis Draft Hindsight Heroes v1 (2017)

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Sep 8, 2011
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1. Brander - positive best KPP in the draft and played at 7 different teams in the lead up. Should play FF for EP from the get go next year.

2. Allen - neutral but positive. Would have selected a mid considering we got a KPP but, the talk is he’s too good a talent to have passed I’m happy.

3. Ryan - happy. I would have wanted Kelly here, but it wasn’t to be. I’m glad we “reached”. He should slot in round 1

4. Ainsworth - negative, would have taken constable

5. Petrucelle - positive, his strengths are exactly what our team currently lacks

6. Brayshaw - positive. Looks to be cut from a good jib. Strong and hard

7. Pass - positive. Don’t want to commit too many 2 year contracts

8. Burrows - positive. Looks a smooth mover and damaging.

9. Olango - positive, we needed a developing ruck.

10. England - positive. run and carry player



Overall I’m positive considering the players available at the time Of the early picks I wouldn’t have changed much.


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Oct 8, 2007
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WCE were clearly intending to draft Brander or Allen at Pick 13 depending on who was available so too get both was a dream come true for the recruiters and now myself ..



http://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/video/2017-11-24/inside-the-eagles-draft-room



Brander looked very classy and unstoppable so check out Allies v Vic Metro U18 game I wanted to draft him but actually thought Freo may have picked him up at the time .
 
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Sep 8, 2011
10,956
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West Coast
WCE were clearly intending to draft Brander or Allen at Pick 13 depending on who was available so too get both was a dream come true for the recruiters and now myself ..



http://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/video/2017-11-24/inside-the-eagles-draft-room



Brander looked very classy and unstoppable so check out Allies v Vic Metro U18 game I wanted to draft him but actually thought Freo may have picked him up at the time .
Are you talking about around 43 seconds in when they say "you wouldn't want to be passing both of them"?
 

eaglesfan84

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Oct 6, 2011
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WCE were clearly intending to draft Brander or Allen at Pick 13 depending on who was available so too get both was a dream come true for the recruiters and now myself ..



http://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/video/2017-11-24/inside-the-eagles-draft-room



Brander looked very classy and unstoppable so check out Allies v Vic Metro U18 game I wanted to draft him but actually thought Freo may have picked him up at the time .
Saw Rawlings with his family yesterday at our local park event, I seem to bump into him quite often around here, must live local, wanted to ask him why they didn't grab Worpel, Miers or Hayes but also didn't want to intrude on his privacy. That video gave me the impression we didn't really have a good idea of our game plan which was evident when we went for Ryan so early and took extra time at one stage also fairly early on.
 

CM9000

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Aug 19, 2016
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Pick 13: Jarrod Brander - I'm neutral on this, think we should've taken Higgins here (or Allen to ensure we got Kelly).

Pick 21: Oscar Allen - Tim Kelly was a must here. He was one who fitted our needs best and would've played round one - terrible pick.

Pick 26: Liam Ryan - While others might be melting I don't really care. The only ones at this point who stood out to me were Worpel and Constable, and we could've had those with later picks anyway. Too early though.

Pick 32: Brayden Ainsworth - I don't really mind this pick tbh. Was a massive reach and we missed out on Constable, but I'm not too fussed.

Pick 37: Jake Petrucelle - Potentially the next Ash Smith imo, not too bad but would've rather picked Worpel here.

Pick 68: Hamish Brayshaw - Perfect pick, nothing wrong with this.

Overall, I think it should've gone like this:
1. Jack Higgins
2. Tim Kelly
3. Oscar Allen
4. James Worpel/Charlie Constable
5. Brayden Ainsworth/Liam Ryan

So we basically missed out on Worpel, Kelly, Constable and Higgins - if we picked just 2 of them, the draft would've looked a whole lot better.

I give this a C-. I'm bitterly disappointed over missing Kelly, but I'm still looking forward to what Ryan and Allen can accomplish in the Wings.

Alternatively, if I had to summarise the draft with one word, it would be "meh".

Bump.

Not my best judgement in hindsight, but I always did want Oscar Allen - my comments around the pick being terrible are mainly due to my meltdown over not getting Kelly, and we’ve all come to see just how good Oscar is.

Thankfully, we got both in the end, * you Geelong.
 
Dec 8, 2006
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Brander - Need to keep our KPP stocks up as in a couple of years its going to be very thin. A

Allen - Dont see where he will play for us. Will probably be a competent 3rd tall but nothing spectacular. Happy to be proved wrong. D

Ryan - Providing he has sorted his off field issues I think he will be good for us. Maybe picked a bit early but oh well. B

Ainsworth - Will only be a mediocre mid. Will get games but only be fringe. C

Petrucelle - Have a feeling he will be a surprise packet. B

Brayshaw - Think he will be a decent mid and be rated a lot higher than this pick. A

Dat Allen rating! :straining:
 
Dec 8, 2006
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I always laugh when the recruiters get criticised for going with safe, vanilla picks then get crucified for drafting guys like Weedon or Lamb instead of the safe, vanilla pick that was also available.

Given the picks they have available, I think the Eagles tend to do pretty well. The problem (if you can call it that) is that we've been too good to receive the high draft picks you need to draft the A grade talent. There's always the odd one that you look back on with a bit of regret (Lamb over Gov Jnr) but at the time we were all rapt.

The top up strategy over the last couple of years failed. I wasn't a fan, but it has been targeted. Inside grunt (Redden), outside speed (Jetta), football smarts (Mitchell) and a fierce desire to compete/heart (Petrie). All weaknesses I feel we sought to rectify. Even if the real reason we rookied Petrie wasn't specifically to show the pea hearts how to compete :p We didn't go full Port, we didn't sell the farm.

We nailed 2010 when we had decent picks (albeit not as good as they should have been, thanks Gold Coast): Gaff, Darling, Lycett and McGovern as a rookie. Jesus.

I like the look of this haul. At the time I was dumbfounded we didn't take midfielders with our first couple of picks, and that we took Ryan so high, but looking at their highlights and given what was available, I'm happy. Our first two picks slid, and Ryan's WAFL form over the last two years is undeniable. If he was 18 instead of 21 (and white...) I daresay he would have gone top 5 with a record like that.

Hopefully the fence I'm sitting on doesn't get too uncomfortable :)

Backing the recruitment team and pumping up the tyres of my man Flyin' Ryan is never a bad strategy in hindsight or otherwise :moustache:
 

THE A5

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Jul 26, 2020
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I actually don't understand what the club is going with Brainus tbh. Like his strengths are his contested abilities and tank but he's shifted to an outside role at AFL level. He's slow, and an average user of the pill and his weaknesses just get exposed on the outside. Guys like Redden and Sheed maybe slow but both are good users of the pill.
 

Reminiscence

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I actually don't understand what the club is going with Brainus tbh. Like his strengths are his contested abilities and tank but he's shifted to an outside role at AFL level. He's slow, and an average user of the pill and his weaknesses just get exposed on the outside. Guys like Redden and Sheed maybe slow but both are good users of the pill.

Old Reddog is a contested beast when he gets time in the guts, but I can see why they trust him out on the wing. The thing I like about Redden on the outside is he won't go for the glamorous kick, or the crazy pin point spear. But he seems to have a huge amount of time and poise, and always seems to make the right decision.

I think it's a really underrated characteristic of Redden that has been almost overshadowed over the years due to his inside beast nature, that he's simply always calm.
 

THE A5

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Old Reddog is a contested beast when he gets time in the guts, but I can see why they trust him out on the wing. The thing I like about Redden on the outside is he won't go for the glamorous kick, or the crazy pin point spear. But he seems to have a huge amount of time and poise, and always seems to make the right decision.

I think it's a really underrated characteristic of Redden that has been almost overshadowed over the years due to his inside beast nature, that he's simply always calm.
Redden's at his best when he's playing a balanced role. Remember reading something from ages ago where he said that he struggled with form when Leppitch bulked him up to play as a pure inside mid. That said agree with his kicking plus his seems to know how to link up well like a most outside players do. Even Sheed does that really well.
 

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WCE vs My choice

13. Brander - Higgins
21. Allen - Allen (would have bid on Naish here so Richmond would have had to match it with their pick 25 used on Balta)
26. Ryan - Balta
32. Ainsworth - Worpel
37. Petrucelle - Ballard
68. Brayshaw - Brayshaw
88. Pass - Garlett


13 : I'd give that one to DS, plenty of time for Brander to turn that around though :whitecheck:
21 : Tick tick :whitecheck::whitecheck:
26 : Ryan looking juicy and already has a premiership. WCE clearly in front but i think Balta will have a good AFL career, albeit a slower start as a KPP :whitecheck::minus:
32 : Obvsiously DS :heavymultiply::whitecheck:
37 : Reckon Ballard is easily in front of Petch actually. Played 39 games now in defense for Gold Coast and looking better each week :minus::whitecheck:


68 : Meh, Brayshaw :minus:
88 : Free swing :minus:


I'd be pretty happy with my initial draft actually.
 

The wily weagle

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Oct 16, 2014
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This is going to make for depressing reading if Brander doesn't end up coming on

I actually rate all of our other choices and by and large, we did really well at this draft
 
Feb 12, 2008
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Looks like Dark Sharks and I had pretty similar feelings about this draft.
First 5 picks were about right.

Worries about Petro and Ainsworth seem warranted too.


This is what I would have done with who was left on the board with each pick.
Really looking forward to looking back on this thread in 3-4 years to see how well/bad I would have done

13 Higgins
21 Allen
26 Ryan
32 Ballard
38 Worpel
68 Krueger
77 Schloithe


ROYAL EAGLE Barney44 Monocle - Eastern Rangers And any one else who has seen a lot of WAFL footy.

Can you please give me your views on Ainsworth?
I know he was the leading U/18 player at clearances...Apart from this, do I have any reason to get excited.
Why he'd be a better choice than Worpel or Constable for that matter.


The one that worries me the most is Petrucelle.
He looks extremely raw, doesn't look to be able to read the game well at all. Running patterns are reminiscent of a headless Chook from what I can tell from the vids. (may be different live)

He is from a basketball background however, ex basketballers tend to transition well, good 360 vision so that's a positive.
 

FKASC

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This is what I would have done with who was left on the board with each pick.
Really looking forward to looking back on this thread in 3-4 years to see how well/bad I would have done

13 Higgins
21 Allen
26 Ryan
32 Ballard
38 Worpel
68 Krueger
77 Schloithe
Ballard has been very good for GC this year. Underrated youngster
 
Feb 12, 2008
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Ballard has been very good for GC this year. Underrated youngster
Agreed. Really like what I see with him.
Although at the time of writing this, to be honest, I was thinking very tall winger. Still I'd love to have him.

Love the first 5 I picked actually. Schloithe I still believe would have been better 2nd time around.
 

darksquare

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Oct 11, 2016
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I'm happy with Allen and Ryan, and would have wanted both. I might not have picked Brayshaw, but I like the selection.

I can see three decisions the club made that I would have made differently.

1. Brander over Higgins.
2. Ainsworth over Constable.
3. Petruccelle over Miers/Moore.
There is also a hypothetical - having passed on Higgins, maybe take Spargo and hope that Ryan is available later instead of Petruccelle.

But I have no reason to believe that my picks would be any better. Every player we chose has a plausible justification, so I won't be whining in future years.



On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
Bumping this thread. Can we now swap Brander for Higgins? Get Constable? Boy, do I wish we had Gryan Miers...
 

Wadsworth

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Jul 21, 2015
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OK, time for me to add my 2c to this thread. It's been on my list of things to do for 2 weeks and I thought I'd better actually prioritise my life and get this Bigfooty post done rather than wasting my time at work doing what I'm paid for. I understand that my 2c is not worth a lot these days. My expertise gained from watching a few minutes of Youtube videos along with a proprietary algorithm I have developed to predict the future doesn't really carry a lot of weight.

Pick 13: Jarrod Brander
Slightly Negative.
I would have picked Higgins. I would have had Higgins, Lachlan Fogarty and Oscar Allen as potentials at 13 and would have just gone with Higgins. I can understand the rationale of picking the best KPP rather than the 11th best mid. And I understand the questions about whether Higgins can genuinely move to the midfield, but that would have been my pick.

Pick 21: Oscar Allen
Extremely Positive.
I would have picked Allen.
Allen and L Fogarty were in the mix for me at 13, so with both still available at 21 I was pretty ecstatic. With Brander selected at 13, I was really mixed as to whether we should have taken Fogarty over Allen given our need for mids. But with the potential for Allen to transition to midfield, I think this is an ideal pick. Potentially speculative - the idea of Allen to the midfield is probably quite likely to flop (and we end up with another 3rd tall as a fallback plan), but around this area of the draft and with multiple 2nd rounders, I think that is ideal. Exceptionally high upside if he can transition as a big midfielder, and a reasonable floor as a 3rd forward. Not even a consideration of picking Kelly at this point for me.

Pick 26: Liam Ryan
Slightly Negative
I would have picked Charlie Constable
When listening to the draft live, I was shocked at drafting 3 forwards with our first three picks. I found this pick most difficult to select myself. I was banking on Worpel at 32, so was reluctant to double up with Constable here. But I would have thought he was the best available and fills a position of need as a pure mid. With hindsight (and my raging optimistic bias when it comes to West Coast), I can see the appeal of the selection of Liam Ryan here. I felt it was a massive reach - but he genuinely has the potential to be a real game-breaker. And at pick 26 (and again with multiple other picks to target 'safer' selections, I can see the reason to reach and guarantee we get our target. Even if it's only a 5-10% chance that Liam Ryan becomes an elite mid-sized forward, that genuine potential to be elite is probably worth reaching for.

Pick 32: Brayden Ainsworth
Negative
I would have picked James Worpel (given WCEs picks) or if we'd taken Constable, I would have gone with a bit more x-factor and picked Charlie Ballard
With my mock draft and youtube based expertise, Ainsworth was undoubtedly a reach and wasn't on my radar. Worpel was my hope for 32 right from the start and he was available.

Pick 38: Jake Petrucelle
Very Positive
I would have picked Worpel, but do like the outcome with Petrucelle
I also would have been intrigued with a slider in Nathan Murphy or Charlie Ballard even though they don't really seem to fill a need for us. This pick would also be where I would have looked at Liam Ryan, but we'll never know if he would have been available. But overall, I really like the pick of Petrucelle. The speed is enticing and as much as I see the comparison to Ash Smith, I am hoping that Petrucelle is a smart athlete who has a good ability to learn the game, but just lacks the experience as opposed to Smith who just didn't appear to be a smart athlete. Again, with so many picks, it seems that we have been prepared to roll the dice on real upside potential between Allen, Ryan and Petrucelle.

Pick 68: Hamish Brayshaw
Positive
I would have picked Hamish Brayshaw
But only because I don't really know any better and his name was thrown around a bit.

Pick 77: Pass
Neutral
I would have picked Bailey Banfield.
With my simplistic (and somewhat uninformed) view, I don't really see how someone like Ainsworth can be a mid 2nd Rounder after playing a dozen games in the ressies, but Banfield gets passed over entirely after winning his clubs B&F at league level. The knock on Banfield seems to be his kicking, but at pick 77, you don't get any ideal prospects, so I would have rolled the dice on Banfield.
Hey, I don’t look like too much of a dickhead with my picks. Suck on that all of youse campaigners. BOND 007, if I wasn’t busy and very important in my own job, I’d be asking you for a forwarding address for my resume.
 

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