Draft

[TheJet]

Just looking through our draft picks for the last 3 years and it is a bit of a worry. We have a very of batch of players in their mid 20s but not a great deal of young guns ie 17-20 yo. Part of the problem is that we have not had high draft picks but I think some of the blame must be attributed to our recruiting team.

Previously we have done well with low draft picks ie Hird, Hardwick, Blumfield to name a few and stuffed up with high draft picks ie McAllister and Bolton. I thought that Noel Judkins did a great job with low draft picks but he has left.

Heres my rating of the last 3 years:

1999
~~~~
40 DAVID HILLE - Has been good this season. 8/10

45 MARCUS PICKETT - on the list for just one year before quiting. 1/10

59 JOHN BARNES - Was good in 2000 but 2001 was a big disappointment. 7/10

72 ROBERT FORSTER-KNIGHT - Good for a low draft pick but never going to be a star or win a game off his own boot. Basically a tagger rather than a creative player. 6/10


2000
~~~~
17 JAMES DAVIES - Yet to show any sort of form even in VFL level.
3/10

27 TED RICHARDS - Has been OK but never really going to be a key position player at CHF. 5/10

32 SAM HUNT - Has improved and may be the best out of this lot if he can come up and play in a key position post. 5/10

47. JORDAN BANNISTER - Has been very good in VFL but hasn't been able to step up at senior level. 6/10

63. MARC BULLEN - Won b/f in VFL team but has been hampered by injuries this season. Question his disposal. 6/10

2001
~~~~
18 SHANE HARVEY - Quick and smart around the goals but query his disposal and his versatility. Seems to me we have quite a few players of his type already in Moorcroft, McVeigh. Would have preferred that we taken him later in the draft if he was available. 4/10

31 JOEL REYNOLDS - My thoughts are that he is not worth a 2nd round draft pick and that we took him early because of his name. Looked out of depth when he played in the seniors and should not be rushed into the seniors. 4/10

34 SIMON O"KEEFE - Could be good but still very young particularly for a ruckman. 6/10

47 ANDREW WELSH - Has good leadership and hard at it. May be the pick of this lot. 7/10

50 PAUL SALMON - At the moment 2/10 but could be 8/10 depending on whether he can get himself fit and find form

64 DANIEL MCALLISTER - why oh why? I do know why, coz of his contract but why oh why?

What worries me is that we do not have a JUDD, HODGE, BARTEL, MCGOUGH, etc, guys who can pretty much play senior football and play well as soon as they are drafted.

What do the rest of the Bomber fans think?

 

[Pornstar]

I agree to some point. We should look to trade for a top 10 draft pick every 2 years IMO. Look what happened when we traded for Lloyd and Rama. I disagree on Reynolds however. I think you are being a bit too quick to judge on his senior performances. I defy anyone at the age of 17-18 to run out onto the ground for their first senior game and NOT sh*t their pants. I saw signs in his play that he will be a good player for us in 2-3 years. I also think Shane Harvey will be good for us, but he also needs time.

 

[sabre_ac]

Consider your current list and limited high picks I think your being a little hard on yourselves.
Lets not forget the age of Loylld,Lucas,Caracella and Rama.

I think you dont need to worry about rebuilding just yet.

 

[topdon]

May i remind you that Joel Reynolds is going to be an out-and-out gun!! The kid is only 17 ... so i think you are being extremely unfair on him. The kid is hard at it, shows no fear, and has great skills. I have it on good authority that Joel will be a player of the future!

 

[Smokin]

A few of em, such as Reynolds, Richards, Harvey, Hunt, Bannister, Davies, Okeefe, Welsh etc still need more time.

Sheedy keeps guys in cotton wool longer than most coaches.

Be patient.

Headscratchers are McAlister and Bolton.

I cant remember two seeming flops considering the wraps they came with.

The fact that we are still persisting with McAlister tells me there must be something there. He hasnt had a great run with injuries.

 

[TheJet]

topdon,

On one hand you've said that Reynolds is too young and on the other that he's going to be a gun. Again I am not against us taking him but just not as mid second round pick. I was really hoping that we would have gotten McGough.

Guys like Judd, Bartel, Reiwoldt, Brown (Lions) are ones that you can say are young and going to be out and out guns because they showed that they are capable of playing well in the seniors.

The other worry for me is the lack of tall forwards. We fall down badly if one or both of Lucas and Lloyd is injured. I know Hird can pinch hit up front but I believe we have a serious lack of depth in this department.

 

[The Spornstar]

Originally posted by TheJet


17 JAMES DAVIES - Yet to show any sort of form even in VFL level.
3/10

This kid went to my school and whilst he always looked a very good player, I thought it was a massive risk by Essendon to select him as their first round pick when he had only been playing school football in the APS comp. He didn't play any TAC cup footy and the way he is going, may only have this year left to prove that he has what it takes.

 

[mongrelpunt]

Gee, hindsight is such a beautiful thing....

In my opinion, We got Barnesy cause we just lost Somerville to retirement (obviously), and Salmon's the same when we lost Barnesy. Hille took a couple of years, but looks set to be a star for the club over the next decade or so, due to preparing his small frame for AFL footy, O'Keefe will do the same - probably won't play senoirs for at least a year. Throwing big men straight into it will burn themselves out - Look at Josh Fraser. Solid built kid in his first year, thrown in the deep end against blokes like Ottens, White, Primus, did alright, but then suffered from the osteitis pubis over the summer due to the stress of his first year.

TAC clubs push their young blokes all year so they get noticed by the AFL clubs in the hope of being drafted. Like thejet said, guys like Judd, Bartel, Brown, Koschitzke are sometimes a diamond in the rough, which clubs need great recruiting officers to find them. But the young guys we get now just need to settle down, play consistent footy in the VFL, and push for senior selection. Giving them a taste in the Wizz Fizz cup can only benifit them also.

Like I said, players that are thrown straight into the game from day one are going to struggle to play a full career, due to the injurys and pressure put on them at such an early age. Players lile Fraser, Brown, even Judd, Bartel, McGough might play a super first year, even a couple of good years after that. But they might not play out 10 years careers as well as a player that was developed, a player which a club really invests alot of time into, like David Hille. You just need to look at a bloke like Wayne Carey (before the sex scandal) who was put into the deep end at an early age, became a great player around 24-25, then had injury problems after that, and now is just a burnout shadow of his former self. If he comes back to play, he wouldn't last the year.

 

[The Spornstar]

Very good post mongrelpunt. Collingwood have massacred Josh Fraser and he is struggling to cope. He really looks scared, sore and unfit when he is out there. Playing him in a hard position too early will really cost him when he is older - it already is. You also make a good point about Judd, McGough, Bartel etc. Lets see how they are going in 8 years and if their bodies have coped.

 

[Slax]

I don't think that there is all that much to worry about in terms of the draft. Every club has a bad trot with it, purely by the nature of having to pick kids who are not quite ready for the big time and not having the time to keep them on the list to let them develop properly. Give it a couple of years and you'll have one good year where you pick up three or four good players out of the draft.