Geelong's Draft Picks - Live

[BigBadCam]

Yeah I'm really happy with what we have picked up. We must have known some other clubs were keen on Taylor, because I would have thought we could have gotten him with a later pick. However, we have picked up three KPP, two of which can easily be switched to either end, and the most intriguing ruck prospect available this year.

All four could genuinely be 100 plus games players for the club

The big question is how tall will he get? Exciting stuff.

I just watched his highlights package. He is a freak. Huge unit, and unlike some other big blokes that have played AFL, he can actually take a strong mark. Him running down that short bloke was pretty funny.

 

[DanA]

Dawson Simpson Draft Camp results:
Height: 206 cm
Weight: 104.9
5 m: 1.14
20 m: 3.22
Agility: 9.1
Shuttle: 12.1
Vertical: 56
Repeat: 26.21

Scott Simpson Draft Camp results:
Height: 195.6 cm
Weight: 92.10
5 m: 1.19
20 m: 3.16
Agility: 8.85
Shuttle: 14.3
Vertical: 56
Repeat: 25.68


Dan Mckenna Draft Camp results:
Height: 195.3 cm
Weight: 84.5
5 m: 1.06
20 m: 3.01
Agility: 8.83
Shuttle: 13.1
Vertical: 59
Repeat: 24.80

 

[fishman]

Here you go lads.... our picks in summary....

17. HARRY TAYLOR

East Fremantle, WA, Tall forward/defender, June 12 1986, 193cm, 90.8kg

34. DAWSON SIMPSON

Murray Bushrangers, VIC, Ruckman, February 17 1989, 205.9cm, 104.9kg

44. SCOTT SIMPSON

Dandenong Stingrays, VIC, Tall forward, October 19 1989, 195.6cm, 92.1kg

50. DAN McKENNA

Gippsland Power, VIC, Tall forward, June 29 1989, 195.3cm, 84.5kg

60. ADAM DONOHUE

Geelong Falcons, VIC, Small midfielder/defender, February 22 1990, 182.3cm, 82.6kg

 

[nananana catman]

Wells has shown in the past that he won't draft kpp just for the sake of it. These young lads were obviously rated.

Those who raise an eyebrow at Taylor only have look at Egan, Stokes and Mackie in recent years to realise Wells knows what he is doing. Hopefully he has gotten it right again.

 

[DanA]

Wells has shown in the past that he won't draft kpp just for the sake of it. These young lads were obviously rated.

Those who raise an eyebrow at Taylor only have look at Egan, Stokes and Mackie in recent years to realise Wells knows what he is doing. Hopefully he has gotten it right again.

I am a big rap for Wells but really he hasn't done that great with KP players in the past.

Ottens, Mooney and Harley were trades while Scarlett, NAB, Hawkins and Blake were F/S. Egan came through the VFL side after being introduced to the club by Kelly.

The ones which Wells would have been responsible for have all been duds. It should be interesting to see how he goes with these guys.

 

[WE Are Geelong]

Brief summary/run-down on Stephen Wells interview on SEN:

Dawson Simpson - Enormous man, different type of ruckman to the rucks we have the club currently
Scott Simpson - CHF, genuine KPP, good lead-up player
Harry Taylor - Older player, may not have been rated to have gone so high, but suited our needs, senior experience in the WAFL, played onball/forward/back, good endurance & speed, good left foot kick, look for him to have an impact

No mention of McKenna during the brief run-through by Wells.

I imagine we expected to get Thompson with this pick...and he will be a handy player for North no doubting that and good luck to him...but in hindsight I think 3-5 years from now we will be fairly happy with McKenna as a longer term option as a more authentic KPP type...

North often take a shorter term view with their drafting than Geelong...

 

[winty]

Sounds like we did very well in the draft. Disappointed we didn't get Thompson, but the ones we did get sound like good players. Even more depth for the best list in the league.

Kudos to Wells and the recruiting staff.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Bit of a nothing draft from us it seems

 

[Unwritten_Law]

We needed talls, we got them.

Looking back on this draft in 5 years time will be interesting. Lots of upside in our selections but a big chance of wiping out completely.

 

[hbk_aus]

Bit of a nothing draft from us it seems

How do u figure that? We got rid of most of our KP depth and now we have replaced them, bit early to say how they will go, but also bit early to say its a nothing draft???

 

[foxdog50]

Looks like Grima didnt get picked up. poor buger

 

[Deep North]

Dawson Simpson- Another blood nut for the Cats, gotta be a good omen. Did you see the size of him in that photo in the age- he's ebloodynormous.

 

[burto]

The development of players at our club is more important than drafting the big names that everyone gets excited about even if they haven't actually seen them play.

Geelong knows what they are doing.

 

[The Hulkster]

Dawson Simpson – Murray Bushrangers
205cm, 97kg (size taken from TAC Cup Record but is said to have grown to 207cm, 100kg)

Junior position: Ruck
Projected AFL position: Ruck

Strengths
Height
Fearlessness
Ground skills for size
Second efforts

Weaknesses
Ruck technique
Low possession winner

Question marks
His height has been a distinct advantage in juniors, but will it stand out as much in AFL as he’ll be up against smarter and more athletic opponents?

Comments
Dawson Simpson is a massive unit. Listed as 205cm in the TAC Cup Record (measurements taken at start of year). On top of his extreme height he also has a decent amount of bulk behind him tipping around 100kg, but the thing that makes Simpson such an exciting prospect is that this monster frame doesn’t detract heavily from his athleticism.

Immediately these measurement would conjure images of a tall dopey bloke who couldn’t put one leg ahead of the other, nevermind catch a ball, but Simpson actually moves around the ground a lot better than you would expect. On top of this he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty with second efforts so he displays a good level of intensity.

He seems to have a very good understanding of his size advantage because he doesn’t hold much fear, whether that be backing into a contest or bending down to pick up a ball in traffic.

He has a bit of work to do with his rucking as he still loses hitouts to guys under 200cm at juniors. Shaun McKernan and Jackson Trengove with superior technique and leap got the better of him in their two finals match-ups despite giving away over 10cm to Simpson, so this is a clear indication that some improvement needs to happen there and height alone won’t do it for him. With that said, it’s not like he is a bad ruckman. He is quite good and made Vic Country this year against some stiff competition, but better technique mixed with his height would go a long way.

At this stage he is still a low possession winner, even in juniors. He’s not a bad user of the ball when he gets his hands on it but he’s not really influential around the ground. Reasonable athleticism and immense size are a good combination so he’s got the makings right there to be moulded into a more effective around the ground player, but that’s not an extremely likely prospect.

Upside is a key term with Dawson Simpson. He’s shown good signs at junior level and has every chance to improve. His improvement over this season alone has shown that he could be on the way to realising his potential.

 

[Turbocat]

I am a big rap for Wells but really he hasn't done that great with KP players in the past....

Probably correct DA but has he really done that bad with the picks used? Correct me if I wrong but this Taylor kid would be earliest pick used on a legit tall since King?
As we all know we really have never had a pick earlier than 7 , and when going thru all of our drafts picks we nearly alway have used our first pick on a mid. Who could complain but surely its harder to pick a tall later than a missed mid caused there are usually more mids.
Having a read of Burgans Phantom he had Taylor being taken by Melbourne at 21 , with several clubs interested in him in the 20's. Taylor apparently stared at the Screening's and maybe they see a Tom Williams type of tall running HalfBack. If so he will probably suit our style well. In Wells I trust!

 

[Go Hoops]

Latest draft details. Swans and Tiges were being touted as doing the best.

http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=53726

 

[Rosso]

Noticed that the Pies took John McCarthy with their first pick. Young lad from Sorrento that happens to be the younger brother of our former CHF Matt McCarthy.

 

[darren forssman]

Noticed that the Pies took John McCarthy with their first pick. Young lad from Sorrento that happens to be the younger brother of our former CHF Matt McCarthy.

can he kick as well as matt???

 

[digger14]

i played jnr footy with dan mckenna and have nown him for a long time. hes going to be good but will take at least 3 years. his very skinny... but its a good pick up he could be scarlets replacement in the future!

 

[linga_is_no1]

As a loyal East Fremantle supporter, I have watched Taylor play for a number of years and in the first couple of years he was very skinny and always striked me as soft, but since last year he has toughened up a bit and put a bit more muscle on. His a good mark and solid kick, okay tackle and he did play in the WA state squad last year and did alright. I am suprised though he was our first round would have expected around 30, but the player he reminds me of most is probably Darren Milburn that is because Harry is a very handy utility and helped East Freo out a lot in this capacity the last few years. I wonder what number he'll get?He was 20 at the sharks

 

[Reg Hickey]

As a loyal East Fremantle supporter, I have watched Taylor play for a number of years and in the first couple of years he was very skinny and always striked me as soft, but since last year he has toughened up a bit and put a bit more muscle on. His a good mark and solid kick, okay tackle and he did play in the WA state squad last year and did alright. I am suprised though he was our first round would have expected around 30, but the player he reminds me of most is probably Darren Milburn that is because Harry is a very handy utility and helped East Freo out a lot in this capacity the last few years. I wonder what number he'll get?He was 20 at the sharks

Sounds OK, but the question in my mind is can he play as a genuine key position player as well. Milburn is a bit too short for anything more than pinch-hitting at CHB, and I was hoping that with an extra 4-5cms Taylor might be able to hold down that sort of role more permanently.

 

[Gazzajr is god]

Really happy with all bar Taylor. Dont know much about any of them except for what I have read but considering the talent that went after pick 17 is the worry for me.
Its said to be the rule of thumb being that first round should be take the best available talent then identify needs after that. Probably the only time you would go against that was if you had no ruckman then yes you would take what you needed.

I think we will be watching with alot of interest. Hopefully the guys that never got picked up get through the pre season draft and we may get some more talent through the rookie draft. We wont have a selection in the preseason draft which is a bugger as we could of got one of Kangars , Gourdis, Gaetner, Arrowsmith or Bellchambers. Just like how we got Mahloney.

Who knows Harry just may become the best of the lot of them.

 

[GeeCat]

Really happy with all bar Taylor. Dont know much about any of them except for what I have read but considering the talent that went after pick 17 is the worry for me.
Its said to be the rule of thumb being that first round should be take the best available talent then identify needs after that. Probably the only time you would go against that was if you had no ruckman then yes you would take what you needed.

I think this is where we need to keep some sort of perspective.

We all sit here and scratch our heads as to why a guy like Harry Taylor was picked, as in our minds he wasn't the "best available" (a very loose term, in itself). But taking a step back, what's not to say he wasn't ajudged to be the "best available" in our recruiting team's view? Listening to Wells post-draft, he certainly indicated, more than anything, that Taylor was more or less within the top group of players in the mix for our pick all along. If you'll believe other reports as well, a few other clubs had him figuring thereabouts (or just slightly later) in their player rankings.

Anyway, it's all very much subjective, such is the nature of the draft. If anything, I think we tend to overrate our own (or those around us here on BF etc) opinions and underrate the ones who really count - the AFL recruiting teams.

 

[rizzo]

Great Post GC, totally agree. Taylor would not have lasted another 5 or so picks if you listen to what many recruiters were saying. A running defender who averages 22 touches at Senior WAFL level is going well. Ill also point out his average disposals were higher then masten and palmer.

 

[Asty]

I think this is where we need to keep some sort of perspective.

We all sit here and scratch our heads as to why a guy like Harry Taylor was picked, as in our minds he wasn't the "best available" (a very loose term, in itself). But taking a step back, what's not to say he wasn't ajudged to be the "best available" in our recruiting team's view? Listening to Wells post-draft, he certainly indicated, more than anything, that Taylor was more or less within the top group of players in the mix for our pick all along. If you'll believe other reports as well, a few other clubs had him figuring thereabouts (or just slightly later) in their player rankings.

Anyway, it's all very much subjective, such is the nature of the draft. If anything, I think we tend to overrate our own (or those around us here on BF etc) opinions and underrate the ones who really count - the AFL recruiting teams.

I definately will hold my judgement for a few years on this one. Out other mature recruits in the last few years were egan and stokes and if either of them had been picked up earlier we probably would have had the same reaction ... "who is this person and why didn't we get ..." yet they have turned out pretty decent for us.