Heading into 2018, which high draft pick from YOUR OWN club are you worried about?

[mikey_san]

Still can't believe they haven't traded him. Sydney play finals every season and he has proven time and time again to be completely useless when it counts. And has openly admitted that he gets way too nervous and it affects his performance.

Would be a good get for the Hawks who won't be anywhere near them for the rest of Rohan's career.

 

[Damon_3388]

Matt Scharenberg was taken at pick 6 a few years ago, and he's done two ACLs and played less than 15 games since. I don't think he'll ever live up to being a top ten pick, but we can only hope (a) that his body lets him have a good run at it, and (b) that he gets to show off at least some of his potential on a regular basis.

The Pies seem to have an inordinate amount of injury-prone first- and second-round picks. I can think of Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom and Brodie Grundy as pretty much the only ones from the past 10-12 years that have had an uninterrupted run at it, without some sort of long-term injury or illness betraying them from reaching their full potential.

 

[JB1975]

The Pies seem to have an inordinate amount of injury-prone first- and second-round picks. I can think of Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom and Brodie Grundy as pretty much the only ones from the past 10-12 years that have had an uninterrupted run at it, without some sort of long-term injury or illness betraying them from reaching their full potential.

It seems to be a tax which so many Collingwood players have to pay, that at least one-third of your career will be interrupted by injury. There's a few others who have mostly avoided the toll/tax, whose names will not be mentioned lest it invites the attention of whatever footy gods have cursed us.

I just hope Scharenberg has paid his due and can now move on with what remains of his career.

 

[citizen-erased]

Francis is the obvious one.
One of the more talented kids from his draft crop, he hasn't kicked on from his U18 form, but has not looked out of place when playing.
Time is still on his side as Essendon are not crying out for a defender of his talent just yet, but it would have been good to see him out there alongside Hurley, McKenna, Saad and co this year.

Parish, McGrath, Langford and Laverde (despite recurring injuries) are of no concern.
By and large, our under 25 first rd picks are all looking very good.

WE usually balls up the 2nd/3rd rd picks by trying to be too clever.
For every Fantasia we unearth, there is a Steinberg over Parker/Morgan over Bonner scenario that screws us up.

can't win them all

 

[Sir Hugh Percy]

Francis is the obvious one.
One of the more talented kids from his draft crop, he hasn't kicked on from his U18 form, but has not looked out of place when playing.
Time is still on his side as Essendon are not crying out for a defender of his talent just yet, but it would have been good to see him out there alongside Hurley, McKenna, Saad and co this year.

Parish, McGrath, Langford and Laverde (despite recurring injuries) are of no concern.
By and large, our under 25 first rd picks are all looking very good.

WE usually balls up the 2nd/3rd rd picks by trying to be too clever.
For every Fantasia we unearth, there is a Steinberg over Parker/Morgan over Bonner scenario that screws us up.

can't win them all

Interested to hear your thoughts on why Essendon supporters are so bullish on Langford and Laverde. Not having a go, but they just don't seem to get the ball enough for guys with 3 years behind them and I'm curious why they're always talked up.

 

[Altum Volantes]

Definitely Nic Nat - I spent the entire game on Sunday screaming ‘FOR GOD’S SAKE DON’T GET INJURED!’ inside my head.

Definitely worried.

 

[citizen-erased]

Interested to hear your thoughts on why Essendon supporters are so bullish on Langford and Laverde. Not having a go, but they just don't seem to get the ball enough for guys with 3 years behind them and I'm curious why they're always talked up.

Langford had an apprenticeship year in the VFL last year. Taking him from a HFF to learning the inside mid role.
In his first game on the weekend he put a pretty good game in. Still a touch laconic with his kicks, but he tackled hard (brought Jacobs down nicely), moved well in traffic and did what we know he can do.
By seasons end, he'll be cemented in our starting midfield.

23 possessions with 80% game time isnt bad for his first AFL game in close to a year and a restricted JLT (illness), against the form side of the comp last year.

Laverde can play. that much is clear. He keeps getting hurt though. And they aren't repeat injuries. Just has some terrible luck. At some point, that has to stop. right?
I don't think Laverde or Langford are going to be your elite mid/fwd's, but i reckon they'll be very handy as depth to support Heppell, Zaka, Merrett, Parish, McGrath, Smith, Stringer, etc.

 

[L_W_P]

Probably Goddard.

McCartin will get his chances and I think just needs to play week in and week out to adjust to the level but Goddard's body just keeps falling apart.

 

[Scotland]

Definitely Nic Nat - I spent the entire game on Sunday screaming ‘FOR GOD’S SAKE DON’T GET INJURED!’ inside my head.

Definitely worried.

I spent the entire game hoping he'd get some uncontested marks around the ground so BigFooty would say he had a good game.

 

[Jesslc]

Second round pick.... but I just feel like he's losing his sense of identity on the field....

 

[mad-saint-guy]

Pick 1 - Paddy McCartin: Didn't show a lot in his first 3 seasons and his first game this year was really, really bad. Massively hampered by concussion and is probably one bad collision away from a forced retirement. Also lacks athleticism, agility, endurance and has an unfortunate habit of dropping simple marks and missing simple goals at AFL level. His diabetes remains a concern and has severely limited his TOG throughout his career. At his best he is a very smart forward and a great contested mark but the odds of him having a successful AFL career are getting shorter and shorter.

Pick 18 - Luke Dunstan: Looked great in his first season but hasn't progressed from there. The last six weeks of his 2017 season were good but he was left out of the round one team for the first time in his life at any level this year. Doesn't win a huge amount of the ball, doesn't have much physical presence, doesn't hurt the opposition with the ball, doesn't have pace and doesn't have great endurance. He's a tough competitor though and if he lifts his production and makes smarter decisions that could make up for his lack of physical weapons.

Pick 21 - Hugh Goddard: Looked fantastic when he broke into the side at the end of his first year but has struggled with injuries and form since then. Struggles to get involved and also lacks athleticism. Hopefully he can put two horrible years behind him and continue where he left off in 2015 but I'm not optimistic.

Pick 22 - Dan McKenzie: Recruited as a supreme athlete with elite skills but plays like a deer in the headlights. Doesn't really have the size or smarts to make use of his endurance or speed and his skills at AFL level have been sketchy at best. Not big enough to be a modern utility, not clean enough to be a half back and doesn't win enough of the ball to be a wingman.

 

[Altum Volantes]

Pick 1 - Paddy McCartin: Didn't show a lot in his first 3 seasons and his first game this year was really, really bad. Massively hampered by concussion and is probably one bad collision away from a forced retirement. Also lacks athleticism, agility, endurance and has an unfortunate habit of dropping simple marks and missing simple goals at AFL level. His diabetes remains a concern and has severely limited his TOG throughout his career. At his best he is a very smart forward and a great contested mark but the odds of him having a successful AFL career are getting shorter and shorter.

This would be one that jumps to mind from other clubs - you have to feel for the guy with the issues he is needing to manage but it’s going to take a fair turnaround of fortunes and luck for him to be a long term success.

 

[Sector 7G]

Langford had an apprenticeship year in the VFL last year. Taking him from a HFF to learning the inside mid role.
In his first game on the weekend he put a pretty good game in. Still a touch laconic with his kicks, but he tackled hard (brought Jacobs down nicely), moved well in traffic and did what we know he can do.
By seasons end, he'll be cemented in our starting midfield.

23 possessions with 80% game time isnt bad for his first AFL game in close to a year and a restricted JLT (illness), against the form side of the comp last year.

Laverde can play. that much is clear. He keeps getting hurt though. And they aren't repeat injuries. Just has some terrible luck. At some point, that has to stop. right?
I don't think Laverde or Langford are going to be your elite mid/fwd's, but i reckon they'll be very handy as depth to support Heppell, Zaka, Merrett, Parish, McGrath, Smith, Stringer, etc.

7 Contested possession would seem to suggest he has a way to go as a midfielder. While he had 23 possessions he had minimal impact (reflected in his 50 supercoach points).

 

[Carson Dial]

Bennell...sigh

 

[theprospect]

Pick 1 - Paddy McCartin: Didn't show a lot in his first 3 seasons and his first game this year was really, really bad. Massively hampered by concussion and is probably one bad collision away from a forced retirement. Also lacks athleticism, agility, endurance and has an unfortunate habit of dropping simple marks and missing simple goals at AFL level. His diabetes remains a concern and has severely limited his TOG throughout his career. At his best he is a very smart forward and a great contested mark but the odds of him having a successful AFL career are getting shorter and shorter.

Pick 18 - Luke Dunstan: Looked great in his first season but hasn't progressed from there. The last six weeks of his 2017 season were good but he was left out of the round one team for the first time in his life at any level this year. Doesn't win a huge amount of the ball, doesn't have much physical presence, doesn't hurt the opposition with the ball, doesn't have pace and doesn't have great endurance. He's a tough competitor though and if he lifts his production and makes smarter decisions that could make up for his lack of physical weapons.

Pick 21 - Hugh Goddard: Looked fantastic when he broke into the side at the end of his first year but has struggled with injuries and form since then. Struggles to get involved and also lacks athleticism. Hopefully he can put two horrible years behind him and continue where he left off in 2015 but I'm not optimistic.

Pick 22 - Dan McKenzie: Recruited as a supreme athlete with elite skills but plays like a deer in the headlights. Doesn't really have the size or smarts to make use of his endurance or speed and his skills at AFL level have been sketchy at best. Not big enough to be a modern utility, not clean enough to be a half back and doesn't win enough of the ball to be a wingman.

Agree on Goddard and McKenzie, neither have shown much at all although Goddard has his reasons. Dunstan I wouldn't be worries about although he does need to lift and show the same potential he did in the back half of last year on a consistent basis.

As for McCartin, have a next. Bloke cops some of the worst F50 entry you're likely to see, hasn't had a good run at it and the pressure of being a number 1 pick. If he was a pick 30 no one would bat an eyelid. KPP generally take a while, he needs a run of 10-15 straight games first. He was Pick 1 for a reason. Also plays 3rd fiddle to Membrey and Bruce, 4th before Riewoldt retired. I'll give him 2 full years before making any judgement on him. And if his concussions were such an issue, there is no way the club or he would be letting him play without a helmet. Nothing to see there.

 

[Isaac Cumming No 1]

Bennell...sigh

Interesting to see if Wilson at the same club is a good influence, he's got his head in the right place.

 

[nameless]

Chris Masten

 

[Superstar swan]

Nick blakey

 

[dajesmac]

Duggan. Not a good footballer.

 

[mad-saint-guy]

As for McCartin, have a next. Bloke cops some of the worst F50 entry you're likely to see, hasn't had a good run at it and the pressure of being a number 1 pick. If he was a pick 30 no one would bat an eyelid. KPP generally take a while, he needs a run of 10-15 straight games first. He was Pick 1 for a reason. Also plays 3rd fiddle to Membrey and Bruce, 4th before Riewoldt retired. I'll give him 2 full years before making any judgement on him. And if his concussions were such an issue, there is no way the club or he would be letting him play without a helmet. Nothing to see there.

If he was pick 30 would he get another contract? If we had a late draft pick who hasn't done much in three seasons suffer the concussions he has I suspect most St Kilda supporters would want the kid to retire for his own health and safety. That's a much more difficult stance to take when it's a number one pick though.