Draft Expert Knightmare's 2021 Draft Almanac

[Swiggy]

Hi KM

at what range would you have Jye Amiss and Rhett Bazzo in?

 

[Knightmare]

Jamara isn’t competing with Bruce, Naughton or English for a role in the 22. He doesn’t have the strength to play KPF at this stage. Why do we need to debut him as a KPF?
He is competing with Hannan for the medium tall role this year. Hannan still gets targeted and plays his role keeping the defence as separated as possible. Jamara was knackered after his third effort in a quarter.... we still debuted Buku Khamis, who appeared fitter than Jamara BUT he spent most of the last quarter on the bench.

The other thing that you must consider, is that so far Jamara’s last shot at a debut was against the Tigers @mcg. That sounded to me like a Jack Watts debut versus Collingwood situation. Those Tigers defenders scragged, tackled, held, punched and harassed our senior forwards way off the ball (like they always do). Something that those forwards learned from and are now structuring up differently as a result. Imagine that was Jamara. He would have been pummelled head first into the turf (like Bruce/Naughton). How is that not Jack Watts versus Collingwood all over again?

Schache played that game ahead of Jamara, as Schache was clearly playing better at VFL level than him. Clearly better. Anyone who watched those matches could see that. Jamara looked awesome but he couldn’t keep himself involved due to fitness issues.

I am a big fan of Jamara BUT we have a flag to win. Thanks to Collingwood generosity, our 5/6th best midfielder is Treloar and he is awesome. This isn’t a bottom team desperate to show their supporters hope OR provide a boost to on field play. We don’t need that. We do need a player who can win 2 contests a quarter (Hannan’s role) and be dangerous enough to demand an opponent.
Can Jamara be part of the win? Yes but he needs to be able to play 60% of an AFL game, which currently he can’t because he hasn’t played a full VFL game for weeks.

I expect Jamara will be given a shot versus North or similar later in the year. Beverage has shown that he will play kids, give them a taste and give them feedback about their game so that they can improve and take the next step. He has done this successfully with multiple players.... Bailey Dale being the latest example. Dale should easily be AA this year, massive meters gained, best kicker in the league (using expected result versus actual result, which is the best measure) and gets involved up the field to kick goals or deliver into 50. Dale spent lots of time improving his game in the VFL. We aren’t as extreme as the Hawks in getting young players up to standard in the VFL (who can then play AFL when ready) but we do follow a similar system. A player has to earn a spot.

Key forward and more specifically as the number one option i50 is the only role Jamarra has shown he can play. He's a high usage target who demands that regular ball. His forward pressure isn't on a level where he'd be able to offer anything else. Not every key forward has to be a hulking monster or play the same style of game. Having Jamarra with Bruce and Naughton in that same front half, then English as a #2 ruck, for me that's taller than I'd be comfortable playing and would mean too little pressure in that front half, which is so essential to winning games of footy with scores off turnover how more scores are generated. Jamarra is a more influential footballer than Hannan and the player I'd use in his place any day, but the balance of talls would concern me if you're wanting to contend to go all the way this year.

Hannan isn't someone I'd be giving games to when Mitch Wallis and Rhylee West are running around in the 2s.

I'm not nervous about Jamarra coming in and playing now. I don't see his confidence taking a hit if he goes goalless in a game, I don't see him as Jack Watts, and on a good team that provides good delivery, knowing his game, he'll have his moments and get people excited rather than concerned. Camped at full forward he doesn't have to push too high up the ground, that's not his game. He's a go-to target and should always be the closest man to his own goal.

While it might be easy to suggest Schache is playing better football than Jamarra and should be higher up the depth charts, Schache has an easy time in the VFL because he has the elite endurance base and there aren't a lot of key defenders in the VFL with that level of conditioning. Jamarra's game to my eye is the far more translatable to AFL play because what he does can't easily be stopped at any level, with the AFL having few vertical athletes who can do the things Jamarra can. The other factor I see with Jamarra is that with a run of games, we're going to see game by game development v a Schache who doesn't have an apparent upside.

I don't disagree with you that guys can develop in the state leagues or in a club's two's, just as we see guys come through the state leagues and get drafted due to development and strong play at those levels, but I do see such caution as being so necessary with Jamarra and the greatest benefit to his development coming through opportunities. For anyone who has seen Jamarra play, he could play five games, and there is no way he wouldn't have several highlight reel plays that get people excited and help grow his confidence. He could take mark of the year with a short stint. He only needs a few moments to gain confidence and it's actually that AFL exposure that I feel will help him gain confidence. In the VFL, I fear he'll lose motivation/interest far more than I believe he'll gain confidence.

Hi KM where do you think Jye Amiss. From WA will get drafted. He is the leading goal kicker ahead of Jack William's in WAFL Colts but no one has him in their top 20 or 25
Any thoughts?

On SM-A205YN using BigFooty.com mobile app

Amiss isn't a definite in my mind yet to get picked. As per my comments on the previous page, Williams also spends time through the ruck which takes away from his fwd minutes v Amiss who plays from what I've seen purely forward and doesn't get up the ground as much. Amiss also benefits from playing for the top of the table side. He's a talented fwd 50m player, but will need to show he can do more than that to push up draft boards and start getting his hands on more of the footy.

Hi KM

at what range would you have Jye Amiss and Rhett Bazzo in?

Amiss could be considered late though isn't a definite to get picked I wouldn't have thought. Bazzo possibly mid-late draft at this stage with his start to the year not as strong as I'd expected, assuming his play starts picking up.

 

[Knightmare]

Bombers supporters started rumours prior to him be drafted.... some even stated events were going to happen even before Jamara confirmed he was committed to the Bulldogs. It’s all recorded on forums, not just BigFooty.com. This isn’t a new thing about the bombers being decent, it’s been going on for over a year. Some of the recent quotes attributed to Jamara were first written last year.... The lack of research and then realisation that these quotes are most likely made up, rarely occurs to most. It’s all so much bullsh!t, with no accountability.

I will repeat, this has been going on for more than 1 year.... it’s nothing to do with how well the Bombers are going right now. Bombers have a good coach & are finally started playing players in their true positions.... so are playing better as team. I still don’t understand why Stringer plays midfield but then the inside mid cupboard is bare. On paper, it’s the best list outside the top 8.

I'm not hearing any Jamarra to Essendon talk. They need to start clearing out some key position players before they start adding more.

I will make a final point about Jamara:

The Bulldogs still have to agree to trade him. Why would they?

Bulldogs wanted two top 10 picks for Dunkley who requested a trade last year (which I actually think is about the right price for Dunkley, very happy we didn’t trade him). Jamara would be valued even higher. To get T Boyd (a ruckman being played out of position as a Forward), we paid our captain (R Griffin) and pick 6. Now, that is a comparison of a similar number 1 pick moving during his first contract.... so a senior player that the Giants offered pick 4 to secure plus pick 6 (& we paid the final year of Griffins contract).

Which team is going to pay 2 top 6 picks to get Jamara? Who is going to pay that?


Dogs won’t trade Jamara and will back their systems to turn him into a long term Star, even IF he requested a move. Dunkley is reportedly about to extend his contract this year.... his bromance with Treloar is going along nicely!

My expectation to be clear is the Dogs retain Jamarra until his contract concludes (as Dogs will refuse trade offers until then anyway, irrespective of Jamarra's thoughts/feelings as per Dunkley), and from there whether he Jamarra re-signs will come down to whether there is a clear path to a best-22 spot.

Until Jamarra wins that spot, questions will linger and the noise will only get louder as there will no question be clubs talking to Jamarra's management about how he's going and their vision towards featuring him more prominently and viewing him as an immediate part of their best side. And those news reporters in the media will be all over that I'm sure, and no doubt it's not going to be helpful, but it's pretty obvious that until that position is won and clearly his, that will be an ongoing thing.

 

[ROYAL EAGLE]

Knightmare have you read this article ?

WAFL colts mid-season team

Draft writer Jordan McArdle picks his mid-season team of the year in the WAFL colts, filled with AFL hopefuls eligible for this year’s draft and next.

thewest.com.au

 

[ROYAL EAGLE]

I actually like Jye Amiss the most of WA keys in that he just wills himself on the contest.
You think he is not going to get there to a contest, then he leaps spills the pack and takes the mark.
He also has a good very tank, and is a wonderful set shot on goal.
The other part of his game is his chasing defensive side he works his arse of in that regard.

Luke Polson is amazing below his knee's for a tall and is very mobile plays like a mid at times

 

[briztoon]

Knightmare have you read this article ?

WAFL colts mid-season team

Draft writer Jordan McArdle picks his mid-season team of the year in the WAFL colts, filled with AFL hopefuls eligible for this year’s draft and next.

thewest.com.au

Pay wall.

 

[Knightmare]

Knightmare have you read this article ?

WAFL colts mid-season team

Draft writer Jordan McArdle picks his mid-season team of the year in the WAFL colts, filled with AFL hopefuls eligible for this year’s draft and next.

thewest.com.au

Can't say I have, and now the mandatory 28 day subscription has passed on my The West subscription I have cancelled.

What are the key takeaways?

 

[Lach72]

I actually like Jye Amiss the most of WA keys in that he just wills himself on the contest.
You think he is not going to get there to a contest, then he leaps spills the pack and takes the mark.
He also has a good very tank, and is a wonderful set shot on goal.
The other part of his game is his chasing defensive side he works his arse of in that regard.

Luke Polson is amazing below his knee's for a tall and is very mobile plays like a mid at times

Was wondering why people don't rate amiss. have never seen him but his stats are amazing currently. Is he too short for a KPF?

 

[TJG1996]

I actually like Jye Amiss the most of WA keys in that he just wills himself on the contest.
You think he is not going to get there to a contest, then he leaps spills the pack and takes the mark.
He also has a good very tank, and is a wonderful set shot on goal.
The other part of his game is his chasing defensive side he works his arse of in that regard.

Luke Polson is amazing below his knee's for a tall and is very mobile plays like a mid at times

Amiss barely gets out of the F50. That's probably his only weakness (apart from his build) at the moment. The last few weeks he's actually worked outside the arc and worked up the ground but for a year and a half he's not moved from the goal square.

 

[Knightmare]

Was wondering why people don't rate amiss. have never seen him but his stats are amazing currently. Is he too short for a KPF?

Decent height at 195cm. Athletic.

Stats good for the level he's playing but not early draft standard. His stats/scoreboard impact is helped by playing at least from what I've seen exclusively i50 as that closest to goal option and because he's on the top ranked side.

He should be in the draft mix and his stocks have improved over his past two games with x2 five goal hauls. I'm not seeing dominant on a level where I'd be saying he's an early pick though. I'm open to moving him up my board though as he improves and adds to his game though.

 

[Knightmare]

AFL Draft wrap with a focus on Sam Frost:

https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_...rap-dashing-half-back-sam-frost-impresses-gws

 

[SWSainter]

Decent height at 195cm. Athletic.

Stats good for the level he's playing but not early draft standard. His stats/scoreboard impact is helped by playing at least from what I've seen exclusively i50 as that closest to goal option and because he's on the top ranked side.

He should be in the draft mix and his stocks have improved over his past two games with x2 five goal hauls. I'm not seeing dominant on a level where I'd be saying he's an early pick though. I'm open to moving him up my board though as he improves and adds to his game though.

Great character and competitor, tank not mid field but not JUH either. East Perth have a couple of taller incumbent rucks they prefer so Jye is playing where EP need him. Also happens to be his strength.

 

[SWSainter]

I actually like Jye Amiss the most of WA keys in that he just wills himself on the contest.
You think he is not going to get there to a contest, then he leaps spills the pack and takes the mark.
He also has a good very tank, and is a wonderful set shot on goal.
The other part of his game is his chasing defensive side he works his arse of in that regard.

Luke Polson is amazing below his knee's for a tall and is very mobile plays like a mid at times

Agreed, great attitude and coachable too. Also wonder why we talk about height but less so about reach? Amiss is long as well as tall.

 

[Grockadoc]

Knightmare Hearing Tigers are keen on Ned Long. What are the chances he falls to one of our picks? We're also looking at trading into the first round by packaging second rounders together.

Should we end up with 3 firsts, what are the chances that we could get all 3 of Long, Van Rooyen and Gibcus?

 

[blueiris]

Looking at this years draft is it considered strong say Brisbane traded next year’s first round pick could we pick up 3 highly talented players with next years first highly likely to be swallowed up with a bid on Will Ashcroft

 

[AnEmptyChair]

2020 AFL Draft re-done mid 2021:

Catching up on this, and you're actually taking the piss with your rating and comments on Tom Powell. Just state you haven't watched him and move on, mate. To say that you don't see the same upside as the others when he's outperforming pretty much all of them despite being a skinny kid is silly to say the absolute least.

But yeah, 17th sure, checks out, especially when most of the players ahead of him in these rankings are 2nd/3rd-year players.

 

[ROYAL EAGLE]

Can't say I have, and now the mandatory 28 day subscription has passed on my The West subscription I have cancelled.

What are the key takeaways?

Back

Zac Fleiner (West Perth)

The small and speedy defender is a well-rounded player, with the ability to defend and counterpunch. Loves a long run.

Lawson Humphries (Swan Districts)

The West Coast Next Generation Academy is relishing his first full season of WAFL colts after graduating from PSA school Hale. Has silky skills, good hands and positions himself well.

Blake Morris (Subiaco)

Morris reads the play so well in the back half and used it well out of defence.

Half-back


Bryce Watson (Swan Districts)

A reliable member of the ladder-leading Swans’ back six, Watson is relishing his new role across half-back and provides great rebound.

Jarrod McIlvinney (Peel Thunder)

McIlvinney regularly gets the big jobs in the competition’s best forwards. The 198cm tall defender earned State 19s selection after a strong start to the year.

Jack Avery (Perth)

The Perth recruit has continued where he left off at Claremont, racking up midfield-like numbers across half-back. Was rewarded with a league debut against Subiaco this month.

Centre

Oscar Armstrong (East Perth)


The rangy winger has been excellent on the outside for East Perth, putting together a fine season so far. Is a great size and has a good set of hands.

James Tunstill (East Perth)

The Busselton product has been nearly impossible to stop in the midfield, racking up 20-plus possessions in all but one game so far this season. His defensive pressure has also been important.

Jed Hagan (East Fremantle)

It’s hard to believe Jed Hagan is still only 16. He’s been picked in the State 19s and 17s squads and was runner-up in East Fremantle’s colts best and fairest last season. Stepped it up again and looks every bit a first-round pick for 2022.

Half-forward

Brady Hough (Peel Thunder)

One of the finds of the season, Hough has transferred his strong country form for Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault to WAFL colts level at Peel. The goal-kicking midfielder’s start to the year earned him State 19s selection.


Jack Williams (East Fremantle)

The 196cm talent is shaping up as one of WA’s top draft prospects. Has been playing mainly as a key forward this year but can also swing down back or pinch hit in the ruck. Started the season on fire with 21 majors, splitting his time between attack and ruck.

Ethan Regan (East Perth)

The West Coast Next Generation talent is putting together a decent season for East Perth, one of the premiership fancies. Part of a well-oiled Royals forward line but can also play up the ground if needed.

Forward

Kaden Harbour (East Perth)

Harbour plays the pressure small forward role to perfection, with his colts form so strong he was promoted to the reserves.

Jye Amiss (East Perth)

The competition’s in-form forward, with multiple goals in every game and a current tally of 25. The classy left-footer has a great set of hands and a reliable set shot.

Tyrell Metcalf (Swan Districts)

The medium-sized forward, who crossed from Peel during the off-season, has been causing plenty of headaches for opposition defenders, booting 16 majors.

Ruck

Jake South (Subiaco)

The 19-year-old has been the most consistent WAFL colts ruckman, taking his game to another level after last year’s premiership campaign. Is also impacting the scoreboard.

Max Chipper (Swan Districts)

What a difference an injury-free campaign can do. A hand injury ruined Chipper’s 2020 season, restricting him to one colts game and a few in the PSA. But that injury looks a thing of the past prolific ball magnet, who changed schools to focus on his footy, in red-form form in Swan Districts’ engine room.

Josh Browne (East Fremantle)

Browne was a regular contributor for East Fremantle as a bottom-ager last year but has gone up a couple of gears this season, becoming one of the competition’s premiers on-ballers. Gets 30-plus possessions most weeks and uses it well.

Interchange

Luke Polson (Peel Thunder)

The versatile tall has been one of the shining lights for Peel Thunder this season, with his ability to play multiple positions a massive plus.

Lochie Paton (West Perth)

Paton has always been able to find the ball in the engine room but has improved his defensive game in recent weeks. Can also hit the scoreboard.

Ben Hewett (Swan Districts)

Like Chipper, Swan Districts captain Ben Hewett has been a massive part of his team’s midfield. Finds so much of the footy and leads from the front.

Talon Delacey (Claremont)

The North Albany product is putting together an exciting debut season of colts for Claremont, making the most of his midfield opportunities. Wins plenty of footy and works hard defensively.

Caleb Stephens (South Fremantle)

Stephens performs week in, week out for South Fremantle and has arguably been the club’s most consistent colts player.

Emergencies

Kade Dittmar (East Perth), Zarne Robis (West Perth), Luke Reilly (West Perth), Taj Woewodin (East Fremantle).

 

[Knightmare]

Knightmare Hearing Tigers are keen on Ned Long. What are the chances he falls to one of our picks? We're also looking at trading into the first round by packaging second rounders together.

Should we end up with 3 firsts, what are the chances that we could get all 3 of Long, Van Rooyen and Gibcus?

Most likely Long should be there for Richmond. He shouldn't be a super early pick. He could go late first round, or could go second round. I see that late first part of the draft at this stage as the top of his range if his strong continues once the Vic Metro boys resume games.

Van Rooyen and Gibcus could go late first. Van Rooyen could go as high as mid first depending on the strength of his play in the second half of the season, so he could be gone. Gibcus isn't a first round certainty in my view and could even drop into the second round.

Looking at this years draft is it considered strong say Brisbane traded next year’s first round pick could we pick up 3 highly talented players with next years first highly likely to be swallowed up with a bid on Will Ashcroft

This year's draft isn't overly strong. Not great for talls. Weak Victorian group (inclusive of Metro and Country). Though I do like the South Australian's this year relatively. The type this draft is rich on is a lot of combo mids who can play an inside/outside balance and push forward, with a lot of those types having good skills.

I wouldn't be betting on a high hit rate this year, I'm expecting there to be more first round misses than is usual again this year.

Catching up on this, and you're actually taking the piss with your rating and comments on Tom Powell. Just state you haven't watched him and move on, mate. To say that you don't see the same upside as the others when he's outperforming pretty much all of them despite being a skinny kid is silly to say the absolute least.

But yeah, 17th sure, checks out, especially when most of the players ahead of him in these rankings are 2nd/3rd-year players.

View attachment 1157904

With how uncompetitive North Melbourne are, they're the side I'm watching the least this year.

Other than watching all preseason matches, I've only bothered watching two North Melbourne games this season.

What do you view Powell's upside as being? Will he be a future All-Australian? Multi-year All-Australian? Of my first three tiers, would you include Powell in tier 1 (only my top-4 talls are in there at this point), 2 (no room for any pure mids at this point with no star mids or multi-year All-Australian calibre pieces presently from last years pool) or 3 (where I have him)?

I have Powell as per in the video in that third tier and he's not one I'm going to get carried away with. I believe he'll be a good mid as I'm sure all do, but I'm not seeing the weapons I am with a number of the others. You're right he does have further physical development to go through and he can take on possibly as soon as next year a more prominent midfield role, so he can definitely continue improving his spot on my board, and particularly if a lot of the talls don't come along as quick as expected, but we're all at this stage going to have particular players we favour at this point over others. It's conceivable on the other side of the equation a Macrae, Bruhn, McInnes or Poulter push past him, with that group for me broadly for me at least in the same tier.

For me at least, last year's draft is all about the very top end talls. I'm seeing good mids, but there aren't any at this point I see as likely in the future to be elite. So I'm broadly critical of the mids from last years draft. They don't stack up compared to recent years or years past, which is why I don't have any inside my top-10 other than Phillips (who has dropped down to tier three) who I continue to hold out hope on and will be re-evaluating based on early 2022 form assuming a full preseason to see if I have to bump him down further. But at this stage there aren't any midfielders I'm looking at with confidence and feeling like can be All-Australian calibre or among the best two mids on their team. Are you? That can change for me with time and development and probably will, but I'm not seeing at this point at least.

 

[woopy doo]

Knightmare Do you think teams are already looking at draft strategy? Wouldn't they just be sticking to scouting and building draft board for now?

 

[AnEmptyChair]

With how uncompetitive North Melbourne are, they're the side I'm watching the least this year.

Other than watching all preseason matches, I've only bothered watching two North Melbourne games this season.

What do you view Powell's upside as being? Will he be a future All-Australian? Multi-year All-Australian? Of my first three tiers, would you include Powell in tier 1 (only my top-4 talls are in there at this point), 2 (no room for any pure mids at this point with no star mids or multi-year All-Australian calibre pieces presently from last years pool) or 3 (where I have him)?

I have Powell as per in the video in that third tier and he's not one I'm going to get carried away with. I believe he'll be a good mid as I'm sure all do, but I'm not seeing the weapons I am with a number of the others. You're right he does have further physical development to go through and he can take on possibly as soon as next year a more prominent midfield role, so he can definitely continue improving his spot on my board, and particularly if a lot of the talls don't come along as quick as expected, but we're all at this stage going to have particular players we favour at this point over others. It's conceivable on the other side of the equation a Macrae, Bruhn, McInnes or Poulter push past him, with that group for me broadly for me at least in the same tier.

For me at least, last year's draft is all about the very top end talls. I'm seeing good mids, but there aren't any at this point I see as likely in the future to be elite. So I'm broadly critical of the mids from last years draft. They don't stack up compared to recent years or years past, which is why I don't have any inside my top-10 other than Phillips (who has dropped down to tier three) who I continue to hold out hope on and will be re-evaluating based on early 2022 form assuming a full preseason to see if I have to bump him down further. But at this stage there aren't any midfielders I'm looking at with confidence and feeling like can be All-Australian calibre or among the best two mids on their team. Are you? That can change for me with time and development and probably will, but I'm not seeing at this point at least.

Oh, we're rubbish so I get why you wouldn't want to watch us, but it's obvious in your analysis of Powell. Particularly his vision inside the contest and skills project to be elite if you watch him regularly.

So much of his upside comes in his scope for physical development. His ability to win the footy, his vision by hand and foot both inside and outside the contest, and his skills, especially by hand, are better than every other player you listed. When he has the physical capacity to match his mental capacity, he'll be able to apply those attributes more effectively for longer and at more contests while also physically matching up conditioned bodies. He projects to absolutely be a mid that will be in regular AA contention when he matures on exposed form.

And yeah, as far as those in your arbitrary tiers above him, atm on the available evidence I'm taking Powell over everyone in your second tier with the caveat that obviously Hollands hasn't played league footy yet. I genuinely don't understand how you can justify having Jones, Campbell and a MSD ruckman a tier ahead of Powell tbh, let alone Perkins, Reid and Callow in particular ranked ahead of him in the third tier.

 

[Knightmare]

Knightmare Do you think teams are already looking at draft strategy? Wouldn't they just be sticking to scouting and building draft board for now?

Clubs going back last year were already thinking ahead on their strategies for this year. It was particularly noticeable with the draft day trades that happened last year, and even going back to the trade period. So that component I'd expect all clubs would have long been all over and planning for a long time. Doesn't mean some of those plans can't or won't have to evolve, as some teams with perform better than expected and others won't, and the stocks of some will rise and with others fall.

Clubs will be focused on scouting the talent and revising their draft boards ongoing. With in particular so little Victorian exposure, clubs will no doubt be moving a lot of those names around. I know I will be.

Oh, we're rubbish so I get why you wouldn't want to watch us, but it's obvious in your analysis of Powell. Particularly his vision inside the contest and skills project to be elite if you watch him regularly.

So much of his upside comes in his scope for physical development. His ability to win the footy, his vision by hand and foot both inside and outside the contest, and his skills, especially by hand, are better than every other player you listed. When he has the physical capacity to match his mental capacity, he'll be able to apply those attributes more effectively for longer and at more contests while also physically matching up conditioned bodies. He projects to absolutely be a mid that will be in regular AA contention when he matures on exposed form.

And yeah, as far as those in your arbitrary tiers above him, atm on the available evidence I'm taking Powell over everyone in your second tier with the caveat that obviously Hollands hasn't played league footy yet. I genuinely don't understand how you can justify having Jones, Campbell and a MSD ruckman a tier ahead of Powell tbh, let alone Perkins, Reid and Callow in particular ranked ahead of him in the third tier.

Powell's distribution by hand hasn't just developed this year, he was sensational by hand also last year. Not sure I'd go as far as to say his skills project to be elite, but I can keep an eye out for what he does by foot next time I'm watching North as he wasn't damaging last year by foot when I watched him, albeit he was neat and tidy by foot I'd be more inclined to say.

Edwards as with Callow from the MSD I rate in the same tier as Powell as tier 3 players, and for me they're slightly higher ceiling and slightly more desirably due to relative positional scarcities. The tier two group I favoured because they're players I'm seeing as having multi-year All-Australian capabilities, with the added bonus of respectively each having the versatility to be multi-positional impact players, but I'm fully aware most won't necessarily rate any of those guys as high as I would at this point when the likes of Gulden and Powell in particular have gotten off to such hot starts, and that's just my own projecting ahead.

 

[AnEmptyChair]

Powell's distribution by hand hasn't just developed this year, he was sensational by hand also last year. Not sure I'd go as far as to say his skills project to be elite, but I can keep an eye out for what he does by foot next time I'm watching North as he wasn't damaging last year by foot when I watched him, albeit he was neat and tidy by foot I'd be more inclined to say.

That's because he's already his executing his disposal by hand at an AFL elite level. It's strange to mark him down for something that he's already doing better than 90% of the AFL as a first year player, if that's what you're doing. As he develops the physical capacity to attend more contests and match it physically with bigger bodies, he'll have the opportunity to use those skills more frequently.

I misspoke slightly. I think he's a good kick, not necessarily an elite technical kick. But his vision and decision making elevate him to be an elite disposer of the footy, if that makes sense. And especially inside the contest. His vision, decision making and ability to execute by hand in traffic is genuinely remarkable. Again, skills that will be able to be more consistently applied as he physically develops.

Edwards as with Callow from the MSD I rate in the same tier as Powell as tier 3 players, and for me they're slightly higher ceiling and slightly more desirably due to relative positional scarcities. The tier two group I favoured because they're players I'm seeing as having multi-year All-Australian capabilities, with the added bonus of respectively each having the versatility to be multi-positional impact players, but I'm fully aware most won't necessarily rate any of those guys as high as I would at this point when the likes of Gulden and Powell in particular have gotten off to such hot starts, and that's just my own projecting ahead.

Fine. I just don't agree that Powell's ceiling is any lower, particularly lower than Lachie Jones or Campbell. It's the same, if not higher imo. I think you're underrating Powell's ceiling, but again so much of that is speculation and projection and personal opinion. If you have two players, one with a ceiling of 10 and a floor of 2, and one with a ceiling of 9 and a floor of 6, I'm talking the second player 99 times out of 100.

 

[Savage Kent]

Hi KM,

With saints likely to finish bottom 6, are there any notable inside mids with acceleration and goal kicking ability? Wouldn't mind a Bailey Smith type mid on our list.

Additionally, are there any quality key backs in the mould of May/Barrass available in the draft. If so, where are they likely to go in the draft?

Keep up the good work.

 

[Knightmare]

That's because he's already his executing his disposal by hand at an AFL elite level. It's strange to mark him down for something that he's already doing better than 90% of the AFL as a first year player, if that's what you're doing. As he develops the physical capacity to attend more contests and match it physically with bigger bodies, he'll have the opportunity to use those skills more frequently.

I misspoke slightly. I think he's a good kick, not necessarily an elite technical kick. But his vision and decision making elevate him to be an elite disposer of the footy, if that makes sense. And especially inside the contest. His vision, decision making and ability to execute by hand in traffic is genuinely remarkable. Again, skills that will be able to be more consistently applied as he physically develops.

Fine. I just don't agree that Powell's ceiling is any lower, particularly lower than Lachie Jones or Campbell. It's the same, if not higher imo. I think you're underrating Powell's ceiling, but again so much of that is speculation and projection and personal opinion. If you have two players, one with a ceiling of 10 and a floor of 2, and one with a ceiling of 9 and a floor of 6, I'm talking the second player 99 times out of 100.

I'm not marking Powell down for his work by hand. My comment was merely he was good by hand last year also, as a component that is definitely a strength to his game. If you have a component to your game before entering the system as I've been saying of a lot of the bigger bodied key position players, then there is no need to develop it from basic, it's already there and can be refined and further improved from there. That's only a good thing.

I haven't noticed his vision and decision making being on that elite level, so I'll keep an eye out when next watching. I wasn't seeing even at the lower level that impact per possession or hurt factor by foot, so will be interesting to watch how that goes.

Jones, Chapman and Campbell I like respectively because they're in defence and high level. They're guys by position where I could see them being top-10 in the competition general defenders in their primes. Hollands if he were a forward could be a top-10 general forward in the competition, or if a midfielder a higher level midfielder. That's where I'm seeing the separation v Powell who I view as something like a good third best midfielder for a team but likely never an All-Australian.

Being a half way through their first years, it's all speculation at this stage what they'll become.

You can have a Rhys Palmer who kills it in their first year and never has a better season thereafter, so it's really all up to interpretation at this point in time, and it's one of those cases where with every passing game, given how early things are, the list would change, so by years end I may well have Powell higher or lower depending on how others go relatively or what signs they show.

Hi KM,

With saints likely to finish bottom 6, are there any notable inside mids with acceleration and goal kicking ability? Wouldn't mind a Bailey Smith type mid on our list.

Additionally, are there any quality key backs in the mould of May/Barrass available in the draft. If so, where are they likely to go in the draft?

Keep up the good work.

The whole top end this year are combo mids who have some kind of inside/outside balance, can kick and can push forward. Not all have speed, though none of them are overly slow. If you want speed, Sinn might be the guy, though the others who aren't as quick are more-so your goalkicking mids.

I don't see a lot in common with May/Barrass. If you want an intercepter Gibcus is a name to look out for at a high leaping intercept marking key defender. Otherwise early draft it's key forwards who have mostly played as key forwards who possibly could switch back. The key position players late first and second round mostly I expect to get picked.

 

[woopy doo]

Love it Knightmare keep up the great work. Love your work