Draft Expert ModernArtillery 2023 Draft Thread

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ModernArtillery said:
***Part 1 of my pre-season notes is captured in the first post of this thread.

Harry Francis
I first saw Harry Francis play two years ago and he immediately became a favourite of mine. That day he played primarily through the ruck, resting forward. He showed a fair bit of natural athleticism and coordination and his ability to use the ball around the ground was above average for his size. I've since seen him play a bit more in defence and I think that might be the position that gives him the best opportunity to have a career at AFL level. I know most won't look favourably on this call, but I think some of his strengths are comparable to someone like Billy Frampton. He's got similar size, coordination, fluidity, natural athleticism and above average ball-use. Areas of growth include 1 on 1 competitiveness in the contest and overall physicality.

Jack Callinan
I'm a big fan of Jack Callinan and would have him in the top half of my draft board at this point of the season. There's no question marks on his footy for me. He's got the forward craft to consistently impact on the scoreboard and ability to apply pressure inside 50. He doesn't look out of place through the midfield and while he's probably not a permanent midfielder at AFL level, he's certainly got the talent to play a role as a pinch-hitter.

Arie Schoenmaker
Schoenmaker has nice speed for his size and is a really capable user by foot coming out of defence. Ideally he gets to a genuine KPD size as he currently measures in as a third tall at about 193cm. He's a capable interceptor and what makes him so damaging is his ability to intercept and then rebound. I see a genuine best 22 prospect and am keen to see further physical development and growth in his defensive game.

Alex Holt
I've been lucky enough to see a fair bit of Alex Holt at SANFL U18 level and have been very impressed with his competitiveness and leadership. His defensive work is exceptional and he's demonstrated a capacity to play on a variety of different types. His work rebounding from defensive 50 has come with mixed results. He has the right mindset and has shown a willingness to take the game on. This comes with mistakes but it never appears to impact his confidence and you'd expect it will be beneficial for his development long-term.

Nathan Philactides
Philactides is one of the more exciting prospects in this class. It's great to watch what he can do with the footy and how quickly he can turn defence into attack. He's got a great speed/power/burst combo and has a classy left foot. I do wonder whether there's a cap on his ceiling from a draft range perspective given his size/role but he's still one I expect to be discussed in the first half of the draft.

Ryley Sanders
Sanders is one I'm keen to track closely this year. I love his size, frame and work on the inside. He moves through traffic well but doesn't have that burst or speed that is really desirable. He's a competent distributor, especially by hand and willing tackler. With Sanders, I think the footy is good enough, but the question mark will be on his athletic attributes.

Archie Roberts
I'm not completely sold on Roberts as a prospect yet, but it wouldn't be the first time I've been late to the party. I'd like to see his kicking and decision-making improve coming out of defence, as I feel at times he settles for distance rather than hitting up shorter, more aggressive targets. I'll also acknowledge that is sometimes a product of the options that actually present themselves up the field, so it's perhaps not always his fault. He's got a bit of development to come physically, but he's got time to add the necessary size. I'd really like to see his 1 on 1 defensive work improve to complement his ability to read the flight of the ball. Like a few others, I think the positional-value limits the ceiling of his draft-range.
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Love ya work ModernArtillery This groups review as well as the last one are bloody good. Can't wait to see how this plays out throughout the year. I have my favourite 3or 4 that i think will climb up the order (well Harley can't get any higher) as their year plays out.
 
Any love for Nate Caddy? While he looks to be out for a bit, the heartbreak of losing Gunston has me pining for another medium-tall forward with excellent marking abilities and superb forward craft. Bonus if he can run through the midfield, but off CHF I think he could be a player in the mold of Nick Riewoldt, Jez Cameron, and now Cadman, that pushes up the ground and provide an outlet option and play a part in the forward 50 entry before running back and presenting themselves. But I've only seen a handful of highlights and champs games to go off.
 
TDS7 said:
Any love for Nate Caddy? While he looks to be out for a bit, the heartbreak of losing Gunston has me pining for another medium-tall forward with excellent marking abilities and superb forward craft. Bonus if he can run through the midfield, but off CHF I think he could be a player in the mold of Nick Riewoldt, Jez Cameron, and now Cadman, that pushes up the ground and provide an outlet option and play a part in the forward 50 entry before running back and presenting themselves. But I've only seen a handful of highlights and champs games to go off.
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Apparently he’s the nephew of Josh Caddy 🤣 I reckon if you read any draft article you will get your Caddy fix. All they ever talk about is H Reid. N Watson and N Caddy.
 
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TDS7 said:
Any love for Nate Caddy? While he looks to be out for a bit, the heartbreak of losing Gunston has me pining for another medium-tall forward with excellent marking abilities and superb forward craft. Bonus if he can run through the midfield, but off CHF I think he could be a player in the mold of Nick Riewoldt, Jez Cameron, and now Cadman, that pushes up the ground and provide an outlet option and play a part in the forward 50 entry before running back and presenting themselves. But I've only seen a handful of highlights and champs games to go off.
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Caddy's not a favourite of mine but that doesn't mean I don't think he'll turn out to be a player. I'm not sold on the midfield scope yet, but am eager to see how that unfolds this year. Hopefully the early season injury doesn't inhibit his progress in that regard. As a forward he's pretty strong on the lead and I do like the way he flies at the footy. He's capable once the ball hits the deck too and has a bit of x-factor about him. He just didn't put it together consistently enough for me last year, but that's probably a harsh criticism of a 16/17 year old kid. He probably wouldn't be in my top 10 to start the season but that doesn't mean he won't finish in there.
 
Caddy reminds me of a 17/18 year old Oscar Allen. Really long arms, takes the ball high in the air with sticky hands. He's 193cm now, but I reckon he's got more to come
 
A couple of my favourites from South Australia right now..

Tom Wheaton
Wheaton has been one of my favourites since he debuted in the SANFL U18's back in 2021. His size is really impressive for a midfielder and he's doing a much better job with his inside work, showing clean hands and either powering his way through the contest or using his strength to absorb the tackle and release by hand. I wouldn't say he's a natural forward but he's a threat when he rests inside 50, purely because of his size, strength and athleticism. You can tell the game has slowed down for him at U18 level and his decision-making with ball in hand looks much improved. The running capacity is hard to measure without the raw data but I expect that he'll need to show further improvement in that regard.

Logan Evans
I LOVED Logan Evans last year, but I definitely didn't expect him to debut for the League side this early. I was lucky enough to see his first game at the level in the flesh and he was really, really impressive. His decision-making and ability to execute by foot coming out of defence stood out, even at that level. He's a good vertical athlete and looks like he has a frame that will really fill out at AFL level. I'd say his 1 on 1 defensive work needs some improvement but there's legitimate scope for him as an athletic interceptor. Stylistically, I think Tom Doedee is not an unreasonable comparison.
 
ModernArtillery said:
A couple of my favourites from South Australia right now..

Tom Wheaton
Wheaton has been one of my favourites since he debuted in the SANFL U18's back in 2021. His size is really impressive for a midfielder and he's doing a much better job with his inside work, showing clean hands and either powering his way through the contest or using his strength to absorb the tackle and release by hand. I wouldn't say he's a natural forward but he's a threat when he rests inside 50, purely because of his size, strength and athleticism. You can tell the game has slowed down for him at U18 level and his decision-making with ball in hand looks much improved. The running capacity is hard to measure without the raw data but I expect that he'll need to show further improvement in that regard.

Logan Evans
I LOVED Logan Evans last year, but I definitely didn't expect him to debut for the League side this early. I was lucky enough to see his first game at the level in the flesh and he was really, really impressive. His decision-making and ability to execute by foot coming out of defence stood out, even at that level. He's a good vertical athlete and looks like he has a frame that will really fill out at AFL level. I'd say his 1 on 1 defensive work needs some improvement but there's legitimate scope for him as an athletic interceptor. Stylistically, I think Tom Doedee is not an unreasonable comparison.
Click to expand...
I like Evans as well. What’s his size?
 
ModernArtillery said:
A couple of my favourites from South Australia right now..

Tom Wheaton
Wheaton has been one of my favourites since he debuted in the SANFL U18's back in 2021. His size is really impressive for a midfielder and he's doing a much better job with his inside work, showing clean hands and either powering his way through the contest or using his strength to absorb the tackle and release by hand. I wouldn't say he's a natural forward but he's a threat when he rests inside 50, purely because of his size, strength and athleticism. You can tell the game has slowed down for him at U18 level and his decision-making with ball in hand looks much improved. The running capacity is hard to measure without the raw data but I expect that he'll need to show further improvement in that regard.

Logan Evans
I LOVED Logan Evans last year, but I definitely didn't expect him to debut for the League side this early. I was lucky enough to see his first game at the level in the flesh and he was really, really impressive. His decision-making and ability to execute by foot coming out of defence stood out, even at that level. He's a good vertical athlete and looks like he has a frame that will really fill out at AFL level. I'd say his 1 on 1 defensive work needs some improvement but there's legitimate scope for him as an athletic interceptor. Stylistically, I think Tom Doedee is not an unreasonable comparison.
Click to expand...
Mutineer said:
SA Squad 2KM run on the weekend taken out by South Adelaide's big bodied mid Tom Wheaton in an impressive 6 min.07 seconds

Fjaxi-haEAAA2JO
Click to expand...
 
ModernArtillery said:
Logan Evans
I LOVED Logan Evans last year, but I definitely didn't expect him to debut for the League side this early. I was lucky enough to see his first game at the level in the flesh and he was really, really impressive. His decision-making and ability to execute by foot coming out of defence stood out, even at that level. He's a good vertical athlete and looks like he has a frame that will really fill out at AFL level. I'd say his 1 on 1 defensive work needs some improvement but there's legitimate scope for him as an athletic interceptor. Stylistically, I think Tom Doedee is not an unreasonable comparison.
Click to expand...
Just got around to watching his Round 1 game this morning, decision making and use by foot are big ticks as well as athleticism for his role. One thing I noted that I didn't quite expect was his work rate in both offense and defence, a few times he made some repeat leads between the arcs that opponents ignored and saw him get used. You mention Doedee as a comparison which I agree with, would you agree that Evans has a better athletic base?

Also keen on your thoughts on Weckert, I think he's got some traits but it's hard to judge where they sit in comparison to the other talls in the class when he's almost invisible for most of the game in Seniors
 
PMBangers said:
Just got around to watching his Round 1 game this morning, decision making and use by foot are big ticks as well as athleticism for his role. One thing I noted that I didn't quite expect was his work rate in both offense and defence, a few times he made some repeat leads between the arcs that opponents ignored and saw him get used. You mention Doedee as a comparison which I agree with, would you agree that Evans has a better athletic base?

Also keen on your thoughts on Weckert, I think he's got some traits but it's hard to judge where they sit in comparison to the other talls in the class when he's almost invisible for most of the game in Seniors
Click to expand...
Based solely on eye test, I think so. From memory, Doedee was a pretty impressive athlete as a junior. Tom’s probably added nearly 10 kgs since and would have at least that on Evans now, so without the data it’s a bit hard for me to get a real clear baseline comparison. I don’t think the gap would be huge at draft age, but Evans certainly looks the better athlete vs 2023 Doedee.
 

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PMBangers said:
Just got around to watching his Round 1 game this morning, decision making and use by foot are big ticks as well as athleticism for his role. One thing I noted that I didn't quite expect was his work rate in both offense and defence, a few times he made some repeat leads between the arcs that opponents ignored and saw him get used. You mention Doedee as a comparison which I agree with, would you agree that Evans has a better athletic base?

Also keen on your thoughts on Weckert, I think he's got some traits but it's hard to judge where they sit in comparison to the other talls in the class when he's almost invisible for most of the game in Seniors
Click to expand...
Left out the Weckert response sorry!

I can’t get there on Weckert just yet, especially as a forward. You’re 100% right about his role in the seniors. Makes him near impossible to evaluate. I think his strength in 1 on 1’s is his best asset but I worry about his speed, acceleration and ability to separate on the lead. He’s good overhead and so he doesn’t need too much space but I’m slow to be convinced he stylistically fits AFL footy.
 
ModernArtillery said:
Left out the Weckert response sorry!

I can’t get there on Weckert just yet, especially as a forward. You’re 100% right about his role in the seniors. Makes him near impossible to evaluate. I think his strength in 1 on 1’s is his best asset but I worry about his speed, acceleration and ability to separate on the lead. He’s good overhead and so he doesn’t need too much space but I’m slow to be convinced he stylistically fits AFL footy.
Click to expand...
ModernArtillery said:
Based solely on eye test, I think so. From memory, Doedee was a pretty impressive athlete as a junior. Tom’s probably added nearly 10 kgs since and would have at least that on Evans now, so without the data it’s a bit hard for me to get a real clear baseline comparison. I don’t think the gap would be huge at draft age, but Evans certainly looks the better athlete vs 2023 Doedee.
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I love and appreciate you and hope you continue to be a contributor here and at RMC forever
 
ModernArtillery said:
Left out the Weckert response sorry!

I can’t get there on Weckert just yet, especially as a forward. You’re 100% right about his role in the seniors. Makes him near impossible to evaluate. I think his strength in 1 on 1’s is his best asset but I worry about his speed, acceleration and ability to separate on the lead. He’s good overhead and so he doesn’t need too much space but I’m slow to be convinced he stylistically fits AFL footy.
Click to expand...
I'm with you there, bit of a tweener as well.

Already very well developed physically too, I'm waiting for the Nationals to see how he goes against his peers.

6ac4eaa23c78536e66ec494c531d14cc
 
June Rankings
  • Index
    • I've been chasing my tail trying to catch up on all the footy since I've been back from overseas. It feels like I'm always going to be a week behind but I'm well overdue for an update. Of course, just as I start to feel settled on my top 10, Nate Caddy kicks 6 and Darcy Wilson has another 30.

    Top 10

    1. Harley Reid
    Nothing more needs to be said. Special prospect.

    2. Jed Walter
    Walter has power, strength and pretty good straight-line speed for a player his size. Perhaps there could be some concern around upside given his advanced physical development, but in his case, I'm happy to see the physical profile knowing what I'll get from him. From purely a football perspective, I don't have him as the most talented key position player in this draft, but I value key forwards over key defenders and I think Walter's production at AFL level will justify the higher ranking.

    3. Daniel Curtin
    I really love Curtin's patience and polish coming out of defence. I think all facets of his defensive game are satisfactory enough to translate to AFL footy, but it's his composure and ball-use rebounding from defensive 50 that I think sets him apart. I think he can play a similar role to Steven May in the way that he both defends and distributes the ball at a high level. I have him as the most talented key position player in the draft.

    4. Zane Duursma
    There's a few prospects in this draft who's form has been a bit up and down throughout the year thus far and Duursma has been a bit susceptible to that. I just love his talent though as a guy who projects as a highly athletic, speedy midfielder. I believe his contested footy will come and see genuine scope for him to be a quality stoppage player. Throw in his capacity to go forward and be a match-winner there and I think he represents great value at any selection after Harley Reid.

    *I'd take the order of this next group with a grain of salt. Not a lot between them and I'm anticipating it being a nightmare right up to draft night.

    5. Ryley Sanders
    I really didn't want to get sucked into Sanders, who I perceived as a bit slow and vanilla in his 16th and 17th years. He's just completely elevated his game to the point where he's undeniable as a top-end prospect. His stoppage work is elite, he accumulates, he's super clean below his knees and works through traffic with patience. I think his kicking has improved as he's become a competent and sometimes creative user by foot. He gets the nod over some of the other top-end prospects because I value his advanced contested game and inside work.

    6. Nate Caddy
    It's taken me a while to buy into Caddy as a prospect. I'm still a bit skeptical of the midfield scope but I think his upside as a forward is legitimate enough to justify him being this high. He appears to be filling out nicely and I think he's going to have the athleticism to work his opponent over at the next level. He's a legitimate aerial threat, yet also incredibly competent on the ground. I think his finishing and general ball use has room for improvement, but he's certainly got star potential.

    7. Ethan Read
    Read is an incredibly unique, special talent for his size. His ability to cover the ground at 200cm and use the football the way he does is extraordinary. With his athleticism and skill level, I think there's scope for him to feature as a KPF or KPD, though the ruck position might maximise his running ability.

    8. Nick Watson
    I'd just love to know where Watson would be drafted if he had Harley Reid's body.. He's such a talent and I think there are scenarios at AFL level where his size will actually be an advantage. He's going to be a very difficult match-up inside forward 50. His low centre of gravity is going to make him incredibly difficult to tackle and he's got the speed and evasiveness to run rings around defenders. Throw in his aerial ability and the fact he's a classy finisher and you're looking at a player who could become the best small forward in the league.

    9. Connor O'Sullivan
    I'm not normally one to get too excited about KPD's in the top 10, but O'Sullivan ticks a lot of boxes for me. He's a nice athlete and a really smooth mover who patiently works through traffic and frees his arms in tackles to release a handball to teammates. He can impact the aerial contest, either with a spoil or intercept mark and is a competent ball user and decision-maker coming out of defence. Another skill that sets him apart from other key position products is his cleanliness below his knees. At this stage, I'd be pretty comfortable using a top 10 selection on this kid.

    10. Colby McKercher
    Colby at 10 feels low, which probably speaks to how highly I rate this top 10. If I was to share a concern about him, it's probably around what his contested game looks like at AFL level. At times he struggles to break tackles and release effective handballs but that's probably overly critical. The numbers are great and his form is super strong, so this is probably disrespectful.
     
  • Index
    • ModernArtillery said:
    I've been chasing my tail trying to catch up on all the footy since I've been back from overseas. It feels like I'm always going to be a week behind but I'm well overdue for an update. Of course, just as I start to feel settled on my top 10, Nate Caddy kicks 6 and Darcy Wilson has another 30.

    Top 10

    1. Harley Reid
    Nothing more needs to be said. Special prospect.

    2. Jed Walter
    Walter has power, strength and pretty good straight-line speed for a player his size. Perhaps there could be some concern around upside given his advanced physical development, but in his case, I'm happy to see the physical profile knowing what I'll get from him. From purely a football perspective, I don't have him as the most talented key position player in this draft, but I value key forwards over key defenders and I think Walter's production at AFL level will justify the higher ranking.

    3. Daniel Curtin
    I really love Curtin's patience and polish coming out of defence. I think all facets of his defensive game are satisfactory enough to translate to AFL footy, but it's his composure and ball-use rebounding from defensive 50 that I think sets him apart. I think he can play a similar role to Steven May in the way that he both defends and distributes the ball at a high level. I have him as the most talented key position player in the draft.

    4. Zane Duursma
    There's a few prospects in this draft who's form has been a bit up and down throughout the year thus far and Duursma has been a bit susceptible to that. I just love his talent though as a guy who projects as a highly athletic, speedy midfielder. I believe his contested footy will come and see genuine scope for him to be a quality stoppage player. Throw in his capacity to go forward and be a match-winner there and I think he represents great value at any selection after Harley Reid.

    *I'd take the order of this next group with a grain of salt. Not a lot between them and I'm anticipating it being a nightmare right up to draft night.

    5. Ryley Sanders
    I really didn't want to get sucked into Sanders, who I perceived as a bit slow and vanilla in his 16th and 17th years. He's just completely elevated his game to the point where he's undeniable as a top-end prospect. His stoppage work is elite, he accumulates, he's super clean below his knees and works through traffic with patience. I think his kicking has improved as he's become a competent and sometimes creative user by foot. He gets the nod over some of the other top-end prospects because I value his advanced contested game and inside work.

    6. Nate Caddy
    It's taken me a while to buy into Caddy as a prospect. I'm still a bit skeptical of the midfield scope but I think his upside as a forward is legitimate enough to justify him being this high. He appears to be filling out nicely and I think he's going to have the athleticism to work his opponent over at the next level. He's a legitimate aerial threat, yet also incredibly competent on the ground. I think his finishing and general ball use has room for improvement, but he's certainly got star potential.

    7. Ethan Read
    Read is an incredibly unique, special talent for his size. His ability to cover the ground at 200cm and use the football the way he does is extraordinary. With his athleticism and skill level, I think there's scope for him to feature as a KPF or KPD, though the ruck position might maximise his running ability.

    8. Nick Watson
    I'd just love to know where Watson would be drafted if he had Harley Reid's body.. He's such a talent and I think there are scenarios at AFL level where his size will actually be an advantage. He's going to be a very difficult match-up inside forward 50. His low centre of gravity is going to make him incredibly difficult to tackle and he's got the speed and evasiveness to run rings around defenders. Throw in his aerial ability and the fact he's a classy finisher and you're looking at a player who could become the best small forward in the league.

    9. Connor O'Sullivan
    I'm not normally one to get too excited about KPD's in the top 10, but O'Sullivan ticks a lot of boxes for me. He's a nice athlete and a really smooth mover who patiently works through traffic and frees his arms in tackles to release a handball to teammates. He can impact the aerial contest, either with a spoil or intercept mark and is a competent ball user and decision-maker coming out of defence. Another skill that sets him apart from other key position products is his cleanliness below his knees. At this stage, I'd be pretty comfortable using a top 10 selection on this kid.

    10. Colby McKercher
    Colby at 10 feels low, which probably speaks to how highly I rate this top 10. If I was to share a concern about him, it's probably around what his contested game looks like at AFL level. At times he struggles to break tackles and release effective handballs but that's probably overly critical. The numbers are great and his form is super strong, so this is probably disrespectful.
    Click to expand...
    Agree with on Sanders. I haven’t been able to watch a great deal this year due to work commitments though I went to a game earlier in the year and watched Sander and was blown away by the improvement.
    How does this group compare to last year? The hype last year this draft was much better. Not sure that has stacked up. Thoughts ?
     
    PocketRocket08 said:
    Agree with on Sanders. I haven’t been able to watch a great deal this year due to work commitments though I went to a game earlier in the year and watched Sander and was blown away by the improvement.
    How does this group compare to last year? The hype last year this draft was much better. Not sure that has stacked up. Thoughts ?
    Click to expand...
    It’s pretty difficult to compare because they offer very different things at the top end. 2022 I felt was loaded with mids and mid/forwards at the top. This year I love the key position talent.

    If you threw them all in a pool I’d say Reid and Walter are probably the first two picked. Then talent projections, need and positional value would influence the rest of the top 10.

    Given what we’ve seen from the 2022 crop thus far, you’d have to be relatively confident in the top end of this draft to favour them. If you do, I’m not going to tell you you’re wrong, because there’s genuine scope for it to be pretty special at the top.
     
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