National Draft Selection Summary

[Gets!]

We rated Patty at 3 and Jacky at 19.

Poor Jarrhan, when Rendell screwed up the number, poor kid didnt know what was going on!!

 

[SA_Stazza]

I'm going to try to keep this as short as possible, because as I've previously said, I will be posting a comprehensive post-national/rookie draft analysis of the club's structural position and future development forecast in December.

To start off with our prized pick 10, Patrick "Rodney" Dangerfield, I know many of you here (including myself) were quite perplexed at our recruiting department's decision to overlook the cream of our local talent in Ebert. After having time to settle, think logically and without biased emotion, I've actually come to like the decision we've made in picking the baby-faced assasin.

Weighing up the pros, cons and future needs of the list, Dangerfield could quite well become one of the steals of the draft at pick 10. With our need for a genuine Inside Ruck-Rover type (most importantly one with height, agility and outstanding speed) "Rodney" ticks every box and would have to be one of the genuine standouts of that mould in this draft. On top of these qualities, Dangerfield adds significant grunt with his hard-at-every-contest attitude (love this about him) and the ability to play both inside and outside effectively. He possesses sound decision making skills and good disposal, what I like is his ability to compete well in the air - this makes him an even more dangerous weapon through the middle.

I think the "juice will be worth the squeeze" so to speak. As we all know, he will remain in Melbourne next year to complete his studies, so he is seen as a huge investment by the club - and I believe we won't have to wait too long before we start seeing some great returns on our investment. The reason I say this is because he possesses the athletecism and lightning-fast speed to quickly adjust to the pace of AFL football - highlighted by his 2nd overall placing in the repeat 30s, 3rd in the vert jump and 7th in the 20m at DC.
For this reason more than any other positive I can see in his abilities, I believe he will make his mark faster than most draftees we've had in the past.. This exites me greatly

To our next selection.. Andy Otten. This is the player we've been crying out for, the perfect modern prototype Utility. Extremely agile (tested 6th overall at DC) ball-magnet who has been used in virtually every position on the field to date but would probably be most suited to the 3rd-tall forward or back with cameous through the midfield to create matchup headaches for opposition coaches. Has great hands, would provide a strong contested marking presence wherever he's played which is a real asset when throwing a bloke around the park in various positions - think of an Andrew Mackie/Adam McPhee/Cam Bruce/Chad Cornes type with similar ball-winning ability.
I firmly believe this is what we've been lacking just as much as a Key Forward, I know that may be hard to swallow but the way footy is progressing these days, every team needs this type of player and we have been burnt in recent times by not having a suitable matchup for these types.

Our first two selections scream "foresight" and show a distinct level of planning has taken place in the redevelopment of our list. We have covered areas we needed immediate improvement in - pace, grunt, agility, versatility, midfield height and a strong presence in the air.

From what I've seen of Jacky he looks like an exiting prospect. Obviously fleet-footed and has the indigenous flair and exitement factor we've been craving. He seems to have a knack of knowing where the goals are and likes to back himself in, has confidence to burn. In Jarrhan we have sewn up our long-term forward pocket/midfield prospect with outstanding pace and skills - makes the Bode decision much easier to swallow personally as I was a big fan of Bodey. I think "Jacky J" will gain just as big a fan base as Bode's, if not bigger when he comes of age

It will be a huge positive for the lad having McLeod push him in the right direction along the way, and continually telling him to believe in his abilities.

Unfortunately I've not seen Cook or Armstrong play but will be spending some time over the summer delving into their playing history to gain a better understanding of their games. By all reports, Cook sounds like a Bryce Campbell type - at a very similar height and weight (184cm 77/74kg). Apparently Armstrong possesses one of the best kicks of this year's crop, something that will stand him in great stead as a running defender and improve our perceived disposal problems.

I didn't watch Kite closely in the Calder games I saw, but he seems like someone we can work with. We won't see much of him for awhile but that doesn't bother me as we already have super talent in the making in our future tall targets. He has good pace for a Key Position player and by the time Sellar, Tippett, Walker and Moran have established themselves he will provide us with an athletic backup KP option.

Texas Ranger is just a dead set gun in the making, I don't even need to go there

All in all, I'm happy with the direction we've taken. We've invested heavily in the areas that needed immediate attention and we've been able to secure some much needed speed and unpredictability

I look forward to seeing these young men in the Tri-Colours and I think Otten will be the first of this year's crop to debut, sometime next year I'd suggest


.

 

[betterthanu]

Stazza, you are a deadset gun. Great interweb posting

 

[SA_Stazza]

Stazza, you are a deadset gun. Great interweb posting

Cheers mate!

When you immerse yourself in something long enough, it becomes a great part of you.

Football is my life, I live for it! Without it I lack purpose. I only hope that is evident in the manner in which I share my own knowledge of the game

 

[Dogga79]

To start off with our prized pick 10, Patrick "Rodney" Dangerfield, I know many of you here (including myself) were quite perplexed at our recruiting department's decision to overlook the cream of our local talent in Ebert. After having time to settle, think logically and without biased emotion, I've actually come to like the decision we've made in picking the baby-faced assasin.

Weighing up the pros, cons and future needs of the list, Dangerfield could quite well become one of the steals of the draft at pick 10. With our need for a genuine Inside Ruck-Rover type (most importantly one with height, agility and outstanding speed) "Rodney" ticks every box and would have to be one of the genuine standouts of that mould in this draft. On top of these qualities, Dangerfield adds significant grunt with his hard-at-every-contest attitude (love this about him) and the ability to play both inside and outside effectively. He possesses sound decision making skills and good disposal, what I like is his ability to compete well in the air - this makes him an even more dangerous weapon through the middle.

I think the "juice will be worth the squeeze" so to speak. As we all know, he will remain in Melbourne next year to complete his studies, so he is seen as a huge investment by the club - and I believe we won't have to wait too long before we start seeing some great returns on our investment. The reason I say this is because he possesses the athletecism and lightning-fast speed to quickly adjust to the pace of AFL football - highlighted by his 2nd overall placing in the repeat 30s, 3rd in the vert jump and 7th in the 20m at DC.
For this reason more than any other positive I can see in his abilities, I believe he will make his mark faster than most draftees we've had in the past.. This exites me greatly

I wonder why his name didn't register with a lot of us earlier. Every phantom draft or best midfield prospect report leading up to the draft had him as one of the best mids in the country. Our shopping list had at the top of it a hard grunty midfielder with good pace. Thats what everyone has been saying and demanding for a while now. Obviously we became so obsessed with Ebert it gave us tunnel vision.

 

[ams4crows]

We rated Patty at 3 and Jacky at 19.

Poor Jarrhan, when Rendell screwed up the number, poor kid didnt know what was going on!!

I would love to know what the AFC suppsed top 20 was and what it was based on, club needs or what they actually thought the talent was!

 

[SA_Stazza]

I wonder why his name didn't register with a lot of us earlier. Every phantom draft or best midfield prospect report leading up to the draft had him as one of the best mids in thew country. Our shopping list had at the top of it a hard grunty midfielder with good pace. Thats what everyone has been saying and demanding for a while now. Obviously we became so obsessed with Ebert it gave us tunnel vision.

To be honest, in all the paperwork I had written and plastered on my bedroom walls of this year's crop, I had highlighted him with about 8 others we would look at around our 2nd round picks 27 and 30. But as interest grew heavily leading up to the draft he was no longer going to slide that far and as they say "the rest is history".

When Brisbane called Henderson I nearly lost my shit and when StKilda called Ben McEvoy I jumped out of my seat and screamed in exitement because I thought Ebert was a formality for us! Tunnel Vision indeed!

 

[bus24]

I would love to know what the AFC suppsed top 20 was and what it was based on, club needs or what they actually thought the talent was!

I imagine the list would be compiled on a combination of Talent v Needs v Character.

Patty was at 3 with Ebert at 7. I think Rendell said it came down to Dangerfield Vs Ebert.

So the 3 after Dangerfield and before Ebert in our rankings, all went between Cotchin and Dangerfield in the draft. So 3 of Masten, Morton, Grant, Myers, Palmer, Henderson, McEvoy were rated after Dangerfield (3) and before Ebert at 7.

 

[jumpman5]

To be honest, in all the paperwork I had written and plastered on my bedroom walls of this year's crop, I had highlighted him with about 8 others we would look at around our 2nd round picks 27 and 30. But as interest grew heavily leading up to the draft he was no longer going to slide that far and as they say "the rest is history".

When Brisbane called Henderson I nearly lost my shit and when StKilda called Ben McEvoy I jumped out of my seat and screamed in exitement because I thought Ebert was a formality for us! Tunnel Vision indeed!

hahaha Stazz, i done exactly the same thing mate, when saints called McEvoy I was that bloody excited, by the time i had stopped shouting i only heard Randall call out Geelong Falcons and thought, Ebert definintly aint from the falcons, than it clicked....

distraught my initial emotion, confused and than ****ed off...everyone seems to be pumpin up this young blokes tires up tho, haven't seen his clips yet either...

brother knows of andy otten, playing basketball against him for a few years and reckons he's a freak athlete, he could be the steal....

 

[Crows88]

To be honest, in all the paperwork I had written and plastered on my bedroom walls of this year's crop, I had highlighted him with about 8 others we would look at around our 2nd round picks 27 and 30. But as interest grew heavily leading up to the draft he was no longer going to slide that far and as they say "the rest is history".

When Brisbane called Henderson I nearly lost my shit and when StKilda called Ben McEvoy I jumped out of my seat and screamed in exitement because I thought Ebert was a formality for us! Tunnel Vision indeed!

I did the exact same thing! When brissy called out henderson and saints called mcevoy i Yelled, Yes! we got ebert!!! then i heard patrick and i thought hold on...realised what was going on and the first thing i thought was, shit is going to hit the fan on these boards! and it did, and KG and Cornesy copped a heap, but after reading the draft ptofiles for the kid sounds like an amazing talent and someone who will fit right in with craigys pedagogy.

 

[beagle2]

I would love to know what the AFC suppsed top 20 was and what it was based on, club needs or what they actually thought the talent was!

Rendell stated on 5AA before the draft that this year it would be best available for all picks He also said this was not what had been done in previous years

 

[-VC-]

I did the exact same thing! When brissy called out henderson and saints called mcevoy i Yelled, Yes! we got ebert!!! then i heard patrick and i thought hold on...realised what was going on and the first thing i thought was, shit is going to hit the fan on these boards! and it did, and KG and Cornesy copped a heap, but after reading the draft ptofiles for the kid sounds like an amazing talent and someone who will fit right in with craigys pedagogy.

And he was only a surname away from making me lose my mind.

 

[SA_Stazza]

And he was only a surname away from making me lose my mind.

LOL I've been waiting for that VC

And jumpman and crows88, im glad I wasn't the only one!

 

[macca23]

I'm going to try to keep this as short as possible, because as I've previously said, I will be posting a comprehensive post-national/rookie draft analysis of the club's structural position and future development forecast in December.

To start off with our prized pick 10, Patrick "Rodney" Dangerfield, I know many of you here (including myself) were quite perplexed at our recruiting department's decision to overlook the cream of our local talent in Ebert. After having time to settle, think logically and without biased emotion, I've actually come to like the decision we've made in picking the baby-faced assasin.

Weighing up the pros, cons and future needs of the list, Dangerfield could quite well become one of the steals of the draft at pick 10. With our need for a genuine Inside Ruck-Rover type (most importantly one with height, agility and outstanding speed) "Rodney" ticks every box and would have to be one of the genuine standouts of that mould in this draft. On top of these qualities, Dangerfield adds significant grunt with his hard-at-every-contest attitude (love this about him) and the ability to play both inside and outside effectively. He possesses sound decision making skills and good disposal, what I like is his ability to compete well in the air - this makes him an even more dangerous weapon through the middle.

I think the "juice will be worth the squeeze" so to speak. As we all know, he will remain in Melbourne next year to complete his studies, so he is seen as a huge investment by the club - and I believe we won't have to wait too long before we start seeing some great returns on our investment. The reason I say this is because he possesses the athletecism and lightning-fast speed to quickly adjust to the pace of AFL football - highlighted by his 2nd overall placing in the repeat 30s, 3rd in the vert jump and 7th in the 20m at DC.
For this reason more than any other positive I can see in his abilities, I believe he will make his mark faster than most draftees we've had in the past.. This exites me greatly

To our next selection.. Andy Otten. This is the player we've been crying out for, the perfect modern prototype Utility. Extremely agile (tested 6th overall at DC) ball-magnet who has been used in virtually every position on the field to date but would probably be most suited to the 3rd-tall forward or back with cameous through the midfield to create matchup headaches for opposition coaches. Has great hands, would provide a strong contested marking presence wherever he's played which is a real asset when throwing a bloke around the park in various positions - think of an Andrew Mackie/Adam McPhee/Cam Bruce/Chad Cornes type with similar ball-winning ability.
I firmly believe this is what we've been lacking just as much as a Key Forward, I know that may be hard to swallow but the way footy is progressing these days, every team needs this type of player and we have been burnt in recent times by not having a suitable matchup for these types.

Our first two selections scream "foresight" and show a distinct level of planning has taken place in the redevelopment of our list. We have covered areas we needed immediate improvement in - pace, grunt, agility, versatility, midfield height and a strong presence in the air.

From what I've seen of Jacky he looks like an exiting prospect. Obviously fleet-footed and has the indigenous flair and exitement factor we've been craving. He seems to have a knack of knowing where the goals are and likes to back himself in, has confidence to burn. In Jarrhan we have sewn up our long-term forward pocket/midfield prospect with outstanding pace and skills - makes the Bode decision much easier to swallow personally as I was a big fan of Bodey. I think "Jacky J" will gain just as big a fan base as Bode's, if not bigger when he comes of age

It will be a huge positive for the lad having McLeod push him in the right direction along the way, and continually telling him to believe in his abilities.

Unfortunately I've not seen Cook or Armstrong play but will be spending some time over the summer delving into their playing history to gain a better understanding of their games. By all reports, Cook sounds like a Bryce Campbell type - at a very similar height and weight (184cm 77/74kg). Apparently Armstrong possesses one of the best kicks of this year's crop, something that will stand him in great stead as a running defender and improve our perceived disposal problems.

I didn't watch Kite closely in the Calder games I saw, but he seems like someone we can work with. We won't see much of him for awhile but that doesn't bother me as we already have super talent in the making in our future tall targets. He has good pace for a Key Position player and by the time Sellar, Tippett, Walker and Moran have established themselves he will provide us with an athletic backup KP option.

Texas Ranger is just a dead set gun in the making, I don't even need to go there

All in all, I'm happy with the direction we've taken. We've invested heavily in the areas that needed immediate attention and we've been able to secure some much needed speed and unpredictability

I look forward to seeing these young men in the Tri-Colours and I think Otten will be the first of this year's crop to debut, sometime next year I'd suggest


.

Another great post re drafting and in particular our drafting, SA_Stazza.

Keep up the good work, mate!!

 

[fightingdreamer88]

Fantastic stuff SA_Stazza, it has to be said.

The thing I'm most happy with from this draft is that we've got some players with star potential, something many here believe has been lacking from our crop of youngsters.

 

[Markthirtytwo]

No need to rehash what others have said but I've agreed with SA__Stazzas great assessment. Fantastic comments.

But just interested to know now whether pick 22 was any better than what we eventually got at 27. I believe not.

Ottens would have been our pick then anyway IMO and the best of what was on offer was gone.

Thoughts?

 

[jmorg1]

SA_Stazza, how did you come to the conclusion that Dangerfield has 'good disposal'. AFAIK, most people have mentioned a query with his kicking. I'll admit I haven't seen much of the lad but the highlights from the AFL website show a few kicks that either didn't hit a target or that didn't really go anywhere in particular.

 

[SA_Stazza]

No need to rehash what others have said but I've agreed with SA__Stazzas great assessment. Fantastic comments.

But just interested to know now whether pick 22 was any better than what we eventually got at 27. I believe not.

Ottens would have been our pick then anyway IMO and the best of what was on offer was gone.

Thoughts?

It's an interesting one mate, I think West Coast knowing they had pick 22 sewn up ahead of their pick 20 influenced their decision to take Notte when they did, otherwise they risked Melbourne or Freo taking him 1 and 4 picks later respectively. On the other hand it could be argued that they had already stitched up two highly rated mids in Masten and Ebert so Notte was always going to be their choice at 20.

Whether or not Melbourne were always going to take Maric at 21 I do not know, but I am pretty certain if we had pick 22 Melbourne would have known he wouldn't have lasted past our pick given our need for a standout small forward. So they would likely have taken him anyway and we might have been tempted with the prospect of young Selwood or Collier (similar type to Otten) and would have still been able to nab Otten at pick 27. Otherwise taking Otten at pick 22 and Motlop or Jacky as the small forward option at pick 27.
So it could have looked like this:

Pick 10: Dangerfield
Pick 22: Maric/Selwood/Collier/Otten
Pick 27: Otten/Jacky/Motlop
Pick 38: Cook
Pick 58: Armstrong
Pick 71: Kite
Pick 75: Walker

Dangerfield
Maric
Otten

Would have been even better but I'm happy with what we got.

 

[SA_Stazza]

SA_Stazza, how did you come to the conclusion that Dangerfield has 'good disposal'. AFAIK, most people have mentioned a query with his kicking. I'll admit I haven't seen much of the lad but the highlights from the AFL website show a few kicks that either didn't hit a target or that didn't really go anywhere in particular.

I didn't mean he had great disposal when I said 'good', (if anything it is OK without being spectacular) otherwise I would have given greater mention to that area of his game. On the same token I don't believe his disposal is an issue, I thinks it's more about him always playing at such a fast pace - he generally has enough time to dispose of the ball effectively, given the fact he busts through aggressively, breaks tackles, leaves his opponent for dead and gains those few extra yards of space which gives him enough time to steady and straighten up before he kicks. He is willing to back himself in and take others on, while having the speed to double-back or run forward and cover any situation that may have arisen from his own mistakes. He demonstrates a dinstinct work ethic to do so and more often than not, it's not a problem as he usually is a good decision maker when in possession and a good reader of the play when not in possession.

Nothing to worry about IMO, and we didn't recruit him for his disposal ability