Next years draft. A look forward.

[The Hulkster]

With the wraps on Tom Hawkins getting even bigger and our near certainty to draft him under the father son rule my question is what would we do with our first round pick which would be say pick 12-16.

Hawkins is almost a first rounder so we get a good player for a 3rd round pick. Would we trade our first round pick and maybe a player for a ready made.

I say this because i believe Mark Blake has a bug question mark on him. I know he has only played a few games but i think his ruck work is ok but that is it. We cant have a ruckman who wont even kick the ball.

So could we possibly trade for another ruckman thats ready made such as what Sydney did with Darren Jolly or Carlton with McLaren (in PSD though).

But then again it is supposedly a great draft should we keep our pick.

Thoughts.

PS i know its early but why not.

 

[chapmanmagic35]

The wraps are big on Blake. The coaching staff have a lot of faith in him, with Chambers going at the end of last year and Street two years prior to that.

Blake will be good, but as they say big men take time.

 

[The Hulkster]

Then why won't he kick the ball. Surely by the third year they would have enough faith in him to be able to kick the ball.

 

[catempire]

Confidence. He can kick. Give him time.

 

[year of the cat]

I bagged Blake in an earlier thread as a result of Saturday's debacle. The bloke they should possibly go after is John Meeson, a Geelong boy who is on Adelaide's list. Don't know whether he is interested in heading home - if he is we should be talking to him.....

 

[Jack-Packenham]

I bagged Blake in an earlier thread as a result of Saturday's debacle. The bloke they should possibly go after is John Meeson, a Geelong boy who is on Adelaide's list. Don't know whether he is interested in heading home - if he is we should be talking to him.....

Is the only type of player we could go after, due to salary cap concerns. We could not go after a big name or even an average player with experience.

 

[pilkos_cats]

i think we should go for new kids after all it is the super draft as they say.
but my question is how big a role will we play ? we already have a pick gone through father son and a pick will be lost through the promotion of slade?
will the cats have any veterans next year if not does that mean we loose a player of the senior list having 2 nominated rookies?

 

[The Hulkster]

I think we can upgrade a rookie without using a draft pick. So Slade can go up and no draft pick is lost, i may be wrong but i think that is the case.

 

[geelong_boy]

Then why won't he kick the ball. Surely by the third year they would have enough faith in him to be able to kick the ball.

I don't know if there's any truth in this, but someone told me that Blake has been instructed (by the coaching staff I presume) NOT to kick the ball.

 

[jess_555]

I don't know if there's any truth in this, but someone told me that Blake has been instructed (by the coaching staff I presume) NOT to kick the ball.

Are you being serious?

 

[geelong_boy]

Are you being serious?

That's what I was told. Now whether there's any truth in what I was told I don't know.

 

[Turbocat]

i think we should go for new kids after all it is the super draft as they say.
but my question is how big a role will we play ? we already have a pick gone through father son and a pick will be lost through the promotion of slade?
will the cats have any veterans next year if not does that mean we loose a player of the senior list having 2 nominated rookies?

First , A Father Son pick is counted as a pick, we use our Round 3 pick for the Father/Son. What number that is depends on how high one finishes eg.
Gary Ablett , Round3 , P40
Tim Callan , Round 3 , P36
Mark Blake , Round 3 , P38
Nathan Ablett , Round 3 , P48
So one can see Father/Son favours teams that finishes higher because one uses a later pick to access the player.

All clubs must have three picks in the National draft. No matter if you trade your first and second round pick away for a top quality player , you would then be made to use 3rd ,4th and 5th round.
Eg. When we went for and got Ottens we traded our R1 pick and then took
Prismall , Round2, P32
Ablett , Round3 , P48
Egan , Round4 , P62

So obviously one would want to be very carefull about trading early picks away. Getting quality players like Egan late in the draft are infrequent , basically you are picking player the other clubs have all passed on. Can be done successfully but its not best practice Id say.

Rookie's are promotted to the senior list but do not count as a pick. If Slade comes on , means there must be 4 spots.

My approach would depend on what players would be on the table but with 4 spots required it gives us a chances to be brave and trade to get into an earlier pick in the 06 draft. Other clubs may have the same idea so flexabilty must be maintained, if a quality young Ruck or versatile tallish back (MIlburn type) came onto the table it would have to be seriously looked at, IMO

I bagged Blake in an earlier thread as a result of Saturday's debacle. The bloke they should possibly go after is John Meeson, a Geelong boy who is on Adelaide's list. Don't know whether he is interested in heading home - if he is we should be talking to him.....

I mentioned in another thread this boys name Mackie for Meeson would be a fair trade Id say, esspecially if Adelaide has reasonable depth in their ruck. It would be R1 pick for R1 pick, one has played a fair bit compared to the other but big talls hold value.

Even if no quality deal is on offer one might look at trading a player or two to get an extra pick in the second round. I doubt with the vibe thats around for the 06 draft that anyone is going to let their Round1 pick go. For eg. North has had a history of trading for seasoned players but if theyr have a shocker of a year they may just decied to go hard for youth in a quality year. Who knows , its a long way away.

The one thing we would should accept esspecially after Sat, quality does generally rise to the top. Hodge has been slow to get there but boy he is quality with a capital Q. The short term pain of getting a better quality kid is usually worth it the long term. I know breaking a list up upsets some but we must realise, its just a part of footy these days when there are such limited list numbers.

 

[Unwritten_Law]

Priority #1 big bodied clearance beast. Hawks had three and cut us to ribbons, it really is a weakness of ours.

We haven't drafted a genuine centre square midfielder since we read out Jimmy's name in 01.

It is a very big recruiting trap. Have a look at Port and Brisbane, they are struggling because they have lost the ball winners in the midfield. Brisbane only have S.Black (Aker when he is on fire) and Port K.Cornes, the rest are flankers.

 

[catempire]

I can't believe we're talking draft picks in April.

 

[jess_555]

I can't believe we're talking draft picks in April.

I know it's strange! I mean we have a whole premiership to win before then!!!!

 

[Turbocat]

I can't believe we're talking draft picks in April.

CE , if its good enough for the AFL ....

The news out tonight, there would be very few happy in Crows land with Gibbs being declared not eligable for Father/Son under the SANFL rule. However , and this is relative to us they have announced that they are going to have serious look at 'bidding' for Father/Sons. This has big implications for us if introduced this year.
Its early but Adrian Anderson has roughly equated it to allowing clubs to bid one of their own picks for the Father/Son which then would have to be matched by the Father/Son club. So for eg. Geelong wants TomH but Bulldogs who lack tall talent bid their first round pick then we have to match it somehow or he could end up a dog or he may endup in the draft.
Like I said , its early but this sounds so crap. If I was Welles , right now Id be telling Tom to get his "sore foot" checked and upon finding a stress fracture announce that he will not play the rest of the year. Lets see them say hes worth R1 when he doesnt play.

 

[catempire]

CE , if its good enough for the AFL ....

The news out tonight, there would be very few happy in Crows land with Gibbs being declared not eligable for Father/Son under the SANFL rule. However , and this is relative to us they have announced that they are going to have serious look at 'bidding' for Father/Sons. This has big implications for us if introduced this year.
Its early but Adrian Anderson has roughly equated it to allowing clubs to bid one of their own picks for the Father/Son which then would have to be matched by the Father/Son club. So for eg. Geelong wants TomH but Bulldogs who lack tall talent bid their first round pick then we have to match it somehow or he could end up a dog or he may endup in the draft.
Like I said , its early but this sounds so crap. If I was Welles , right now Id be telling Tom to get his "sore foot" checked and upon finding a stress fracture announce that he will not play the rest of the year. Lets see them say hes worth R1 when he doesnt play.

That's an absolute joke if they bring in bidding. The likelihood of dummy bids is so high that it's going to make the whole thing a farce. Clubs will know they can make a dummy bid and the "father" club will match it because imagine the outcry if they didn't.

Father son picks really have a negligible impact on the equalisation of the competition. People will point to us getting Scarlett and GAj but at the time when they were drafted neither was considered even a first round pick!

 

[GeeCat]

Priority #1...clearance beast. We haven't drafted a genuine centre square midfielder since we read out Jimmy's name in 01.

Shall all change when J.Selwood pulls on the hoops.

 

[Turbocat]

Shall all change when J.Selwood pulls on the hoops.

GeeCat, I didnt realise you were a "Glass half full" type of guy. If we finish where we hope to and we get Selwood the this draft is as deep as the Pacific.
You thinking a Varcoe type thing where all the talls go early and he fall's thru to us, gees Im salavating at the idea.

 

[GeeCat]

GeeCat, I didnt realise you were a "Glass half full" type of guy. If we finish where we hope to and we get Selwood the this draft is as deep as the Pacific.
You thinking a Varcoe type thing where all the talls go early and he fall's thru to us, gees Im salavating at the idea.

The kid's a gem.

It's all very early days, but the mere fact he could fall out of the top five means he's an automatic steal in my eyes. Not the pacy type a few would prefer, but everything about him screams 'genuine midfielder'. The inside work he does, the hands, the play-reading - you can't miss him. I'm not a fan of comparisons, but I keep seeing Jimmy Bartel (with the seemingly obligatory touch of Luke Ball) in him.

 

[catempire]

CE , if its good enough for the AFL ....

The news out tonight, there would be very few happy in Crows land with Gibbs being declared not eligable for Father/Son under the SANFL rule. However , and this is relative to us they have announced that they are going to have serious look at 'bidding' for Father/Sons. This has big implications for us if introduced this year.
Its early but Adrian Anderson has roughly equated it to allowing clubs to bid one of their own picks for the Father/Son which then would have to be matched by the Father/Son club. So for eg. Geelong wants TomH but Bulldogs who lack tall talent bid their first round pick then we have to match it somehow or he could end up a dog or he may endup in the draft.
Like I said , its early but this sounds so crap. If I was Welles , right now Id be telling Tom to get his "sore foot" checked and upon finding a stress fracture announce that he will not play the rest of the year. Lets see them say hes worth R1 when he doesnt play.

TC, some good news on this from today's Age:

While the AFL Commission yesterday approved an adjustment to the father-son rule, changes to the contentious rule that many clubs believe threaten the competition's equalisation philosophy are expected to continue beyond this season. Those changes are not expected to take place before this year's draft, meaning Geelong's father-son choice at the end of 2006 - Jack Hawkins' son Tom - could still be taken by the Cats as a third-round pick.

 

[Seb]

I would like to to see us pick up a pacy midfielder.

We have plenty of 'plodders' in the midfield - Joel Corey, Ling, Bartel, Kelly etc. Tenace is our only real pacy option, with Shannon Byrnes who isn't really in the engine room.

 

[Turbocat]

The kid's a gem.

It's all very early days, but the mere fact he could fall out of the top five means he's an automatic steal in my eyes. Not the pacy type a few would prefer, but everything about him screams 'genuine midfielder'. The inside work he does, the hands, the play-reading - you can't miss him. I'm not a fan of comparisons, but I keep seeing Jimmy Bartel (with the seemingly obligatory touch of Luke Ball) in him.

Just for the sake of it , I'll re-post a bit info written by Mojo31.(Many Thanks Mojo).His work is top class and it might give some an idea of the quality coming up in 06.


Geecat's dream pick sure sound good if we need an inside kid

6) Joel Selwood
Midfielder

181cms and 74kgs
16/5/88
Bendigo Pioneers

Brother of Troy and Adam. Very classy inside midfielder. Got the cleanest hands of any of the midfielders available for the next draft. Does not fumble and is cool and composed under pressure and in traffic.
His strength is in extracting the ball out of a stoppage. Does it with strength, body positioning and awareness and anticipation. Seems to move that little bit quicker to the tap out or spillage and with great reflexes and hand eye co ordination he gathers the ball and feeds it out with a quick handball.
Uses his body so well and has an uncanny knack of getting his arms free and dishing the ball out before some players have managed to pin him.
Very physically tough and hard player who directs his aggression at the ball and will have a superb temprement for AFL.
Makes up for a slight lack in pace with anticipation and his reading of the play.
Kicking needs improvement but is not a problem just not penetrative enough yet and lacks real polish. He prefers to handball and feed runners but opponents will sag off him in the AFL if he does not improve his kicking and not make it easy for him to feed more skilful players. (for example Daniel Cross from WB).

Good at the U18 Championships for Vic Country where he looked in the top 2 or 3 midielders on display. His football has been a high level for 2 years now and it will be interesting to see how much he improves this year. Hopefully he will grow to his brothers heights of 187 and 189 and not have as much problem putting on weight.

Has class, leadership and and football smarts. A can’t miss selection for a club who wants a natural footballer and not an athlete trying to be a footballer. Has the courage to really keep running and work himself into the ground. Something that very few players have and is hard to measure. When a player is so tired or sore or has had a heavy knock to keep contesting and not to fall away. Some players have a high tolerance for pain and fatigue and some also are running just as hard in the last quarter when they are 10 goals down as early in the game.
Joel Selwood strikes me as having both of those qualities.

Seems to do his best work in the clearances and also helping out down back. His first thought is to handball and to not take players on. So I think that’s the part of his game that I would like to see him develop and really bring out that cutting edge in his game. The ability to take a bounce and carry the ball and deliver to a forward. Very strong tackler and excels in the 1%ers of blocking and shepherding and uses his voice on the field well and often. Organises whichever team he is playing on and is an accountable team player who understand his game and what is required.

Will not win the Stawell gift or break the beep test record but will win a lot of clearances, apply physical pressure and be accountable and organised and benefit his team. A genuine classy inside midfielder with leadership qualities.



Here is a couple that in Mojo's guesstomate that we may be in the go for that I like the sound of. The raps on Benjamin last year had him going very early, maybe he could end up like Varcoe and fall low enough for us to get him

12) Clinton Benjamin
Forward/Utility

187cms and 79kgs
27/7/88
Claremont (WA)

Huge disappointment in the U18s Carnival last year. Enormous wraps on him but was overall poor. The fact he was picked for the WA team a year before being eligible for the draft shows what the selectors thought of him.
Blindingly quick on a long lead he has pace to burn. Ran a 10.5 for the 100m at his school (not sure about the quality of the timing device) and he has some of the quickest first few steps you can imagine. Hits top speed and can hold it when the defender is unable to. Big leap and to see him get on a lead and take off for the ball is an awesome sight.

Good endurance and not just a sprinter. Struggled with the grounds for the Championships. Dew on them at times and his footing was unsure and never seemed to settle. More of an athlete rather than a footballer at this stage. Would be a bit like Sean Rusling from Collingwood drafted a year ago. Pacy smallish full forward with a big leap.

Would think Benjamin is that type of player but have seen him play down back and do well on bigger opponents and show himself to have all the skills.
Really could develop into anything with more experience. Will need to realise he will be a marked man and work harder on his game and to keep himself involved more. Not just be a mark and kick player.
Has to improve his work rate and to become smarter with his leading. The sort of player who may struggle for a position at AFL level if he stays at the current size. If he grows that 3 or 4 cms to go with the leap and speed he has got he will be a formidable package at full forward. Seems to have reasonable endurance but it is his speed and agility which sets him apart from almost everyone else.
If he develops the physical side to his game to go with his amazing athleticism he will be capable of anything. A bit of a project but taking his form at the U17 International Rules and form for Claremont he shows enough to be considered a first round prospect with his likely development.
A bit of an utility type who could play all over the ground but for me he needs to grow a bit and to be a leading forward to be worth this high a rating. If he does not then as a wing or flanker there are better and more complete candidates.

16) Brock O’Brien
Midfielder/half back flanker

180cms and 79kgs
30/5/1988
Peel Thunder (WA)

Physical player suited to playing on an opponent. Thrives on the contest and has a good strong body already. Impressed at the U18 Championships for Western Australia and was used mainly as a defender there. Showed the ability to play close and also to attack at every opportunity. Used the ball well and showed agility and pace as well as picking the right option.
Clean ball handler who has the hands of a good midfielder and a complete game at this early stage. Tough player who runs through and around similar sized players and will take his time to dispose of the ball. Very versatile and really could develop anywhere.
Managed to play senior football for Peel Thunder in the WAFL last year which is quite a feat for someone so young.
Not lightning quick but has good pace and an all around game which belies his age. Good in the air and capable of taking a strong mark. A very good rebounding small defender at this stage who will hopefully develop into a midfielder over time. Hard and classy at the same time and will be top aged come draft time and most likely play most of this year in the seniors for Peel Thunder. So he wont be much of a risk for the team who takes him. A physically ready player with not as much scope as some of the other smalls but a good overall game and the right attitude and temprement to take the next step up to AFL football.



17) Ben Reid
Key position player

194cms and 78kgs
29/4/1989
Murray Bushrangers

A very tall skinny key position player. Will start his TAC career this year and is a bit of an unknown at this stage. Watching him at the U16 Championships he was super impressive. Very good set of hands and picks up the flight of the ball quickly and judges it well. Does not run underneath it and takes it out in front and at its highest point when he was on the lead. Very good leap and is very mobile and athletic. Pretty good second efforts and hands below his knees.
Played up forward and down back as a centre half back. Looked good in both roles and maybe a little bit more comfortable as a defender.

Takes contested marks, offers rebound as a defender and is a versatile tall. Very young and is only just eligible for the next draft by a few days and will be a bottom aged skinny kid who has heaps of development in him for the future. A good year in the TAC for Murray will see him move right up the rankings and be much sought after.

The fact I have not seen him very much and his skinny body (needs 20kgs almost) means I have pushed him down a little at this stage. Nothing lacking in his game and I do like what I have seen so far.


18) Jackson Sheringham
Wing/midfield

178cms and 73 kgs.
22/6/88
Geelong Falcons

Geelong Falcons player and brother of Ted who was rookied by Geelong in the 2004 draft. Very pacy and skilled player who is capable of carrying the ball and breaking the lines. Very good disposal and is a classy winger who given space and time is damaging.

Had a good year in the TAC and finished 3rd in the best and fairest for the Falcons. Played mainly wing but also some runs on the ball and down back. Versatile and has had a good grounding with 18 games in the TAC last year. Averaged a touch under 20 possessions and rarely wasted any of them. Long kicking to advantage was a feature of his game.
Would like to see him grow some more and fill out and develop the inside part of his game and become more a contested ball winner and inside player to go with his running and skills. That would really round his game out in my opinion and make him more complete.
Good tackler who has a good work rate and stays involved in the game and is prepared to work both ways. Very good prospect who is very clean with his use of the ball and is clever and quick. When he adds some more weight to break tackles he will be even better.

Composed and a smart reader of the player and is a silky prospect. Looks like a natural wing with his speed and disposal and ability to find space and carry the ball. Hopefully as he gets stronger he can also develop the other parts of his game as well.