sinepari said:
Tough one that I think comes down to two factors
a) Who you take at 1 in the ND
b) Who you take in the PSD.
If you take Mclaren in the PSD, I don't think you'll take Ryder, although you probably should. He is a real talent, having seen him play a fair bit.
With Waite, Fisher, Whitnall and Fevola, I'm not convinced you need another tall forward. However, at 4 I can see you taking Hughes or Clark. Clark provides a taller target, and Hughes a mobile CHF.
Taking Hurn at 4 would also have its benefits. A midfield of Murphy, Hurn, Bentick, Stevens is moving on the right track for the future, especially considering(in all honesty) you'll most likely get a decent draft pick next year.
If it was my choice, I'd take Ryder, Hurn or a tall backman (lucy most likely / Drum)
I don't think so. I can't imagine we'd be taking a tall backman at No.4 as there don't seem to be any standout candidates...if we take a tall defender I'd suggest it would be at 20 or 36 and we'd take the best available out of Spangher, Bower, Lucy and Drum.
With pick 4 the PSD may come slightly into consideration in that we're likely to take McLaren there, but it will ultimately come down to who the recruiting staff think the best player is. French will probably only play 3 more years, so if they think Ryder is good enough to become a gun ruckman in time then I don't think picking McLaren will affect whether or not we pick Ryder.
I don't think Hughes or Clark would be in real contention either...their range is probably 6-12. I think it's out of Ellis, Hurn, Kennedy and Ryder and two of those will probably be gone, barring a major surprise. From what I saw at the U-18 Championships Ellis is a class footballer and will be go at either 2 or 3...yes the club that picks him will have to be a little bit more patient, as he's committed to school next year, and he's built like a twig, but despite that he's not afraid to throw his body in and doesn't deserve the Aaron Fiora comparisons.
Hurn was a bit underwhelming in the game I saw him play, but apparently his next two games were improved and the OP affected his ability to play the whole game in midfield. If he can get over the OP, then you'd expect him to play plenty of senior football next year. At 96kgs already though, he might be getting a bit too big, which could affect his ability to run in midfield.
Kennedy and Ryder both looked good at the championships. I guess the question with Kennedy is how versatile he is, and with Ryder is 195.7cms a bit short for a no.1 ruckman?
Personally I'm hoping for Kennedy, but if the Hawks take Ryder at 3 the choice between Kennedy and Hurn could be difficult.