- Aug 20, 2019
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The 3 players I'm keen on so far that have a realistic shot at being available at 9 are Ash, Stephens and Kemp.
Ash seems to be an absolute perfect successor to Simmo. I don't think he'll ever be as good by foot as Simmo, but he still looks good in that area, and oh boy does he love a run. He'll break lines more than Simmo ever did. Reminds me a bit of Yaz when we moved him to half back. My only issue with him is that some of his decision making of when to go on a run and when not to needs some work still, he quite often just runs like a headless chook and then either tries to do too much with the ball, or gets himself in a worse spot than if he just did a regular disposal. The other knock I've seen on him from draft watchers is that apparently he had a run through the midfield at the end of the year and didn't wow anyone, but we would not be needing him in a midfield role if we did pick him up, so this is mostly irrelevant. All in all, Ash would be my no. 1 pick of realistic options since he fills such a need.
Stephens looks like an absolute gem that could unfortunately for us be a bolter due to his unreal disposal, running and cool-headedness. If we picked him the O'Brien - Stephens combo on either wing would be deadly for a decade plus. His workrate and endurance impressed me the most from the footage I saw, he just runs and runs and runs, I saw a play where he was the link up man from defence three or four times before delivering the ball inside 50, he just doesn't stop. He also also shown some chops for an inside game too, definitely not in the Cripps bash and crash mould, but he's so calm in traffic and his timing on his handball releases look really, really solid. My only concern is that, like LOB, he is quite small, so it might take him a while to bulk up and reach his full potential at AFL level.
Kemp could definitely end up being the best player in this draft when it's all said and done, but his knee is a real concern. If all goes to plan and his knee is fine, I see shades of Bont in this kid (and yes, I am aware that comparison has been made 1,000 times). He's a freak of nature with the ball in his hands, his acceleration from a stoppage is unreal for a player his size, add that to his power and huge frame and the Cripps - Kemp duo will make opposing stoppage teams wee themselves every time there's a ball up. He is also super versatile, he can play almost every position really well bar ruck, especially as a tall forward from the footage I saw, due to his size, athleticism, and strong hands. He also stands up in crunch time, kicking multiple goals in the U/18 champs to either win the game, or put Vic Country up late. My only concern from the footage I saw is that most of his highlights seem to happen across a few quarters each game, not evenly spread across all 4, which could mean he's not very consistent across the whole game, but someone more knowledgeable than me could probably say if that's true or not. Oh and the ACL is a huge problem too, but well worth the risk IMO.
Either way, I'd be happy with literally any of these guys, I'm keen to hear what your thoughts are.
Ash seems to be an absolute perfect successor to Simmo. I don't think he'll ever be as good by foot as Simmo, but he still looks good in that area, and oh boy does he love a run. He'll break lines more than Simmo ever did. Reminds me a bit of Yaz when we moved him to half back. My only issue with him is that some of his decision making of when to go on a run and when not to needs some work still, he quite often just runs like a headless chook and then either tries to do too much with the ball, or gets himself in a worse spot than if he just did a regular disposal. The other knock I've seen on him from draft watchers is that apparently he had a run through the midfield at the end of the year and didn't wow anyone, but we would not be needing him in a midfield role if we did pick him up, so this is mostly irrelevant. All in all, Ash would be my no. 1 pick of realistic options since he fills such a need.
Stephens looks like an absolute gem that could unfortunately for us be a bolter due to his unreal disposal, running and cool-headedness. If we picked him the O'Brien - Stephens combo on either wing would be deadly for a decade plus. His workrate and endurance impressed me the most from the footage I saw, he just runs and runs and runs, I saw a play where he was the link up man from defence three or four times before delivering the ball inside 50, he just doesn't stop. He also also shown some chops for an inside game too, definitely not in the Cripps bash and crash mould, but he's so calm in traffic and his timing on his handball releases look really, really solid. My only concern is that, like LOB, he is quite small, so it might take him a while to bulk up and reach his full potential at AFL level.
Kemp could definitely end up being the best player in this draft when it's all said and done, but his knee is a real concern. If all goes to plan and his knee is fine, I see shades of Bont in this kid (and yes, I am aware that comparison has been made 1,000 times). He's a freak of nature with the ball in his hands, his acceleration from a stoppage is unreal for a player his size, add that to his power and huge frame and the Cripps - Kemp duo will make opposing stoppage teams wee themselves every time there's a ball up. He is also super versatile, he can play almost every position really well bar ruck, especially as a tall forward from the footage I saw, due to his size, athleticism, and strong hands. He also stands up in crunch time, kicking multiple goals in the U/18 champs to either win the game, or put Vic Country up late. My only concern from the footage I saw is that most of his highlights seem to happen across a few quarters each game, not evenly spread across all 4, which could mean he's not very consistent across the whole game, but someone more knowledgeable than me could probably say if that's true or not. Oh and the ACL is a huge problem too, but well worth the risk IMO.
Either way, I'd be happy with literally any of these guys, I'm keen to hear what your thoughts are.
