Ports Draft Picks

Macca19

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Thread starter Moderator #1
No. 15 - Troy Chaplin
(North Ballarat Rebels) 23 February 1986, 193.6cm, 89kg

Chaplin is regarded as one of the best young key position players in this year’s National AFL Draft and is firmly under the Kangaroos’ microscope. Equally adept down back or up forward, Chaplin won the Ron Barassi Medal for the player of the series against Ireland in the under 17 series earlier in 2003. He was also named All-Australian in the National AFL under 18 championships during the year. A good reader of play, who is composed under pressure, Chaplin has attracted plenty of interest and could be a smoky for Geelong at No.7 or with an order change could slip to Sydney at No.16, as the Swans are reported to be very keen on the versatile tall.

No. 30 - Port Adelaide – Brad Symes
(Central District) 7 May 1985, 185cm, 75kg

A versatile defender/midfielder, Symes had an outstanding season in 2003, which included All-Australian selection at the National AFL under 18 championships, while he was named South Australia’s most valuable player of the carnival. He was also a member of the Central District reserves premiership side to cap off a great year. A member of the AIS/AFL academy in 2002, Symes is a skillful player, who has attracted the interest of both his home town clubs, particularly Port Adelaide, who rate him highly. Essendon is also believed to have sounded out Symes at No.28. He has been touted by many as a top 25 selection and is likely to be a second to early third round choice.

No. 34 - Luke Peel
(Sandringham Dragons) 26 June 1986, 187.1cm, 83.7kg

The 2003 AIS/AFL academy representative is a balanced mover with clean hands, who is not afraid to back his judgment in marking situations or when running the lines. Peel, who was in the top 10 per cent for the shuttle run at the recent National AFL Draft camp, has come under the notice of several clubs including the Brisbane Lions, Geelong and the Kangaroos. He is likely to be a second round choice.

No. 39 - Rob Forster Knight
(Essendon) 6th April 1982, 186cm 86kg

A defender that can go into the midfield.

No. 46 - Michael Pettigrew
(West Perth) 16 March 1985, 192m, 80kg

Despite having interest from several AFL clubs last year, Pettigrew didn’t nominate for the draft and was therefore unable to be selected. However, he is firming as a genuine prospect this season, with Adelaide one club monitoring his progress closely. The Crows are looking to add as many talls as they can to their structure and are right in the hunt for him with their second pick. The Brisbane Lions and the Western Bulldogs are also believed to be keen on Pettigrew, but he would have to be taken earlier by the Lions or slip through to No.33, which is their next pick. The Bulldogs are a real outside chance to snare him at No.49. A tall defender/forward, Pettigrew was a member of the AIS/AFL academy squad in 2002, while he had a fine 2003 National AFL Draft Camp, where he recorded the fastest times in each sprint test. He was also among the top 10 per cent for the agility run and standing vertical jump.
 

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#3
RFK has played league footy. None of the others have. I'd say he starts in pole position at Alberton next week. If you are looking for a positive out of this, think of Nathan Steinberner, Stephen Daniels, Ian Downsborough . . .
 

Macca19

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Thread starter Moderator #5
Originally posted by Eddie Woloschek
RFK has played league footy. None of the others have. I'd say he starts in pole position at Alberton next week. If you are looking for a positive out of this, think of Nathan Steinberner, Stephen Daniels, Ian Downsborough . . .
I see him as a positive. Many thought Cochrane wouldnt play much of a part this year yet he was largely a success and played in pretty much every game and was one of the match winners on one or two occasions.

I see Forster Knight as another Cochrane. Someone who wont have much expectation and so can just play football. Half back flank role for him i would think.
 
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#9
Originally posted by Porthos
What exactly is the positive there, Eddie?
OK Porthos, the bottom line positive is that we spent a pick on a bloke who is not from Loserville. Surprisingly, even the Crows appear to have learned that lesson.
 

Portia

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#10
Originally posted by Eddie Woloschek
OK Porthos, the bottom line positive is that we spent a pick on a bloke who is not from Loserville. Surprisingly, even the Crows appear to have learned that lesson.
Hmm, thats true. The fact that he's on a two year contract I find disappointing though. Did anyone from Woodville Eagles get picked this year?

Macca, I really hope they all do. We have an immediate need for one of them to.
 

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Macca19

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Thread starter Moderator #12
Heres some more info on our draftees from Bigfootys GOALden Hawk:

Michael Pettigrew

Details:
Club: Whitford/West Perth
DOB: 16 Mar 85 Hgt: 192cm Wgt: 80kg
Position: Tall Defender
Natural foot: Right

Honours:
AIS/AFL Academy
Western Australia 2002, 2003
Centre Half Back in WAFL Colts Team of the Year
National Draft Camp Invitee 2002, 2003

Profile:
Pettigrew looks very much to me like an athlete playing football. He does have some footy smarts, but I'm not totally convinced he can make the next step.

Michael represented WA for the last two years and was invited to draft camp two years running. He seemed to save his best performances for draft camp - some truly outstanding results given he is 6'4. Was 2nd in the sprint last year and won it altogether this year, in the top half-dozen of all time. Pettigrew also ranked in the top 10 for vertical leap two years running as well as agility this year.

Clearly he has the right body to make it at AFL, but can he play? I'm not sure. He spent most of the carnival as a tall defender, and was far from convincing at times. He certainly covered a lot of ground and almost seemed to be a midfielder at times. He has pretty clean hands and works hard.

However, some of his decision-making and disposal seemed very dodgy to me - prone to turning the footy over far too often. He was thrashed by Watts in the final match and had to be moved into the forward line and even the ruck. I'm sure clubs will consider him late and hope they can teach him, but athletes make me nervous.


Troy Chaplin

Details:
Club: Maryborough Rovers
DOB: 23 Feb 86 Hgt: 193cm Wgt: 85kg
Position: Centre Half Back/Centre Half Forward
Natural foot: Left

Honours:
AIS/AFL Academy
Ron Barassi Medal for best player in International Rules Series 2003
Victoria Country 2003
All Australian 2003
National Draft Camp Invitee 2003

TAC Stats:
2002: 7 games, 2 goals, 17.1 PPG.
2003: 14 games, 6 goals, 15.5 PPG.

Profile:
Mentioned as a player to watch by John Turnbull last year, Chaplin is looking a likely top 10 selection and one of the best talls in the draft along with Kepler Bradley. I have a couple of concerns, but he looks promising.

Chaplin spends most of his time in defence at centre half back, but showed his versatility by going forward in the carnival and kicking 4 goals for Vic Country against Vic Metro. He was apparently superb in defence and attack for Australia in Ireland, winning the best player of the series.

Chaplin was also a very good basketballer, playing at state level in the under 16s and under 18s. He is very athletic and still has to fill out a little, I think he will be a perfect size to play key position in a few years. He has very long arms that enable to take marks others couldn't.

Troy is usually very composed when he has the football, even under pressure, and is quite prepared to offload by hand rather than just blasting long out of defence. He will work hard and is a good tackler. Ball handling is excellent, especially below knee level - I've seen him do one hand pick ups at pace, pretty incredible for a kid his size.

The marking ability of this kid is very good, can take a lot of grabs in a hurry. Has a pretty good left foot, although his right can be questionable. He is very good at reading the play and mopping up the play, just drifting across the backline taking marks ala Rawlings.

He tends to back his judgement rather than playing man-on-man. He is a bit of a moth in that he is instantly attracted to the ball. This concerns me a little at times, he perhaps needs to learn to man up a bit more at times. He also faded badly late in the season.

The other thing I have to say is he doesn't play an overly physical style of play. I wouldn't call him soft by any means, just that he doesn't spend time laying body on his opponent and trying to outbody them. He is also a bit handball happy at times, especially in defence where he can sell his teammates into trouble. However, his handballing can be extremely creative at times.

Troy trained at Hawthorn during the pre-season last year, so we were obviously interested, and pick 10 is probably around the mark for him. Of course we won't get him now, but someone should pick him in the 1st round.


Luke Peel

Details:
Club: Brighton Grammar
DOB: 26 Jun 86 Hgt: 187cm Wgt: 84kg
Position: Defender
Natural foot: Right

Honours:
AIS/AFL Academy
Victoria Metro 2003
National Draft Camp Invitee 2003

TAC Stats:
2003: 5 games, 0 goals, 19.2 PPG.

Profile:
Peel is an extremely promising defender who is only eligible for the draft by 4 days, he won't be 18 until halfway through next year. Hopefully by then he will have grown another inch to get to 190cm, because that might be all that is stopping him from going first round.

Basically Peel is a rebounding defender who is a magnificent kick and loves to break lines. He plays taller than his height, but that is often the case at this level. He is one of those players that always look balanced and composed on a footy field, he has clean hands as well.

His kicking is brilliant, long and precise, even under intense heat. Can struggle on taller opponents such as Chaplin, but you would hope he wouldn't be used in that role normally.

Luke's marking is fantastic, can take some great saving marks with the flight. Reads the play well and has all the skills you need in a good defender. Is also very athletic, as shown by his 6th finish in the shuttle run at draft camp.

I think this kid has some serious talent. My only concern is his hardness at the footy, can pull out occasionally. But there is a lot to like and he should go in the top half of the draft.
 

Macca19

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Thread starter Moderator #13
The stats for Luke Peel look alright. In his 5 games he averaged almost 20 disposals and was named in the top 5 players for Sandringham in all of those games.

Chaplins stats look alright as well. Averaged around 5 marks a game, reguarly picked up over 16 disposals and was named in the best players in 4 or 5 matches.

Im collecting the stats for Pettigrew at the moment.
 

Eago77

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#14
The youngsters all sound promising (as they all do at this time of year) but what's with getting Robert F-K? I don't like his name for starters, and nothing he has done on the footy field has stood out to me.

Anyone got anything good to say about him?
 

Zombie

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#17
I'm pretty stoked, Chaplin is the exact player we needed but no one expected him to go anywhere less than top 10. Symes is the local midfielder we were after and Peel and Pettigrew are two other players who were rated higher than we took them for.

Pettigrew is an interesting one, 192 cms and the quickest guy in the draft with a fiar leap on him, future full back?

RFK is a strange one though, i thought we might have been going for S.Motlop as our recycled player, hope he is this years Cochrane.

Alot better job than i thought would be possible with the picks we had. It was interesting that Adelaide picked Watts over Chaplin.
 

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#18
Originally posted by Zombie
I'm pretty stoked, Chaplin is the exact player we needed but no one expected him to go anywhere less than top 10.
Yep.

Symes is the local midfielder we were after and Peel and Pettigrew are two other players who were rated higher than we took them for.
Reading GOALdenHawk's profiles, it seems the blokes we took are all not particularly physical players, so that could explain the drop. Not soft, just not physical.

Pettigrew is an interesting one, 192 cms and the quickest guy in the draft with a fiar leap on him, future full back?
Sounds good. Apparently he's an `athlete', so the focus of full back should be good.

RFK is a strange one though, i thought we might have been going for S.Motlop as our recycled player, hope he is this years Cochrane.
This would be pretty much a clincher that Kane Cornes won't be tagging this year, if thats what Choco is thinking with this pick.

Alot better job than i thought would be possible with the picks we had. It was interesting that Adelaide picked Watts over Chaplin.
Watts is more of a wildcard - Chaplin should be a good solid player, but Watts could be a great player (or not good enough), and is a definite forward which is what they want.
 

Macca19

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Thread starter Moderator #19
Originally posted by Porthos

Sounds good. Apparently he's an `athlete', so the focus of full back should be good.
We might actually have an attacking defender for a stage instead of the dour stoppers in Mead/Packo/Wakelin.

This would be pretty much a clincher that Kane Cornes won't be tagging this year, if thats what Choco is thinking with this pick.
Well theres your attacking midfielder Porthos!
 
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Moderator #20
Originally posted by Porthos
Watts is more of a wildcard - Chaplin should be a good solid player, but Watts could be a great player (or not good enough), and is a definite forward which is what they want.
Of course the funny thing about that is, by the time the camries work out which, their midfield guns (the two that are left) will be retired and there'll be no one left to deliver the ball to him.
 

mic59

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#21
I doubt if Troy Chaplin was much in anyones expectations when the Port camp went off to the draft. Touted as a top 10 pick, winner of the Barassi medal, you would have expected him to go relatively early. Maybe not top 5 but certainly not still available at 15. I wonder who was our realistic 1st pick? Llane Spaanderman who went at 18 or maybe Harry Miller who went at 25?
Can't say I'm too pleased with Rob Forster-Knight, though. Particularly the unseemly haste with which Port picked him. I wouldn't want us to go for a recycled player, especially someone whose main skills are another tagger, until our last pick. I get the sickening feeling that RFK will move straight into the team and slow down another young stars' development.
The positive is that the selection committee have addressed the question of our aging defence in this draft. Hardwick, Monty, Gav and even Wilbur are getting on. Even Hardwick probably still has 2 years in him, but there is not much use in taking green recruits when everyone retires. These young blokes can't just be shoved into a team and told to sink or swim, they have to serve their apprenticeship with experienced defenders around them. Other than Troy Chaplin there's none of the young draftees I can see playing this year, but I'd hope they get significant time in 2005.

In truth I'm not overly rapt with this draft. Starting at 15 we were lucky with what we got and there is always going to be the chance a late pick will be a future star. Raised the question of the father/son rule again and its' slant towards Victorian teams. I refer to Brian Peakes' son, who was picked up by Fremantle. Brian Peake played over 300 games in WA to qualify Fremantle for father/son. But Geelong were also qualified because he played over 50 games for them. And earlier Sydney took Heath James because Max played 51 games for them. He played plenty more for Port but we couldn't take him. Sounds fair? It's even possible Collingwood could have got our Warren under this rule.
 

DaveW

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#23
Overall I think Port have done reasonably well. All four youngsters are highly rated and were regularly among those listed in phantom drafts...

I just don't understand what they see in Forster-Knight. :confused:
 

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#24
Originally posted by DaveW
I just don't understand what they see in Forster-Knight. :confused:
*shrugs* maybe to annoy essendon a bit more..... soon we'll get the rest of the players and not have a power side but a second essendon side.



But yeah the young ones look good, needs buff up a bit. They are gonna look so small against Matty and Lade and Tredders. Good luck to them.
 

Macca19

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Thread starter Moderator #25
Originally posted by mic59
Can't say I'm too pleased with Rob Forster-Knight, though. Particularly the unseemly haste with which Port picked him. I wouldn't want us to go for a recycled player, especially someone whose main skills are another tagger, until our last pick. I get the sickening feeling that RFK will move straight into the team and slow down another young stars' development.
After Guerra left, exactly what young defenders do we have on our list? Great big ZERO!! Hardwick, Monty, Kingsley and Wanganeen will be gone in 2 years time, and by then Poulton and Wilbur will be 29 and 30 and near the end. Then what? Who is gonna take over? There is noone there.

So when you say "RFK will halt another young stars development" then excuse me if I say "What young stars?"

And if he does end up in the midfield as a tagger, that just means we can use him and Cochrane as our taggers and release Cornes Carr and Cassisi to full time attacking roles - something that every Port supporter on here said they wanted to see. So again...if he ends up as a tagger...what development is he stopping? Some other attacking player being turned into a tagger and wasted?


The positive is that the selection committee have addressed the question of our aging defence in this draft. Hardwick, Monty, Gav and even Wilbur are getting on. Even Hardwick probably still has 2 years in him, but there is not much use in taking green recruits when everyone retires.
Which is why we got RFK as he will be 24 once everyone retires and reaching his prime as a footballer. Understand why we got him yet?

These young blokes can't just be shoved into a team and told to sink or swim, they have to serve their apprenticeship with experienced defenders around them. Other than Troy Chaplin there's none of the young draftees I can see playing this year, but I'd hope they get significant time in 2005.
I see Peel playing more games than Chaplin. I can see Peel having a K Cornes like first year. As for our tall recruits and Gilham...as long as Williams doesnt turn them into Thurstans and Morgan and have to wait 4 years to see them play.
 
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