Player Watch Sid Draper

[Coopers]

Get Zac Taylor in the mid rotations! I'm not saying he has the same elite level in him but I'm sensing Lachie Neale in style.

90% of the time he does the right thing with the ball, every time.

 

[cmndstab]

So while Taylor was drafted as essentially as a midfielder initially develops in the SANFL you would play top ups like Jay Boyle etc (no disrespect to Boyle) in the midfield ahead of a player drafted as a midfielder. I wouldn't and unfortunately this is the case with Charlie Edwards and others.
As for the speculative pick many would disagree with that #44 is just a number and the 2021 draft is right up there with one of the strongest AFL drafts in history.

Adelaide select Zac Taylor with pick No.44 in the 2021 National Draft.

What a strange post. As I said, I know who Taylor is, you don't need to copy-paste his draft profile. And I've also explicitly said that I would never play a top-up ahead of a draftee in their ideal role.

The problem is that we weren't just playing Boyle in the midfield ahead of Taylor. We were playing Boyle in the midfield ahead of several draftees who should have been there.

 

[FR0GGY]

90% of the time he does the right thing with the ball, every time.

Zac Panther

 

[Mutineer]

What a strange post. As I said, I know who Taylor is, you don't need to copy-paste his draft profile. And I've also explicitly said that I would never play a top-up ahead of a draftee in their ideal role.

The problem is that we weren't just playing Boyle in the midfield ahead of Taylor. We were playing Boyle in the midfield ahead of several draftees who should have been there.

You also said Zac Taylor was a speculative pick when it is one of the best drafts if not the best in history for quality and AFL games played after just 5 years, hell Ollie Dempsey and Ned Long lasted until the rookie draft.

The only reason Zac Taylor and several others haven't played more AFL is down to our selection policy of sticking to the incumbents even when they're not performing to the required level.

Then some want to blame the recruiting team when it's the selectors they should be blaming for not giving the lads the opportunities they deserve to show what they've got.

Just look at the quality in the 2021 draft, it's unbelievable, so many that have proven to be absolute top end AFL players when given the opportunities.

2021 AFL National Draft

AFL draft history and statistics. Includes national, pre-season and rookie draft picks as well as past pre-draft and midyear selections.

www.footywire.com

 

[glengowan]

Yes, I am for Taylor going in to the midfield rotations, but not at the expense of any time of Rachele or Rankine, who we still need to develop as top line midfielders. Needs to be instead of Soligo and Peatling. Berry I think, while in the form he is in and for what he brings, needs to continue to be a mainstay in the midfield. Dawson to be used dependant on game situation.

I think it was Camporeale I heard wanting Milera shifted into the midfield. Compared him to Wanganeen-Milera in style. Really, all these "experiments" should've been happening for years to build a strong midfield, but we have Rankine in year 2, Rachele essentially in year 1 and we've barely seen Taylor or Pedlar in the middle. Then comes Curtin when he's back. And a high pick in Draper we're praying, more than believing, will turn out good. Not to mention we've essentially got a rookie ruckman replacing a ruckman that appears past his use-by date. Our best ruckman is also our best forward.

But back to Taylor, he has the smarts and skill to create in the midfield. As someone else said, in the mould of a Lachie Neale

9

Lachie Neale

Age

32

Ht

177cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

27.0

5star

K

11.5

4star

HB

15.5

5star

M

4.0

4star

T

3.7

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

28.3

5star

K

13.9

5star

HB

14.4

5star

M

4.6

4star

T

4.0

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

12.0

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

7.4

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

1.0

3star

CL

0.4

3star

. Similar to Rachele, he has done the hard yards as a small forward working on the defensive aspect of his game. Taylor's potential best looms as more damaging than the likes of Soligo, Peatling, Berry.

 

[1970crow]

And according to Wheelo ratings he's out 11th ranked player for the year.

I struggle to believe that myself, but there you go

As a primary mid, you’d want him ranked a bit higher than that. Ranked 68 of 121 mids. That said, AFL player ratings are formed from the last couple of seasons, so it’s not much of a measure of how a player has started this season.

 

[cmndstab]

You also said Zac Taylor was a speculative pick when it is one of the best drafts if not the best in history for quality and AFL games played after just 5 years, hell Ollie Dempsey and Ned Long lasted until the rookie draft.

The only reason Zac Taylor and several others haven't played more AFL is down to our selection policy of sticking to the incumbents even when they're not performing to the required level.

What I actually said is that, as a later pick in the draft, I am open to the club developing Taylor in multiple roles in the first instance. That just makes sense, and indeed, has seen him play a modest amount of AFL in his career so far.

Whereas players picked at the pointy end of the draft should be chosen with a specific purpose in mind, and we should be aiming to develop those players in those roles unless it becomes clear that they will never make it there.

 

[Cromulant]

As a primary mid, you’d want him ranked a bit higher than that. Ranked 68 of 121 mids. That said, AFL player ratings are formed from the last couple of seasons, so it’s not much of a measure of how a player has started this season.

Well you would of course, I was just a bit shocked to see him rated that high given the end to his last year and start to this one.

 

[1970crow]

Well you would of course, I was just a bit shocked to see him rated that high given the end to his last year and start to this one.

You said ‘11th ranked player for the year’. Either way, I don’t see being middle of the road in our team all that surprising. Just noticed that Laird is 20th, which is interesting. He’s been racking up possessions the last couple of years, odd that his rating is so low.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

90% of the time he does the right thing with the ball, every time.

Absolutely.

Feel confident when either him or Cook have possession.

 

[hugecannon]

Absolutely.

Feel confident when either him or Cook have possession.

I’d love for Cook to be taking more of our kick outs, good penetration on his kicking as well as ability to hit targets.

 

[Afcprophet]

Taylor's spin and goal was the anti rob. He started our comeback against fremantle. He usually takes his moments. But he goes missing far too often. Moving him into the middle or even half back, is it too much to ask to try something different nicksy?

 

[mcleod at 50 lines it up]

You also said Zac Taylor was a speculative pick when it is one of the best drafts if not the best in history for quality and AFL games played after just 5 years, hell Ollie Dempsey and Ned Long lasted until the rookie draft.

The only reason Zac Taylor and several others haven't played more AFL is down to our selection policy of sticking to the incumbents even when they're not performing to the required level.

Then some want to blame the recruiting team when it's the selectors they should be blaming for not giving the lads the opportunities they deserve to show what they've got.

Just look at the quality in the 2021 draft, it's unbelievable, so many that have proven to be absolute top end AFL players when given the opportunities.

2021 AFL National Draft

AFL draft history and statistics. Includes national, pre-season and rookie draft picks as well as past pre-draft and midyear selections.

www.footywire.com

Draft strength doesn't matter pick 45 is about as speculative as it gets. Likewise playing position at junior level low correlation to afl position. You get a hard on for players you saw as a junior, I remember you telling me Nankervis was a superior talent to milera just last season. Having said that Taylor has looked a player for a couple of seasons now and would have loved to see him tried in other positions rather than the dreaded hff.

 

[BRL121]

Draft strength doesn't matter pick 45 is about as speculative as it gets. Likewise playing position at junior level low correlation to afl position. You get a hard on for players you saw as a junior, I remember you telling me Nankervis was a superior talent to milera just last season. Having said that Taylor has looked a player for a couple of seasons now and would have loved to see him tried in other positions rather than the dreaded hff.

Look, Shifter Sheehan was amazed that Taylor went so low in the draft and described him as a great steal for us!

I see what he saw and like Taylor.

 

[1970crow]

Look, Shifter Sheehan was amazed that Taylor went so low in the draft and described him as a great steal for us!

I see what he saw and like Taylor.

There’s a lot to like about Taylor, but he needs to get more ball and be able to get more midfield time.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

There’s a lot to like about Taylor, but he needs to get more ball and be able to get more midfield time.

Same as what we were saying for Cook.

Prefer to persist with higher skilled players than average ones...

 

[mcleod at 50 lines it up]

Look, Shifter Sheehan was amazed that Taylor went so low in the draft and described him as a great steal for us!

I see what he saw and like Taylor.

Shifter never said a bad word about any draftee. I like Taylor a lot too, and think nicks should have played him a lot more, but that's where he went.

 

[Mattrox]

We should all be concerned while our development is still headed up by Godden

When Voss is sacked after we destory Carlton can we get him for development? Seemed to be better in roles other than head coach.

 

[FR0GGY]

Same as what we were saying for Cook.

Prefer to persist with higher skilled players than average ones...

And ones that don’t panic, which is what cook seems to have in spades, composure.

 

[skam85]

Play him this week and never look back.

 

[walterhobbs]

Play him this week and never look back.

Nicks: No!

 

[Jarman3]

When Voss is sacked after we destory Carlton can we get him for development? Seemed to be better in roles other than head coach.

What odds they sack him this week and we cop them on the rebound after sacking the coach?

I suppose the game being on Thursday night probably works in our favour - they might not want to make a change with the shorter preparation time this week.

 

[TheLeftFist8]

There’s a lot to like about Taylor, but he needs to get more ball and be able to get more midfield time.

Those two things will go hand in hand. Imagine being the 'shape keeping' small forward in this mess of a team structure and ball movement style right now. Near impossible to contribute consistently.

The one bloke who could actually find the footy to a decent level in this role is Dowling, he's close to the most natural ball magnet we have and he's also not a natural inside player despite improvements in the SANFL to make him an inside/outside option.

So Taylor takes over a forward/mid rotation, Dowling in as a roaming forward, one of Keays/ANB can play deeper as they keep butchering the ball upfield anyway.

 

[Blue Red and Gold]

Thought this was the Sid Draper thread, not Zac Taylor.

On Sid, I would play him this week despite not smashing the door down at selection, feel he will have more of an impact that someone like Dowling despite how the stat sheet reads.

 

[Velvet George]

You also said Zac Taylor was a speculative pick when it is one of the best drafts if not the best in history for quality and AFL games played after just 5 years, hell Ollie Dempsey and Ned Long lasted until the rookie draft.

The only reason Zac Taylor and several others haven't played more AFL is down to our selection policy of sticking to the incumbents even when they're not performing to the required level.

Then some want to blame the recruiting team when it's the selectors they should be blaming for not giving the lads the opportunities they deserve to show what they've got.

Just look at the quality in the 2021 draft, it's unbelievable, so many that have proven to be absolute top end AFL players when given the opportunities.

2021 AFL National Draft

AFL draft history and statistics. Includes national, pre-season and rookie draft picks as well as past pre-draft and midyear selections.

www.footywire.com

So you’re criticising Nicks then