BigFooty Official The 2013 BigFooty Phantom Draft

[Chris25]

It's that time of the year again. Starting Sunday the 3rd of November....

The Rules

- the draft will be four rounds in length. After this, recruiters can send me a list of players remaining and it'll get turned into a rookie draft.
- Luke McDonald and Jonathon Freeman will be selected at #8 and #63 respectively
- rookie upgrades however will not feature, because that's just boring
- take too long to make a selection, and it will be made for you based on a highly scientific formula
- and most importantly, try to get profiles down within a reasonable time frame

The Recruiters

We've got a mixture of the young and old. Some of the regulars from past years were unavailable, so in comes some fresh blood. Should be a good group, with representation from most of the states.

Adelaide - Thunderstruck
Brisbane - Quigley
Carlton - beowulf
Collingwood - Knightmare
Essendon - Yoda_
Fremantle - Chris25
Geelong - LemmingMaster
Gold Coast - Offsider
GWS - Snoop Dog
Hawthorn - tigs2010
Melbourne - EasternHills
North Melbourne - roos_fanatic08
Port Adelaide - missionpossible
Richmond - TFLUA-Tiger
St Kilda - Rahul
Sydney - Monocle
West Coast - swannies
Western Bulldogs - Dannnnnnnnnn

 

[Chris25]

Round 1
1. GWS - Tom Boyd (200cm, 103kg forward - Eastern Ranges)
2. GWS - Jack Billings (184cm, 78kg forward - Oakleigh Chargers)
3. St Kilda - Josh Kelly (183cm, 75kg midfielder - Sandringham Dragons)
4. Western Bulldogs - James Aish (184cm, 75kg midfielder - Norwood)
5. Gold Coast - Matthew Scharenberg (190cm, 87kg defender - Glenelg)
6. Collingwood - Marcus Bontempelli (192cm, 83kg midfielder - Northern Knights)
7. Brisbane - Dom Sheed (184cm, 83kg midfielder - Subiaco)
8. North Melbourne - F/S Luke McDonald (188cm, 83kg defender - Werribee)
9. Melbourne - Nathan Freeman (182cm, 85kg midfielder - Sandringham Dragons)
10. Collingwood - Blake Acres (189cm, 84kg midfielder - West Perth)
11. West Coast - Ben Lennon (188cm, 77kg midfielder - Northern Knights)
12. Richmond - Christian Salem (183cm, 81kg midfielder - Sandringham Dragons)
13. Carlton - Matt Crouch (180cm, 78kg midfielder - North Ballarat Rebels)
14. GWS - Kade Kolodjashnij (190cm, 81kg defender - Launceston)
15. Sydney - Darcy Gardiner (192cm, 85kg defender - Geelong Falcons)
16. Geelong - Luke Dunstan (185cm, 83kg midfielder - Woodville West Torrens)
17. Fremantle - Jonathon Marsh (192cm, 87kg midfielder - East Fremantle)
18. St Kilda - Lewis Taylor (173cm, 73kg midfielder - Geelong Falcons)
19. St Kilda - Trent Dumont (186cm, 83kg midfielder - Norwood)
20. Gold Coast - Patrick Cripps (190cm, 90kg midfielder - East Fremantle)

Round 2
21. Port Adelaide - Darcy Byrne-Jones (180cm, 69kg defender - Oakleigh Chargers)
22. Brisbane - Cameron McCarthy (193cm, 85kg forward - South Fremantle)
23. Adelaide - Cameron Giles (195cm, 93kg defender - Woodville West Torrens)
24. Hawthorn - Eli Templeton (182cm, 75kg midfielder - Burnie)
25. Brisbane - James Battersby (177cm, 78kg midfielder - Sturt)
26. Essendon - Dayle Garlett (181cm, 75kg forward - Swan Districts)
27. Gold Coast - Zach Merrett (179cm, 76kg forward - Sandringham Dragons)
28. Brisbane - Nick Robertson (191cm, 88kg midfielder - West Perth)
29. GWS - Billy Hartung (177cm, 75kg midfielder - Dandenong Stingrays)
30. North Melbourne - Jay Kennedy-Harris (173cm, 68kg midfielder - Oakleigh Chargers)
31. West Coast - James Tsitas (181cm, 78kg midfielder - Geelong Falcons)
32. Sydney - Jarman Impey (177cm, 78kg forward - Murray Bushrangers)
33. Brisbane - Dwayne Wilson (179cm, 74kg midfielder - Sturt)
34. Brisbane - Erinn Wasley-Black (187cm, 83kg defender - NT Thunder)
35. Sydney - Darcy Cameron (203cm, 102kg ruckman - Claremont)
36. Geelong - Zak Jones (181cm, 76kg defender - Dandenong Stingrays)
37. Fremantle - George Hewett (185cm, 78kg midfielder - North Adelaide)
38. Hawthorn - Daniel McStay (194cm, 88kg defender - Eastern Ranges)

Round 3
39. Carlton - Darcy Hourigan (192cm, 92kg forward - South Adelaide)
40. Melbourne - Isaiah Miller (187cm, 82kg defender - Bendigo Pioneers)
41. Geelong - Rory Lobb (205cm, 98kg ruckman - Swan Districts)
42. Western Bulldogs - Cameron Conlon (198cm, 87kg forward - Northern Knights)
43. West Coast - Mitch Honeychurch (175cm, 67kg midfielder - Eastern Ranges)
44. Sydney - Joel Tippett (196cm, 93kg defender - West Adelaide)
45. Port Adelaide - Jake Kolodjashnij (192cm, 90kg defender - Launceston)
46. Adelaide - Matthew Fuller (180cm, 84kg defender - Norwood)
47. North Melbourne - Matthew Sully (186cm, 95kg defender - Geelong)
48. GWS - Darcy Lang (181cm, 78kg midfielder - Geelong Falcons)
49. West Coast - Charlie Cameron (183cm, 72kg forward - Swan Districts)
50. Richmond - Tom Cutler (190cm, 85kg defender - Oakleigh Chargers)
51. Carlton - Malcolm Karpany (176cm, 72kg forward - Woodville West Torrens)
52. Port Adelaide - Jake Pitt (192cm, 76kg defender - West Adelaide)
53. Sydney - Nicholas Bourke (188cm, 80kg midfielder - Geelong Falcons)
54. Geelong - Nick Holman (187cm, 79kg midfielder - Murray Bushrangers)
55. Essendon - Ben Brown (199cm, 99kg ruckman - Werribee)
56. Hawthorn - James Sicily (186cm, 77kg forward - Western Jets)

Round 4
57. Melbourne - Tom Vandeleur (192cm, 90kg defender - South Fremantle)
58. Fremantle - Mitch Harvey (196cm, 95kg forward - North Adelaide)
59. Hawthorn - Ben Sokol (185cm, 86kg forward - South Fremantle)
60. Western Bulldogs - Alex Spina (181cm, 75kg forward - North Adelaide)
61. Gold Coast - Cain Tickner (193cm, 90kg defender - Aspley)
62. West Coast - Tom Hodgson (185cm, 78kg defender - East Perth)
63. Brisbane - Jonathon Freeman (198cm, 96kg forward - Aspley)
64. Geelong - Liam Jacka (180cm, 73kg midfielder - North Adelaide)
65. North Melbourne - Riley Knight (180cm, 72kg midfielder - Woodville West Torrens)
66. Essendon - Sam Heavyside (177cm, 73kg midfielder - Bendigo Pioneers)
67. Collingwood - Mitch Thorp (194cm, 92kg forward - South Launceston)
68. Richmond - Isaac Conway (184cm, 83kg midfielder - Aspley)
69. Carlton - Jacob Chisari (175cm, 73kg midfielder - Bendigo Pioneers)
70. Port Adelaide - Josh Miller (204cm, 94kg ruckman - Glenelg)
71. Sydney - Luke Reynolds (188cm, 86kg forward - Port Adelaide)
72. Geelong - Michael Apeness (199cm, 101kg ruckman - Eastern Ranges)
73. Fremantle - Jackson Press (180cm, 75kg forward - Woodville West Torrens)
74. Hawthorn - James Toohey (197c, 96kg defender - Oakleigh Chargers)
75. GWS - Will Maginness (182cm, 75kg midfielder - Oakleigh Chargers)

Rookie Draft

1. GWS - Jarrad Jansen (190cm, 91kg midfielder - East Fremantle)
2. St Kilda - Hugh Beasley (192cm, 87kg defender - Oakleigh Chargers)
3. Western Bulldogs - Jarrod Stokes (175cm, 63kg forward - Darwin)
4. Gold Coast - Jarred Ellis (189cm, 80kg midfielder - Broadbeach)
5. West Coast - Murray Newman (179cm, 70kg midfielder - West Coast)
6. North Melbourne - Jake Greiser (180cm, 88kg midfielder - Western Jets)
7. Essendon - Toby Nankervis (200cm, 100kg ruckman - North Launceston)
8. Collingwood - Louis Herbert (188cm, 77kg defender - North Ballarat Rebels)
9. Carlton - Scott Jones (203cm, 101kg ruckman - East Perth)
10. Port Adelaide - Nick Favretto (189cm, 89kg midfielder - West Adelaide)
11. Sydney - Tom Barrass (192cm, 81kg defender - Claremont)
12. Geelong - Nathan Drummond (182cm, 82kg defender - Murray Bushrangers)
13. Fremantle - Steven Edwards (182cm, 73kg defender - Claremont)
14. Hawthorn - Campbell Combe (178cm, 82kg midfielder - North Adelaide)

15. GWS - Alex Spencer (194cm, 83kg defender - Sandringham Dragons)
16. St Kilda - Aiden Franetic (184cm, 82kg forward - Oakleigh Chargers)
17. Western Bulldogs - Nathan Batsanis (181cm, 79kg midfielder - Port Melbourne)
18. Gold Coast - Luke Rogerson (184cm, 76kg midfielder - Redland)
19. West Coast - Brenden Abbott (188cm, 95kg defender - Claremont)
20. North Melbourne - Scott Sherlock (173cm, 76kg defender - Werribee)
21. Essendon - Jake Owen (191cm, 84kg forward - Calder Cannons)
22. Collingwood - Tom Langdon (189cm, 85kg defender - Sandringham Dragons)
23. Carlton - Matthew Johnson (187cm, 85kg forward - West Perth)
24. Port Adelaide - Luke Buckby (192cm, 85kg defender - Central Districts)
25. Sydney - Karl Amon (180cm, 73kg midfielder - Sandringham Dragons)
26. Geelong - Brady Grey (179cm, 82kg forward - Burnie)
27. Fremantle - Alex Pearce (199cm, 87kg forward - Devonport)
28. Hawthorn - Chris Cain (181cm, 82kg midfielder - Port Melbourne)

29. GWS - Ben Kearns (186cm, 80kg forward - Gippsland Power)
30. St Kilda - Matthew Haynes (190cm, 79kg midfielder - Northern Knights)
31. Western Bulldogs - Tom Shanahan (185cm, 78kg midfielder - East Perth)
32. Gold Coast - Max King (200cm, 90kg forward - Murray Bushrangers)
33. West Coast - Nick Rodda (194cm, 90kg defender - West Perth)
34. North Melbourne - Brett Bewley (186cm, 86kg midfielder - Western Jets)
35. Essendon - George Hampson (188cm, 79kg midfielder - Subiaco)
36. Collingwood - Orazio Fantasia (176cm, 65kg forward - Norwood)
37. Carlton - Michael Wood (189cm, 76kg forward - Subiaco)
38. Port Adelaide - Sean Davidson (185cm, 81kg midfielder - Port Adelaide)
39. Sydney - Lloyd Perris (179cm, 74kg midfielder - St George)
40. Geelong - Dallas Willsmore (191cm, 82kg forward - North Ballarat Rebels)
41. Fremantle - Michael Gibbons (175cm, 71kg midfielder - Murray Bushrangers)
42. Hawthorn - Richard Bourne (178cm, 61kg forward - East Fremantle)

 

[Chris25]

The recruiters have been named, and we'll be kicking things off in the morning at around 9am.

As always, send me through a list of players if you're not going to be around for your pick. We have plenty of time until the actual draft, but of course we don't want this dragging on unnecessarily. And just to reiterate, rookie upgrades and passing for the PSD will not feature in this draft. Just a simple four rounds, regardless of list spaces.

Happy drafting!

 

[Snoop Dog]

Firstly C25 thanks for picking this up and running with it for this year and also a massive welcome to the new 'recruiters' on board.

# 1 - GWS
Thomas Boyd - Eastern Ranges 199cm / 102kg / ’95
Rolled Gold. Big boy and big wraps. Big fwd who ticks every box and am sure will be a super AFL player for many years. Great agility and mobility, very good hands and lovely kick of the footy as well. He works hard defensively as well and I think whilst guys like Tom Hawkins took some time I think this kid will come on pretty quickly. He is very mature and the recruiters will tell you his most impressive performance to date was when he played the Collingwood VFL side and was simply outstanding. Leon Cameron will be salivating with this kid.

 

[Snoop Dog]

Will be back on shortly as still thinking about the second pick

 

[missionpossible]

Snoop off to a flying start with Boyd but has fallen asleep at his keyboard.

Wake up Jeff

 

[LemmingMaster]

Feel free to PM me when it is Thunder, Quigs or missionpossible picks, I have their mobile numbers and can pass on the fact their pick is up.

 

[Snoop Dog]

# 2 GWS - jack billings

I can't split Scharenberg and Billings so am going Billings. I think the reasons as to why I want a Scharenberg type are real but there are a few of his type and pretty sure one will be there at next pick who I rate very highly.

Must admit little keen to throw a curve ball down the order to.

Will do write up later

 

[God Save Max King]

T. Boyd, what a surprise! You're right though, GWS should be very, very pleased with the KPF.

 

[missionpossible]

I will be stunned if Kelly doesn't go at 2 in the real thing.

 

[LemmingMaster]

I will be stunned if Kelly doesn't go at 2 in the real thing.

Likewise, but still we can have fun with this phantom draft because our careers are not on the line.

No doubt Quigs will pick some division 2 player in the first round.

 

[missionpossible]

Yeah but Quigs has no idea what he is doing

 

[Knightmare]

Billings at two is a good choice.

Kelly is a sure thing and one of the very few this year but Billings just has something more to his game with his class and ability to provide a target up forward and hit the scoreboard. Just has a bit more special to his game and has that bit extra star quality to him.

 

[God Save Max King]

Pick 3 St Kilda: Josh Kelly.

EDIT Write-Up to come

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Billings at two is a good choice.

Kelly is a sure thing and one of the very few this year but Billings just has something more to his game with his class and ability to provide a target up forward and hit the scoreboard. Just has a bit more special to his game and has that bit extra star quality to him.

This is all assuming that Billings transitions to the midfield though. If he does, yes, he's got that extra dimension; if he doesn't, then Billings is a classy medium forward and Kelly's a smooth operator through the midfield. I'd take a midfield Kelly over a forward Billings every day of the week. I'm still not convinced he'll become a midfielder.

If he does move into the midfield and improve on his defensive work then he'll be a better pick than Kelly, absolutely. As you said, Billings provides a smaller target in the forward line who can compete and mark the ball overhead and crumb goals, which is a great attribute for a midfielder to have. If he doesn't though he's just a medium forward not really worth pick 2 in my opinion. Still a very good forward but I think there are better options available there, assuming he doesn't.

My pick will go up shortly.

 

[tigs2010]

This is all assuming that Billings transitions to the midfield though. If he does, yes, he's got that extra dimension; if he doesn't, then Billings is a classy medium forward and Kelly's a smooth operator through the midfield. I'd take a midfield Kelly over a forward Billings every day of the week. I'm still not convinced he'll become a midfielder.

If he does move into the midfield and improve on his defensive work then he'll be a better pick than Kelly, absolutely. As you said, Billings provides a smaller target in the forward line who can compete and mark the ball overhead and crumb goals, which is a great attribute for a midfielder to have. If he doesn't though he's just a medium forward not really worth pick 2 in my opinion. Still a very good forward but I think there are better options available there, assuming he doesn't.

My pick will go up shortly.

I agree with this for some of the other bottom teams, but for GWS they need some more forward class. They already 4000 midfielders.

 

[Chris25]

I still think Billings would be best developed into a half back.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

I agree with this for some of the other bottom teams, but for GWS they need some more forward class. They already 4000 midfielders.

Haha, yeah, that's fair. I suppose it's the whole 'needs vs. best available' debate. Billings and Scharenberg are both probably better choices for GWS than Kelly, but if they see Kelly as absolutely best available they should be taking him (and I think they will) in my opinion. My point was more that the suggestion that Billings has more to his game is only really true if he transitions to the midfield, though; wasn't intending to suggest he was a bad pick for GWS.

 

[tigs2010]

Haha, yeah, that's fair. I suppose it's the whole 'needs vs. best available' debate. Billings and Scharenberg are both probably better choices for GWS than Kelly, but if they see Kelly as absolutely best available they should be taking him (and I think they will) in my opinion. My point was more that the suggestion that Billings has more to his game is only really true if he transitions to the midfield, though; wasn't intending to suggest he was a bad pick for GWS.

Agree I think they will take Kelly. The thing with GWS is with all these high picks on mids they are using a lot of mids on flanks, why not take a gun flanker who can rotate in the midfield. Won't happen but makes sense to me.

 

[LemmingMaster]

You can never have too many gun mids, just turn one of them into a small forward or defender.

 

[Offsider]

I still think Billings would be best developed into a half back.

I think his goal sense is elite and he would be wasted as a half-back as he is so dangerous forward of centre. Also his defensive game would have to improve a fair bit for him to be a half-back.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Pick 4 - Western Bulldogs: James Aish​

​

Height: 183cm​

Weight: 74kg​

​

General Comments: There's been a lot of talk about Aish lately. Regarded as the best draft option after Boyd for much of the year, he's slipped down the order according to some. While some cite his champs stats - where a huge majority of his possessions were uncontested, placing him in a category with the likes of Cale Morton - there is also talk about some clubs being concerned that he'll want to return to South Australia after a few years. That probably isn't helped by the recent 'exodus' of young Brisbane Lions, which may have made clubs a bit more wary than they would have been in recent years. Whether this talk is the pre-draft hyperbole that gets spun about a lot of players is yet to be seen - but given the quality of Aish as a player it's a risk I feel sides should be prepared to take (provided he does interview well, of course).​

​

Strengths: In my mind, Aish has never stopped being the second best player in the draft. His champs numbers are concerning on paper, but when you consider how well-stocked SA were for players inside the contest it's no real surprise that he played a more outside role, allowing him to use his strengths to the best of his ability. He's a brilliant user of the footy by both hand and foot, and on both sides. He finds space effortlessly and operates so well in it as well, using his dynamic sidestep and burst of speed over a short distance to really give himself more time than the next guy. Additionally his vision and decision making are both superb, allowing him to really hurt the opposition when he gets the opportunity. While he is an outside player, first and foremost, he has no problems inside the contest. He's a skinny kid, but it doesn't bother him. He's more than capable of winning his own ball and entering the contest when it's required of him, and he certainly doesn't lack the courage to put his body on the line. It's for these reasons that I think his outside-oriented reputation is really overstated - he doesn't lack any of the tools required to be serviceable inside the contest apart from body size - which can be worked on - he simply didn't need to in a strong SA side. The other promising aspect of his game is how damaging he can be within the contest. Unlike some other outside midfielders in the draft his vision and ability to kick on both sides of his body allows him to hurt the opposition even when he's not in space - something that bodes well for his potential at AFL level. Despite being quite lean, he is reasonable one on one and always competes hard. His positioning on his opponents is often very good and, despite not being as strong as a Scharenberg type, can mark the ball very well overhead.​

​

What He Needs To Work On: The big thing for Aish is his strength and size. At AFL level he's going to be under more pressure, get more attention and be forced to enter the contest a lot more than he's used to. At a little over 70kg, Aish will need to build a bit more bulk in order to allow him to compete more consistently with the bigger bodies. We saw with Macrae's success (albeit in limited game time) this year that the players who can find space and time and compete vigorously are more than capable of making an impact, even if they're quite slim, and I think Aish's abilities will allow him to perform similarly - especially given that he'll be expected to do much of his work on the outside.​

​

As do most young midfielders of his ilk, he'll need to learn how to cope with extra attention and tags. Hartung kept him to four disposals in round three of the champs, which demonstrates my point. He won't be tagged at AFL level just yet, but it's something he needs to be prepared for as such a damaging midfielder won't be left unchecked for long. No doubt, as he builds his strength, he'll be better equipped to deal with this type of attention by becoming more of a force inside the contest.​

​

How He Fits: The 'Dogs are building a formidable core inside the contest, with Liberatore, Wallis, Hrovat, Macrae, Dahlhaus and Smith as those younger options with Griffen, Cooney, Picken and Stevens all capable older guys. Aish compliments them beautifully, with his work on the outside allowing the 'Dogs a bit more speed and a bit more precision with their forward entries. Working under the likes of Griffen and Cooney, Aish won't cop a tag for a while, allowing him to find his feet at AFL level and also to learn to deal with it the attention, which will no doubt come in the future. He also brings with him some great leadership qualities to go along with the future leadership of the likes of Wallis, Roughead and Hrovat.​

 

[Chris25]

I think his goal sense is elite and he would be wasted as a half-back as he is so dangerous forward of centre. Also his defensive game would have to improve a fair bit for him to be a half-back.

No doubting he is a very good half forward, he just intrigues me as a purely attacking half back. Would be able to put those foot skills and general game sense to good use. Don't see it happening, but I'd be very tempted.

 

[Quigley]

Nice write up Dannnnnn. Aish I see as one of the really high ceiling types in this draft but his chances of busting are much higher than others around this point.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Nice write up Dannnnnn. Aish I see as one of the really high ceiling types in this draft but his chances of busting are much higher than others around this point.

Yeah, I can see that. A guy like Scharenberg has a much lower ceiling, but is much better equipped to make an impact at AFL level and probably has a better chance to make it. Given the quality of the midfield we're building though I think we should take the risk with him. I've been impressed by his ability to win his own ball despite his size and think he'll make it, but I absolutely agree that he's still a bit of a risk. If he does make it he has the potential to be one of the best in the draft and would compliment us superbly.