Thoughts on 05-06-07 Draft

[Dave The Man]

2005 Draft:
ND:
Dale Thomas
Scott Pendlebury
Danny Stanley
Ryan Cook
John Anthoney
Sam Iiles

Rookie:
Alan Toovey
Daniel Nichols
Shannon Cox

Good Draft with our 2 top 5 picks we hit the Jackpot with Daisy and Pendles with 2 Superstars of the AFL. 2 2nd Rounders with Cook and Stanley where okay but nothing Special both seem Depth Players at the Moment. Anthony was Hine's suprise pick - No one had him in there Mock Draft but he is looking the Goods. Iiles came in the PSD did nothing and has been De-Listed.

Rookie Draft was not crash hot, Nichols was De-Listed and playing with our VFL Side as a VFL Player, Toovey shows he has the Determenation but does not have the Skill Set. Cox is the best of the lot but shows he need improvement on his Defensive Game.


2006 Draft:

ND:
Ben Reid
Nathan Brown
Chris Dawes
Brad Dick
Tyson Goldsack
Chris Bryan

Rookie:
Sharrod Wellingham
Brent MaCaffer
Martin Clarke

Was probably our best draft with All of our Picks looking the Goods. The Worst was Probably Bryan in the PSD to Short and Not Smart Enough. Dawes was a Risky pick with his Injury at Pick 28 but looks like a Steal Now. Clarke was Huge Steal coming from Ireland

2007 Draft:

ND:
John McCarthy
Tobias Thoolen
Jaxson Barham

Rookie:
Luke Casey-Leigh

Weak Draft and it showed with our draft with the Trading out of the 1st Round with Highly rated Youngster Ruckman in Cameron Wood. Those Getting McCarthy at 31 looks like a Massive Steal as he could be in the top 5 players from the Draft. Thoolen was De-Listed and Re-Rookied this Off Season. Barham came along Nicely in the VFL and could play in the AFL Early this season. Luke was gone after 1 year on the Rookie list.


Your Comments on the 3 Drafts?

 

[OniAu]

I reckon weve done well in each year , with at least four or more players looking like they will make it from 05 06. We didnt do too badly in 07, we got a ruck we badly needed and got a good pick in mccarthy from the 30s.

Put our 08 and 04 drafts in there aswell and i think we have a fairly good depth team in the making. 04 we got clokey and rusling still there and our captain was elevated to the rookie list in maxy.harry was placed on the rookie list.

 

[The 10th Letter]

Being conservative, I would deem our drafting in the three years you've outlined as being adequate so far -- perhaps even above average.

I'm pleased with the players that the recruiting department has assembled, but we're yet to really see whether we've found the right ingredients for success or just picked up enough players to keep our list respectable.

2005

Hits: Scott Pendlebury, Dale Thomas & John Anthony
Fringe: Danny Stanley, Ryan Cook, Shannon Cox & Alan Toovey
Misses: Sam Iles, Daniel Nichols

Pendlebury, Thomas and Anthony have shown enough to this point to make us all confident that they'll be long term players. Anthony I'm particularly pleased in considering you would expect to get long term players out of the #2 and #5 draft pick. With that said, I still think Pendlebury was a stroke of genius and Thomas may yet prove to be the same.

Looking at that, our current strike rate is 33% with the potential to rise. I'd consider this an acceptable result at this point. A lot depends on Stanley, Cook and Cox; if even one out of this group take the next step and find themselves within the "hits" category then I would be extremely pleased with 2005. Toovey I feel is in the grey area between fringe and misses at this point, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Preferably, Stanley or Cox would be the two players out of that fringe category that I would like to see take the next step; as I feel they have the most enticing traits to offer if they can make the grade.

2006

Hits: Nathan Brown & Martin Clarke
Fringe: Ben Reid, Chris Dawes, Tyson Goldsack, Brad Dick, Chris Bryan, Sharrod Wellingham, Brent Macaffer

I'm being very conservative with 2006 at this point and I hope this isn't viewed as being pessimistic or undervalueing this crop of draftees. Simply, only two of the players within that group have really convinced me at this stage that they'll be long-term players. Nathan Brown came on in leaps-and-bounds this year and Martin Clarke has been a revelation.

Whilst our strike rate sits at 22% it has the potential to skyrocket. Whilst we only have two players in the hits category so far, we don't have any distinct misses from our 2006 crop and the majority of our fringe category have shown solid glimpses of being able to leap into the top bracket.

A lot depends on this draft and in particular the likes of Reid and Dawes, who are potentially our KPP solutions for the next ten years. Wellingham and Goldsack have tasted senior football and haven't been overawed; whilst Dick and Macaffer are largely unknown quantities at the moment with Bryan being serviceable at best.

2006 has the potential to be our most rewarding draft.

2007

Hits: Cameron Wood & John McCarthy
Fringe: Jaxson Barham & Tobias Thoolen
Misses: Luke Casey-Leigh

Some might think I'm being generous with placing Wood in the hits category and they may be right -- especially considering Wellingham, Goldsack and Dawes didn't receive the same assessment and have arguably shown a bit more. However, I think over the last decade Wood looks to be the best genuine ruck prospect we've had on our list despite lacking in fitness in his first year at the club.

I rate his contested marking and tap-work above Fraser's at the moment, with Josh being out of sorts and injury plagued over recent seasons. The glimpses we've seen of Wood and his importance to the side (admittedly due to shallow ruck stocks) would see him into the hits category simply out of necessity.

John McCarthy is the clear standout from 2007, looking immediately comfortable at senior level in his first year at the club. It looks that Hine has struck gold with our first live pick in what was considered a shallow draft.

Thoolen I rate as similar to Toovey in that he probably falls within the grey area of fringe and misses at the moment. Jaxson Barham showed some good signs late in the VFL season last year and may prove to be a pleasant bonus from 2007.

We have done as well as we could have in 2007 given the weak nature of the draft. If one of Barham or Thoolen surprise us all then 2007 will be an exceptional result; but is likely to forever be overshadowed by the top-shelf quality of 2005 and 2006.

Overall, I'd say we've performed well at the draft table over those three years and I'm content with where we stand. If a few things fall into place and a handful of players step it up a notch from our 2005 and 2006 draftees, then we may look back on those three years as being simply remarkable and most definitely the reason for any near future premiership glory.