- Sep 18, 2003
- 5,592
- 4
- AFL Club
- West Coast
- Banned
- #1
Can I stress that I have not seen much of these guys play first hand. These are based more on what I have heard and what I think clubs will draft based on draft history and general trends.
PRIORITY SELECTIONS:
1 – MURPHY, Marc [CARL] Natural midfielder with leadership qualities, clean hands. Football quick. Ready round 1. No brainer selection. Best available.
2 – ELLIS, Xavier [COLL] 6”1’ Bottom-age, skinny, quick outside midfielder. Needs time to develop. Pies add Ellis’s pace and creativity to their midfield. Midfield needs more work than key position stocks. Ryder in contention if they chose to go tall. Might be a smarter ploy to go with Kennedy at 2 and then get one of Ellis/ Hurn at 5. Wouldnt suprise if they went down this path.
3 – RYDER, Patrick [HAW] 196cm Bottom-age jumping jack. Rated the best of the East Fremantle prospects. Ability to play ruck and KP suits the Hawks needs. Hawks likely to go tall at 3, Kennedy also in contention.
ROUND 1:
4 – HURN, Shannon [CARL] 6”1’ Powerhouse midfielder who is a leader of men, aggressive, penetrating kick. Smaller scope for improvement than others although he has not had a preseason in years and suffered OP over the past 2yrs. Carlton selecting the best available. If decide to go tall, may consider Dowler.
5 – KENNEDY, Josh [COLL] 195cm CHF with intensity, contested ability, willing worker. May lack the raw class and athleticism of others like Dowler and Clark. Pies going with the best tall because handy midfielders should be available at 21 and 23, unlike quality talls. If Hurn slides this far, he might be too good to pass on. May also consider midfielders in Pfeiffer and Swallow.
6 – THOMAS, Dale [HAW] 6” Explosive, exciting, goal kicking, midfielder/ HFF. Hawks should go for a midfielder with this pick (presuming they went tall at 3). Swallow, Higgins and Pfeiffer in contention. There is strong word that the Hawks and Pies are considering Thomas for 5 and 6 respectively. Both are after pacy midfielders, which are in short supply.
7 – PFEIFFER, Darren [ESS] 6”1’ Courageous midfielder who attacks the ball and man, strong in the air. Broad range of attributes and athleticism. Bombers selecting the best available. Hard to predict whether they will go tall or small. Already having snapped up Neagle might sway them towards a midfielder. Could go with the raw pace of someone like Thomas or Varcoe however they are more HFF than pure midfielders. Dowler might be too good to pass up.
8 – DOWLER, Beau [RICH] 195cm Pack marking tall-forward. Fine kick on goal, good athleticism for size. Needs to improve work when ball hits ground. Tigers signalled their intentions with their chasing of Fevola. They are likely to go tall, Dowler is the best option. Mitch Clark and Cleve Hughes are also in contention.
9 – CLARK, Mitchell [BRIS] Athletic 198cm strong- marking tall with ruck potential. Rated likely #1 earlier in season. Very raw but needs to improve intensity. Lions selecting the best available tall. Nathan Jones’ tenacious nature might endear him for #9 if they want a midfielder.
10 – SWALLOW, Andrew [FRE] Quick, hard working midfielder, ball magnet. Kicking must improve. Freo should go for a pacey midfield type unless one of the WA tall trio fall through. Dale Thomas and Oakley-Nicholls should also be considered.
11 – DRUM, Marcus [WBS] 6”2’ Creative defender with neat disposal, ability to read play, provide run from defence. Awkward height. Dogs going for best available. May also consider Muston and Oakley- Nicholls. If decide to go tall, Hughes is the obvious pick.
12 – JONES, Nathan [MELB] 179cm Bottom-age powerhouse midfielder with elite aerobic capacity, strong in clearances, aggressive, physical. Kicking penetration and acceleration need to improve. A good fit for the demons needs.
13 – OAKELY-NICCOLLS, Jarred [WCE] Bottom-age 6”1’, quick and agile, x-factor. WC apparantly very interested. Also considering McKinley, while hoping Pfeiffer slides.
14 – HIGGINS, Shaun [HAW] 6” Bottom-age, hard worker, good disposal, footy smart midfielder. Not overly athletic but natural footballer. Midfielders are the best option here IMO. Muston, Douglas, Oakley-Niccolls are also in contention. Hawks rumoured to be interested and may consider at 6.
15 – HUGHES, Cleve [GEE] Top-age hard working tall who presents well, has good skills. Must improve contested ability. Cats happy to get a tall forward. Crows will be happy for him to slide one more pick
16 – VARCOE, Travis [ADE] Bottom-age indigenous live-wire with explosive pace. Adelaide going for home grown talent, he would be a good get for #17.
17 – PENDLEBURY, Scott [ADE] 6”1’ Bottom-age, smooth mover, new to footy, big upside. Suits Crows gamestyle.
18 – BOWER, Paul [HAW] Bottom-age running back who provides run from defence. Hawks are rumoured to be interested along with the Blues who may take him at 20.
19 – DEMPSEY, Courtney [ESS] 6” flanker with tons of flair, skill and is strong in the air. Needs to improve consistency over whole game. Sounds like a player which will interest Sheedy.
ROUND 2:
20 – MUSTON, Beau [CARL] 6”2’ Quick, goal kicking midfielder. Knee injury will restrict next season.
21 – DOUGLAS, Richard [COLL] 180cm skinny smart onballer with clean hands.
22 – WEST, Trent [HAW] 197cm ruck, strong athletically, moves well, height may restrict ruck potential.
23 – BIRCHALL, Grant [COLL] 192cm Bottom-age flanker who provides run, very outside.
24 – STANLEY, Danny [RICH] 6”1’ Bottom-age, strongly built, HBF, surprisingly good DC.
25 – MILLS, Wayde [BRIS] 195cm athlete first, footballer second. Has a lot of upside but needs to improve kicking and ability to read the play.
26 – LUCY Austin [FRE] 192cm Full back who provides run from defence, needs to improve decision marking. Strong DC.
27 – McKINLEY, Ben [WBD] 6”1 Medium forward who is smart, creative, nice kick. Awkward height but that shouldn’t hold him back.
28 – DZUFER, Daniel [KANG] Very outside bottom-age midfielder with good skills but must improve defensively.
29 – MARKOVIC, Lucas [WCE] Top-age CHF/CHB, strong in the contest, nice kick. Injury troubles this year.
30 – OBST, Alan [PORT] 192cm Top-age key defender, contests well, nice spoil. Might slide further.
31 – McENTREE, Luke [GEE] 197cm ruck, outstanding DC and tap work. Stocks are rising, especially considering the lack of ruck depth.
32 – RISCHIBIETH, Tom [ADE] 187cm Top-age super athletic leader. Awkward height but Neil Craig will like his endurance.
33 – LAIDLAW, Matthew [STK] 6”1 Top-age all rounder who is athletic, without much deficiencies.
34 – RIGGIO, Matt [WCE] Bottom-age 6”1’ aggressive flanker with nice kick. Didn’t play in Championships, commitment query.
To hard to predict from here on. The likes of Toovey and Casserly will go soon.
