Phantom Draft True Footy's Official 2018 Phantom Draft - Updated 21/11

[Gosaints12]

What aspect did you not like?

Watching him at the champs and SANFL he looked very good.

I watch him play during an SANFL final and he just looked behind the game. dropping marks etc reminds me too much of Paddy McCartin

 

[dajesmac]

I like it.

I don’t necessarily want him, but I can definitely see us picking Williams. It is definitely a lost need. I wouldn’t be unhappy. And you’d guess it’s 20 and not 22 as the Crows are keen for a ruck, apparently.

Yeah that was my thinking.

I'm expecting the Eagles to be a bit unpredictable in this draft. I can't shake this feeling we will pull a Gerrick Weedon out of nowhere.

 

[dajesmac]

New draft video. Will add to OP

 

[Premiers17]

I'm no expert and looking at most guys in ur mock drafts
I would love to have at Richmond are our picks
Liam Stocker
Tom( Captain Jack) Sparrow
Mitch Podhajski
And any young Ruckman

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[jesterwester]

Yeah that was my thinking.

I'm expecting the Eagles to be a bit unpredictable in this draft. I can't shake this feeling we will pull a Gerrick Weedon out of nowhere.

Coming off a premiership year it’s probably a good a year as any to take a gamble.

I’d prefer that our gamble was on Ian Hills shoulders right rather than a left field pick but I don’t get paid the big bucks to make these calls.

 

[Brizzys Squizzy]

Lions head of recruiting said size does not influence their decisions. Pick the best player available at our first pick. That’s Jones by a mile.

Look for need with later picks.

Plus our own academy kid, Connor McFadyen is 190cm, so we’re sorted for that big bodied midfielder this draft.

They also said looking for that kid with breakaway speed from congestion that's Ely smith to a tea and jones is too small imo regardless what they say about aize

 

[briztoon]

They also said looking for that kid with breakaway speed from congestion that's Ely smith to a tea and jones is too small imo regardless what they say about aize

Obviously I haven't seen much of Ely Smith, but reading the post combine wrap, one of the big reported surprises was Ely Smiths speed tests, because as has been reported, he doesn't have that break away speed in games.

Going to copy and paste a couple of excerpts. https://www.afldraftcentral.com.au/player/ely-smith

Ely Smith is a player who rocketed from important TAC Cup player, into Vic Country representative, with a best on ground for his representative side at GMHBA Stadium in Country’s loss to Western Australia. The performance was a culmination of a couple of months of good work, and in my eyes, went from a solid inside midfielder, into one with not only inside grunt, but actual hurt factor, which is something that few inside midfielders have. He does not quite have the acceleration or endurance of other inside midfielders, but in saying that, they are not deficiencies either, he is still very solid in those areas. Where he is strong athletically, is his vertical leap, and in terms of footballing attributes, he is strong on the inside, great at extracting the ball from a stoppage and his distribution by hand is superb. The big thing about Smith is the fact that the areas he can develop, are more ways that he can improve, rather than are currently deficiencies, and with his form, he could very well feature in the mid-draft region from the third round onwards.

Inside midfielders often do not get noticed unless they have blistering speed or hit the scoreboard – Smith does not have either, but his ability to win the ball on the inside and distribute to teammates in space is very good. In the TAC Cup this season, of the players to play 10 or more games, Smith averaged equal third most clearances per game with 5.4, behind Liam Stocker and Xavier O’Halloran – both of whom are expected to be top 25 picks. He also averaged 11.6 contested possessions per game – seventh most of those with 10 matches or more played, and equal seventh in disposals (23.5) of players under the same filter. Despite being largely contested, Smith’s kicking is still very solid, averaging 57.4 per cent by foot, but more importantly, having the fourth lowest clanger percentage of any Victorian National Draft Combine invitee with just 8.5 per cent of his kicks resulting in a direct turnover. Overall, Smith’s ability to stand up against bigger bodies showed, when he played well as the 23rd man for Collingwood’s Victorian Football League (VFL) side.

 

[Brizzys Squizzy]

Obviously I haven't seen much of Ely Smith, but reading the post combine wrap, one of the big reported surprises was Ely Smiths speed tests, because as has been reported, he doesn't have that break away speed in games.

Going to copy and paste a couple of excerpts. https://www.afldraftcentral.com.au/player/ely-smith

Yeah interesting I will try find the article I seen obviously different opinions but we do need another big body ready to play contested beast

 

[Brizzys Squizzy]

Obviously I haven't seen much of Ely Smith, but reading the post combine wrap, one of the big reported surprises was Ely Smiths speed tests, because as has been reported, he doesn't have that break away speed in games.

Going to copy and paste a couple of excerpts. https://www.afldraftcentral.com.au/player/ely-smith

I stand corrected just went back over his highlights again uses power/strength to breakaway from packs but imo still grrat fit for us

 

[Clems Knee]

Thanks for the update. It’s interesting to see how much changed in 1 week.

Foley, Turner and Stack disappeared from the top 40.
Gown, Maguire, Pickett and Ross came into the top 40.
Max King, Hateley, Chance Jones and Clark climbed a lot.
Rozee, Stocker and Valente drifted a lot.

I’d love to see your reasons for such a different top 40. Have you heard whispers?

 

[dajesmac]

Thanks for the update. It’s interesting to see how much changed in 1 week.

Foley, Turner and Stack disappeared from the top 40.
Gown, Maguire, Pickett and Ross came into the top 40.
Max King, Hateley, Chance Jones and Clark climbed a lot.
Rozee, Stocker and Valente drifted a lot.

I’d love to see your reasons for such a different top 40. Have you heard whispers?

I don't have whispers as such - so it's just more gut feel. Although the Hately one was kind of driven by talk the Suns are going for a SA theme. Whether it's Hately or Rozee at 7 I'm not convinced yet.

Turner, Stack, and Ross were all around my 40 mark and thus come in/out as others rise/fall. Gown comes into the mix as one of the only KPP options touted as being a second round pick. I suspect Melbourne may be looking at a Hogan replacement.

Foley I had previously felt is around the 40 range but think he is a real WC type pick. I guess I feel if the Eagles don't reach for him at 20 or 22 he could drop a whole round. He's certainly not one that gets talked about in mainstream draft analysis.

I believe teams with a multitude of picks in the top 40, in particular the Giants and the Suns, may favour mature age players after around pick 30. The Giants want ready made players who cost little salary, and the Suns obviously want immediate impact. Hence why Maguire and Pickett rose the way they did. GC have been linked to Pickett. I'm also thinking of Mitch Grigg for one of their picks.

Max King is one I could see having a broad range depending on what the Saints do with pick four. Rozee is another I can't quite put my finger on. Chayce Jones rose on the basis of new talk he is a potential top ten pick.

Stocker and Valente are good prospects (I'm a genuine fan of both) but both fell away due to other risers. I also feel while these are dependable types, they're the most likely to make way given their relative lack of outstanding attributes.

There will be a final version released before the draft that I'd imagine will look a bit different. Most likely re-shuffles based on new bits of info we tend to receive as we get closer to the draft.

 

[dajesmac]

Bump - New and final update

 

[dajesmac]

I can't see us taking Ely Smith with our first selection

Sorry I couldn’t resist

 

[Andre the Giant]

Would be good if you guys could do a draft review show!