U-18's today

[master bate]

I watched patches all the first two games and most of the final (Metro V WA) on TV today. I'm certainly no expert (not even a bigfooty expert) but my thoughts were:

Pick number 1 battle:
Nick Naitinui (WA) - The athleticism is there, and he wins many a hitout, but for me he is jumping over young players and I would like to see him do it against bigger ruckman (of course he will be bigger in a few years). Kicking is poor and is very lost around the ground. He is a gamble and one I wouldn't be willing to take compared to the next two players.

Daniel Rich (WA) - Great left foot and has the body to be ready to go, he is definitely the safest pick. However I was disappointed at times when he didn't seem to give 100%, it could be a Travis Johnstone like arrogance thing, sometimes he doesn't get involved enough and is just standing there at stoppages, but his kicking is wonderful. Bit of Sylvia in him and would be a hit with the fans.

Jack Watts (Vic Metro) - Is a great pack mark, just positions himself and leaps beautifully to make it look easy, kicks well. Him taking the year off whilst at school wouldn't hurt because he is very slightly built. I'm probably leaning towards him.

Others:
Hamish Hartlett (SA) - Probably not up with the other 3, but he is a solid midfield prospect, could be the Joel Selwood below the top few. I didn't see a lot of Grimes as a junior, but I presume he would play similarly, with leadership and so on.
Lewis Johnston (SA) - Tall forward who takes contested marks and can kick a footy, gets a bit undisciplined at stages but his talent is great. Quick and agile enough without reaching Watts' level. Would love him for our second pick. Plays like a blond Fev at times.
Tyrone Vickery (Vic Metro) - agile tall ruckman (200cm?) who can play forward very well, but I think he will fit between our first and second picks.
David Zaharakis (Vic Metro) - Pacey half forward/midfielder who works hard, could be a handy pick up.
Michael Hurley (Vic Metro) - Full back/CHB with a solid build, another who would be great for our second pick because his is a natural defender and kicks very well. He doesn't look the most athletic so I'd be interested to see how he tests at draft camp (looks similar to Jason Cloke but moves better)
James Strauss (Vic Metro) - Back flanker who moves pretty well and was one of the best kicks for a less known type I saw today, worth a 3rd or 4th rounder for mine.

 

[eliasd82]

Thanks for the write up.
Really well done. Cheers!
I was Nick Nat fan now I leaning towards the Rich or Watts wagon...
but lets be honest any of those 3 will be awesome.

 

[Supermercado]

No more midfielders please. Our KPP + ruck stocks are ####ed so surely we have to go for one of Natanui or Watts. If we take the ruckman I have first call on the "Nick at Night" Headline when he does something wild in a night game.

Doesn't really matter does it? Whoever we pick will turn out to be mediocre. More interested to see who's in the mix when we have a 2nd pick really.

 

[Major Colvin]

Whilst Rich was excellent today (and will be a very good midfielder) I'd still go with Naitanui despite his patchy display today. He has a bit to learn, but gee, he has all the elements - pace, agility, height, leap. A player of this athletic prowess of that height is unprecedented. The guy will make a superb ruckman, I'm sure of that. His work around the ground will improve

Whilst his kicking perhaps does need attention, its not bad. It certainly isnt a weakness to the point that I would hesitate to take him #1.

I was unable to understand the hype with Watts on today's performance. IMO he is the biggest risk of the three for the #1 pick, Kicking for goal aside its hard to see what he offer that Naitanui doesnt

 

[master bate]

I was unable to understand the hype with Watts on today's performance. IMO he is the biggest risk of the three for the #1 pick, Kicking for goal aside its hard to see what he offer that Naitanui doesnt

I haven't seen much of him before today and I hope the hype was built on more than he did today, however he still looked very good and justified the hype to me, where as Naitanui looked too much of a risk (however with a better midfield he could become a weapon - today metro just let him win the taps and roved it from him). That said Johnston, Vickery and McKernan also had nice hands.

 

[Pav for AA]

My thoughts on the W.A boys for those interested.

4 Stephen HILL 01-May-90 182 72 West Perth Football Club

- Likely type. Good frame for utility
- Needs to bulk up, disposal affected by frame, ie breaking tackles
- Good attack on the ball
- Nice speed
- Penetrating kick on the left

5 Matthew DEBOER 10-Mar-90 187 85 Claremont Football Club

- Fairly disappointing.
- Has had a more than reasonable carnival but a tad dissapointing
- his disposal was reasonably assured, especially by hand.
- Certainly knows where to go the find the footy but actually taking it from a contested situation is another matter
- A good carnival from a workhorse.

7 Neville JETTA 12-Feb-90 178 75 Swan Districts

- Worked hard all day
- Perhaps too small to think about playing midfield next year.
- Good disposal, ferocious tackler and certainly creative in close
- One of W.A’s better performed midfielders
- Very quick first 5 steps and runs well at top speed.'Betts like'



10 Daniel RICH 07-Jun-90 183 83 Subiaco Football Club

- 17 Possessions in the first half.
- It appeared as if both sides instructed their players no to tag in the first half.
- When the tag was placed on him in the second half he accepted it yet again
- It is a worrying trend, tends to remain stationery around a stoppage.
- For a kid without explosive pace he can’t afford to do that
- Having said that his best performance in the carnival and left foot is still damaging
- Still not sure if he should be considered ‘Elite’


17 Michael WALTERS 07-Jan-91 177 75 Swan Districts Football Club- Best on Ground for W.A along with Clancee Pearce
- Worked well around the stoppages
- Very creative
- Nice acceleration and good closing speed
- Very High Footy IQ, exceptional positioning
- Hits most of his targets

23 Clancee PEARCE 23-Oct-90 183 85 Swan Districts

- Probably the BOG for W.A along with Walters from a HBF
- Reads the play very well, chopped off a few forays forward simply by reading the ball off the boot before his man
- Moves well in traffic, good disposal
- Very good closing speed
- Well built one preseason would be enough to get him “AFL Ready”
- Hits his targets well by foot, low ball drop ensures safety with kicks but slows his disposal time, may have to be wary of this at the next level.

30 Christopher YARRAN 19-Dec-90 180 84 Swan Districts Football Club

- Silk. That’s the first word that comes to mind.
- Fantastic skills at ground level, by hand and by foot.
- Used his body well to out position direct opponents. If he didn’t take the mark, his pace ensured he was gone when he picked the ball up.
- Out marked Mckernan one on one simply by reading the flight of the ball better and using his body to good effect.
- Perhaps needs to do more further up the ground. When cast in the middle tended to lean forward of the play searching for kicks, similar to Rich in that aspect.
- Definitely AFL Ready and a fairly safe bet for a Forward Pocket HFF who could develop into a midfielder


Enjoy

 

[Bartram_Class]

Neville related to Leroy Pav?

 

[Headless]

Said today that they were cousins, possibly distant...

 

[Bartram_Class]

Said today that they were cousins, possibly distant...

Aren't they always?

 

[master bate]

My thoughts on the W.A boys for those interested.

4 Stephen HILL 01-May-90 182 72 West Perth Football Club

- Likely type. Good frame for utility
- Needs to bulk up, disposal affected by frame, ie breaking tackles
- Good attack on the ball
- Nice speed
- Penetrating kick on the left

Prone to kicking the ball along the ground and/or nowhere near a team mate, then slotting a beautiful goal. Also looks a lot like Nathan Krakouer

 

[Capt_Concussion]

Any thoughts on Jordan Lisle (Vic M)?

 

[McLean_4_Captain]

No more midfielders please. Our KPP + ruck stocks are ####ed so surely we have to go for one of Natanui or Watts. If we take the ruckman I have first call on the "Nick at Night" Headline when he does something wild in a night game.

Doesn't really matter does it? Whoever we pick will turn out to be mediocre. More interested to see who's in the mix when we have a 2nd pick really.

As for our second pick which i'll assume is going to be at about 17-18, there are a few options.

Zaharakis - i know you said you don't want midfielders but i think Zaharakis would be a great get. He's one of the co-captains of Vic Metro and is a ball magnet, was available last year but wasn't selected and has appartently improved heaps, which to me shows that he's going to try his ass off to play footy.

Now for some that are more what you want, talls.

Cornelius - Lead up forward for Tassie, one of there best players. Already playing in the VFL for Tassie and holding his own, might go earlier but predicted to be a early second round pick.

Johnstone - Another tall forward, been playing well for SA. Was impressive today, think he kicked 5.

Zickery - Ruckman for Vic Metro. Showed today that he could play forward as well, took some good strong marks and kicked a few goals. Really think we should go for him as he is the versatile type of ruckman that isn't limited to playing in the ruck.

As well as Vickery there are quite a few other decent ruck options, Jordan Roughead(Jarryd's cousin) is a decent ruck, but maybe not a 2nd round pick.

If we have a priority pick, i would be really hapy if we got Watts, Zaharakis and Vickery/one of any of the above players.

That gets us a Tall forward, smart ball magnet midfielder and a ruckman that can play forward.

 

[McLean_4_Captain]

Michael Hurley (Vic Metro) - Full back/CHB with a solid build, another who would be great for our second pick because his is a natural defender and kicks very well. He doesn't look the most athletic so I'd be interested to see how he tests at draft camp (looks similar to Jason Cloke but moves better)

I wouldn't hold your breath for Hurley with our second pick. Hurley is a deffinite top 10 pick, most likely top 5. If we any of the bottom clubs desperately needed a defender he is a potential No.1 pick, if the draft was at the start of the year i'd probably want melbourne to take us with our first pick, already has an AFL size body, could almost instantly play as a KP defender. Much more highly rated then Brown from collingwood if you're looking for a comparison

Can't see him getting past essendon's pick

 

[TelkoTheGreat]

Robinson looked good for tassie and Ziebell ( vic country) also

 

[dee-molishon]

I watched patches all the first two games and most of the final (Metro V WA) on TV today. I'm certainly no expert (not even a bigfooty expert) but my thoughts were:

Pick number 1 battle:
Nick Naitinui (WA) - The athleticism is there, and he wins many a hitout, but for me he is jumping over young players and I would like to see him do it against bigger ruckman (of course he will be bigger in a few years). Kicking is poor and is very lost around the ground. He is a gamble and one I wouldn't be willing to take compared to the next two players.



I totally 100% agree with this comment master. Any person who has seen naita PLAY rather than just what they read would be able to see hes a work in progress.

There is no doubt he has the most upside and talent out of all three of them but if you have the number one pick do you draft on talent or sure bet?

Call me safe but i would go for watts or rich any day over a talent that may or may not come out as good as we all hope.

People need to understand it will take a good 5 years for naita to be up to afl standards in a lot of things other than athleticism. Is he worth that risk? Not with a number one pick in my view. Kind of like a tom williams from the bulldogs pick 5 with that much upside is worth the risk, pick 1 go with the safe bet.

Thats why i suggest if we get get pick 1 and freo has pick 3 and is keen for naita we trade down to pick 3 with warnock. That way we get a ruckman who is young, has upside, has had a few years in the system and a sure bet like rich or watts with pick 3.

 

[Pipefitter]

Id say Naita has the "potential" to be better than the lot of them, just isnt at the moment. Melbournes not in for the quick fix. Lets face it, Watts wont be kicking 7 goals a week next year. Naita could be a once in a generation player with his freak abilities.

 

[Bails2008]

A couple of players worth a look with second third round picks. Of course this all depends on trades etc. It would be great if we could trade our way to a higher pick close to the top 10 as there are some absolute beauties in the draft this year. That being said we should get really good prospects in the second third round. Any of the top 3 will be guns. We need to get 4-5 players though out of the draft though. Our second and third round picks are just as important

Blease- Lightning quick, beautiful finisher did some very impressive things. Type of player we need. Breaks lines with leg speed, great defensive skills and a quality finisher.

Sloane- Small defender. Has been in super form for Eastern. Played on Yarran who is a shoe in for top 10 and did a super job. Works hard, gets a fist to the ball, great closing speed and is prepared to run lines. Reminds me of a bigger bodied Clint Bartram.

Shoenmakers- Tall forward from SA. Presents well and excellent disposal. Him and Watts together could be exciting.

Zahakaris- Super competetive midfielder. Great leadership skills, super workrate. Moves very well and very clean by foot. May go top 15 but if is available at 17 18 we would be silly not to take him as he would be best available player. Also this misconception about not needing midfielders baffles me. Geelong have 10 players who rotate through the middle from half back and half forward. This boy would suit us well as can play inside and outside. Big wraps on him

Vickery- 200cm Ruckman forward who is behind Natanui and Mckernan so could be available by second round. Was good yesterday and can go forward. Knee injury last year has seen him drop down a little but huge upside

Lisle- Good key defender prospect but probably not what we need at this stage

Cornelius- Agile forward from Tassie who has been playing VFL this year. Struggled a bit against the men but that experience will be fantastic moving forward. Had a good game yesterday but slightly disappointing carnival. Has huge potential though.

Hooper- Big strong bodied boy from Vic country. Uses the ball well and very strong at the contest. Would be senior ready early and could be a very good small defender in the cambell Brown mould

 

[master bate]

Sloane- Small defender. Has been in super form for Eastern. Played on Yarran who is a shoe in for top 10 and did a super job. Works hard, gets a fist to the ball, great closing speed and is prepared to run lines. Reminds me of a bigger bodied Clint Bartram.

I was going to mention him in the OP. From what I saw yesterday he is freakishly similar to Bartram, runs the same way and has the same deer in the headlights look but is assured enough with the footy and runs the ball from the backline well and he is very competitive 1 on 1.