W.A Draft Prospects

[LongBombFromOutside50]

After hearing Connolly say he'd almost always take the WA player before the interstate player in the draft this year, I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread about the WA talent coming through to the draft from the U/18 Championships and other competitions.

Kepler Bradley, from West Perth, is the obvious stand out from the U/18 Championships, being a ruckman/KPP and having the mobility, fitness and pace of a midfielder. He won the Larke Medal for the best performed player in division A of the championships

The players we should be looking at though, are midfielders. Farren Ray would have to be the best performed Western Australian midfielder from the championships. He is a medium sized, tough, in-and-under midfielder from Peel. He also has superb courage and aerial ability for his size and is a great ball carrier and a classy disposal.

Jacob Surjan is a quality skilful medium sized midfielder from South Fremantle. He has equally classy foot skills on both sides and is extremely quick (can run 100 metres in less than 11 seconds). He is also a strong mark overhead.

Daniel Chidlow is a small midfielder from East Fremantle. Despite his size (174cm), he lacks nothing in toughness and is a quality in-and-under midfielder. He is quick (can run 100 metres in 11 seconds), very courageous and a classy disposal by hand and by foot.

Matthew Moody is a utiliy/midfielder from South Fremantle. He is extremely quick off the mark, has great poise and is very good overhead. His kicking and finishing skills are also sublime. Is capable of playing forward or in the midfield - ie Nathan Brown. He kicked 16 goals in 11 games for South Fremantle colts last year and averaged the most votes in the Medal Count. He also played 5 senior league games, kicking 3.4.

WA's captain in the championships, Matthew Spencer, is a key position player from Swan Districts. Like most KPP, he will need time to develop at senior level.

 

[LongBombFromOutside50]

It was also interesting to see that Moody made the All-Australian squad in the U/18 Championships last year, but not this year. He was probably the most highly rated Western Australian for this years draft based on last year's carnival, but after the 2003 carnival he has probably been overtaken by Kepler Bradley from WA, and a few others from other states.

I am certainly not complaining however, as it gives us more of a chance to draft him with our first pick.

 

[Freo Hitman]

Moody I think is Freo's #1 want , But Surjan right now is Freo's #1 need.

 

[LongBombFromOutside50]

At this stage Moody looks like he may slip somewhere between pick 5 - 10. He had no pre-season this year and was underdone heading into the U/18 Championships which may decrease his value a little.

He has that freakish ability that cannot be overlooked and can play as a tall midfielder (186cm) or up forward - much like Nathan Brown from the Bulldogs.

I just watched the replay of Vic M v WA, and Farren Ray was outstanding. He had about 30 possessions, showed very clean hands below his knees - even at full pace, he didn't fumble - and he must have won the most contested possessions on the ground.

He has plenty of courage at ground level - isn't afraid to get in and under the packs to win the footy - and plenty of courage in the air - isn't afraid to leap into an oncoming pack with the flight of the ball, without flinching or taking his eyes off the footy.

He also showed great pace, poise and acceleration and is good at working his way out of traffic (not sure what any of his sprint times are though, I guess we'll know after the draft camp).

He read the ball very well off the packs and off the ruckman and also showed great marking skills overhead, despite only being 182cm.

His foot skills were also classy, gaining plenty of penetration and delivering the ball well to the advantage of the forwards. He also has the ability to kick equally with both sides.

It's hard to tell how good someone's work of the ball is by watching the game on TV, but he did chase when he didn't have the ball and did the one percenters.

Not sure where he'll go at this stage, probably in the second round. If we manage to get Moody with our first round pick, Ray with our second round pick and Surjan or Chidlow in the third round, I will be stoked!

Even if Moody has gone before our first round selection, we should definitely take Ray with our first round pick. Although his frame is still pretty light, he will be something special.

 

[mattyc2422]

Originally posted by |D_J^B_J|
Daniel Chidlow is a small midfielder from East Fremantle. Despite his size (174cm), he lacks nothing in toughness and is a quality in-and-under midfielder. He is quick (can run 100 metres in 11 seconds), very courageous and a classy disposal by hand and by foot.

Gun. I saw him the other day at Optus and he really impressed me. You summed him up perfectly. Quick, gutsy and skilled. His size is a concern but I really hope he gets drafted.

 

[Kenny_01]

I think Farren Ray will be a gun; he was pretty impressive I thought. He is a better prospect than Moody IMO. I wasn't all that impressed with Moody. Maybe it had to do with him having a limited preperation.

 

[dasler]

Watching the games on tv Farren played an awefully greedy brand of football. Wasnt willing to give the ball to players in better positions than him to get an extra possession. In light of this comment though i was awefully impressed with his game.