We can have full confidence in Alastair, Pelchin and Bucky at the Draft.

Gary Shadforth

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We Hawks supporters can have full confidence in Alastair Clarkson, Chris Pelchen, general manager and player personnel & strategy, and Gary Buckenara, Recruiting Manager, will get it right at tomorrow's National Draft.

"Most choices will be a collaborative effort between Chris, Gary and Alastair, but if it came down to final decision being required it would be made by the one of those three who had the best knowledge of the particular players in question." said Hawthorn communications manager Kristi High on the club's website yesterday.

And here is an interesting article in yesterdays Australian newspaper -

Hawks to go big in draft
By Mark Robinson
November 24, 2005
HAWTHORN will decide its national draft strategy today, but it seems set to "go big" with one of East Fremantle pair Patrick Ryder and Josh Kennedy likely to be its precious No.3 selection.

With Carlton and Collingwood angling towards midfielders with picks No.1 and No.2 - Marc Murphy and Xavier Ellis respectively - the Hawks will have first pick of the key-position players.

They will probably use their second selection, No.6, on a midfielder. Hawks recruiting manager Gary Buckenara will be the key adviser at a meeting today that will include coach Alastair Clarkson, his assistants, list analyst Chris Pelchen and football director Dermott Brereton. Hawthorn's "Fab Five" selections - 3, 6, 14, 18 and 22 - makes it a major player in the draft. It also has pick 65. Buckenara said yesterday the strategy had yet to be decided. "When you've got the early picks, the strategy really is, hopefully, pick the best player for what you want and that's really what we're trying to do," Buckenara said.

"We may, at this stage, look at the bigger lads. "That is not definitive because we're still discussing that . . . we've got meetings Thursday, Friday and probably Saturday morning as we did last year.

"But there's people in camp saying you've got to go the best player and if the best player's a midfielder go for him, but you may then miss out on the best tall.

"But if our needs are best talls, then you've probably got to take that opportunity."

Buckenara said Clarkson would have the final say on strategy - tall or small. Popular assessment has Ryder (196cm) as the most talented key-position player in the draft, while 193cm Kennedy, who is recovering from a shoulder reconstruction, has a terrific work ethic.

Their East Fremantle teammate Mitchell Clark, who was feared to have contracted meningococcal disease, and Victorian Beau Dowler are next in line. Ryder has been invited to the draft by the AFL.

"They will be the four main (big) guys in the draft," Buckenara said. "They've all got different traits and there's arguments for all of them.

"If you go on talent, then Patty Ryder is potentially the best talent because he's got the jumping ability, good skills, but the thing he's got to learn is the work ethic and if he learns that he could be anything.

"And Josh Kennedy's got the work ethic, will give you everything's he got."
He favoured those two "just ahead" of Dowler and Clark.

Buckenara was confident Carlton and Collingwood would opt for Murphy and Ellis and indicated that if the Magpies passed on Ellis, the Hawks would snap him up. "I rate Ellis the best player outside of Murphy," Buckenara said. "I'd be surprised if (Collingwood) didn't take him because they need midfielders and I think you'd probably find they'll try to get two midfielders (with their first two picks).

"If it goes Murphy, Ellis, probably one of those four talls are in the mix and there's another two really good midfielders: Dale Thomas and probably Shaun Higgins."
 

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Amen Gary S,

I am personally glad the wait is almost over because if I read one more article on how almost every kid in the draft who has laced up a boot is a gun, I may expire!

All of the kids read very well, but living in Qld, most of them are only names, ages, heights, and weights on a web page.

It would be good if as part of the Phantom Draft on the AFL website, the top twenty kids named could have video links with a bit of footage of them playing to give us a bit more idea as to what they play like.

Come on AC, Bucky and Chris - bring in the good 'uns!
 
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