Who do you want?

[cormick]

Nick Naitanui – 197cm, 95kg-Swan Districts.
Pace, big leap and athletic. Not a great kick and if he is running flat out he actually has to slow down a lot before he kicks the ball. His leap is a big advantage in the ruck and his palm work is pretty good. When he has the ball in his hand and is running forward he is very creative with his handball but the biggest concern I have is he is not a natural at reading the game. He gets caught out of position a lot and it reflects on the low amount of possession around the ground that he often has. Does not have a handle on running to the dangerous areas of the ground. I think he would actually make a sensational Rugby League or Union player because his peripheral vision with the ball in his hands is very good and he can hit team mates in space by hand very well when he is on the run. Personally I would not pick him if I had a top ten pick. In saying that he will get picked up in the top 10 because his athletic ability has to be seen to be believed.
Prediction – top 10

Michael Hurley – 192cm, 92kg – Northern Knights.
Has been the best defender in the last two Champ series. He has a smart footy brain and reads the play very well and will often direct his team mates on the where to be or where to run. In defence his communication skills are good and he will push forward to get involved in the play. Have seen him call a player back onto his man so he can get forward onto a different opponent and try and make things happen.
He is a lovely long right foot kick who can kick it 50 meters with ease and his left side is just as good. I have seen him easily kick the ball 50 meters on both sides of the body on a wet day.
His defensive skills are excellent and he has dominated any one on one duels.
The one question mark on him is his pace. He is not a lumberer but he does not have great speed off the mark and overall his pace is not great. He has made up for it at under 18 level with his great anticipation and reading of the play, the question is can he do that at AFL level.
Another string he does have to his bow is the fact that he has played a lot of TAC Cup footy at CHF. He has kicked bags of 6 a couple of times and has also kicked 2 or 3 goals from CHF in numerous games.
Prediction – top 6


Hamish Hartlett – 182cm, 74kg – West Adelaide
Highly skilled midfielder with very good pace. Has good hands in close and is a one touch player who rarely fumbles. Reads the clearances very well and has good skills on both sides of the body. His positioning and work at the centre bounce is excellent and he sets up play well. Will push forward and kick goals and can kick the ball 50 meters. He has a good side step and is evasive in close situations. He was tagged most of the way through the Champs and although in some games his numbers where not high he still made a pretty good contribution although he could have done a bit more work in and around the packs to loose his tag. One down side to his game is the fact that despite being highly skilled he can still produce a few lazy kicks at various stages which is more of a concentration thing than anything else.
Has played senior footy in the SANFL.
Prediction - top 6.


Jack Ziebell – 188cm, 84kg – Murray Bushrangers.
Strong midfielder /half back / half forward. Good size and excellent skills on both sides of the body. Reads the play very well and is good at finding his own ball. Clearance work is pretty good although at times he does just charge forward hoping that his side’s ruckman wins the tap and he can burst away with the ball. It looks good when it comes off but when the ball goes the other way he can get caught out big time. He is a very strong mark and regularly takes one grab contested marks. Kicking for goal is good and he can kick long distances.
The only real question mark I have on him is his pace. He has a reasonable burst of speed when it is needed but in general he is not overly quick. He is not a player that will break the lines with his pace.
Prediction - top 10.

Tyrone Vickery – 200cm, 86kg – Sandringham Dragons/Hailebury College
This bloke is the pick of the ruckmen for mine. Good leap and excellent tap work. Managed to win a good number of ruck contests against Natinui when they came up against each other during the last Champ game. If it is not working for him in the ruck he does change the angles well and is prepared to come in from a different direction.
He has good skills and is mobile with reasonably good pace. Takes a good contested mark and kicks goals when he is playing forward. He has good hands at ground level and gets around the ground well. Played very well in the wet in a TAC Cup game against Roughead late in the season.
May not be rated as a top ten pick by some but he is by me because as a ruckman I don’t see a lot of negatives.
Prediction – pick 5 to 15

Mitch Robinson – 188cm, 77kg – Lauderdale – Tasmania.
Tall skinny winger/midfielder who had a great Champ series. Found a heap of the ball both in close and as the link player. Reads the clearances well and has good pace. Good skills and good hands in close. Can take a nice mark and works hard all day. Not afraid to put his body on the line. Nice long right foot kick. Right side is ok to get him out of trouble but not great.
One downside to his game is his kicking under real pressure can be a little suspect.
Has played V.F.L footy.
Prediction - pick 8 to 25.

Nick Suban – 179cm, 82kg – North Ballarat.
Strong bodied small defender / midfielder who has had two pretty good carnivals now. Has been used mainly on the half back line but can go into the middle and win the ball if needed. Did a great job as a small defender on Yarran in Country’s win against WA. He is a smart player who has good skills on both sides of the body. His defensive side is good and he reads the play well .Can kick the ball a long way.
The TAC Cup games he has played in the midfield have generally been very good and he has read and directed the play well.
The question marks he has on him are his lack of genuine pace and the fact that he kicks to contests at times during games. Natural player who displays good on field leadership. May be a bit of a slider in the draft because of the fact he plays a lot of footy at half back and is not overly quick.
Prediction – pick 10 to 25.

Steele Sidebottom – 182cm, 79kg – Murray Bushrangers
Natural smooth moving midfielder with excellent skills on both sides of the body. Very smart player who reads the play well and has a good understanding of the clearances. Runs to the right spots and provides good options. Uses the ball well by hand and by foot. The only real downside he has is he is only steady in the pace department. Has enough speed to get himself out of tight situations but is not going to burst out of a pack or through the middle of the ground. Has been used in a variety of roles including half back, half forward and midfield.
Prediction – 6 to 20.

Jackson Trengove – 196cm, 77kg – Calder Cannons.
Another with an injury question mark after suffering a hamstring tendon injury earlier this year. Before going down with the injury he was in very good form. A tall defender with good pace who also had stints in the ruck in the TAC Cup. Had a great year last season and was one of the standouts. Good skills. Good pace. Great work rate and ability to read the game which is a big plus for a tall. Without the injury he would certainly be talked about as a genuine top 10 prospect or even higher. His injury may hinder his draft camp performance so the test results may not revile the full picture. He is good enough that you would certainly look at taking a risk with him.
Prediction – pick 10 to 30.

Shaun McKernan – 196cm, 95kg – Calder Cannons.
Big lump of a kid who has played ruck and forward. Is probably short of genuine ruck size but he does possess a reasonable leap and gives a contest every time. His tap work is good when he gets first hands on the ball. He gets around the ground well but his pace is certainly not what you would call quick. His skills are good and he can push forward and take a good mark and kick goals.
His down side will be the fact that he is not going to be tall enough to make it as a number one ruckman in the AFL. This will mean he has to take on a KP role which he is pretty good at but he does not have that quick burst of speed to get him clear. He will have to rely on a bit of nous and his size.
Prediction – pick 10 to 25.

Heres 10 possibilities that could come up around our pick. The first 4 (From NicNat - Ziebell) are almost certain to be gone before our pick, so firstly pick who Richmond would want from the top 4. Then who are we more likely to pick from 5-10 (Vickery - McKernan)?



With thanks to ant555.

 

[mattdwyer]

you should start a poll with them all in it

 

[cormick]

you should start a poll with them all in it

Bugger...why couldn't I think of that?
New thread or mods...?

 

[beaver fever]

Want - Jack Ziebell
Most likely from the rest - Tyrone Vickery although I doubt he will be available.

 

[cormick]

Want - Jack Ziebell
Most likely from the rest - Tyrone Vickery although I doubt he will be available.

Really?
Who do you expect to take him?

 

[beaver fever]

Really?
Who do you expect to take him?

Essendon, Port Adelaide, Carlton, Fremantle would all be keen.

 

[mattdwyer]

i also want Jack Ziebell

dare i say it .. he reminds of kane johnson .. only with skill and kicks forward, not sideways ...

 

[Tigerbob]

Would love Hartlett or Ziebell.

Think we will get Vickery and very happy with that.

All are very good player's.

Trengove as a second rounder could be on the cards although I doubt it.

Tyrone Vickery is the one I believe we will get and would add a great dimension to our list. A Putt/Vickery combo as forward ruckman would be great, both are extremely mobile, great marks, great below their waist, I think it would be the smart decision to grab Vickery.

In doing so, we could trade a Pattison for an early second rounder or late first if lucky. We would then go into Season 2009 with the rucks, Simmonds, Graham, Cartledge, Putt and Vickery as well as a possible rookie.

I hope no one thinks this isn't an important trade period, in my view it is vital for the future ambitions. Trading away a first and not capitalizing on getting another early pick could hamper our future.

With the retirements of Johnson, Richardson, Simmonds and Bowden comming sooner rather than later, we need to get it right now.

 

[smasha]

What Do You Want From Life?

Great Tubes song.

 

[getthefooty]

From the top 4, Ziebell. We desperately need a tough, big bodied inside mid and by the sounds of it he provides. His lack of pace is not an issue, if he has acceleration that is fine.
It gets harder from here. Vickery is tempting but I hate wasting early picks on iffy ruckmen. Would not go near Mckernan, has Patto written all over him which is not really what we need. Suban maybe but saw a bit of him and didn't dominate. Looks more like a 2nd rounder.

Yarran or Sidebottom or if we really want a tall Lewis Johnston.

Zaharakis if possible for our 3rd rounder.

 

[RichosGuns]

Ziebel aswell for me, or Hartlett. A ready made midfielder. Hopefully the final piece in our (hopefully) premiership midfield in Foley-Cotchin-Deledio-Edwards-Conners-Ziebell

If we draft Ziebell with our first pick then we should try and get 196cm Trengrove for as a 2nd ruck/fullback option. Won't fit straight into our team, but should after 1 or 2 years when our premiership window is open

A good small defender and one more tall foward are also needed

 

[cormick]

From the top 4, Ziebell. We desperately need a tough, big bodied inside mid and by the sounds of it he provides. His lack of pace is not an issue, if he has acceleration that is fine.
It gets harder from here. Vickery is tempting but I hate wasting early picks on iffy ruckmen. Would not go near Mckernan, has Patto written all over him which is not really what we need. Suban maybe but saw a bit of him and didn't dominate. Looks more like a 2nd rounder.

Yarran or Sidebottom or if we really want a tall Lewis Johnston.

Zaharakis if possible for our 3rd rounder.

I agree with all of this bar the Suban part.
And that I doubt Zaharkis will slide that far. The bit I've seen of him he didn't impress me that much, but I've heard hes a chance as a first rounder, so we'll be lucky to get him at pick 50 odd

 

[T4P]

Yarran is an interesting one - from the same source (ant555) he says that Yarran's only downside is his fitness. The same was with Polak when he first came to the club and we fixed that in a hurry so....I would be happy with Yarran.

Vickery is my favourite, I reckon we need to pick up a tall with our first pick and he fits the criteria. I also think that Naitanui has a chance to be available with our first pick. I doubt it but it could happen. Watts was previously my favourite until he was duped the number one pick...

 

[getthefooty]

I agree with all of this bar the Suban part.
And that I doubt Zaharkis will slide that far. The bit I've seen of him he didn't impress me that much, but I've heard hes a chance as a first rounder, so we'll be lucky to get him at pick 50 odd

Yeah havn't seen that much of Suban so you would probably know better than I, from the description he sounds OK. Fits our need for a poss. small defender as well. Zaharakis probably won't slide that far, but on the other thread I said we should draft a ruckman for our 2nd rounder so I can't go back on that at the risk of some smart**** quoting me.

I spose we could trade for another 2nd rounder then get him but it is all a much of a muchness

 

[THE_GUN]

doubt he would be available at our pick but if he is n.natunui otherwise
1st vickery
2nd trengove
3rd blease
cousins if nominated if not small defender or inside mid.

 

[_RT_]

From that list I want Hurley, however the player who I think we might end up with is Blease.

Here is Ant55's profile of Blease:

Sam Blease – 183cm, 72kg – Eastern Rangers.
Bottom aged winger / midfielder. Not much of him but he has excellent pace and great skills. Beautiful long right foot kick. Kicks well on his left but it does not have the same penetration as his right side. Has good hands at ground level and a great side step in traffic. Despite his size he does put his body on the line and tackles well. Plays a mainly outside role but is able to move into the middle and find the ball at clearances. His work rate is very good. His closing speed is very good and he catches a lot of players by surprise.
One downside to his game is the fact that he can have quiet periods during a game. Needs to find more consistent involvement during games. He also has a bit to work on with some of his defensive aspects. When he plays on a good opponent he can lose touch and get burnt going back the other way.
I think it will surprise a few people how early this kid goes in the draft.
Prediction – pick 5 to 25.

 

[cormick]

Yeah havn't seen that much of Suban so you would probably know better than I, from the description he sounds OK. Fits our need for a poss. small defender as well. Zaharakis probably won't slide that far, but on the other thread I said we should draft a ruckman for our 2nd rounder so I can't go back on that at the risk of some smart**** quoting me.

I spose we could trade for another 2nd rounder then get him but it is all a much of a muchness

Suban gets the ball a lot, but isn't the best disposal and is a bit loose.

Yeah, I hate that
The only ruckman of note up for trade is Warnock I think, and our 2nd rounder probably won't be enough, so the smart arses of the world can shove their annoyances up there arse

 

[beaver fever]

Don't have enough skinny players RT?

 

[_RT_]

Don't have enough skinny players RT?

Just going with Wallaces plan.

 

[beaver fever]

Just going with Wallaces plan.

I was going to suggest him to take the piss but then thought against it. The lynch mob might fire up again.

 

[telsor]

Watts, Rich, Natanui & Hurley will be gone before our pick ( exactly when is debateable ), which leaves..

Hartlett
Zeibell
Sidebottom
Vickery

Hartlett will probably be gone, and I'd guess Ziebell would be too, so probably out of Sidebottom or Vickery depending on how the recruiters assess them.

 

[telsor]

Just going with Wallaces plan.

He does fit the profile...

Bottom aged, fast, 'skilled'...


Wouldn't mind him, but I'd still prefer Sidebottom or Vickery.

 

[Jisha]

I want my money back. I also want a kid who has balls, and is not afraid to use those balls of his. He needs these balls to be more important then anything else, and he needs to use his balls to full advantage. Whoever it is, he better have balls.

 

[Kyusss]

Id love to see

1st - Ziebell/Hurley
2nd - Suban/Mckernan
3rd - Trade for Warnock or Griffin
4th - Cousins

 

[cormick]

Id love to see

1st - Ziebell/Hurley
2nd - Suban/Mckernan
3rd - Trade for Warnock or Griffin
4th - Cousins

Wouldnt mind that at all...but the chances of any of them (possibly barring Cousins) still being there at the named picks (or are dealable) are pretty low!