The 2014 AFL National Draft

[DV8 2,271]

On 7/28/2014 at 5:40 PM, Patches O’houlihan said:

I wonder if Brayshaw is more suited than Petracca to the Roos game plan?

Petracca is very much a burst player, Brayshaw is much more steady and consistant

having said that petracca looks a very capable forward and could easily rest there with bursts through the middle

I reckon that was a good early call,  'Patch'.

[DV8 2,271]

 

[DV8 2,271]

On 11/24/2014 at 1:23 PM, ChaserJ said:

http://chaserj.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/2014-draftee-rankings.html#!/2014/11/2014-draftee-rankings.html

 

On 11/20/2014 at 6:42 PM, olisik said:

Pelchen didnt sound crash hot on Petracca in his twitter take over. Said he was good but not as good as some of the other midfielders taken high in the draft recently.

Said when he left St Kilda they were still deliberating between Petracca and McCartin.

 

On 11/24/2014 at 6:24 PM, ChaserJ said:

Just up on Twitter:

3AW Football ‏@3AWisfootball 7m

7 minutes ago

.@sam_mcclure says McCartin to be #1 on Thurs ahead of Petracca as 'some of Petracca's testing hasn't been at the expectation of a #1 pick'

I think this is starting to show.  

 

 

Edited June 10, 2019 by DV8

[DV8 2,271]

On 11/27/2014 at 9:34 PM, Whispering_Jack said:

Knightmare on Christian Petracca ~

Quote

Christian Petracca (VIC – Mid/Fwd)

Height:186cm, Weight: 92kg, DOB: 04/01/1996

Recruited from: Eastern Ranges

Draft range: 1-2

Best position/role: Rotational midfielder/forward.

Strengths:

Front half talent –Petracca can play both deep in the front half as a marking target and off a forward flank to a high standard when playing forward. Deep in the front half Petracca provides strong scoreboard impact and is an imposing marking presence with his 1v1 strength, overhead marking ability, marking on the lead and superior ability to read the drop of the ball. He can deep in the front half also win the ground ball. Petracca can also play off a forward flank and have a big impact, he can on a forward flank accumulate the footy in bunches, do damage with his footskills, present as a strong marking target, provide strong scoreboard impact and push up the field.

Midfield talent – Petracca is an improved midfielder this year having improved his endurance and decreased his skinfolds. He has a nice mix between inside and outside game. He is a very good contested ball winner and stoppage player and these areas of his game can continue to improve given his size and strength. He is a strong ground ball winner. He is a strong tackler. He also has a rare power to him not only with his strength to bully guys inside the contest but some real explosive power where he can burst through a contest, come up with the ball and break away from the contest at speed. He also has excellent evasiveness and can sidestep guys and burst away with some real explosiveness. Some of his work inside by hand finding targets also is impressive. Outside the contest Petracca shows that he can find the footy but also use it really well utilising his damaging footskills and vision allowing him to find damaging targets up the field.

Scoreboard impact – Forward or through the midfield Petracca provides strong scoreboard impact and is capable of kicking multiple goals and breaking games open with his scoreboard impact in any given game whether that be from set shots or in general play.

Strength and power – There are not many 92kg midfielders going around and even fewer with the explosiveness and power of Petracca. He wins his own ball and can either burst through the contest or run around you with ease. He stands up through tackles and has the strength through his core and hips, he can shrug tackles and give a strong don’t argue. In the 1v1 contests he can take advantage of anyone who is not key position sized making him a matchup nightmare.

Versatility – Petracca because he can play not only through the midfield but also on a forward flank or deep in the front half as a marking target gives you options and this versatility should also help him receive immediate senior games on any team.

Footskills – Has an excellent mix between footskills hitting his targets around the ground with consistency, vision allowing him to find some really damaging targets in great position but also he has the finishing ability and set shot goalkicking to allow him to make the most of his opportunities in front of goal. I have also enjoyed some of his kicks to target while tackled showing that even when tackled he can still execute and find his targets.

Marking ability – Few if any medium size types have the marking ability of Petracca. He has the 1v1 marking ability, contested marking ability and ability on the lead to take his marks and he has the strength overhead to take them consistently. He also reads the drop of the ball exceptionally well and uses his body well in the contest allowing him to effectively protect the drop zone making him incredibly hard to defend particularly if he can isolate a smaller player defender deep in defence.

Weaknesses:

Endurance – His endurance is building and has improved significantly this year to an extent where he can play the majority of game time through the midfield, and his endurance testing at the combine was good but if he hopes to eventually become a full time midfielder he will still need to put a further few seasons of work into building that endurance base.

Skinfolds – Like with his endurance his skinfolds have reduced but his skinfolds still appear relatively high and also need to decrease further.

Decision making ability – Petracca’s decision making ability while good most of the time can at times can leave something to be desired. Both by hand and foot Petracca with his touches generally looks to do as much meaningful damage as he can but at times as a result of this he can fail to recognise his limitations which can lead to a poor kick or handball and an overall lower disposal efficiency than he might otherwise have.

What I expect will improve:I expect Petracca to continue to improve his contested ball winning and stoppage work and take that area of his game from good to eventually excellent. I also expect his endurance and skinfolds to improve. I also imagine his disposal efficiency to increase as he improves his decision making ability and better learns when he can do damage and when he needs to go the safe option.

Who he can become?

I anticipate Petracca to develop into a player largely similar to Dustin Martin but without the personal issues. I see Petracca mostly playing as a damaging forward flanker at first who will at times push deeper into the front half splitting his minutes between playing through the front half and midfield with those midfield minutes increasing as he improves his ability up the ground.

When will he be ready to play?

Petracca is season one, round one ready to play. He I imagine will start off season one mostly playing in the front half and by season two or three likely play more a split between forward and midfield minutes.

How to best utilise him?

Petracca today is best utilised at the moment in the front half because he is just so damaging forward of centre. The hope will be that he becomes more a midfielder but I would look for him to split his minutes between the midfield and front half long term as he is a rare weapon forward of centre. Interpretation of his numbers:

Petracca well and truly has the performances on the board and is one of if not the best performed player in this draft class based on his form these past couple of seasons through the TAC Cup and U18 championships. He is finding the footy but also providing heavy scoreboard impact at both levels which such suggests he will provide both a strong immediate impact at AFL level but also that he will become one of the best to come out of this draft with those high production power midfielders who can provide heavy scoreboard impact of strong value to teams.

 

Hindsight.  

I hope this boy starts to realise his opportunity,  and gets on with it.

.

[DV8 2,271]

On 11/26/2014 at 12:20 PM, Nasher said:

I can't remember a draft where the #1 wasn't settled, even as late as the day before the event. It's certainly made it intriguing, especially since we're the holder of the next two picks!

Two highly talented individuals,  but commitment and dedication,  obvious question marks. ???