5 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Agree.  I saw Weightman play three times and wasn’t overly impressed.  Is a smart player and skilled.  Not top 10.  Probably worth a 20-25 pick to be honest. 

1&2 Suns. Rowell and Anderson. I agree with many that if we keep pick ... then Nominate Tom Green. Giants to match.  Uses their pick 6 up.  3-GWS Tom Green

use pick 4 on Hayden Young.  A very impressive skilled footballer  

5- Crows:Brodie Kemp   6- Sydney: Caleb Serong 7- Freo:Sam Flanders  

MFC use pick 8 on Dylan Stephens, or Lachlan Ash. Pace into the midfield.  I’m leaning towards Stephens.  

pick “96” may go to a ruck or tall forward option. 

I hope we draft Dylan Stephens.  Impressive video mostly at senior level.  The crows also need outside run and class so will surely pick him up at pick 4.  

 

11 hours ago, whatwhatsaywhat said:

Pick 3 - nominate Tom Green

Pick 4 - pick Hayden Young

Pick 9 - nominate Liam Henry

Pick 10 - pick...someone?

Last ND pick - upgrade Kyle Dunkley 

Pick 2 PSD - Jack Martin 

Tomlinson, Langdon, Martin, Young/Serong/Kemp, Weightman. 

A good trade and draft period.

10 minutes ago, Watson11 said:

I hope we draft Dylan Stephens.  Impressive video mostly at senior level.  The crows also need outside run and class so will surely pick him up at pick 4.  

 

Some nice highlights. But playing devils advocate here: I've always heard discussions about a correlation between top end talented juniors who win their own footy going on to be successful at AFL level. I don't know enough about Stephens and this may just be a limited sample, but the centre clearance at 1:20 is the only time in that video that he won the ball himself, and he fumbled, the rest came from a team mate winning it. I'd like to see more of him winning the footy himself.

Will be interesting to see how we go on draft day, I'm concerned that we are expecting kids to impact immediately, reality is they will be 2-3 years off having much meaningful impact.

Re: Weightman - I'm very skeptical of a small, lightly framed 18yo making any impact next year.

Could very well be a great pickup down the track, but Goodwin & Mahoney need results now

I don't know anything about the various prospects, but we could use an upgrade on every line.

Edited October 16, 20195 yr by BW511

1 hour ago, Watson11 said:

I hope we draft Dylan Stephens.  Impressive video mostly at senior level.  The crows also need outside run and class so will surely pick him up at pick 4.  

 

That is a strong possibility Watson which is why, if we are keen on a beautifuly balanced mid with a great turn of speed and finishes well off the left (can use his right quite well also...rare nowadays, allows him to roll either side meaning he has more options and harder to counter), we should get him with pick 3.  He is, by a country mile imho, the stand out outside classy mid, with a significant turn of pace, in this draft and EXACTLY what we are lacking in terms of his all round balance / ability combined with a significant burst of speed.

He is also very good defensively without ball in hand and works super hard on shutting opponents down if you believe scout reports.  Something the highlight reels don't show all that often so that would appear to be another asset.

Spots he might put pressure on, replace and / or cover if out injured?

Hannan, Langdon, JKH, Stretch (still on the list!?), Salem, Baker and ANB.

Given a few pre-seasons i think he will be as good as or possibly better than Langdon, all going well on the luck/injury  front and will certainly be an upgrade on the likes of those listed above (with the exception of Langdon).

We talk about our poor connection and lack of class coming inside 50!?  Look no further!

This from draft watcher Chris Doerre of ESPN as recently as 4 Sept....

..."What was most impressive from Stephens in Norwood's win was the defensive component to his game. The work he did without the ball to chase, pressure, tackle and smother was noteworthy.

With a game comparable to Lachie Hunter, Stephens is a midfielder with a similarly versatile, high production game and a neat left foot. If Stephens develops his strength without losing any of his run and becomes more comfortable using his non-preferred right foot, he looks like a low-risk prospect who can be plugged in on a wing from his first season."...

excerpt courtesy of ESPN.

Full report here....

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/27694566/afl-draft-wrap-sa-midfielder-dylan-stephens-firms-top-10-selection%3fplatform=amp

Edited October 17, 20195 yr by Rusty Nails

1 hour ago, ArtificialWisdom said:

Some nice highlights. But playing devils advocate here: I've always heard discussions about a correlation between top end talented juniors who win their own footy going on to be successful at AFL level. I don't know enough about Stephens and this may just be a limited sample, but the centre clearance at 1:20 is the only time in that video that he won the ball himself, and he fumbled, the rest came from a team mate winning it. I'd like to see more of him winning the footy himself.

Nooooo.....he is a classy outside mid with pace and a lovely left foot AW.  You want to see him get banged up getting his own ball and probably failing badly at it most of the time anyway?

That's why we have Clarry, Viney, Harmes, Tracc and a bit of chunk going through there.

I agree you still need to be capable of getting your own loose ball out in space and go hard there but certainly not banging in and under.

The outside connect with evasive speed enabling player to find space, ease up a little and hit targets quite a bit coming inisde 50, is exactly what we've been lacking!  Especially on the bigger grounds like our home the G.

Edited October 17, 20195 yr by Rusty Nails

Stephens reminds me of Sam Blease, That makes me nervous lol

1 hour ago, BW511 said:

Will be interesting to see how we go on draft day, I'm concerned that we are expecting kids to impact immediately, reality is they will be 2-3 years off having much meaningful impact.

Re: Weightman - I'm very skeptical of a small, lightly framed 18yo making any impact next year.

Could very well be a great pickup down the track, but Goodwin & Mahoney need results now

I don't know anything about the various prospects, but we could use an upgrade on every line.

Having not seen anything on Weightman i'm also very sceptical BW but....then there's all the recent scout reports which are pretty glowing...

ESPN July wrap - Chris Doerre

Cody Weightman

Kicking four goals in Vic Country's second and third matches, Weightman has made the shift up draft boards from one of the small forwards who might get drafted to one of this year's most exciting small forwards. The 177cm goal sneak has a similar set of strengths to Richmond's Shai Bolton as one of the most exciting performers during the championships.

Weightman possesses a complete bag of tricks as a clean and energetic ground ball-winner who is capable overhead and will fly for marks. He displays run, dare, evasion, finishing around goal and there is a perpetual sense with Weightman whenever the ball is in his area inside 50m, he will make something out of nothing. Weightman applies heavy forward pressure and is a capable tackler.

The queries are his consistency and whether he can be effective up the ground. If Weightman continues to hit the scoreboard consistently over the second half of the season and applies heavy forward pressure, he would be worth draft consideration inside the second round in this year's draft.

End.

A few excerpts from Draft Central FWIW...

DRAFT ANALYSIS: “An electric small forward who kicks goals in bags and can take high marks, Weightman’s outstanding National Championships propelled him up draft boards into first round contention.”

ARGUABLY the leading pure small forward in this year’s crop, Dandenong excitement machine Cody Weightman enjoyed a stellar national carnival which helped him catch the eye of fans and recruiters alike. 

STRENGTHS:

X-factor
Goal sense
Vertical leap
Footy IQ
Aggression

IMPROVEMENTS:

Consistency
Versatility

The thing that best defines a player like Weightman is X-factor. Small forwards typically have it in spades and the Dandenong product is no different, providing a spark inside 50 to whichever side he lined up for this year. His most eye-catching passages come through his break-neck attack on the ball both in the air and at ground level, with Weightman using his outstanding vertical leap (83 running and 69 standing at the National Draft Combine) to take high marks and his smarts to navigate opponents when the ball hits the deck. From there, Weightman has great spatial awareness and while he is only relatively quick and agile, can find enough space to have a clean shot on goal. Endurance is also a deceptively good part of his game, with his pre-season yo-yo test score of 21.4 elite for his position (despite decreasing at the National Combine) and boding well for repeat efforts inside 50. Weightman’s presence then becomes two-fold, with his aggressive attack on the ball translating to defensive pressure – despite not having massive tackle numbers.

Full report here..

https://afl.draftcentral.com.au/player/cody-weightman/

Edited October 17, 20195 yr by Rusty Nails

18 minutes ago, GoingGoingGawn said:

Stephens reminds me of Sam Blease, That makes me nervous lol

Except one is a silky left footer and the other kicks with his right 

17 minutes ago, GoingGoingGawn said:

Stephens reminds me of Sam Blease, That makes me nervous lol

GG, as you probably know he was effectively another KK and had to finish his career 35 games or so in so we will never truly know whether we saw him at his best or not.  Those head knocks started quite early in his career also.  He was also a right footer!

8 minutes ago, Rusty Nails said:

Nooooo.....he is a classy outside mid with pace and a lovely left foot AW.  You want to see him get banged up getting his own ball and probably failing badly at it most of the time anyway?

That's why we have Clarry, Viney, Harmes, Tracc and a bit of chunk going through there.

I agree you still need to be capable of getting your own loose ball out in space and go hard there but certainly not banging in and under.

The outside connect with evasive speed enabling player to find space, ease up a little and hit targets quite a bit coming inisde 50, is exactly what we've been lacking!  Especially on the bigger grounds like our home the G.

Yeah but you need some kind of balance, even if it's reading the play to intercept mark, or be capable of crumbing off the pack. Winning your own ball isn't always about getting the in and under hard ball.

Someone like Weightman doesn't show all that much ability to win it under the pack either, but his leap means he can take a high mark and he can crumb and goal. That's demonstrating ability to win the ball in other ways. 

Stephens clearly has alot of qualities we need, and like I said I haven't seen enough of him to say he can't win the ball. He may well turn out to be a much better footballer that Weightman. But this is what makes drafting so hard. 

3 minutes ago, ArtificialWisdom said:

Yeah but you need some kind of balance, even if it's reading the play to intercept mark, or be capable of crumbing off the pack. Winning your own ball isn't always about getting the in and under hard ball.

Someone like Weightman doesn't show all that much ability to win it under the pack either, but his leap means he can take a high mark and he can crumb and goal. That's demonstrating ability to win the ball in other ways. 

Stephens clearly has alot of qualities we need, and like I said I haven't seen enough of him to say he can't win the ball. He may well turn out to be a much better footballer that Weightman. But this is what makes drafting so hard. 

I agree in terms of aerial that isn't on show.  Balance at ground level ...a number of demos in the highlight vid that prove he has that in spades already and will only get better.

Not comparing him 'against' Weightman AW.  Two very diff beasts imv.

Edited October 17, 20195 yr by Rusty Nails

Just now, Rusty Nails said:

Not comparing him 'against' Weightman AW.  Two very diff beasts imv.

Oh yeah I agree, they're completely different players. But they're likely competing for our pick 8. Neither would go at 3. 

Of course if we end up with 6 and 8 getting both might come into the equation 

2 minutes ago, ArtificialWisdom said:

Oh yeah I agree, they're completely different players. But they're likely competing for our pick 8. Neither would go at 3. 

Of course if we end up with 6 and 8 getting both might come into the equation 

Correct and more reasonable pick numbers but unfortunately the Crows are sitting there with No.4

Edited October 17, 20195 yr by Rusty Nails

37 minutes ago, Rusty Nails said:

Having not seen anything on Weightman i'm also very sceptical BW but....then there's all the recent scout reports which are pretty glowing...

I've seen a lot of positivity around him, just don't see a 177cm, sub 70kg, kid getting the opportunities at AFL level

Edited October 17, 20195 yr by BW511

14 hours ago, Dante said:

Flanders played against the two top picks and got 27 possessions and 4 goals. I had a look at his highlight package and he looks the goods to me. 

Young as our second pick, I’d be happy with that. 

 

Its Flanderseseseses for me

 

Weightman with 9

 

Definitely bid on Green, another midfield bull. 

2 hours ago, ArtificialWisdom said:

Some nice highlights. But playing devils advocate here: I've always heard discussions about a correlation between top end talented juniors who win their own footy going on to be successful at AFL level. I don't know enough about Stephens and this may just be a limited sample, but the centre clearance at 1:20 is the only time in that video that he won the ball himself, and he fumbled, the rest came from a team mate winning it. I'd like to see more of him winning the footy himself.

Quote

Junior SANFL star Aish, who won just 24 per cent of his possessions in the contest in his under-18 year, looks bereft of a characteristic to make him stand out.

The Champion Date statistics are damning: Of the 112 midfielders to play four games this year, he ranks 112th.

Champion Data says if a player wins less than 30 per cent contested footy as a junior, alarm bells now go off — Jimmy Toumpas won 22 per cent contested ball.

That's from a herald sun article in 2016.

My questions about Stephens are:
1. What's his contested ball percentage? 

2. Does he have Brad Hill or Whitfield style speed/endurance that it almost doesn't matter. 

51 minutes ago, BW511 said:

I've seen a lot of positivity around him, just don't see a 177cm, sub 70kg, kid getting the opportunities at AFL level

Some have him listed at 183cm BW.  

If he is that short then yes....could be an issue.

Would need to wack on some muscle for sure.  Think Dyson Heppell

id be looking to grab Young at 3 to play half back, and then hope someone like Serong or Flanders slips through to 8 to add to the forward half. they look smart sure bet players to me who can win their own ball. take Weightman with 8 if those 2 guys are gone before then.

i like young at 3, and kemp, stephens or weightman at 8. although young seems a bit vanilla, he’s class. hard to ignore. kemp and stephens highlights look salivating. for some reason i feel like weightman would be a good fit.. driven, aggressive and quick between the ears.

9 minutes ago, Rocky said:

i like young at 3, and kemp, stephens or weightman at 8. although young seems a bit vanilla, he’s class. hard to ignore. kemp and stephens highlights look salivating. for some reason i feel like weightman would be a good fit.. driven, aggressive and quick between the ears.

Young has been compared to Christian Salem. Flanders to Petracca 

.

I’ll have to do a bit more research but as it stands if we keep 3+8 I’ll be happy with 2 of Young Serong Stephens Weightman Flanders. 

5 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Agree.  I saw Weightman play three times and wasn’t overly impressed.  Is a smart player and skilled.  Not top 10.  Probably worth a 20-25 pick to be honest. 

1&2 Suns. Rowell and Anderson. I agree with many that if we keep pick ... then Nominate Tom Green. Giants to match.  Uses their pick 6 up.  3-GWS Tom Green

use pick 4 on Hayden Young.  A very impressive skilled footballer  

5- Crows:Brodie Kemp   6- Sydney: Caleb Serong 7- Freo:Sam Flanders  

MFC use pick 8 on Dylan Stephens, or Lachlan Ash. Pace into the midfield.  I’m leaning towards Stephens.  

pick “96” may go to a ruck or tall forward option. 

If Stephens goes at 4, then option of one of Kemp, Serong or Flanders works pretty well also

5 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Agree.  I saw Weightman play three times and wasn’t overly impressed.  Is a smart player and skilled.  Not top 10.  Probably worth a 20-25 pick to be honest. 

1&2 Suns. Rowell and Anderson. I agree with many that if we keep pick ... then Nominate Tom Green. Giants to match.  Uses their pick 6 up.  3-GWS Tom Green

use pick 4 on Hayden Young.  A very impressive skilled footballer  

5- Crows:Brodie Kemp   6- Sydney: Caleb Serong 7- Freo:Sam Flanders  

MFC use pick 8 on Dylan Stephens, or Lachlan Ash. Pace into the midfield.  I’m leaning towards Stephens.  

pick “96” may go to a ruck or tall forward option. 

Sssssh. Don't mention Ash. Mere mention of his name attracts Osilik to threads.

17 hours ago, kryton101 said:

What to do with pick 97?

They would get me for that