Rating Our 2019 Draft

[Ron Burgundy 8,584]

3 hours ago, Elwood 3184 said:

Buckenara isn’t impressed.

AFL draft 2019: Recruiter Gary Buckenara analyses every club’s draft haul

Buckenara says: Luke Jackson at pick No.3 is a risk. While he was the best ruckman in the draft, I had him rated as the 18th-best player because at 199cm he’s undersized for a ruckman at AFL level and I’ve got concerns over his ability to play as a marking forward. I think he’ll be a bit lost in that role.

He’s still raw but there’s no doubting his competitiveness and that he’ll work hard to develop his craft to become a very good AFL player, but he’ll need to improve his marking if he’s going to play forward and ruck. Hopefully he can grow a bit more to get over 200cm and be a better size for an AFL-level ruckman.

Kysaiah Pickett was a bolter at pick 12 but the Demons are desperate for some excitement in the forward line he brings that as well as physicality. I think he’ll be given opportunities at AFL level in 2020. He has Liam Ryan traits.

Buckenara’s verdict: It’s boom or bust on Jackson but they have addressed list needs.
 

Brody Grundy went at pick 18. From memory, he was seen to be a potential top 5 pick for much of his draft year.

I expect many clubs now deeply regret overlooking him with earlier picks in that draft.

At the very least, we won’t have this regret this time around.

 

[rjay 24,099]

3 hours ago, ProDee said:

Buckenara

I rate him with Pelcan...both living off the glories of the Dicker/Clarkson/Hawthorn rebuild.

I'm sure they played a role but not as big as what they profess or others would like us to believe.

If they were any good they would still be on big bucks in clubland rather than trying to hold on to some relevance as media dial a quotes....

[old dee 23,109]

On 11/29/2019 at 1:16 AM, Ohio USA - David said:

Just sour grapes...

Why?

[old dee 23,109]

1 hour ago, Ron Burgundy said:

Brody Grundy went at pick 18. From memory, he was seen to be a potential top 5 pick for much of his draft year.

I expect many clubs now deeply regret overlooking him with earlier picks in that draft.

At the very least, we won’t have this regret this time around.

 

RB because we are all human there will always be something to regret. Imagine if a pick at 4,5,6,7,8 or 9 turns into the next dusty. It will be we should have taken him. 

[alpha33 277]

Buckenara is certainly entitled to his views. He was a champion footballer, played in premiership teams and has experience in the recruitment industry. However, if he’s going to make statements about where he ranked a player then he needs to also demonstrate that he has a record of accuracy with previous draft predictions. In fact, he doesn’t and it’s worse than the average pundit (not that we can expect perfection in this game). 

[Stretch Johnson 2,602]

I give us a C for 2014. 

[Apocalypse XXXI 243]

5 hours ago, Whispering_Jack said:

POST SCRIPT 

This article from 1 April, 2019 by Chris Doerre (Knightmare) has Jackson at 196cm ~ AFL Draft Power Rankings: Giants academy prospect holds off chargers from Oakleigh.

 I’m not sure whether Bucky’s seen Jackson recently but if he’s grown to 199/200cm in the interim, there’s a reasonable chance he’ll end up at 201/2002cm plus.

Do you reckon Kozzy could grow a few cms as well?

[Redleg 38,191]

4 minutes ago, Apocalypse XXXI said:

Do you reckon Kozzy could grow a few cms as well?

Quite possible, as next year or two can often see teenagers develop late in height and build.

I think Garry Lyon for example grew about 7-8 cms at about 18-19. A mate of mine grew 10cms in his last teenage year.

[Watts the matter 1,235]

5 hours ago, Whispering_Jack said:

I know that times change but here’s a pen pic on a young ruckman from WA from Inside Football in the lead up to the 2008 National Draft:-

“NICHOLAS NAITANUI - ruckman, Swan Districts, WA
DOB: 4/5/90 Ht: 197cm Wt: 95kg

"Nicholas is just a freak. He's not a natural footballer but on pure athletic ability he is in a class of his own. Has great closing speed, is a great jump and is starting to learn more about winning the ball around the ground but there is plenty to come. Needs to work on his foot skills as they still, have a way to go but his improvement has been pretty sharp over the last two years. He's certainly not a natural footballer and you'd expect whichever club takes him to spend a lot of time with him developing his decision making, but we think he could play some AFL footy next year, although probably not a whole season. We juggled things around with him later in the year and played him in some key positions, including full back, and he did it very effectively. There is really no one like him and I don't think anyone has seen anything like him. Athletically he's one of the best players ever to come through this club. Long term he'll probably be a ruckman but that's not to say a club couldn't develop another string to his bow because he has all the tools to work with." - Swan Districts football manager Matt Peach. WA rep 2007/2008. All Australian 2007/08. From Midvale JFC”

Naitanui was 197cm tall when drafted by the Eagles at #2 and now stands at 201cm, a mere centimetre shorter than Brodie Gundy. 

Luke Jackson was 196cm earlier this season and has been variously reported in the media in the past week as being 199cm or 200cm. Either way, I think Buckenara might be overstating things when he claims Jackson is “undersized”.

POST SCRIPT 

This article from 1 April, 2019 by Chris Doerre (Knightmare) has Jackson at 196cm ~ AFL Draft Power Rankings: Giants academy prospect holds off chargers from Oakleigh.

 I’m not sure whether Bucky’s seen Jackson recently but if he’s grown to 199/200cm in the interim, there’s a reasonable chance he’ll end up at 201/2002cm plus.

 

Knightmare is wrong with his listing.

According to this video, he was 198cm in January.

He then measured 199cm at the draft camp.

[furious d 447]

51 minutes ago, Redleg said:

Quite possible, as next year or two can often see teenagers develop late in height and build.

I think Garry Lyon for example grew about 7-8 cms at about 18-19. A mate of mine grew 10cms in his last teenage year.

It's possible alright, I grew 8 inches between my 18th and 19th birthdays. I want from 5 foot 8 to 6 foot 4 and grew another inch before I was done. It had ruined my junior sport before i had the spurt. Had heaps of trouble with my knees and back from the age of about 14 and found a doctor when I was 17 who finally gave me a diagnosis after many failed attempts. He noted that I was 5 foot 6 or 7 at the time with size 13 feet and he just laughed and said you're going to be tall. After the spurt my knees and back were fine

[Laughing Goat 308]

On 11/29/2019 at 7:34 AM, Salems Lot said:

But in a broader sense:
Ins                                 Outs

Tomlinson                   Frost

Langdon                      Stretch

Jackson                      Garlett 

Pickett                        Walker

Rivers                          Lewis

Bennell                       Maynard

Brown                         Smith

With the exception of an ageing Lewis we seem to have improved our class across all areas.  Now they just have to perfom on the field.

 

Most of these upgrades....really?

Frost over Tomlinson any day for me......Tomlinson slowest bloke in the AFL & numbers underwhelming (Dees need pace) Frosty's trade still baffles me.

Langdon I do like but one of the highest turnover players in the comp, so he will fit in nicely at the Dees. (Stretch was 77% efficiency) Lets see how that plays out.

Jackson wont play for at least 2 years, but hey, we got time.

I like Pickett  & has some X factor, but glad to see the back of Lewis. Didn't give a rats tossbag about his team mates this year & so undisciplined. Pretty happy with himself......

Bennell has ability galore but risky & poor Corey Maynard could get his body right.

Brown potentially better than Bull but age not on his side & at his 3rd club.

Not a great draft in my opinion & cant understand why we didn't take Young, Stephens or Green. Goodwin gives me the impression that he rates our mid field & a mid field that couldn't cope with the 666 & was exposed & 'cut open' regularly this past season.

Hope I'm wrong & happy to take a clip if proved wrong.

[Salems Lot 2,394]

13 minutes ago, Laughing Goat said:

Most of these upgrades....really?

Frost over Tomlinson any day for me......Tomlinson slowest bloke in the AFL & numbers underwhelming (Dees need pace) Frosty's trade still baffles me.

Langdon I do like but one of the highest turnover players in the comp, so he will fit in nicely at the Dees. (Stretch was 77% efficiency) Lets see how that plays out.

Jackson wont play for at least 2 years, but hey, we got time.

I like Pickett  & has some X factor, but glad to see the back of Lewis. Didn't give a rats tossbag about his team mates this year & so undisciplined. Pretty happy with himself......

Bennell has ability galore but risky & poor Corey Maynard could get his body right.

Brown potentially better than Bull but age not on his side & at his 3rd club.

Not a great draft in my opinion & cant understand why we didn't take Young, Stephens or Green. Goodwin gives me the impression that he rates our mid field & a mid field that couldn't cope with the 666 & was exposed & 'cut open' regularly this past season.

Hope I'm wrong & happy to take a clip if proved wrong.

Probably did not spell it out but the two lists are just that, not a comparison, line by line but rather the comings and goings in no particular order.  I understand that Billy was told that his future lay elsewhere due to his style of play; tough luck for a guy that never seemed to get a decent run but I guess that is the AFL.  Maynard could not get fit and when he did looked just ok to me.  Certainly not a game changer.  Frost was Frost.  My reading of it is that his attitude did not match that expected at the club (for better or worse) and his game whilst good this year probably stood out due to the appalling season we endured.  JKH (not on my original list) never cemented a place and certainly could not complain that he did not get a go and Bull was a romantic selection but once again a full forward that can't kick straight is not much use particularly an injury prone one. 

You are most definitely entitled to your view but I reckon you could balance out your assessment with some of the positives that Langdon and Tomlinson bring.  ( you do acknowledge muted appreciation of Langdon.)

Lewis came to us at the tail end of his career but I reckon his 2018 season made a huge difference to a young finals bound team and his willingness to drop back to VFL this season won a heap of respect from my point of view although undoubtedly his time was up.  Further, the fact that the club have him back as a coach probably speaks to how he is perceived within the club.

As far as the others are concerned I reckon your guess is as good as mine.  I would love Bennel to get fit and become a superstar for us but who knows; I will say that at least he is getting his chance with us and not some other club.  Regarding the draftees I really believe that unless you know the internal workings of the club it is impossible to know whether they have made the right call.  I think Pro Dee may have mentioned that it takes 5 years to judge a draft.  Let's meet back here in 2024!!

 

[Skuit 9,382]

9 hours ago, Fifty-5 said:

You're usually a good poster well worth reading, but your train is off the tracks in this thread.

You should start a 'Rating Skuit's rating our 2019 draft thread contribution' thread. 

Edited December 1, 2019 by Skuit

[PaulRB 6,048]

A for Awesome. 
 

Trade and draft, the highlights for 2019.

Anyone who thinks otherwise should turn up their romance and optimism Dial, and think again.

The MFC football department, and now trade and draft team, should be applauded for the way they’ve handled and evolved through this shitty year. Absolute professionals working hard. ?????

Makes me proud to support this club.

All class.
 

Go Demons.

p.s. I wish I knew “shitty” got through the censor earlier in the year... ?

Edited December 1, 2019 by PaulRB

[Ohio USA - David 107]

On 11/28/2019 at 8:09 PM, Colm said:

Overall very happy and excited by our draft picks. I like that we got on the front foot and traded out next years first rounder to get pick 8. Like others I feel if we had of waited until draft night to split 8 we would have gotten better value for it. Having said that it looks like we were always going to pick Pickett with our first pick after Jackson and I’m happy with Rivers as he comes highly rated and fills a need for us plus with little extra bonus of been good mates with Jackson. 

Overall I give us a B+. Job well done, over to the coaching staff now to get their bit right. 

great post except we are an A+

[Dee Watcher 71]

Outside of Kozzie we aren't expecting to see any of these kids playing regular senior footy and even kozzie might be in/out as playing straight up into the AFL is a big ask.

Obviously its good to see they didn't take ready made players to help Goodwin be more competitive in 2020 but we used this draft with a veiw to the future and i guess will can really assess it in 2022/23

 

 

 

[Whispering_Jack 28,096]

Here’s AFL Draft Central’s Review of Melbourne’s Draft 

2019 AFL Draft club review: Melbourne Demons

 

[ChaserJ 4,025]

All the clubs get relatively glowing assessments, but worth noting how highly Mick Ablett rates Trent Rivers kicking. He made a point of it on Fox's draft coverage (pretty sure Dazzle quoted on another thread), and makes it again here:

AFL draft gurus assess every club’s draft haul – and there’s some clear standouts
 

[sue 8,492]

And another one:- 

Cal Twomey and Riley Beveridge analyse Melbourne's draft

How creative Dees have 'outsmarted the system'

[ChaserJ 4,025]

6 hours ago, sue said:

And another one:- 

Cal Twomey and Riley Beveridge analyse Melbourne's draft

How creative Dees have 'outsmarted the system'

This is a companion piece to the video. All the wheeling & dealing that influenced the 1st round. Good read:

Inside the draft's first round: Twists, turns, bluffs and the big calls

[Deespicable 2,574]

Buckenara’s verdict: It’s boom or bust on Jackson but they have addressed list needs.

I am not about to bag Bucky because he's very entitled to his view, but the comment above does beggar some belief.

Addressed list needs 1: So we have taken a ruckman in Jackson because we needed one? We have the best in the game, are about to make him captain and his attitude is exemplary meaning only bad luck will see him having to retire in less than three years. We also traded in a very useful back-up ruckman last year in Preuss, so ruck was one area that we had a fair bit of strength already. Having said that I think we all get that we need a quality tall up forward and Jackson's mobility and pace may mean he can provide that option - not sure about his kicking yet. As to Goody's suggestion that he will be a ruck-rover,  I'm not sure why you would reveal this unusual plan if that was your intention.

Addressed list needs 2: So which club had six small forwards and four medium sized small forwards on their list prior to the draft - the most of any club. Same club that drafted a small forward named Pickett. Of course we can argue that none of the small forwards we have provide the pace and spark that is needed, although I do like what Jayden Hunt brings in that area and unlike other D'Lers and I do appreciate the hardwork and pressure that ANB provides in this role. Pickett seems a little more electric than our current batch and his highlights show he loves to tackle so hopefully he will be a gun and provide the spark and excitement that players such as Rioli, Farmer, Walters give their clubs. 

Certainly Trent Rivers does address our list needs and hopefully can replace Hibberd and Jetta down the track. 

But overall at this stage I don't really think the draft was a good one, especially when we left a quality defensive kicker like Hayden Young behind. I am a bit more bullish about the trade period where getting an outside runner like Langdon was a huge bonus, while Bennell is a risk worth taking. Brown is a handy back-up in an area that we had strife with last season, while Tomlinson, provided he can get on the park should provide versatility - yet to see whether he'd an uprgrade on Frosty though.