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2020 AFL Mature age draft prospects

spirit of norm smith
spirit of norm smith
in Melbourne Demons

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With no U18s National Championships and the Vic under 18s comp not being held, this years draft pool is hard to assess. I have worked off last years champs and the Futures games as well as the brief videos and YouTube content in WAFL and SANFL performances.  

There may be a good opportunity for the Dees to draft in 1-2 mature aged players (ie. Above 18 year old) with perhaps a 3rd or 4th round picks. Clubs have recently had some success with mature age types like Luke Ryan, Sam Collins, Fritsch and Brodie Mihocek to name a few. 

Good players identified so far are:

Sam Fisher, 22yo Swan Districts WAFL - exNthnBlues, exSydneySwans rookie. Skilled. Left footer. Good pace and footy IQ. Moved across to WA this year and won the Sandover Medal. Definitely value pick in 50s or 60s. 

Jacob Wehr, 21yo WWT Eagles SANFL . Half back with excellent skills and ability to kick 55-60 metres. Composed defender. Could play wing as an option.  Perhaps a rookie pick. 

Ryhan Mansell, 20yo WWT Eagles SANFL.  Originally from Tassie and moved to SA this year. Wing or half forward. Talented indigenous player with burst of pace and skills. Unlucky not to be drafted. I think he will get onto an AFL list. Whilst he’s still developing, I think he is too good for state league footy and would thrive with a AFL club. Probably pick in the 60s is about right. 

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    i'm available :)

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    Any big bastard forwards who can take a mark? We're not going to find Lance Franklin Mk. 2 but somebody who can take the heat off Weideman would be good.

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    • 1 month later...
     
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    I’d like to the Dees use our 3rd round pick (pick 50 ish) on a mature type player around the age range 20-23 who might be able to step up in 2021 straight away.  I’d see Sam Fisher, Angus Baker, Rhyan Mansell or Jacob Wehr as that type of player. Mansell in particular would be a very good drafted after an excellent 2020 in the SANFL. 

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    Remember when we plucked a mature aged recruit named Allen Jakovich out of the SANFL.

    Where has all the talent gone in this country?  No wonder the state of the game gets worse every year.

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    It’s actually interesting to see the players who didn’t get drafted for a few years and then finally got picked up 3-4 years later. 

    Sam Mitchell, Michael Barlow, Ben Brown, Kane Lambert, Isaac Smith, Michael Gibbons, Brodie Mihocek, Luke Ryan, Bailey Fritsch, Adam Saad, Sam Collins , Mitch Hannan.  Jake Riccardi was the obvious 2019 standout and he’s already shown his talent.  
     

    There’s plenty of talent still coming through that missed the traditional draft me at 18 pathway.  

    Edited by spirit of norm smith
    V

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    On 10/7/2020 at 7:21 PM, Turner said:

    i'm available :)

    You were in the Chargers group with Rowell & Anderson, yes?

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    9 minutes ago, Whispering_Jack said:

    Why don’t we look at someone like Ben Brown for the role?

    You are dreaming WJ. He would be worth at least a 1st rounder plus probably a 2nd

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    1 hour ago, Pickett2Jackson said:

    Remember when we plucked a mature aged recruit named Allen Jakovich out of the SANFL.

    Where has all the talent gone in this country?  No wonder the state of the game gets worse every year.

    I love the modern game and can't get my head around the view that the game was better 'back in the day'.

    I was recently watching a final from '98 (I think) between the Doggies and Kangas.

    It's considered one of the great finals games but by today's standards it was horrendous and the entire game plan involved the backmen torping it from half back to half forward, then back again until someone accidentally kicked it to a team mate.

    Don't get me wrong, it had its charm. It was aggressive, loads of bumps and great one on one contests but the notion that today's players are less skillful, in my opinion, just doesn't stack up.

    The decision-making of today's players is phenomenal given what they face defensively. The ability to stay calm and not just 'kick it', and work through traffic is so common, where it was once only the stars that could do this.

    The game has and is evolving and I, for one, love it.

    Edited by Cheesy D. Pun

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    No doubt the pool of talent has been spread more thinly with the emergence of GCS and GWS in the last decade.

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    On 10/7/2020 at 9:42 PM, Supermercado said:

    Any big bastard forwards who can take a mark? We're not going to find Lance Franklin Mk. 2 but somebody who can take the heat off Weideman would be good.

    BBB 

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    1 hour ago, Cheesy D. Pun said:

    I love the modern game and can't get my head around the view that the game was better 'back in the day'.

    I was recently watching a final from '98 (I think) between the Doggies and Kangas.

    It's considered one of the great finals games but by today's standards it was horrendous and the entire game plan involved the backmen torping it from half back to half forward, then back again until someone accidentally kicked it to a team mate.

    Don't get me wrong, it had its charm. It was aggressive, loads of bumps and great one on one contests but the notion that today's players are less skillful, in my opinion, just doesn't stack up.

    The decision-making of today's players is phenomenal given what they face defensively. The ability to stay calm and not just 'kick it', and work through traffic is so common, where it was once only the stars that could do this.

    The game has and is evolving and I, for one, love it.

     was probably Round 22 Last round before Finals in 1998 I think.

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    Is Jordan Galluci from the Crows worth a look. He is a DFA. He certainly has talent. Is an ex first round pick, but had a bad injury in 2019.

    Edited by Thehardtackler

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    3 hours ago, Pickett2Jackson said:

    Remember when we plucked a mature aged recruit named Allen Jakovich out of the SANFL.

    Where has all the talent gone in this country?  No wonder the state of the game gets worse every year.

    14 teams vs 18 teams

    players still slide and then mature in the vfl - we have at least three in our 22 (fritsch and hibberd from 2020, and sideshow bob going forward) that had exactly that pathway - but i think the greater number of teams in the competition is why less players get 'missed'

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    9 minutes ago, Thehardtackler said:

    Is Jordan Galluci from the Crows worth a look. He is a DFA. He certainly has talent. Is an ex first round pick, but had a bad injury in 2019.

    he is not very good

    average height, not blindingly quick, pretty soft, and not a particularly good kick

    it's a pass for mine

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    2 hours ago, Thehardtackler said:

    Is Jordan Galluci from the Crows worth a look. He is a DFA. He certainly has talent. Is an ex first round pick, but had a bad injury in 2019.

    Has the talent but just seemed not intense enough. I think the crows were very disappointed with his development given he had good pace and endurance.  He showed flashes of talent and fitted in as a goalkicking half forward. Probably his injury set him back and his ruptured Achilles in June of this season meant he was definitely to get delisted. It’s a “no way” from me. 

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    2 hours ago, 58er said:

     was probably Round 22 Last round before Finals in 1998 I think.

    Cheers for that 58 - you're probably right.

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    5 hours ago, ChaserJ said:

    You were in the Chargers group with Rowell & Anderson, yes?

    lmao nah i wish played school boys with them, they both signed my leavers shirt, so i guess thats always a brag i can have when they forget who i am ;)

     

    Edited by Turner

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    6 hours ago, Thehardtackler said:

    Is Jordan Galluci from the Crows worth a look. He is a DFA. He certainly has talent. Is an ex first round pick, but had a bad injury in 2019.

    Was really highly rated as a junior and was expected to be one of the better players to come out of Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. 
    Not sure where his contract is at but hasn’t really performed at AFL level. 

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    Jordan Galluci is a bust then. How about we rookie Jake Patmore from PAFC then?

    Sometimes these guys who have had bad luck can turn into good players.

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    https://www.afl.com.au/video/176056/draft-prospect-jake-patmore?videoId=176056&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1506752045001
     

    Looks like he can play wing. A position we have a specific need in. Might be worth a look. Would get him for nothing. He also has a bit of pace and can evade a tackle.

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    13 hours ago, Thehardtackler said:

    https://www.afl.com.au/video/176056/draft-prospect-jake-patmore?videoId=176056&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1506752045001
     

    Looks like he can play wing. A position we have a specific need in. Might be worth a look. Would get him for nothing. He also has a bit of pace and can evade a tackle.

    Gee a big step up to the AFL from those highlights.

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    18 hours ago, Thehardtackler said:

    https://www.afl.com.au/video/176056/draft-prospect-jake-patmore?videoId=176056&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1506752045001
     

    Looks like he can play wing. A position we have a specific need in. Might be worth a look. Would get him for nothing. He also has a bit of pace and can evade a tackle.

    Yes he did have some tricks but appears his injury concerns are the problem. It’s a no. 

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    On 11/14/2020 at 10:20 AM, Whispering_Jack said:

    Why don’t we look at someone like Ben Brown for the role?

    He'll do. And now that McDonald (and Brown?) is staying we've got a backup.

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