2023 AFL National Draft prospects: The next batch

[Nascent 9,299]

3 hours ago, deelusions from afar said:

Isn't it in WC's interest to say they are "strongly considering" Reid whether they are or they aren't just like North / us / Hawthorn etc saying they're strongly considering Curtin?

Similarly seemingly someone (from Reid's camp?) has put it out there that he doesn't want to go to WA.  He'll deny it publicly of course as he doesn't want to look like a prima donna... but West Coast would know whether or not it is true.

This time of year is all smoke and mirrors if it helps you get what you want.

Indeed.

I was more interested in their supposed 'interest' in Duursma.

[Nascent 9,299]

Duursma kicked 4 goals and had 15 disposals to be named Gippsland best player in their loss to Oakleigh yesterday. He has now kicked 12 goals in his last 3 Coates league games.

Kynan Brown named oakleighs second best with 27disposals and a goal.

Caddy kicked 4 goals 3 from 20 disposals for the Northern Knights

Watson kicked 1 goal 3 from 22 disposals for Eastern.

 

[Gawndy the Great 9,011]

18 minutes ago, Nascent said:

Duursma kicked 4 goals and had 15 disposals to be named Gippsland best player in their loss to Oakleigh yesterday. He has now kicked 12 goals in his last 3 Coates league games.

Kynan Brown named oakleighs second best with 27disposals and a goal.

Caddy kicked 4 goals 3 from 20 disposals for the Northern Knights

Watson kicked 1 goal 3 from 22 disposals for Eastern.

 

Out of Duursma and Caddy, who has the ability to bust open packs, has a good leap and is a good technical kick?

[Roost it far 8,952]

Let’s trade up get 2 top 10 picks, bring Disco Turner in and it’ll be happy days

Edited August 20, 2023 by Roost it far

[Demons11 7,061]

I reckon pick 4 is ours, I can’t see Nth wanting to win now that they have Reid in their sights.  

[Nascent 9,299]

19 minutes ago, Gawndy the Great said:

Out of Duursma and Caddy, who has the ability to bust open packs, has a good leap and is a good technical kick?

Different sort of players.

Duursma is more a hybrid foward/mid (looks better forward) and gets it out on the lead more and is a better finisher and user by foot for mine.

Nate is more bid bodied and plays like a key forward though is probably undersized by moderns standards at 192cm. Has more pack crashing ability and is a good mark.

[Adam The God 30,553]

I reckon the draft pool could be moot for us and we'll try and trade for experienced needs in the right age bracket.

Edited August 20, 2023 by Binmans PA

[Nascent 9,299]

8 minutes ago, Binmans PA said:

I reckon the draft pool could be moot for us and we'll try and trade for experienced needs in the right age bracket.

Who did you have in mind?

I think we take pick 5 to the draft as I can't see someone available worth spending that currency on. 

[Adam The God 30,553]

3 minutes ago, Nascent said:

Who did you have in mind?

I think we take pick 5 to the draft as I can't see someone available worth spending that currency on. 

What are our list needs / holes right now?

[Redleg 41,791]

1 hour ago, Demons11 said:

I reckon pick 4 is ours, I can’t see Nth wanting to win now that they have Reid in their sights.  

It’s a certainty. Players will have mystery injuries and illnesses during the week.

Still need Hawks to beat Dockers, but Lewis and Newcombe could return.

Edited August 20, 2023 by Redleg

[Nascent 9,299]

Good question @Binmans PA

Key Forward:

- JvR: now established best 22

- Petty: is the question mark. Does he play forward, back or play as a genuine swing man.

- Jefferson: developing and probably minimum 2 years away from being relied on to contribute.

- Ben Brown, T-Mac and Schache all could be in the their last year next season and realistically we wouldn't want to be having them in our plan A.

At the very least, depth key forwards will need to be considered either this off-season or next. An established key forward to pair with JvR would be amazing. None on the market this year unless we can somehow pry someone like a Naughton or Allen which I can't see happening. 

Georgiades a possibility but has a similar profile to JvR both in height and athletically, crashes packs in a similar fashion and is a great contested mark but poor finishing in front of goals. Recovering from an ACL.

Harrison Jones could be available as an ooc player, plays slightly differently to JvR which may compliment. Been chronically injured with back problems this year.

Neither of these two players are worth pick 5 or used in a slide with ports poor draft picks.

Some have the view the JvR plays his best footy in defence. Could he be the ideal candidate to take over May when he retires. If so, does that leave Petty to pair with Jefferson in due course? Perhaps not but something to consider.

Ruck

- Gawn: will be 32 by the start of next season, how much can he carry and when will his performance start to dip?

- Grundy: does he stay? If not then a mature ruck between 23 - 27 would be an absolute priority.

- Verrall and KFW still developing but would be years away and wouldn't be ready to take ruck responsibilities if Gawn were unavailable next year.

 

Key Defenders

- May: 32 at the start of next year, playing good footy but perhaps past his peak.

- Lever: plenty of footy ahead of him, plays best as an interceptor with two key backs around him.

- Petty: forward or defence?

- D. Turner: developing and looks ready for senior footy, perhaps undersized to take on huge key forwards and plays similar to lever with his ability to intercept mark.

- Adams: could use another year of development but showing good signs at Casey. 

- Tomlinson: seemingly out of favour and looking for more senior opportunities, depth if he doesn't find a home.

- K Turner: lightly built rookie with limited exposure due to injury this year, may be given another year. 

We need to plan for life after May and decide where we want to play Petty. Both factors could contribute to a very depleted back line lacking in experience.

Mids:

Oliver - 26yrs - star for another 6 years+ hopefully.

Petracca, Viney, Brayshaw, Langdon, Hunter will all be >28 next year. Viney 30. Most should still have great footy for 2-4 years but will need to think about the next elite batch of midfielders. Might need to replace Hunter after next year.

Sparrow, Jordon and Woewodin coming through although Jordon might leave. Harmes & Dunstan out of favour and both might be moved on/delisted.

Our starting midfield is fine for now but will need to consider the next generation of mids come 2026/27. May need short term depth if Harmes, Dunstan and Jordon all move on.

Small/medium defenders

- Salem

- Rivers

- Bowey

- McVee

- Hibberd: likely to retire

- D Smith: rookie that is playing good footy at Casey but needs to be promoted or delisted this year, probably 50:50 to be one the list.

Solid mix of small defenders. Think we have a genuine star in the making with Rivers and could see him progress to the midfield. Salem will be 29 next year, hibberd likely retired, perhaps another medium defender is in order.

 

Small/medium forwards

- Fritsch

- Pickett

- ANB

- Melksham

- Spargo

- Chandler

- Laurie

- AMW

- Sestan

Fritsch, Pickett permanent best 22 with ANB a solid senior player. Spargo, Chandler and Laurie all rotating through the team throughout the year. Melksham having a career revival currently but still might be without a contract for next year. If he does play-on, I wouldn't want to be relying on him playing his best footy week-in week-out. A top 5 pick should net us a player of similar ilk as Rankine in a trade, none in that class appear to be on the move this year that I'm aware of. Watson and Duursma may serve as fwd craft and x-factor additions via the draft.

Utilities

Joel Smith, Blake Howes 

 

To sum up, depending on how we utilise our list, we could use a;

Key forward

Key back

Ruck

Small/Medium defender

Small/Medium forward

Midfielder for future planning

 

Key forward/back and ruck would obviously be best addressed via trade if we went down that path due to their long development time. The other positions we can look to address via the draft unless an opportunity presents itself.

If we can land an elite key forward that would be the dream.

Edited August 20, 2023 by Nascent

[whatwhat say what 23,141]

5 hours ago, Nascent said:

To sum up, depending on how we utilise our list, we could use a;

Key forward

Key back

Ruck

Small/Medium defender

Small/Medium forward

Midfielder for future planning

So basically yr saying we need…cover for every position on the ground?!??

Given Harley is out thanks to meth coke beating footscray, I’m all for increasing our midfield depth - McKercher or Sanders seem to be the outstanding options there

FWIW, a bloke on the train home played with Nick Watson last year

Said if we don’t take him with our early pick we’ll regret it; called him a freak of a footballer

[Nascent 9,299]

3 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

So basically yr saying we need…cover for every position on the ground?!??

Given Harley is out thanks to meth coke beating footscray, I’m all for increasing our midfield depth - McKercher or Sanders seem to be the outstanding options there

FWIW, a bloke on the train home played with Nick Watson last year

Said if we don’t take him with our early pick we’ll regret it; called him a freak of a footballer

Basically saying you can analyse our list and come up with different answers. 

Fwiw I'm a huge fan of Watson and started a thread on him as an option for pick 4-5 not long ago. He is a freak. 

 

[Nascent 9,299]

Nate Caddy highlights of his round 16 performance.

Will we select a key forward with our first pick 3 years running?

[Adam The God 30,553]

Exactly, @Nascent. I hope we can land a key forward in the right age bracket 22-25 age range.

[Gawndy the Great 9,011]

5 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

So basically yr saying we need…cover for every position on the ground?!??

Given Harley is out thanks to meth coke beating footscray, I’m all for increasing our midfield depth - McKercher or Sanders seem to be the outstanding options there

FWIW, a bloke on the train home played with Nick Watson last year

Said if we don’t take him with our early pick we’ll regret it; called him a freak of a footballer

I think with all the permutations in the draft, Hawks will use their first pick for him. They are pretty talented in the middle already. We maybe able to split their pick but that is only if we are after a specific player.

The other factor is what we would do with the likes of Chandler, ANB, Kozzy and Spargo. I don’t think any of those can play in another part of the ground. 

Perhaps you develop him in the mould of Rankine. Ie midfield / forward split? 

[Colm 2,188]

10 hours ago, Nascent said:

Good question @Binmans PA

Key Forward:

- JvR: now established best 22

- Petty: is the question mark. Does he play forward, back or play as a genuine swing man.

- Jefferson: developing and probably minimum 2 years away from being relied on to contribute.

- Ben Brown, T-Mac and Schache all could be in the their last year next season and realistically we wouldn't want to be having them in our plan A.

At the very least, depth key forwards will need to be considered either this off-season or next. An established key forward to pair with JvR would be amazing. None on the market this year unless we can somehow pry someone like a Naughton or Allen which I can't see happening. 

Georgiades a possibility but has a similar profile to JvR both in height and athletically, crashes packs in a similar fashion and is a great contested mark but poor finishing in front of goals. Recovering from an ACL.

Harrison Jones could be available as an ooc player, plays slightly differently to JvR which may compliment. Been chronically injured with back problems this year.

Neither of these two players are worth pick 5 or used in a slide with ports poor draft picks.

Some have the view the JvR plays his best footy in defence. Could he be the ideal candidate to take over May when he retires. If so, does that leave Petty to pair with Jefferson in due course? Perhaps not but something to consider.

Ruck

- Gawn: will be 32 by the start of next season, how much can he carry and when will his performance start to dip?

- Grundy: does he stay? If not then a mature ruck between 23 - 27 would be an absolute priority.

- Verrall and KFW still developing but would be years away and wouldn't be ready to take ruck responsibilities if Gawn were unavailable next year.

 

Key Defenders

- May: 32 at the start of next year, playing good footy but perhaps past his peak.

- Lever: plenty of footy ahead of him, plays best as an interceptor with two key backs around him.

- Petty: forward or defence?

- D. Turner: developing and looks ready for senior footy, perhaps undersized to take on huge key forwards and plays similar to lever with his ability to intercept mark.

- Adams: could use another year of development but showing good signs at Casey. 

- Tomlinson: seemingly out of favour and looking for more senior opportunities, depth if he doesn't find a home.

- K Turner: lightly built rookie with limited exposure due to injury this year, may be given another year. 

We need to plan for life after May and decide where we want to play Petty. Both factors could contribute to a very depleted back line lacking in experience.

Mids:

Oliver - 26yrs - star for another 6 years+ hopefully.

Petracca, Viney, Brayshaw, Langdon, Hunter will all be >28 next year. Viney 30. Most should still have great footy for 2-4 years but will need to think about the next elite batch of midfielders. Might need to replace Hunter after next year.

Sparrow, Jordon and Woewodin coming through although Jordon might leave. Harmes & Dunstan out of favour and both might be moved on/delisted.

Our starting midfield is fine for now but will need to consider the next generation of mids come 2026/27. May need short term depth if Harmes, Dunstan and Jordon all move on.

Small/medium defenders

- Salem

- Rivers

- Bowey

- McVee

- Hibberd: likely to retire

- D Smith: rookie that is playing good footy at Casey but needs to be promoted or delisted this year, probably 50:50 to be one the list.

Solid mix of small defenders. Think we have a genuine star in the making with Rivers and could see him progress to the midfield. Salem will be 29 next year, hibberd likely retired, perhaps another medium defender is in order.

 

Small/medium forwards

- Fritsch

- Pickett

- ANB

- Melksham

- Spargo

- Chandler

- Laurie

- AMW

- Sestan

Fritsch, Pickett permanent best 22 with ANB a solid senior player. Spargo, Chandler and Laurie all rotating through the team throughout the year. Melksham having a career revival currently but still might be without a contract for next year. If he does play-on, I wouldn't want to be relying on him playing his best footy week-in week-out. A top 5 pick should net us a player of similar ilk as Rankine in a trade, none in that class appear to be on the move this year that I'm aware of. Watson and Duursma may serve as fwd craft and x-factor additions via the draft.

Utilities

Joel Smith, Blake Howes 

 

To sum up, depending on how we utilise our list, we could use a;

Key forward

Key back

Ruck

Small/Medium defender

Small/Medium forward

Midfielder for future planning

 

Key forward/back and ruck would obviously be best addressed via trade if we went down that path due to their long development time. The other positions we can look to address via the draft unless an opportunity presents itself.

If we can land an elite key forward that would be the dream.

Nice work @Nascent  Couple of questions for you- 1. What do you think of Mabior Chol as a stop gap til Jefferson is ready. Saw him play the weekend which was his fist game in a lot of weeks- has falling down the pecking order and will probably fall fortune when Walters comes in. 
Suns could prob do with the list spot and freeing up some salary cap. 
 

2.- Very comprehensive over view on our list in terms of positions but what are your thoughts on our attributes short comings- speed, endurance, height, marking ability, decision making and kicking ability?

With overall athleticism becoming more of a factor in the modern game and being able to run out 4 quarters should we target someone like Darcy Wilson in the draft or look for better ball users than we currently have?

[Demon Disciple 12,404]

15 hours ago, Binmans PA said:

I reckon the draft pool could be moot for us and we'll try and trade for experienced needs in the right age bracket.

Yep, we are contending right now. Get another known quality player to fill a hole and our window stays open even longer.

[Nascent 9,299]

2 hours ago, Colm said:

Nice work @Nascent  Couple of questions for you- 1. What do you think of Mabior Chol as a stop gap til Jefferson is ready. Saw him play the weekend which was his fist game in a lot of weeks- has falling down the pecking order and will probably fall fortune when Walters comes in. 
Suns could prob do with the list spot and freeing up some salary cap. 
 

2.- Very comprehensive over view on our list in terms of positions but what are your thoughts on our attributes short comings- speed, endurance, height, marking ability, decision making and kicking ability?

With overall athleticism becoming more of a factor in the modern game and being able to run out 4 quarters should we target someone like Darcy Wilson in the draft or look for better ball users than we currently have?

Thanks mate. 

1. Interesting proposal. I'd certainly have him as depth over Schache and with Ben Brown and T-Mac edging towards retirement there is certainly a place for him on our list if we do look to fill that depth this year. I don't think he quite has the work rate or footy iq to be a permanent best 22 player, but like you said he could play a stop gap role quite effectively. Another factor to consider is that if we do recruit him, we may have Ben Brown, Tmac, Schache and Chol all playing ressies which may impede Jefferson's development. In theory one of them will he in the seniors but the season can be unpredictable with injury etc. We already saw this weekend Jefferson pushed out onto a wing to prioritise T-Mac.

2. This is a very subjective topic and obviously changes as the best 22 evolves over time. Ideally you would have a balance of these physical attributes across the list. I'm not that concerned about our pace as some other. Some of our players are deceptively quicker than you would think but for mine, quick skilful ball movement makes any team look quick as well. Skills can definitely improve for mine. While we have a couple good users in front and behind the footy, our midfield is probably average at best. Petracca, when he is on, is lethal with the penetration he gets with his field kicking, however our other mids and wingers aren't fantastic by foot.  Contested marking is excellent behind the ball however could stand to improve in the front half. JvR is going to be a weapon here in the future I suspect as well as Jefferson should he develop as hoped. Gawn is obviously excellent at this as well but receives a lot of attention and is ageing. 

In terms of recruiting for athleticism, it certainly would make up a good portion of a players appeal. But if it's not coupled with a competitive streak and, for most players, a good ability to win contested footy then it's not going to matter. I like Darcy Wilson as a prospect who is an excellent kick and has nice athletic attributes. The knock is his competative work and he plays mainly outside but I'm not sure it's as bad as some would believe. I've seen him lay heavy tackles and doesn't seem to shirk away from those contested moments.

Running is a huge part obviously and if you can't run then you cant play. Obviously anyone can improve endurance running but some people aren't as innately gifted and have to work incredibly hard to achieve and maintin these results (the old fast twitch/slow twitch discussion). Here there is potential to see who has the drive and standards to showcase their attitude towards becoming a professional footballer.

Just my thoughts which are subject to change.

[Elwood 3184 1,353]

Amazing to think that the National Draft is still three months away.

[Go the Biff 3,454]

2 minutes ago, Elwood 3184 said:

Amazing to think that the National Draft is still three months away.

You should have been here a few years ago mate.  We were looking to the draft in March !

[dazzledavey36 55,500]

We've interviewed with Connor O' Sullivan from the Murray Bushrangers.

[Lord Travis 10,785]

1 minute ago, dazzledavey36 said:

We've interviewed with Connor O' Sullivan from the Murray Bushrangers.

Perfect fit for us with our teens pick if he’s available!

[Lil_red_fire_engine 11,263]

17 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

We've interviewed with Connor O' Sullivan from the Murray Bushrangers.

Dazzle, I know he is making his name as a backman but what's he like as a forward? 

[dazzledavey36 55,500]

1 minute ago, Lil_red_fire_engine said:

Dazzle, I know he is making his name as a backman but what's he like as a forward? 

Glad you asked this.

Played forward and ruck as a young teen.

If you want my honest opinion, I think he can just as good as a forward as he can as a defender.

His game IQ and smarts is very high for a kid of his age. Reads the game extremely well and his contested marking and ability to catch the ball at his highest point is why recruiters think that he'll go inside top 10. His work rate on top of that is pretty impressive also.

Some clubs don't see him purely as a defender and there's a thought that clubs could use a pick on him purely because there's more upside with his forward craft then defender.