Inside Football's Draft Coverage

[Pinball Wizard 315]

INSIDE FOOTBALL has a special edition out this week with an excellent covereage of this month's draft. Here's INSIDE FOOTBALL'S TOP 10

1. Carlton - Matthew Kreuzer

Ruckmen don’t come any better than this kid.

2. Richmond Trent Cotchin

The Tigers cannot afford a speculative pick and this kid is a bulletproof selection.

3. West Coast - Cale Morton

Unlikely to take a Victorian with this pick. Morton is a great athlete for his size.

4. Melbourne - Rhys Palmer

The Demons are keen to inject class into their onball division.

5. Western Bulldogs - Lachlan Henderson

Key position player likened to Pavlich. The Dogs need size!

6. Essendon - Chris Masten

Has midfield speed and class. The Dons need that big time!

7. Fremantle - Alex Rance

The Dockers need to develop a key defender. Rance is a local.

8. Brisbane - Brad Ebert

A quality forward/onballer pumped up by Michael Voss.

9. St Kilda - Ben McEvoy

The Saints need a quality "young" ruckman.

10. Adelaide - Jack Grimes

Mid-sized player who could be groomed for half back.

[Pinball Wizard 315]

TAC Cup Expert - Brett Anderson's Top 10 from the same publication.

1. Carlton - Matthew Kreuzer

The jewel in the crown of the 2007 draft. The Blues will put the icing on the cake of an outstanding off-season by selecting Kreuzer. A midfield consisting of Kreuzer, Judd, Stevens, Murphy and Gibbs will give opposition coaches nightmares.

2. Richmond Cale Morton

The Tigers showed their hand when they traded for Eagle Mitch Morton. Morton’s brother Cale should also be donning the Yellow and Black in 2008. At 192cm and 80kg, Morton is the prototypical modern day footballer. He can run and jump, he has very good goal sense and can play virtually anywhere on the ground.

3. West Coast - Trent Cotchin

The Eagles wont worry about the "go home factor" and will take the best available player in Cotchin. He is equally as gifted on either side of his body and will fit beautifully into the Eagles midfield. He could turn out to be the best player in the draft.

4. Melbourne - Rhys Palmer

The Dees could go one of two ways. They could take Henderson to boost their key position stocks or they could add a quality runner to their young midfield. They will go with the latter. Palmer is a ball magnet and a running machine who looks a ready made player.

5. Western Bulldogs - Lachlan Henderson

A real no-brainer of a pick. The Dogs are desperate for a quality key position player and will be overjoyed that Henderson is still there at Pick 5. He can play at either end but is most suited at Centre Half Forward. Some recruiters have likened him to Fremantle’s Matthew Pavlich.

6. Essendon - Brad Ebert

The Bombers midfield is low on depth and talent so to add a player of Ebert's quality will be a priority. Having played a fair amount of senior footy already, Ebert should be able to step straight in and take some of the heat off Stanton and Watson.

7. Fremantle - Chris Masten

The Dockers lacked run in 2007 and with Peter Bell coming to end of his fine career, adding a top quality midfielder such as Masten will be a welcome boost for Mark Harvey' team. Being a local boy is a bonus as he has already tasted senior WAFL footy and was a standout at the U18 Nationals this year

8. Brisbane - Alex Rance

The only area where the Lions are a bit light on is in defence. Rance is probably the best key defender in the draft and has the ability to win plenty of the footy. He enjoyed a great carnival for WA providing plenty of run and rebound out of the back half and is well suited to Brisbane style of play.

9. St Kilda - David Myers

This pick could go anywhere. Speed, speed, speed is what the Saints need but there isn’t anyone good enough that type of pace to warrant pick 9, so the Saints will take the best available player in key defender David Myers. And the Saints aren' exactly flush with tall backmen.

10. Adelaide - Ben McEvoy

The loss of ruckmen Ben Hudson and John Meesen during trade week means the Crows will be on the hunt for a long-term solution in the ruck. McEvoy is better suited as a key forward but he has shown the ability to also play in the ruck. He is very much a Josh Fraser-type with good skills and has a good footy brain who will be a 200+ game player in Adelaide.

[Diablo 1]

I hate it when people don't use rational thinking when they write these phantoms. I know this is a phantom, but if you're going to attempt to pick the order, at least make a decent fist of it and use all the information available to you. Melbourne have said CATEGORICALLY that they will take the best available player. It is doubtful that is Palmer, but there is absolutely no chance it is Henderson. I don't profess to know him inside-out, but based on what I've read he's had an injury-riddled year, but has shown that he is POTENTIALLY a good AFL forward.

It's interesting that they see Myers lasting till pick 9. At 190cm he is hardly a tall defender either. He is a running player off halfback and through the middle, probably down a wing, and maybe handy as the third, or loose, tall. I actually see him as a smokey for our pick 4, and it would be hard to be upset with that. He's got great skills, a solid body, and good pace. He could become a real halfback general; like Bizzell in his prime only with more pace. He was very clever in switching the play against Vic Metro, and always executed the switches well.

Anyway, didn't mean to hijack your thread and make it all about Myers, Pinball Wizard.

[Pinball Wizard 315]

I hate it when people don't use rational thinking when they write these phantoms. I know this is a phantom, but if you're going to attempt to pick the order, at least make a decent fist of it and use all the information available to you. Melbourne have said CATEGORICALLY that they will take the best available player. It is doubtful that is Palmer, but there is absolutely no chance it is Henderson. I don't profess to know him inside-out, but based on what I've read he's had an injury-riddled year, but has shown that he is POTENTIALLY a good AFL forward.

It's interesting that they see Myers lasting till pick 9. At 190cm he is hardly a tall defender either. He is a running player off halfback and through the middle, probably down a wing, and maybe handy as the third, or loose, tall. I actually see him as a smokey for our pick 4, and it would be hard to be upset with that. He's got great skills, a solid body, and good pace. He could become a real halfback general; like Bizzell in his prime only with more pace. He was very clever in switching the play against Vic Metro, and always executed the switches well.

Anyway, didn't mean to hijack your thread and make it all about Myers, Pinball Wizard.

No worries Diablo.

I have a problem with this concept of best player avaialble though. Don't know what it really means in the context of the draft because every man and his dog has a different concept of what is the best player available. Certainly, many club recruiters differ in their opinions about players and Henderson is an interesting one for me. Both of the phantom list compilers referred to his likeness to Matthew Pavlich. I think I'd feel really sick if we passed on him in favour of a guy like Palmer who becomes your average midfielder or wants to go home in 2, 3 or 4 years anyway while Henderson becomes a Pavlich.

[Diablo 1]

I have a problem with this concept of best player avaialble though. Don't know what it really means in the context of the draft because every man and his dog has a different concept of what is the best player available. Certainly, many club recruiters differ in their opinions about players and Henderson is an interesting one for me. Both of the phantom list compilers referred to his likeness to Matthew Pavlich. I think I'd feel really sick if we passed on him in favour of a guy like Palmer who becomes your average midfielder or wants to go home in 2, 3 or 4 years anyway while Henderson becomes a Pavlich.

He sounds like a decent prospect, PW, I won't argue with that. What I've heard is that his kicking is a bit suspect. I'm all for recruiting a tall if he has the means to become a good player for us, but the last thing we want or need is another CHF who doesn't know how to use or what to do with a football when he gets it, particularly if he is injury-prone. Based on what I've seen, I believe Gourdis is a better prospect than Henderson. He doesn't have quite the same size, but he definitely has the mobility, and his kicking ability is very good for a CHF. If Henderson is still their at pick 14 I would be reasonably happy with the pick-up, but I am positive their are better options available at pick 4.

[drdrake 3,163]

There is only one type of player we will not be using picks 4, 14, 21 to get and thats a ruckman we have 4 on our list so I doubt we will pick another one up. We need a highly skilled midfielder with speed, a KPP forward and KPP Back. It wouldn't suprise me if we got Henderson with pick 4, you can always get good midfielders with later picks and this years draft depth from what I read is midfielders so we should be able to get a good one with pick 14.

[grazman 7,432]

I wonder about Palmer. The interest from him seems to be a lot stronger in Victoria than WA. The general consensus on most of the sites from WA people is that it is Morton, Masten and then Palmer. I have full confidence in whoever CAC and the team go with, but I'd be a little surprised if it were Palmer.

Kreuzer, Cotchin and Morton are almost universally acknowledged as the top three outstanding talents in the draft, but the two biggest queries for me are

1. Will Richmond by-pass Cotchin for Morton ( a possibility, but only speculative at this stage based on trading for his brother)

2. If Cotchin is gone would West Coast draft Morton given the problems they've had with his brother and father ( I'd think this is greater possibility)

I think there's no chance of Cotchin slipping below pick three and a slim chance Morton might. Masten, Henderson or Palmer? If we take Henderson then he'd have to be special.

[Jarka 767]

The thing about 'best available' is that it's completely subjective, when it comes to drafting day there could be 16 different opinions as who is the 'best available.'

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

I hate it when people don't use rational thinking when they write these phantoms.

I know exactly what you mean. What you get is not what player the club will pick up, but what the author thinks the club NEEDS...

ie if some so-called football expert looks at Richmond and says to himself "jeez their talls are rubbish" he will then just go ahead and assume that they will pick the best KP player available. It's amateur stuff... But then what do you expect from the football media?

I have a problem with this concept of best player avaialble though.

I was thinking that when I saw that Henderson was "likened" to Pavlich. ALL the best KP players were "speculative" picks (OR F/S). Now that we look at it, Pavlich and Franklin SHOULD have been taken higher. The same may indeed be said of Juice in the coming years. We rolled the dice once and it all went HORRIBLY wrong for us with Molan. And because of that tragedy, CAC will now probably only go for smaller players with picks 1-5... or at least lean towards them. Because of this black mark he has against his name we may NEVER get a Franklin/Pav type player simply because you can't tell at 18 that they're going to be as good as they are...

Now I'm not saying he should go about his selections any differently, but today was the first time I considered that the Molan thing is probably STILL doing damage...

[Demons 32 235]

Id actually be estatic with Palmer.

I really rate him, great outside mid who knows how to hit hard and win his own ball at the same time.

Cotchin naturally is my top choice as I believe he will be the star out of the group, but considering he probably won't be around. I would love Palmer in the red and blue.

[Little Goffy 14,542]

I was thinking that when I saw that Henderson was "likened" to Pavlich. ALL the best KP players were "speculative" picks (OR F/S). Now that we look at it, Pavlich and Franklin SHOULD have been taken higher. The same may indeed be said of Juice in the coming years. We rolled the dice once and it all went HORRIBLY wrong for us with Molan. And because of that tragedy, CAC will now probably only go for smaller players with picks 1-5... or at least lean towards them. Because of this black mark he has against his name we may NEVER get a Franklin/Pav type player simply because you can't tell at 18 that they're going to be as good as they are...

Now I'm not saying he should go about his selections any differently, but today was the first time I considered that the Molan thing is probably STILL doing damage...

Hang on. If you can't tell at 18 that they're going to be as good as they are, doesn't that mean there's a good chance that real quality may emerge from lower down the list (say, pick 14 & 21?).

I'd take an extra Bate and Rivers any day! And who cares if we have to go through the terrible shame of an extra Mclean along the way!

But I do agree that the past KP black mark has had an impact - I think the most evident is actually with our ruck recruiting strategy - second/third round picks traded for rucks who hadn't broken through yet at their original club (PJ, Meesen). When was the last time we actually used a high draft pick to secure a ruckman?

Second to that - it's noticable that we have been unwilling to commit to designating a player as fullback. Seems like we're just hoping that someone will slip in to fill the need, like Nicholson did (kinda) and like Carroll is doing (mostly) and Holland (sorta). I get some heart from the fact that people are explicitly saying they see Frawley as a fullback once he gets more experience and a bigger body.

Come to think of it, I actually get the feeling that a lot of black marks and bitter lemons are being steadily cleared out. Here's to some more renewal!

[deanox 9,915]

the problem with full backs is that they dont grow on trees. you dont pick the best available full back, you might have a choice of picking a KPD, ie a frawley. many of the best full backs were drafted as forwards...

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Hang on. If you can't tell at 18 that they're going to be as good as they are, doesn't that mean there's a good chance that real quality may emerge from lower down the list (say, pick 14 & 21?).

I'd take an extra Bate and Rivers any day! And who cares if we have to go through the terrible shame of an extra Mclean along the way!

Wow. Turned that one right around on me didn't you? I see your point. And that's certainly another aspect about CAC that I find fascinating. He gets so much out of some of hic picks in the sense that he'll get someone for a pick far lower than they should have gone... Petterd (went for 30, could have gone top 10), Bate (Many opposition supporters think he would have been top 3 if he went a year later), Bartram (Nuff said) are all good examples of this. But when he gets high picks there isn't really any room for them to be considered a "bargain."

But I do agree that the past KP black mark has had an impact - I think the most evident is actually with our ruck recruiting strategy - second/third round picks traded for rucks who hadn't broken through yet at their original club (PJ, Meesen). When was the last time we actually used a high draft pick to secure a ruckman?

Interestingly, I'm comfortable with that strategy, assuming you get to have more than one dip at the barrell. PJ I think will still be a fantastic player, not sure why everyone's off his bandwagon. And Meesen is an unknown quantity. The thing I like about that strategy is that CAC is doing teh same thing as he would with smaller players, that is getting a player that is worth more than the selection we give up. I reckon if you're going to try to predict a star ruckman at the age of 18 you're a madman. Picking whether or not one will be good at the age of 22-24, that's another story. Though there are exceptions, like Spider and White.

Second to that - it's noticable that we have been unwilling to commit to designating a player as fullback. Seems like we're just hoping that someone will slip in to fill the need, like Nicholson did (kinda) and like Carroll is doing (mostly) and Holland (sorta). I get some heart from the fact that people are explicitly saying they see Frawley as a fullback once he gets more experience and a bigger body.

I totally see your point... But...

the problem with full backs is that they dont grow on trees. you dont pick the best available full back, you might have a choice of picking a KPD, ie a frawley. many of the best full backs were drafted as forwards...

Deanox makes a good point here as well...

Perhaps this is a reason why CAC was so keen to pick up Frawley. Apparently he was one of the biggest bolters when draft day approached last year. His awkward kicking style may have played a part, but from memory he was ALWAYS going to be a defender or wingman when he was recruited. How often do you see "KP Defender" written beside the name of a top 10 draft pick? The closest you get is "KP player who can play both ends." If through the course of their career they have injuries, or are revealed to have a fault in their game that can't be rectified, such as no overhead mark (PJ) or lack of pace (Holland), then they are relegated to defence, often after a trade to a new club.

So the ruck and KP defender recruiting has been a bit sus? I'm no nutcase football fan so I can't comment, but I'd be interested to see exactly which teams don't have the same problem. More interesting would be to look at, say, the best 3 or 4 defensive line-ups in the game and see how they were constructed. eg, Adelaide (a couple of good rookies and low picks that turned out to be stars. Good coaching?) West Coast (Just good/lucky recruiting, defenders were all highly rated high picks and KP players), Geelong (A F/S that's one of the all time great defenders, a whole host of good mid-size players) etc etc

In the end, it seems to me that a good defence is often a hodge-podge of recruiting techniques even at the best of times. Creative coaching seems to be the only uniform aspect of them all. But hey, I'm not as worried as a lot of people. Yes we need one or two really classy guys to come in, but I love the look of Rivers, Bell, Frawley, Bartram, Petterd and a few others. there are young pinch hitters who have impressed there too, like PJ. Soon they'll all get the opportunity to p[lay out whole seasons with the retirements of Holland, Wrecker et al. Ward and Brown leaving also paves the way.