ChaserJ

Brilliant, thanks @Pennant St Dee!

Think he did a PCL that put him out for the year. I believe he’s started preseason with the Stingrays, so should be good to go for next season. Has a similar athletic profile to his brother, so won’t be surprised if he jumps up with some exposure in the u18’s comp next year.

Have you got any insight on Clay Hall @Pennant St Dee?

With dual position threats very much in vogue, I suspect we’ll see fewer pure mids coming through. Of that 10, I’d expect at least 6, probably 7, to spend significant time in the midfield next year. McKercher & Lorenz will be predominantly midfielders. Darcy Wilson’s missed Cal’s 10, but I’d keep a close eye on his development at Murray next year. He’s an exciting fwd/mid who could push into that mix. Reid’s as bulletproof as they come at the top of the order and highly unlikely to be available for us. I really like Duursma and Moir, they are clean in the air and on the ground and just very classy players. Philactides would be a superb fit for our backline with his pace and bounce out of the backline. I think it’ll be a good draft to go into without specific needs to fill, which is why we’re in a great position one year out (and nabbing Jefferson & Verrall this year were sound choices). We can just go shopping for the best players without over drafting a player based on what position they play.

Showed some pace and skill as a junior:

Was Trent Burgoyne a guest at our B&F?

A bit of a look at next year's crop. Plenty of names to keep an eye on: 23 in 2023: A look ahead to next year’s top prospects

Anyone keen to watch some VAFA footy and report back on Kye? Bonus points for any Austin Bradtke progress reports: https://www.vafa.com.au/vafa-tv/prem-b-gf-uni-blacks-v-old-haileybury/

From Paul Amy earlier this year:

Cricket apparently, so didn’t elect to go through NAB League pathway.

Agree @jayceebee31, a general defender with composure would cap off a good draft period. I like Gilbey as well, Luke Teal Is another I'd be keen on.

Curnow had a strong endurance base (despite draft year injury issues) and had a stronger, more solid frame when he came in. Like the Waite call, I also see a bit of Sam Reid with Jefferson as well.

As expected, Dees still keen on Giants pick: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/more-afl-draft-trades-to-come-demons-open-to-giant-move-20221128-p5c1wv.html

Kicking all of the tyres we can!

From Marc McGowan at the Age. Marc speculates that we could trade w/ Dogs to get ahead of Eagles for Allan:

@Bombay Airconditioning, Humphrey missed a chunk of the year (including the majority of Champs) with injury. Started the year well as a mid fwd regularly getting 20 touches and kicking multiple goals. Showed power and acceleration and a long, but sometimes wayward kick. Was probably looking like a 2nd rd prospect, but once he came back post champs he went on a tear, notching up multiple good games in the NAB League. Footage from these games can be a bit sketchy, and for some reason the Champs finale footage hasn’t made it into any of the highlights clips (maybe a Fox Footy rights thing). Humphrey looked dangerous throughout, showed his power and kicked a nice goal on the run, but missed a few set shots. That’s the knock. His kicking needs more polish, but he has weapons and he is a great kid. Great character.

Hey @dazzledavey36, Foster does look like he’s got some traits that should translate at AFL. His skills for his size are impressive and really strong hands overhead. Looks like had a really solid U/18’s season at Norwood, and he looked good for SA against the Allies, so not sure why we haven’t heard his name mentioned more. Possibly needs to build his running capacity, but if we go with a smaller option at 13, I wouldn’t mind Foster later on. Apparently used to be Harry Perry’s neighbour and was quite close to Petty, so we might already have some insight. Lemmey looks a million bucks with his size, athleticism and skill, but there have been persistent question marks on his competitiveness. Given how important that trait is to our recruitment philosophy, it may mean we pass in the national draft. It’s probably a big factor in his slide in rankings. At some point he’s worth the investment, but not sure whether we’ll pull the trigger.

Harry Lemmey’s a very recent example of this. That said, there are a lot of kids from next years pool that have already shown a heap of high end ability.

Looks like he’s a bit further down at this (very early) stage. Might scrape into 2nd, but the depth next year is projected to be v good.

Allan, Jefferson & George are sounding like the primary targets at 13, could miss on all three if we trade back to 20. Not out of the question that we could still upgrade pick 37 without giving up 13, but I'd want more than an upgrade of a 2nd round pick to trade out of the first round entirely. An interesting watch will be whether Sydney bid on Giants Academy player Rowston ahead of GWS' picks at the end of the 1st rd. Another live trade option could present itself.

Yes, first time I've seen that published. There had to be something we were all missing that was seeing him drop out of the speculation at the upper part of the draft.

A bit more on how that early part of the draft from Marc McGowan (now at the Age):- Bombers shape as draft wildcards in top-10 calculations The link to Jefferson & George a pretty consistent theme now, along with Allan, although seems more likely that Allan won't get to our pick. Suns rounding on Humphrey could shake things up a bit, along with Essendon seeking to push back. The decision point for a club jumping would have to be whether they want to jump up to get either Humphrey or Ginbey. Eagles in a pretty good spot to just sit back and take whomever falls through.

He looks a super talent who might be one of the challengers to Harley Reid to be the first picked next year.

Including a bag of 5 when directly opposed to his Chargers/Metro teammate Max Gruzewski. In fairness to Gru, I believe it was his first game back from injury.

I get some of the trepidation with Jefferson and comparisons some here are making with Weideman. He projects as more of a Sam Reid type. Jefferson reads the ball in flight very well (amongst the best in the crop) and is mobile inside 50. His standing vertical allows him to reach over a lot of the opponents he came up against in the U18’s. Yes, he is skinny and yes, he will take time. The club showed patience with JVR, who has a physique that was further advanced than Jefferson. If the team select Jefferson, they’ll no doubt give him time as well. There is competitiveness and defensive effort in his game. He would have slid in recruiter rankings by now if it was completely absent (see Lemmey’s slide and the uncertainty around Keeler as examples), but the light frame really stops him from throwing weight around in a way Cadman has at times. Clubs will also note that Jefferson played through injury (leg) in the latter part of the season and still performed reasonably well.