ChaserJ

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.

An added bonus for our family, the little bloke just got a gig for an Auskick grid game at half time tonight. He’s pumped!

The ever impressive draft guide from the team at Rookie Me Central. Fills the void left by the old Inside Footy Draft Guide:

Tickets secured, cant wait!

Reckon PSD is pretty close to the mark a bit further up the page. Others have jumped up into the space rather than any red flags on Hewitt. Still a good prospect.

While we’re on the topic of powerful midfielders: TWOMEY: In-demand powerful mids dominate draft crop

Bit of an update on Munkara and some context on why he dropped off the radar for a big chunk of his top-age season: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/draft/afl-draft-2022-the-story-of-essendon-nga-prospect-anthony-munkara/news-story/4cf05db652fef4e5a097d200e559eb52 "Munkara has been back home, out bush on Bathurst Island, for most of the past few months, having returned because a series of family tragedies happened in a short period. Determined to impress scouts and realise his AFL dream, Munkara left the Tiwis and went to Melbourne to attend the draft combine at Marvel Stadium on Friday." “He’s enormously talented, but he’s had a year you wouldn’t wish upon anyone,” West Adelaide talent manager Paul Streatfield tells News Corp. “I just hope that a club’s seen enough in him to give him a shot because in the right environment, if he’s got some stability around him, he’s going to be a pretty handy asset. Article goes on to say that his family are all Bomber fans, but he'd happily go anywhere and that Richmond have shown some interest.

Twomey’s final form guide before he does a phantom draft: Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' October ranking

Question marks raised about his competitiveness combined with inconsistent performance has seen something of a fall from grace for Lemmey. Some of that is down to Covid & an injury niggle at the wrong time, but he’s unlikely to be inside 30 now. At some point he’ll be too good to leave on the shelf.

Yep, good stuff @Nascent, sound rationale all the way through.

I agree, his exposed form and traits do stand up well when compared to many tipped to go inside the first 10. No known behavioural issues, probably didn’t elevate his standing during (and after) the Champs against some others that jumped up in that period.

It looks like Elijah Hewitt is the one that is going the other way. His range has become quite wide now.