ChaserJ

Bit of commentary on how the depth of this years crop is looking ATM: https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/06/23/draft-experts-give-first-indication-into-quality-of-2023-class/

Played inside mid for a lot of the game. Finished with 20 touches and most of his good work came inside the contest and he won a few clearances, used his bigger frame well, but wasn't able to break away from congestion like he has for Gippsland (SA were good in the contest - McAullife in particular - and got numbers around the ball). Switched forward when Reid had a run on the ball in the second half (Duursma had 11 touches to half time), was less prominent then. While not a standout game, it was good to see Duursma play on the inside and win clearances and lay a pretty good number of tackles (read that he laid 8 for the game).

He was excellent today. Crows have themselves a ripper to look forward to next year.

Fair point. North made the (pragmatic) call to trade whilst a good deal was available. I get the feeling JHF & his management leveraged the potential value drop and weaker hand given the single yr remaining on the contract.

I agree. Don’t get me wrong, happy to capitalise on any opportunities it may present for Melbourne, but having been on the other end of go home draftees, I reckon the minimum length of the initial contract has to be longer than 2 years now.

Over in the u18 Champs thread @bandicoot

Jordan Croft looking like a very good key fwd prospect for the Dogs so far for Metro. Kynan Brown busy early. Live stream of SA v Metro in AFL website now.

Would still like to us to use a couple of those picks to climb up the order, even if it’s not for pick 1. Being able to make a choice from Duursma, Caddy, Watson or Wilson would be excellent. Think one of those cliffs in quality JT talks about probably kicks in at that pick 8 mark. The Championships will absolutely help crystallise the order, but gee GC look like their getting a windfall this year.

Thanks @adonski, I could be wrong on the contract status, probably still gettable while he's out of the side.

Would love us to have a go at luring Elijah Hollands in from Gold Coast. When up and running is a dynamic mid/fwd who could be part of our next wave in midfield behind Petracca & Oliver. OOC this year and Humphrey looks to have taken his spot in the starting line up.

That analysis kinda confirms what we’ve known for a while about the quality of our ball use.

Like this @JimmyGadson. Like the call on Caddy as well, he looked very good swinging between mid and up forward. Another one of that group in the first 6 or so in this draft that I could see us climbing up the draft order for. On Himmelberg, I thought this was a very good read on Harry (and high marking in general) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-25/marking-out-history-how-to-take-a-speccie-with-harry-himmelberg/102385180

Haha, got my fair haired talls mixed up. Meant Himmelberg!

Worth bearing in mind that Himmelberg & McKay could attract compensation picks inside the top 10. That could either work to create more opportunity or lead to the complete opposite. At least we have some chips to play with and agree with other that Reid is far from the only player worth snaking up the ladder for.

We're in West Footscray, was also hoping for some Casey fixtures out West. Will have to settle for catching a Coates Talent League game at Willy later this season.

Full replays should be uploaded on YouTube within a few days as well if you can’t watch live on the app.

I wouldn’t sleep on his Tassie midfield running mate in McKercher either. One of the classiest midfielders in this years group.

Yeah, I was admittedly being a bit cheeky in the comparison, but if you start building a profile, you could draw some similarities. I think the broader view on how good Curtin could be is only going to build from here.

190+cm, good overhead, can play in all zones, wins clearances in midfield and has a classy left boot. Pretty sure I've seen this story before (2013 to be exact). https://central.rookieme.com/afl/2023/05/09/wafl-player-focus-daniel-curtin-claremont/

Foxsports with an early rundown of this years draft crop: Why Harley Reid is the clear No. 1 of 2023, Suns and Tassie conundrums and mid-season whispers: AFL Draft Watch

Earliest I can remember was 2012, when Stringer played a couple of games to show his wares after missing a lot of his top age season due to his broken leg. Remember Jack Viney playing a game or two for Casey that year as well. Oliver played pretty darned well in 1 of 2 games for Richmond’s VFL team a few years later. I think it used to be tightly controlled and was rare for the best prospects to be feature. I think the closer ties between AFL clubs (specifically their VFL affiliates) & the Coates League teams in their zones has helped make it a more frequent occurrence. As BBB said, there’s also a nod to the advantages that interstate kids may have in potentially playing senior state league footy in their draft year.

This is true. The landscape could look quite different after the National Championships and talent leagues are done. I still think Reid will be out in front, but there will likely be a few more in category 1b.

Reid showed gamechanging ability as both a rebounding/intercept defender and hybrid forward for Vic Country last year. We could find a spot without having to upset the midfield balance.

Rayner is still proving handy. Recently hyped draftees like the aforementioned Daicos and Ashcroft have also entered the league as advertised. You can find examples to suit either argument. Some prospects are less speculative than others. What I’ve seen of Reid gives me a high degree of confidence that he’ll be a very good player. We had a big throw at the stumps for Humphrey and/or Phillipou and Reid had both covered last year.

Hard agree. Jackson's absolute strength is his follow up work. It's the point of difference with almost every other ruckman in the league. His tap work is average, but his post clearance possession work and ball use could (should?) see him become a similar type of follower to Tim English. Cannot see him getting the opportunity to become this with Darcy as the main ruck. It's worth noting that at the same age, Grundy was established as Collingwood's no.1 ruck and on his way to averaging 18 touches and 26 hitouts a game. Can be forgotten how quickly Grundy became a high quality AFL ruckman.