ChaserJ

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.

This is true, and that’s the reason WCE have had a 2 ruck set up for his entire career. Dean Cox isn’t a bad ruck partner, and Eagles strategy with Naitanui over the journey has been to use him in (powerful) bursts. He probably has been at 60% time on ground for a few years now (when not injured). NicNat was always good in the contest, but if he was sole ruck for a period of time, he’d barely run out a game.

Watts also got drafted just as the forward press, compression of play and increased congestion started to become a feature of the game. Winning your own ball whilst having a good tank became more important than ever (in all areas of the field). I don’t think we took that into consideration when drafting in that period. To make it, Watts was up against it in more ways than one.

Damn it, lid’s elevating: https://www.afl.com.au/news/858823/unique-son-of-a-gun-shapes-as-draft-s-big-late-season-riser

It'd be kinda funny to use the 1st round pick we got from Freo on the son of Freo's inaugural AFL captain. Could reunite him with his old Claremont teammate in JVR to boot.

Sticking with the South Australian theme, Jaiden Magor should be in the mix at 37. Another who likely would have placed higher if not for injury.

Thanks @adonski, Hotton's close to my favourite in this year's class. Have a few ahead of him for our pick, but he's one of the more dynamic players in the crop.

From recollection he’s a Pies fan.

Didn't he bake us for taking Jackson over Green in '19? Now 2 firsts and a second (whilst maintaining our own 1st & 2nd rd picks) is poor compensation for Jackson. Nonsense.

He's gotten some praise for his SANFL u/18's season and some Crow fans with good judgement rate him pretty highly. Haven't seen enough of him myself, but will have a look at that game Daz.

I’ve rewatched a few Oakleigh & Metro games lately.and my observation with Jefferson is that he is willing to chase and put pressure on and do a lot of the team orientated work up forward. A couple of examples stood out, one in the Metro Country game where he made 2 or three efforts resulting in a chase down, smother and scoring shot. The other was in the final minute of the wildcard loss (to Bendigo). The game was well gone, but he still corralled his opponent in the goal square, tackled and won the free kick. The issue with him is the lack of upper body strength at this stage, so quite a few occasions where the tackles don’t quite stick (he was playing injured in the back half of the year as well). I think that creates a perception of his efforts, which aren’t entirely fair. The want is there though, which we don’t always see with young key forwards.

Hawks definitely the threat to Geelong’s thirst for Clark.

Would depend on who’s on the board at the time, assuming Humphrey and those top 5 are gone, I’d happily take Phillipou. Would be a tough choice if he & Jefferson are available at our pick. He’s a good size and is one of the youngest in the pool, so great scope for development.

They're a difficult one for me to predict at this stage. I think they're set in defence, so don't see them grabbing Busslinger. Given their outgoings in midfield, you could imagine them grabbing a mid. I get the feeling they might have really liked Sheezel and Humphrey would be good for them, but both should be gone. Strong argument for Clark or Hollands, but if I was picking for them Phillipou would be the guy. Dual posiiton who will start up forward (reminds me of Stringer inside 50 and his play in mid is in the style of Fyfe...can rush his kicks, but clean hands and good in tight) but eventually join the midfield rotation. They've got some mids (like MacDonald and Butler drafted and Stephens traded in) coming through, so a guy that play multiple positions would appeal. They'll probably go and pick Ginbey now (who would also be a good pick for them).

Will be interesting to see what Hawks do at pick 6. They could send the next few picks in a few different pathways depending on who they select.

Not a phantom draft, but a pretty handy resource if you’re not across all of the prospects in the pool. The podcast also has some discussion on 2023’s draft pool and goes over the five standouts for next year (no surprise that Harley Reid gets a guernsey). AFL Draft 2022: Profiles, stats and latest intel on more than 100 top prospects

I've possibly said this elsewhere, but if we go with a tall or mid with 13, I'd be very keen to draft Luke Teal at 37 if available. His strengths match up with the areas of defence where we were exposed over the second half of last season. If we're looking at a forward/mid at that range, I'd like us to look at Jaiden Magor.

Thanks mate, always appreciate your insight. Can definitely see where the Daniel comparison would come from. Pound for pound, Daniel was easily amongst the best in the ‘14 crop. Jones looks like he can play across all areas of the field as well.

Not one for pick 13, but what are your thoughts on Darcy Jones @Pennant St Dee? I’ve gone back to some of the Champs games and really like his pace and spark. Small, but looks to have some tricks.

Equally intrigued by Gruzewski & Allan @Pennant St Dee.. Shame that both spent a decent time out injured, so we really have only seen slices, but what we’ve seen has been pretty good. Gruzewski looks like a great mark and kicks it well (field kicking when playing back was impressive). Would love to have seen him play more forward than back so we could get a greater sample of him as a forward. His marking is very clean. Those of us outside WA didn’t see much of Allen outside of the final game against SA, but his athletic testing was exceptional. If he’s inherited any of his dad’s footy nous, he could be some player. Seems well suited to the wing, but at his height, could he play a role in the fwd line?