ChaserJ

Cats and Hawks have been the ones most keen and leading the pack. Pies get linked because they’re the Pies, but no 1st rd pick to give up this year. Dogs will ask for 2 first rounders, but one inside 10 and a sweetener would probably do the job.

Espn’s current draft rankings are up, there’s a good write up on Bo Allan on the site as well: June 2024 Draft Power Rankings: Basketball prodigy has tough decision to make

Was purely based off RMDC’s power rankings, so not a mock draft, but Whitlock would be handy. Last week it would have been Lalor! Outside of the current top 5, I’m a big fan of Murphy Reid & Toby Travaglia.

Had a quick go at mapping out what the draft order looks like and used Rookie Me’s draft rankings to try and see how things are shaping up (player tiers, pick swaps, etc.). Have tried to pair Academy & F/S players with their clubs so Ashcroft is ranked higher than he appears here (Lombard & Camporeale are actually pretty close to where their clubs would be selecting). Lots still to play out, but bolder the players that have caught my eye for various reasons. North Smillie Richmond O’Sullivan WCE Luke Trainor Adelaide Draper Saints J. Smith Hawks Moraes GC Lalor GC (Dogs) Lombard (GC Acad) Brisbane Levi (f/s) Melbourne M. Whitlock Freo (Port) Marshall (BL Acad)/O’Farrell Cats Gross Giants M. Reid Giants X Lindsay Freo Berry Freo (Pies) Shanahan Carl B. Camporeale (f/s) Syd J Whitlock Syd Kako GC Hotton On the Bubble: Allan, Travaglia, Oliver, Mraz, Langford, Faull, Dodson

Love your work @WalkingCivilWar, thanks for the updates (and selection scoops!).

While on the topic of trades, Oliver & Petty mentioned here:

We’ll need a top 5 pick for the best of those types @whatwhat say what…O’Sullivan, Draper & Smith leading the pack (of quick, skilled mids) at this stage.

@Gawndy the Great the 17 is there as a nod to Gold Coast being the 17th club admitted to the AFL at the time (some of the promotion might have referred to GC17…worked well as it’s stuck!).

Similar to a few talls in the crop, waiting to see a greater body of work against the best players in the country. To date it maybe seems like he’s bullied smaller opposition in the CTL and getting the score on the board at the Nationals will push him up. Charlie Nicholls and Jaunty Faull are kpfs in a similar position, could jump up the order by the time August rolls around.

Media types are speculating on his availability. It’s entirely possible that a couple of clubs clubs think they’re a chance and the chatter’s hit the industry. The thought of Clarry in another club’s colors makes me a little sick, but have a nagging feeling that this could gain momentum.

Elijah Tsatas keeps getting dropped by the Bombers. Wonder whether he gets frustrated and looks around soon.

I heard it was the other way round. We asked whether Toby and Buntine/Bugg could come back in the deal, but one of Toby or GWS list management team said no. At that point Toby was getting squeezed out of the midfield rotation and hadn’t spent a lot of time up fwd.

With the increased cap size I think we have to adjust for inflation with player salaries. $800k will very quickly become equivalent to $900k-$1M in the player exchange market. LDU is probably making the smart call to hold off on making any decisions on his contract year till his FA year in ‘25. I’m not sure he can be extracted from the Roos this off season.

They also have money to spend (and not many others looking to head to Moorabbin for the cash). Stengle, Higgins & Collard would bring some pizazz to a moribund fwd line. Would be pretty good to crumb to Max King. Can see the appeal for Saints.

Big fan of Joel Jeffrey, would bring some much needed pace.

Good to see Zak Johnson & Nash King get a run for Metro but gee Damon Hollow is stiff to drop out. Was very good in wet conditions v the Allies.

Beat me to it @rjay, Casey game is the day after AFL game, so holdover will be available to play (barring disaster and the need for them to play full game in the ones!).

Is that a Sam Taylor related joke?

If NGA accessibility is relaxed, could be good news for us next year. Tairon Ah-Mu is a very promising fwd-ruck prospect coming through in next year’s group.

Have you seen much of Luke Urquhart @Pennant St Dee? Has caught the eye for WA in their first couple of games at the Champs.

While I'm on the topic of changes to DVI: https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/draft/afl-2024-draft-watch-column-changes-to-draft-points-bidding-system-clubs-like-carlton-angry-fatherson-and-academy-bids-explained-prospects-latest-news/news-story/7d5850311bce18851bf81dac321f6d7c

Yep, depth looks stronger. Smillie is currently in pole position for pick one, but there are 2 or 3 others that could challenge. There isn't the standout talent this year at no.1. Beyond that, throw a blanket over 15-20 at this stage. I've really liked what I've seen at the Champs so far and there's a weighting toward midfield talent this year. That's accounting for the father son and academy tied players, of which there are a few. It makes the conversation around potential changes to bid matching and DVI very interesting. Makes sense that clubs that were poised to capitalise on free (or at least heavily discounted) hits are outraged. For the rest of us, opportunities abound.

Not much by way of midfielders in this years FA pool though. Think the draft will be where we can add mf quality. Adding Stengle would allow us to release Koz for longer stints there, so maybe he’d help us in 2 areas of the ground. He’s certainly got Chin & Spargs covered for goal scoring.

@whatwhat say what the wording makes me think that 2025 onward for Brayshaw (with 2024 being the year of his retirement where I’m guessing the full 100% is outside of TPP). Every club on notice as far as the risk of long terms deals for players with any concussion history goes.

Inevitable that Hotton slips down a bit as others get the chance to show their wares. It’s looking like a really even talent pool so he could drop lower than he otherwise should.