Whispering_Jack

A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step ...

Don’t laugh. At one stage, he was close to getting a job at Melbourne.

Dunn, Bennell, Brown ... Who else will get a SSP lifeline? Although the drafting is done and dusted for the time being, there’s still some work to be done during the pre-season supplemental selection period (SSP) which closes in March. Melbourne has two prospects training with the club - Harley Bennell and Mitch Brown and has two places available on its list so both are a chance of the impress over the summer.

Apparently Melbourne has a few Next Generation Academy players in the 2020 crop but I don’t believe that they’re close to top shelf. Anyone know more? Here’s The Deakyn Smith Thread

I know that times change but here’s a pen pic on a young ruckman from WA from Inside Football in the lead up to the 2008 National Draft:- “NICHOLAS NAITANUI - ruckman, Swan Districts, WA DOB: 4/5/90 Ht: 197cm Wt: 95kg "Nicholas is just a freak. He's not a natural footballer but on pure athletic ability he is in a class of his own. Has great closing speed, is a great jump and is starting to learn more about winning the ball around the ground but there is plenty to come. Needs to work on his foot skills as they still, have a way to go but his improvement has been pretty sharp over the last two years. He's certainly not a natural footballer and you'd expect whichever club takes him to spend a lot of time with him developing his decision making, but we think he could play some AFL footy next year, although probably not a whole season. We juggled things around with him later in the year and played him in some key positions, including full back, and he did it very effectively. There is really no one like him and I don't think anyone has seen anything like him. Athletically he's one of the best players ever to come through this club. Long term he'll probably be a ruckman but that's not to say a club couldn't develop another string to his bow because he has all the tools to work with." - Swan Districts football manager Matt Peach. WA rep 2007/2008. All Australian 2007/08. From Midvale JFC” Naitanui was 197cm tall when drafted by the Eagles at #2 and now stands at 201cm, a mere centimetre shorter than Brodie Gundy. Luke Jackson was 196cm earlier this season and has been variously reported in the media in the past week as being 199cm or 200cm. Either way, I think Buckenara might be overstating things when he claims Jackson is “undersized”. POST SCRIPT This article from 1 April, 2019 by Chris Doerre (Knightmare) has Jackson at 196cm ~ AFL Draft Power Rankings: Giants academy prospect holds off chargers from Oakleigh. I’m not sure whether Bucky’s seen Jackson recently but if he’s grown to 199/200cm in the interim, there’s a reasonable chance he’ll end up at 201/2002cm plus.

ADELAIDE DRAFT PICKS 6. Fischer McAsey: 195cm, 86kg, Defender, Sandringham Dragons 25. Harry Schoenberg: 180cm, 78kg, Midfielder, Woodville West Torrens 28. Josh Worrell: 195cm, 74kg, Defender, Sandringham Dragons 42. Ronin O’Connor: 191cm, 85kg, Midfielder, Claremont 48. Lachlan Gollant: 191cm, 72kg, Midfielder, Calder Cannon ROOKIE PICKS 7. Ben Keays: 185cm, 89kg, Midfielder, Brisbane Lions 21. Ben Crocker: 188cm, 84kg, Midfielder, Collingwood BRISBANE LIONS DRAFT PICKS 22. Deven Robertson: 182cm 80kg, Midfielder, Perth 33. Brock Smith: 188cm 81kg, Defender, Gippsland Power 37. Keidean Coleman: 181cm 73kg, Forward, Morningside 59. Jaxon Prior: 188cm 79kg, Defender, West Perth ROOKIE PICKS 12. Sam Skinner: 198cm, 100kg, Defender, Brisbane Lions 26. Corey Lyons: 184cm, 184cm, 83kg, Midfielder, Brisbane Lions 34. Archie Smith: 203cm, 104kg, Ruckman, Brisbane Lions CARLTON DRAFT PICKS 17. Brodie Kemp: 192cm, 82kg, Def/Mid, Bendigo Pioneers 20. Sam Philp: 185cm, 80kg, Midfielder, Northern Knights 47. Sam Ramsay: 180cm, 72kg, Midfielder, Calder Cannons PRE-SEASON DRAFT Jack Martin: 185cm, 71kg, Forward, Gold Coast Suns ROOKIE PICKS 3. Josh Honey: 184cm, 79kg, Forward, Western Jets 18. Fraser Phillips: 186cm, 71kg, Forward, Gippsland Power COLLINGWOOD DRAFT PICKS 40. Jay Rantall: 184cm, 82kg Midfielder, GWV Rebels 45. Trent Bianco: 178cm, 70kg Midfielder, Oakleigh Chargers 55. Trey Ruscoe: 190cm, 90kg Defender, East Fremantle ROOKIE PICKS Nil ESSENDON DRAFT PICKS 30. Harrison Jones: 194cm, 75kg, Calder Cannons, key forward 38. Nick Bryan: 202cm, 87kg, ruck, Oakleigh Chargers 56. Ned Cahill: 178cm 77kg, Forward, Dandenong Stingrays 63. Lachlan Johnson: 175cm, 76kg, Forward, Calder Cannons ROOKIE PICKS 10. Mitchell Hibberd: 192cm, 87kg, Midfielder, North Melbourne FREMANTLE DRAFT PICKS 7. Hayden Young: 188cm, 82kg, Defender, Dandenong Stingrays 8. Caleb Serong: 178cm, 83kg Mid/Fwd, Gippsland Power 9. Liam Henry: 179cm, 67kg, Forward, Claremont 61. Minairo Frederick: 183cm, 71kg, Midfielder, Woodville-West Torrens ROOKIE PICKS 10. Jarvis Pina: 176kg, 71kg, Small Forward, Peel Thunder 20: Tom North: 183cm, 84kg, Midfielder, Fremantle 30: Hugh Dixon: 196cm, 96kg, Forward, Fremantle GEELONG DRAFT PICKS 16. Cooper Stephens: 188cm 83kg, Midfielder, Geelong Falcons 19. Sam De Koning: 200cm 85kg, Defender, Dandenong Stingrays 41. Francis Evans: 182cm 78kg, Forward, Calder Cannons 50. Cameron Taheny: 185cm 80kg, Forward, Norwood ROOKIE PICKS 14. Bradley Close: 181cm, 68kg, Forward, Glenelg 27: Oscar Brownless: 186cm, 75kg, Midfielder, Geelong 35: Lachie Henderson: 196cm, 98kg, Defender, Geelong GOLD COAST SUNS DRAFT PICKS 1. Matthew Rowell: 178cm, 74kg, midfielder, Oakleigh Chargers 2. Noah Anderson: 188cm, 86kg, midfielder, Oakleigh Chargers 11. Sam Flanders: 182cm, 79kg, mid/fwd, Gippsland Power 27. Jeremy Sharp: 187cm, 79kg, midfielder, East Fremantle 60. Jy Farrar: 190cm, 75kg, utility, Scotch Old Collegians ROOKIE PICKS 1. Josh Schoenfeld: 186cm, 84kg, Midfielder, Gold Coast 16. Connor Budarick:175cm, 72kg, Defender, Gold Coast Academy 29: Matt Conroy: 199cm, 85kg, Ruckman, Gold Coast Academy 37. Malcolm Rosas: 175cm, 70kg, Small Forward, NT Thunder GWS GIANTS DRAFT PICKS 4. Lachlan Ash: 186cm, 80kg, Defender, Murray Bushrangers 10. Tom Green: 188cm, 85kg, Midfielder, GWS Academy 51. Jake Riccardi: 195cm, 92kg, key forward, Werribee 65. Thomas Hutchesson: 177cm, 75kg, midfielder, Adelaide SANFL ROOKIE PICKS 15. Jake Stein: 195cm, 95kg, Defender, GWS Giants 28. Tommy Sheridan: 187cm, 82kg, Midfielder, GWS Giants 36: Zachary Sproule: 197cm, 92kg, Forward, GWS Giants HAWTHORN DRAFT PICKS 13. Will Day: 187cm, 70kg, defender, West Adelaide 29. Finn Maginness: 187cm, 80kg, midfielder, Sandringham Dragons 57. Josh Morris: 186cm, 76kg, forward, Woodville West Torrens PRE-SEASON DRAFT Michael Hartley: 198cm, 102kg, Defender, Essendon ROOKIE PICKS 9. Emerson Jeka: 197cm, 87kg, Forward, Western Jets MELBOURNE DRAFT PICKS 3. Luke Jackson: 198cm, 94kg, ruck, East Fremantle 12. Kysaiah Pickett: 171cm, 67kg, Forward, Woodville West Torrens 32. Trent Rivers: 188cm, 85kg Defender, East Fremantle ROOKIE PICKS Nil NORTH MELBOURNE DRAFT PICKS 31. Charlie Comben: 199cm, 82kg, ruck, Gippsland Power 34. Jack Mahony: 176cm, 70kg, midfielder, Sandringham Dragons 35. Flynn Perez: 187cm, 82kg, midfielder, Bendigo Pioneers ROOKIE PICKS Nil PORT ADELAIDE DRAFT PICKS 14. Miles Bergman: 186cm, 75kg, Mid/Fwd, Sandringham Dragons 18. Mitch Georgiades: 191cm, 78kg, Forward, Subiaco 23. Dylan Williams: 185cm, 79kg, Mid/Fwd, Oakleigh Chargers 25. Jackson Mead (F/S): 184cm, 83kg, Mid/Fwd, Woodville West Torrens ROOKIE PICKS 8. Jake Pasini: 192cm, 81kg, Defender, Swan Districts 22. Trent Burgoyne: 177cm, 70kg, Small forward, Woodville-West Torrens 32. Boyd Woodcock: 174cm, 70kg, Small forward, Port Adelaide 38. Riley Grundy: 194cm, 84kg, Defender, Port Adelaide RICHMOND DRAFT PICKS 21. Thomson Dow: 182cm, 72kg, Midfielder, Bendigo Pioneers 43. Noah Cumberland: 183cm, 79kg, Midfielder, Brisbane Lions Academy 44. Will Martyn: 183cm, 73kg, Midfielder, Brisbane Lions Academy 46. Hugo Ralphsmith: 186cm, 70kg, Forward, Sandringham Dragons 54. Bigoa Nyuon: 195cm, 87kg, Ruck, Dandenong Stingrays ROOKIE PICKS Nil ST KILDA DRAFT PICKS 52. Ryan Byrnes: 181cm 80kg, Midfielder, Sandringham Dragons 64. Leo Connolly: 181cm 74kg, Defender, Gippsland Power ROOKIE PICKS 5. Jack Bell: 200cm, 73kg, Ruckman, Sandringham Dragons SYDNEY DRAFT PICKS 5. Dylan Stephens: 183cm, 69kg, midfielder, Norwood 26. Will Gould: 191cm, 98kg, defender, Glenelg 36. Elijah Taylor: 185cm, 75kg, forward, Perth 39. Chad Warner: 181cm, 80kg, midfielder, East Fremantle ROOKIE PICKS 4. Brady Rowles: 188cm, 72kg, Midfielder, Bendigo Pioneers 19: Jack Maibaum: 194cm, 91kg, Defender, Sydney WEST COAST DRAFT PICKS 49. Callum Jamieson: 202cm, 86kg, ruckman, Claremont 58 Ben Johnson: 180cm, 68kg, defender, Perth ROOKIE PICKS 11. Anthony Treacy: 181cm, 80kg, Forward, Claremont 25: Mitch O’Neill: 181cm, 70kg, Midfielder, North Hobart 33. Brendon Ah Chee: 189cm, 88kg, Midfielder, West Coast 39: Hamish Brayshaw: 187cm, 90kg, Midfielder, West Coast WESTERN BULLDOGS DRAFT PICKS 15. Cody Weightman: 177cm, 73kg, Forward, Dandenong Stingrays 53. Louis Butler: 183cm, 74kg, Defender, Sandringham Dragons 62. Riley Garcia: 175cm, 78kg, Midfielder, Swan Districts ROOKIE PICKS Nil

And let’s face it, we couldn’t really draft both Young and Jackson because those names are synonymous with the hotel at the gateway to Melbourne known in the past for its bar room, loose women and the heavy imbibing of alcohol in the days of the six o’clock swill. The very suggestion of Y & J together at the same club would therefore contradict the essence of the club’s no [censored] policy - hence Young had to be sent across the Nullarbor and in return, we get a fine upstanding quality person in Rivers, a relative of a former Victorian Supreme Court Judge. My informants from the West tell me that he’s a very solid young lad who can definitely play football and, but for his illness over the summer which affected his preparation and delayed his start to the season, he might have been in top ten draft contention. As it was, he did very well to gain State selection at the National Carnival and make All-Australian. He won’t just be a half back flanker either - I’m told that he might end up as a very damaging midfielder.

Nor me ... having a week’s break up north. Might catch a sight of Stewart Dew’s boys but only if they’re training on the beach ?

Who will be the first to post pictures of the new draftees?

Time to look ahead again. 2020 vision: Cal Twomey's 10 young guns to watch

No room on the list because we’re keeping our two vacant spots for Bennell and Brown.

A good solid selection - following the Gold Coast example we have two young recruits from the same club and both are All Australians.

I believe that Mykelti Lefau could be picked as a Category B rookie as he is originally from New Zealand. However, he’s been around for a couple of years and the club hasn’t opted to do so and therefore, it’s not a likely option. In any case, he wouldn’t therefore be in contention to be drafted like the others.

PRESEASON DRAFT Two players selected - 1. Carlton - Jack Martin 2. Hawthorn - Michael Hartley ROOKIE DRAFT 1. Gold Coast - Joshua Schoenfeld 2. Melbourne - Pass 3. Carlton - Josh Honey 4. Sydney - Brady Rowles 5. St Kilda - Jack Bell 6. Fremantle - Jarvis Pina 7. Adelaide - Ben Keays 8. Port Adelaide - Jake Pasini 9. Hawthorn - Emerson Jeka 10. Essendon - Mitchell Hibberd 11. West Coast - Anthony Treacy 12. Brisbane Lions - Samuel Skinner 13. Collingwood - Pass 14. Geelong - Bradley Close 15. Greater Western Sydney - Jake Stein 16. Gold Coast - Conner Budarick 17. Melbourne - Pass 18. Carlton - Fraser Phillips 19. Sydney - Jack Maibaum 20. Fremantle - Thomas North 21. Adelaide - Ben Crocker 22. Port Adelaide - Trent Burgoyne 23. Hawthorn - Pass 24. Essendon - Pass 25. West Coast Eagles - Mitch O'Neill 26. Brisbane Lions - Corey Lyons 27. Geelong - Oscar Brownless 28. Greater Western Sydney- Thomas Sheridan 29. Brisbane - Matt Conroy 30. Fremantle - Hugh Dixon 31. Adelaide - Pass 32. Port Adelaide - Boyd Woodcock 33. West Coast Eagles - Brendon Ah Chee 34. Brisbane - Archie Smith 35.Geelong -Lachlan Henderson 36. Greater Western Sydney - Zachary Sproule 37. Gold Coast - Malcolm Rosas 38. Port Adelaide - Riley Grundy 39. West Coast - Hamish Brayshaw 40. Greater Western Sydney - Pass 41. Gold Coast - Pass 42. West Coast - Pass

Carlton are big winners. Weren’t forced to trade pick 9 for Jack Martin and now get him for nothing. Trade pick 9 and get 2 players in the top 20. Also bid for both Green and Henry when others looked away. Mind you, Green was looked upon as the next Patrick Cripps and they also have the real one! As much as I don’t like saying this, Carlton now has a team chock full of young talent and will rise quickly.

Jackson and Pickett - I’m just glad there are no leaks at the club these days.

Dees say Jackson will complement Gawn

It will either be a rookie upgrade or pass.

2019 AFL NATIONAL DRAFT ROUND ONE 1. Gold Coast - Matt Rowell (inside midfielder, Oakleigh Chargers) 2. Gold Coast - Noah Anderson (inside midfielder, Oakleigh Chargers) 3. Melbourne - Luke Jackson (ruck, East Fremantle WA) 4. Greater Western Sydney - Lachlan Ash (medium defender, Murray Bushrangers) 5. Sydney - Dylan Stephens (outside midfielder, Norwood SA) 6. Adelaide Crows - Fischer McAsey (key position utility, Sandringham Dragons) 7. Fremantle - Hayden Young (medium defender, Dandenong Stingrays) 8. Fremantle - Caleb Serong (inside midfielder/small forward, Gippsland Power) 9. Fremantle (matched Carlton’s bid) - Liam Henry (outside midfielder/small forward, Claremont WA) 10. Greater Western Sydney (matched Carlton’s bid) - Tom Green (inside midfielder, GWS Academy) 11. Gold Coast - Sam Flanders (inside midfielder/general forward, Gippsland Power) 12. Melbourne - Kysaiah Kropinyeri-Pickett (small forward, Woodville-West Torrens SA) 13. Hawthorn - Will Day (general defender, West Adelaide SA) 14. Port Adelaide - Miles Bergman (medium forward, Sandringham Dragons) 15. Western Bulldogs - Cody Weightman (small forward, Dandenong Stingrays) 16. Geelong Cats - Cooper Stephens (inside midfielder, Geelong Falcons) 17. Carlton - Brodie Kemp (utility, Bendigo Pioneers) 18. Port Adelaide - Mitch Georgiades (general forward, Subiaco WA) 19. Geelong - Sam De Koning (key position defender, Dandenong Stingrays) 20. Carlton - Sam Philp (inside midfielder, Northern Knights) 21. Richmond - Thomson Dow (inside midfielder, Bendigo Pioneers) ROUND TWO 22. Brisbane - Deven Robertson (midfielder, Perth WA) 23. Port Adelaide - Dylan Williams (forward, Oakleigh Chargers) 24. Adelaide - Harry Schoenberg (midfielder, Woodville West Torrens SA) 25. Port Adelaide (matched Sydney’s bid) - Jackson Mead (midfielder, Woodville West Torrens SA) 26. Sydney - Will Gould (tall defender, Glenelg SA) 27. Gold Coast - Jeremy Sharp (midfielder, East Fremantle WA) 28. Adelaide - Joshua Worrell (tall defender, Sandringham Dragons) 29. Hawthorn (matched North Melbourne’s bid) - Finn Maginness (midfielder, Sandringham Dragons) 30. Essendon - Harrison Jones (ruckman, Calder Cannons) 31. North Melbourne - Charlie Comben (ruckman, Gippsland Power) 32. Melbourne - Trent Rivers (defender, East Fremantle WA) 33. Brisbane - Brock Smith (defender, Gippsland Power) 34. North Melbourne - Jack Mahony (midfielder, Sandringham Dragons) 35. North Melbourne - Flynn Perez (midfielder, Bendigo Pioneers) 36. Sydney - Elijah Taylor (forward, Perth WA) 37. Brisbane (matched Essendon’s bid) - Keidean Coleman (forward, Brisbane Lions academy) 38. Essendon - Nick Bryan (ruckman, Oakleigh Chargers) 39. Sydney - Chad Warner (midfielder, East Fremantle) 40. Collingwood - Jay Rantall (midfielder, GWV Rebels) 41. Geelong - Francis Evans (forward, Calder Cannons) 42 Adelaide - Ronin O’Connor (ruckman, Claremont WA) 43. Richmond - Noah Cumberland (forward, Brisbane Lions academy) 44. Richmond - Will Martyn (midfielder, Brisbane Lions academy) ROUND THREE 45. Collingwood - Trent Bianco (midfielder, Oakleigh Chargers) 46. Richmond - Hugo Ralphsmith (midfielder, Sandringham Dragons) 47. Carlton - Sam Ramsay (midfielder, Calder Cannons) 48. Adelaide - Lachlan Gollant (midfielder, Calder Cannons) 49. West Coast - Callum Jamieson (ruckman, Claremont WA) 50. Geelong - Cameron Taheny (forward, Norwood SA) 51. Greater Western Sydney - Jake Riccardi (key forward, Werribee VFL) 52. St Kilda - Ryan Byrnes (midfielder, Sandringham Dragons) 53. Western Bulldogs - Louis Butler (defender, Sandringham Dragons) 54. Richmond - Bigoa Nyuon (ruckman, Dandenong Stingrays) ROUND FOUR 55. Collingwood - Trey Ruscoe (defender, East Fremantle WA) 56. Essendon - Ned Cahill (small forward, Dandenong Stingrays) 57. Hawthorn - Josh Morris (forward, Woodville West Torrens SA) 58. West Coast - Ben Johnson (defender, West Perth WA) 59. Brisbane - Jaxon Prior (defender, West Perth WA) 60. Gold Coast— Jy Farrar (midfielder, Scotch Old Scholars) 61. Fremantle - Minairo Frederick (midfielder, Woodville-West Torrens WA) 62. Western Bulldogs - Riley Garcia (midfielder, Swan Districts WA) ROUND FIVE 63. Essendon - Lachlan Johnson (small forward, Calder Cannons) 64. St Kilda - Leo Connolly (midfielder, Gippsland Power) 65. Greater Western Sydney - Thomas Hutchesson (midfielder, Adelaide Crows SANFL)

My final comment before the draft itself is that I’m hoping if we do have Pickett in mind, that we split the pick and take 14 & 17 for 10 & 28. Pickett is generally regarded as a mid 20s pick so I would take the punt on him lasting to 14 and picking up a better player at 17. Nothing against Pickett - I just think we can do better.

Courtesy of George on the Outer, the Casey v Australia U 18 game is on the Melbourne Big footy replay archive site - the link to the relevant page is: https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/the-melbourne-replay-archive.1144478/page-10

Western Australia took out the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships with a five-point win over Vic Country in July. A number of Sandgropers stood out including 179cm midfielder Liam Henry who is headed to Fremantle as part of its Next Generation Academy. Western Australia appeared to have the game in hand when it led by 31 points but Brodie Kemp led a fantastic comeback with two late goals to put his team in front but a late WA goal stole the game back. Kemp was dynamic and put himself into top 10 calculations with his strong attack on the football. Hayden Young and Lachie Ash provided great drive off half back. Serong and Flanders were handy and did nothing to harm their draft chances. Apart from Henry, WA mid Robertson was dynamic with 28 disposals, six clearances and eight tackles and Luke Jackson was great in the ruck showing some great all round skills. So, on what I saw up to this game I would go for Young for pick 3 and Kemp for 10. I think Jackson would make an interesting work in progress but I wouldn’t pick him ahead of Young. If available I would still take Kemp at 10 ahead of Jackson. The other player who impressed in the championships was Dylan Stephens.

It was shown on Foxtel and I recorded it. I think someone linked that game to a thread on Demonland a little while ago - I’ll try to find out. Lachie Ash played and started really well but was quiet after half time. I’ve been in the pro Green camp since seeing him play for the Allies but on this game, he wasn’t in the category of Rowell, Anderson or Young. I would pick Green at 3 but it appears that we aren’t in that frame.

I’m going back to the game between Casey v Under 18 Australians that was played in April with the Aussies overrunning the Dees in the second half when the Casey coach took off most of his AFL listens. At the time, most of the Under 18s were relative unknowns – today they read like a who’s who of the draft. The standouts were Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson and Hayden Young who imposed themselves as potential top ten selections. On review, a number of others were good in patches and outlined their potential including Tom Green, Brodie Kemp, Jeremy Sharp, Trent Bianco and Caleb Serong but none of them put in what you would call an outstanding four quarter game. They did however, place themselves on the “to watch” list. Since Luke Jackson and Kysaiah Pickett have been anointed by the draft mavens as the likely MFC top 10 draft picks, these are my impressions from my rewind of this game. Jackson was one of two Aussie big men who was strong in the ruck, showed some athleticism and copped a knock in the second quarter. However, I wouldn’t go into raptures about him on that performance. Pickett showed flashes of brilliance, was very clean and fast at ground and dribbled a nice goal through at the end. He’ll be an exciting player if he can adapt to the game at the highest level. However, this game didn’t do anything to convince me that either player should be selected at 3 & 10 respectively.

Tom Petty left this mortal coil two years ago. If he was in rehab today I would call that a modern day miracle.