Whispering_Jack

The following three way deal was done - Geelong gets Ollie Henry (Collingwood) Hawthorn receives Cooper Stephens (Geelong), pick 41 and pick 50 Collingwood gets Tom Mitchell (Hawthorn) and pick 25

Josh Dunkley (Western Bulldogs) and a future third round pick and a future fourth round pick (tied to Melbourne) to Brisbane for the Lions’ pick 21 and a future first round pick, a future second round pick and a future third round pick (tied to Geelong)

Lachie Hunter (Western Bulldogs) to Melbourne in exchange for the Demons future third round pick

Josh Schache (Western Bulldogs) to Melbourne in exchange for the Demons future fourth round pick

Aaron Francis (Essendon) and pick 42 in exchange for the Swans’ pick 37 and a future fourth round pick

Sam Weideman (Melbourne) and picks 54 and 72 to Essendon in exchange for the Bombers’ pick 37

The MFC has just traded in a player who was drafted from SA and played for his Victorian club for ten years. No flight risk there.

Bigfooty’s Quigley wrote about Grundy in his 2012 Mock Draft where he placed him at number 2:- Brody Grundy DOB: 15/4/94 Ht: 202 Wt: 100 Quite simply Grundy is the best and most complete junior ruckman that I have seen. In Natanui you could see the sublime talent but it was not there yet. With Grundy it is all on show and if GWS overlook him they have rocks in their heads. This is all the more impressive because he is a late comer to the game only crossing over from basketball as a 16 year old. The fact that he has never had any specialist ruck training and has played less than 50 games in his life make him all the more impressive as a prospect and I think his talent is immense. Grundy was impressive last year as a bottom aged player albeit as a bit of a beanpole. That has changed a great deal in the last twelve months. He has stacked on the weight and is a powerful, mature athlete now. He will continue to develop physically but he does not need to put on nearly as much weight as most young ruck prospects. He already has a powerful lower half which he uses to great effect during games. Unlike a lot of late basketball converts Grundy seems to thrive on the physical aspects of the game and he loves getting in there and throwing his weight around. In basketball terms he is more of a Howard style tall rather than a Durant type. In AFL terms I expect him to become a Mumford style power ruck. At junior level, Grundy was simply too big and too powerful for those he came up against this year. It was a poor year for ruck prospects and the difference between he and his closest competition was vast. Last year though as a skinny 17 year old he still did very well in the ruck contest against stronger opposition. He controls his taps very well and has excellent knowledge of where his mids are around him. He had a series of moves with the SA mids and executed many of them very well. He seemed to have a great understanding with Kennedy who benefited a great deal from the dominance Grundy was able to exert in the ruck. He is a little unusual with a two armed jumping style but it is effective and he gets good height on his jumps. He is a right handed tapper but is also a fan of the two hander which he brings out a few times each game. In addition to being excellent in the ruck itself, Grundy is also very dangerous up forward and he is a regular multiple goal kicker. He uses his strength and height to great effect and if he weren’t going to be a ruck he could be a nice FF prospect. He moves well around the forward 50 and when he establishes position he is immovable by most KPDs. Grundy recovers quickly in contested situations and is surprisingly adept with the ball on the deck and has pretty clean and quick hands for such a big guy. He is a reasonably reliable shot for goal and can finish the opportunities he is given. There is a more than reasonable chance that Grundy could become a throwback to the old style goal-kicking ruckman like Paul Salmon kicking 30 or more goals a year. He is not particularly quick on an extended lead but on short leads he is hard to contain especially when he gets a good push off. Contested marking is a feature of Grundy’s game no matter where he is on the field. He is adept at coming up with a stretch mark up forward, drifting in from the side through the middle of the park and dropping back into the hole in front of the leading forward down back. His hands are very soft and he absorbs contact without letting it affect his marking ability. He is a good judge of the ball in the air and takes it at a point where few non-rucks can reach. He tested very well in the running leap at the Combine and this combined with his height allows him to get up above virtually anyone. Around the ground, Grundy is improving and would be pretty good for an under 18. His endurance is solid and he gets to contests and where he is needed. He does link up pretty well and his marking allows him to be a bail out option if needed. Skills wise he is a lot better than you expect of someone this big with as little experience as he has. He usually plays within himself with his kicks going short to medium distance most often and at this range he tends not to overhit the ball and has nice feel on the kicks. When he goes for distance his technique changes a fair bit with him having a higher, two handed ball drop and leaning back when he punches it. More often than not though, when he goes for it it gets where he wants it to go so it’s hard to complain. Apparently Grundy is not the brightest star in the night sky but that has not prevented many from enjoying long AFL careers (and in the media for that matter). He does seem coachable though and his development over the last couple of years is a testament to that. It looks like he listens to what his coaches want from him and then works hard to achieve that. He has quickly closed holes in his game and if he continues to do that he will be a multiple AA before the end of his career.

This year’s pick 37 for Weideman would be preferred to a future pick given we’ve acquired a few already through other trades. Don’t know if that’s realistic though.

It’s a question I’ve asked but nobody can give a definitive answer until some time in the future. Some are suggesting that next year’s draft will be stronger and deeper but I must say that I was personally impressed by the standard in the recent Vic Metro v Vic Country NAB Under 18 Championships game which showcased a number of this year’s top potential draftees (plus a few of next year’s crop). I’m still more in favour of drafting for now and I wouldn’t be ditching this year’s pick 13 for a future pick because, given our current standing, we can afford to pick a couple of players and have them develop over the next twelve months at Casey as we’ve done over the past couple of seasons. Take for example, KPF prospect Matt Jefferson who is considered by many as the next key forward in line after Cadman who is beyond our reach. On what I’ve seen of Jefferson, he certainly has potential but isn’t physically ready to be thrown into the hurly burly as a key forward in the AFL. If we got him at 13 this year, we would reap the benefit of putting a season worth of teaching and experience into him. That would put us a year ahead of the game compared to any player we draft in 2023.

Jacob Hopper (GWS Giants) and picks 53 and 63 to Richmond for pick 31 and the Tigers’ future first round pick

Well, that didn’t last long. Melbourne now holds picks 13, , 54, 72 and 90. Slim pickings available there.

Jack Bowes (Gold Coast) and pick 7 to Geelong in exchange for the Cats’ future third round selection

Billy Frampton (Adelaide) to Collingwood for a future third round pick

Brodie Grundy (Collingwood) for Melbourne’s pick 27

It might be helpful to understand this discussion in context to look at the last five drafts and the choices made at around this selection. 2017 12. Darcy Fogarty (Adelaide) 13. Jarrod Brander (West Coast) 14. Matthew Ling (Sydney) 15. Zac Bailey (Brisbane) 2018 12. Zak Butters (Port Adelaide) 13. Isaac Quaynor (Collingwood) 14. Jackson Hately (GWS Giants) 15. Jordan Clark (Geelong) 2019 12. Kysaiah Pickett (Melbourne) 13. Will Day (Hawthorn) 14. Miles Bergman (Port Adelaide) 15. Cody Weightman (Western Bulldogs) 2020 12. Tanner Bruhn (Greater Western Sydney) 13. Tom Powell (North Melbourne) 14. Heath Chapman (Fremantle) 15. Conor Stone (Greater Western Sydney) 2021 12. Josh Sinn (Port Adelaide) 13. Ben Hobbs (Essendon) 14. Campbell Chesser (West Coast) 15. Leek Aleer (Greater Western Sydney)

AFL DRAFT COMBINE RESULTS STANDING VERTICAL JUMP Record 89cm: Aiden Bonar (2017) 75cm: Darcy Jones (WA) 75cm: James Van Es (VIC C) 72cm: Jack O’Sullivan (VIC M) 70cm: Olli Hotton (VIC M) 70cm: Reuben Ginbey (WA) 70cm: Elijah Hewett (WA) 69cm: Jacob Konstanty (VIC C) 68cm: Blake Drury (VIC M) 68cm: Tyrell Dewar (WA) 68cm: Josh Weddle (VIC M) 68cm: Edward Allan (WA) RUNNING VERTICAL JUMP Record 107cm: Leek Aleer (2021) 98cm: James Van Es (VIC C) 90cm: Josh Weddle (VIC M) 90cm: Will Verrall (SA) 89cm: Jack O’Sullivan (VIC M) 87cm: Darcy Jones (WA) 87cm: Mattaes Phillipou (SA) 84cm: Toby McMullin (VIC M) 83cm: Mitch Szybkowski (VIC C) 83cm: Reuben Ginbey (WA) 83cm: Anthony Munkara (ALLIES) 83cm: Lachlan Cowan (ALLIES) AGILITY TEST Record 7.77sec: Stephen Hill (‘08) 7.702sec: Darcy Jones (WA) 8.182sec: Jaxon Binns (VIC C) 8.217sec: Elijah Hewett (WA) 8.247sec: Steely Green (WA) 8.255sec: Edward Allan (WA) 8.267sec: Luke Teal (VIC M) 8.285sec: Toby McMullin (VIC M) 8.292sec: Jacob Konstanty (VIC C) 8.325sec: Harry Rowston (ALLIES) 8.343sec: Noah Long (VIC C) 20M SPRINT Record 2.75sec: Joel Wilkinson (‘10) 2.814sec: Edward Allan (WA) 2.880sec: Toby McMullin (VIC M) 2.883sec: Coby Burgiel (VIC C) 2.910sec: James Van Es (VIC C) 2.912sec: Darcy Jones (WA) 2.924sec: Olli Hotton (VIC M) 2.928sec: Reuben Ginbey (WA) 2.929sec: Cooper Vickery (VIC C) 2.937sec: Josh Weddle (VIC M) 2.951sec: Lloyd Johnston (ALLIES) 2KM TIME-TRIAL Record 5min 28sec: Harry Sharp (‘20) 5min 54sec: Ollie Hollands (VIC C) 5min 54sec: Jason Gillbee (ALLIES) 6min 00sec: Jaxon Binns (VIC C) 6min 03sec: Josh Weddle (VIC M) 6min 15sec: Reuben Ginbey (WA) 6min 16sec: Jakob Ryan (SA) 6min 17sec: Steely Green (WA) 6min 21sec: Will Dowling (SA) 6min 25sec: Blake Drury (VIC M) 6min 25sec: Seth Campbell (ALLIES) 6min 25sec: Mattaes Phillipou (SA)

Jack Gunston (Hawthorn) to Brisbane in exchange for pick 48 and a future fourth round pick

WA teen breaks 14-year-old record at Draft Combine

How long will this draft pick remain in our hands? Will it bring us luck?

Rankine, pick 46 and a future fourth-round selection to Adelaide for pick 5, a future third round pick and a future fourth round pick

Will Setterfield and pick 68 are heading to Essendon in exchange for a future fourth round pick