Whispering_Jack

Correction. The HS update this morning and they now have 863 players including Kobi George. However, what we don't know is whether he remains an NGA for the purposes of the draft.

Alas, George has not nominated for this year’s draft according to the list of over 700 players published on today’s HS on line subscriber pages.

I think he’s somewhat better than Kobe Farmer who was overlooked by both AFL clubs who could have claimed him as a father-son. Woewodin has been nominated by Melbourne so he’s a bit ahead of where Kobe was last year.

I’m not certain whether this has been mentioned or not but a bigfooty poster Davo-27 has an interesting perspective on the draft. He ranks players in tiers starting with the elite tier and going down:- Elite: Daicos, Horne-Francis, (Callaghan, Darcy) (4) Top Tier: Hobbs, Erasmus, Ward, Goater, Amiss, Fahey, Van Rooyen, Wanganeen-Milera, M Johnson, Rachele (10) Quality: Roberts, Sinn, Long, Knevitt, Bazzo, Gibcus, Andrew, Chesser, Conway, Banks, MacDonald, Browne, Draper, Sonsie, Wilmot, Dittmar, Clarke, Curtis (18) Quality with some question marks: Molan, Windhager, Ferres, Hough, Aleer, Regan, Brown, Soligo, Owens, Jones, Tunstill, Lohmann, Taylor, Benning, C.Hamilton, Beecken, Rankin, Burgoyne, Jackson, Uwland, Motlop, Rayson, Archer, Willis, Sheldrick, Dib, Williams, Murray, Rossimel, H.Hamilton, Butler, Bergman, Howes, (19 yr olds) Doultree, Trudgeon, Cleary, Gribble (37) This is a good way to look at the overall list of players - there will be some players missing and some disagreements about how high or low players should be ranked but I think it’s a different way to look at the players available to be drafted.

I'm a big fan of Sheldrick - he impressed me in all of the games he played in but particularly, in the last one against South Australia. I regards him as a real junk yard dog type of player who will do the hard work work for his coach and can learn under Jack Viney. I understand that Geelong are very interested in him.

I’m not questioning what he said in an interview. These measurements were taken on Monday by AFL staff at the training session.

Running alongside that draft on the Herald Sun’s subscriber pages is a feature covering Monday’s training session at TBBO for Victorian draft hopefuls run by the AFL Academy coach Tarkyn Lockyer where players also had their measurements taken for the first time since the pre-season. There were reports last week that Mac Andrew had bulked up considerably from 70kg to close to 80kg but the official figures show that he’s still only 74kg. He’s also added 1cm in height.

There’s only eight days to go until the 2021 AFL National Draft so this is Cal Twomey’s last Phantom Form Guide. It’s not actually a phantom draft but rather, his ranking of top draft prospects.

All a bit strange this. A few weeks ago the Suns were struggling with their salary cap to the point where they tried desperately to ditch a player who ended up not wanting to leave. Now, they've managed to ditch a player to North Melbourne which is taking up the Suns' contractual obligations. I'm not a conspiracy theorist but ...

Rookie Me Central has finally put up their Taj Woewodin profile here.

Now … wasn’t that a time? We’ve certainly had some bizarre activity searching for that elusive flag, but that surely takes the cake!

Depends on what you mean by nailing every pick. Like everyone one of us who work, we can only do it with the tools we’re given. We can’t expect JT and his team to draft Jason Horne-Francis or Nick Daicos because they don’t have access to pick 1 and can’t match a father-son selection. It’s what they do with the selections they currently hold and if they can trade them and then it’s up to the coaches to develop the players they pick. On their past form, I’m far more confident than I was in the past that they will do well again for the club. That’s what nailing it will mean to me.

Yes - someone else’s hamstring and someone else’s ankle. However, because of the competition for that position, it’s also important for Jayden Hunt and Joel Smith to have strong pre seasons to win back their places.

In what we used to term “the normal course” i.e in the past when we didn’t make the finals, I think this week would have seen our youngest group of players back on track for the start of the preseason. The track watchers would have been out and about and the first reports on Demonland would have been coming through about who was there and who wasn’t and who was burning the house down at Gosch’s Paddock (or Casey Fields). And that’s the big question on the AFL site today ~ Feeling the heat: Who needs a big pre-season at your club? I reckon the writer covering Melbourne has it right. There’s going to be some pressure on Sam to produce the goods. “Sam Weideman A big summer on the track will give coach Simon Goodwin food for thought heading into 2022. The 24-year-old, who has played 49 games in six seasons, struggled to break into a settled line-up as the Demons steamrolled their way to their first premiership in 57 years, going goalless in three of his five games and falling behind Ben Brown and Tom McDonald as a tall target inside 50. Having been linked with a move away from the club, Weideman eventually re-signed for two more seasons and will be eager to press his claims to take one of the key forward roles. Speedster Oskar Baker and small forward Toby Bedford, who finished runner-up in VFL affiliate Casey's best and fairest award this season, are others on the fringe who will be keen to make an impression over the pre-season. - Brandon Cohen

We’ve all had some good laughs at Geelong’s expense about the age of their list, the way they appeared worn and tired late in the season and the recruiting strategy that got them there … but the reality is that the Cats have remained high on the AFL ladder for the better part of a decade and a half without going to the draft for a rebuild. For most of that time Geelong has rarely delved into the draft’s top ten. Yet in 2020, it came half a game and a near on field riot from Dustin Martin from a premiership. This year, the Cats loaded up with Jeremy Cameron, Isaac Smith and Shaun Higgins and were seconds away from finishing in top spot at the end of the home and away season and they still made the preliminary final. Is it possible to maintain long term success with a policy of mature age recruiting?

A draft pick trade was made today. Nothing really earth-shattering but still … Collingwood sends pick 55 to St Kilda in exchange for a future fourth-round pick tied to Adelaide's finishing position next year. The trade gives the Saints some extra draft points to withstand a challenge to their hold over NGA picks Mitchito Owens and Marcus Windhager. Obviously, this won’t help them save one or both of those players in the event that they are selected in the first 20 of the main draft.

Unlikely. He’s already gone on record as saying that he’s happy to go to whatever club selects him so why go through a charade to get to the MFC? Besides, he most likely is one of the 85% of eligible Victorians who has double vaxxed.

From time to time, clubs strike pay dirt with mature age players. There are always a few around in every draft. The most famous one in recent years would have to be James Podsiadly who was taken by Geelong as a rookie (third time lucky) at 29 years of age and played in the Cats’ 2011 premiership team. Fox Sports have compiled a list of 18 mature-age “guns”. The 18 mature-age guns your club could steal at the 2021 AFL draft

I have no idea as to why there’s been so little focus on this player. He was mentioned in Kevin Sheehan’s article about tall forward and ruck prospects Kevin Sheehan reveals his top NAB AFL Draft Prospects: Tall forwards/rucks which has its own separate thread on Demonland. This was Shifter’s summation:- "Sam Paea Calder Cannons, NAB League / Aberfeldie FC State: Victoria (Metro) Height: 194cm Weight: 94kg Date of Birth: 14/07/02 Tall forward whose hard running allows him to consistently present as a marking target up forward. Strong overhead and good below the knees, he was a member of the Victoria Metro under-19 squad as well as playing in the Young Guns game earlier in the year. Strong performer for the Calder Cannons in seven games, and outstanding late in the shortened season, kicking four goals against the Jets and five goals against the Falcons to be his team's best. Had a taste of VFL with Essendon as he continued his development. Comes from a sporting family with father representing New Zealand in basketball". I only took notice of him today when he was mentioned as an “intriguing” player by Jon Ralph in today’s Herald Sun article (see thread on the NAB AFL Draft Combine) but given those two bags of 4 and 5 goals late in the season, would he be worth considering as a late draft/rookie selection?

There’s an article by Jon Ralph in today’s Herald Sun Game of Hide & Peak where he discusses the effect of the lack of game time for Victorians as a result of the Covid19 lockdowns over the past two years and the fact that this might have prevented the emergence of late draft bolters like Marcus Bontempelli and Clayton Oliver in past years. One of his examples is Owens:- “St Kilda-linked Sandringham Dragon Mitch Owens played only two NAB League games after round 4 but they were a 109-ranking point, 24- possession performance and a 25-possession, 127-ranking point showing. Would they have been the start of a withering run that would have cemented his place in the top 20 or just a flash in the pan?” At least now with next Monday’s training session, there’s a brief opportunity for another look, albeit nothing like having had 24 or 25 games of football per year over 2 seasons instead of half a dozen or so.

All Victorian draft prospects from both Metro and Country (ie all those who were invited to the Draft Combine which was cancelled due to the most recent lockdown) will take part in training sessions at Sandringham on Monday 15 November being their last chance to impress recruiters.

The AFL website has a feature on each club’s best father-son selection since 1986 Following in his footsteps: Your club's best father-son selections The concept has been criticized of late because of claims that it affects the integrity of the draft but there are already so many anomalies in the process and this one is so traditional in the game’s fabric that I believe it should continue. Melbourne was the first beneficiary of the rule when it recruited Ronald Dale Barassi, son of fallen war hero Ron Barassi, Senior, in 1953. The son went on to become the club’s most famous player and personality, playing in six premierships with the club and then going on to a successful coaching career. The Demons are likely to pick up Taj Woewodin (son of Shane) in this year’s draft, our first since 2014. Here’s the writer’s choice for Melbourne:- “Jack Viney (2012) The son of Todd is a clear standout among the Demons' father-son crop, emulating his father's feat of captaining the club and going one better on the finals front by claiming a premiership in 2021. Viney's brutal, contested style of play also mirrors that of his dad, who played 233 games for the Demons from 1987-99. Jack has just the one club champion trophy to his name, one fewer than Todd's two, but he remains every chance of ranking equally highly in the pantheon of club greats by the time his career ends. Viney's ex-teammate Billy Stretch, who managed 47 games over five seasons from 2015-19, is the best of the remaining selections. - Michael Rogers All father-son picks: Tom Kavanagh (1988), Glenn Molloy (1992), Brad Campbell (1992), Chris Johnson (2003), Jack Viney (2012), Billy Stretch (2014)”

The draft experts in today’s Herald Sun on line edition (sorry, no link) have produced various forms of mock and phantom drafts, ranked players and now, their “consensus rankings” below. With a number of players going up the various rankings like yo yos, it’s looming as a draft that’s going to make everyone happy. 1. Jason Horne-Francis 2. Nick Daicos 3. Finn Callaghan 4. Sam Darcy 5. Josh Gibcus 6. Ben Hobbs 7. Josh Ward 8. Josh Rachele 9. Mac Andrew 10. Josh Sinn 11. Jye Amiss 12. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera 13. Neil Erasmus 14. Josh Goater 15. Matthew Johnson 16. Tyler Sonsie 17. Jacob van Rooyen 18. Matthew Roberts 19. Arlo Draper 20. Campbell Chesser 21. Zac Taylor 22. Mitch Knevitt 23. Jesse Motlop 24. Sam Butler 25. Tom Brown 26. Darcy Wilmot 27. Jack Williams 28. Blake Howes 29. Josh Fahey 30. Leek Alleer 31. Judson Clarke 32. Angus Sheldrick 33. Mitch Owens 34. Rhett Bazzo 35. Toby Conway 36. Connor MacDonald 37. Marcus Windhager 38. Cooper Murley 39. Jase Burgoyne 40. Corey Warner NOTE: This process is a ranking of the best talent available and does not factor in club draft picks and father-son or Academy bids.

There are some likely looking tall defenders who can be selected in the middle to the later part of the draft. I’m sure that everyone will say “but Melbourne is well off for tall defenders” and I suspect they’re right. I still like Leek Alleer - he’s had a couple of years in development and could adapt to the AFL fairly soonish. Kevin Sheehan reveals his top NAB AFL Draft Prospects: Tall Defenders

They say all’s fair in love and war but when it comes to sport, we teach our kids to play fair. Be nice. But, in recent times, I’m reading about the AFL draft about expectations that clubs should play by some unwritten rule that requires them to be nice to each other. To play fair. A Herald Sun article last week referred to St Kilda Next Generation Academy midfielder Mitch Owen (Sandringham Dragons) who has shown great improvement over the year. Some said he was “exploding” before the NAB league shut down and that he could even be nominated in the top 20 which would preclude the Saints from matching a bid for him. The same would happen if Melbourne’s NGA Mac Andrew was nominated that highly. Dragons’ talent manager Mark Wheeler said that Covid gave Owens time to erase his weaknesses as he grew 15cm over two years to his current height of 191cm. In July, he was a late inclusion in the Vic Metro team against VIc Country and starred with 29 disposals, seven marks and a goal. Wheeler said: “We have heard rumours he is in those picks before 20, but it just depends if recruiters want to play nice or if they don’t want to play nice.” I don’t understand why Wheeler considers there to be an obligation in the draft for clubs to “play nice”. Surely, if a player is worth taking when a club’s pick comes, he should get taken - otherwise, the club might be dereliction of its duty. I have no qualms about the prospect of another club selecting Mac Andrew in the top 20. The main thing from the Demons’ perspective is that they’ve had plenty of time to get used to such a prospect. A similar situation applies with North Melbourne which has pick number 1 and has flagged its intention to take South Adelaide midfielder Jason Horne-Francis with that selection. However, there is a view that North should first nominate Collingwood father-son Nick Daicos to force the Pies to spend the maximum number of draft points to snare their father-son player who they have already indicated they will take no matter what. North can also cause similar inconvenience to the Western Bulldogs over their father-son prospect, Sam Darcy. The idea would be that North are h to the football world their intent to be competitive in every aspect of the game. But is this fair and does “fair play” come into the equation when it comes to matters such as the draft?