Whispering_Jack

For most of the early part of last night’s first round of the draft, things were going as planned with the exception of some brief disruptions when a couple of the pick trades were announced. The surprises came later on in the evening with the early selection of players not widely expected to be in the top 20 - players like Leek Alleer (GWS Giants), Angus Sheldrick (Sydney) and Kai Lohmann (Brisbane Lions). A couple of others such as Darcy Wilmot (Brisbane Lions) and Tom Brown (Richmond) only entered the top 20 picture in the last fortnight. All this leaves us with an interesting array of players ready to be selected in the second round and beyond who have, for the most part of the journey, been considered as probable/possible first rounders. Here are the names that should be prominent early and there’s some quality there - Rhett Bazzo Sam Butler Judson Clarke Toby Conway Arlo Draper Josh Fahey (GWS Giants NGA) Josh Goater Blake Howes Matthew Johnson Mitch Knevitt Alastair Lord Connor Macdonald Jesse Motlop (Fremantle NGA) Cooper Murley Mitch Owens (St KIlda NGA) Matthew Roberts Tyler Sonsie Zac Taylor Corey Warner Jack Williams Marcus Windhagen (St KIlda NGA) That should well and truly cover Round Two of tonight’s draft and there are another eight more rounds to follow (albeit rounds 9 & 10 are allocated to the Western Bulldogs). I think Melbourne did well with its first selection and tonight we can expect at least two more although one of them might be father-son pick Taj Woewodin. The Demons’ next pick is currently scheduled at number 38 so you can safely wait until after 8.30pm before tuning it. The club also holds picks 42 and 50 so it should be a much earlier night than last year’s draft which was wrapped up at close to midnight when someone bearing a close resemblance to Jordan De Goey was sighted stepping out for an exciting evening ahead.

I think you’re being tough with our boy JVR, noting that he was diagnosed with glandular fever in May and that illness can knock you about even if you’re a fit young person. That makes his efforts both in the WAFL Colts and for the WA Under 19s even more admirable. I did watch him in those state games and he was impressive in both in defence and attack. Moreover, my understanding is that he was sent down back after already proving himself as a forward at Colts level and in earlier state games to test his capability in defence. He not only did that but also from memory was sent forward late in the game and kicked the winning goal. He’s gone a long way to proving his versatility and he’s lucky to be at Melbourne where there’s absolutely no pressure on him to hold a place in the senior straight away.

Best of luck to him and he will need it up there. He sounds very level headed when interviewed and he clearly wants to succeed in a place where it’s going to be difficult for him. That said, I don’t think he would have been a Demon under the old system where we could have matched the bid for him. I’m much happier with Van Rooyen who better suits our needs and, at this stage of the journey is far more developed for the game.

AFL NATIONAL DRAFT ORDER (after Day 1 of the National Draft) with Draft Points ROUND TWO 21. Fremantle 878 22. North Melbourne 845 23. Hawthorn 815 24. Geelong 785 25. Geelong 756 26. Hawthorn 729 27. Carlton 703 28. Richmond 677 29. Richmond 653 30. Richmond 629 31. West Coast 606 32. Sydney 584 33. Geelong 563 34. North Melbourne 542 35. Adelaide 522 36. West Coast 502 37. North Melbourne 483 38. Melbourne 465 ROUND THREE 39. Sydney 446 40. Brisbane Lions 429 41. Western Bulldogs 412 42. Melbourne 395 43. Geelong 378 44. Essendon 362 45. Collingwood 347 46. GWS Giants 331 47. GWS Giants 316 48. St Kilda 302 49. Essendon 287 50. Melbourne 273 51. Collingwood 259 ROUND FOUR 52. Hawthorn 246 53. Fremantle 233 54. St Kilda 220 55. Port Adelaide 207 56. Carlton 194 57. Hawthorn 182 58. St Kilda 170 59. St Kilda 158 60. West Coast 146 61. Fremantle 135 62. Sydney 123 63. GWS Giants 112 64. Western Bulldogs 101 65. North Melbourne 90 66. Port Adelaide 80 67. Port Adelaide 69 68. Adelaide 59 ROUND FIVE 69. North Melbourne 49 70. Adelaide 39 71. Hawthorn 29 72. Carlton 19 73. Collingwood 9 74. Richmond 75. Fremantle 76. St Kilda 77. West Coast 78. Sydney 79. Essendon 80. Port Adelaide ROUND SIX 81. Gold Coast 82. Adelaide 83. Essendon 84. Sydney ROUND SEVEN 85. Gold Coast 86. Essendon ROUND EIGHT 87. Collingwood 88. Geelong 89. Western Bulldogs ROUND NINE 90. Collingwood 91. Western Bulldogs ROUND TEN 92. Western Bulldogs

Well … well … well

Nailed it!

Blake Howes of the Sandringham Dragons is one of the players Melbourne and a few other clubs are keen on. He's 18 years of age, a 190cm, 79kg outside midfielder and wouldn't take long to fit into a regular spot, even in the premiership side.

I don't think the club is as interested in a KPP selection at that stage of the draft than I am. They're the ones with their jobs on the line so I'll leave it to them.

One of the results of the Covid19 pandemic is that it will take a while before the outcome of last year’s AFL National Draft can be judged. And if 2020 turned out to be an enigma for recruiters then tonight’s national draft is going to be just as difficult for AFL clubs even though we saw a little more football than we did last year. You might not appreciate this if you pick up today’s newspaper or look at on line sites given that nearly every draft expert is predicting an identical top five as follows:- 1. Jason Horne-Francis (South Adelaide, SA) 2. Sam Darcy (Oakleigh Chargers/Vic Metro) 3. Finn Callaghan (Sandringham Dragons/Vic Metro) 4. Nick Daicos (Oakleigh Chargers/Vic Metro) 5. Mac Andrew (Dandenong Stingrays/Vic Country) You can just about lock that in as my draft top 5 for tonight but if you think that this is the order from 1 to 5 of the best players available in this year’s draft pool, then you need to think again. The outcome above is a combination of the machinations of the AFL draft system and the fact that drafting has been compromised by Covid19. Writing in the Herald Sun’s on line section (no link available), former Hawthorn star and “recruiting guru” Gary Buckenara cautioned that the limited number of games and the inability in 2020 and 2021 of recruiters to travel and see players playing live was a major issue. Often clubs have had to rely on the use of video analysis and local part time staff and this is not ideal. Buckenara maintains that the best way to form an opinion about players is to view their games in person. “You cannot actually pick up everything about a player by analysing videos and stats and relying on these two forms of analysis is lazy recruiting”. My reading of much of the draft coverage of the past week confirms this about many of the leading experts in the field. The pen pictures that have been posted about certain players bear such a resemblance to each other that it couldn’t be coincidental. So please forgive me for joining the lazy sheep in posting my top five as above. You would be aware by now that, despite his potential as a future player, I wouldn’t place over-hyped Melbourne’s NGA player, Mac Andrew, in my top twenty “power rating” but spare a thought for GWS Academy player Josh Fahey who will probably have to wait until tomorrow night to be drafted without much fanfare by the Giants in the 20s. Fahey was his team’s only four quarter player for the Australian Academy when it was thrashed by 130 points by Geelong VFL and named its best player. Andrew was unsighted in that game for three quarters but put in a solid final term which catapulted him into top twenty draft rankings. Good luck to both of them in 2022 when they start the season as equals in their quests for long AFL careers. The way things look at the moment, I’ll be cheering Blake Howes from my NAB Boys League club, the Sandy Dragons because most of the draft pundits have already decreed this to be the case.

Van Rooyen has been one of my favourites since the start of the season and looks gettable by the club if you follow the draft experts most of who all seem to be singing from the same choir book on draft eve (the Herald Sun joined in the chorus today). The consensus is that he will be selected by Brisbane with the last selection in Round 1 tonight.

He’s dramatically downgraded Chesser right out of the park in his power rankings because he claimed he hadn’t seen enough of his output. Yet, he upgraded Mac Andrew to top 20 in his power rankings on the strength of one so so quarter for the Academy after earlier stating that the “team got pumped by 100+ points. I wouldn't read too much into anyone's performances”. He also incorrectly claimed back in early May that Andrew weighed nearly 80k (he’s still 74kg today). There’s lots more this year. Still, he’s entitled to his opinions but I wish he expressed them consistently. Here’s his latest power rankings - November's AFL Draft Power Rankings: No. 1 player locked in as bolters make their moves

This is Chris Doerre’s Phantom Draft Every club, every pick: ESPN's full AFL phantom draft You may call me a cynic but it does help your accuracy to be second, a day after Cal Twomey.

Mentioned elsewhere on Demonland is Cal Twomey’s Phantom Draft. Cal Twomey's 2021 Phantom AFL Draft: Top 30, late picks, club whispers Highlights for Melbourne are that he believes that the club will select Blake Howes of the Sandringham Dragons and, his “whispers” for the rest are - “A father-son is set to land at Melbourne for the first time since 2014 with Taj Woewodin nominated as a national pick, meaning if a bid doesn't come for the son of 2000 Brownlow medallist Shane then the Dees can automatically grab Woewodin with their last live selection. That appears the most likely outcome, with a bid not expected before Melbourne's third pick. Dandenong Stingrays forward/midfielder Judson Clarke could still be on the board at No.37 while the Dees have nominated Andy Moniz-Wakefield, an outside runner, through their Next Generation Academy and he could be a rookie shot. As could Anthony Caminiti, a 198cm forward who kicked five goals in his NAB League debut for the Northern Knights.”

Class of 2021: Father-son Taj Woewodin 'put to the sword

I think that if Melbourne goes for a midfielder or mid-sized player with its first selection at 17 then this Western Australian KPP might be worth a look with its second pick. Jack out of the box: Why athletic WA tall is open to a move east

Ha, ha … I beat him to it.

I came across the name Harry De Mattia a few years ago in the context of a discussion on young football prospects in the southern suburban region. He was described to me as an absolute gun footballer. I’m not sure if he’s made the choice of cricket over football yet but yesterday, at age 16 he made his debut in Premier District Cricket for the Melbourne seconds and scored an unbeaten ton. Say no more.

The AFL’s talent ambassador Kevin “Shifter” Sheahan has filed his list of top draft prospects. Kevin Sheehan's top 40 draft prospects: Who has traits like the Bont?

If there’s one player at North Melbourne who represents hardness at the contest, that man is Ben Cunnington. Kangaroos rally around Cunnington as he heads into chemotherapy We wish him well as he faces a round of chemotherapy with the same courage he displays on the football field.

Also along club lines is this article in today’s Melbourne Age:- How your club stands ahead of the 2021 draft MELBOURNE PICKS: 17, 37, 49, 57, 94 KEY DEFENDERS: Steven May, Jake Lever, Adam Tomlinson, Harrison Petty, Joel Smith SMALL/MEDIUM DEFENDERS: Christian Salem, Trent Rivers, Jake Bowey, Michael Hibberd, Jayden Hunt, Deakyn Smith, Daniel Turner MIDFIELDERS: Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney, Ed Langdon, Angus Brayshaw, James Harmes, Luke Dunstan, Tom Sparrow, James Jordon, Oskar Baker, Fraser Rosman KEY FORWARDS: Ben Brown, Tom McDonald, Sam Weideman, Mitch Brown SMALL/MEDIUM FORWARDS: Bayley Fritsch, Kysaiah Pickett, Charlie Spargo, Alex Neal-Bullen, Bailey Laurie, Jake Melksham, Toby Bedford, Kade Chandler RUCKS: Max Gawn, Luke Jackson, Majak Daw It is an obvious take after a flag triumph, but the premiers could not be more primed for a sustained run at success. Headline midfielders Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver are only 25 and 24 respectively, while there is a mix of young and senior depth. Luke Dunstan provides an experienced back-up option as James Jordon and Tom Sparrow establish themselves. Precocious half-back winger Jake Bowey is yet to lose a game, Kysaiah Pickett is already one of the best pressure forwards in the league and Luke Jackson will be a frightening ruck prospect for the next decade. Winger-forward Blake Howes would offer something different with his height and athleticism, while Campbell Chesser would provide more slingshot and speed off half-back. Sam Butler could come into the Dees’ thinking as an attacking outside player. A key forward is not out of the question given the senior ages of Ben Brown, Tom McDonald and Mitch Brown, and West Australian Jack Williams would be a fine option if he slid into the third round. Melbourne are committed to father-son Taj Woewodin, who may not attract a bid until later in the draft. The son of Brownlow medallist Shane is skilful on both sides of his body and can adapt to multiple roles.

As we enter the home stretch and move into the week of the 2021 National Draft, the scribes are looking more and more at the individual clubs and their needs. Rookie Me Central has come out with its 2021 AFL Draft Preview: Melbourne These are their key questions - Will Melbourne again make moves in the first round via live trading? How early will the Woewodin bid come in? Will Melbourne pick for needs, or select best available talent for pure squad depth?

… or John Cleese for that matter.

A decade before the Tigers won their 13th premiership, they were sitting on 10 VFL/AFL flags, the last of which came three decades earlier in 1980. They had been in the football wilderness for much of the interim period and, at one stage came close to folding in the midst of a financial crisis. New CEO Brendon Gale made this statement in 2010 ~ ''By 2020, we aspire to have won our 13th premiership; consistently provide the most exciting and powerful match-day experience in the competition; once again have the strongest support base in the nation, and enjoy the strongest emotional connection with our members and fans.'' The Tigers achieved their aims and today, after breaking our own drought, we are level with them on 13 premierships and are striving for more. What are the other things besides a flag that you think we should be aspiring to and are we achieving those aims?

Noah Yze is around 15 years of age. He’s 2 - 3 years away from draft age. Let’s not forget however, that not every child of an AFL star is necessarily the “son of a gun”.

AFL NATIONAL DRAFT ORDER with Draft Points ROUND ONE 1. North Melbourne 3,000 2. GWS Giants 2,517 3. Gold Coast 2234 4. Adelaide 2,034 5. Hawthorn 1,878 6. Fremantle 1,751 7. Richmond 1,644 8. Fremantle 1,551 9. St Kilda 1,469 10. West Coast 1,395 11. Essendon 1,329 12. Port Adelaide 1,268 13. GWS Giants 1,212 14. Brisbane Lions 1,161 15. Richmond 1,112 16. Sydney 1,067 17. Melbourne 1,025 18. Brisbane Lions 985 ROUND TWO 19. Fremantle 948 20. North Melbourne 912 21. Hawthorn 878 22. Geelong 845 23. Western Bulldogs 815 24. Hawthorn 785 25. Carlton 756 26. Richmond 729 27. Richmond 703 28. Richmond 677 29. West Coast 653 30. Geelong 629 31. Sydney 606 32. Geelong 584 33. Adelaide 563 34. Geelong 542 35. West Coast 522 36. Collingwood 502 37. Melbourne 483 ROUND THREE 38. Collingwood 465 39. Sydney 446 40. Collingwood 429 41. Brisbane Lions 412 42. North Melbourne 395 43. Western Bulldogs 378 44. Western Bulldogs 362 45. Western Bulldogs 347 46. Collingwood 331 47. North Melbourne 316 48. Collingwood 302 49. Melbourne 287 50. Geelong 273 51. Essendon 259 52. Western Bulldogs 246 53. GWS Giants 233 54. GWS Giants 220 55. St. Kilda 207 56. Essendon 194 57. Melbourne 182 58. Collingwood 170 ROUND FOUR 59. Hawthorn 158 60. Fremantle 146 61. St Kilda 135 62. Port Adelaide 123 63. Carlton 112 64. Hawthorn 101 65. St Kilda 90 66. St Kilda 80 67. West Coast 69 68. Fremantle 59 69. Sydney 49 70. GWS Giants 39 71. North Melbourne 29 72. Port Adelaide 19 73. Port Adelaide 9 74. Adelaide ROUND FIVE 75. North Melbourne 76. Adelaide 77. Hawthorn 78. Carlton 79. Richmond 80. Fremantle 81. St Kilda 82. West Coast 83. Essendon 84. Sydney 85. Port Adelaide ROUND SIX 86. Gold Coast 87. Adelaide 88. Essendon 89. Sydney ROUND SEVEN 90. Gold Coast 91. Essendon