Demon Dynasty

It's a thing of beauty DD. If we picked him up and he can bring the X factor (with consistency of effort) there's certainly alot to look forward to.

I hope not. As much as Flanders is a very solid accumulator of stats and wins his own ball on the ground and handy in the air up forward.....let's just say the disposal side (by foot) doesn't quite match up so well from the matches i watched ?

Woodville-West Torrens. Only saw him vs WA in the Nats. Very quiet game with only 6 touches but did manage the goal of the Nats from tight on the flank. Mecurial to say the least but not a stand out game by a long shot. Henry was the man in this one (again) that stood out as the class small. Missed one Nats round through suspension....more involved in his next match against the Allies according to reports (extract from scout below)... The exciting Eagles product proved his worth once again after missing SA’s last game through suspension, collecting 22 disposals and booting a goal. While he is an obvious threat at ground level with his pace and clean hands, Pickett also has good spring and competed well above his head when required. He started well with a ground ball get against three opponents in the first term, wheeling away from them and shooting the ball inboard to Callum Park. Despite spending a lot of time up on the wing, Pickett snared a goal deep inside 50 in the second term with an easy finish into the open goal on the run. It always felt like he was about to do something special when near the ball, and he did as much with a high-flying mark on the wing in the same quarter. Was otherwise a pretty typical display from Pickett, zipping around to mop up at ground level and proving a tackling menace at both ends. Alot of time missing in games, not at the right places to contest or position front and square. Plenty of work to do here...could be his tank. A naturaly gifted player with ball in hand, smart/clever plenty of effort when he has it, amazing leap for height but will need to work on his non-possession game/fitness/endurance (cocentration?) in a big way to find the consistency at AFL imv. Lots of upside if he does....extract from draft central below... Pickett at his best this year has turned games by pure patches of brilliance and he knows where the goals are. He was rewarded with a SANFL League debut in Round 2, after a best-on-ground six-goal haul the week before in the Reserves. Every part of his game is at high pace and intensity, either high leaping marks, goals, or forward tackles; his pace and athleticism are eye-catching and no-one has these attributes to his level in this years crop of players. With his PAC football being a priority, Pickett only played a smaller number of games at SANFL level and finished with 15 goals from nine games. He did manage to average three tackles per game at Reserves and League level which was indicative of his impact on games. His season certainly had some highlights and every game he was in felt like something special could happen. Only bursts of his talent were shown really this year, but with consistency and opportunity he could become a true game breaker. STRENGTHS: Speed/acceleration Athleticism Footy smarts Defensive pressure Goal sense X-factor IMPROVEMENTS: Four quarter consistency Size Endurance

Who is statistically the worst set shot at the club (who has played a reasonable number of seniors games eg; not half a dozen or so) and the 16th worst set shot for goal in the AFL. It's a nice thought but let's leave it at that shall we. We also have no idea how accurate or effective Jackson is around goals either. Unless someone has some stats from the Colts in terms of number of shots / accuracy %?

Mummy is either cooked or very close to it. GWS will need a decent replacement and blooding Jackson in 2020 in prep for a handover in 2021 makes sense.

That's music to my ears LN. I'd be more than happy to nab Green with the bid and see Jackson head to GWS. Both clubs win. Rate him as the 2nd best inside mid behind Rowell and tbh he aint that far behind imv. Weightman possibly the next rung in terms of smallish forwards outside of Henry. His attack on the ball and defensive pressure at a very high level for his age, maybe the difference between him and those listed below that sees him touted / rated a bit earlier by some of the scribes. At the next level It's a bit of a toss up between Pickett, Willams and Taylor. Cahill chomping at their heals. Wouldn't be dissapointed at landing Taylor or Pickett with 28 but of course both could be gone before that.

Appears you were on the money with the call on Freo. The Green option is my favoured play but i am still not convinced on Jackson being worthy of a top 3 pick. Has to be one of Ash and Young (or a bid on Henry...on a needs basis and to take another pick in the top 10 off Freo ... not saying he is top 5). I would also seriously consider Schoenburg with pick 10 ahead of Weightman. Yes he is that good and imv the best 'balanced' mid in the draft with excellent execution/finishing skills (outside of the Hawks bound McGuiness). Probably not a top 10 candidate but then many argue Weightman isn't either. Just out of curiosity and this is probably one of the dumbest draft questions ever but here goes... Say we bid on Green with 3. GWS counters and we are then left to decide....are we then able to also bid on Henry with the same pick? I assume you can only bid once with each pick.

Spending more time in the mid that would make sense vs the Nats down back as you say. 28% seems quite reasonable then in the role he was asked to play. The Jackson vs other top 5 selection 'potentially' a make or break career decision for Taylor imv LT. Based on your insight into Young's contested side, i would be more than happy to take him at 3. Jackson at 8 or 10? Fair enough but i would want to bid on Green with 3 and then look to nab Young assuming GWS counters. If they didn't and we ended up with Green then it's still a major coup imho. What's your gut feel on who we are looking to target with 10 and 28?

Very much so OD. It's a big calculated gamble no doubt fraught with plenty of pot holes. With regard to getting the ball & Young, one of my thoughts was if we took him as high as 3 then we probably need to be seeing him slowly move into the mid field to justify such a high pick. While i have no idea whether that's likely or not i note that his contested possession rate in the Nats was 28.7%. I seem to recall someone saying the magical figure to hold down a place in the mid was 30%. If that is the case then there's a bit of work ahead but it seems he isn't far off either.

Just my view but most of the 'potential' guns (that we can genuinly nab ie; where a bid is unable to be easily matched like Henry) will be gone by 10 unless they slide for some reason. Don't get me wrong there will still be plenty of talent about but i think an extra gun left our clutches with the pick swap of 8. Who knows though we might get lucky and find a gold nugget in the mix (assuming we keep 10).

Stranger things have happened but would be surprised if Young & Ash slip through as far as 10. Both top 7/8 prospects imv. We gave up the chance for Ash when we swapped pick 8.

There aren't 100 brilliant kicks in the draft. Some very good ones with short passing and to a lessor degree medium. Some just as skilled at one or the other or in front of goal. There's so many 50/50 kicks in this draft in terms of hitting a target one minute and turning it straight over with the next. There's probably only 20 or so with elite kicking skills (that's a stab in the dark i haven't taken notes) that will likely transition that to AFL level and even that's a lottery. Young is the best at this skill over short to long distances which is what makes him a stand out prospect with ball in hand. He can break an opposition defence apart with one amazing kick and open the whole game up for others to feed off and benefit from up the ground, sometimes that one kick making others look great as a result but they still have to finish to do so (which is a skill in itself and those players are just as necessary to find and develop of course). He can hit an audacious target on a lead with opponent almost hand on shoulder close that many wouldn't consider trying or be capable of etc. Other times he will just kick to an open obvious target plain vanilla. But you know when he does it's going to get there almost always with very few blunders/clangers. He has weaknesses but that one skill is a stand out. IF he can build the rest of his game and take it to a decent level he should blossom at AFL. Remembering that he had the best agility in the combine so he is also pretty slippery. Hand ball is also elite as is decision making, releasing others into space to move the ball on effectively. This is all at u18 level of course. Whether that transitions to AFL level, who knows. Part of that working no doubt comes back to the ability of a club to develop and improve.

Ash will go before 10 imv. Probably missed that boat along with Young if you believe all the noise on Jackson. Serong a possibility. Kemp should be there.

Where do you play him NS? Forward? Played quite well when forward in some of the latter Nat matches. Proved to be a solid to impressive competitor in the air. A very decent set shot action which should hold him in good stead as a medium mobile tall prospect. Good by hand in the middle, at times, but not necessarily elite here. Does show elite glimpses (by hand) though. By foot and movement away from stoppages? Lots of work ahead imo and a WIP if he is to become a decent to top liner in the mid. Might take a bit longer than some to find his feet in this sort of role given his height and possibly a poor tank at this point vs others he was competing against. Ability to win the ground ball at a very good to elite level as a mid? Again a WIP imv vs some of the better mids in the Nats. Good to vg work at times when receiving from others around stoppages on the exits but again, disposal by foot (on the run) needs a fair amount of work.

Personally i haven't seen anyone who looks anything like a Selwood from this draft. Might have missed someone but i reckon your safe JSK

Young wont be going that late imo. Top 5 surely. Might be targeting Weightman or Stephens. Weightman seems the most logical as we were looking for similar in Elliot. Would much rather Ash if we aren't taking Young but unlikely he will get through to 10. Taylor, Pickett or potentially Williams at 28 if the former two are gone by then but would want to be sure re Willams' given his history of a back issue.

We may have just missed a gun in Ash. I don't mind that if we were set at taking Young at 3 but if it was Green (bid) and then say Jackson if GWS match? I would not rate Stephens at the same level impact wise as an Ash and personally i don't think Weightman is worth pick 10. The bloke is a beast at the contest and loves to break lines / zones open and hit a marking contest / intercept. He usually goes long but lowers vision at times and hits up targets a little shorter. He is going to be a bit more hit and miss than say Young (75% by foot in the Nats vs Ash 70.6%) and turn over a bit more but who isn't? Ash is also running his [censored] off much of the time meaning he is kicking under fatigue more often, which will impact his accuracy. His handballs are VERY solid also. He has an appetite for the contest / stoush, an absolute goer who will leave it all on the park all day, almost every contest! You want a man to break lines / press off HB and slingshot the ball super quick beyond the 50 and out the back quite a bit for the joe the goose on the fast break? This was it. I hope i'm very wrong but this move has potential blunder written all over it. Almost like we blinked first! 8 is also a VERY lucky number in many circles!

I hope not RM!

Would rather Schoenburg than Serong. Probably the most under rated mid in the draft. Serong a solid accumulator but disposal isn't the best.

Plenty of upside amongst all of these if they make the step up. Williams gone under the spotlight a little with some significant time out due to a back issue.

You aren't suggesting he might be played as an on baller now though surely.

On baller as in ruckman? De Koning was played as a tall HB (imho one of the top performers in this role), in his four matches during the carnival. A mark and kick type player, quite accurate by foot within his comfort zone/range (about 40 meters tops) and with his height he seems more destined to a ruck role if he can make the step up to AFL. More than likely gone a tad earlier than 28.

Good work and makes much sense BA. Unfortunately we won't be getting Ash with 10 i don't think. Possibly targeting Kemp or Weightman? If we don't land either of Young and Ash and they end up being the guns they appear like being and assuming we are targeting Jackson, he would want to end up being a very solid forward or one of the forthcoming member forums will make the last one look like a teddy bear's picnic.

0 goals from four games at the Nats although to be fair he did play as a genuine follower throughout. Have to trust that Taylor & Co. have genuinly done their homework in terms of him being capable of holding down a No.2 key forward role at some point if picking so high. Personally i think we bid on Green with 3 forcing GWS to match. They had their chance to swap and chose not to. If we land Green we can still potentially nab Ash for the HB posi at 8 or maybe a Serong or Kemp. Green & Ash (8) would be very nice imv or Young & Jackson (8).

Would be a huge double addition. Don't mind it at all BA. Ash is going to be as good as Young in his own way imv. Having said that i would seriously consider putting a bid in on Green with 3 and make sure GWS are forced to a decision. If we land him and miss Young then Ash might be an option with 8. It's a no brainer win win move i reckon. Green & Ash are both super gets from this draft pool and were both in the top 7/8 players over the carnival from what i watched.