Davos

afl.com.auSeventh heaven: The 'dream' day SA draft hopeful shot up...A seven-goal outing at the national championships put Cameron Nairn high on clubs' watch lists "He kicked 22 goals from 13 games with the Bulldogs – including a run of 16 goals in five weeks at one point – while he also had his day out for South Australia, but he actually prefers being deployed in a more defensive position on the wing. It's there where he finished the season for Central District, completing his season with performances of 30 disposals and 12 marks against West Adelaide and then 31 disposals and a goal against Glenelg. "To be honest, I actually prefer playing on the wing," Nairn said. "I ended the season playing on the wing, even as a defensive winger sometimes. I played a lot of half-forward and also in the champs I played as a third tall. I played a few different positions, but I like getting up the ground. I just like being closer to the ball and showing my running ability a little bit more as well. I get to use that on the wing." Prototype modern wingman.

On Nairn: "The Demons are never afraid to go against the grain. This is higher than Nairn has been projected, but Melbourne have him in their sights. Nairn had a seven-goal game at the championships before demonstrating his ball-winning wares with consecutive 30-plus-disposal outings to end the season. He is a high IQ footballer, can run all day as a wingman, could develop into an inside midfielder, marks well overhead and is a neat kick. If not: They would love Sam Cumming to still be on the board, and might select small forward Lachy Dovaston, defender Jacob Farrow or try to fortify their key defensive posts for the future with Blake Thredgold." On Dovaston: "Dovaston, who hails from the same Talent League club as Nick Watson, is the best small forward in this draft. He might lack Watson’s tricks, but still has his share, and has greater running capacity and is considered superior defensively to when the star Hawk was the same age. Dovaston kicks goals for fun (and lots of them), is consistent, has become more selfless, runs hard up and down the ground, and tested brilliantly at the combine. If not: Farrow would give the Demons another kicking weapon across half-back, and could become a midfielder in time. Thredgold would also make sense with Steven May nearing the end of his career, while they could pair Latrelle Pickett with his cousin Kysaiah." Of note, he has us passing on Grlj and Farrow. He also has Pickett going at 16 (4 selections after Dovaston), which is the earliest I've seen him mocked. Given I have't heard or read anything suggesting we're interested in Dovaston (every link seems like journalist speculation), it wouldn't shock me if we selected Pickett early.

Weird draft though - I think that is pretty clear now. Regardless, it never pans out that the best players are taken in perfect order, regardless of the crop available. Media consensus means little. Could also be that McGowan has heard we're keen, but maybe we're only keen in the 30s.

Love a JT bolter. Hope we do the Nairn / Pickett double - that would be fun.

It's time.

Are you more likely to win a flag with Connor Idun starting in your team (he's a better prospect than Idun), or with a Brock McLean or some other B- equivalent starting in your midfield (Sharp and Cummings). It also won't be a top 10 pick.

I've read some on here suggest he doesn't play a position of need for us. I couldn't disagree more. Lock down defender capable of playing on talls and smalls, with an improving offensive game - who on our list fits that mould? If he's available we'd be mad not to pick him. The list and coaching team would be doing cartwheels.

Yeah, the ball drop is extremely unco. He might pan out, or he may not. Unfortunately though, every option likely available at our picks are real "squint and you see it" prospects.

Nah, even guys who played on Cook in HS football knew that if you clipped him behind the ears early, and he'd be hearing footsteps for the rest of the game. Schubert isn't that. I think he could be a good honest forward. I'm not really keen, but would be okay with us picking him.

Big takeaway from that is that there are whispers we're considering Pickett with one of our early picks.

As someone who also knows little, bit will form strong opinions on potential draftees regardless, I'm not sure that I agree that he's dependant on winning by playing like a small. He's clearly a good contested mark. One grabs almost everything, and his highlights are littered with big pack clunks and excellent 1v1 bodywork. Also think mobility is vital for KPFs in modern footy. Thilthorp is an absolute weapon aerobically. Pretty much all of the best guys at the top level are mobile - they’re just harder to defend if they can move around. He's also going to be a monster physically in short time. You can tell by looking at his shoulders. He's very broad - he'll look like Thilthorp after a few preseasons. My biggest concern is he doesn't look particularly skilled. Hideous ball drop. Reminds me of John Butcher in that regard, although despite how it looks it seems to be effective enough. Anyway, draft the best small forward and key forward in the draft and prosper.

I note a few of the players who look like they'd test poorly were ill for the combine. A bit of NFL style combine avoidance creeping into the AFL?

Which is a shame, because I reckon we're short at least 1 A grade talent amongst our young crop.

Not how I see him at all - but that's part of the fun isn't it!

Really struggling to get excited about the likely options at 7 and 8. I'm probably keenest on Dovaston - he's not as talented as Nick Watson, but he could be Papley. I can't see him being any worse than say, Ben McGlynn. His combine results will have really helped him, and I like that he played some great footy at VFL level for Box Hill. I don't mind the look of Grlj. At least he's an A+ athlete. He hasn't shown an ability to accumaulate yet, but he has all the tools. Not as skillful as Butters, so I don't love that comparison, although he does move a bit like him and seems courageous. The rest of the discussed candidates for me are a bit meh. Sharp is vanilla. Lindsay a one trick pony (it's a good trick though). Worry his ceiling is Matt Sucking. Schubert doesn't do it for me, although I think Marsh looks alright. Greeves might be okay when he gets into the weight room and put through a professional conditioning program - there's some upside there. Phillipou interests me a bit. I like the athleticism and wonder whether he would have had a better year if he wasn't often injured. The one that has me absolutely stumped is Rory Wright. How is this guy not considered at least a top 20 pick in this draft? The only real downside that I can find is that he seemingly had a quiet national champs, but there may have been a reason for that (position played ect). He's an elite kick and is clean under pressure. Looks best suited as a HBF but has inside-outside midlfield capability. Hard as a cats head. Looks plenty athletic. Wonder if he'll emerge as a bolter - JT has shown in the past that he won't always follow consensus.