An Essendon poster 'ant55' on BF has done an impressive run-down of the likely draftees this yearhttp://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4809051 - 20Jack Watts – 194cm, 85kg – Sandringham Dragons/Brighton Grammar
Tall mobile forward who is a very strong mark who leads to the right spots and has a good understanding of how a forward line should work. Very good skills and has a great ability to get through traffic for a big bloke. His evasiveness in close defies his size at times and is capable of side stepping midfielders. Lovely long right foot kick and is generally a good set shot for goal. His pace is good. Reads the game very well and was good when used in the midfield in one game I saw him play for Sandy. He managed to quarter back the game in periods and used the ball well on a wet day. The only real down side I have is he did not look all that effective in the very few quarters of games he was used in defence.
Prediction – top 3
Daniel Rich – 183cm, 83kg – Subiaco
Classy midfielder who has very good pace and good skill on both sides of the body. He struggled a bit during the champs with tags but he still managed to work his way into the games at various stages. His positioning and agility in and around stoppages is outstanding. Has the ability to lose his man in traffic which did not always pay off with possessions but will serve him well at AFL level. He is good overhead, has very good vision and is a quick thinker. Also a very reliable long range goal kicker. Kicks the ball 50 meters with ease. As far as down sides go the tags got to him a bit during this years champs so he will have to work a bit harder in that area. Another minor criticism I have from one of the champ games is he could have worked a bit harder as a small forward but overall he is a great midfielder.
Prediction – top 3
Nick Naitanui – 197cm, 95kg-Swan Districts.
Pace, big leap and athletic. Not a great kick and if he is running flat out he actually has to slow down a lot before he kicks the ball. His leap is a big advantage in the ruck and his palm work is pretty good. When he has the ball in his hand and is running forward he is very creative with his handball but the biggest concern I have is he is not a natural at reading the game. He gets caught out of position a lot and it reflects on the low amount of possession around the ground that he often has. Does not have a handle on running to the dangerous areas of the ground. I think he would actually make a sensational Rugby League or Union player because his peripheral vision with the ball in his hands is very good and he can hit team mates in space by hand very well when he is on the run. Personally I would not pick him if I had a top ten pick. In saying that he will get picked up in the top 10 because his athletic ability has to be seen to be believed.
Prediction – top 10
Michael Hurley – 192cm, 92kg – Northern Knights.
Has been the best defender in the last two Champ series. He has a smart footy brain and reads the play very well and will often direct his team mates on the where to be or where to run. In defence his communication skills are good and he will push forward to get involved in the play. Have seen him call a player back onto his man so he can get forward onto a different opponent and try and make things happen.
He is a lovely long right foot kick who can kick it 50 meters with ease and his left side is just as good. I have seen him easily kick the ball 50 meters on both sides of the body on a wet day.
His defensive skills are excellent and he has dominated any one on one duels.
The one question mark on him is his pace. He is not a lumberer but he does not have great speed off the mark and overall his pace is not great. He has made up for it at under 18 level with his great anticipation and reading of the play, the question is can he do that at AFL level.
Another string he does have to his bow is the fact that he has played a lot of TAC Cup footy at CHF. He has kicked bags of 6 a couple of times and has also kicked 2 or 3 goals from CHF in numerous games.
Prediction – top 6
Hamish Hartlett – 182cm, 74kg – West Adelaide
Highly skilled midfielder with very good pace. Has good hands in close and is a one touch player who rarely fumbles. Reads the clearances very well and has good skills on both sides of the body. His positioning and work at the centre bounce is excellent and he sets up play well. Will push forward and kick goals and can kick the ball 50 meters. He has a good side step and is evasive in close situations. He was tagged most of the way through the Champs and although in some games his numbers where not high he still made a pretty good contribution although he could have done a bit more work in and around the packs to loose his tag. One down side to his game is the fact that despite being highly skilled he can still produce a few lazy kicks at various stages which is more of a concentration thing than anything else.
Has played senior footy in the SANFL.
Prediction - top 6.
Jack Ziebell – 188cm, 84kg – Murray Bushrangers.
Strong midfielder /half back / half forward. Good size and excellent skills on both sides of the body. Reads the play very well and is good at finding his own ball. Clearance work is pretty good although at times he does just charge forward hoping that his side’s ruckman wins the tap and he can burst away with the ball. It looks good when it comes off but when the ball goes the other way he can get caught out big time. He is a very strong mark and regularly takes one grab contested marks. Kicking for goal is good and he can kick long distances.
The only real question mark I have on him is his pace. He has a reasonable burst of speed when it is needed but in general he is not overly quick. He is not a player that will break the lines with his pace.
Prediction - top 10.
Tyrone Vickery – 200cm, 86kg – Sandringham Dragons/Hailebury College
This bloke is the pick of the ruckmen for mine. Good leap and excellent tap work. Managed to win a good number of ruck contests against Natinui when they came up against each other during the last Champ game. If it is not working for him in the ruck he does change the angles well and is prepared to come in from a different direction.
He has good skills and is mobile with reasonably good pace. Takes a good contested mark and kicks goals when he is playing forward. He has good hands at ground level and gets around the ground well. Played very well in the wet in a TAC Cup game against Roughead late in the season.
May not be rated as a top ten pick by some but he is by me because as a ruckman I don’t see a lot of negatives.
Prediction – pick 5 to 15
Mitch Robinson – 188cm, 77kg – Lauderdale – Tasmania.
Tall skinny winger/midfielder who had a great Champ series. Found a heap of the ball both in close and as the link player. Reads the clearances well and has good pace. Good skills and good hands in close. Can take a nice mark and works hard all day. Not afraid to put his body on the line. Nice long right foot kick. Right side is ok to get him out of trouble but not great.
One downside to his game is his kicking under real pressure can be a little suspect.
Has played V.F.L footy.
Prediction - pick 8 to 25.
Nick Suban – 179cm, 82kg – North Ballarat.
Strong bodied small defender / midfielder who has had two pretty good carnivals now. Has been used mainly on the half back line but can go into the middle and win the ball if needed. Did a great job as a small defender on Yarran in Country’s win against WA. He is a smart player who has good skills on both sides of the body. His defensive side is good and he reads the play well .Can kick the ball a long way.
The TAC Cup games he has played in the midfield have generally been very good and he has read and directed the play well.
The question marks he has on him are his lack of genuine pace and the fact that he kicks to contests at times during games. Natural player who displays good on field leadership. May be a bit of a slider in the draft because of the fact he plays a lot of footy at half back and is not overly quick.
Prediction – pick 10 to 25.
10. Steele Sidebottom – 182cm, 79kg – Murray Bushrangers
Natural smooth moving midfielder with excellent skills on both sides of the body. Very smart player who reads the play well and has a good understanding of the clearances. Runs to the right spots and provides good options. Uses the ball well by hand and by foot. The only real downside he has is he is only steady in the pace department. Has enough speed to get himself out of tight situations but is not going to burst out of a pack or through the middle of the ground. Has been used in a variety of roles including half back, half forward and midfield.
Prediction – 6 to 20.
Chris Yarran – 180cm, 84kg – Swan Districts.
Solid half forward / midfielder. Had a steady carnival without really reaching any great heights. Very nice mover who has great skills on both sides of the body. Even on a quiet day he manages to chip in with a couple of goals or a few goal assists. Takes a good contested mark and has great hands at ground level. Has huge potential if his endurance allows him to move into the midfield at a later stage. Can make the difficult things look very easy on his best day.
His down side currently is the lack of motor to play long periods in the middle and finding a consistent level throughout the whole game.
Prediction – pick 10 to 20.
Sam Blease – 183cm, 72kg – Eastern Rangers.
Bottom aged winger / midfielder. Not much of him but he has excellent pace and great skills. Beautiful long right foot kick. Kicks well on his left but it does not have the same penetration as his right side. Has good hands at ground level and a great side step in traffic. Despite his size he does put his body on the line and tackles well. Plays a mainly outside role but is able to move into the middle and find the ball at clearances. His work rate is very good. His closing speed is very good and he catches a lot of players by surprise.
One downside to his game is the fact that he can have quiet periods during a game. Needs to find more consistent involvement during games. He also has a bit to work on with some of his defensive aspects. When he plays on a good opponent he can lose touch and get burnt going back the other way.
I think it will surprise a few people how early this kid goes in the draft.
Prediction – pick 5 to 25.
Steve Hill – 182cm, 72kg – West Perth.
Mainly a winger who can play a midfielder role. Very good pace. Reads the play well and gets involved off the wing to create options for those in close clearing the ball. Kicks both feet and his skills are pretty good. Has a lovely long left foot kick. Has an exceptional motor and reports say he ran about 15km in the game against SA. Although he did most of his best work in an outside role he is more than able of wining his own ball and is pretty good around the stoppages. Played on Hartlett in the game against SA and did the run with role very well winning a fair bit of the ball himself. Played well in all the Champ games. His work rate up and down the ground is excellent.
Will have to put on a bit of muscle before he will be a permanent fixture at AFL level which will be his down side. Will possibly be someone who will need a couple of season to build up his body.
Prediction – pick 5 to 25.
Jaime Sheahan – 178cm, 73kg – Murray Bushrangers.
There is not much of him but he simply knows how to play. He goes in hard all day and is a very clever player. Plays both inside and outside and really knows how to find the ball at the stoppages. Had five clearances in the last quarter against SA and was one player who gave Country some real drive and put some respect back into the game. Kicks the ball on both sides and works well as a small forward. His crumbing work around the forward line is excellent. His down side can be his kicking. He is not a really long kick and he can grub or bounce the ball to team mates under pressure but he is a reasonably reliable kick. Kicks goals from set shots out to about 45 metres with good accuracy. His good pace and clearance work may well see him move up the draft ladder a bit.
The downsides will be his shortish kicking and his light frame.
Prediction – pick 15 to 40.
Matt Deboer – 187cm, 85kg – Claremont.
Solidly built midfielder who has had two pretty good champ series. Finds a lot of the ball and is good with his clearance work and positioning. Kicks mainly on the right side and his pace is reasonably good. Is good in traffic and his work rate is good. Needs to sharpen up on his kicking as he can miss targets by foot. Good player who knows where to run and how to find the pill.
If he can improve his kicking and his decision making (as far as where he kicks the ball) he could be close to a star midfielder.
Prediction – pick 10 to 40.
Tom Swift – 190cm, 84kg – Claremont.
One of the big question marks of this draft. Was sensational in the 2006 under 16 Champs for WA where he lead division one for just about every midfield stat. He missed pretty much all of last year after doing a knee in April and has had limited games since then. Personally I have not seen him play but if you can lead the division in handballs, marks, short kicks, contested possessions, uncontested possessions, handball receives and clearances then you must be doing something right. Guess it will all depend on how he gets through the end of this year and how he goes at draft camp.
Prediction - ?? pick 5 to 30.
Jackson Trengove – 196cm, 77kg – Calder Cannons.
Another with an injury question mark after suffering a hamstring tendon injury earlier this year. Before going down with the injury he was in very good form. A tall defender with good pace who also had stints in the ruck in the TAC Cup. Had a great year last season and was one of the standouts. Good skills. Good pace. Great work rate and ability to read the game which is a big plus for a tall. Without the injury he would certainly be talked about as a genuine top 10 prospect or even higher. His injury may hinder his draft camp performance so the test results may not revile the full picture. He is good enough that you would certainly look at taking a risk with him.
Prediction – pick 10 to 30.
Shaun McKernan – 196cm, 95kg – Calder Cannons.
Big lump of a kid who has played ruck and forward. Is probably short of genuine ruck size but he does possess a reasonable leap and gives a contest every time. His tap work is good when he gets first hands on the ball. He gets around the ground well but his pace is certainly not what you would call quick. His skills are good and he can push forward and take a good mark and kick goals.
His down side will be the fact that he is not going to be tall enough to make it as a number one ruckman in the AFL. This will mean he has to take on a KP role which he is pretty good at but he does not have that quick burst of speed to get him clear. He will have to rely on a bit of nous and his size.
Prediction – pick 10 to 25.
Nick Heyne – 187cm, 79kg – Gippsland Power.
Lovely moving left footer who has done really well this season. Has absolutely dominated some TAC Cup games and had a reasonably good Champ series. Kicks mainly on the left side but can kick on the right pretty well. Is a dangerous forward who can kick goals from all angles and is a very good mark. Reads the clearances well in the middle and can find the ball. Pace is pretty good. Does have a few games where you wonder if he is on the ground at certain stages but then he will have a great quarter out of nowhere. If he can find more consistency in his performance over the whole game he will be a very damaging player.
Prediction – pick 10 to 30.
Matthew Broadbent – 189cm, 81kg – Woodville-West Torrens.
Has played mainly half back or run with roles but he looks like a kid who can play a natural midfield role as well. He has pretty good pace and has good hands in close. Uses the ball well by foot as well. Runs hard all day and when he plays at half back he is prepared to run and make an option or run and carry the ball. Gave SA good drive in most games. Despite his defensive roles he managed to find a bit of the as well.
Prediction – pick 12 to 40.