Draft likely to prove tricky for picky clubs EMMA QUAYLE
July 4, 2010 THE national under-18 championships have concluded with clubs still considering the approaching national draft a challenge.
Recruiters surveyed by The Sunday Age during the week expected many clubs to take a minimum number of picks in the compromised November draft, and for "needs" to influence first-round decisions more than they have in past years.
Having already removed 11 players from the draft pool - under the rule that allowed them to pre-sign a dozen 17-year-olds last year - the Gold Coast will make nine of the first 11 choices in the draft, pushing the existing clubs' first-round choices well down the order.
Essendon list manager Adrian Dodoro said while the championships had confirmed to him that each club would still have access to a talented player in the first round, clubs that were taking their first pick in the 20s - rather than at 10 or 11 - would naturally be making a more speculative choice.
"There's no doubt clubs will be a lot more specific in what they're looking for. I think, even with the early choices, clubs will be snapping players up as soon as possible, not taking the punt and thinking 'I could get this kid later on','' he said.
"Those days are gone. In previous years, you might look at a kid and think you could get him at 60 or 70, but this is not the year to do that.
''If a club wants a player, they'll be banking him with their first pick, because he won't be there at their second."
Collingwood recruiting manager Derek Hine agreed, expecting second-round draft choices to be far less valuable on the trade table than they have been, and predicting the newly introduced rule allowing clubs to count an upgraded rookie as one of their mandatory three draft selections would be utilised by some clubs.
"I distinctly get the feeling clubs will just be taking the three picks. I'm hearing some clubs are only taking two, which is a shame for the kids, but that's the sort of thing clubs will be considering. If you're not confident in the depth of the pool, are you willing to commit to a group of players for two years?" he said.
"Clubs will use different strategies, but I do think needs will play a bigger part. Say you need a tall player, and you're picking at around 18 or 19. In the past you might say, we'll take a midfielder first, because we're confident the tall we want will fall to our next pick.
"This year you'd definitely be taking the taller player, because your next pick won't be until the late 30s, and the likelihood of that player being there is not that great."
While the draft pool had been diminished by the removal of the Gold Coast 17-year-olds, Sydney recruiter Kinnear Beatson said a lack of quality in the second division sides at this year's championships had also affected the depth of the pool.
The most competitive second division side this year was NSW/ACT, and most of its players are reserved for Team GWS, too young for the draft or are already tied to AFL clubs under the NSW scholarship scheme.
Beatson said that while clubs would look to state league competitions for the players, the truth was that they already were, and had been for years. Before James Podsiadly and Michael Barlow came along many players - the list would extend well over 30 - had been drafted from senior leagues.
"There's Jason Porplyzia, Michael Jamison, Matthew Priddis and I could go on and on, there's a truckload of them," he said. "It's a fallacy. What's happening is that those competitions keep pushing that line, hoping more of their players will be taken, but the bottom line is that recruiters have been doing homework on them for years."
Full article at:
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/draft-likely-to-prove-tricky-for-picky-clubs-20100703-zv0w.html
