Players Richmond Could Select In The Draft!
- Lance Collard -Small Forward / Subiaco
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Lane Collard has that Charlie Cameron type factor about him, but his discipline has been a massive issue, but the talent through the WAFL Games and even the combine numbers prove he is a quality target
This season for Subiaco his goal stats are pretty extraordinary. 10 games for the year, 5 games he kicked 5+, only on 2 occasion did he not score more then 2 goals.
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AFL draft 2023: Young gun Lance Collard’s rapid rise sparks push for rule overhaulMark Duffield
West Australian
October 11, 2023 
Subiaco’s Lance Collard’s rapid rise through the draft pecking order is set to trigger a fresh debate on AFL Next Generation Academy rules and a fresh push from non-Victorian clubs for the rules to be relaxed.
Collard tested brilliantly at the National Draft Combine to top off a spectacular finish to his WAFL Colts campaign and is now considered a possible first round pick at the draft.
He will almost certainly be taken before wooden spooner West Coast, the club whose Next Generation Academy he had been a part of, have a chance to match any bid for him.
Under current rules, clubs can only match a bid for an NGA prospect taken outside of pick 40.
Earlier in the year, the lightning quick Collard was viewed as a player who would fall somewhere between the middle of the second and third rounds, putting him right on the cusp of where the Eagles might have access to him.
But he kicked 32 goals in 11 games for the Subiaco Colts, rattling home with brilliant performances in finals against West Perth and East Fremantle when he kicked five goals in both games.
He then tested fourth fastest in the 20 metre sprint at the draft combine with a time of 2.923 seconds and won the agility run with a time of 8.157 seconds.
The traits exhibited are considered critical tools for an AFL small forward to have in their kit bag. And quality small forwards who can kick goals are becoming increasingly fashionable at AFL level with Collingwood’s Bobby Hill winning this year’s Norm Smith Medal.
One AFL club recruiter on Tuesday said he would now view Collard as a first round and potential top 10 talent.
Locally talent managers have him behind only Claremont’s Daniel Curtin and alongside fellow Subiaco product Koltyn Tholstrup purely for talent.
Curtin is considered a certain top 10 pick while Tholstrup is expected to be taken in the top 25.
“He is certainly in our top couple in terms of talent,” state talent manager Adam Jones said of Collard. “The stuff that he can do is as good as any.”
“From a pure football traits perspective – speed and skill – that is a pretty fair statement.”
The question mark, Jones said, would be whether Collard could learn to adapt to the extra heat and attention he will cop at AFL level. He had been prone to reacting to niggle and close checking but had shown signs he was improving that side of his game towards the end of the season.
“It is just that on field resilience and emotional stability. Once he gets a bit older you would expect him to be a lot better in that area. From an off field perspective we haven’t had any dramas with him. It was bloody good to see him test well at the weekend,” Jones said.
Lance Collard during the 2023 AFL National Draft Combine. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Imageshttps://www.codesports.com.au/afl/afl-draft-2023-young-gun-lance-collards-rapid-rise-sparks-push-for-rule-overhaul/news-story/5113ceb773bad2a4d13ea541a44c107e
