Draft gems harder to find this year
06 July 2007 Herald Sun
Rebecca Williams
LESS depth than last year, some quality talls at the top and creativity required with later picks.
Those are some of the impressions of this year's batch of draft hopefuls from AFL recruiters as the under-18 national championships hit town.
While last year's crop was widely regarded as the best since the famous 2001 Hodge-Ball-Judd draft, recruiters are not making the same comparisons this year.
A hallmark of last year's draft was its depth, but club scouts are not convinced the talent vein runs as deep in 2007.
Despite these predictions, there are still plenty of plaudits for the kids at the top.
At the moment, most of the hype has surrounded athletic Northern Knights tall Matthew Kreuzer as the likely No. 1 selection, while his teammate, midfielder Trent Cotchin, also has big wraps.
Collingwood recruiting manager Derek Hine rated the standouts as the "big talls at the front", but said the overall depth didn't match 2006.
"Last year's draft ran pretty deep," Hine said.
"I wouldn't have thought at this point in time that it (this year's group) has the depth of last year's draft. But I think everyone will find a player."
Western Bulldogs recruiting manager Scott Clayton agreed the depth was not as strong as last year, but said there would still be rewards late in the draft if clubs were prepared to take a gamble.
"It's probably not (as deep as last year), but it's early days," Clayton said.
"From a quick look, there is probably not the numbers there, but you are going to have to be a bit more creative and look a bit closer."
Geelong recruiting manager Stephen Wells predicted the draft would be very even after the top group, forcing clubs to do their homework for their late picks.
"There will be some outstanding players right at the very top and a good, even bunch after that," he said.
"We'll need to do a lot of work to sort them out."
There were concerns after last year's draft about the strength of the talent pool coming from the AFL's heartland in Victoria.
Only two Vic Metro players - Andrejs Everitt (Western Bulldogs) and Chris Dawes (Collingwood) - featured in the opening two rounds of last year's national draft.
After Vic Metro and Vic Country were well beaten in the opening round of the championships at Subiaco and AAMI Stadium last week, questions have again been raised about the depth in this state.
"It was a surprise that WA beat Vic Metro so easily and the fact that SA beat Vic Country comfortably," one local recruiter said.
"The fact that both Victorian sides lost quite comfortably in the first round of the under-18 national championships is a rare occurrence.
"I think that indicated that maybe the depth in Victoria this year is not as strong as perhaps we hoped it would be.
"But that can all turn around. It's early days."
So, who are the top players bottom clubs Richmond, Melbourne and Carlton will be keeping a keen eye on during the championships?
The name on everyone's lips, the 199cm and 91kg Kreuzer is capable of playing ruck or key forward, but boasts the speed and agility of an onballer.
Cotchin is considered the all-round package as a midfielder with speed, great skills and strong overhead.
South Australian captain Brad Ebert, the nephew of SA champion Russell, is another highly rated and versatile midfielder.
West Australian midfielder Rhys Palmer enhanced his prospects last week with five goals in his team's win against Vic Metro.
Geelong tall Lachlan Henderson is also highly ranked, despite injury ruining his prospects at this year's national championships.
Cats recruiting manager Stephen Wells said Henderson's bad luck was unlikely to harm his draft prospects, with clubs looking to the future.
"Ideally you see the players play as much as you possibly can, but when they are injured you just take that into account and refer back to what we know about them," Wells said.
"When you are making those decisions, you still just make a decision based on the long-term and not the short-term."
For the first time this year, the under-18 titles have been played over several weeks and in different states.
Clayton said it was a move that would make the recruiters' jobs easier.
"We're going to get to see them adapt to different circumstances than we have in the past," he said.
"I think it's going to make it easier. It's good to see people in different circumstances."
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