2. Richmond – Cale Morton – DOB 18/1/90 Ht 192 Wt 75Richmond have a tough decision to make about whether to take Morton or Cotchin. At the end I decided to go with Morton basically because of he adds some much needed height to Tigers running brigade. It also reunites two of the Morton brothers and might be the best way to get the best out of Mitch who has been a bit of a problem child to date.
Morton was the Larke medallist and rightly so from my perspective. Playing in the middle or at half back he gave the Western Australians great run and the effectiveness of his disposal set him apart from the other midfielders for WA. He averaged 25 possessions a match and made them all count. He has good hands, works well in tight and never seems to fumble but for me most impressive is his kicking. He has a beautiful, long kick off either foot and he has the great ability to hit his man in stride. His disposal was as good as any at the championships. He is good under pressure in the backline and seems to have the time to pick out the best option. His vision and player awareness is also very good. He will go forward when the chance arises and will kick goals anywhere from 55m in. Coming into the year there was questions about his marking ability but he seems to have laid those issues to rest leading Div 1 with 28 marks for the three matches.
There will be some conjecture about where he will play at AFL level. Not because he lacks anything physically or skill wise but simply because he could legitimately play anywhere much like Chad Cornes. At 192 cms he could end up a key position and the thought of him running off half back would have a lot of teams salivating. On the other side of the coin it had the best beep test at camp (15.4) and is an elite runner and as such he could get a run in the midfield with any team in the AFL. At the moment he is too thin to play key position and is likely to start on the wing or a flank where he can use his running ability. Cale is an intriguing combination of physical, athletic and skill talents that would have the teams drafting in the top four rubbing their hands together. At camp he also finished 3rd in the 3km time trial.
He played mostly school football this year and only managed one game of seniors for Claremont but he did manage to be named the best player for them in that game. The main concerns about Mitch I think centre around personality and development issues which seem to run in his family.
18. Richmond – Tom Bellchambers – DOB 9/7/89 Ht 199 Wt 91Richmond need to pick up a ruck in this draft and for me Bellchambers would be a very nice addition to their side. He is a big bodied ruck that will be able to provide a contest and will likely be playing before most of the more lightly built rucks prospects have developed. An AFL preseason is likely to do him the world of good and he could end up being a steal at the end of the first round or early second.
For me he was clearly the best ruck in Division 2 this year being too strong for his opposition. He was unlucky that the Div 1 rucks were so strong this year otherwise he might have been a strong chance for AA. His game body shape, size and game is similar to that of Clark Keating except that he is more of a tap ruck rather than a crash and bash sort in the ruck. There is a fair bit of the crash and bash though around the ground where he doesn’t mind throwing his ample frame around. His 1%ers are very good for a big man and he will work to lay a tackle and shepherd when needed. In the ruck he is one of the more skilled tap rucks going around this year and he gets first hands to the ball more often than not. It is worth noting that he beat Matthew Clarke in his VFL debut against the Scorpions this year.
It is probably unlikely that he will ever be a high possession ruck but he will get a few and his disposal is pretty good. Around the ground he is a lumbering sort (ie not quick) that looks ungainly but still manages to cover a fair bit of ground. Word is that his conditioning levels are poor and for me that is encouraging. I was impressed with him when he was half fit and so if he lifts his endurance he has an excellent chance of being a top shelf ruckman. I would be interested to see what he measured in at at camp as when I have seen him in person I came away thinking that might be shorter than advertised. That being said I still is legitimate ruck size at AFL level. For me he is a late first early second round pick. I couldn’t see Richmond, Bulldogs, West Coast and Melbourne all passing from him at the top of the second round.
51. Richmond – Austin Wonaeamirri – DOB 2/10/88 Ht 176 Wt 76Richmond haven’t had much luck recently with their short indigenous players but with them setting up their indigenous academy I would expect them to take one or two aboriginal guys this year. Wonaeamirri is a hard working in and under who would add some starch to their midfield which has too many soft players at the moment I think. I like him and Richmond could do a lot worse at this stage.
The biggest problem for Wonaeamirri may be that he just doesn’t look like a footballer. He is a bit on the short side and doesn’t look in shape being a bit on the pudgey side (technical term there). When I watch him I tend to prejudge him because of that but I am willing to admit the kid can play. He also may be a bit taller than advertised as he was listed at 178 in end of year publications.
At the Champs he probably covered as much ground as any of the Territory guys and I would expect him to have lead them in disposals. He has good pace and is capable of bursting through tackles with pace and strength. He has good vision and lead the way through the middle or off half back for the Territory. He has good skills off either foot although when pressured some of his disposals can go astray. Any team looking to toughen up their midfield could do worse than Wonaeamirri as he is as tough as nails and tackles exceptionally well. He is older than most draft picks and this might count against him. He has been good in the seniors for Norwood this year as a goal kicking wingman. Wonaemirri was named NT’s best player at the Champs.
http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=395411
