Top ten draft picks
Herald Sun | Jon Ralph and Jackie Epstein | November 18, 2007 12:00am
Can these young guns save your club next year and beyond? Check out our Top 10 AFL draft picks.
1) MATTHEW KREUZER (Northern Knights, 18, 199.5cm, 94kg)
If there was the smallest doubt about his status as the No. 1 pick for Carlton, it was erased when the Blues recruited midfielder Chris Judd. Utterly dominant this year as a key tall who can do it all, Kreuzer could be a starring ruckman or centre half-forward.
2) TRENT COTCHIN (Northern Knights, 17, 185cm, 79.5kg )
Cotchin could easily have been the No. 1 pick at a club with plenty of key talls, but the Tigers will swoop on him in an instant. A versatile midfielder with excellent skills on both sides, Cotchin has pace, maturity and composure.
3) CHRIS MASTEN (East Fremantle, 18, 179.6cm, 77kg )
The swooper of the draft. The scuttlebutt was that West Coast felt slighted by Mitch Morton leaving for Richmond, but Masten is the midfielder they need to replace Judd and Ben Cousins.
4) CALE MORTON (Claremont, 17, 191.5cm, 78.7kg)
A rangy outside midfielder who could ultimately play key position, Melbourne will be delighted if he falls through to pick four. The Demons have plenty of in-and-under hard nuts, so the brother of Mitch and Jarryd will fit in well.
5) JARRAD GRANT (Dandenong,18, 192cm, 76.7kg)
This is where it gets tricky. Rivals believe the Bulldogs will take the tall-marking forward they need at pick five, rather than at selection 19. But the Dogs might overlook him for ruckman/key forward Ben McEvoy, fellow Vic tall Lachlan Henderson or even WA full-back Alex Rance.
6) BEN McEVOY (Murray Bushrangers, 18, 200cm, 94.6kg)
Essendon’s selection will have a critical bearing on the rest of the top 10. Does it take McEvoy, the second best ruckman in the TAC Cup this year, or one of the remaining gun WA midfielders in Rhys Palmer or David Myers?
7) RHYS PALMER (East Fremantle, 18, 181.4cm, 80kg)
The Dockers will definitely pick a local, whether it’s Palmer, Alex Rance or David Myers. Balanced onballer Palmer averaged 32 touches in the national championships, has superb endurance and is an all-round midfield star in the making.
ALEX RANCE (Swan Districts, 192cm, 87.6kg )
The best pure full-back in junior ranks, Rance shone at the championships as a stopper with plenty of rebounding intent. His father, Murray, played 97 games with the Bulldogs and Eagles, and, while the Brisbane Lions have Daniel Merrett, they need more defensive talls.
No.9) DAVID MYERS (Perth, 18, 190cm, 86kg )
St Kilda might easily swoop on Rance if he falls through, but Myers is the last of a boom quartet of WA runners exciting recruiters. A tall left-footer, he is quick, agile and has shone surging off half-back this year.
10) BRAD EBERT (Port Adelaide, 17, 188cm, 85kg)
Adelaide would love the chance to snatch ball-magnet Ebert from Port Adelaide’s clutches. The nephew of four-time Magarey medallist Russell and cousin of Port’s Brett, Brad captained South Australia and averaged 22 possessions in the under-18 carnival.
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