The pressure of one
Mike Sheahan | June 28, 2008
SEVERAL pertinent points seem to be ignored in the never-ending debate about what clubs would do with a second crack at the 2004 draft.
It's a given all 16 would take "Buddy" Franklin at No. 1, yet Franklin is a unique talent who skews the debate.
That aside, here are three facts that endorse Richmond's decision to take Brett Deledio No. 1.
He was drafted at the tender age of 17 years and six months, he won the AFL Rising Star Award in his first year, and he has played the most games of the crop of 2004.
Deledio, who turned 21 in April, has played 75 of a possible 79 matches in four seasons at Punt Rd.
Hawthorn trio Jordan Lewis (72), Jarryd Roughead (71) and Franklin (69) are next, followed by Collingwood's Travis Cloke (67).
It is good company. While Deledio is the only one of that lot yet to play finals, there is a school of thought that says it is just as tough to get a kick in a poor team as it is to win a place in a good team.
For the record, Franklin polled one vote from the Rising Star's nine-man selection panel in 2005.
So is there more upside or downside to the status of No. 1 draftee?
"There's a lot of upside," Deledio says. "It was a huge honour for me; the downside is the expectation that comes with it.
"There's definitely downside.
"Everyone expects you to come out like Juddy (Chris Judd) and dominate from game one.
"For most other people, that's not possible.
"You still hear people talking about Travis Johnstone as the No. 1 (1997). Even now he's at Brisbane and he's won a best-and-fairest (at Melbourne).
"Sometimes people say 'whoever-it-is is the No. 1 draft pick, why isn't he doing this or that?' They don't look into what they're saying before they say it, they don't see behind the scenes, they just go on face value."
Deledio agrees youngsters generally are marked hard.
"I think the guys that go into a poorer side, like Marc Murphy (2006) did, are. Midfielders that go into a poorer side come in and are expected to dominate.
"They get quite a lot of respect (read attention) from opposition clubs.
"Selly (Joel Selwood), for example, down at Geelong was able to slot straight into their midfield without all the attention because of all their good players.
" 'Blinga' (Richard Tambling), he plays a good game and the next week, because he's one of our better midfielders, he gets sat on and he's still learning the game."
As for his own form, statistically, it's his best season.
"I think I've been pretty consistent. I think I'm still learning the game in terms of how hard you have to work through the midfield.
"In my junior days, you didn't have to worry about picking up blokes; you just ran round.
"You can't do that these days. It comes up in game review. That's the worst thing, I reckon, being embarrassed in front of your teammates if you haven't manned up.
"That's been something I've had to work on and am continuing to work on.
"My first year was good because I was allowed to run around (as a half-forward, forward pocket) and no one took a lot of notice of me.
"The second year, I got a little bit more respect and Mark Coughlan, our best midfielder then, didn't play.
"Third year (2007), it was my best finish in the best-and-fairest (fifth) and I played forward for the last half."
Coach Terry Wallace suggested in a recent newspaper interview that Deledio had more to offer.
"Really consistent," Wallace said, yet Deledio is a player with scorching pace, an ability to carry the ball, and a booming kick.
At 188.5cm and 88kg, and with his dash, he, apart from a rampaging Richo, is the Richmond player who would most worry opposition coaches.
Does he have another, yet unused, gear?
"I don't think I've played my best footy yet. Obviously, I can still kick more goals and lay more tackles and all that sort of stuff.
"(But) I have more pride in setting blokes up than kicking the goals myself," reflected by his ranking for goal assists.
It's not that he doesn't enjoy kick-
ing them himself. "I think it's more about finding yourself in the right spot. Nathan Brown always finds himself in the right spot to get on the end of it. Maybe I need to do some more work with him on where he runs."
Surging forward, the crowd roaring, teammates and opponents running everywhere, he says, is "good fun".
He rates his five goals against Collingwood in Round 19 last year as a career highlight, yet says his most memorable game is Richmond's four-point win over Hawthorn in Round 21, 2005.
In a performance that probably sealed his Rising Star win, Deledio had 26 disposals, his last kick a bomb to the goalsquare that led to the winning goal.
"Kicking five goals against Collingwood was a lot of fun because we beat them . . . the most memorable game was probably kicking the ball to Jay Schulz that led to the winning goal in Mark Graham's last game."
Wallace probably would have a different choice altogether.
In Richmond's humiliating loss to Sydney this year, Deledio racked up 32 possessions on Paul Bevan, and kicked two goals. It was a mature performance from a youngster.
After publicly declaring him "the next big thing" before the season, I have watched him closely.
He had a stinker against Carlton first up, despite two goals.
He wore his hair in the style and shade of the lead singer of any backstreet 1970s punk rock band, and looked as comfortable as a set forward as a kid plucked from the cheer squad.
Yet he's probably top three in the Tigers' best-and-fairest after 13 rounds and looks like he belongs, and believes he does.
This afternoon, he will be on the big stage - Richmond versus Carlton, at the 'G in the only game in town.
"Life's good at the moment; yeah, life is good," he says.
Now he understands why he picked football ahead of an equally promising career in cricket.
"I think footy was always the one that I enjoyed the most, but I still love cricket. Sometimes when you have a bad one, you think, 'Geez, why didn't I play cricket?'
It's a question he is asking himself less and less.
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