So we decided to not draft midfielders in the last 3 drafts :eek:
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Lipinski and Greene were drafted as mid-sized forwards - they aren't ready for any extended time in the middle, especially at AFL level. Also a bit harsh on players who were only drafted 18 months ago and who both suffered extended injury lay-offs in their only season to date.
Webb is simply not an inside mid, or at least not at AFL level. We definitely need reinforcements in that area of the ground.
At least we have first dibs on one of the best in and under midfielders in this draft; Rhylee West. By all accounts a good user too.
I’d settle for him just having a more penetrating kick than his old man. But an additional yard of pace would be handy... or are we now just getting greeedy!?
We have a dearth of midfielders right now, especially considering guys who were drafted as mids are playing elsewhere (Dunkley, Clay Smith, Bailey Williams, The Bont, etc).
Rhylee West is a free kick to us, our next academy kid (Khamis) seems set to be a Wood type who is a supreme athlete but will take time.
God I hope we manufacture a first round pick before the West bid somehow.
Oliver Liberatore was a good ball user at U14 level. :D
I've only seen a few snippets on You Tube, does look very much like his father in style. By all accounts is very similar, although Knightmare in his player profiles lists acceleration, vision, strong body, contested ball winning, composure and reliable ball use as particular strengths, which sounds promising (reckons his weaknesses are height [180 cm] and lack of x-factor).
For what it's worth, KM rates him at #19 in the draft and reckons his draft range is anywhere from 10-40 - in comparing him to a current day player, KM says the closest comparison is Nathan Jones.
I can't stand Nathan Jones. I hope Rhylee turns out just like him.
By total chance I struck up a conversation at a wedding a couple of months ago with a guy who is one of the coaches at Calder. He was pretty complimentary of Rhylee's contested work and hands, but said his kicking is choppy and would need work. "Pretty much his dad" was the takeaway I got.
The dude LOVED what he'd seen of Ollie Liberatore though.
I was thinking this last year but is West the reason we traded out of the second round this year?
From all reports he will be a late first round/early second round selection, which presumably would come after our first pick.
Faced with the dilemna of keeping our second round pick and losing it to get him, or trading our second round pick for other stuff and then using a couple of later picks to get West we chose the latter.
Essentially we chose something in 2017, West and no third rounders instead of nothing in 2017, West and third rounders.
Khamis potentially justifies it further btw.
Am I giving us to much credit?
I think there are too many variables and unknowns to be doing something like that 1 year in advance. A players draft range can rise or fall dramatically in the space of a season, not to mention countless other list management issues that will arise over that time. Clubs usually acquire the appropriate picks from other clubs via pick/player swaps in the same trade period.