What is the NUMBER #1 thing you want in our new draftee?

[azabob]

What is YOUR "Non-Negotiable"?

Which skill or physical attribute do you value above all others...and WHY???

mjp what is your non negotiable?

At underage level how much is "leadership" valued?

[The Doctor]

I voted for Competitiveness/determination just ahead of clean hands. Our 2016 side was full of players who 'cracked in' I'll never forget watching the last 15 minutes of our win and our boys were cracking in like crazy when the Swans players could barely get to the contest. Look at the Wall of Biggs for example.

I always look for clean hands among draftees when watching them. Watching our 2023 team I was horrified by the number of fumblers in our team especially when up against strong opposition in critical moments of the match.

[Mofra]

I voted for Competitiveness/determination just ahead of clean hands. Our 2016 side was full of players who 'cracked in' I'll never forget watching the last 15 minutes of our win and our boys were cracking in like crazy when the Swans players could barely get to the contest. Look at the Wall of Biggs for example.

I always look for clean hands among draftees when watching them. Watching our 2023 team I was horrified by the number of fumblers in our team especially when up against strong opposition in critical moments of the match.

I'm a way, clean have can be taught.
Lachie Neale does more touch work than anyone and he's arguably the cleanest ground ball player in the comp. On his case it's taught, not natural

[lemmon]

Decision making, but in my mind that is multi faceted so maybe I'm having my cake and eat it.

I would define the correct decision involving vision, an appraisal of the game at that point in an instant, and the skills by hand and particularly by foot to give effect to that decision quickly and often under pressure. It may also involve the player getting themselves into the right place at the right time.

It is a rare commodity, and often possessed by the elite players.

Pendlebury is a good example. Almost always makes the right decision and then executes it.

Same for me - I think a lot of our inability to transition the ball has been because of a combination of poor decision making and inefficient execution. Bont stands out because he makes the right call with the footy and has the power in his leg to pull that off, it's something we're sorely missing across all lines.

[Rocket Science]

It's tempting to prioritise competitive ferocity because we've seldom felt more starved of it, but I'd sell the farm for a bloke who's a reliably lethal field kick and can make the game so much easier for his teammates as a consequence.

[mjp]

mjp what is your non negotiable?

At underage level how much is "leadership" valued?

Well...we all talk about leadership but I'm not sure that's what you need as an AFL team drafting an 18 year old...you do want players who are confident enough in themselves to ASK FOR HELP when they need it (rather than just continue to 'not understand') but is that leadership? Who knows. Being a captain at underage level doesn't mean all that much to me to be honest as so often in junior teams (and senior teams for that matter) the 'real' leaders don't have the title...they are just the ones everyone falls in line behind.

Honestly, I don't know what I would value first because we are talking about #1 thing and it would vary to me depending on what I was looking for. I would more likely have a "DON'T" list:

- Don't draft forwards who don't regularly kick 'bags' of goals at junior level - and I'm talking 5+.
- Don't draft mids who don't regularly 'rack 'em up' at junior level - and I'm talking 35+.
- Don't draft 'defend first' defenders who touch the ball 12x per game...

None of them are going to make it.

I do have caveats on all of that stuff but that's the bare bones for me.

Next - I want a player who has a close group of friends and who always seems to be 'doing' something with them - there is a lot of downtime in AFL footy and I want guys who know how to fill that time with 'stuff', not a void. I want players who want to OWN something and be part of something...at the same time, I understand that most 17 year olds just want to play 'well'...

It's tough you know. It's not a 'no dickheads' test but you need to bring players into your group who will be able to fit in...every club has it's own personality type and you can't bring in too many outliers...