Where would you rather be drafted to?

[Dry Rot]

OK, you are 17 or 18 years old and you think you're pretty hot shit player nominating for the National Draft.

You know from various tests eg national comps and what your new found manager says that you may go say 10 - 25 in the draft.

Many clubs are interested.

Where would you prefer to go?

Your manager (and your club interviews indicate) that you could go to say development clubs like the Dees or Tigers where you may well play AFL in your first year.

But your manager also says that several high ranking clubs such as the Cats, Dogs and Saints could pick you up.

If that happened, you wouldn't be playing AFL in your first season in a loser development side but rather be developed by the Cats, Dogs or Saints in the VFL for several seasons and have to break into the senior side on form and effort.

Which path would you choose?

[The Coon Dog]

Re: Where would you rather be drafted to?

Looking at the past few years with Matthew Panos & David Gourdis, take what your manager says with a grain of salt.

That said, I think it depends on the individual. Does he have a preference & if so what is it? Is there a team he doesn't want, does he mind moving interstate?

They'll all say they're happy to be drafted anywhere, but most would have some preference.

Realistically, a late first round to early to mid second rounder would hope to play senior football the following year.

A tough one to answer really. At a lower club your chances of senior football in the short term are much greater, but if your VFL affiliate is also crap, you may not develop as you would wish.

When I first saw the title I thought it was going to be about 17 year old guns who bypass the draft & sign with Gold Coast or those 12 months later who's club is West Sydney. I know where I'd prefer to live in that scenario, but that's clearly not a football based decision.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: Where would you rather be drafted to?

Being pretty young myself and not entirely far off the mark when I was 16, I honestly didn't have a preference at all because it would be a delight to be drafted by any club. The opportunity to play AFL footy is one pretty much all young kids want and generally there'd be no preference. (Eg. Bartlett was over the moon to goto Brisbane).

However, if I had to choose as such, I'd probably pick a young developing side ala Melbourne/Richmond. You'll probably develop quicker because you'll be more exposed to senior footy and thus you can test yourself out straight away. Some players obviously play better the higher the grade, too. Being held back in the VFL is not always a good thing. Josh Hill has never really set the VFL alite but he's been an important player at AFL level over the last two seasons.

Being a young player, it wouldn't be hard to get lost amongst all the stars at Geelong, Dogs and the Saints. There's two arguments to the theory but in some cases, it surely stiffles development whereby they eventually fade out of contention because of the top sides having so many quality players.

In a development side, you're given every opportunity within the 2-4 years to make an impact. If you can't crack it, you know you've had every possible chance. Where as if you played in a top side, it's unlikely you'll get games in the first 1-2 years. This can be seen as a good thing (Eg. Learning off better players, earning your spot) but I think some kids probably fall through the cracks.

[GVGjr]

Re: Where would you rather be drafted to?

Port or Essendon might be good places to land. Both sides are keen to give youngsters a go. You would also get your chances at Richmond and Melbourne but I'd prefer the other sides I mentioned. I'd also have North in the mix.

I'd try to avoid Sydney because they have a poor state competition and Gold Coast because they will struggle for stability of players in the first few years.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Re: Where would you rather be drafted to?

150 years ago I had a crack at Geelong.

Had I been able to run and got picked up, I would be the most committed Cats fan going around (and probably still drunk).


In the current world, getting drafted by a bottom side and playing senior footy right away would be a good thing, especially seeing that it's likely that your club will improve and you'll be playing finals in a few years as you come into your prime.

Have a look at our list - we are delisting the likes of O'Keefe and Lynch because we need to free up places on the list for draftees. Some other clubs might have persisted with them a bit longer if they had others to cut.

[mighty_west]

Re: Where would you rather be drafted to?

The obvious choice would be into a young developing side, that team that picks you up will most likely have quite a few selections that year, as well as the next few, so for a start, you will have alot of players around the same age to mature with as a player, and build friendships, then there is the playing side, and your chances [if good enough] to get games earlier on than you would with teams challenging and with alot more experience.

That said, you could very well be good enough to play in a Grand Final ala Richard Hadlee, what was it, 4 games to his name and playing in a Grand Final alongside Voss, Aker, Brown, Lynch & co, had the Dogs made the granny in 2009, Cal Ward would have played, he was taken in the high teens, had Brissy made it, Rich most certaintly would have got a gig, Joel Selwood has also played in GF's at a young age.

Selwood & Hadlee may never play in another GF, and they were good enough to get games early on in power teams.

I guess the team you'd least want to goto would be that team that has just been successful, and are on the way down, say with Sydney, but, West Coast who were up at the same time as the Swannies are most definatly on the rise again.

I remember when we drafted Coons with the number one pick, and Fox Footy interviewed his old man, he kind of hinted that it would have been nice to goto a club like Brisbane, yet, like with Jarrad Brennan, Cooney would not have played in any of their Grand Finals, he simply wasn't fit enough in his first few seasons even though we all know how much talent he has or even had back then.

[Twodogs]

Re: Where would you rather be drafted to?

I honestly dont think I could I could play against the Bulldogs. Having said that when I was a young cricketer I avoided going down to Footscray's district side and tried out at North instead because Footscray had an awful reputation for losing players from their lower grades.



In the end I got it wrong because players like Merv Hughes, Tony Dodemaide and Colin Miller were my age, played at Footscray and all ended up playing test cricket. Like TCD said take any advice you get with a grain of salt.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Where would you rather be drafted to?

I'm with you 2dogs, The Western Bulldogs or no one. I'm surprised more youth don't pick and choose the club of their choice.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Where would you rather be drafted to?

I think that the dream is always to play for the club you support, but I personally would rather just be drafted by a Victorian team (except perhaps a specific few..) than go interstate, as apposed to basing it on a 'developing' or 'top' side choice.

[GVGjr]

Re: Where would you rather be drafted to?

I honestly dont think I could I could play against the Bulldogs. Having said that when I was a young cricketer I avoided going down to Footscray's district side and tried out at North instead because Footscray had an awful reputation for losing players from their lower grades.

Doug Hawkins would have had the same mindset as well but when push came to shove he could play for someone else.

I think you are remembering a time when there was a lot of club and player loyalty and that has long gone. By the way, you can't even bring yourself to follow Williamstown can you?

The reality is that some youngsters of today are even passing on father son nominations and there is minimal support for local teams.
The elite youngsters have it drummed into them to take whatever opportunity presents and if they get the chance, go to a team that wants you the most because you might only have 2 or 3 years to make your mark.

[Twodogs]

Re: Where would you rather be drafted to?

By the way, you can't even bring yourself to follow Williamstown can you?

Cant bring myself? I'd rather die!

[The Underdog]

Re: Where would you rather be drafted to?

I think ideally if you can get to a club with a strong infrastructure and "culture" who might be in a lull, that's the ideal situation. West Coast are the team that come to mind at the moment. They've traditionally been successful, have excellent resources and strong support. They lost the core of their midfield group and dropped down the ladder but if you were a kid that has come in there in the last 2 years then there definitely is a chance to claim your spot in a team that will likely be on it's way up.
I think that the nature of AFL is so cyclical now and that the time for a team to get from bottom to top 8 can be so short I don't think it's a big deal for a young player to be drafted to a bottom 4 team (Richmond aside). In fact you're so much more likely to get a chance to show off and establish yourself at Melbourne than you would be at Geelong that it's probably preferable to go there. I certainly wouldn't want to be a 3rd or 4th round midfielder trying to make a career starting out with the Dogs this year. You're a long way back.

[GVGjr]

Re: Where would you rather be drafted to?

Cant bring myself? I'd rather die!

The irony of it all. You couldn't bring yourself to play for another team but you also wouldn't play for the VFL side that would get you promoted to the Bulldogs

[Twodogs]

Re: Where would you rather be drafted to?

The irony of it all. You couldn't bring yourself to play for another team but you also wouldn't play for the VFL side that would get you promoted to the Bulldogs

Yep. It's a Gaudion knot alright.

[GVGjr]

Re: Where would you rather be drafted to?

Bit of a cleft stick poser this one. If you are a potential top 20 draftee, chances are these days that you will have above average talent, and probably development. I personally would prefer to avoid the option of a long term cellar dweller like Richmond or Melbourne, as it is likely to take them a lot of years to reach the top. A team that has been at the top for some years is usually headed for a slide to some lower level. A team that has recently climbed into the middle levels of the eight and climbing will have a core of expirienced very talented players to learn from who, are approaching retirement and will be replaced in the next few years, creating vacancies in a good side. So if a young gun had a choice [ which given the current system they usually don't], I think the best option might be the Doggies, Crows etc of this world and present ladder structure. There is usually one side that jumps up unexpectedly each year, but how the hell would you guess who it might be. So go with the already proven improver, perhaps a little less of a gamble.