Draft Day reflections

[GVGjr]

OK, we have now had a while to have a good think about the make up of our picks tonight

Let us know if there are any selections you think we should have looked at differently to what Dalrymple and his recruiters selected for us?

Now is you chance to nominate the the best pick and maybe the worst.

As always a bit of detail would be appreciated.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: Draft Day reflections

Time will tell but my initial feeling is one of excitement. I know some supporters are frustrated we didn't pick a KPF/KPD or another quick outside mid, but we have done quite well. All suit the game plan and the philosophy of the coaching team very well.

Pick #5 - Jake Stringer: Good choice. O'Rourke and Toumpas gone meant it was pretty easy to take Stringer. His broken leg is well documeted but his performances and his running gait improved throughout the year. He will still take time, like all draftees, but I am confident he'll get there. I am glad we took a calculated risk as there's no doubting his potential. Absolute weapon one on one and uses his body to protect the drop of the ball well. He'll bea fan favourite IMO. Very confident and determined. I think long term he could make Grant a much better player.

Pick #6 - Jackson Macrae: Another good selection. Although Mayes' explosive pace must have been attractive and Wines' ball winning ability/leadership, Macrae fits our squad perfectly. Not overly quick, but always has time. Decision making and disposal is extremely good and his delicate side steps/agility are impressive. He will take 3 years to develop IMO, but should be a seriously damaging player in the future. I think comparisons with Pendlebury are spot on. As his inside game improves, I see the comparisons drawing closer too.

Pick #21 - Nathan Hrovat: This was always going to be an interesting selection. Most wanted a tall or an outside runner. I was surprised we didn't take O'Brien, but I suspect us taking Stringer offset the need for O'Brien or Membrey. Next year's draft is supposed to be loaded with KPF's, so we might have one eye on that. In terms of outside runners our two favourites in Simpson and Kennedy were gone. Garlett going undrafted was a massive surprise and worth a thread in itself. Interesting that Spencer White was taken shortly after, also. All that in mind, Hrovat is a good selection and was the slider. Tough, clean, wins his own ball and generally uses it well. Spreads from the contest better than your typical inside mid. Not sure he can play forward - if he does, massive bonus. I think this is an astute selection.

Pick #49 - Lachlan Hunter: Finally made official. This is a great selection at this point in the draft, we've done well. Needs time to develop, namely with the pace and physicality of senior footy, but should be a solid player. Great agility and kicks goals - two things we lack, especially up forward.

Pick #50 - Josh Prudden: I don't know anything about him but SEN and Shifter both commented that he's a good get. From the footage, he looks very tough, clever in traffic and uses the ball well. Membrey and a few others went a few picks prior, I would have liked Garlett here, but again - going undrafted is a surprise/alarming.

Overall: We've done really well. Good footballers make you a better side. Good footballers win you matches. Stringer likely to play predominately forward and could be anything, Macrae's an outside/inside damaging mid who will create and carve up the opposition, Hrovat an incredibly consistent ball winning magnet with neat skills/good spread, Hunter an agile goal kicking forward and Prudder seemingly a HBF/mid type. It would have been nice to take an O'Brien/White, which makes losing Pick 28 more difficult to swallow, but forgetting about that and concentrating on tonight we did really well.

[Go_Dogs]

Re: Draft Day reflections

Overall: We've done really well. Good footballers make you a better side. Good footballers win you matches. Stringer likely to play predominately forward and could be anything, Macrae's an outside/inside damaging mid who will create and carve up the opposition, Hrovat an incredibly consistent ball winning magnet with neat skills/good spread, Hunter an agile goal kicking forward and Prudder seemingly a HBF/mid type. It would have been nice to take an O'Brien/White, which makes losing Pick 28 more difficult to swallow, but forgetting about that and concentrating on tonight we did really well.

Agree with that, great summary.

Stringer could be a great choice with his talent and Macrae is definitely a type we needed and I'm glad we went with him.

Hrovat is a player that when I've seen him his outside game wasn't something that stood out (I didn't see much of him) so it's good to read we rate his spread and outside ability. Could be a great value selection for us.

Prudden a bit of a smokey so will be interesting to hear a bit more about him over the coming months.

I'm pretty happy with the outcome, we got some players with some talent and good attributes now they just need to work hard and we need to develop them into players.

[Remi Moses]

Re: Draft Day reflections

Reasonably pleased . Stringer, Hunter as forward options.
Would have liked another key defender or forward, personally.

[Doc26]

Re: Draft Day reflections

Callum Twomey's take from AFL.com.

Western Bulldogs
The Giants aside, it's hard to find any club that did better out of the draft than the Bulldogs. Jake Stringer and Jackson Macrae are different types to the young players they've already got coming through, while the Dogs were rapt to get Nathan Hrovat. He might end up one of the steals of this year's crop. If not for a few more centremetres, Hrovat would have been well within the top 15 selections after a terrific season. To cap it off they paid unders for father-son recruit Lachie Hunter at pick 50. Joshua Prudden ended their night, one they will look back on as perhaps the start of their resurgence in future years.

Although may have overlooked Melbourne effectively picking up Jesse Hogan, Jimmy Toumpas and Jack Viney.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Re: Draft Day reflections

On the basis that I think our list problems as a team are going to take more than one draft to fix, I think we've made a good fist of this draft.

I am not too concerned that we did not pick a natural defender in this draft. I think this is a reflection that our coaching team are going to give alot of game time to guys like Roughy, Fletcher, Markovic and Talia and will see how they progress as a unit over the course of season 2013.
We've invested heavily on midfield/utility type selections this year, with an emphasis on natural ball winners with skill.

Apart from overlooking Garlett with a late pick- which given the blue chips type selections earlier on could've been a calculated risk worth taking - I think we have done well.

I think we are in for another long season in 2013, that will once again deliver us another top 3 or 4 pick and I think depending on how our defenders progress next year will play a big part in how we proceed with our selection philosophy in 12 months time.

[jeemak]

Re: Draft Day reflections

I'm ecstatic we drafted Stringer. It was essential we picked a utility who can influence a game forward of centre, as it's such a gaping hole on our list with only Higgins being close to fulfilling that role. If he can provide cover in the midfield and make opposition teams nervous around the ground with his areal ability then we're going to have a gem of a footballer on our hands.

I was into Wines, as I thought good players that can use the ball at the pointy end of the draft will most likely be able to adjust their output to the team's requirements (when it comes to playing outside versus inside etc). Having said that, I was always going to be happy if the team thought McCrae was the better player and his vaunted ability to work outside and create or be clever (and worked on other areas of the game) outweighed Wines' overall game. We do need creative classy players on our list badly, hopefully he is able to assist in that area.

Hrovat, without knowing a great deal about him strikes me as a good get because of the two key things said about him thus far, being determination and kicking ability. It's great to get quality kicks on to the list.

Great stuff with respect to landing Hunter. We rated him at pick 30 if you believe what Dalrymple stated prior to the draft, after landing him. I have this strange feeling that Hunter is a player that is still yet to put it all together as a junior, due to his rapid improvement over the course of this year. Exciting getting another father son player on to the list, and it should give our supporters something to smile about.

I don't know anything about Prudden. I'll happily let the recruiters do the talking at pick 50.

As for Garlett, if he can be picked up as a rookie then I think we should give it a go.

Excellent write up by the way, TBB.

I've been really impressed with some of the work that has gone in to providing the forum with information about the talent available this draft period. Because of our high draft picks I've really taken an interest in this period moreso than others, and the information provided by the likes of TBB, Bulldogsman, GVGjr, Greystache, MJP, Slimpickens, the Griff's and many more has been fantastic. Hats off.

[Missing-Dog]

Re: Draft Day reflections

Overall I'm fairly happy with this draft on the admittedly small amount I know about the players we drafted.

Even before we were linked to him I had wrecklessly made a call that Jake Stringer could end up the best player of his draft year. The way he has come back from adversity and all the talent he already possesses is a daunting combination. He doesn't strike me as a kid who'll let himself become an unfulfilled talent and looks set to work his arse off to become the best player he can be, which considering his natural attributes and upside (coming off a broken leg) could be quite formidable indeed.

Jackson Mcrae on the other hand is the type of player that usually gives me pause. He seems to always have space and time and a killer baulk but I'm concerned that with the step up in pace and level that is AFL football will he have that time and space be shut down. Further from what I've seen he is just adequate overhead, of middling to okay pace and has what can best be described as decent disposal (with a particular concern over his kicking penetration). On the positive side he seems to read the play really well and often makes really good decisions. I just can't get over the nagging feeling that he reminds me a bit of a tall Farren Ray.

I don't know a lot about Hrovat but judging from what I've read and his highlights he seems to have a good burst, great disposal and a fantastic attitude. The only query I've found on him is his height and to be honest as a mid that hardly a huge problem.

Hunter looks a good prospect and could quite possibly end up a bit of a steal. Prudden I have no idea about but I'm prepared to back the recruiting staff that late in the draft.

Interesting that someone like Dayle Garlett was overlooked by all 18 teams, it's hard to believe that someone that talented went undrafted. Could end up one of those Dean Cox how the hell was he picked as a rookie players in a few years.

[KT31]

Re: Draft Day reflections

Great summary TBB, very pleased with our picks and have not been this excited with our future since we had Cooney and Griff as pups.

[jeemak]

Re: Draft Day reflections

If Garlett doesn't go as a rookie he's clearly done the pre-draft equivalent of murdering Bambi in cold blood, filming it and posting it on the RSPCA web-page just for kicks.

[GVGjr]

Re: Draft Day reflections

Callum Twomey's take from AFL.com.



Although may have overlooked Melbourne effectively picking up Jesse Hogan, Jimmy Toumpas and Jack Viney.

The Dees did very well and took some quality players.

[GVGjr]

Re: Draft Day reflections

I was reading about how it was strange we passed on O'Brien for Hrovat but did we have any other option at that pick but to go for a midfielder?

I need to be convinced that Stinger and Macrae are genuine options in the midfield but I think once those picks were confirmed we needed to add a midfielder.

I'm guessing here but would we have been as keen on Hrovat at #21 if we had selected Wines instead of Macrae?

[The Pie Man]

Re: Draft Day reflections

I've been really impressed with some of the work that has gone in to providing the forum with information about the talent available this draft period. Because of our high draft picks I've really taken an interest in this period moreso than others, and the information provided by the likes of TBB, Bulldogsman, GVGjr, Greystache, MJP, Slimpickens, the Griff's and many more has been fantastic. Hats off.

Yep, thanks to all mentioned there for your (continued) input - always is the 1st place I come to for Bulldog news; WOOF updates have informed my near obsession with this draft.

I'm glad it's over.

Still a bit shocked with pick 21, but that's no disrespect to Hrovat, who looks capable of becoming a fine player. Would make sense that if Stringer will play games next year (you'd have to consider him a walk up start for round one wouldn't you?) that he'd play FF initially to ease his leg into the pace of senior footy - hence the extra mid(s) later on.

Stringer could be anything

[Sedat]

Re: Draft Day reflections

I was reading about how it was strange we passed on O'Brien for Hrovat but did we have any other option at that pick but to go for a midfielder?

Of course we could have had both had we been able to keep our original pick 27. Small consolation is that Hrovat was a slider already and would most likely not have been there at 27.

[SlimPickens]

Re: Draft Day reflections

Of course we could have had both had we been able to keep our original pick 27. Small consolation is that Hrovat was a slider already and would most likely not have been there at 27.

He wouldn't have been, St Kilda would have taken him.