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Re: 2018 Draft Watch
Another roar author Josh Elliott, phantom draft nominated Ben King for our first pick
In full ...
Another roar author Josh Elliott, phantom draft nominated Ben King for our first pick
... Still, I’ve had a crack here at a top 25 phantom draft for 2018, and just to keep things as simple as possible, I’m picking as on the current order rather than trying to presume what trades might happen.
Pick 1 – Carlton Blues – Sam Walsh
183 cm, 74kg
Carlton face a rather pleasant dilemma with pick 1 as they’ll look to choose between Walsh or his main rival for the top spot, Jack Lukosius.
Walsh has been the best-performed player of the draft pool certainly – a consistently prolific midfielder with great leadership characteristics.
196cm key forward Lukosius however arguably has the greater scope to develop into a generational match-winning player at AFL level, in the mould of Nick Riewoldt.
My thoughts prior to the trade period leaned towards Carlton picking Lukosius on the basis that his talent might be too good to pass up – you don’t know when you’ll get a shot at a player like him again.
However the fact that the Blues traded in Mitch McGovern makes it pretty clear to me that they believe Walsh is their man here, and reasonably so.
Pick 2 – Gold Coast Suns – Jack Lukosius
196cm, 84kg
Expect the Suns to take whichever of the top two slides through to this pick, Lukosius being the more likely. They’d love to have Walsh though, his character has been highly praised and he seems likely to be the loyal type.
Pick 3 – Gold Coast Suns – Izak Rankine
180cm, 76kg
Obviously a big consideration for the Suns when it comes to their selections will be bringing in players who they believe will stick around at the club long term – the problem is, there’s no clear-cut way to tell who will or won’t.
A lot of theories go around. My logic with this selection is, bring in the player who is most likely to have an instant impact, and that gives them the best chance of feeling like they fit in and want to stay at the club.
Rankine is simply the most talented player left on the board here, if not the most talented in the whole draft. He’s fast, creative and thrilling – the whole package.
His thrilling heroics could help lift the spirits of his teammates and give Suns fans something to get excited about as soon as Round 1, 2019.
Pick 4 – St Kilda Saints – Connor Rozee
184cm, 72kg
If you’re looking purely at talent, key forward Max King is probably the next player off the board.
And St Kilda could well make that call – King has actually been doing his rehab from an ACL injury that kept him out of all but the early portion of this season at their facilities, so they’re going to be pretty familiar with him at this point and have a clear idea of whether or not they want him.
The issue for me with that selection is that if St Kilda draft King there’s just no way he winds up playing in the same forward line as all of Josh Bruce, Paddy McCartin, Tim Membrey and Josh Battle.
Drafting King probably means trading one of Bruce or McCartin out down the line and likely for little in the way of compensation, meaning the Saints probably have only a small net gain of talent on their list.
Instead I’d draft a player who brings the qualities their side lacks in Connor Rozee.
While this is a bit earlier than most pundits would think Rozee goes, if the top three falls as I have it above, his class and creativity make him a great pick for the Saints here.
Pick 5 – Port Adelaide Power – Max King
201cm, 86kg
Given the number of high-quality South Australian prospects in this year’s draft, most have the view that Port’s aggressive efforts to move up the order have been with the goal of snagging one of them.
And that may well be true – Lukosius will be gone by this pick but there’s every chance that one or even both of Rankine or Rozee is available here.
But, on the off chance that the top four falls as I’ve picked, I don’t see any reason why the Power shouldn’t pick a Victorian.
Todd Marshall aside they have little in the way of developing key forwards, and with Charlie Dixon having recently turned 28, his retirement is something they should be planning for now.
King could well have been the No.1 pick this year if not for his ACL injury, and if Port can get him with the fifth selection it could prove a massive bargain.
Pick 6 – Gold Coast Suns – Bailey Smith
184cm, 79kg
The Suns are basically looking at a choice between tall or small here as they decide between Smith or Ben King.
I’d go with Smith – again partly due to the logic that he’s probably the one who is going to be most AFL-ready, and therefore has the best chance of bonding with the team and becoming part of the club most quickly.
Smith is a prolific inside midfielder who has a little bit of speed, and he has also played well as a halfback.
The Suns need talent pretty much anywhere on the ground but I reckon Smith would balance out the other selections of Lukosius and Rankine well.
Pick 7 – Western Bulldogs – Ben King
201cm, 85kg
With this pick the Dogs are left to take whoever of this draft’s famed top seven falls through to them, but they’d have to be pretty happy if it’s Ben King.
Ben – the win brother of Max King – is more of a swingman. He played a lot up forward this year, but many pundits reckon he’ll be a defender at AFL level.
The Dogs would be a good fit because unlike other clubs, they won’t feel the need to try to make him play forward, given they’ve already got top-line prospects Tom Boyd and Josh Schahce to play that role.
They’d be more than happy to play him in defence as the long term partner to Aaron Naughton – something that’s bound to appeal given they just lost Marcus Adams.
...
Pick 25 – Rhylee West – Western Bulldogs (matching bid from West Coast)
180cm, 80kg
The son of Bulldogs legend Scott West could easily attract a bid earlier than this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes a little later. Has some similarities to Luke Dahlhaus as a smaller inside mid who can play forward, he could step into that spot at the Dogs fairly quickly.
Pick 1 – Carlton Blues – Sam Walsh
183 cm, 74kg
Carlton face a rather pleasant dilemma with pick 1 as they’ll look to choose between Walsh or his main rival for the top spot, Jack Lukosius.
Walsh has been the best-performed player of the draft pool certainly – a consistently prolific midfielder with great leadership characteristics.
196cm key forward Lukosius however arguably has the greater scope to develop into a generational match-winning player at AFL level, in the mould of Nick Riewoldt.
My thoughts prior to the trade period leaned towards Carlton picking Lukosius on the basis that his talent might be too good to pass up – you don’t know when you’ll get a shot at a player like him again.
However the fact that the Blues traded in Mitch McGovern makes it pretty clear to me that they believe Walsh is their man here, and reasonably so.
Pick 2 – Gold Coast Suns – Jack Lukosius
196cm, 84kg
Expect the Suns to take whichever of the top two slides through to this pick, Lukosius being the more likely. They’d love to have Walsh though, his character has been highly praised and he seems likely to be the loyal type.
Pick 3 – Gold Coast Suns – Izak Rankine
180cm, 76kg
Obviously a big consideration for the Suns when it comes to their selections will be bringing in players who they believe will stick around at the club long term – the problem is, there’s no clear-cut way to tell who will or won’t.
A lot of theories go around. My logic with this selection is, bring in the player who is most likely to have an instant impact, and that gives them the best chance of feeling like they fit in and want to stay at the club.
Rankine is simply the most talented player left on the board here, if not the most talented in the whole draft. He’s fast, creative and thrilling – the whole package.
His thrilling heroics could help lift the spirits of his teammates and give Suns fans something to get excited about as soon as Round 1, 2019.
Pick 4 – St Kilda Saints – Connor Rozee
184cm, 72kg
If you’re looking purely at talent, key forward Max King is probably the next player off the board.
And St Kilda could well make that call – King has actually been doing his rehab from an ACL injury that kept him out of all but the early portion of this season at their facilities, so they’re going to be pretty familiar with him at this point and have a clear idea of whether or not they want him.
The issue for me with that selection is that if St Kilda draft King there’s just no way he winds up playing in the same forward line as all of Josh Bruce, Paddy McCartin, Tim Membrey and Josh Battle.
Drafting King probably means trading one of Bruce or McCartin out down the line and likely for little in the way of compensation, meaning the Saints probably have only a small net gain of talent on their list.
Instead I’d draft a player who brings the qualities their side lacks in Connor Rozee.
While this is a bit earlier than most pundits would think Rozee goes, if the top three falls as I have it above, his class and creativity make him a great pick for the Saints here.
Pick 5 – Port Adelaide Power – Max King
201cm, 86kg
Given the number of high-quality South Australian prospects in this year’s draft, most have the view that Port’s aggressive efforts to move up the order have been with the goal of snagging one of them.
And that may well be true – Lukosius will be gone by this pick but there’s every chance that one or even both of Rankine or Rozee is available here.
But, on the off chance that the top four falls as I’ve picked, I don’t see any reason why the Power shouldn’t pick a Victorian.
Todd Marshall aside they have little in the way of developing key forwards, and with Charlie Dixon having recently turned 28, his retirement is something they should be planning for now.
King could well have been the No.1 pick this year if not for his ACL injury, and if Port can get him with the fifth selection it could prove a massive bargain.
Pick 6 – Gold Coast Suns – Bailey Smith
184cm, 79kg
The Suns are basically looking at a choice between tall or small here as they decide between Smith or Ben King.
I’d go with Smith – again partly due to the logic that he’s probably the one who is going to be most AFL-ready, and therefore has the best chance of bonding with the team and becoming part of the club most quickly.
Smith is a prolific inside midfielder who has a little bit of speed, and he has also played well as a halfback.
The Suns need talent pretty much anywhere on the ground but I reckon Smith would balance out the other selections of Lukosius and Rankine well.
Pick 7 – Western Bulldogs – Ben King
201cm, 85kg
With this pick the Dogs are left to take whoever of this draft’s famed top seven falls through to them, but they’d have to be pretty happy if it’s Ben King.
Ben – the win brother of Max King – is more of a swingman. He played a lot up forward this year, but many pundits reckon he’ll be a defender at AFL level.
The Dogs would be a good fit because unlike other clubs, they won’t feel the need to try to make him play forward, given they’ve already got top-line prospects Tom Boyd and Josh Schahce to play that role.
They’d be more than happy to play him in defence as the long term partner to Aaron Naughton – something that’s bound to appeal given they just lost Marcus Adams.
...
Pick 25 – Rhylee West – Western Bulldogs (matching bid from West Coast)
180cm, 80kg
The son of Bulldogs legend Scott West could easily attract a bid earlier than this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes a little later. Has some similarities to Luke Dahlhaus as a smaller inside mid who can play forward, he could step into that spot at the Dogs fairly quickly.
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