2023 Draft Watch

[GVGjr]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

We are very likely to take 4 players via the draft and I thought I'd try and have a look at some of the names that might be in the mix for us

At pick 6 it's most likely a race between 5 players
Zane Duursma - Colby McKercher - Nick Watson - Daniel Curtin and Ryley Sanders
The club might have it's heart set on Watson but really any of those players would be terrific additions for us and address some positions for us. A mid sized forward and midfielder in Duursma, A midfielder in McKercher, Small forward in Watson, the most versatile tall in Curtin who's probably best suited in the back line and of course Sanders is a midfielder.

Father Son
We will match a big for Jordan Croft wherever it comes.

2 Later picks
I have about 12 players in the mix here and some of them are more rookie type options. Of course some might go earlier than our picks

Luamon Lual would be our main target and and he's been on our NGA program. We can only really be in a position to pick him if he slides past pick 40 and that's no sure thing. Small/Mid sized defender

Wil Dawson is a 200cm tall marking type defender who really stands out in games. He needs to take on the game more but if taken will be one of the youngest players drafted. Dawson will require a lot of time to fill out

Joel Freijah is a 190cm tall versatile midfielder capable of playing on a wing or on a flank. Capable of kicking a goal and really catches the eye with the way he plays the game.

Aiden O’Driscoll is a lightning quick 175cm midfielder or potentially a forward who really impressed at the Combine. Given his game breaking abilities he has a lot of appeal

Jack Callinan is a goal kicking small forward and he would be a tempting target if we were to miss out on Watson

Kade De La Rue is a 184cm athletic midfielder or forward. He's been a consistent performer and is his passing is good off both feet. He's also got a solid defensive side to his game and is a strong tackler.

Kane McAuliffe is a terrific midfielder with plenty of pace and strength. I could see him as a winger or perhaps even better suited to a role off half back.

Nathan Philactides is a 179cm highly athletic and powerful small defender with a thumping left foot kick. For a team looking to find an attacking defender Philactides has some appeal. Not sure I've ever seem him kick to ball off his opposite foot.

Rookies

Josh Chatfield Is well known to our VFL watchers. He's a versatile more mature type player capable of filling a number roles at the senior level

Charlie Harrop impressed with his games for Vic Metro and is a classy forward and capable goal kicker

Kristian Ferronato would be a real smokey to be selected. Comes from a basketball backgound which we know the commentators love and is a strongly built and athletic midfielder.

Kobe Shipp is a 188cm defender with some impressive athletic traits and played for Vic Country

[Axe Man]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

Wil Dawson is a 200cm tall marking type defender who really stands out in games. He needs to take on the game more but if taken will be one of the youngest players drafted. Dawson will require a lot of time to fill out

I played footy (including a premiership) with his old man. Was a tough defender and nowhere near as tall as Wil.

[Mofra]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

https://central.rookieme.com/afl/2023/11/01/download-the-2023-afl-draft-guide/

Always an interesting read. I'll download and have a look in the next day or two

[GVGjr]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

https://central.rookieme.com/afl/202...l-draft-guide/

Always an interesting read. I'll download and have a look in the next day or two

Just having a look at it now, it's a very good draft guide. I'd gladly pay for it.

[GVGjr]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

Listening to Luamon Lual who's on with Kane Cornes at the moment. A quietly spoken youngster who's keen to get too us.
I suspect his manager (Julian Petracca) might be warning some clubs off him unless they want to select him prior to pick 30.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

Listening to Luamon Lual who's on with Kane Cornes at the moment. A quietly spoken youngster who's keen to get too us.
I suspect his manager (Julian Petracca) might be warning some clubs off him unless they want to select him prior to pick 30.

Interesting he’s doing a fair bit of media and pushing hard publicly to want to slide. You don’t usually hear a kid under a tenuous NGA link (ie 40+ selection) talking up the outcome they want.

One wonders in a world where recruiters are looking for reasons not to select players, where this might be a reason to pass on him. The last player I recall pushing hard to come to us pre-draft was Coffield and he just did that too. Maybe if it’s a line ball call on players in the 30’s this stuff gets him his wishes. Twomey tweeted or reported last week he was desperate to get to the dogs, so people in his orbit are talking in the background too as you say G.

As we’ve got way more points than we need for even a high bid on Croft, and Power saying academy bids factored into our pick trading strategy, just maybe we think it’s a good chance. I guess we will find out soon enough.

[josie]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

Lual sounds like a real player energiser and with his moving backstory it would make a great draft story if we can draft him. X fingers.

[Dogs 24/7]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

I can understand our interest in Watson and Sanders but shouldn't it be Daniel Curtin that we want? I don't have a lot of confidence in Busslinger yet but I understand he was recovering from an injury. Keath is slowing and Jones has a short shelf life. We have too much depending on Gardner who's limited and O'Donnell who impressed a bit but is no sure thing.
Curtin is tall and mobile and can play in multiple positions.

[ledge]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

I can understand our interest in Watson and Sanders but shouldn't it be Daniel Curtin that we want? I don't have a lot of confidence in Busslinger yet but I understand he was recovering from an injury. Keath is slowing and Jones has a short shelf life. We have too much depending on Gardner who's limited and O'Donnell who impressed a bit but is no sure thing.
Curtin is tall and mobile and can play in multiple positions.

Maybe Darcy is going to go back . We have a multitude of forwards we can’t fit them all in . Croft another who could go back, his closing speed looks good and he loves to put pressure on with tackling , it’s probably a year or two down the track but whoever we draft would be that far away as well.

[MrMahatma]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

I can understand our interest in Watson and Sanders but shouldn't it be Daniel Curtin that we want? I don't have a lot of confidence in Busslinger yet but I understand he was recovering from an injury. Keath is slowing and Jones has a short shelf life. We have too much depending on Gardner who's limited and O'Donnell who impressed a bit but is no sure thing.
Curtin is tall and mobile and can play in multiple positions.

I don’t know anything about any of them, and therefore clearly my opinion trumps that of our recruitment team… and agree we should want Curtin.

[lemmon]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

I think some of us not being linked with Curtin is because he never looked like a realistic chance to get to get to us. I'd be selecting him ahead of Watson and Sanders if he did slide.

[GVGjr]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

The way I look at it is we are no chance to land Reid or Walters, a ever so slight chance to land either Duursma or McKercher and I'm more than comfortable with Curtin, Sanders or Watson.

[Twodogs]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

From what I've read I'd love Curtin to slide to us. But I'd be happy with Watson, Duursma, McKercher, or Sanders.

I think that we are in a really good position to get some young top end talent into the club.

[Bornadog]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

Meet the draft prospect tipped to kick as many goals as Betts, Breust and co.

Nick Watson held out faint hope until recently of a late growth spurt that would remove the novelty of his height from any discussion about him.

For everything Watson does well ? and the list is long for the silky-skilled teenager dubbed ?the Wizard? for his outrageous bag of tricks ? the ?but? about his height is never far away.

The Eastern Ranges forward measured in just shy of 170 centimetres at the AFL draft combine. That is enough, in his own words, to tower over his mum, Lori, but his dad, David, is almost 20 centimetres taller.

?I wouldn?t know the measurements, but Mum?s like five-foot-two, five-foot-three, so I?ve definitely got her genes,? Watson told this masthead.

?I had a bit of hope because of Dad?s height, but sort of always knew I was going to be small, so I prepared for it the best way possible. There?s been heaps of, ?He?s too small? and this and that, but I let my footy do the talking, and, hopefully, I can change their minds. But it doesn?t really bother me either way.

?When it comes to game day, I think my height?s pretty irrelevant.?

Recruiters tend to agree. There may be as few as four players called out before Watson on November 20, with Hawthorn one possible destination for him. If not the Hawks, the Western Bulldogs pick next, and are a decent chance to select him.

Even those who rate Watson a little lower still have him inside the top 10.

But he will almost certainly have to give up his Collingwood fandom, given the premiers probably won?t make their first selection until more than 20 have already been made, with club academy and father-son bids pushing them back.

?I haven?t spoken to the Pies, which I?m spewing about,? Watson said.

He is stuck wearing a moon boot for the short term after suffering an ankle injury in the first half of Eastern?s grand final that was later diagnosed as bone ligament stress.

But in a sign of Watson?s competitiveness, and not wanting to let his teammates down, he kept his injury quiet and played the rest of the decider with his balky ankle.

?I knew if I told someone, I could have been gone, so I just didn?t say anything,? Watson said.

?Next minute, the coaches go, ?We?re going to play you in the midfield in the second half? and I was like, ?shit?, but I just pushed through it. I was pretty cooked at the end of the day, but it wasn?t too bad, and they didn?t give me a spray or anything [for not mentioning the injury], which is good.?

Watson finished with 20 disposals, 12 contested possessions, seven clearances ? five of them out of the centre ? and six score involvements, including a goal of his own. No wonder no one could tell he was sore.

It was his 24th match of the season across the Talent League, private school, the AFL under-18 championships, and the AFL Academy?s two clashes with Carlton and Port Adelaide?s VFL sides.

Watson projects as a small forward capable of centre-bounce cameos at the highest level but played all over the ground this year, in an attempt to illustrate he could be something more.

His 14 goals for Victoria Metro from four championships matches were more than anyone else, with three bags of at least four. But he had to endure two grand final defeats, firstly for Caulfield Grammar against Haileybury, then another to Sandringham in the Talent League.

?It?s been a long year. My body was slowly tiring at the end of the year, and obviously, I did this [injury] as well in the granny, so my body was just cooked,? Watson said. ?Towards the end of the year, that final series, I was just struggling to get up for games. I felt like I put my best performances through that middle of the year, when my body was at 100 per cent.?

There are some grand predictions about how Watson?s career could pan out, before he is even drafted.

Some talent scouts believe he is capable of kicking 500-plus goals in the AFL, which would place him in the company of small forward greats such as Eddie Betts, Stephen Milne, Luke Breust and Brent Harvey.

?I?m spewing?: Why size doesn?t matter to top-10 draft prospect Nate Caddy
Watson is flattered with those comparisons ? although the player he watches most is Demon Kysaiah Pickett, who happens to be 171 centimetres tall ? but has stopped thinking about what could be, including the number he might be drafted at.

?If I?m being honest, about six months ago, I was a bit like that,? he said.

?I wanted to be as high as possible [in the draft]. Right now, I?m not too fussed. I just feel like I?ve matured. I just want to have an impact on AFL level as soon as possible. That?s my main goal.?

[GVGjr]

Re: 2023 Draft Watch

Stevens training with us along with Lual and was recovering from his knee injury.
If there is a chance he slips down the order I'd be happy to bring him in.

INTRIGUE CONTINUES AROUND STEVENS

Uncertainty remains around where big-bodied midfielder George Stevens will land in this year’s national draft, with recruiters labelling him a “fascinating” prospect.

An AFL Academy member, the 189cm onballer produced a strong season at all levels after returning from an ACL injury which wiped out his 2022 campaign.

Stevens was named on the bench of the under-18 All-Australian team after averaging 19.3 disposals, 3.8 clearances and 6.3 tackles across four games for Vic Country at the national championships.

He also starred across the year with the Greater Western Victoria Rebels in the Coates Talent League and played two VFL games for Geelong, gathering 29 disposals and four clearances in one of those.

Stevens has been linked to the Cats, but also has interest from a range of other clubs.

Expectations are that he will be selected anywhere from pick 20 to 40 in the draft.

“Somewhere around a pick 30, maybe,” one recruiter said.

“I think he’s just a matter of where. He can find the footy. You’d think he gets an opportunity.”
Inside midfielder George Stevens is tipped to fall somewhere between picks 20 and 40 in the national draft. Picture: Getty Images