Draft watch: the 17 most likely

[GVGjr]

Draft watch: the 17 most likely

Aaron Black (Western Australia/Peel Thunder)
Now looms as a genuine first-round pick. The athletic, high leaping, tall forward has shot into calculations in the second half of the season – akin to Geelong's Mitchell Brown last year. He was strongly sounded out at the NAB AFL Draft Camp.

John Butcher (Vic Country/Gippsland Power)
Earlier this season the key forward was regarded as a potential No.1 and almost certain top three pick. He has slipped in the pecking order, although he still looms as a first-round pick, it will be fascinating to see where he gets picked.

Jake Carlisle (Vic Metro/Calder Cannons)
The key defender/forward had an outstanding finish to the season, which has lifted his status in the pecking order. Carlisle possesses strong hands and good foot skills. But it is his ability to play at both ends, which makes him a strong first-round prospect.

Travis Colyer (Western Australia/Claremont)
An extremely quick small man, Colyer has been likened to John Platten in his style of play. He is also a clever goalkicker. An All-Australian in this year's NAB AFL under-18 championships, he has risen up the rankings in recent times.

Ben Cunnington (Vic Country/Geelong Falcons)
Recruiters love Cunnington, a tough-as-nails utility who appears to have risen again and now looks set to be a top five selection. It's hard to see him slipping past No.5 (North Melbourne). He is regarded as a genuine AFL player.

Lewis Jetta (Western Australia/Swan Districts)
The 20-year-old is a monty to be the first 'mature' age player selected in this year's pool. His stocks keep rising and it would not surprise if he was selected by West Coast Eagles at No.7. He is related to Essendon's Leroy and Melbourne's Neville.

Kane Lucas (Western Australia/East Fremantle)
The midfielder had an outstanding finish to the year and now looks certain to be claimed in the top 10. He played seniors in the WAFL this year and was one of the standouts at the draft camp. Lucas looks set to be taken between eight and 10 in the draft.

Dustin Martin (Vic Country/Bendigo Pioneers)
Improved significantly following the under 18 champs – even though he received All-Australian honours – and he is now right in the mix to be claimed at No.3 by Richmond. The midfielder's draft camp results were outstanding.

Jake Melksham (Vic Metro/Calder Cannons)
The ball-winning, stoppage midfielder had an excellent end to the season, winning the TAC Cup Grand Final Medal in Calder's premiership win. He had 24 disposals and seven inside 50s on the big stage. Melksham's overall finals series have pushed him back up.

Andrew Moore (Vic Metro/Eastern Ranges)
He is one of the most versatile players in the draft, having been likened to Adelaide's Andy Otten. Moore, who is the younger brother of Richmond's Kel, has been hovering around the first-round for much of the season and now looks to have firmed even more.

Anthony Morabito (Western Australia/Peel Thunder)
Although he can't be dismissed at No.2 (Melbourne) or Richmond (No.3), at this stage it appears the run-and-carry midfielder will remain in the west with Fremantle (No.4). Some recruiters believe he would not be out of place as this year's No.1 draft pick.

Gary Rohan (Vic Country/Geelong Falcons)
The forward's stocks have risen throughout the year – and with good reason – he is one of the draft's most exciting prospects. Although his form dipped a little late in the season, he impressed at the draft camp, topping the new kicking drill with 77 per cent efficiency.

Brad Sheppard (Western Australia/East Fremantle)
Solid and consistent, Sheppard's prospects have continued to gain momentum throughout the season. He had an excellent under-18 championship and was back-pocket in the All-Australian team. Sheppard also has the ability to play onball.

Tom Scully (Vic Metro/Dandenong Stingrays)
The hard-running midfielder has been touted as the No.1 pick for quite some time now, but at absolute worst will not slip past No.2. Either way, expect Scully to be wearing the red and blue in 2010 and beyond. A recent knee injury limited his draft camp activities.

Luke Tapscott (South Australia/North Adelaide)
Still regarded as the best kick in this year's draft, Tapscott has been compared to Brisbane Lions 2009 NAB AFL Rising Star Daniel Rich. He is a strongly-built midfielder/forward who could be a top 10 selection. He has been very consistent in 2009.

Jack Trengove (South Australia/Sturt)
Did not attend last week's draft camp due to SANFL finals, but his recent form has several recruiters now thinking he should be taken at No.1, ahead of Scully in the draft. The tough midfielder/forward now appears to be one of Melbourne's top two picks.

Troy Taylor (Northern Territory Thunder)
Taylor has immense talent and has been likened to Daniel Motlop. He was right in the mix for Gold Coast – he could've been claimed under its Northern Territory catchment – but at this stage he is in the mix for all clubs, putting him back into the top 17 mix.

[Go_Dogs]

Re: Draft watch: the 17 most likely

Someone is going to be a proud coach with a couple of kids basically a lock to go first round.

GVGjr, out of this list who would you be leaning towards at our selection as both someone who may be available and would suit our needs?

The Andy Otten comparison with Andrew Moore has tickled my fancy a bit here, as I'd love a similar player to Otten.

[GVGjr]

Re: Draft watch: the 17 most likely

Someone is going to be a proud coach with a couple of kids basically a lock to go first round.

GVGjr, out of this list who would you be leaning towards at our selection as both someone who may be available and would suit our needs?

The Andy Otten comparison with Andrew Moore has tickled my fancy a bit here, as I'd love a similar player to Otten.

Bulldogtragic can verify that a few weeks back I thought Andrew Moore was a possibility. He's a solid all-round footballer who can play both ends of the ground. In the finals he beat Gary Rohan for nearly 3 quarters as a defender before moving forward and kicking 4 goals and winning the game for Eastern. His skill level needs so work though.
We could probably do better though and until we know who we are going to de-list it's hard to work out who we should look at.

Just some observations:
3 impressive games in the finals series has pushed Melksham right into the mix. (I posted a photo of him with Cordy a while back)
If Aaron Black was still available he would be a hard one to overlook.
Perhaps Kane Lucas might slide down the order a bit.
201cm local boy Jack Fitzpatrick hasn't even been mentioned.
Daniel Talia was also not mentioned in the article.

I haven't had much of a chance to really look at it but there should be some good prospects in the first couple of rounds. It might be a draft that is light on for impact players but we should be adding a few good young colts to the list on draft day.

[ledge]

Re: Draft watch: the 17 most likely

Didnt Jack win the B and F at the Western Jets?

[GVGjr]

Re: Draft watch: the 17 most likely

Didnt Jack win the B and F at the Western Jets?

I think Sean Tighe won the Barry Round Medal.

[azabob]

Re: Draft watch: the 17 most likely

Draft watch: the 17 most likely


Troy Taylor (Northern Territory Thunder)
Taylor has immense talent and has been likened to Daniel Motlop. He was right in the mix for Gold Coast – he could've been claimed under its Northern Territory catchment – but at this stage he is in the mix for all clubs, putting him back into the top 17 mix.

I look forward to see how Taylor goes, I hope he does well and leaves his past behind him.
Will be a story either way.

He obviously has a lot of talent and perhaps still untaped talent.

[GVGjr]

Re: Draft watch: the 17 most likely

I look forward to see how Taylor goes, I hope he does well and leaves his past behind him.
Will be a story either way.

He obviously has a lot of talent and perhaps still untaped talent.

I mentioned his name a few times during the U18 Championships. He was quiet but when he got the ball he was eye catching. He reminded me of Hill with his athletic prowess.

[azabob]

Re: Draft watch: the 17 most likely

I mentioned his name a few times during the U18 Championships. He was quiet but when he got the ball he was eye catching. He reminded me of Hill with his athletic prowess.

He is also very similar build to Hill.

Was he played midfield or closer to goal?

[GVGjr]

Re: Draft watch: the 17 most likely

He is also very similar build to Hill.

Was he played midfield or closer to goal?

From memory half forward for most of the time.

[ledge]

Re: Draft watch: the 17 most likely

I think Sean Tighe won the Barry Round Medal.

Thanks GVGjr, I am sure i saw Jack winning something though.
It was quite a glowing report too, maybe i saw it in a local rag.

[Go_Dogs]

Re: Draft watch: the 17 most likely

Bulldogtragic can verify that a few weeks back I thought Andrew Moore was a possibility. He's a solid all-round footballer who can play both ends of the ground. In the finals he beat Gary Rohan for nearly 3 quarters as a defender before moving forward and kicking 4 goals and winning the game for Eastern. His skill level needs so work though.
We could probably do better though and until we know who we are going to de-list it's hard to work out who we should look at.

Thanks for that, Moore sounds like an intriguing prospect. Going to be interesting to see the developments over the next month or so, but by the sounds of it, we should be confident of securing a couple of pretty good kids.

[Mofra]

Re: Draft watch: the 17 most likely

Thanks for that, Moore sounds like an intriguing prospect. Going to be interesting to see the developments over the next month or so, but by the sounds of it, we should be confident of securing a couple of pretty good kids.

Only problem with Moore is he has a brother in the AFL system - our record with younger brothers isn't flash.

[GVGjr]

Re: Draft watch: the 17 most likely

Thanks for that, Moore sounds like an intriguing prospect. Going to be interesting to see the developments over the next month or so, but by the sounds of it, we should be confident of securing a couple of pretty good kids.

I think so. What sort of player do you think we should target with the first pick?

[Bulldog Revolution]

Re: Draft watch: the 17 most likely

I figure that with our pick the absolute gun talls will be gone, and we've attempted to load up on a few of them over the past two years. And given that we need to allow Grant, Jones, Bouman, Cordy and Roughead space to be given key roles at VFL level so I think there is a limit as to how many we can have on the list.

Like a few others I'd like to see us pick a real run and carry type, who is a booming kick - a Shannon Hurn, Lindsay Gilbee, Andrew Lovett etc. I know they aren't all the same player but a player with a mixture of their attributes would suit us nicely.

[GVGjr]

Re: Draft watch: the 17 most likely

I figure that with our pick the absolute gun talls will be gone, and we've attempted to load up on a few of them over the past two years. And given that we need to allow Grant, Jones, Bouman, Cordy and Roughead space to be given key roles at VFL level so I think there is a limit as to how many we can have on the list.

Like a few others I'd like to see us pick a real run and carry type, who is a booming kick - a Shannon Hurn, Lindsay Gilbee, Andrew Lovett etc. I know they aren't all the same player but a player with a mixture of their attributes would suit us nicely.

I tend to agree that a long kicking speedster would be ideal for us but are we still a bit light on for a key defender?
Everitt seems to be out of favor, Tiller a little undersized and Williams still struggles to put enough games together so I'd be OK with another good sized defender.