2015 Draft Watch

[Go_Dogs]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/sports/ncaabasketball/australian-football-visits-us-in-search-of-basketball-big-men.html?referrer=&_r=0

Really good read for those interested in international rookies.

[The Doctor]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

Top 20 draft prospects

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-05-14/the-20-to-watch-who-are-this-years-most-exciting-draft-prospects

Callum Ah Chee
182cm/71kg
9/10/97
Half-forward/midfielder
Western Australia/South Fremantle
Showed his talent at the MCG last month, when he starred for the NAB AFL Academy. Ah Chee, the younger brother of Port Adelaide's Brendon, gathered 19 disposals, kicked two goals and took a huge mark. None of it should have been a surprise. The West Australian jumps high, runs the 20-metre sprint in 2.88 seconds, has blistering agility and can turn a game with his class in the midfield and across half-forward.

Harley Balic
187cm/80kg
5/1/97
Half-forward
Vic Metro/Sandringham Dragons
A star junior basketballer who had a very promising first season with the Sandringham Dragons in 2014, this will be Balic's first taste of state level football. The creative half-forward is agile and thinks quickly when in possession - he's cool when everyone around him seems to be in a rush. He marks well above his head, kicks goals and can be used in the midfield, but perhaps Balic's key attribute is his fight for the contest. He enjoys throwing himself into the fray.


Charlie Curnow
191cm/93kg
3/2/97
Key forward/midfielder
Vic Country/Geelong Falcons
A unique player given his size, shape and strengths. Curnow, the younger brother of Carlton midfielder Ed, has been used in a range of spots this season. He has shown an ability to mark well as a deep forward and can assert himself on games by kicking bags of goals. But of late, the Geelong Falcon has been encouraged to move up the field more by starting in the centre square and roaming across the ground in a midfield role.

Josh Dunkley
189cm/84kg
9/1/97
Utility
Vic Country/Gippsland Power
Dunkley gets thrown around in a few different spots, from the half-back line to the midfield and also can be used as a forward option. He's a committed player with a developed frame that helps him out-position opponents and be able to contest well in the air. A back stress fracture has limited his season so far but he has moved to Melbourne from the country so he can be closer to treatment, and should still play a significant chunk of the carnival. Is eligible to join the Sydney Swans as a father-son pick.

Josh Dunkley could be a big addition to the Swans if he joins them as a father-son pick. Picture: AFL Media



Aaron Francis
191cm/88kg
10/8/97
Key defender
South Australia/West Adelaide
Francis may be the first South Australian drafted this year. The jumping and marking tall defender had an excellent game for the NAB AFL Academy last month, when he took nine marks in the back half against Werribee. Although perhaps not quite big enough to hold down a key defensive spot at the next level, Francis' confidence in the air has seen him play several games at SANFL level already where he has acquitted himself well.

Jacob Hopper
186cm/82kg
6/2/97
Midfielder
NSW-ACT/North Ballarat Rebels
Hopper started his TAC Cup season with 27 disposals and four goals for the Rebels in a dominant display. He is a big-bodied midfielder who excels at the clearances, feeds the ball out and gets it going. He's also more than capable of finishing his work as a reliable right-foot kick. With some injury troubles behind him, Hopper will play for NSW-ACT at the championships. He is set to join Greater Western Sydney as an academy selection at the end of the year.

Ben Keays
23/2/97
185cm/81kg
Midfielder
Queensland/Morningside
Keays had a terrific bottom-age year, winning All Australian honours after a prolific under-18 championships. The 18-year-old continually finds a way to accumulate the ball. He puts himself in spots to get it and get it again, and is prepared to put himself in dangerous spots to do it. The Brisbane Lions academy player has shown his consistency over the past year, and recently had a standout game for Queensland in the TAC Cup when he gathered 43 disposals and 12 clearances.

Matthew Kennedy
187cm/84kg
6/4/97
Midfielder
NSW-ACT
With a handful of brilliant performances, Kennedy has rocketed up the draft ranks. The midfielder has all the hard-working elements wanted in a prospect - he keeps running, can dig in and win the ball and is composed when he's got it. He also has more than a hint of class and poise, and has shown his tendency to push forward and kick goals. A member of the Giants' academy, they will get first access to the Wagga Wagga product.

Rhys Mathieson
185cm/79kg
10/1/97
Midfielder
Vic Country/Geelong Falcons
Mathieson has a bit of strut, and he enjoys the rough side of the game. He finds plenty of the ball in tight situations, and has the strength to get it out and to the advantage of teammates. He's an aggressive and rugged midfielder who was named an All Australian last year after an excellent carnival for Vic Country. Mathieson is sharpening his kick, and plays with some grunt.

Harry McKay
200cm/85kg
24/12/97
Key forward
Vic Country/Gippsland Power
Made people take notice with a four-goal haul early in the TAC Cup season and has continued to generate interest in club ranks. A left-footer with pace, McKay also has the athleticism to push onto a wing where he can use his natural running ability. He keeps showing exciting snippets – a good mark on the lead, a twist and turn to find space, or a goal that looks unlikely.


Callum Mills
188cm/80kg
4/2/97
Midfielder
NSW-ACT
Perhaps the best midfielder of the 2015 crop, Mills could not have been any more impressive last season. Hard, tough and with an appetite for winning the ball, he starred for NSW-ACT in the championships and was named an All Australian. He went on to play some brilliant games at NEAFL level for the Sydney Swans reserves side, and establish his place at the top of the draft board. His season has been interrupted with a shin injury, but he will join the Swans at the end of the year through the academy system.

Nick O'Kearney
181cm/71kg
13/2/97
Midfielder
Vic Metro/Calder Cannons
With great work ethic and footy smarts, O'Kearney doesn't struggle to knock up getting the ball. O'Kearney is a small, busy and neat midfielder who collects plenty of disposals and uses them well. Despite his size he tackles well, and has already shown a capacity to string good games together – last year he won the Calder Cannons' best and fairest as a bottom-aged player.

Darcy Parish
181cm/75kg
25/7/97
Midfielder
Vic Country/Geelong Falcons
Parish is a go-getting midfielder who makes things happen. With run, carry and very neat skills, Parish is quick to keep the ball moving forward and takes his team with him. He belies his smaller size to throw himself into contests and hunts the ball with ferocity. Parish started the year in brilliant form, being close to best afield in the first few games he played. Thumb surgery will sideline him for the opening part of the championships but he'll have plenty of time to tuck the ball under his arm and dash off.

Darcy Parish is a ferocious midfielder who also boasts excellent skills. Picture: AFL Media




Bailey Rice
184cm/81kg
10/2/97
Midfielder/half-back
Vic Country/Dandenong Stingrays
Rice finds himself in a rare position, given he is a father-son candidate for St Kilda and Carlton, where his father Dean played more than 100 games at both clubs. Both are interested, particularly given his recent form at TAC Cup level. Rice has some speed, he attacks the contest hard and has a mature body which makes it easy for him to move between roles in the midfield and across half-back.

Josh Schache
199cm/96kg
21/8/97
Key forward
Vic Country/Murray Bushrangers
Recruiters view Schache as one of the best kicks for goal they have seen at under-18 level, and he has lived up to that hype early this season with some impressive games. The son of former Brisbane Bears forward Laurence Schache, the 199cm prospect is using his body more than last year and converts most of his chances. He can find space on the lead, move up at the ball and also pinch-hit in the ruck when required.

Will Snelling
177cm/68kg
6/8/97
Midfielder
South Australia/West Adelaide
The small midfielder has belied his size to play well at senior level in the SANFL so far this year. Snelling is smart and can find the ball, and dominated South Australia's under-18 trial game, when he booted three goals. He runs both ways as a midfielder and is happy to get back and help his defenders and then rush the ball forward. Expect him to have an impact for his state as it searches for its third consecutive division one title.

Dylan Smith
198cm/82kg
7/2/97
Key forward
Western Australia/Swan Districts
The athletic tall forward has caught the eye of scouts this season playing at colts level in Western Australia. He is a quick and hard-running option who can take a mark. Smith booted five goals and had nine marks in round two of the under-18 season for Swan Districts and the championships will give him the chance of impressing at a higher level. He offers some versatility as well and can be used in defence.

Darcy Tucker
184cm/78kg
23/1/97
Midfielder/half-back
Vic Country/North Ballarat Rebels
After a stellar championships last year as a rebounding half-back which saw him named an All Australian as a bottom ager, Tucker has moved up the ground this year into the midfield. With great speed, agility and smarts, Tucker can influence a game many ways. The controlled North Ballarat captain recently gathered 43 disposals in a TAC Cup game. He loves to run with the ball, zigzag through traffic and swing onto his left foot.

Sam Weideman
196cm/91kg
26/6/97
Key forward
Vic Metro/Eastern Ranges
Weideman is a tall, imposing and efficient key forward who shapes as a very early pick this year. The grandson of Collingwood legend Murray Weideman and son of former Magpie Mark, the 17-year-old starred on the MCG last month for the NAB AFL Academy. Weideman is prepared to fly at the ball and into packs, he can kick on both feet, and has the natural smarts of a goalkicker. A reliable shot for goal, Weideman booted five last week for the Eastern Ranges.

Jacob Weitering
195cm/94kg
23/11/97
Key defender
Vic Country/Dandenong Stingrays
A powerful, smart key defender who can set up the game from centre-half back. Weitering is strong overhead and a penetrating long kick, and already has the frame to outmuscle and outmanoeuvre opponents with ease. The 17-year-old has played up the ground as a forward and even as a wingman, but is best placed in defence with his sure hands and mature frame. The leading contender for this year's No.1 pick.

[The Doctor]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

Looking forward to seeing Ezekiel Frank (NT) at the Nats. tall forward who came to N.Ballarat via Cairns.

[Throughandthrough]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/sas-top-afl-draft-prospect-aaron-francis-is-driven-to-succeed-by-memory-of-his-brother-hayden/story-fnp04d71-1227394387450?from=public_rss&utm_content=SocialFlow&utm_campaign=EditorialSF&utm_source=AdelaideAdvertiser&utm_medium=Twitter

[Bornadog]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/...medium=Twitter

TT what do you know about Steven Slimming? I have just spent three days at a conference and his dad really talked him up. He is not elgibable to be drafted till 2016

[Throughandthrough]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

TT what do you know about Steven Slimming? I have just spent three days at a conference and his dad really talked him up. He is not elgibable to be drafted till 2016

Never heard of him. Presumably he's never heard of,e either . What club is he aligned to?

[Bornadog]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

Never heard of him. Presumably he's never heard of,e either . What club is he aligned to?

Not sure. He represented Australia in a match v NZ earlier in the year.

Just Googled him, looks like Sturt

[The Doctor]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

Emma Quayle's who to watch for list

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/2015-afl-draft-midseason-preview-20150625-ghwvpy

[Bornadog]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

Prospective No.1 pick Jacob Weitering wins AFL Academy's Ben Mitchell Medal

[Bornadog]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

2015 draft pool looks shallow but there's talent there to take


THE CONSENSUS among recruiters heading into this year's NAB AFL Under-18 Championships was that the 2015 draft pool was well down on recent years. The hope was that, through the carnival, the best players would go well and more prospects would emerge.

With the six-week, 18-game tournament now complete, all those thoughts proved about right.

The championships showed this isn't the year to rebuild a list through the draft with a stack of picks, because the depth just isn't there. Some clubs will take only one or two live picks and upgrade rookies or re-select delisted players to ensure they meet the minimum of three selections at the draft.

But through some strong, promising and encouraging efforts from a number of other players during the championships, some more talent should be on offer after the opening bunch.

Let's start with the top. A pick in the first round will find a good player, and a pick in the first dozen should be very good. But somewhat unusually, many of the early group will be taller key position prospects this year. Jacob Weitering and Josh Schache are vying for the No.1 selection and either would be deserving.

Behind them, Aaron Francis plays a damaging brand of footy in defence and has shown he can move around up the ground as well.

Injuries have restricted big forwards Sam Weideman, Charlie Curnow and Ryan Burton this year but all shape as possible early picks with healthy medical checks, while Harry McKay gives more and more glimpses of his skill with each game.

Athletic tall forwards who are 200cm are hard to find so he could push up, and the same applies for Eric Hipwood, whose carnival for Queensland saw more people get excited by how he will be able to develop.

Hipwood, tied to the Brisbane Lions via its academy, is one of perhaps seven or eight of the best 25 or so prospects attached to northern clubs.

Ben Keays (Brisbane Lions) won the Harrison Medal as the best player in division two and Jacob Hopper (GWS) wasn't far behind him, while Harrison Himmelberg (GWS) and Matthew Flynn (GWS) also performed consistently for NSW-ACT, who were without key midfielders Callum Mills (Sydney Swans) and Matthew Kennedy (GWS).

The championships helped add some beef to the top group, with a number of players pushing themselves up. From South Australia, Riley Bonner gave consistent run off half-back, Luke Partington dug into countless contests and offered some explosiveness from stoppages, and Wayne Milera's speed and tricks near goal will appeal.

Brayden Hackett was a highlight for Western Australia in a poor carnival, while small Tasmanian midfielder Kieran Lovell could not have done much more for his team across the three games. He finished the carnival averaging 35 disposals (as well as 34 disposals in four TAC Cup games).

His teammate Mitchell Hibberd looks likely to be the first player from that team drafted, though, with the athletic half-back shaping as a riser up the ranks in the second half of the year. Hibberd, like Himmelberg, is a good example of the AFL's 19-year-old rule working well, with both overlooked at last year's draft due to injury but having this year to go again as overagers.

The unbeaten Vic Country will provide plenty of draftees, South Australia will produce a few solid players beyond the obvious, and some Western Australian prospects will benefit from tasting senior WAFL footy in the back end of the year. The developing states – Queensland and NSW/ACT – have also got some exciting players to choose.

Despite their last-gasp win in their final game, Vic Metro was a disappointment. The draft generally relies on about 25 per cent of the pool to come from Metro, but the numbers will drop this year, with Harley Balic a top-10 chance and Jade Gresham also doing his stocks no harm in his five games.

They also blooded only a couple of bottom-agers, with Jordan Gallucci the best, meaning next year's group might also not have the depth of previous Metro teams.

On the surface Country will have a good group again next year, with the likes of Ben Ainsworth, Jy Simpkin, Jordan Berry and Will Brodie impressing, while brighter times seem ahead for Western Australia, with Sam Petrevski-Seton, Sam Powell-Pepper and Josh Rotham exciting at stages.

Clubs need to keep an eye on the next crops, particularly with the trading of future draft picks on the horizon. That's why recruiting teams will head with interest to the Gold Coast on Friday ahead of the under-16 championships, which start on Saturday.

They left the corresponding championships two years ago sensing the 2015 draft crop would not be one of the strongest, so what will the first impression of 2017's intake be?

[The Doctor]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

herald Sun's first round mock draft

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/afl-national-draft-mock-first-round-featuring-best-under-18-talent/story-fnp04d70-1227433319073

[Throughandthrough]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

[Throughandthrough]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

I doubt Aaron Francis will last all the way to the Dogs, but he is a gun. The above is from a League match vs CDFC on the weekend.


From Glenelg, I expect that Matt Allen, (power forward, has been siggestions that he could play as a midfielder, had to choose between cricket and footy) Mason Redman (slick outside player, good size, good skills, plenty of dash) and maybe big Tim Sullivan (ruckman who did his ACL at the start of the year) will be under strong consideration .

[boydogs]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

maybe big Tim Sullivan (ruckman who did his ACL at the start of the year) will be under strong consideration .

Clubs aren't drafting ruckmen anymore, certainly not ones with an ACL under their belt that didn't play in their final year
On the flipside, his career is not over at 19 like a midfielder's is, if he dominates at state league level he will get on a list

[Go_Dogs]

Re: 2015 Draft Watch

I'd be surprised if Francis didn't go top 5, given his size and scope to develop into a versatile AFL player.

Redman has impressed me and I think he'll get drafted in the first 40 picks.