FOR THE third time in four years, AFL.com.au's Cal Twomey has correctly predicted the entire top 10 of the Telstra AFL Draft.
Twomey underlined his status as the football industry's best, most knowledgeable draft reporter again on Wednesday night, correctly predicting the first 11 picks in order, among his 13 correct tips in the first 20, including Academy prospect Isaac Kako's arrival at Essendon and Cooper Hynes landing at the Western Bulldogs.
>> DRAFT TRACKER Every pick as it happened
>> PLAYER PROFILES Highlights, stats and full bios of every draftee
>> DRAFT HUB Click here for the latest draft news
He also tipped GWS' selection of Harrison Oliver, albeit with the Giants' pick No.24 that was used on Cody Angove, rather than his eventual selection at No.19, making a total of 14 picks that panned out as expected.
It continues an incredible history of accuracy from Twomey, who has tipped an average of 8.7 correct picks from the draft's top 10 since 2013.
Overall, Twomey's Phantom Draft late mail identified 26 of the first 27 players selected on Wednesday night and tipped the correct destination club for 16 of those players.
It backs up Twomey's incredible record of predicting the first round of the AFL Draft over the past 12 years, including tipping 15 of the first 20 in the past two years.
Even when considering the COVID-affected year of 2020, when North's surprise pick of Will Phillips at pick No.3 threw everyone out of whack, Cal has averaged 8.7 out of 10 correct predictions for the top 10 of the draft. Take 2020 out of the mix and Twomey's strike rate soars to an incredible 9.1 out of 10.
CAL TWOMEY'S PHANTOM DRAFT LATE MAIL STRIKE RATE
|
Year |
Out of top 10 |
Out of top 20 |
|
10/10 |
14/20 |
|
|
8/10 |
11/20 |
|
|
10/10 |
16/20 |
|
|
8/10 |
13/20 |
|
|
9/10 |
12/20 |
|
|
9/10 |
13/20 |
|
|
8/10 |
13/20 |
|
|
4/10 |
6/20 |
|
|
10/10 |
13/20 |
|
|
10/10 |
15/20 |
|
|
8/10 |
15/20 |
|
|
10/10 |
14/20 |
|
|
Average |
8.7/10 |
12.8/20 |
*The above scores are based on Cal Twomey correctly predicting player destinations and do not take into account where father-son/Academy/NGA bids and live trades occur
It's a wealth of knowledge and insight gained by countless hours of watching junior footy, talking to club recruiters, players and their agents, to develop an understanding of the AFL's talent pipeline that is unrivalled in the media industry.
You can get the latest draft and trade news and analysis each week throughout the season with Gettable, hosted by Cal and Riley, while AFL.com.au's team of gun reporters brings you the stories of each year's draft crop with feature articles throughout the season.
Be sure to tune in for night two of the 2024 Telstra AFL Draft from 7pm AEDT on Thursday, and come back on Saturday morning for an early look at the players most likely to shine next season, when Cal releases his top 10 players to watch for 2024. As a guide, six of the 10 players Cal named this time last year were taken inside the top 10 of the 2024 draft, including the top five players selected on Wednesday night.
It all adds up to the best AFL Draft content available anywhere, and you can get it right here on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App, all year round.
