GOLD Coast’s front loading at this year’s NAB AFL National Draft makes it difficult for opposition list managers.
The Suns have nine of the first 15 picks (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15) and a host of the nation’s best teenage talents already in stock.
A logical draft choice in previous years at, say, No.6 or No. 7 might be passed over by the Suns because they’ve fulfilled their quotient of one particular type of player and now feel inclined to chance their arm.
The Suns, for example, have a potential star ruckmen in Zac Smith as well as understudies Rory Thompson and Tom Nicholls. There’s a chance they might also take a mature ruckman like Josh Fraser as a means of shielding the young ruckmen.
If that is the case, the Suns might feel disinclined to take a ruckman like SA pair Daniel Gorringe or Scott Lycett early in the draft when other clubs would have done so if they had the opportunity.
The dominos in the 2010 draft will fall according to the decisions of the Gold Coast. It should be a fascinating exercise.
Given the home-and-away rounds have just been completed here’s a speculative look at what the bottom eight clubs might do on draft day.
West Coast (picks 4, 26, 28)
Needs: Key back, key forward, gun midfielder, small-to-medium forward to help Mark LeCras, a ruckman as back-up if Dean Cox is traded. Pretty much everything.
Possibilities: The Eagles are believed to be keen to take Jack Darling with pick No.4. They believe he can play an Aaron Hamill, bustling-type role in their forward line. They might consider Vic Metro’s gun accumulator Andrew Gaff for No.4, and would surely take South Australia’s Sam Day if the Gold Coast overlook him at No.3. Players who might be around for the Eagles’ second and third picks include West Australian midfielder Reece Conca, who’s been killing them in the WAFL, and fellow midfielder Jamie Cripps, who recently kicked five for East Fremantle.
Richmond (pick 6)
Needs: For all their poor performances on the field in the past two years, the Tigers have been kicking goals in their list management. There are no particular holes. They’ll simply go for the best players available.
Possibilities: Maybe they could consider a back-up ruckman for their first pick such as South Australian Daniel Gorringe at No.6. Hard-running, gutsy midfielder Shaun Atley, from the Murray Bushrangers, would be a decent choice at No.6. Maybe even Kieran Harper of the Eastern Ranges could go that high on the strength of one cracking game at the under-18 championships.
Essendon (pick 8)
Needs: The most obvious need is a pacy midfielder. In fact, the Bombers would be excused for using most of their selections on pacy midfielders, with perhaps an in-and-under midfielder to round things out. They could also do with a ruckman to shore up the fragile ruckmen who are currently on their list.
Possibilities: Shaun Atley has the speed, toughness and dedication to be a top pick with the Bombers’ first choice. Given the Bombers’ policy last year of going with local blokes, Josh Caddy of the Northern Knights and Dion Prestia of the Calder Cannons might also be a chance for midfield snap-ups. They would also think long and hard about Daniel Gorringe if he got through to No.8.
Brisbane Lions (pick 10)
Needs: Where does it end? Forwards, backs, in-betweens - whatever you’ve got, they want it. Replacements for midfield generals to replace Simon Black and Luke Power are perhaps at the top of the list.
Possibilities: Josh Caddy is a big chance to get through to No.10, but the Lions are likely to seek more pace. Woodville-West Torrens speedster Jared Polec might just get through to No.10. Geelong Falcons wingman Jayden Pitt is another player who’ll be looked at around this mark.
Melbourne (pick 12)
Needs: The Demons, like the Tigers, are well-placed in terms of having all bases covered on their developing list. Like most clubs, they could do with another key forward or key back, but perhaps the most pressing need is a versatile, 190-centimetre type who can shift between half-back, half-forward and the midfield.
Possibilities: Geelong Falcons’ swingman Billie Smedts is just about the most versatile player in the draft, so he’ll be considered. Smedts’s main rival for the title of King Versatile is Sandringham Dragons gun Ben Jacobs, who’s a noted accumulator of the ball. Not all clubs are sold on Jacobs because of a perceived laziness in the past, but he appears to have left those days behind and he’d be a worthy No.12 selection. Not that it means much in terms of footy ability, but Jacobs is doing Year 12 at Jack Watts’s old school, Brighton Grammar.
Adelaide (pick 14)
Needs: Perhaps surprisingly given the Crows were finals contenders as recently as last year, their list is well-rounded and even impressive for a club with a habit of finishing in the top eight. They, like Melbourne, could do with a versatile type and they could certainly do with a key back to replace Nathan Bock.
Possibilities: The Crows would consider Smedts and Jacobs for the versatile role if either of those two got through to No.14. They would also consider North Ballarat key forward and key defender Lucas Cook to replace Bock. The other point to consider is that there’s a wealth of South Australian prospects in this year’s draft pool, of which as many as eight are tipped to go in the first round. Port Adelaide Magpies ruckman Scott Lycett would be a handy pick-up at No.14. Glenelg’s praying mantis half-back Pat McCarthy will also go around this mark. Brodie Smith, the Woodville West Torrens player who was captain of South Australia in the recent under-18 championships, is a familiar type in that he’s a half-back who can play in the midfield, and you can never have enough of those.
Port Adelaide (pick 16)
Needs: The Power, like the Brisbane Lions, need everything. Perhaps a ruckman to support Dean Brogan is at the top of the list.
Possibilities: It’s very likely the Power would pick Lycett at No.16 given that he’s one of their own. Others to figure around this mark are Dandenong Stingrays midfielder Mitch Hallahan, who’s as hard as flint in the Port Adelaide mould, and his Stingrays co-captain Luke Parker, who kicks goals as well as ferrets the ball out.
North Melbourne (pick 17)
Needs: The main thing the Kangaroos need is a touch of class, preferably in the midfield. They could also do with a key forward given that David Hale is considered likely trade bait.
Possibilities: Pitt was mentioned far higher, but he might just get through to the Roos at No.17. His skills would certainly be welcomed at Arden Street. Hallahan, Brodie Smith and Parker would be considered for midfield roles. Gippsland Power half-back and midfielder Dyson Heppell has a dynamite left-foot that would appeal to the Roos. The last one to consider is Stingrays key forward Tom Lynch, who’s star has risen enormously in the past two months. In fact, pick No.17 might be too late to snap up Lynch.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
