IS LUKE Davies-Uniacke on track to be the best player from the 2017 draft?
The North Melbourne gun's dominant start to the season for the Roos continued his excellent finish to last year, when he finished second in the club's best and fairest.
Originally drafted at No.4 in that year's intake, Davies-Uniacke's form has risen to be one of the high impact midfielders in the AFL.
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On this week's episode of Gettable, AFL.com.au's new draft, trade and free agency show, hosts Cal Twomey and Riley Beveridge re-rank the top five picks from that draft class, with Beveridge saying Davies-Uniacke is on track to be at the top of the crop.
"I think he's every chance to now. It's funny how we can look at things in hindsight but three years ago we weren't saying that. He dealt with persistent groin injuries in the first two years of his career that really hampered him playing in a struggling side," Beveridge said.
"There were a lot of people who didn't think Luke Davies-Uniacke was going to make it – both internally at North Melbourne and externally as well. What he's been able to achieve in the last 18 months has been everything we thought he was going to be throughout that draft year."
Twomey said Davies-Uniacke's powerful performances reminded him of his draft year.
"This is the player who I saw back at Victoria Park when he played in a final for the Dandenong Stingrays and it was this type of performance," Twomey said.
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"Hunter Clark was in that team as well, Aiden Bonar in the squad that season, but there was a lot of recruiters there and a big game for draft prospects and it was [him saying] 'Give me the ball, I'm about to make an impact with it and I want the big moment'," Twomey said.
"We're seeing that now at AFL level."
The 2017 draft saw Brisbane select Cam Rayner at the No.1 spot, before Fremantle swooped on Andrew Brayshaw at No.2 and Adam Cerra at No.5. Carlton selected Paddy Dow at No.3, Collingwood brought in Jaidyn Stephenson at No.6, before the Saints took Clark and Nick Coffield with back-to-back selections. Aaron Naughton was the No.9 pick to the Western Bulldogs, with Carlton rounding out the top 10 by choosing Lochie O'Brien.
Among the other standout selections in the first round of the 2017 draft were Darcy Fogarty (No.12), Zac Bailey (15), Ed Richards (16), Jack Higgins (17), Brandon Starcevich (18) and Wil Powell (19), while the second round was full of excellent picks.
Melbourne found three players who would be key to its 2021 premiership in Charlie Spargo, Bayley Fritsch and Harrison Petty, while Richmond selected flag winner Noah Balta and Greater Western Sydney took All-Australian defender Sam Taylor. Mature-agers Tim Kelly and Liam Ryan have also gone on to forge impressive careers from the 2017 draft, as have later picks Dylan Moore and Matt Guelfi and rookies Liam Baker and Brody Mihocek.
See who Twomey and Beveridge picked with the re-draft of the 2017 crop on Gettable, with new episodes coming every Wednesday on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App and also available as a podcast on all streaming platforms.
