BigFooty Official 2023 Bigfooty Phantom Draft

PMBangers · Oct 30, 2023

Round 1
Pick 1 - West Coast Eagles - Harley Reid
Pick 2 - Gold Coast Suns - Jed Walter (Matched bid) [Picks 24, 26 and 27 used to match, 203 points in the bank for next match]
Pick 3 - North Melbourne - Colby McKercher
Pick 4 - North Melbourne - Daniel Curtin
Pick 5 - Hawthorn - Zane Duursma
Pick 6 - Western Bulldogs - Nick Watson
Pick 7 - Gold Coast Suns - Ethan Read (Matched Bid) [Picks 30 and 34 used, 58 points for next match]
Pick 8 - Melbourne - Nate Caddy
Pick 9 - GWS - Ryley Sanders
Pick 10 - Geelong - Connor O'Sullivan
Pick 11 - Western Bulldogs - Jordan Croft (Matched Bid) [Picks 46, 48, 50 and 51 used, 101 points for next match]
Pick 12 - Essendon - Caleb Windsor
Pick 13 - Adelaide - Darcy Wilson
Pick 14 - Melbourne - James Leake
Pick 15 - Sydney - Zane Zakostelsky
Pick 16 - St Kilda - Ollie Murphy
Pick 17 - Adelaide - Harry Demattia
Pick 18 - North Melbourne - Mitch Edwards
Pick 19 - Gold Coast Suns - Jake Rogers (Matched Bid) [Picks 36, 60 and 65 used, 45 points for next match]
Pick 20 - GWS - Luamon Lual
Pick 21 - North Melbourne - Arie Schoenmaker
Pick 22 - North Melbourne - Riley Hardeman
Pick 23 - Hawthorn - Will McCabe (Matched bid) [Picks 42 and 45 used, 124 points for next match]
Pick 24 - Collingwood - Archie Roberts
Pick 25 - Adelaide - Taylor Goad
Pick 26 - St Kilda - Lance Collard
Pick 27 - Carlton - Koltyn Tholstrup

Round 2
Pick 28 - West Coast Eagles - Charlie Edwards
Pick 29 - Geelong - Joel Freijah
Pick 30 - Carlton - Ashton Moir
Pick 31 - Richmond - Archer Reid
Pick 32 - Brisbane - Angus Hastie
Pick 33 - Essendon - George Stevens
Pick 34 - Collingwood - Will Green
Pick 35 - Gold Coast Suns - Will Graham (Matched bid) [Pick 65 gobbled up. Deficit of 190 points applied to Gold Coasts 2023 2nd round pick]
Pick 36 - Fremantle - Luke Lloyd
Pick 37 - Hawthorn - Calsher Dear (Matched Bid) [Pick 46 used]
Pick 38 - Essendon - Tew Jiath
Pick 39 - West Coast - Wil Dawson
Pick 40 - Brisbane - Phoenix Gothard
Pick 41 - St Kilda - Harvey Johnston
Pick 42 - Richmond - Koen Sanchez
Pick 43 - Melbourne - Clay Hall
Pick 44 - GWS - Lachie Charleson

Round 3
Pick 45 - Sydney - Caiden Cleary
Pick 46 - Fremantle - Shaun Mannagh
Pick 47 - Brisbane - Cooper Simpson
Pick 48 - Brisbane - Joe Fonti
Pick 49 - Sydney - Jack Delean
Pick 50 - Western Bulldogs - Kane McAuliffe
Pick 51 - North Melbourne - Logan Morris
Pick 52 - West Coast - Will Patton
Pick 53 - GWS - Vigo Visentini
Pick 54 - Fremantle - Sam Clohesy
Pick 55 - Essendon - Michael Rudd
Pick 56 - Hawthorn - Nathan Philactides

Round 4
Pick 57 - Hawthorn - PASS
Pick 58 - Fremantle - Thomas Anastasopoulos
Pick 59 - Richmond - PASS
Pick 60 - Brisbane -PASS
Pick 61 - Richmond - PASS
Pick 62 - Western Bulldogs - Kade De La Rue
Pick 63 - Carlton - Aiden O'Driscoll
Pick 64 - Western Bulldogs - PASS
Pick 65 - Port Adelaide - Jack Callinan
Pick 66 - Western Bulldogs - PASS
Pick 67 - Geelong - Billy Wilson
Pick 68 - GWS - PASS
Pick 69 - Carlton - Sam Van Rooyen
Pick 70 - GWS - PASS
Pick 71 - Collingwood - Will Lorenz

Round to get Port Adelaide to reach the two minimum selections
Pick 72 - Port Adelaide - Tarkyn O'Leary

MINI DRAFT (2024 First Round)
Pick 1 - West Coast Eagles - Jagga Smith
Pick 2 - North Melbourne - Josh Smillie
Pick 3 - Hawthorn - Finn O'Sullivan
Pick 4 - Gold Coast Suns - Sid Draper
Pick 5 - Fremantle - Levi Ashcroft (Brisbane F/S)
Pick 6 - Richmond - Christian Moraes
Pick 7 - Geelong - Tyler Welsh (Adelaide F/S)
Pick 8 - Essendon - Tom Gross
Pick 9 - Adelaide - Sam Lalor
Pick 10 - Gold Coast Suns (From Western Bulldogs) (Pie 4 Life to select) - Leo Lombard (GCS Academy)
Pick 11 - Sydney -
Pick 12 - St Kilda - Archer Day-Wicks
Pick 13 - Melbourne - Kade Herbert
Pick 14 - Fremantle (From Port Adelaide) - Phoenix Hargrave
Pick 15 - GWS - Murphy Reid
Pick 16 - Carlton -
Pick 17 - Brisbane -
Pick 18- Fremantle (From Collingwood) -
Pick 19 - Sydney (From North Melbourne PP) -
Pick 20 - Gold Coast Suns (From North Melbourne PP) -

Ysaye · Nov 1, 2023

Pick 15 - Zane Zakostelsky

Height: 196cm
Weight: 89kg
Likely AFL Position: Key Position Defender + Ruck + Ruck Rover

What do I like about the player? Lots of things. Firstly he is incredibly athletic; Top 10 in the 20m sprint, agility, both jumps, winning the standing jump. But more importantly than just random results off a football field that athleticism shows up in the way he plays and gives him a significant advantage in both at the centre square and against opponents in the backline which I can only see becoming more pronounced as he gets more use to AFL. Coupled with the fact that he is really a basketballer who has only just turned up to play footy for a small period of 2 years and you have someone who navigates traffic like it is nothing and has a fantastic directional tap as a ruckman and you have an annoying player to have to line up with. Further to that in addition to having midfielder-like movement he has a midfielder-like handball and is able to accurately get the ball out to others from congestion. Also he is fantastic intercept mark and lead up mark. I have also listened to his interviews and reckon he has some real character and is a dedicated sort that will really work hard to get the best out of himself. Lastly I reckon he can add a lot more weight to his frame and this will make him even harder to match up again.

What are the weaknesses? Two main things. At the moment his kicking is below average, possibly because he has joined the game so late. I think he is a better kick than say Naitanui was at his age (maybe equal to Naughton and Jackson) but he has clocked up an undesirable record of kicking 0 goals 11 points in a game (it was wet but even still) and at the moment he tends to do just bomb the ball. However, I think that it will be possible to get him to an average level of kick once he has a better understanding of what he is trying to achieve in game and refines the technique a bit; and IMO he only needs an average level of kick to be super dangerous. The other aspect is that at 196cm he is at some disadvantage in the ruck and I think means he will probably need to focus on being a utility or KP player; although having a fantastic standing jump makes up a little for this.

Why Sydney? My look at their list suggests that they might find another key position defender useful so that was part of the list justification. The other thing is that I think ZZ is a player that has a high ceiling; RUNVS asked in another thread who could become the next Adam Goodes, and for mine ZZ is a player that has the potential to be a unique match-winner.

Who else did I consider? James Leake and ZZ were the two players I was really keen on at this point in the draft, mainly because IMO they have much higher ceilings than others around this point and I think that that is what Sydney should try and get out of this pick rather than just pick low variance but reasonable return type. Murphy was a consideration just simply because of the key defender side of things, De Mattia because he was a solid option at this point.

TDS7 your turn....

RUNVS · Nov 1, 2023

Ysaye said:
Pick 15 - Zane Zakostelsky

sorry you caught me at work so writeup to come....

TDS7 your turn....

Don't know much about him to be honest but heard his name get mentioned on the Swans board quite a lot the last few weeks.

TDS7 · Nov 1, 2023

Pick 16 - St. Kilda - Ollie Murphy - 200cm 85kg - Key Position Defender

I only just finished the Duursma writeup, so give me some time.

Thunderstruck for the Crows.

Thunderstruck · Nov 1, 2023

Pick 17 Adelaide - Harry De Mattia - Dandenong Stingrays 185cm 78kg

After taking some outside run and skill with Wilson, I figured why not go for proper break away pace and burst from stoppage, another thing we don't have. Looks like Sam Berry but with twice the jets and better skills, Harry is a dynamic midfielder who you don't want getting one step behind as he will burn you off like no tomorrow. Has sound skills, not to Wilsons level but can win his own ball and burst away from stoppage, can work across half back or half forward and is quite versatile but I like him in the middle the most as that inside outside mid with acceleation and burst out of congestion. Defensively he is always chasing, tackling, pressuring which is what a proper two way mid does, he never leaves anything wanting at any contest, something that will have coaches lining up to have him in their side. He's a terrific all-round character as well, be hard pressed to find better in this draft and one day is probably going to be a leader in a few years time.

roos_fanatic08 ur up

The Nostradamus · Nov 1, 2023

would be shocked in the real thing if jake rogers didnt get bid on in the top 15

reckon we approaching the range for a mccabe bid here also

roos_fanatic08 · Nov 1, 2023

Pick 18 - North Melbourne - Mitch Edwards - Peel Thunder - 205cm & 85kg.

Once again, North have been left a little short due to the departure of Todd Goldstein. At stages Tristan Xerri has shown some okay form at AFL level, but he isn't the type ruckman who is going to help propel North up the ladder. It simply makes sense for North to take the best ruck in this draft, and around this pick I think Edwards offers incredible value.

Edwards is another player who has been highly touted for a few years, often being talked about as a top 10 pick. Edwards has genuine height at 206cm, and has a big enough frame to suggest he'll be able to compete physically at AFL level in a few years time. I'd argue Edwards is the best young ruck to come through the juniors since Tim English. Not only is he tall, he is mobile, has excellent ruck craft and is quite skilful for a kid his height.

The biggest stand out in Edwards game is his ruck craft, he has excellent hands and technique when palming the ball down to his midfielders. After the ruck contest Edwards also has solid follow up work, often he is involved with clearances and putting pressure on the opposition. Around the ground he he is a contested marking threat, often using his reach to clunk contested marks. He shows natural footy IQ when playing forward or behind the ball, often hitting the scoreboard and providing a contest in defence, all the hallmarks of an elite ruckman.

He needs to develop physically, which is very common with young ruck, but outside of that he has all the tools to become an elite ruckman at AFL level. He'll be a slower burn, but I think the investment will be worthwhile!

PMBangers GWS are on the clock

PMBangers · Nov 1, 2023

Pick 19 - Gold Coast Suns - Jake Rogers

170 cm 68 kg
Midfielder/ Small Forward

Stunned that Rogers has slid this far but it has made my work in figuring out the bid matching easier =)

People go on and on about how Watson is defying his size, will be a generational small forward, etc. but leave Rogers out of the conversation for small guys winning out against the odds in this years draft. Rogers has arguably done something more impressive this year, managing to dominate the midfield for the academy, allies and suns CTL team each time he turned out at U18s level this year.

Whilst not necessarily super athletic, Rogers evasiveness and cleanliness at ground level give him the extra half second he needs to get the ball into space, whether by driving out of traffic or hitting up a teammate, impacting with every touch he gathers.

Essentially, skills are a big tick, footy IQ is a big tick, exposure against mature bodies is a big tick, but I do wonder how he'll adjust to the likely forward line role he'll have to play at AFL level, he's got the raw traits to do it well but I can't help but shake how underwhelmed I was at times with his forward work last year

Anyway, Gold Coast get another good one here, Graham should be bid on soon as well!

PMBangers · Nov 1, 2023

Pick 20 - GWS - Luamon Lual

182 cm 72 kg
GWV Rebels
Small Defender/ Midfielder

Wow another profile I've written that I can copy paste, how good!

STRENGTHS:

Athleticism
Competitiveness
Reading the play
Rebounding
Run-and-carry

IMPROVEMENTS:

Disposal consistency
Strength

One of the highest upside prospects in the pool, Lual’s athleticism is a very appealing trait for AFL clubs to go along with his already well developed game. Lual has done the bulk of his work for GWV and Vic Country over the last couple of seasons in the backline, but has also shown some promising glimpses when pushed further afield into the midfield or on a wing, utilising his athleticism in more damaging positions with less accountability for a direct opponent.

Lual has shown flexibility in his role in the backline as well, playing with more offensive flair and pushing further up the ground when his team possesses the ball. There, he is capable of intercepting closer to the forward 50 to quickly hurt opposition on turnover, doing much of his best work facing forward or when carrying the ball. Meanwhile, his one-on-one ability and defensive craft when playing a bit closer to the defensive goalsquare are also evident. Lual was given a bit of freedom off half-back for Vic Country in their game against Metro in arguably his best outing for the National Championships, providing plenty of drive further up the field and even getting himself on the goal kickers list.

While highly touted as a bottom-ager, improvement throughout the season has been a big tick for Lual, gradually getting better with his balance between the offensive and defensive side of his game. He remained impactful when his team was both in and out of possession, and judged when to play fast or when to slow the game down better as the year went on.

Consistency in his ball use also saw improvement the longer he played, although it remains an area for improvement, Lual was hitting more targets, particularly through congestion, than he had done early in the season, seeing his efforts more often rewarded with forward 50 entries or scores.

Whilst he is a capable one-on-one player and very competitive when the ball is there to be won, Lual would benefit from some focus on his strength to make him a more consistent ball winner, with opposition players moving him off the ball or nudging him out of marking contests a little too easily at time.

Most will see this as too early for Lual but I'm a really big fan of what he currently is, and what I believe he can be. Over the last two years Lual has seen some rapid development in his game, particularly in the defensive half where he showed a strong lockdown game as a bottom-ager for the Rebels, and this year developed his rebound game through the Talent League. His rebounding was as strong for Country in the Champs, but he did remind us that he hasn't lost that ability to shut down dangerous opposition forwards.

Whilst he's a defender now, Lual's midfield performances both in the centre square and off a wing have been promising, giving me enough reason to believe he's got the scope to be at least a rotation option through the guts in time.

For GWS specifically, I've got nightmares of what Izak Rankine, Charlie Cameron, Tyson Stengle, etc. can do to us due to a lack of a genuine small defender with lockdown ability, and think Lual fits the role best ahead of other defenders in this area.

Also considered; Archie Roberts, Riley Hardeman

roos_fanatic08 up again

roos_fanatic08 · Nov 1, 2023

Pick 21 - North Melbourne - Arie Schoenmaker - Tasmanian Devils - 194cm & 89kg.

Players with genuine kicking skill and the ability to accumulate the ball are a definite need for North. Regarding kicking skill, there is arguably none better in this draft than Schoenmaker, who's left foot has the ability to beat zones and break the game open.

After an off field incident that led to a long term suspension, Schoenmaker had to make every post a winner, and once he returned to the Tassie Coates league he did just that. Schoenmaker, while still raw, has many attributes that could result in him becoming a damaging player at AFL level. He is tall, composed, has solid running capacity, footy smarts and the ability to accumulate the ball at will, especially when positioned at half back.

Even though he is 194cm, he doesn't play as a key a defender, more as a link up/distributing 3rd tall type. Schoey likes to position himself in areas where he can be feed the ball and use his damaging left foot to launch scoring attacks from half back. This style of play makes him one of the more damaging rebounders in this years draft class. His kicking remains his strongest asset, he is more than capable of kicking low flat bullets in excess of 50+m. To highlight his versatility, at times he has played on a wing while als rolling forward to hit the scoreboard with some beautiful displays of kicking from outside 50.

At this stage he isn't the best one on one defender, and this is mainly due to his physicality, but I'd imagine that any club picking him doesn't have this sort of role in mind. While he isn't a prolific intercept marker, he is capable of clunking the odd mark. In contests he is quite adept at using his reach to impact contests. So not all is lost on the defensive front.

He'll take a fair bit of development, but natural kicking ability like his can't be taught. That talent alone will hold him in good stead in an AFL environment.

roos_fanatic08 · Nov 1, 2023

Man this was a tough one! Still so many good options on the board that fit North’s list build.

Pick 22 - North Melbourne - Riley Hardeman - Swan Districts - 188cm & 80kg.

Composed intercepting defender who has good balance between attack and defence. His speed, positioning and long limbs allow him to impact defensively on a consistent basis. Hardeman is also a natural interceptor, he is a strong mark for his size and reads the play exceptionally well, combine that with a solid leap and you have all the hall marks of an elite intercept mark at AFL level. Athletically, he is a fantastic runner and covers the ground with ease, and he has an extra turn of foot too. It isn't game breaking pace, but it is enough that allows him to link up and be involved in possession chains. His composure imo is a real stand out feature in his game, he never looks rushed and often thinks his way through situations that allows his teammates to retain the ball up the ground. His disposal overall is very good. He has a nice left foot and he often kicks long while looking to take the game on. His short kicking is very solid. The only criticism I have here is that he can be a little bit one sided, and can sell himself into trouble trying to get onto his left side. One thing that isn't mentioned all that often is his leadership credentials, he has been in leadership groups all the way through juniors and captained the WA side this year. Over the course of the year he played at senior level in the WAFL (1 game), colts level, and was a mainstay in the WA side in the championships. His consistency at championship level earned him All Australian Under 18's honours.

Pie 4 Life Collingwood is up next.

Pie 4 Life · Nov 1, 2023

Pick 23 - Collingwood bid on Will McCabe very quickly.

TDS7

weltschmerz · Nov 1, 2023

Pie 4 Life said:
Pick 23 - Collingwood bid on Will McCabe very quickly.

TDS7

If your own father-son tall named Will doesn’t make the grade, another club’s is fine

Pie 4 Life · Nov 1, 2023

weltschmerz said:
If your own father-son tall named Will doesn’t make the grade, another club’s is fine

Yeah we've been notoriously bad at present for father-sons

tl92 · Nov 1, 2023

roos_fanatic08 said:
Man this was a tough one! Still so many good options on the board that fit North’s list build.

Pick 22 - North Melbourne - Riley Hardeman - Swan Districts - 188cm & 80kg.

Pie 4 Life Collingwood is up next.

Well north have holes just about everywhere to be fair.

TDS7 · Nov 1, 2023

We match.

Write up to come in a few days. I'm slamming pierogis and pints at a polish funeral rn, so don't wait up.

Pie 4 Life

Pie 4 Life · Nov 1, 2023

Pick 24 - Collingwood - Archie Roberts (Sandringham Dragons)

A prospect with plenty of experience at representative level, Archie Roberts first burst onto the scene in 2021 as a 16-year-old, turning out for the Vic Metro Under 17 side as a bottom-ager in the category.

Since, Roberts has gone from strength to strength. He played a key role in Sandringham’s back-to-back flags, helped Haileybury College take out the APS title, and provided a cool head in transition for Vic Metro.

Rewarded for his season with All-Australian honours, the AFL Academy member didn’t do much wrong this season, worked on his deficiencies, and should hear his name called out in the first half of the draft as a result.

STRENGTHS:

Intercept game
Kicking
Reading the play
Rebounding
Run-and-carry
Speed-endurance mix

IMPROVEMENTS:

Defensive craft
Strength

Roberts has been one of the better players at Talent League level over the last two seasons, first turning out for Sandringham in Round 1 of 2022 and making his impact felt immediately. He maintained a high level of performance since, playing pivotal roles in the Dragon’s 2022 and 2023 premiership runs. The AFL Academy member just delivers each week as a intercepting and rebounding threat out of the defensive half, whilst also showing some promise on a wing when given the opportunity through the season.

Arguably the best of Metro’s smaller defenders in 2023, Roberts was named in the Under 18 All-Australian side for his Championship efforts, maintaining a similar level of impact and stat line to his Talent League season across four appearances. He saved his best game to last, gathering 24 disposals and eight rebound 50s against Vic Country. Roberts displayed his ability in the offensive phase of the game at the Champs, averaging 3.5 score involvements despite being stationed in the defensive 50.

Roberts fits the mould of a modern defender with his ability to kick-start offensive plays from the back half and get involved in attacking chains. It’s Roberts confidence with ball in hand that allows him to have such an impact, often looking to take as much space as he can with run and carry, and breach both 50-metre arcs in the same chain of play.

With positioning and general game sense a strength, Roberts' ability to intercept makes him a danger even out of possession. He sets up well behind the ball to sweep up on hurried kicks forward by the opposition, or drifts across to create an outnumber at contests in the defensive half, generally filling space as close to the forward 50 as possible when his side attacks. Measuring up at 184cm, Roberts is also a pretty strong mark overhead, only adding to his impact as an intercepting threat.

With such a well rounded skillset heading into AFL, there is still some areas Roberts will be focusing on to give him the best chance of success at the level. His contested game is one area that requires some attention, seeing steady improvement throughout the year but still occasionally holding him back, particularly around stoppages in the defensive 50. Going hand in hand with this is an improvement on his strength, which will allow him to keep his feet more often and hold more tackles, which will also lend to improved defensive application.

WHY ROBERTS FOR COLLINGWOOD?

I wanted to grab an extra outside runner, and someone who can play off half-back with great skill and run and carry. Areas of our midfield are aging, and while we do have some raw replacements, we tend to have a lot of defender-midfielders. This would allow greater flexibility for a number of players such as Crisp/Naicos/Maynard/Quaynor etc. even if he might not step in straight away.

eDPS · Nov 1, 2023

Thunderstruck

Thunderstruck · Nov 1, 2023

Pick 24 Adelaide - Taylor Goad South Adelaide 205cm 90kg

This was a very hard decision, despite my known love for Goad. I have Tholstrup ranked higher and originally typed his name out but changed my mind due to our abomination that are our rucks and our forwards/flankers being the least of our needs. I don't have another pick either. I've also got Goad ranked higher than 24 in power ranks. McAuliffe was the other I considered (sorry Bicks)

Goad is raw, but he has rapidly developed this year and he shares a very similar junior appearance to a young Max Gawn who also took some time after his knee injuries. Is quick, very mobile for his height and can take a ripping mark. Showing nous at actual tapwork, which I rate the highest in this draft class. I don't expect Max Gawn levels at maturity but I see a 200 game AFL ruck who at some stage will be one of the best rucks in the comp.

TDS7 ur up

TDS7 · Nov 2, 2023

Pick 25 - St. Kilda - Lance Collard - 180cm 65kg

LemmingMaster for Carlton

LemmingMaster · Nov 2, 2023

Carlton - Pick 26 - Koltyn Tholstrup

Having two picks very close together, I did not want to explain my thoughts behind this pick. There were two players I really wanted at this point and Koltyn and Charlie Edwards were my two options. I banked on Edwards being a lot lower on most people's radar. I only have to worry about two selections, lock it in and walk away happy with my outing.

Koltyn in many aspects has been passing time waiting for AFL and playing senior WAFL footy he did not really get a chance to smash 18 year old players, instead he dealt with mature bodied players. He is a brute of a player and has that aggressive touch. Very nice vision kicking inside 50m and my main concern was his inconsistent impact on games was due to fitness issues, but his combine times removed some of my concerns.

He will play that hybrid forward the drifts into stoppages and can actually play inside midfielder long term. Modern day football is basically 4 forwards with high half forwards acting as midfielders. I could see him playing senior AFL footy from round 1 and with his WAFL experience, understanding the faster style of game.

Needs to work on defensive efforts
Consistency
Goal kicking

This has potential to be a boom pick or just someone that peaked as a 17 year old. Just fits Carlton's list needs to a tea in my eyes and has potential to play early in his career. Could be that Cunningham/Fogarty replacement at the Blues.

Monocle

Coona Blues · Nov 2, 2023

LemmingMaster said:
Carlton - Pick 26 - Koltyn Tholstrup

Write up to come. This has potential to be a boom pick or just someone that peaked as a 17 year old. Just fits Carlton's list needs to a tea in my eyes and has potential to play early in his career. Could be that Cunningham/Fogarty replacement at the Blues.

Monocle

Yep, steal this deep in to the draft.

Not sure our need for him is great with Elijah Hollands added with some similarities, but can never have too much quality.
Suppose EH may move permanently in to midfield in a year or three making it a quality fit. Will be fun watching our best 22 evolve.

The Nostradamus · Nov 2, 2023

Draft looks pretty talented all the way up to the top 30 to me

Better than last year imo and as good as most

This talk about it not batting deep seems bs

LemmingMaster · Nov 2, 2023

Coona Blues said:
Yep, steal this deep in to the draft.

Not sure our need for him is great with Elijah Hollands added with some similarities, but can never have too much quality.
Suppose EH may move permanently in to midfield in a year or three making it a quality fit. Will be fun watching our best 22 evolve.

We have two positions in our forward 50 to potentially replace in Cunningham and Fogarty... Those two players were in our bottom 6 selected most weeks you would assume. Koltyn has a very good tank and is a bull, so long term I could see some inside midfielder potential, but that could be 5-6 years away.

LemmingMaster · Nov 2, 2023

The Nostradamus said:
Draft looks pretty talented all the way up to the top 30 to me

Better than last year imo and as good as most

This talk about it not batting deep seems bs

I personally think people have already selected borderline AFL players in this draft, I think this is a shallow draft.

Considering a few years ago Ben King was going at pick 6 and he would have been pick 1 in this draft, shows you the top end is not completely there. After pick 6/8, I would not go completely crazy if one of about 15 other names was selected.
The kid I got in the draft, I may have considered anywhere from pick 10 onwards. A few teams are going to look like geniuses coming out of this draft long term and there might be some head scratchers.

Monocle · Nov 2, 2023

Pick # 27. West Coast . Charlie Edwards. 191cm 85kg. Midfielder. Sandringham Dragons.

Edwards has a season that finished with a real sprint to the finish line and as such he drew attention to himself and caught the eye of the drafting community a little off guard as his finish to the season had recruiting teams needing to reevaluate their draft boards.

He is a midfielder that has a real weapon, which is his burst speed that gets separation from the pack, with ball in hand thats a dangerous combination in a skill set.
His kicking skills are very tidy and therefore he is a good distributor of the ball.

Midfielders that possess all these traits: clean hands, burst speed, good foot skills and good decision making are highly sought after.

Would have been an interesting watch him at the championships against the best of the best, but that was not to be.

Why West Coast ?

First and foremost, his speed and separation from the stoppages, it's an area that West Coast are poor at.
He is another piece in the concerted effort to reboot a sub par midfield group.
He brings a mix of skills that would complement the two young mids that were drafted last year in Ginbey and Hewett, throw the #1 pick Harley Reid into the equation and the prospects of winning the ball at the stoppages and centre square improve significantly.

So when assessing his talent, his position and his scope for improvement he was just too difficult to leave on the board.

Who else was considered: Joel Freijha was the only other player, as the players who went just before Charlie Edwards were all in the cluster from which I was hoping to be able to pick from.

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