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2024 Draft Thread
- Thread starter Mr T.
- Start date
Just on Riewoldt as I recall the story we had a better pick and traded down to 13 to bring in Graham Polak. Francis Jackson or whoever was the recruiting manager was not happy because we loved Jack and were going to pick him earlier, I think at 8.
So we probably felt like we got a bargain with Jack because we got Polak and Jack for pick 8. In hindsight we did of course, even just on Jack.
My facts may not be 100% correct but I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong!
Tony Braxton-Hicks
There are no stupid ideas, just stupid people
At 199cm, WA’s leading key position draft prospect in 2024 - Kayle Gerreyn has incredible physical attributes which have allowed him to dominate WAFL Colts games all year.
After impressing in 4 games as a bottom-ager last season, Gerreyn was selected as a member of WA’s Under 16 squad. He then went on to play 11 Colts games for West Perth in season 2024, as well as breaking through for 2 senior appearances in the Falcons’ League side.
Gerreyn was a member of the WA Under 18 squad that impressed in the National Championships, where he averaged 13 disposals, 9 hitouts and kicked 5 goals in 4 outings. Gerreyn duly earned a National Draft Combine invitation, where he impressed with a sharp agility test time of 8.082 seconds.
After impressing in 4 games as a bottom-ager last season, Gerreyn was selected as a member of WA’s Under 16 squad. He then went on to play 11 Colts games for West Perth in season 2024, as well as breaking through for 2 senior appearances in the Falcons’ League side.
Gerreyn was a member of the WA Under 18 squad that impressed in the National Championships, where he averaged 13 disposals, 9 hitouts and kicked 5 goals in 4 outings. Gerreyn duly earned a National Draft Combine invitation, where he impressed with a sharp agility test time of 8.082 seconds.
It's changed so much. We didn't even have a full-time recruiter in 2005, it's still such a young field. All clubs will only get better at identifying talent and weighing up risk.
The more everyone learns, the less variance we should expect to see in terms of draft order and player rankings 10 years later.
This sport has only really existed for ~15 years with every club operating under a full-time group of coaches supported by a full-time group of recruiters. And the mighty Tigers' model of success from recent history is the gold standard until someone else does it better.
I reckon Gerreyn is a solid pick if he is given plenty of time in the ruck, being undersized might be a problem but Maric & Nankervis made a good fist of it.
I think the problem I’ve been grappling with is re-training my mind to stop automatically assuming talls are KPPs.
I’m fine with drafting 195cm kids, but in this day and age they don’t have to be KPFs, they can be goal kicking mids.
The truly elite specialist KPF is the rarest of rare beasts. Apart from Richo and Jack, have we had any sort of success drafting key forwards in the last 3 decades? None of Vickery, Elton, Griffiths, Mackenzie, Gourdis, McBean, or Hughes featured in our premiership years, to name a few. Yep, rare as hens teeth. That’s why you buy them when (if?) you need them. Let someone else take the risk.
If it’s size you want, no worries. I’m fine with tall players, so long as they’re mids. To be honest, if I had my way I’d run with an entire list of goalkicking midfielders and forgo specialists completely.
Probably why I’m not a list manager!
You forgot Roach and Cloke TM
As we all know the game has changed a lot in the last decade , it’s still great to have top shelf key forwards , however sides have won flags without them and in 2017 Jack was all we had , no team has one a flag without top shelf midfielders .
Gets a bit hard to trade in talls when you want them if no club bothers to draft n develop them in the first place. Same as everything to do regarding players, make sure you pick the right ones in the first place n then follow up by developing them properly.
Pretty much every club has a fistful of top shelf mids n they all get to join the maul of trying to get to finals. Clubs that top the mids off with premium KPF's get to hunt multiple flags rather than maybe hoping for one.
We traded 8 and something in the 40’s (I think) for 8 and Polak. Freo then traded 8 to Collingwood for Tarrant, who used it on Reid. Hawthorn had 6 that year and could have picked Jack, but instead went for Thorpe. We got lucky with Jack still being there at 13. In typical Failmantle fashion, Tarrant didn’t work out there and wound up back at Collingwood.
FWIW
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2024/11/11/sens-2024-afl-full-phantom-draft/
Smith
Langford
Tauru
Travaglia
Maraes
J Whitlock
Faull
Dodson
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2024/11/11/sens-2024-afl-full-phantom-draft/
Smith
Langford
Tauru
Travaglia
Maraes
J Whitlock
Faull
Dodson
I agree. The only thing for me is that I think that building our midfield includes finding a replacement for Nank and that’s why I am not against drafting Dodson. The caveat for me is that I don’t know how good he is but I am basing it on reports/comments by others.
I also think building a forward line is more than KPFs and I would like to see us draft a goal kicking small/medium forward along with one KPF with the emphasis on goal kicking. It’s what Cumbo was meant to become and didn’t.
The rest mids and flankers.
