Giant leftovers after top 11 picks
Mark Stevens and Jay Clark
Herald Sun November 24, 2011 ShareFullscreen.
WITH 11 of the first 14 picks in the AFL national draft, all eyes will be on GWS. But then the real draft battle begins.
ADELAIDE
PICKS 27, 41, 46, 64, 82 (Matthew Wright RU),89 (Aidan Riley RU)
WHAT IT NEEDS The loss of Phil Davis to GWS, Nathan Bock to Gold Coast and the forced retirement of Scott Stevens has left a gaping hole down back. Too much is left to Ben Rutten, so anyone with a defensive mindset and measuring more than 194cm should be in hot demand. A ball-carrying midfielder with some dash and panache would be nice, too.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET Michael Talia, likened to Brian Lake, might just slip through to 27 as a key defensive option. His brother Daniel is already there.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES Will go for kids.Don't expect any oldies.
LATE MAIL The talk is the Crows won't let Calder midfielder Tom Sheridan past pick 27. But logic says they will go a defender, either Norwood's Alex Forsteror Talia.
BRISBANE
PICKS 8, 12, 30, 47, 69 (Mitch Golby RU)
WHAT IT NEEDS The Lions have spent the past two years force-feeding games into young kids, but massive holes still remain. Who fills in for Mitch Clark? What happens when Jonathan Brown and Simon Black retire? Another key forward is a must, but the midfield is also thin.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET Ideally, they would love a big bloke to kick to, but Oakleigh's Adam Tomlinson may be gone. If that's the case, then Northern Knights ruckman Billy Longer has to be the way to go, considering they only have two other rucks on their list. Best available midfielder at 12 would make a nice ruck-rover combination.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES Never again.
LATE MAIL They think onballer Toby Greene can be their next Simon Black and will nab top-rated ruckman Longer if still available. Key defender Jordan Lockyer and key forward Jackson Paine are in the mix at 30.
COLLINGWOOD
PICKS 50, 65, 67 (Jarrod Witts SP)
WHAT IT NEEDS The Pies have holes in their list, but the club has already identified them and potentially recruited for them. Darren Jolly was banged up last year, but the club has already elevated Jarrod Witts onto the senior list. Likewise, Leon Davis is gone but Marty Clarke is back to rebound off half-back and Peter Yagmoor will start his career there, too. Brad *smile* might have provided the replacement crumbing as a goalsneak, but the Pies have lured Murray Bushranger Jamie Elliott.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET The Pies traded away an early pick, this time to get Clarke and Elliott. That leaves them with only two live picks. The Pies will back their elite development system to train up a player who slips through.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES None, really. Definitely not Fev.
LATE MAIL Big fans of Geelong Falcons forward Jai Sheahan. With only two key forwards, the classy goalkicker
would be a perfect fit.
CARLTON
PICKS 22, 44, 62 (Dylan Buckley FS)
WHAT IT NEEDS The Blues have indicated their list strength by only delsiting three players and using its third pick on Jimmy Buckley's son. Despite scrutiny of their talls they love the trio of developing key position players in Matthew Watson, Patrick McCarthy and Luke Mitchell.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET The Blues went big at last year's draft, so in the interests of balance and future-planning it's likely they will focus on the midfield. Another inside hard-nut, like Gippsland's Clay Smith (right) would be nice, but it seems the Blues' preference is speed. For that reason, they could beat Gold Coast to the punch for Glenelg's quick left-footer Jordan Murdoch.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES Mobile forward/midfielder Nicholas Heyne, from St Kilda, is training with the Blues.
LATE MAIL Finding the choice between Tom Sheridan (below), Murdoch and key forward Todd Elton tough.
ESSENDON
PICKS 19, 31, 59, 75 (Stewart Crameri RU)
WHAT IT NEEDS Midfielders, midfielders and more midfielders. The return of Courtenay Dempsey and Jason Winderlich helps, but James Hird has listened to Bomber Thompson's mantra of recruiting then developing your own elite midfield core rather than paying overs to poach them from rivals.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET Don't believe the stuff about a ruckman with their first pick, the Bombers' priority is a class midfielder. James Hird will have everything crossed Western Jet Elliott Kavanagh slides to them. Can win the ball in tight spaces inside and get dangerous running with the ball on the outside. Like James Kelly. North could sabotage the plot.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES Might pluck someone from a senior league to fill a ruck gap. Won't be Mark Blake.
LATE MAIL Working hard on Horsham midfielder Seb Ross and Calder's Tom Sheridan with their second pick.
FREMANTLE
PICKS 16, 20, 29, 58, 71, 72, 83 (Nick Lower RU)
WHAT IT NEEDS The Dockers probably won't know their list holes until they get their welter of injured players up
and running next season. Defenders Antoni Grover and Luke McPharlin are ageing, but Zac Dawson will arrive in the pre-season draft. The list still looks seriously good, notwithstanding this year's fall from grace.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET With Matthew Pavlich 30 next month and the Dockers having missed out on Mitch Clark, key talls are the order of the day. As usual under Brad Lloyd the Dockers have plenty of picks, with three inside 30 and six before they elevate Nick Lower. Has mined the WAFL in recent years so look for them to go again.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES Zac Dawson is their man, with Brad *smile* to be rookied.
LATE MAIL They are all over South Fremantle full-forward Shane Kersten who could provide a focal point.
GWS
PICKS 1,2,3,4,5,7,9,10,11,13, 14, 56, 79
WHAT IT NEEDS This list needs plenty of meat on its bones, given so far it has only a handful of rookies, 10 17-year-olds, a couple of washed-up veterans and four uncontracted players. Phil Davis will play centre half-back for a decade and Tom Scully, Callan Ward and Rhys Palmer are a solid start.
WHAT THEY MIGHT GET The Giants have the inside midfield building blocks, now it's time to harness the flair and run. Liam Sumner, Will Hoskin-Elliott and Nick Haynes are run-and-carry types who will provide lots of excitement bursting forward. Dom Tyson is another classy inside midfielder, while Matthew Buntine is rock solid in defence.
The big decision comes in the form of the big men, aside from Jon Patton (right), as it seems they will only get one of ruckman Billy Longer and key position player Adam Tomlinson.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES Showed interest in Setanta O'hAilpin at trade week. Andrew Lovett could be an option in the rookie draft.
LATE MAIL The hardest to predict are picks 13 and 14. Rivals are expecting the newboys to opt for Taylor Adams, a potential future captain, and spring-heeled utility Hayden Crozier.
HAWTHORN
PICKS 33, 38, 53, 77 (Luke Breust RU)
WHAT IT NEEDS The Hawks have an obvious hole: Key defenders need apply. Josh Gibson was superb last year,
but he needs help. Ryan Schoenmakers is on the way, Stephen Gilham is a chance to return, but another tall kid who can play down back must be a priority. The Hawks have plenty of blue-collar types in the guts, so some more midfield polish would be nice.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET They have been linked to South Fremantle half-back Josh Bootsma, but he is unlikely to slip into 30s.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES Youth only here, surely.
LATE MAIL Makes sense that they would be talking to All-Australian key defender Michael Talia last week. Geelong Falcons forward Jai Sheahan (right) is also on their radar.
MELBOURNE
PICKS 36, 52, 54
WHAT IT NEEDS The Demons got aggressive at the trade table, securing Mitch Clark for their first-round pick. His acquisition fills their main need - a big man who can bring the ball to ground and allow space for Jack Watts and Liam Jurrah to get to work up forward. Now with three picks inside 54 the Demons can add some cream, rather than recruit for positions.
WHAT THEY MIGHT GET The Demons will have to bidetheir time until pick 36. They could still have a dozen options available by then, or none. They have lost two forward crumbers in Addam Maric and Austin Wonaeamirri but then again, Watts and Jurrah get it done on the ground too.
RECYCLED OPPORTUNITIES Extremely unlikely.
LATE MAIL Hard midfielder Seb Ross is a Mark Neeld kind of player. They've also met key defender Michael Talia last week.
NORTH MELBOURNE
PICKS 18, 40, 74 (Luke Delaney RU),84 (Cameron Pederson RU)
WHAT IT NEEDS They still need some X-factor, the Kangas. Hard nuts and serviceable types are not the issue - they need some excitement through the middle to complement Daniel Wells and replace Brent Harvey.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET Could Western Jets star Elliott Kavanagh slip through? He has the tricks to add some class to the midfield.
LATE MAIL Would love a medium defender who is an elite ball-user, such as Gippsland's Sam Docherty (right) or Calder's Brandon Ellis.
GEELONG
PICKS 32, 34, 48, 66, 78, 86 (Jed Bews FS)
WHAT IT NEEDS Gone are two ruckmen in Brad Ottens and Mark Blake, star tagger Cameron Ling, defender Darren Milburn and forward Cameron Mooney. Three of them are key talls and Milburn could play big, so the likelihood is that the Cats will go tall, especially as they have already taken a midfield type in father-son Jed Bews.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET This isn't a strong draft for players over 190cm, but Geelong has an incredible record of picking players and turning them into stars with their mid-range picks. Expect one of them to be used on a key defender, either Michael Talia, Geelong Falcon Andrew Boseley or Tasmanian Henry Schade.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES Going for youth. Could land a big fish in free agency next year.
LATE MAIL Like the look of versatile key position player Oakleigh Charger Tom Curran. In midfield terms Mildura's Sam Kerridge and Seb Ross are around the mark.
GOLD COAST
PICKS 24, 80 (Alik Magin RU),88 (Alex Sexton QZ), 91 (Jackson Allen QZ)
WHAT IT NEEDS Nobody can deny the Suns have a plethora of midfield/running options. They have good young talls too, but if anything they would love to snare another one - particularly a kid capable of playing down back on the gorillas. But astute recruiter Scott Clayton is likely to take "best available" with his one and only pick at 24. That will probably be another gun midfielder.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET Will Clayton be tempted to go for a mid-size marking forward in Glenelg's Jordan Murdoch. He loves fleet-footed runners though so anything can happen.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES No late picks. So forget it.
LATE MAIL It's either Murdoch (right) or swift defender Josh Boostma from WA. Both are Scotty Clayton types.
PORT ADELAIDE
PICKS 6, 45, 51, 81
WHAT IT NEEDS Despite its disgraceful season, there are signs of regeneration. The talls include forward John
Butcher, defensive trio Alipate Carlile, Jackson Trengove and Troy Chaplin, and ruckmen Matthew Lobbe, while new recruits Brent Renouf and Brad Ebert will help the midfield core, which has talent but is injury prone.
WHAT THEY MIGHT GET The thinking is the Power will secure the best midfielder they can, then try to find a ruckman from the local leagues. On that basis, the safest bet is South Australian midfielder Chad Wingard, whose attack on the ball is staggeringly brave at times. Port has put a lot of time into sussing out other players, but Wingard is the South Australian captain.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES Ruled out Leon Davis as an option in the national draft.
LATE MAIL Could pull a surprise and go for hard-working Geelong Falcons midfielder Devon Smith at pick No. 6.
RICHMOND
PICKS 15, 26, 55
WHAT IT NEEDS Finally the Tigers have a balanced list, having recruited a host of key talls and bolstered their midfield stocks. Damien Hardwick loves contested-ball machines, but do they need more outside run to complement Dustin Martin, Trent Cotchin and co? Finally the Tigers have a solid track record at the recruiting table, so recruiting truism - "best available" - actually fits this time.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET Having already taken small defender Steve Morris and ruckman Ivan Maric in the trade period, the Tigers have picks 15, 26 and 55 left. Given GWS needs to secure some talls with its early picks, the Tigers are likely to go for the best remaining midfielder. Collingwood's John McCarthy is a lock in the pre-season draft.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES Unlikely until the pre-season draft.
LATE MAIL Rubbing their hands together at the prospect of securing Gippsland Power defender Sam Docherty, the most potent right-foot kick in the draft.
ST KILDA
PICKS 25, 35, 37, 42, 60, 68, 76
WHAT IT NEEDS More class, a 10-year full back, a long-term replacement for Nick Riewoldt and some more midfield depth. Not much to ask for, is it? Zac Dawson has left for Fremantle but the Saints know James Gwilt will be back from injury and have high hopes for Tom Simpkin. So much revolves around Rhys Stanley.
Can he be the backup for Ben McEvoy, or be the lead-up forward that takes pressure off Rooey? At least the Saints plucked several quality mids in last year's draft to ease the pressure on the ageing onball brigade.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET Clearly with the club's first pick at only 25, it can't get everything it wants. But it will take six picks then re-draft Jason Blake.
The Saints believe in strength in numbers with their four picks in the top 42, then late picks in 60 and 68, they are backing themselves in to recruit, then develop, some future stars. Names tossed around include speedster Jackson Merrett and tall defender Michael Talia.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES No for Leon Davis and Brendan Fevola
LATE MAIL Agile key forward/ruckman Todd Elton (below) could be a real coup here. Strong interest in him.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
PICKS 17, 39, 49, 57, 70 (Luke Dahlhaus RU),73 (Matthew Panos RU)
WHAT IT NEEDS Once upon a time, the Dogs were a fleet-footed, sweet-kicking team that would kill opponents with "outside" run and flair. Now, the pendulum has swung. They need pace and line-breakers, particularly given father-son picks last year Tom Liberatore and Mitch Wallis are inside types.
This is easier said than done, but a young key forward must be a priority. Much rests with Liam Jones this year. He needs support.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET There is a lot of talk about the Dogs going for hard-at-it on-baller Clay Smith. He won't provide the required outside run, but is a safe bet.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES They might want one recycled hard body with a late pick.
LATE MAIL All signs point to Clay Smith if Devon Smith (right) and Taylor Adams are already gone. Either way it's a hard inside man.
SYDNEY
PICKS 21 (Tom Mitchell FS), 43, 61,85 (Nathan Gordon RU)
WHAT IT NEEDS There is a lot to like about Sydney's list. But pace has to be a priority - and also a smooth mover who can play half-back and distribute the ball well. The rebound of Tadhg Kennelly needs to be replaced.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET With Mitchell locked away with the Swans' first pick, it becomes a lottery with pick No.43. Will probably go on a needs basis and bank on outside run.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES Whispers aboutSetanta O'hAilpin.
LATE MAIL Slick midielder Jack Newnes (right) would provide the polish the Swans need.
WEST COAST
PICKS 23, 28, 63 (Ashton Hams RU)
WHAT IT NEEDS Given West Coast basically ignored trade week apart from trading out Brad Ebert and securing Bulldog Josh Hill, they are clearly very happy with their list. Succession planning is underway with young ruckman Scott Lycett to join Nic Naitanui when Dean Cox retires and the young kids such as McKenzie, Schofield and Brown set up to cover for Darren Glass when he moves on.
WHAT IT MIGHT GET The Eagles always needmidfielders given Daniel Kerr's body is ageingand Ebert's depature.
RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES More likely to rookie experienced WAFL players.
LATE MAIL Need a classy wingman and JacksonMerrett is looming large. Also linked to local forward Murray Newman.
- with Jon Ralph
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/giant-leftovers-after-top-11-pioks/story-e6frf9jf-1226204222219
