So you think you can draft? Well, we'll see about that. The players have been assessed, the teams have had the ruler run over them and the selections critiqued by the one man expert FU draft review panel. No, Manu or Pete are not on the f*****g panel. Neither are any of those drongo match makers from MAFS. Is it really match making when you're just recycling people from other reality shows or matching people who have previously hooked up on Tinder? And that guy who used to play cricket?! C'mon, he looks like a jockey! Anyway, back on topic. FU. Drafting. Players. Summer. Red icy poles. It's one of the best times of the year where you can strut your stuff on the beach while chowing down on a red icy pole and also amongst the SuperCoach posse. My opinions are final...and correct. Think I'm wrong? Take a look in the mirror and you'll see who's really wrong. No point in arguing with the coach of the most unsuccessful team in the FU Analysis is listed in team alphabetical order. Cow Bay selections are included but not scored. The TL;DR version: 10 - Korumburra, Pakenham 9 - Gisborne, Nuytsland 8 - Blanchetown, Hughenden, Pearcedale, Southern Cross 7.5 - Banchang, Christmas Island, Staghorn Flat 7 - Ararat, King Island, Serengeti 6.5 - Groote Eylandt 6 - Coolgardie 5 - Eden
Ararat Pick 7: Sam Collins, DEF, GCS The intercepting machine of the VFL in 2018. With Ararat's next two picks being 11 and 49 and probably a desire to go back to back, I think I see the logic behind this pick. It's risky. Never was a high fantasy scorer before so time will tell if he holds a similar position at AFL level, maintains his VFL fantasy scoring form and is worth pick 7. Pick 11: Nick Blakey, FWD, SYD Highly rated forward from the Sydney Academy and likely to get games this year. Wants to play mid so should score a little higher than expected. Good one for the future. Pick 23: Darcy Fort, RUC, GEE Arguably, the pick of the mature age ruckmen in our draft pool. Gawn finally gets some backup Pick 49: Joe Atley, MID, PTA Contested mid who copped injuries last year so didn't get much of a look in at the selection table. Coming into his 3rd year so should start to push for a starting berth and could be a good scoring mid in the future. Pick 54: Taylor Garner, FWD, NTH 0, 18, 3, 8, 0, 2. They're not OzLotto numbers but the number of games Garner has played over the past 6 seasons. Like insider said, it's no fun if you don't pick some favourites from your AFL team in your FU squad. Verdict: We saw last year that you don't need a dominating midfield to be in the premiership hunt. Still, I think Ararat's weaker lines are the mids and forwards so, after Collins went a pick 7, I was half expecting Miles to go at pick 11 which would make it easier to allow Wingard or Edwards to play forward. Collins pushes Rich or Hardwick out of the starting defence to make an already strong line stronger so was he really needed? Banchang Pick 42: Adam Kennedy, DEF, GWS He improved his scoring quite a bit last year and was the best averaging defender in the pool. Could he be another McVeigh value pick? Pick 50: Jordan Sweet, RUC, WBD Only averaged 62DT in the SANFL last year so I wonder how well he'll score if he gets games, but will he get games? Pick 60: Josh Corbett, FWD, GCS A mature ager with a decent mark so should slot straight into the GCS forward line. However, with a chance of the Suns claiming the 2019 wooden spoon he might not average a lot in his first year. He averaged 77DT points in the VFL last year, I like his potential. Pick 78: Sam Switkowski, FWD, FRE A small forward who showed off his talent in the second half of the year in the WAFL. There's a spot up for grabs in the Dockers forward line and I think he's in the box seat to claim it. Diamond in the rough type pick. Verdict: I like Banchang's last two picks of Corbett and Switkowski. Both have potential and reinforce a line that's looking a little thin. However, I'm not as convinced about the Kennedy and Sweet selections. I'm suspicious of the jump in Kennedy's average last year and I wonder if his scoring will regress this year. Sweet's low DT scoring in the SANFL doesn't give me much hope that he'll he's got a high scoring future ahead of him but you never seem to know with rucks. Was another one really needed? Blanchetown Pick 1: Sam Walsh, MID, CAR It's hard to stuff up a pick at the pointy end of the draft. Like Carlton, Blanchetown needs mids and Walsh is their man to lead the charge. Pick 5: Connor Rozee, D/F, PTA Won the MVP award for being the best player in the U16 champs a couple of years ago. Great skills, good vision and can break the lines. In the conversation for one of the players who could be the best from this draft. Ball winning ability is the only question mark over this young man. Pick 14: Ben King, DEF, GCS Young talent and plenty of it is required when rebuilding. Good pick, best available and should become a gun in the future. Pick 19: Ely Smith, MID, BRL One of the mids that I really really liked in his draft year and in my view is a better prospect than Stocker who Carlton seemed to rate so highly. Strong, contested mid who may get games in his first year. I would've been happy to pick him from pick 10 onwards so at 19 is good value in my eyes. Pick 55: Jez McLennan, DEF, GCS AA defender, and targeted by GCS as a half back of their future so may get a handful of games in 2019. The only query I have is over his ability to win possessions averaging only 13 last year. Pick 73: Jarrod Lienert, DEF, PTA Rookie defender looking to break into the best 22. Whether or not he can is a different story but at pick 73 the pool starts to get a bit thin. Pick 91: William Frampton, RUC, PTA Should be a player but is competing with Hayes, who was showing signs before his ACL, and Lycett's arrival. At this point picks are pretty speculative but I think there are 2 young rucks left in the pool with brighter futures. Pick 109: Brayden Ainsworth, MID, WCE Decent numbers in the WAFL averaging about 26 possessions a game and he had some fans in his draft year. Will be looking to push into the midfield but that may be a bit harder than it looks. Verdict: The deck was cleared predraft to get some young talent in and in came 4 young guns with the first 4 picks. Walsh tick. Rozee tick. King tick. Smith tick. McLennan seems ok but I actually prefer some other young defenders still in the pool and would've picked a forward instead here for Blanchetown. Lienert is an ok pick and has shown he may be an ok scorer once he gets the opportunity. Frampton in my eyes is too far back in the pecking order and I would've picked 2 other young rucks over Billy. Ainsworth I like, he needs more opportunity but may come good.
Christmas Island Pick 53: Luke English, MID, RIC One of the better WA youngsters available in the pool. Decent young mid and will learn plenty off Cotchin, Martin and co. Pick 58: Luke Foley, MID, WCE The inside mid was ranked the 29th best prospect by CD. Will need to build his fitness and body up a little but may get a handful of games. Pick 59: Lewis Pierce, RUC, STK The 24yo ruck averaged 101DT in the VFL last year. Is behind Longer but should get a few opportunities based on his VFL form. Pick 65: Jack Bytel, MID, STK Had a great 2017 but fell away last year. Injuries played a part but there were questions that perhaps his development had stalled. One of the more risky picks but worth it at this stage of the draft. Verdict: I like that the focus was on young mids which seemed to be missing in the team make up. English, Foley and Bytel in my eyes were the amongst the better picks here but I think I would've picked someone less injury prone like Rhylee West with his last pick. Pierce may surprise and provides a younger option over Kreuzer, Jacobs and Westhoff. Coolgardie Pick 9: Nick Hind, MID, STK Mature ager who was a gun half back in the Essendon VFL side who will get playing time at the Saints. In my eyes, he would've been there at his next pick and I see this as a missed opportunity with plenty of top talent left in the pool available. Pick 28: Jake Waterman, FWD, WCE Third tall type player who seemed to not get games in the second half of the year. One I don't know too much about but looking at some of his stats they don't fill me with confidence - averaged 65DT, 1.4 goals and 15 disposals in the WAFL. An average of 4 marks looks decent but will be wanting to improve in 2019. Pick 45: Will Hayes, MID, WBD Mature ager who averaged 98SC in the VFL last year. Where he fits into the Doggies lineup I'm not sure. Will probably be depth but once he plays he should score well. I would've preferred plenty of other mids at this point. Pick 63: Matthew Allen, F/M, WCE Stats show he's improved in the WAFL each year. Hopefully his improving form starts to make selectors take notice. Verdict: What do you add to an already fairly young team? Mature agers was the answer for Coolgardie this year. Hind looks likely to play but I don't think he'll be as good a scorer as Miles or Bewley. I also don't think he has the potential of young mids such as Caldwell, Smith or Stocker. It's a confusing pick in my eyes. At pick 28 McHenry was available and he's looking likely to get games this year. I'm not convinced Waterman is a better pick but the Coolgardie coach knows more than me about this guy. Allen I don't mind as a pick, my favourite pick out of the lot. Cow Bay Pick 3: Izak Rankine, FWD, GCS X factor forward with flair and arrogance. I've been a big fan of him for the past 18 months and would've taken him at 1 if I had the pick. Pick 15: Jordan Clark, DEF, GEE Not many general defenders in this year's AFL draft but I rated Clark the best. Hasn't completed a preseason due to focusing more on cricket and only started playing half back in 2017 so I think he has more upside than Quaynor. Pick 18: Bailey Williams, R/F, WCE Considered a top 10 draftee at the start of the year and the best ruckman in the TAC in 2017. Williams dropped a bit in 2018 due to spending more time in a less familiar role up forward where his marking and goal kicking sometimes let him down. These days you need versatility in the AFL so I saw it as a plus for him. Pick 31: Sam Draper, RUC, ESS Highly rated ruckman inside Essendon. Was primarily a soccer player when he was younger and his rapid improvement in 2018 has supporters excited with what he may become. Pick 48: Shane McAdam, FWD, ADE Allegedly rated in the top 20 in this year's draft by the Crows…but they could've said that to justify the trade for him. After being overlooked in the 2015 draft, he didn't do much in 2016, moved to Adelaide and played amateurs in 2017, then played with Sturt in 2018 to try and realise his AFL dream. I love that he has the determination and drive to achieve what he wants. Verdict: After picking Rankine, I assumed Clark would've been gone by 15 so was happy to still see him there. I think Cow Bay is short a mid or two in 2019. Miles or Bewley in the 20s would have been ideal. Perhaps trading out of 25 was a mistake. Draper was always in my mind at some stage and I probably went a little early on him but didn't think he'd be there at 48. With a couple of second rucks leading the Crocs I wanted potential first rucks for the future and have heard decent things about Draper from Bomber supporters at work. I considered a few mids at 48 to make up for the loss of Bewley - Atley, Foley, and a couple of others but I think the potential of McAdam could be higher.
Eden Pick 29: Zac Clarke, RUC, ESS Rucks seemed to be a problem at Eden so getting one that would potentially play was a good idea. He may not have made it to pick 34 but does the team really need an older ruck? Perhaps with Soldo and Phillips on the books. Pick 34: Irving Mosquito, FWD, ESS Seen as a rookie pick by some he got snapped up in the 30s in that other draft. Has learnt some stuff off Cyril but he's a work in progress. Would've been there at pick 56, maybe even 74, and I reckon a young mid like Butters, Foleys etc would've been a better pick Pick 56: Tom Berry, MID, BRL A bit of a utility in his draft year so there are questions of where his best position is. Will probably become a mid-forward in time and hopefully has the same potential as his brother. Pick 74: Daniel McStay, FWD, BRL Never averaged more than 60SC in a season, I don't think that's going to change. I would've taken the risk on someone else. Verdict: Eden now has the 4th oldest list in the FU and came 17th last year. Should they be thinking about a rebuild? Clarke will provide some scoring when he plays. How much is he going to add is another question. I'm a fan of young Zak Butters, he would've been the first I would've picked for a team that's lacking a bit of young talent in the middle. Mosquito went early. I like the player, but would've had him in the mix for a pick later in the draft. Berry I don't mind, McStay I don't like. A few other young forwards left in the pool would've been much higher on my list. Gisborne Pick 32: Ned McHenry, F/M, ADE Rated at number 25 by CD but his form was better than that in his draft year. He's in the mix for games this year, like this pick. Pick 37: Matthew Parker, FWD, STK Mature ager who averaged 77SC in the WAFL last year. Looking to claim a spot in the starting line up, I'm just wondering about his ceiling. Pick 43: Marty Hore, DEF, MEL The second best mature aged defender that was picked up in the AFL draft. Great value in the 40s. Pick 51: Tom Campbell, RUC, NTH With Witts being the sole ruck he's now got a training buddy in Campbell. Purely there for insurance so may only get a handful of games. Pick 61: Matt Guelfi, MID, ESS An young mid looking to get games. There's a spot there, maybe, but has plenty of competition he needs to beat. Verdict: A team looking to push into FU finals this year which will see natural improvement from the squad. McHenry is great value at pick 32 and while I'm not convinced about the Parker selection I do like the Hore selection (I couldn't help but snigger as I typed that). Campbell seemed to get overlooked by the Dog's selection committee even though he had VFL form. He should do well when he gets the chance and will be a decent second ruck option when he does. Guelfi is an ok pick, preferred a few others at this point though. Groote Eylandt Pick 12: Liam Stocker, MID, CAR Rated by the Blues as the 6th best prospect, rated by CD as the 26th best. When he came back from injury he dominated. Decent pick. Pick 27: Billy Gowers, FWD, WBD A former VFL midfielder who managed to consolidate a best 22 spot last year. May start to come up against competition for a spot. Had a few other forwards I personally rated higher. Pick 66: Brody Mihocek, FWD, COL We may see this guy at F4 in the Cudas lineup. I don't see his ceiling to be much higher than what we saw last year. Pick 67: Sam Sturt, FWD, FRE One that I thought would've been taken a lot earlier. Gunston like player who I think will take a couple of years to get going once he puts on some mass but has decent potential. Verdict: The forward line seems to be one of the weaker lines and it was good to see this was addressed at the draft. Despite the shock at Carlton's trade I think Stocker will eventually deliver. Gowers improves the forwards but I would've gone for someone like Cavarra instead who I believe has better scoring potential. Mihocek just doesn't float my boat but at least he'll post some scores if they're needed. Love the Sturt selection at 67, very very good value there.
Hughenden Pick 8: Isaac Quaynor, DEF, COL A gun defender on the short side, makes me think of McGrath when I type that. With Mills making a move into the mids this year he's a strong selection for the team. Pick 26: Tom Sparrow, MID, MEL Underappreciated player in my eyes. Strong defensive minded mid who should get some games this year. Pick 44: Xavier Duursma, D/M, PTA An AFL draft first rounder. Seen as a player without many weaknesses but strengths not a great as others. Potentially a Goddard like player. Pick 62: Tom Atkins, MID, GEE Another mature ager gets picked up. May struggled to get a look in but why not take the risk. Verdict: Like Gisborne, Hughenden's another improving team pushing for finals but focused more on draftees rather than mature agers in our draft. I think the first 3 selections were quite strong for Hughenden. With already a decent midfield two defenders came in to provide some talent for the future. My only criticism is that Sandi is getting old and young Archie Smith is still trying to deliver on his potential. A lot is riding on him making it. King Island Pick 30: Lochie O'Brien, MID, CAR Former top 10 pick who's slowly getting better with experience. Should become a good winger in time. Good value here. Pick 39: Ben Long, FWD, STK Was a decent VFL small forward in his draft year. Good pedigree, should continue to develop this year, interesting one to watch for the future. Pick 41: Nick Robertson, DEF, BRL Former Croc who has never managed to average more than 65 in a season. I don't think the scenery change will help. Pick 95: Jackson Thurlow, MID, SYD A former first round pick who couldn't break into a strong Geelong side. He'll be looking to get opportunities in Sydney. Nice pick. Verdict: 2 mids, a defender and a forward is just what the doctor ordered for King Island. I'm a fan of the O'Brien, Long and Thurlow picks, just not sold on Robertson...but that could be my crocodile coloured glasses distorting my vision. Regardless, he just seems to be a consistent low scorer and someone like McLennan probably has more potential. Korumburra Pick 6: Riley Collier-Dawkins, MID, RIC It seems like every year a young, tall mid is the next Bont and Collier-Dawkins is the 2018 version. High risk, high reward type pick but the next set of mids after Walsh and Smith aren't easy to separate. Ballsy pick. Pick 17: Jye Caldwell, MID, GWS Currently, I see more talent in Caldwell over RCD but his injury history isn't great. Caldwell was described by the GWS list manager and a potential A grader. Pick 21: Anthony Miles, MID, GCS Love the pick. Capable of being that 100+ averaging mid and will help bridge the point scoring gap to Ararat. Pick 25: Brett Bewley, MID, FRE Mature ager who was impressed in the preseason. I like that every year he has done something to improve his game, be it overhead marking or endurance. Has determination and once he gets games he's likely to be a 90+ scoring player. Verdict: With an aging midfield I think Korumburra did the right thing and drafted mids for the future. Two mature mids will help with the wins column. The issue is the gap between Korumburra's F4 and F5 which couldn't have been fixed in the draft unless there was a pick in the 3rd round onwards. If Ainsworth or Gallucci can step up then it won't be a problem.
Nuytsland Pick 57: Ben Cavarra, FWD, WBD Decent scoring small forward who will be eyeing off a starting position. Should do well. Great pick. Pick 69: Dean Kent, FWD, STK Can score well if given the right opportunity. Hopefully that's the case in a new team. Pick 87: Rhylee West, MID, WBD Ranked by CD as the 20th best prospect. Strong inside mid and with development should become AFL standard. Pick 105: Bailey Scott, MID, NTH Another highly ranked CD prospect. The balanced mid will take a bit longer than West and will have to ply his trade in the VFL for a bit. Verdict: Another strong draft for Nuytsland. When you're already a decent team you can afford to just pick best available. Cavarra and Kent strengthen one of the weaker lines. Two additional young mids aren't really needed but they were too good to pass up. Maybe short a decent scoring defender or two if injuries hit but it won't stop him making the finals. Pakenham Pick 4: Jack Lukosius, FWD, GCS Talked about as the number 1 pick for over a year and considered by some to be a generational talent. With 6 KPFs under the age of 24, Pakenham are well stocked in this department but it doesn't hurt picking up another one with this guy's potential. Pick 13: Max King, FWD, STK He just can't help himself can he? Pakenham is turning into the tall timber forest. At some point you just have to say no…don't you? Tough to pass up a player considered in the mix for pick 1 before he did his ACL at this point. Pick 22: Luke Valente, MID, FRE Gets some much needed young mids into the squad to help in the transition for life after Gaff and Sidebum. CD ranked this guy as 10th best. Pick 40: Zak Butters, MID, PTA Ranked by CD as the 18th best prospect. I personally had him ahead of Valente but for dd to get both is great. Being in a professional environment and shown what it will take to become a professional footballer will really bring out his potential. Verdict: Started the draft with 9 forward only players and drafted 2 more. However, Cerra should pick up mid eligibility at the end of this year and Franklin is 32 so I can't mark Pakenham down for picking forwards. Valente and Butters were great value picks for where they were. dd should be very pleased with who he picked up as part of his rebuild. Pearcedale Pick 10: Chayce Jones, MID, ADE Young gun from Tassie rated 8th best prospect by CD. Much needed mid talent added to Pearcedale. Would've been down to 2 for me if picking a mid, Jones one of them. Pick 46: George Horlin-Smith, MID, GCS Has the potential to score 100s but it depends on the environment. Consistency is a little bit of a worry, would've preferred other young mids. Pick 47: Phil Davis, DEF, GWS Provides needed depth down back. Never a huge scorer but at least he's average. Pick 64: Ian Hill, F/M, GWS Was considered a top 10 prospect at the start of the year. He slid due to persistent injuries during the year rather than form issues. Verdict: Another defender and a young mid or two for the future was what I was expecting from Pearcedale list management wise and it was great to see Jones get selected. I'm not convinced on the Horlin-Smith selection and would've gone for someone like Foley instead. Should be very pleased with the addition of Hill to the squad.
Serengeti Pick 2: Bailey Smith, MID, WBD I expected a MID might be priority but wasn't sure who would be the preference had Walsh gone at pick 1. Not everyone thought Walsh was the best mid with Smith coming into calculations for some. Pick 20: Tarryn Thomas, MID, NTH There seemed to be some debate over where Thomas was ranked. At pick 20 he's good value. Pick 33: Jordan Ridley, ESS, DEF Young defender looking to break into the best 22. Has potential. Pick 110: Matthew Lobbe, RUC, CAR Purely squad filler. Could've picked worse I guess. Verdict: A young mid and a young defender were the minimum requirements for the Serengeti list I think and that's what we saw. Smith and Thomas are strong selections. Ridley is decent. Should he have gone for someone like Kennedy or Hore instead if he wants to push for premiership glory? Southern Cross Pick 24: Kieran Briggs, RUC, GWS CD rated this guy as the best ruck in this year's pool. Nice addition to go with Flynn. Pick 36: Shane Mumford, RUC, GWS Already got 2 GWS rucks so why not add a 3rd. Good way to ensure you get points if Ryder goes down. Pick 38: Harley Bennel, MID, FRE Was a good scorer when he could get on the park. But having missed so much AFL due to injury I'd be wondering how this has impacted his potential scoring. Risky but worth it for a team with next to no weaknesses. Pick 86: David Armitage, F/M, STK Hasn't been relevant as a mid for a couple of years now but with forward eligibility it's worth risking to see how well he'll score. Verdict: Being in the premiership window you might as well address weaknesses and overlook young talent. The ever so small weaknesses being decent scoring backup for Ryder (Roughead has never been a high scorer) and a better averaging F4. The first one has probably been addressed once Mummy starts playing again. Armitage can hopefully improve his average a little if the Saints get better. I think I would've selected a forward eligible player over Bennel to sure up the forward line. Staghorn Flat Pick 16: Jackson Hately, MID, GWS Balanced mid with leadership credentials. Plenty of young mids on offer at this stage that were hard to separate so decent selection. Pick 35: Xavier O'Halloran, MID, GWS Inside mid with a unique combination of speed, endurance and leadership. Can also make an impact forward. Rated 17th best by CD. Great value here. Pick 52: Aaron Vandenberg, F/M, MEL The former rookie has been very unlucky with injury. Has the potential to be a 75+ averaging forward once he's injury free and in the best 22. Amongst the better forward selections that were available here. Pick 70: David Myers, MID, ESS Won't be much more than depth but it's much needed depth in the mids. Verdict: Last year's 3rd place team looks to be making a push to go a little bit further in 2019. Hately and O'Halloran are strong selections for the future. But, if the team is pushing for a premiership and Miles was available I was a little surprised he made it past pick 16. With the option of having a combination of Hately, O'Halloran and Myers or Miles, O'Halloran and another youngster like West I would've preferred the second option. Rockliff may improve but I reckon that Miles would still provide a better depth option. Vandenberg is a bit of a risky selection but if he gets going he should be a starting forward.
Great review mate. Can’t fault your analysis of the Sandgropers list. Rucks & fwds were my priority but with Bennel available I thought I’d take the risk. Part of my thinking being that if it doesn’t work out he’s an easy delist come MSD time.
Great work @fresh although I feel like you tore shreds off my astuteness! Small correction, Matthew Allen is a F/M, while partial namesake Oscar Allen is a defender.
Unfortunately bluntness is a strength of mine. Apologies for being overly negative. To put it into a bit more context, overall I rated Allen and Hayes as good selections, Waterman above average and Hind below average. I could only go off stats for Waterman. Lower disposal counts don't do wonders for scoring and with a round 2 pick I'd be hoping to have seen a bit more on the stats sheet. I'd say you know more about him than I do but I couldn't justify rating him as good a selection as your last two based on the little that I knew. As for Hind, I would've rated him a good selection had he been picked up at 28 with Miles and Bewley both off the board who I think will be better scorers. If Hind was a D/M then I wouldn't have been as harsh on the selection. He may get eligibility in the future but it's not something I consider, it's too hard to judge sometimes. It makes me think of Sicily. . was an OK enough forward who became a gun defender, something I wouldn't have picked.
Great work @fresh and you summed up my ruck problems if Stingray Smith doesn't get game time. I was a bit stuck for ruck choices by pick 44 as the players I was considering weren't there, so hopefully I've selected players who play well enough for trading to get a ruck sometime this year.
No problems. All is good. I have my reasons for my selections - hopefully they pan out as I have hoped... not only this year, but in the coming years.
Spot on assessment @fresh Addressed forward depth then took best available, considering the picks I had quite pleased with my haul. Im not concerned with my back line, Roberton is back, Rampe won't be playing on talls this season which free's him up and Newman scored a ton in JLT which is promising.
Always love your review of the draft @fresh First 2 rounds were yup trying to build a midfield for the future with Rocky & Zaharakis 30 next time around and Myers 31. Miles was considered however 6 games in 2 years and suiting up for the lowly GCS who could get belted often this year its very much unknown as to what output you will get from the 27 year old. In Myers you know he is best 22 part of the leadership group and coming off a pretty consistent 2018 (4 scores in excess of 110) at pick 70 he is there for depth for the Bulls side with a skinnier than most midfield. I'm bullish about Vandenberg he is clearly best 22 (Goody seems to like the cut of his jib) and came back late from injury in 2018 and was one of the standouts in the debacle over in the west. Speculative yes 3 weeks time to get excited!
I was going for Miles myself but it was a bit much to expect him to pass that much. Gold Coast are looking to push him well.
Nice write-up as usual @fresh It’s become a tradition at Christmas Island to take a young Tiger in the draft, but none of the previous picks taken have English’s pedigree (AA mid with Walsh, Smith, Jones and Valente) so hopefully he can be the one to repay the faith. Bytel was literally a toss of a coin with Sam Sturt - I’m possibly already regretting this one. And Pierce was partly because I like having a developing ruck on the list, but mainly to frustrate @wrightbrendan ’s traditional handcuffing of Saints’ big men.
Haha. Definitely did that! Had him earmarked for that last pic thinking surely nobody else would want him. I got that one wrong!