OFFICIAL Draft 2003 Thread

[dimelb]

Amazing detail newbie.
Sounds like the sort of people we want.

[Charlie]

Originally posted by SWANSBEST
Charlie

Read my previous post , Davis is an under 17 player recently promoted to the senior list . Obviously the North supporters do not know their own players.

What I mean is that we have very little idea of height, weight, position, strengths, weaknesses etc. Essentially, all we have is a name, a birthdate and the club he came from.

[Charlie]

Originally posted by dimelb
Amazing detail newbie.
Sounds like the sort of people we want.

Agreed. Wisbey's comments on Willoughby and Schmidt are very reassuring, although his opinion on Erickson is not quite so flattering.

[robbieando]

Originally posted by Charlie
What I mean is that we have very little idea of height, weight, position, strengths, weaknesses etc. Essentially, all we have is a name, a birthdate and the club he came from.

Also that he is 190cm and that he only played a handful of games for the Under 17's and was injuried most of the season.

My reasoning is that Barham, saw something in him that said in a year this kid could be a higher pick in the draft if we don't pinch him, because I believe he still would of been able to play in the Under 18's National's next year and even though he player 3 or 4 games for North Adelaide Under 17's they saw something to move him onto their senior list.

[desredandwhite]

Originally posted by Charlie
Agreed. Wisbey's comments on Willoughby and Schmidt are very reassuring, although his opinion on Erickson is not quite so flattering.

You get the feeling that he wants very badly to like Erikson - mentions the P word. Much like the flashes of brilliance I see in Amon Buchanan that hardly ever surface in the senior games he played.

I guess he was our "punt" of the draft (assuming the Monty and Davis selections weren't "punts" either!!!)

[robbieando]

Originally posted by desredandwhite
I guess he was our "punt" of the draft (assuming the Monty and Davis selections weren't "punts" either!!!)

I think we took 3 huge punts with our last 3 picks, still the more I find out about this Davis, more I'm starting to like him.

[Newbie]

This draft seems to be really thin. Time will tell. I could not think of a reason why we redraft Buchanan. Dont know what he could add to our team. Time will tell too LMAO.


BTW, how good is this midfield: Schneider, Schmidt, Willougby, Buchanan and Jared Crouch. Centre breaks should come at will as any of them is capable of slip through the legs of any opposition without any trouble.

[Red]

I'm pretty bloody dissapointed we let Morrison slip through to Collingwood.

This Joshua Willo-wisp had better be <i>damn</i> good -- 'cause while he spends next year 'acclimatising' (and hopefully spending some time in the fat-house with McVeigh), Billy will probably be in the seniors taking marks & kicking goals.

If he does it against us -- even once -- I will @@@@ing spew!

What it is this thing Roosey has for drafting short, skinny kids? Is he trying to build the next 'Mosquito Fleet'? Or does he just want to remain one of the tallest guys on the team?

[SWANSBEST]

SYDNEY

16 - Joshua Willoughby (Glenelg, SANFL) 17, 176cms, 70kgs
Smart small forward or midfielder who reads the play well in attack, has good goal sense and clean hands. Also a good mark for his size. In 2002, was joint best and fairest at the national under- 16 titles and in 2003, was a member of the AIS-AFL Academy and an under-18 All- Australian.

29 -Tim Schmidt (West Adelaide) 17, 179cms, 78kgs
Midfielder who has clean disposal skills and is strong in the air. Joint best and fairest at the under-16 national titles in 2002 and an AIS-AFL Academy member and SA under-18 representative in 2003.

45 - Amon Buchanan (Sydney) 21, 180cms, 80kgs
An ankle injury disrupted what turned out to be a crucial 2003 pre-season for a forward who has done well at VFL level but is yet to step up regularly to senior representation. Cut from the list at the end of the season but re-drafted for another chance.

47 - Andrew Ericksen (Sandringham Dragons) 18, 205cms, 89kgs
Athletic ruckman who was a top-level basketballer as a junior. An AIS/AFL Academy member in 2002 and represented Vic Metro at the 2003 national under-18 titles. The tallest player at the 2003 draft camp and achieved the highest standing jump height.

59 - Matthew Davis (North Adelaide) 17, 190cm, 90kg
Tall midfielder from country South Australia.

The club says
"Our whole line is continuing with the youth and shooting for the future. I?m not going to say we?re unhappy ? we would?ve like to get the better picks ? but that?s the legacy of coming third. When you pick where we do, you just wait for them to come through."
Ricky Barham, recruiting manager

The Sunday Age says
The early choices were spent on smaller players (Willoughby, Schmidt) and the late picks on talls (Ericksen, Davis). No obvious theme here.

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/23/1069027397819.html

[penga]

Originally posted by Red
I'm pretty bloody dissapointed we let Morrison slip through to Collingwood.

This Joshua Willo-wisp had better be <i>damn</i> good -- 'cause while he spends next year 'acclimatising' (and hopefully spending some time in the fat-house with McVeigh), Billy will probably be in the seniors taking marks & kicking goals.

If he does it against us -- even once -- I will @@@@ing spew!

with that mentality, u should support carlton, as they followed your recruiting policy to a T in this draft

Originally posted by Red
What it is this thing Roosey has for drafting short, skinny kids? Is he trying to build the next 'Mosquito Fleet'? Or does he just want to remain one of the tallest guys on the team?

has nothing to do with the game plan roosy is creating or anything does it??? i do remember a mention about hard running in there somewhere...

[Reggi]

To me it sounds like they did really well and sensibly. We alr4eady have some developing tall KP types in Powell, Dempster and LRT. We desparately need some ground level types and they picked two in Willoughby and Schmidt (I liked the sound of Willoughby before the draft - sounded like a quality determined kid).

We need a genuine develoment ruckman - I do not believe that is where LRT will play and Ball cannot have long left.

Matthew Davis sounds like a player drafted in hope.

Foxfooty made it sound like Morrison was a complete lug - said he lacked agility.

Obviously someone drew a comparison between Will Gayfer and his older brother and opted not to draft him.

Sounds like they did ok given what they had and what we need.

This morning's paper referred to Schmidt having a poor body shape for AFL - compared him to Joe Misiti.

Does this mean we finally have another fat arsed centreman?

[robbieando]

Originally posted by Red
I'm pretty bloody dissapointed we let Morrison slip through to Collingwood.

This Joshua Willo-wisp had better be <i>damn</i> good -- 'cause while he spends next year 'acclimatising' (and hopefully spending some time in the fat-house with McVeigh), Billy will probably be in the seniors taking marks & kicking goals.

If he does it against us -- even once -- I will @@@@ing spew!

So just where would he have fitted into our team??? Not CHF as Barry Hall will have that spot for the next few years, not at FF as we have the likes of Doyle, Ball and O'Loughlin playing though there. Morrison was not a need we needed to fill, if he had fallen to later in the draft then maybe, but there isn't a spot for him in the team.

What it is this thing Roosey has for drafting short, skinny kids? Is he trying to build the next 'Mosquito Fleet'? Or does he just want to remain one of the tallest guys on the team?

We need small ball winning midfielders, and we got what we wanted.

[jimmytootle]

Amon Buchanon at # 45?

How did we go in the draft? Who knows and only time will tell.

But what continues to puzzle me is the Buchanon pick at 45. While I'm happy for him, I can't believe we missed out on the tall, athletic, Pettigrew who Port picked up on the very next pick.

Wasn't the mantra, a couple of midfielders and a defender?

You could almost hear the Swans camp, whisper "Oh @@@@" when Port called out his name. I reckon the Swans had him written down at # 47. Do you remember the time it took them on pick 47 (in my mind at least) to go through the list to find a substitute tall? I don't think Ericksen was part of the original game plan at all. Now either:

1) The Swans didn't rate him. Hard to believe when you look at his specs, the fact that he is a defender type, as well as his performance at the draft camp (some of the best results).

2) They talked to him before the draft and being a WA boy he wasn't interested in moving to Sydney. Quite possible but improbable IMO.

3) They blew it.

I reckon the latter. Let's face it, Amon would have been still available much later in the draft (at least until # 47). Now what we got after pick 45 was a tall who is surplus to requirements for the time being and a smokie who is an untried and unknown youngster.

Now we all agree that picks after the first round are a lottery but I think the Swans camp made tactical mistakes and we missed out on at least two talented players (Pettigrew plus one of Rowe/Logan/Archibald) who seemed to fit the bill for what we were looking to get out of the draft in the first place.

[Tuhob]

From the Herald Sun :

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,7948608%255E20322,00.html

SYDNEY
16 JOSHUA WILLOUGHBY
17, 176cm, 69kg
An Australian schoolboy tourist to Ireland, he is a lightly built midfielder with kicking skills to rival the best of recent years, including Darren Jarman.

29 TIM SCHMIDT
West Adelaide
17, 178cm, 79kg
A gun in the under-16 carnival, Schmidt was an AIS academy member and a SA rep this year. He had an injury-interrupted year in 2003, and has a body shape not ideally suited to AFL football. But with his ability to win the ball and deliver it, he has been likened to Joe Misiti.

45 AMON BUCHANAN
Sydney
21, 180cm, 80kg
Re-listed by the Swans, the former Colac star was hampered by knee and ankle injuries. Had previously played strongly with Port Melbourne in 2002.

47 ANDREW ERICKSEN
Sandringham Dragons
18, 203cm, 90kg
Athletic ruckman who played top-level basketball at under-age level. Tested well at the draft camp and has good skills, especially below his knees. From Scotch College, an AIS rep in 2002 and Vic Metro rep in 2003.

59 MATTHEW DAVIS
17, 190cm, 88kg
One of the most unsung top 60 selections, Davis is a nice size utility built along the lines of Jason Saddington. Is originally from Jamestown, north of Adelaide.

"Just like last year we are shooting for the future. They're all good kids"
- recruiting manager Rick Barham

[liz]

Re: Amon Buchanon at # 45?

Originally posted by jimmytootle

You could almost hear the Swans camp, whisper "Oh @@@@" when Port called out his name. I reckon the Swans had him written down at # 47. Do you remember the time it took them on pick 47 (in my mind at least) to go through the list to find a substitute tall? I don't think Ericksen was part of the original game plan at all.

Unless you're there you don't know what happened, but I can't believe the Swans had their heart set on Pettigrew and decided to leave him to 47. There was almost no chance that Buchanan was going to be taken by Port so why would they do it. Would have to conclude that Pettigrew (or any of the other talls available at that time) weren't on their wish list.

Having said all that, I can't think of a plausible reason why Amon was taken at 45.