Worst Draft Ever For Us

[BarneyG]

Apart from Adam Schnieder at pick 60 and LRT, we missed out on some pure talent I reckon.

2001 Draft

[ScottH]

71 Brian Harris W Bulldogs Woodville-West Torrens SANFL

Bargain for the dogs.

[hammo]

Wasn't that the draft we traded for Baz?

Surely that's not a bad result.

[Sanecow]

Only drafting two future Premiership players is pretty awful.

[liz]

I disagree. There are some gems in the top 20-25 but the Swans never had a chance at these (once we'd decided to trade for Hall and I defy anyone to claim that this was a mistake).

Putting aside whether we think LRT is a champion-in-the-making or a so-so player, he was taken with a priority zone pick and the only other two realistic options with this pick were Rogers or Playfair. Five years on, I think we're better off with LRT than with Playfair (and the Rogers discussion doesn't even need to be had).

Sure, Powell and Hunt were "fails" but I don't see a huge number of quality options we missed out on who were taken from picks 30 onwards.

Ablett jnr and Waite, though quality players, are irrelevant to the discussion because they were father-son selections. Other than these two, the only real quality on that list are Mitchell and Harris. There are a handful of others who are either GOPs (but not outstandingly better than the GOPs we have on our list), such as Hyde, Welsh, Montagna and Miller. Swan has emerged with a bang this year but it remains to be seen whether he will sustain a long term career playing at that level, especially after other teams have worked him out.

Some may point to Medhurst or Hansen. I think Medhurst has limitations - certainly he's no star. Hansen may yet become a very good player but he's not there yet.

Every draft has early misses and late gems. I don't see how one can discount the "success" of the Schneider pick in the same breath as claiming that overall the club did poorly with the picks it had.

One can also point to late gems from other drafts (Buchanan, Goodes, O'Keefe) and deride other clubs for failing to pick them, not to mention the list of other late gems that other clubs have found (Davey is an outstanding example).

The draft is a hit and miss process but I don't think that 2001 list is particularly damning on the Swans' recruiting staff.

[BarneyG]

We could off had Sam Mitchell/Ashley Hansen/ Henry Playfair/ Brad Miller instead of Powell in this draft

[ugg]

Powell could have been something if he had his head screwed on right. He had the skills to make it but his application was sadly lacking.

[Damien]

Picks 74 and 76 both managed to cost us games in the persuing years!

Mott in our first game against Essendon at Telstra and Poulton kicking that goal at the death against us at the SCG.

[Nico]

All irrelevent. We one the flag in 2005.

[ScottH]

Originally posted by Nico
All irrelevent. We one the flag in 2005.

Thanks Nico, it almost skipped my mind!

[ugg]

Personally I was hoping for two.

[Thunder Shaker]

I dispute strongly that the draft of 2001 was a shocker for us. We've drafted some real duds in our time, as well as mummys' boys that were homesick and wanted out of Sydney on the first plane after their contract ran out.

In 2001 we got Bazza, LRT and Schneider. Three premiership players. How many players did we draft that played no games at all?

[wheels27]

Looking at that draft list I feel a little uncomfortable with the system in it's current form. The higher picks who went to bottom teams under the priority system - Hodge, Ball, Clarke, DalSanto - have all been struck with chronic injuries, I believe, from being played too often, too soon, something the lower clubs are forced to do.

I reckon this will see a lot of careers shortened unnecessarily.

[goswannie14]

There seem to be plenty of names in the earlier picks that are unfamiliar.

[RogueSwan]

Originally posted by goswannie14
There seem to be plenty of names in the earlier picks that are unfamiliar.

Precisely what i was thinking.