AFL Draft Live! Thread

[snajik]

Smith

Indeed. It's late. We had four then, now just the two. That's a lot of Nics / Nicks.

[Robbo]

I'm ecstatic with how we did today. We got 3 classy mids with plenty of pace which fills a big need. A key defensive prospect at 38 was also the way to go. And to finish off we got a crumbing small forward. That is a sensational days work and looking at our list now there isn't a position on the ground that we are looking shallow in.

The one that excites me the most is Jetta. Simply cannot believe he fell to us. I saw a lot of him this year and he is all class. He is extremely quick and has very good footy instincts, exactly the sort of player we need to complement our inside mids. He stepped into senior footy in the WAFL and started dominating straight away, not many kids have been able to do that. It feels great to draft a kid who could be a genuine gun from the very start. I don't think I've ever been more excited about a draft pick.

Now for Dennis-Lane. I also saw plenty of him this year. 3 or 4 years ago he led the goal kicking in the WAFL colts but when he graduated and joined the seniors at Subiaco he had to spend quite a while in the reserves because their league forward line was star studded. Once he broke through into the firsts he looked right at home. He doesn't play with elegance or finesse but he gets the job done and is very consistent for a 21 year old. He kicked bags of goals on a regular basis this year and if he goes missing he has the ability to suddenly flick the switch and kick quick goals. I was shocked to see he is only 184cm because he played quite tall in games I saw this year. He can play tall or small, very good in the air for someone his size. Has a good turn of speed too. At the back end of a shallow draft he is exactly the sort you want to go for.

From the videos Sumner looks very promising. I was so-so about us going for Rohan with pick 6 because I thought it meant we would miss out on Jetta, but it's turned out to be a gem of a pick. So glad we went for a tall backman in Reid.

Best draft we have had that I can remember. We now have a very good group of young midfielders.

[Auntie.Gerald]

Imagine being Johnston, Smith, Vespa, Meredith, O'Dwyer etc........just as they would be thinking of im with a strong chance in 2010....then along comes two guys the same age and bloody quick guys too !

Rohan
Jetta
DL
Sumner

The heat is on !!

Even Nipper has emerged as a contender on the training field.........


and Reid was very dominant in the air........he is a great draft !!

[Robbo]

The most pleasing thing is the mix of inside mids and outside mids we now have. And plenty of them are young. Absolutely STOKED about Jetta.

Watch from 5:07 onwards.........Get excited people!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg5UwAMz-PA

[SimonH]

I'm fairly agnostic about TDL. Don't get me wrong: I'm glad we picked him up (more 21yos, fewer 18yos at draft time is always good), and he's done enough to earn the chance. But with the greater intensity, less time, and fewer opportunities to isolate your opponent one-on-one, small/medium goalsneak is one of the hardest roles to translate from state league stardom to being a regular AFL player.

Barring a bad injury run (and of course the Canberra comp rules preventing us from putting our players on the park), our seconds are going to totally rule arse next year. TDL is one of those who (21 yoa, 3 or so years' experience in a higher-level comp than Canberra, against adults) should be able to just wander in and start carving them up, if he can't get a gig in our best 22 immediately.

[AnnieH]

A very good night.

According to Scott Clayton we're the winners of the night.



Gold Coast recruiting manager Scott Clayton rates your club's draft | Herald Sun

I recall calling "winners" about a month ago.
They should listen to me more often.

With Bradshaw confirmed .... we're on fire!!

[smasher]

Wrapped that we picked up Reid.Comes from small Vic town of Bright.I don't think he has turned 18 yet and is very raw.He will be a great KKP in years to come.He still looks like a kid but after a couple of seasons in the gym will be awesome.He is very similar to brother Ben so if you have seen him you will know what Sam is like.He comes from a very good family.. and his Dad,Bruce,played VFL (now AFL).

[Primmy]

What's wrong with you people!!! Where is the cumudgeon? Where is the naysay? Where is the "theyshooda"? We are all happy. Not natural.

[Reggi]

Question. Dylan McNeil, given he is from NSW, if he does not go in the PSD, can't we automatically put him on our Rookie list?

Is he de facto a Sydney player?

We have gone for eye candy footballers in the draft, but with Bird, Smith, J P Kennedy, McGlynn we are probably well served for inside players

You can also pick up reasonably good inside players via the rookie draft, same with ruckman. Outside players generally a bit more difficult

Reid looks like a longer term prospect

Going to be an interesting pre season

[top40]

Trent Dennis-Lane represents the type of pick I have been suggesting for years. In stead of going exclusively for high school kids with no experiences, try a guy in his twenties with experience in senior football. (Think of Robin Nahas from Richmond)

Dennis-Lane is 21. He has played three seasons in the WAFL. This year he kicked 4 goals in the WAFL Grand Final. He also kicked 66 goals in 23 games, that's nearly 3 per game.

I bet he will play seniors for the Swans in 2010.

[Auntie.Gerald]

yeah my gut feeling is that one of the new guys with genuine scrapping ability and speed will get a shot at the forward pockect.

DL seems and obvious choice given his experience, in form 60 goals 2009, his speed and beep test........all stacks up.....plus he can lead as a small forward and seems to do this well...........so a tough match up.

he is the best goal scorer of the 5........except Rohan is such a young talent and the sky is the limit for this kid......mecurial......another Dale Thomas and could be better

[hammo]

Jetta seems happier in his quotes in today's papers.

Jetta said dual Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes had already taken him under his wing. ''He said, 'We're going to take you at 14, and I'm going to treat you like a brother,''' Jetta said.

Swans turn up speed with picks in national draft

and

"I grew up following West Coast when they played Sydney in those Grand Finals, but I also went for Goodesy because he's an Aboriginal. I'm a big fan of his," Jetta said.

"Now I've got the chance to play with him, it's just an awesome feeling. I guess he's the oldie and I'm the newie, but I'm pumped and can't wait to train."

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/afl/swans-snap-up-talent/story-e6frexx0-1225804416361

[giant]

We have gone for eye candy footballers in the draft, but with Bird, Smith, J P Kennedy, McGlynn we are probably well served for inside players

Nice description! And interesting that we've overlooked these types of players many times in the past - what's changed I wonder?

Must be a kick up the bum for Jarred Moore - had the opportunity to make the small forward position his own this season - now he's got potentially three more competing for the same spot.

[robamiee]

yeah it is hard for some fo these boys, 1st the excitement of being picked, then all of sudden the realisation your moving to other side of the country to a big city.

He'll be right once in the mix of training..

[SWANSBEST]

In The Australian today Scott Clayton the recruiter from the Gold Coast team did a brief assessment of the draft and said of the Swans "They are the winners". Speed and excitement have been added to the Swans list.