NAB AFL Pre-Season/Rookie Drafts

[DST]

I reckon I read somehwere last year that the cost of a rookie for salary cap purposes is about $40,000.

That is correct and there are match payments for playing reserves football as well.

Roos mentioned during a recent conference where he spoke and I was lucky enough to attend, that players taken in the draft who are on the list for two years are about a $350,000 investment each when taking into wages, development coaching and all the other little things are taken into account like food, physio, rehab, tape and travel and that's before a game is played and extra match payments start flowing.

DST

[Auntie.Gerald]

on a positive note back in 2001 a young under 6 footer was drafted at no.36 by Hawthorn. This player has gone on to be one of the best possession winners in the AFL and Captain of his team and win a premiership

I think Dylan McNeil will be like a sponge around Brett Kirk but it would not hurt him to watch a few of Sam Mitchell's games back in 2002, 03, 04 and right thru to his 2009 season.

Sam is approx 179cm and Dylan at 178cm will no doubt end up a similar stocky build just like Sam and he he has a similar tenacity which is difficult to manufacture.

I watched Dylans you tube footage etc and the kid can play and if he masters being an old style stoppage player like Sam Mitchell or Brett Kirk ie goes onto to dominate breakdowns via possession, hand passing and vision then the world is his oyster !!

every season or two a smokey comes along and defies the odds......this kid has grit !

lets get back on the positive ladies and gents........we have had an incredible off season so far............I can not wait for 2010

bursting

[liz]

I think Dylan Mitchell will be like a sponge around Brett Kirk but it would not hurt him to watch a few of Sam Mitchell's games back in 2002, 03, 04 and right thru to his 2009 season.

Who is Dylan Mitchell?

[Auntie.Gerald]

I think he is Sam Mitchell's brothers love child ??



here's hoping

[liz]

Not sure if it's already been posted, but here is an interesting article on McNeil, written shortly before the ND.


McNeil works to new heights - AFL.com.au

[DeadlyAkkuret]

Getting excited about McNeil, he's done it the hard way and seems like a genuinely tough and determined kid.

I'm tired of hearing about how short he is, that hasn't stopped many other players from becoming very good footballers and in some cases champions of our game. He's not a KPP, he's a midfielder so his height is fine. I don't expect him to be taking overhead marks, I expect him to be getting his hands on the ball and hopefully he's got some speed in his legs too.

On that note, is he known for being quick?

P.S. Does anyone else think he looks like Sinclair in that picture?

[SimonH]

That is correct and there are match payments for playing reserves football as well.

Roos mentioned during a recent conference where he spoke and I was lucky enough to attend, that players taken in the draft who are on the list for two years are about a $350,000 investment each when taking into wages, development coaching and all the other little things are taken into account like food, physio, rehab, tape and travel and that's before a game is played and extra match payments start flowing.

DST

For 2010, it's a pitiful $34,300 (see page 72). They don't get any match payments on top of that for playing in Canberra, that's for sure-- the real money relies on them being upgraded and playing seniors. They do get relocation costs (if required) and about $7700 living allowance (see page 81).

Of course running a football club requires that you spend money on player welfare, coaching, administration, housing etc. But it's important to distinguish between the net cost of that sort of thing (total costs divided by number of players) and the marginal cost-- meaning that you don't hire another doctor, build another training facility, hire another coach etc just because you have 4 more rookies. And it's the marginal cost that decides whether we can afford to take rookies.

Let's face it: where the club is on record as saying that it didn't expect to lose both BBBH and MOL in the last year, and lost another 5 or so experienced players (and their wages) as well, creating a huge salary cap hole, then it splashed money around (mostly sensibly) to pick up some experienced AFL players, it's a bit bloody rich (pun intended) for it to say 'we're too poor, we couldn't possibly afford to look after our complement of rookies'.

It would be an act of supreme, and history strongly suggests unwarranted, arrogance for a club to say "we've looked over all thousand-odd kids and young men who remain outstanding after the ND, and we're as sure as we need to be, that none of them will carve out a long-term AFL career". The world just doesn't work that way-- ask Brett Kirk, Heath Grundy, Paul Bevan, Kieran Jack, Ed Barlow etc.

The bottom line is that for a modest financial saving, we are giving away a smallish but significant competitive advantage to other clubs (or more accurately, are throwing away the advantage that local rookie rules give us). That (lack of) advantage will add up over the years, if we persist in this policy.

[Auntie.Gerald]

remember this video was one year ago at 17yrs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yGFxHM8djQ

AFL Draft Info: Dylan McNeil (Murray Bushrangers/NSW-ACT) – Draft Profile


Strengths

> Ball magnet with excellent attack and ball winning skills in traffic (prolific HBG and clearance winner)
> Clean hands
> Good tackling pressure in close and strong attack on the man
> Reads the play well and typically well positioned at stoppages
> Very clever, creative decision maker with very good vision in and out of traffic
> Very good engine
> Clean and sharp feeder
> Well balanced and strong through the core. ? keeps his feet in traffic and rarely pushed off the ball
> Courageous

Weaknesses

> Undersized at only 175cm ? conceding around 10cm to the average midfielder
> Slowish pace off the mark, reasonable evasiveness but little top speed.
> Limited versatility for AFL ? inside midfield seems to be the only fit

[eggbeater]

Average disposal, but nothing a kid like him can't work out.

[Legs Akimbo]

remember this video was one year ago at 17yrs

Strengths

> Ball magnet with excellent attack and ball winning skills in traffic (prolific HBG and clearance winner)
> Clean hands
> Good tackling pressure in close and strong attack on the man
> Reads the play well and typically well positioned at stoppages
> Very clever, creative decision maker with very good vision in and out of traffic
> Very good engine
> Clean and sharp feeder
> Well balanced and strong through the core. ? keeps his feet in traffic and rarely pushed off the ball
> Courageous

Weaknesses

> Undersized at only 175cm ? conceding around 10cm to the average midfielder
> Slowish pace off the mark, reasonable evasiveness but little top speed.
> Limited versatility for AFL ? inside midfield seems to be the only fit

I like the look of him from the video. He seems to have very clean hands, has good vision and handballs really well. Kicking is a bit weird. He has a clean kicking action with a nice straight leg but results clearly not great even when in the clear. Maybe something to do with the way he is holding or dropping the ball. He also seems to kick to a player rather than to space.

[Jewels]

Let's face it: where the club is on record as saying that it didn't expect to lose both BBBH and MOL in the last year, and lost another 5 or so experienced players (and their wages) as well, creating a huge salary cap hole, then it splashed money around (mostly sensibly) to pick up some experienced AFL players, it's a bit bloody rich (pun intended) for it to say 'we're too poor, we couldn't possibly afford to look after our complement of rookies'.

Where did they say that?

It would be an act of supreme, and history strongly suggests unwarranted, arrogance for a club to say "we've looked over all thousand-odd kids and young men who remain outstanding after the ND, and we're as sure as we need to be, that none of them will carve out a long-term AFL career". The world just doesn't work that way-- ask Brett Kirk, Heath Grundy, Paul Bevan, Kieran Jack, Ed Barlow etc.

The bottom line is that for a modest financial saving, we are giving away a smallish but significant competitive advantage to other clubs (or more accurately, are throwing away the advantage that local rookie rules give us). That (lack of) advantage will add up over the years, if we persist in this policy.

Your joking, surely!!!!

Perhaps they chose not to take any more rookies, not for financial reasons but simply because the time and work needed to be put into ALL the newbies would just be spreading the work load that bit too far and is a better LONG TERM INVESTMENT spent on the boys we have already picked up.

The truth is, I don't know why they passed up the picks, you don't know why they passed up the picks, NONE OF US, ON HERE, KNOWS WHY THEY PASSED UP THE PICKS.
All I do know is that THEY SEEM TO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING and for us to be so damn critical is ridiculous!

[dimelb]

remember this video was one year ago at 17yrs ...
... Undersized at only 175cm ? conceding around 10cm to the average midfielder

He's grown 3cm in the last year and I dare say hasn't finished yet.

[BSA5]

It would be an act of supreme, and history strongly suggests unwarranted, arrogance for a club to say "we've looked over all thousand-odd kids and young men who remain outstanding after the ND, and we're as sure as we need to be, that none of them will carve out a long-term AFL career". The world just doesn't work that way-- ask Brett Kirk, Heath Grundy, Paul Bevan, Kieran Jack, Ed Barlow etc.

The bottom line is that for a modest financial saving, we are giving away a smallish but significant competitive advantage to other clubs (or more accurately, are throwing away the advantage that local rookie rules give us). That (lack of) advantage will add up over the years, if we persist in this policy.

Bull@@@@. We still recruited 4 rookies. They were just rookies we all expected. We still have a rookie list 7 places long. I dare say that would be longer than most. The money saved could have been budgeted to our football department, to give us an edge there. Who knows? It also allowed us to make sure we get guys like Mumford, Kennedy, McGlynn and Bradshaw over. Are you complaining about any of those guys? I'd choose them over Panos, Dare, Hooper (though I did want him) and Crichton.

[wedge.maverick]

He's grown 3cm in the last year and I dare say hasn't finished yet.

He measured 175cm 75kg at draft camp so he hasn't grown and has probably stopped. It won't hinder in any way though.

[BSA5]

He measured 175cm 75kg at draft camp so he hasn't grown and has probably stopped. It won't hinder in any way though.

He's 178 cm now...