2019 trading, drafting and list management: players and personnel

[bloodspirit]

Love your dependable enthusiasm, BS. Your glass half full take is a valuable contribution.

Thanks, Matt. Fair call. And made me chuckle.

[bloodspirit]

Dennis Carroll talking about how they transition new draftees into the club

You're drafted! Now what? How AFL clubs help their draftees settle in

Thanks SeanM. Terrific insight. Love this kind of article that builds our understanding of how things work behind the scenes. Appreciate you sharing.

[Legs Akimbo]

Interesting insight from Brandon. I get the impression that he wishes he diversified his interests when he was younger. I wonder if this regret is viewed through the prism of his career? Had he been a first team regular, played in a flag winning side and had an incredible career overall, would he feel that he should've had a year or two not playing AFL during his formative years? Could effectively be a 2 million + sacrifice for "life experience", whatever that is anyway.

Really interesting article, although i think the proposed year out would not alleviate the issue. The clubs would do something to prevent it and get into their prospective players. Perhaps the answer lies in clubs acknowledging the opportunity to become an employer of choice by setting their players up for life after footy. I think that would be a powerful inducement to attract players and become a destination club. I actually also think Sydney is well positioned to achieve that, if they aren't already.

[Mr Magoo]

Hi Wolf,

Very excited to see your impressions.

I came to a similar conclusion about the combine results being bs. His speed is obvious.

What I find really interesting is that all the other teams were not astute enough to work that out and went by the combine. The guy has leadership qualities, game reading ability second to none and is athletic going by his past performances. I must admit I am more excited by this draft pick than any of the others, and I think we have drafted well.

And yes, he could be used in the middle.



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Way too much attention sometimes given to testing . 2km time trial is a classic in that respect . I think it’s way overrated as it suits a particular type of athlete and often someone who might have a good medium pace ( that is they were your cross country / 800m runners at school ) .

The footage of Gould at 18s level is brilliant and he has pace and smarts as well obviously as size and he can run a game out so kind of irrelevant then wether he can do a fast time trial .

My reservation on him was wether it converted to seniors level but from those that have seen him at SANFL it obviously does.

Still doesn’t look like a midfielder to me though , better off half back with his vision and penetrating kick

[Ralph Dawg]

Really interesting article, although i think the proposed year out would not alleviate the issue. The clubs would do something to prevent it and get into their prospective players. Perhaps the answer lies in clubs acknowledging the opportunity to become an employer of choice by setting their players up for life after footy. I think that would be a powerful inducement to attract players and become a destination club. I actually also think Sydney is well positioned to achieve that, if they aren't already.

I'd be surprised if the club was not supporting the players in acquiring skills for life outside of footy. There is ample opportunity for the players to do degrees or TAFE part time, as well as undertaking trades. You're right Legs in that if a club had a strong education program, it would be attractive to not only the players, but also their families.

2 great examples of recent old boys doing well post footy just so happen to be 2 of my favourites - LRT and Leo. Both would be fantastic mentors for the club.

[liz]

Jack strikes me as someone who was better equipped than most to plan for life after footy, and to adjust when it did arrive. He had a father who experienced the comedown from being a highly celebrated sportsman. He had an older brother who was good enough to get into a club list but I think never played a senior game. Another older brother who’d lived on the edge for the first couple of years as a professional sportsman and who possibly hadn’t believed his career would last for long. And he had very good school results, a uni place and musical interests outside footy. Since retiring he has established himself pretty quickly as a journalist with enough respect to get articles published in the Fairfax papers. He’s still just in his mid 20s.

I suspect he might be overplaying his own challenges somewhat, but no doubt his observations are highly relevant to a lot of professional sportspeople.

[waswan]

Just spoke to someone in the know regarding Taylor.

A top ten talent no question.
Professionalism is the issue.

Did not elaborate too much on that but did say he doesnt have an issue outside of footy (think Bennell) but did go from without doubt the best player in the team he was playing for to nearly non existent the next year.

If he can be harnessed he will be, dare i say it, a draft steal

As a WA Swan I have that on very very good authority

[mattybloods]

I'm very excited by Gould; feel like we've chosen a footballer instead of an athlete. Picking someone who is clearly talented but needs to work on his fitness is a no brainer. He will be a full time footballer with a team of trainers around him, he will lose the puppy fat and increase his endurance in no time. It's easier to increase fitness than to increase skill set

[KSAS]

I'm very excited by Gould; feel like we've chosen a footballer instead of an athlete. Picking someone who is clearly talented but needs to work on his fitness is a no brainer. He will be a full time footballer with a team of trainers around him, he will lose the puppy fat and increase his endurance in no time. It's easier to increase fitness than to increase skill set

+1

I usually don't get too excited who we draft as it's still a lottery who will make it, as unfortunately the odds are against most having a substantial AFL career every draft year, However with Gould, a kid in a man's body with good all round skills does make one take notice. I'd be surprised indeed if he doesn't have a lengthy AFL career.

[Ludwig]

Just to clarify some of my comments on Will Gould:

• I was just joking about his weight, which we know got up to at least 106 kgs. I'm confident that it won't be an issue in the future.
• I think Will is a gun and suggested around a month ago that he was worth a top 10 pick.
• He is very quick off the mark, can break the lines, and is damaging by foot.
• By implying that he could be an inside midfielder was only to suggest that he is more versatile than just a defender. I think he probably will play a Rampe type role, which is often as an undersized key defender. Some in the media think he might be too short for a key defender, but I don't think that's the case.
• Players often play at AFL level in positions other than the year they were drafted and this applies to Gould as well. Time will tell.

When I reviewed the highlights of Chad Warner and checked his combine results, I can see why we rated him. He looks an excellent get at pick 39.

Overall, I think we really nailed this draft. It's always a time for optimism after a draft, but I'm very excited about all our picks and think there's a good chance all will succeed at AFL level, including Rowles.

[Blood Relative]

Very impressed with videos of Gould (the next Craig Bolton), Stephens (our new Dan Hannerbery), and Taylor (Mickey O mark II).

[rickmat]

And we need to remember, both Gould and Stephens played senios in SANFL which is a much higher brand of footy than most young recruits. They have played against big bodie, four quarters of gut busting footy and were amongst the best in the SANFL. Glenelg or Norwood would monster any NEAFL side including Brisbane. I am stoked we have both these young talented men as well as the rest of our recruits

[stevoswan]

Another good article by Brandon Jack.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/...28-p53f1g.html

Good article, particularly the last sentence:

"The solution may be more complex than simply lifting the draft age but I’d rather see more time devoted to this than to another AFLX or discussing the length of half-time breaks."

Spot on.....

[rb4x]

Number allocation for the new guys will be interesting with1,2&3 all available.

[Blood Fever]

Number allocation for the new guys will be interesting with1,2&3 all available.

Number 3 to go to Stephens I reckon. Pity number 19 is not available for Taylor.