Toast 2014 draft and recruiting

[goodcop badcop]

We've had more than our fair share of rookie gems already.

This is the exact reason I have a problem with it. Dalrymple has had a lot of hits in the rookie draft, but we decide to waste it on rejects. It's not 99% garbage as you put it, Dalrymple has a better record then that in the rookie draft.

 

[flyingfishdang]

Quite amazing really how well we did out of a draft that we only entered at pick 26. Plenty of players we love and that will be long term high quality players for our club. Daniel in particular i was really happy with when we took him. His skill with the ball in hand more than makes up for height, but we all know that now!

 

[Zephiisdaman]

Nic Newman (Sydney), Preuss (North Melbourne), Adam Saad (Gold Coast), Nathan Krakour (Port Adelaide), Jack Sinclair (St Kilda), Jason Castagna (Richmond), Jayden Short (Richmond), Kane Lambert (Richmond), Lewis Melican (Sydney) look promising. Reilly O'Brien seems to get talked up a bit from Adelaide as well, but can't get a game ahead of Jacobs yet.

The main issue I have with it is, we gave Goodes and Pearce a good chance at it already but for some reason decided to draft them on as rookies. And Kelly seemed like Beveridge's idea as he was a player at Hawthorn. Not sure Dalrymple was given an opportunity to access new talent.

My memory of that years rookie draft was that Goodesy was rookied to give us a seasoned body to help with all of our lightly framed recruits. Dalrymple knew we had good kids but needed a big body for a while so the lads could fatten up.
Pearce and Kelly I'm not sure about.

 

[bontshow]

Good writeup but seems a bit revisionist to leave out the players we lost and Tom Boyd, and write this after Daniel, McLean, Dale & Cordy all had close to career best games

 

[Substance]

Good writeup but seems a bit revisionist to leave out the players we lost and Tom Boyd, and write this after Daniel, McLean, Dale & Cordy all had close to career best games

That was nowhere near career best for Daniel. Remember the eagles in the EF last year? Absolutely cut them to pieces.

Cordy has a very good footy brain too. Just love how confident he is with his kicks, always looking to spot up a player in a web of opposition.

 

[ScragCity]

Good writeup but seems a bit revisionist to leave out the players we lost and Tom Boyd, and write this after Daniel, McLean, Dale & Cordy all had close to career best games

It's definitely revisionist and I wasn't trying to make out that our recruiters are infallible or that it was a perfect draft. Just really pleased with our strike rate in that draft considering we had really late picks. Threw in Hamling and Shiggsy because they were great value pickups. As has been pointed out, our rookie draft that year wasn't great (unless Roarke becomes a superstar) and Tom Boyd discussion has been done to death already.

 

[dogwatch]

I still have hopes for Roarke if he gets a solid run of games without injury.

 

[Ozil]

Remember being quite stunned and a little bit disappointed on draft night with our haul.

Daniel's been a star from day dot, McLean has always looked likely and Cordy's progression has been fairly linear aside from his premiership-winning swing into the forward line, but I had real doubts about the rest.

Hamilton will go, but Dale is indispensable from my perspective. So clean with ball in hand and he's finally winning enough of the pill for it to matter.

Get Webb going and it's looking like a repeat of the draft Clayton is still dining out on. Very happy with how it's panned out.

 

[hatescaptcha]

Roarke Smith will be a super player for us once he plays a full season or two.


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[Yojimbo]

I said that he is in the mid 180s because I couldn't remember his height to the exact centimetre. Also, in no way was I trying to say that we got every decision right and that our drafters and recruiters were masterminds and geniuses. I was just pointing out how much talent we got out of this draft considering our earliest pick was 26. But please, continue to put a negative spin on everything.

Hardly being negative ScragCity just pointing out that there
were other players in that draft who were quite good
options as well and you could say that about any draft.For
memory my favourite that year was Brayden Maynard, but
not because he was the best player i just enjoy his skill
set. Drafting is speculative and tough, though it has got a
lot more professional and diverse in recent years.

 

[bontshow]

It's definitely revisionist and I wasn't trying to make out that our recruiters are infallible or that it was a perfect draft. Just really pleased with our strike rate in that draft considering we had really late picks

Yeah me too, but although our picks were late we had extra ones due to Higgins, Cooney & Jones leaving, yet they didn't rate a mention. That's putting Griffen, Marchbank/Wright and Boyd aside

 

[bontshow]

That was nowhere near career best for Daniel. Remember the eagles in the EF last year? Absolutely cut them to pieces.

Yeah of the 4 Daniel was probably the one who had the least standout game, but he was still in most people's votes. Had 14 touches in the second quarter

 

[BulldogJake]

Must admit I was getting a little worried about Young Bailey , but he is really starting to find his feet at the level.
And just the type we are lacking .
So good get Swoop

Need Bailey Dale to put back to back 4 quarter games imo.

He's had two 4 quarter games this season (St. Kilda & Calrton) and in other games he's shown a quarter or two of brilliance then gone missing for large parts of the game (North & West Coast). He has more than the potential but until he puts the consistency together I think there's still a small question mark over his head. Daniel, McLean and Cordy are all ticks from this draft already though.

 

[Pugz89]

Need Bailey Dale to put back to back 4 quarter games imo.

He's had two 4 quarter games this season (St. Kilda & Calrton) and in other games he's shown a quarter or two of brilliance then gone missing for large parts of the game (North & West Coast). He has more than the potential but until he puts the consistency together I think there's still a small question mark over his head. Daniel, McLean and Cordy are all ticks from this draft already though.

I think that would be fairly common with most players of his experience. Consistency takes time, but the fact he is stringing some four quarter efforts together at all should give us confidence it is not too far away for him (and us).

 

[Norm De Guerre]

Thread is a good reminder why it is that we shouldn't lose our minds within minutes of a players name being called out on draft night.

 

[Zephiisdaman]

Thread is a good reminder why it is that we shouldn't lose our minds within minutes of a players name being called out on draft night.

Don't lose my mind at kid selected. I lose my mind at player we didn't select picked up by another club.
We want all the hidden gems.

 

[Yojimbo]

Thread is a good reminder why it is that we shouldn't lose our minds within minutes of a players name being called out on draft night.

It's usually the cheese eaters Norm, not being anti cheese here
folks, but it is always the cheese eaters.

 

[dogwatch]

We didn't enter the draft until pick 26 which we used to pick up a small forward named Toby Mclean. Wizard17, our club draft expert was a huge Mclean fan so I'd imagine most of this board would have been rapt with the pickup. After that we grabbed Lukas Webb, a mid 180cms midfielder. After that we picked up Hamilton at pick 39, apparently he is some relation to some old footballer so I dunno how everyone felt about that. Pick 45 was the baby-faced Bailey Dale, another forward prospect. Straight after that we grabbed Caleb Daniel, I imagine to the shock of other teams and spectators of the draft. Standing at just 4 and a half foot tall, no one expected Daniel to be seriously looked at. But Beveridge saw something in him that was more important than his lack of height. And finally with pick 62 we grabbed Brian Cordy's other son, Zaine. With both of the Cordy bros now secured our future was looking bright.

Outside of the draft we grabbed Joel Hamling as a free agent and traded a late pick downgrade for the notorious Shane Biggs. For rookies we grabbed Roarke Smith and a few others who are no longer with us. less than three years after that draft, here's how it played out.

Mclean: Is now a premiership player and a top 5-10 player in our side. Started out playing mostly forward but has now become one of our most damaging midfielders. Accumulates possession, uses the ball brilliantly, runs hard, tackles well, is composed and kicks goals. If he's not an A grader yet then there's no doubt he will be considered one very soon.

Webb: Consistently been our best midfielder at VFL for a couple of years now. Is yet to transfer that dominance to AFL level where he has failed to make an impact from limited opportunity. Hard to assess where he is at because he's never been given a decent run at AFL level. Most are still optimistic that he can be a very good inside midfielder. Is known for having a devastating left boot.

Dale: Showed glimpses over his first two years but has really broken out this year as a good wing/forward who can win his own ball, is strong in the contest and has beautiful foot skills. What stands out the most to me is his ability to convert in front of goal. Has no problems with set shots from 50m or crumbing snaps around the body. Has cemented his spot in our 22.

Daniel: Premiership player, top 5 midfielder in our team. One of the most damaging players in the entire competition. The combination of his decision making, precise skills and incredibly slick ball handling is unrivalled. He is an accumulator and surprisingly strong in the contest for his size. Frequently wins games off his own boot and puts in BoG performances. Incredible development from a kid his age and is a genuine A grader.

Cordy: Became the premiership CHF in his 9th(?) AFL game. What more can I say? Has become a general in our backline. Is the obvious successor to Morris' throne. Strong in the air, very agile, very mobile, attacks the contest like a maniac and has a lot of mongrel in him. A fan favourite.

Hamilton: Has failed to earn a shot at playing seniors so far. Probably doesn't make it.

Hamling: Premiership hero. Was a solid defender for two years and then played an unbelievable finals series which resulted in a flag. He was a very vital cog in that long-awaited premiership and would be handy to have this year. Sadly, the lure of big money and returning home was too strong for us to keep him, but since we got him for nothing, a premiership and whatever pick he landed us from Freo was a good return.

Biggs: Well...where do I start on Biggs? First of all, he's simply the G.O.A.T.
My personal favourite living legend Bulldog football superstar of all time. The rightful Norm Smith medalist who was robbed not only of a Norm Smith last year but also of the Brownlow and our BnF. His statue will one day replace E.J.s at VUWO'. Long live the King.

The reason I was inspired to type up a short piece on the 2014 year of drafting and recruiting was because I noticed last week that with a lot of our superstar players currently a bit down on their game, the 2014 crop really took control and looked like the core of our side. There was one passage of play in particular where Daniel sharked a Kreuzer tap from a center bounce, passed it to Mclean, who then went to Bailey Dale for a goal, and I was just thinking about how important those guys have become. Not to mention Cordy and Shiggsy down back. The Macrae/Stringer/Hunter draft was pretty amazing but I'd argue that the 2014 draft was just as good and could end up being better.

Bump.
This has aged well even if Webb, Hamilton and Biggs have moved on.

We already have 5 premiership players from that draft. Two 100 gamers and two more likely to get there soon.

And now the legend continues to grow:
2020 AA team - pick 46 Caleb Daniel
2021 AA team - pick 45 Bailey "Hold my Beer" Dale

Nice work Simon Dalrymple. We still love you.

 

[Smiley Boy]

I remember I was spewing with this draft thinking that we just picked up a bunch of short people

pretty happy looking back now with 2 AA and 5 premiership players picked at 45 & 46 in the haul!

 

[BEaston]

Was a great draft for sure.

This thread is interesting to skim back on: https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/rating-the-rooks.1083100/

 

[scooter600x]

Was a great draft for sure.

This thread is interesting to skim back on: https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/rating-the-rooks.1083100/

Doggies1972 should be our new recruiter. The task was to rate our new draftees in order.

Bit hard to say till we see more of them. They all look good with ball in hand, or on the attack. Little footage on any of them tackling at all.
But what Ive seen
Daniel
Dale
mclean
cordy
hamilton
webb

 

[Sharkey66]

Two things that stood out to me was how the tide of opinion has turned against Corey, and that yojimbo has cancelled his account.