Game Day 2023 AFL Draft Live discussion Rd1, 2-4 and Rookie Draft

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Warhorse said:
How does everyone rate our draft. I would give it a B+ or A-.

Love the 1st two picks. I though we went Mannagh a bit to early but have come around to the idea.

I really wanted Lual as a lock down small defender and Roberts who I really rate. I would have traded in to grab one. Other than that a good draft.

They all seem like absolute quality people as well. 👌
Click to expand...
I'm on board for a B+

I'm not as certain on Edwards as a selection though. Not that I don't rate him or anything, he's worth a punt in isolation, but I don't know how we get all these talls in the vfl forward line at the narrowest f50 in the league for home games. Do we lend Furphy out to a GFL side if there's no injuries? How do you develop them if they're in each other's way?
 
Warhorse said:
How does everyone rate our draft. I would give it a B+ or A-.

Love the 1st two picks. I though we went Mannagh a bit to early but have come around to the idea.

I really wanted Lual as a lock down small defender and Roberts who I really rate. I would have traded in to grab one. Other than that a good draft.

They all seem like absolute quality people as well. 👌
Click to expand...

Happy enough... but ultimately what matters most is how we rate it in the future.

Fingers crossed we slayed it... But it'll be a while before we really know how we've done.
 
I'd rate it B+. Would've preferred Caddy than COS but sure he'll serve us a role.
Hopefully Mannagh cracks into the first team.
Otherwise good ! Edwards looks impressive with his skills and run. Reminds me of a blitz more than COS.
George Stevens might injure some of our boys in training.
Happy with the picks.
I'd say some of the nothing picks (60+) are interesting, where it appears they looked more at character and drive more than pure ability. I'm fine with this and it meets the Cats values.
The rookie draft pick I know nothing about. Hopefully a change in scenery and a kick up the *** from Joel Selwood gives him some motivation. Said in jest, I know nothing about him obviously.
 

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Did we get any value from getting 76 and 94 from Port in the Esava trade? I can’t work it out, due to there being many passes by the time we hit the picks in the 50s and 60s.


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CatToTheFuture said:
I'm on board for a B+

I'm not as certain on Edwards as a selection though. Not that I don't rate him or anything, he's worth a punt in isolation, but I don't know how we get all these talls in the vfl forward line at the narrowest f50 in the league for home games. Do we lend Furphy out to a GFL side if there's no injuries? How do you develop them if they're in each other's way?
Click to expand...
I agree, Edwards is a 206cm beanstalk. Why we need another player like that escapes me. O'Sullivan looks good, The VFL guy Mannah from heaven looks exciting. Those picks in the 60s are... picks in the 60s. The rookie we picked up doesn't seem to be the type we are crying out for - another slow moving barge. I'd rate this draft a B-.
 
CoolCat75 said:
Did we get any value from getting 76 and 94 from Port in the Esava trade? I can’t work it out, due to there being many passes by the time we hit the picks in the 50s and 60s.


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Click to expand...
The way I see it 76 and 94 effectively became 58 and 63

58 got us George Stevens and 63 Oli Wiltshire - so yeah they enabled us to hold picks that moved up 18 to 20 spots.

So while it seemed frivolous at the time, its given us options at the back end of the draft.

And getting George Stevens at 58 that Fox had rated as pick 25.... ill take that kind of frivolous trading all day long.

GO Catters
 
dazbroncos said:
SAv was erratic due to skills and decision making unnder pressure.... this guy seems erratic based on lack of application after being the biggest kid in the game for a season or 2. Will see if the last chance saloon switch thats been flicked makes a difference.

GO Catters
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AFL Rookie Draft 2023: All the news and every selection​

A former Hawthorn forward looks to be in the frame to replace Esava Ratugolea at the Cats after the rookie draft. Check out every pick and which state league stars will get their chance.

Recycled Hawthorn forward Emerson Jeka looms as Geelong’s replacement for Esava Ratugolea and his former coach says the new rookie will be a “steal” if played in defence.
Jeka, 22, was taken by Geelong with the seventh pick in Wednesday’s rookie draft, crossing between rivals after seven games as a forward for the Hawks.

Ratugolea was moved down back in late 2022 and played 16 AFL games there this year before being traded to Port Adelaide.

With Ratugolea gone, Geelong’s depth for genuine tall defenders behind Sam De Koning and Jack Henry was limited to draftee Connor O’Sullivan.

Jeka was largely played upfront by the Hawks and in the VFL with Box Hill, but 2022 Box Hill coach Clint Proctor said the 198cm tall would be a gem down back.

“He is more than capable and ready body wise, he is a ready-made player for sure,” Proctor said.

“(If played in defence) they have got a steal, he will be a great player for them. In my opinion he will be a great defender and a good player, he just didn’t get the chance at Hawthorn.

“If he gets the right environment in terms of development and the opportunity to play down back, I think he can thrive there.”

Proctor was Box Hill’s forwards coach in 2021, when Jeka averaged 2.9 goals per game.

But a shift midway through a match in 2022 opened the coach’s eyes to Jeka’s potential down back.

The tall enjoyed some dominant marking VFL games this year, taking 11 grabs and five intercept marks against Richmond and four intercept grabs against Werribee.

“We were struggling in the back half and it was a rough day for a key forward … we needed a bit of drive off half-back and Emerson went down there and he actually turned the match,” Proctor said.

“After that he probably turned our season around a little bit and gave us a point of difference down back. He can use both feet, really skilful and an excellent intercept marker.”

Because of his ability to intercept and launch a quick rebound, Proctor compared Jeka’s game to All-Australian dominant defenders James Sicily and Tom Stewart.

Jeka was the third tall taken by Geelong in this week of drafting, after O’Sullivan and ruck Mitch Edwards.
 
D BRIDGE said:
Jeka is very "meh"... But it's the rookie draft so it's no big deal.

Personally I'd rather take a young kid.

Wells has clearly not rated the 18 year olds in this draft though and that's fair enough.
Click to expand...

I can sort of see your point. Im sure there are 18 year olds that have missed out. Rudd for example. Im sure there are others. How long before they would be ready to play? Maybe a year or two in the VFL etc for them and they are closer to being ready.

Jeka .is a guy who has been in the system , he is 22 which means he is only now on the cusp of being ready to play well as a KPP. No cost lets see wht he can offer. IF it doesnt work out... no real loss.
 
terry_bright said:
good luck to Jeka, but he has the feel of being a Crameri mkII
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Personally id say he doesnt remind me of Cramerii. He was 29 and was cooked physically when he came to Geelong.Hopefully Jeka is just coming into the right age to show if he can become a player.

The question for me is ...why did the Hawks drop him?
 
CatToTheFuture said:
Probably not in reality but on paper I think it gave us Humphrey
Click to expand...

The port picks were technically stevens and humphrey but if we didnt have those picks we would have got the same players with later picks coming in anyway as everyone else was passing.
 
B+/A- for me. Only “fault” I had was I was hoping to pick up either Hastie, Freijah or Roberts as a line breaking half back, outside wingman and small defender. Thought all 3 had talent and were worthy of selection. But you can’t pick everyone and I’m happy with our selections. Time will tell whether any of those 3 should have been more closely considered.
 
geelong_crazy26 said:
Spoke to my friend Brielfy who works at the club... I asked about who they were after with their first pick, the answer was Daniel Curtain, but adelaide trumped us.. Our next target we rated highly and were very happy with was COS. Had no interest in caddy so happily took the deal without fuss from essendon.

Asked also who do you think will come on next season and he said i will let you know in 3-4 weeks time once they get a look at them on the track.. But atm his early horse he is backing is knevitt.
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Dude has size and can get on his bike when he needs to, good choice for breakout player.

Would love to hear their thoughts on Conway? Is he ready to take starting ruck role?
Make sure you keep us all up to date when you hear more!
 

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Finknottle said:
I agree, Edwards is a 206cm beanstalk. Why we need another player like that escapes me. O'Sullivan looks good, The VFL guy Mannah from heaven looks exciting. Those picks in the 60s are... picks in the 60s. The rookie we picked up doesn't seem to be the type we are crying out for - another slow moving barge. I'd rate this draft a B-.
Click to expand...
I definitely want to qualify to say we played a C grade hand to get a B grade result
 
Warhorse said:
How does everyone rate our draft. I would give it a B+ or A-.

Love the 1st two picks. I though we went Mannagh a bit to early but have come around to the idea.

I really wanted Lual as a lock down small defender and Roberts who I really rate. I would have traded in to grab one. Other than that a good draft.

They all seem like absolute quality people as well. 👌
Click to expand...
Pretty happy. At the end of the season hoped that our draft position would allow us to get one of the top tier midfielders. When it became clear that wasn't going to happen, glad we shifted to a slightly different approach rather than reaching for a lower rated prospect. Mannagh hopefully provides a new dimension in the senior midfield; Jeka is cover; everyone else is for the future.
 
dangerwood said:
You'd have to say Aaron Black, at least from a VFL perspective (probably AFL too). The correct answer is Brent Grgic.
Click to expand...
Disagree, it's Marcus Drum.
 
This may have already been posted:

FROM FOX FOOTY

SLIDER: George Stevens (Pick 58, Geelong Cats)... AND TWO BOLTERS: Oliver Wiltshire (Pick 61, Geelong Cats) and Lawson Humphries (Pick 63, Geelong Cats)

The Cats did Cats things. As they always do.

Along with taking 26-year-old VFL gun Shaun Mannagh, the 2022 premiers pulled a series of late surprises, first jumping on one of the big sliders in Stevens.

Another one of the major sliders on the night saw Stevens fall all the way to Pick 58.

The 189cm midfielder was a standout for Vic Country across the carnival and starred for the Rebels in the Coates Talent League, averaging a whopping 29 disposals, five tackles and five inside 50. He also finished third in the Morrish medal voting and was named captain of the league’s team of the year.

The concern that dropped him down the order was his running ability - but it was still a surprise to see the prospect ranked No.27 by the Fox Sports Lab nearly missing out entirely.

“I’m just amazed he’s still here to be quite honest. I think he’s an inspired choice, this boy makes great decisions when he gets the ball in hand and he can win his own football as well,” Fox Footy draft guru Kevin Sheehan said.

“That’s a great pickup for the Cats.”

Stevens also played a handful of games for Geelong’s VFL side including picking up 28 disposals and 10 contested possessions against Collingwood.


“Spoke about Archie Roberts, throw (Stevens) in the same category, that’s just thieving now! Incredible. I saw some of his games for Geelong in the VFL, particularly against Collingwood, he looked like an AFL player,” Mick Ablett added.

“I liken him a bit to Ollie Wines, he just loves it, he gets in and he’s got the weight to throw around. I think he’ll get a little bit leaner, so he can cover the ground at AFL level.

“He’s a leader in captaining Australia and has unbelievable work ethic. A team of the year player at Coates League level in the engine room ... someone I think will have a long future and someone we’ll look back on in amazement as to how he slipped that far.”

After Stevens, the Cats went the other way, pulling two trademark Stephen Wells surprises.

The first was 21-year-old local footy talent Oliver Wiltshire, a former Geelong Falcons prospect who ended up plying his trade at Barwon Heads, now bringing his goalkicking midfield prowess to the local AFL club.

But at least Wiltshire had been briefly spoken about in the lead-up to the draft - very few had heard of Lawson Humphries, a 20-year-old midfielder from Swan Districts who played across the WAFL and WAFL reserves levels in 2023.

Knowing the Cats’ track record, one of them will be an All-Australian in two years’ time.
 
Sticksman said:
This may have already been posted:

FROM FOX FOOTY

SLIDER: George Stevens (Pick 58, Geelong Cats)... AND TWO BOLTERS: Oliver Wiltshire (Pick 61, Geelong Cats) and Lawson Humphries (Pick 63, Geelong Cats)

The Cats did Cats things. As they always do.

Along with taking 26-year-old VFL gun Shaun Mannagh, the 2022 premiers pulled a series of late surprises, first jumping on one of the big sliders in Stevens.

Another one of the major sliders on the night saw Stevens fall all the way to Pick 58.

The 189cm midfielder was a standout for Vic Country across the carnival and starred for the Rebels in the Coates Talent League, averaging a whopping 29 disposals, five tackles and five inside 50. He also finished third in the Morrish medal voting and was named captain of the league’s team of the year.

The concern that dropped him down the order was his running ability - but it was still a surprise to see the prospect ranked No.27 by the Fox Sports Lab nearly missing out entirely.

“I’m just amazed he’s still here to be quite honest. I think he’s an inspired choice, this boy makes great decisions when he gets the ball in hand and he can win his own football as well,” Fox Footy draft guru Kevin Sheehan said.

“That’s a great pickup for the Cats.”

Stevens also played a handful of games for Geelong’s VFL side including picking up 28 disposals and 10 contested possessions against Collingwood.


“Spoke about Archie Roberts, throw (Stevens) in the same category, that’s just thieving now! Incredible. I saw some of his games for Geelong in the VFL, particularly against Collingwood, he looked like an AFL player,” Mick Ablett added.

“I liken him a bit to Ollie Wines, he just loves it, he gets in and he’s got the weight to throw around. I think he’ll get a little bit leaner, so he can cover the ground at AFL level.

“He’s a leader in captaining Australia and has unbelievable work ethic. A team of the year player at Coates League level in the engine room ... someone I think will have a long future and someone we’ll look back on in amazement as to how he slipped that far.”

After Stevens, the Cats went the other way, pulling two trademark Stephen Wells surprises.

The first was 21-year-old local footy talent Oliver Wiltshire, a former Geelong Falcons prospect who ended up plying his trade at Barwon Heads, now bringing his goalkicking midfield prowess to the local AFL club.

But at least Wiltshire had been briefly spoken about in the lead-up to the draft - very few had heard of Lawson Humphries, a 20-year-old midfielder from Swan Districts who played across the WAFL and WAFL reserves levels in 2023.

Knowing the Cats’ track record, one of them will be an All-Australian in two years’ time.
Click to expand...

"And as Stephen Wells slept soundly in his bed, all other 17 teams scouts and list managers clenched their fists and slammed their tables in anger that once again Geelong found another AA Gem at the back of the draft"

That would be a great way to tie off that article LOL
 
Loved this draft.
Not many of our own BG draft pundits got close to seeing where Wells&Mack would go.
We got 2 players that i thought we'd look closely at.
COS and Big George. Two Big :whitecheck::whitecheck:.
COS seems the perfect fit for us.
Can play back mid forward. Might be the back pillar we are looking for to team up with SDK.
MVP quality in the carnival says plenty. Character Leadership are Big ticks.
George Stevens. The Big Mid Beast with a footy IQ. Adds some serious muscle in the middle.
Query surrounds his speed and tank. Rightly so. But the guy is a footballer.
Character & Leadership in spades.
This will be a shrewd pick for me. LOVE HIM.
Big Mitch Edwards was the biggest blindside that no one saw coming.
Great get.
Stanley is done. Conway is 21 hoping to get through his first full season.
And acquired a Furhy.
Edwards comes into calculations in 2026 when he turns 20-21.
Perfect another BIG :whitecheck:.
Shaun Mannagh. What can i say, didn't see it coming. But when you look past his age.
He would have been taken by almost every side in the comp.
Plug & play in 2024. We must still think that window is still slightly ajar.
Olie Wiltshire. Spoken about by a few blokes on here.
Local left field sleeper. Great throw at the stumps.
The talent scouts saw enough of him to rate him.
Add another 5 kgs to that frame and we might has acquired a really good role player or indeed a key cog.
Lawson Humphries.
Love this bloke. The more i watched and read what and where he has come from.
Had shown enough for our boys to take a punt on a 200-1 long shot.
Fingers crossed he adds value to our VFL squad in 2024 with hope he takes the extra 1 or steps needed.
Last but not least.
Emerson Jeka
Must of convinced Wells Mack and Co. that a second chance was indeed on the cards.
Some blokes sometimes need it or require it.
Maybe just maybe his 2nd chance might just jolt that penny to finally drop.
I do not worry care or speculate on who or what could have been as it is a waste of time.
We have 7 new faces walking into our home.
Work hard, bums down, heads up and enjoy the journey.
Welcome boys and the best of luck.
 
Last edited:
Gee Class Loco said:
Loved this draft.
Not many of our own BG draft pundits got close to seeing where Wells&Mack would go.
We got 2 players that i thought we'd look closely at.
COS and Big George. Two Big :whitecheck::whitecheck:.
COS seems the perfect fit for us.
Can play back mid forward. Might be the back pillar we are looking for to team up with SDK.
MVP quality in the carnival says plenty. Character Leadership are Big ticks.
George Stevens. The Big Mid Beast with a footy IQ. Adds some serious muscle in the middle.
Query surrounds his speed and tank. Rightly so. But the guy is a footballer.
Character & Leadership in spades.
This will be a shrewd pick for me. LOVE HIM.
Big Mitch Edwards was the biggest blindside that no one saw coming.
Great get.
Stanley is done. Conway is 21 hoping to get through his first full season.
And acquired a Furhy.
Edwards comes into calculations in 2026 when he turns 20-21.
Perfect another BIG :whitecheck:.
Shaun Mannagh. What can i say, didn't see it coming. But when you look past his age.
He would have been taken by almost every side in the comp.
Plug & play in 2024. We must still think that window is still slightly ajar.
Olie Wiltshire. Spoken about by a few blokes on here.
Local left field sleeper. Great throw at the stumps.
The talent scouts saw enough of him to rate him.
Add another 5 kgs to that frame and we might has acquired a really good role player or indeed a key cog.
Lawson Humphries.
Love this bloke. The more i watched and read what and where he has come from.
Had shown enough for our boys to take a punt on a 200-1 long shot.
Fingers crossed he adds value to our VFL squad in 2024 with hope he takes the extra 1 or steps needed.
Last but not least.
Emerson Jeka
Must of convinced Wells Mack and Co. that a second chance was indeed on the cards.
Some blokes sometimes need it or require it.
Maybe just maybe his 2nd chance might just jolt that penny to finally drop.
I do not worry care or speculate on who or what could have been as it is a waste of time.
We have 7 new faces walking into our home.
Work hard, bums down, heads up and enjoy the journey.
Welcome boys and the best of luck.
Click to expand...
I personally was on COS bandwagon months ago so nailed that one but as for the others i was way off and i'll be the first to admit it lol
 
Warhorse said:
How does everyone rate our draft. I would give it a B+ or A-.

Love the 1st two picks. I though we went Mannagh a bit to early but have come around to the idea.

I really wanted Lual as a lock down small defender and Roberts who I really rate. I would have traded in to grab one. Other than that a good draft.

They all seem like absolute quality people as well. 👌
Click to expand...

I tried specifically not to get wrapped in names or individuals. Let Wells be wells .. and on him and his teams head be it.

I like we have loaded up up with talls. It was due.. it probably look a little out of balance but it rebalances the list a bit imo. We now have two young KPD , 2 strong young ruck ... we added a rookie B ruck and have two talls already on our list. For the first time ina long time ..I dont feel like we are under the gun for those roles... but they will take time. Perhaps our KPF's are still lacking. We probably lack that young gun forward ..like we had with a young Hawkins. The lack of options depending on the year can be random... so we probably have to target someone next year or the year after. Im confident that both our early talls will develop into good or better AFL players. I think COS is a 200 game type player.. At worst Edwards will have a good resale

How good this draft is will depend on how good is our late picks. Can Mannagh give us 50 plus games. In a draft that was considered thin.. my bet is he is ripe to play now till he is 30. The only question is his quality. Can Stevens? He will need to trim a bit. 107kgs is equal heaviest in thsi draft. At his size ..id think he should be Dangerfield weight and size. That will come. Can our dice rolls become players. IF we get one win from the two late picks its probably a brilliant use of late picks. As it stands there is not one player I think we have been reckless in over looking. Time will confirm the accuracy of that

I rate this draft a :thumbsu:
 
Does Edwards remind anyone here of Port’s Todd Marshall? Apparently Edwards ran a 3 sec 20m so he’s got toe for a 206cm player. If he can be developed as a key forward who rucks in the forward 50 we’ve had a massive win.
 
I kind of look at it this way.

At the end of the H&W season, we had the following;
  1. Sav (a 25yo marking key back who’s shown flashes but needs work) requesting a trade
  2. Rumoured interest in Sean Darcy - 203cm 25yo ruckman.
  3. Rumoured interest in Ollie Wines - 190cm, 99kg, 29yo slow midfielder to help win clearances
  4. Rumoured interest in Bailey Smith - damaging mid/fwd
  5. Pick 7 to take best available young talent
  6. Pick 82 for 1 x Wells special
By the end of the trade and draft period we secured
  1. Jeka - 22yo marking key back who’s shown flashes but needs work
  2. Edwards - 206cm 18yo ruckman
  3. Stevens - 189cm, 101kg, slow midfielder to help win clearances (probs won't win a brownlow, but neither will Wines in the next 6 years)
  4. Mannagh - damaging mid/fwd in a good age bracket
  5. COS - defensive pillar for 10+ years, with great endurance who can play midfield (cough Blics)
  6. 2 x Wells specials
Plus we retained all 2024 draft picks to have a red hot crack at Bailey Smith and possibly find a ‘dashing defender’ via trade or draft.

All round not a bad job by Mackie & Wells. The bigger test will be next year.
 
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