Player Watch 2023 AFL Draft Pool Discussion Thread

[Strapping Young Lad]

Same rule applies to this thread as other years, keep it on topic about the kids.
Don’t get bogged down on what other teams might do or where they will finish.

Trade speculation belongs here.
That's also where you can discuss your mock drafts or pick trades.

Any McCabe, Dear or Maginness talk belongs here.

 

[cryptor]

If we’re counting aerobic improvement as physical development then that does offer Watson a lot of room to grow too. It could allow him to play midfield and if the one infamous taste we’ve had of that is anything to go by then he could potentially in time be an even better Lachie Neale.

 

[smish]

Yes we would have. Of all the top draftees Duursma has the most scope for improvement to come from physical development.

Watson and Sanders in particular have limited improvement left physically, given their respective sizes and physical profiles. It doesn't really matter though, given they were able to have an immediate impact (obviously Watson in particular).

Edit: it won't matter if Sanders or Curtin do become better players than Watson in the long run, as Watson is going to be an elite small forward from now until he retires. So it is not as if we'd have been missing out on someone special. We aren't going to regret the decision to draft him.

Good point, I must admit I was concerned about Watson’s scope for development.

Something still doesn’t sit right with Duursma for me - doesn’t appear to have the intangibles.

 

[Blackhawk42]

Something still doesn’t sit right with Duursma for me - doesn’t appear to have the intangibles.

His scope is basically somewhere between Will Hoskin-Elliot and a more athletic Jack Reiwoldt for me.

Definitely the most uncertain of the top end of this draft, but could also easily end up as one of the best considering his natural ability and athleticism.

 

[HawthornHawk]

Fair point. I’m not sure it will translate to consistent output at league level, especially enough to justify picking him over Watson, Sander, Curtin.

Having said that, by all reports we would have still taken him over Watson have we had the chance. Funny how these things work out.

They made the pick hoping that in 5 years time Duursma will be Nat Fyfe with better foot skills.

In hindsight I would have thought that Watson would have been perfect for them. Plays hard every week, it's a position they're thin at, he'll reach his ceiling pretty quickly and his mentor is a club legend of theirs.