Resource 2024 AFL Draft discussion thread

[Crow_68]

Who are some of the players people think we shouldn't draft with our first pick?

I’m not keen on Smillie, unsure about O’Sullivan.

Preference would be
1. Draper
2. Lalor
3. Smith
4. Langford

 

[huludicidal]

Langford looks a really suitable prospect. Has good size, good disposal, moves well. What's the knock? Accumulation?

Lack of speed and agility is the knock. If Langford had Draper’s speed and agility he’d easily be a top 5 pick. Because he lacks that sort of athleticism, he probably drops to that 11-16 type range.

 

[huludicidal]

Who are some of the players people think we shouldn't draft with our first pick?

Langford - too slow, which makes him a poor list fit and a reach at pick 4-5.

Smillie - has regressed this year, and the history of mids who regress in their draft year is not pretty.

Trainor - he’s a genuine top 8 pick on talent, no doubt about it. If we take a key defender I’ll lose my mind.

Armstrong - the best key forward in the draft without a doubt and a genuine chance to go top 5. If we continue to ignore our midfield, its mind-boggling.

O’Sullivan - I sense a flight risk factor here, and you could argue that there’s been a regression this year too (although injuries have been a factor). I don’t hate this as much as any of the others I’ve listed here though.

Reid - like Langford, not the athletic profile we need and despite being a genuinely good footballer, would be a reach at pick 4-5.



This leaves Lalor, Draper and Smith as my preferred picks, with Lalor my favourite option as a real Petracca type that we just haven’t had on our list since Ricciuto.

Any of these 3 = party time though really, and we are all but guaranteed to have at least one of them available to us if we hold on to the pick.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Langford - too slow, which makes him a poor list fit and a reach at pick 4-5.

Smillie - has regressed this year, and the history of mids who regress in their draft year is not pretty.

Trainor - he’s a genuine top 8 pick on talent, no doubt about it. If we take a key defender I’ll lose my mind.

Armstrong - the best key forward in the draft without a doubt and a genuine chance to go top 5. If we continue to ignore our midfield, its mind-boggling.

O’Sullivan - I sense a flight risk factor here, and you could argue that there’s been a regression this year too (although injuries have been a factor). I don’t hate this as much as any of the others I’ve listed here though.

Reid - like Langford, not the athletic profile we need and despite being a genuinely good footballer, would be a reach at pick 4-5.



This leaves Lalor, Draper and Smith as my preferred picks, with Lalor my favourite option as a real Petracca type that we just haven’t had on our list since Ricciuto.

Any of these 3 = party time though really, and we are all but guaranteed to have at least one of them available to us if we hold on to the pick.

Lalor doesn’t necessarily have the midfield runs on the board like Draper has, but gee he could be anything

I still wouldn’t be unhappy if we ended up with Lindsay or Travaglia. Lindsay is still somehow criminally underrated, he accumulates, has good foot skills, speed/athleticism, has shown stoppage work at CTL level - not sure what’s not to like. Travaglia has an extremely high ceiling too, I think

I’m still high on Smillie too, think he still is a good chance to end up a real clearance beast, but yeah the regression isn’t ideal to see

Langford is the one I hope we stay away from

 

[Mutineer]

If I'm picking for us with our 1st pick..in order
1. Sam Lalor provided his medical assessment is OK
2. Sid Draper acceleration and agility
3. Finn O'Sullivan close to the best field kick in this draft if not the best.

 

[Crowman32]

I would be more than happy if we draft smillie, he is going to be a gun. Has good acceleration from the stoppage, accumulates plenty of the ball, good long kick and hits the scoreboard.

 

[GreyCrow]

I would be more than happy if we draft smillie, he is going to be a gun. Has good acceleration from the stoppage, accumulates plenty of the ball, good long kick and hits the scoreboard.

I dont think he will be regarded as the best pick in 5 years time

I'm a pass on him

 

[Draft Bored]

If I'm picking for us with our 1st pick..in order
1. Sam Lalor provided his medical assessment is OK
2. Sid Draper acceleration and agility
3. Finn O'Sullivan close to the best field kick in this draft if not the best.

Suits me just fine. Get Draper back from the GC in 2-3 years.

 

[Captain Furious]

Lack of speed and agility is the knock. If Langford had Draper’s speed and agility he’d easily be a top 5 pick. Because he lacks that sort of athleticism, he probably drops to that 11-16 type range.

And if Draper had Langford's marking and kicking ability he'd be top 5? Odd argument. All players can't be all things.

I'd be stunned if Langford doesn't go top 10, he probably goes top 5. He's not lightning but he's also not slow. Plays a bit like Dawson (who also isn't quick), strong overhead for a mid, kicks well. You wouldn't stack your midfield with all that type but Dawson will be near the end when Langford's career gets into gear.

I like Draper too but don't discount Langford, would be a great get. Hasn't played a bad game all season and when the quality steps up, he steps up too. Always a good sign.

 

[huludicidal]

And if Draper had Langford's marking and kicking ability he'd be top 5? Odd argument. All players can't be all things.

I'd be stunned if Langford doesn't go top 10, he probably goes top 5. He's not lightning but he's also not slow. Plays a bit like Dawson (who also isn't quick), strong overhead for a mid, kicks well. You wouldn't stack your midfield with all that type but Dawson will be near the end when Langford's career gets into gear.

I like Draper too but don't discount Langford, would be a great get. Hasn't played a bad game all season and when the quality steps up, he steps up too. Always a good sign.

I didn’t say or imply that all players can be all things. I simply said that if you injected the speed and agility of someone like Draper into Langford, you’d absolutely have a bona fide top 5 pick.

Draper is unequivocally a top 5 pick as he is, without any of Langford’s traits. He has a very nice mix of just about everything you’d want in a modern true midfielder. The only thing that might prevent some clubs from pulling the trigger on Sid is if they see him as a flight risk, or if they’re looking for a key position player.

Similarly, I don’t think anyone could argue against Jagga Smith as a top 5 player. The guy is easily the biggest ball magnet in the pool, and would probably be the safest pick in the entire draft based on his unbelievable consistency for the last couple of years.

Langford isn’t a top 5 pick in this draft IMO, and it’s due to his lack of athleticism. You’re right, there will be knocks on just about every single player in the draft pool, but when it relates to speed and agility, I just think that counts for a fair bit in 2024.

But who knows, maybe clubs see it differently - it always depends on the interviews, perceived flight risk and psych tests too. There could easily be character / attitude concerns about some of these guys that we have no idea about. I just suspect that speed is going to be a major factor in trying to split this year’s midfielder draft pool, which is full of really good players, but not full of superstars.

For me, most or all of Ashcroft, O’Sullivan, Draper, Smith, Lombard, Smillie and perhaps even Lalor will likely end up being drafted ahead of Langford (in addition to at least 1 and maybe even 2 key position players, plus perhaps Joe Berry), with Langford in that next group of mids also containing Reid, Allan and Lindsay.

Having said that; if there’s a club with a pick in the 4-10 range who feel like Langford could be a future captain, and they feel like their midfield group doesn’t necessarily lack speed as it is, then bang, they could easily pull that trigger and they’d probably have themselves a damn fine player who would vie for a Rd 1 spot in 2025.


In relation to our list balance, we already have Curtin who looks about as close to a Dawson clone as one could imagine (being 5cm taller the major difference), plus other mids who lack speed such as Crouch, Berry (plus Sholl is treacle slow for a wingman, and I wouldn’t describe either of Dowling or Taylor as being particularly zippy) which is another reason why I don’t really think Langford will be on our radar in this very even draft pool.

Personally, my favoured pick at 4-5 would be Lalor - there’s undeniable Petracca / Dusty traits there and we’ve been crying out for a player in the mould for a long, long time. Failing a Lalor pick, I’d certainly not have any issue with us picking Smith or Draper, as they’re probably both “safer” picks than Lalor (Lalor has been pretty hindered by injuries, which may or may not give recruiters Pedlar vibes).

All just opinions of course. It’s inevitable that a couple of the names mentioned above turn out to be complete duds comparative to where they’re drafted.


We haven’t gotten it right with a first round midfielder in the draft since Dangerfield in 2007, so surely we’re due. Lol.

 

[Mutineer]

And if Draper had Langford's marking and kicking ability he'd be top 5? Odd argument. All players can't be all things.

I'd be stunned if Langford doesn't go top 10, he probably goes top 5. He's not lightning but he's also not slow. Plays a bit like Dawson (who also isn't quick), strong overhead for a mid, kicks well. You wouldn't stack your midfield with all that type but Dawson will be near the end when Langford's career gets into gear.

I like Draper too but don't discount Langford, would be a great get. Hasn't played a bad game all season and when the quality steps up, he steps up too. Always a good sign.

Preseason athletic testing certainly wasn't too impressive athletically. I think all recruiters eyes will be on Harvey's Combine results with an expectation they have improved especially his speed and agility 3.213 is definitely on the slow side when looking to get separation.

189.9cm, 86.0kg

Vertical (2 feet): 61cm
Vertical R: 70cm
Vertical L: 72cm
5m: 1.210
10m: 1.949
20m: 3.213
Agility: 8.721
Yo-yo: 720

 

[Mostyn]

We seem to have gone away from the old days of using the rookie list on players with potential, to now using it for players who have already been on the list, but we can't quite delist yet.

We use it to open up list spots on the main list.

It's still adding kids, but it's getting higher potential kids earlier in the draft.

There's no real difference between the rookie and main list anymore, other than when the players were selected.

 

[119others]

Best ask Jenny?

Hamish might have to run it by our recruiting guru Phil Harper?

Bicks, you do realise Jenny has better and more regular insight with key Crows insiders than anyone else I am aware of on this board,

Why does her telling us that Harper has been involved trigger you so much? I would put my money on Jenny’s intel here

 

[Captain Furious]

Preseason athletic testing certainly wasn't too impressive athletically. I think all recruiters eyes will be on Harvey's Combine results with an expectation they have improved especially his speed and agility 3.213 is definitely on the slow side when looking to get separation.

189.9cm, 86.0kg

Vertical (2 feet): 61cm
Vertical R: 70cm
Vertical L: 72cm
5m: 1.210
10m: 1.949
20m: 3.213
Agility: 8.721
Yo-yo: 720

He's also 190cm, not expecting him to be as agile and quick as the fleet of small mids that abound in this year's draft. I like that he's strong overhead - unlike other tall mids (Cripps, Smilie) who aren't good marks, just big.

I'd still take Draper or O'Sullivan first but I think Langford will be a very good player, similar to Dawson.

 

[Mutineer]

He's also 190cm, not expecting him to be as agile and quick as the fleet of small mids that abound in this year's draft. I like that he's strong overhead - unlike other tall mids (Cripps, Smilie) who aren't good marks, just big.

I'd still take Draper or O'Sullivan first but I think Langford will be a very good player, similar to Dawson.

I highly doubt Langford will ever get close to Dawson on a skills level basis personally, sure he's decent overhead and a booming kick but not in the same ballpark precision wise more a metres gained type kicker.

All eyes will be on him at the draft combine for sure with the expectation he has improved his numbers athletically IMO.

 

[Floating Doughnut]

Trading pick 4-5 should not be an option and we secure a top rated mid so I am not spending time thinking on that.
Dodson is the one I want in our side. If I was the father of an u/18 Australian basketballer footy would be a distant second in my persuasion, at least for the first couple of years but I can’t dig any info on US Universities lined up for him.
He has trialled with the 36 er’s who have just sacked Ninnis and Maher has walked out and are looking like Melbourne.
I just re watched Dodson’s interview and do get a feel he is genuinely wanting to go the way which provides him with the most fun! He is likely to make millions playing AFL anyway and something is making me feel good about this.

 

[Captain Furious]

I highly doubt Langford will ever get close to Dawson on a skills level basis personally, sure he's decent overhead and a booming kick but not in the same ballpark precision wise more a metres gained type kicker.

All eyes will be on him at the draft combine for sure with the expectation he has improved his numbers athletically IMO.

Hilarious. Langford's way ahead of where Dawson was at the same point. Dawson was a medium forward who wasn't even invited to the combine, drafted in the 50s and barely played until his 4th season. Even when he was traded to us, he was a good not elite half back/wingman. Didn't become an elite player until 8 years into his career.

Might want to give those tea leaves a stir.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Hilarious. Langford's way ahead of where Dawson was at the same point. Dawson was a medium forward who wasn't even invited to the combine, drafted in the 50s and barely played until his 4th season. Even when he was traded to us, he was a good not elite half back/wingman. Didn't become an elite player until 8 years into his career.

Might want to give those tea leaves a stir.

Milera was also ahead of Dawson at the same point, during their draft year

I don’t really understand your point here

 

[Jeffcrowe]

Langford looks a really suitable prospect. Has good size, good disposal, moves well. What's the knock? Accumulation?

Accumulation is very high , one of biggest ball winners in draft

Knock is speed , some have a knock on his kick but I think it’s better than drapers for example and not that bad at all

Kind of looks like he’s cruising when he runs , you could call it composure though

 

[Jeffcrowe]

Lalor doesn’t necessarily have the midfield runs on the board like Draper has, but gee he could be anything

I still wouldn’t be unhappy if we ended up with Lindsay or Travaglia. Lindsay is still somehow criminally underrated, he accumulates, has good foot skills, speed/athleticism, has shown stoppage work at CTL level - not sure what’s not to like. Travaglia has an extremely high ceiling too, I think

I’m still high on Smillie too, think he still is a good chance to end up a real clearance beast, but yeah the regression isn’t ideal to see

Langford is the one I hope we stay away from

Travaglia is probably my top pick

Then a bunch including Draper Lalor FOS and Langford where I think it more likely lands

Was huge Smillie fan , cooling a bit but gee if we got him and got best out of him he would be something

 

[Betts are off]

I watched a bit of Lalor after Sensitive Crow gave him a shout on Here We Crow.

Lot to like in that kid. Could be the exact type of explosive rotation we need to round out our young midfield group. Would be happy to take him at 4

 

[Jeffcrowe]

I watched a bit of Lalor after Sensitive Crow gave him a shout on Here We Crow.

Lot to like in that kid. Could be the exact type of explosive rotation we need to round out our young midfield group. Would be happy to take him at 4

Yeah agree

Would like to see one or more big games in Coates league as mid before end of year

Already can tell he’s great when he rests forward

 

[Captain Furious]

Milera was also ahead of Dawson at the same point, during their draft year

I don’t really understand your point here

Read the post I replied to for context.

 

[Betts are off]

Yeah agree

Would like to see one or more big games in Coates league as mid before end of year

Already can tell he’s great when he rests forward

TBH I'm hoping he goes a little quiet to round out the year. Don't really want to see a late charge up the draft boards into the top 3

 

[Bevoman]

I would be more than happy if we draft smillie, he is going to be a gun. Has good acceleration from the stoppage, accumulates plenty of the ball, good long kick and hits the scoreboard.

going to be a gun?
Is Smilie off to the Asian war