Resource 2024 AFL Draft discussion thread

[Mutineer]

Might take a few years to get to AFL midfield standard, but once he does he’s going to be a beast

In the meantime he'd be a 25 -30 goal Midfielder/Forward with his exceptional hops and overhead marking..

 

[Mutineer]

Bicks - how big is this Lalor kid - he looks like a giant in the video but he might just be a man child and lose that advantage when playing men. Is he as tall as Patrick Cripps for example?

187cm and still growing

 

[Danger in Texas]

In the meantime he'd be a 25 -30 goal Midfielder/Forward with his exceptional hops and overhead marking..

Yep agreed, should take the JDG/Petracca career path

 

[jimvic]

187cm and still growing

I guess once all the testing is done we will learn how fast he is - looked a little slow when compared to others in the midfield, but is certainly a unit

 

[Mutineer]

I guess once all the testing is done we will learn how fast he is - looked a little slow when compared to others in the midfield, but is certainly a unit

He's not slow, I think you're confusing composure with slow somehow. He actually has good burst speed from stoppages when fully fit.

 

[jimvic]

He's not slow, I think you're confusing composure with slow somehow. He actually has good burst speed from stoppages when fully fit.

no worries - maybe he is still on the recovery road

 

[Dewy006]

Lalor does seem to tick a lot of boxes, would add a dimension to our midfield that it really lacks.

Sort of player I had hoped Pedlar would turn into tbh. Dynamic and powerful fwd/mid who kicks goals. I’ve kinda quietly sold all my Pedlar Stock.

 

[huludicidal]

Not sure where this myth has come from. Smilie was the dominant player in the Coates league through the first half of the year - so much so that he became the only consensus #1 pick this draft has had. That cooled after he had an ok but not outstanding championships but he probably still leads the U18 comp B&F.

Wouldn't be my first choice - I'm not as obsessed with giant mids are some are - but having a pretty good year.

Smillie was universally rated a top 2 pick at the end of last season, and like you said, the consensus number 1 pick by the time the champs started.

Now he’s not rated top 5 by many at all.

That’s called regression in your draft year. It isn’t a myth. It’s objective fact.

 

[Crow till I die]

Get excited people if we have the chance to draft this lad

 

[Ticktak]

187cm and still growing

How would you know if he’s still growing! Stupid comment.

 

[Jeffcrowe]

Looks like a lumbering/slow mid with average disposal, who dominates because his peers are smaller than him. It’s a big, big no from me. Not a need either. We need burst/line breaking mids.

Wow ..interesting analysis

I reckon he has one of highest ceilings in draft , lots of dusty martin in his game

He’s powerful and he is able to go forward and has beautiful timing with his marking , a lovely kick normally too . Couple of errors there in that game doesn’t change that

 

[Jeffcrowe]

How would you know if he’s still growing! Stupid comment.

If he has grown lately , trust me mutineer would know

He likes the guy

 

[Mutineer]

How would you know if he’s still growing! Stupid comment.

Because less than 18 months ago he was 185cm that's how. He was 187cm at the preseason measuring and will be measured again at the upcoming draft combine.

 

[Mutineer]

Wow ..interesting analysis

I reckon he has one of highest ceilings in draft , lots of dusty martin in his game

He’s powerful and he is able to go forward and has beautiful timing with his marking , a lovely kick normally too . Couple of errors there in that game doesn’t change that

I pretty sure that was a reference to Josh Smillie, at least I hope it was?

 

[Captain Furious]

Smillie was universally rated a top 2 pick at the end of last season, and like you said, the consensus number 1 pick by the time the champs started.

Now he’s not rated top 5 by many at all.

That’s called regression in your draft year. It isn’t a myth. It’s objective fact.

‘Universally rated top 2 pick’. Ok mate. Show me some evidence of that. He was in the group of players to watch. Still in Cal Twomey’s top 5 despite a drop off in form after illness.

Jeez people are rough on these kids.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Smilie’s still a very good prospect, tall, powerful, great in close and athletic for his size, moreso than Langford. Has tailed off as the season’s gone on, which you don’t love to see, but he started like a house on fire so it’s hard to be too down on him

I have my preferences, but any of Draper/FOS/Lalor/Smillie would make me happy. Smith too to an extent, though he’s more similar to what we already have

 

[StonesThrow]

average disposals per game across his 10 games i.e, 251 disposals / 10 games surely you understand that.

Did you know that the number 35 equals 350 divided by 10? Surely you knew that

 

[huludicidal]

‘Universally rated top 2 pick’. Ok mate. Show me some evidence of that. He was in the group of players to watch. Still in Cal Twomey’s top 5 despite a drop off in form after illness.

Jeez people are rough on these kids.

You said yourself he was the consensus number 1 pick a few months ago. All I’m saying is that he’s not now, which is the definition of regression. Did you watch any of his carnival games? I did, and honestly he wasn’t even a top 5 player on his own team, and you’ll struggle to find anyone who thinks that he was. There was no known illness or injury that impacted him at the carnival (unlike Draper and O’Sullivan who were hampered at that time, with O’Sullivan still struggling to shake injuries now). It was surprising. He’s had an illness since. Maybe Smillie finishes the season really strongly and vaults back up to that top 4 mix? Not sure.

Is Smillie still a really good AFL prospect? Absolutely. I still think he deserves to go top 10.

Is the history of players who have gone from “consensus number 1 pick” in May-June of their draft year to “pick 5-10 when the draft rolls around” very pretty? No, it’s not. Doesn’t mean he can’t break that trend, but it’s a trend.

If we had pick 8-10, I’d be perfectly happy to pull the trigger and see if he could become a Tom Green type.

At pick 4, it’s a no from me in favour of any of Draper, Smith or Lalor, especially on a playing list that already contains Dawson and Curtin.

 

[Danger in Texas]

You said yourself he was the consensus number 1 pick a few months ago. All I’m saying is that he’s not now, which is the definition of regression. Did you watch any of his carnival games? I did, and honestly he wasn’t even a top 5 player on his own team, and you’ll struggle to find anyone who thinks that he was. There was no known illness or injury that impacted him at the carnival (unlike Draper and O’Sullivan who were hampered at that time, with O’Sullivan still struggling to shake injuries now). It was surprising. He’s had an illness since. Maybe Smillie finishes the season really strongly and vaults back up to that top 4 mix? Not sure.

Is Smillie still a really good AFL prospect? Absolutely. I still think he deserves to go top 10.

Is the history of players who have gone from “consensus number 1 pick” in May-June of their draft year to “pick 5-10 when the draft rolls around” very pretty? No, it’s not. Doesn’t mean he can’t break that trend, but it’s a trend.

If we had pick 8-10, I’d be perfectly happy to pull the trigger and see if he could become a Tom Green type.

At pick 4, it’s a no from me in favour of any of Draper, Smith or Lalor, especially on a playing list that already contains Dawson and Curtin.

Smillie is definitely a different type of player to Dawson/Curtin, neither are (or IMO in Curtin’s case, will ever be) top tier extractors. Like you say, the hope would be that he becomes Tom Green-esque, which is still a dynamic our midfield doesn’t yet have (especially post-Crouch)

My main concern is that he doesn’t seem to be a super hard worker defensively. Hopefully this would be coached into him, potentially as he adds bulk to his frame and increases his endurance

Would I prefer Lalor or Draper? Sure. But Draper’s likely off the board anyway, and I think Smillie provides enough of a point of difference to be excited about what he could bring to the club

 

[Crowman32]

Smillie reminds me a bit of ex fremantle player david mundy

16

David Mundy

Age

39

Ht

192cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

23.1

5star

K

11.2

4star

HB

11.8

5star

M

3.6

4star

T

4.3

5star

CL

5.1

5star

D

15.7

4star

K

6.7

3star

HB

9.0

4star

M

2.3

2star

T

2.7

4star

CL

3.7

5star

D

27.8

5star

K

15.4

5star

HB

12.4

5star

M

5.8

5star

T

6.2

5star

CL

7.2

5star

.

 

[huludicidal]

Smillie is definitely a different type of player to Dawson/Curtin, neither are (or IMO in Curtin’s case, will ever be) top tier extractors. Like you say, the hope would be that he becomes Tom Green-esque, which is still a dynamic our midfield doesn’t yet have (especially post-Crouch)

My main concern is that he doesn’t seem to be a super hard worker defensively. Hopefully this would be coached into him, potentially as he adds bulk to his frame and increases his endurance

Would I prefer Lalor or Draper? Sure. But Draper’s likely off the board anyway, and I think Smillie provides enough of a point of difference to be excited about what he could bring to the club

Valid point re the extractor role post-Crouch.

I just think there’s such a thing as being “too big” through the midfield, and that we need someone with either explosive pace or a lower centre of gravity with this extremely coveted top 5 pick.

I’d be interested to see Smillie’s combine testing results - to the naked eye he certainly doesn’t look to be overly quick.

One of Lalor or Draper is all but guaranteed to get to us at this point. That’s the guy for us IMO.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Valid point re the extractor role post-Crouch.

I just think there’s such a thing as being “too big” through the midfield, and that we need someone with either explosive pace or a lower centre of gravity with this extremely coveted top 5 pick.

I’d be interested to see Smillie’s combine testing results - to the naked eye he certainly doesn’t look to be overly quick.

One of Lalor or Draper is all but guaranteed to get to us at this point. That’s the guy for us IMO.

Fair enough points, Draper/Lalor certainly would provide the biggest POD

Re: Smillie’s athleticism, I agree he’s not quick or pacy, but he’s a sneaky athletic type IMO. Reckon he generally moves a lot easier at his size than, say, Langford does

But yes, combine results will be interesting to see, too

 

[huludicidal]

Fair enough points, Draper/Lalor certainly would provide the biggest POD

Re: Smillie’s athleticism, I agree he’s not quick or pacy, but he’s a sneaky athletic type IMO. Reckon he generally moves a lot easier at his size than, say, Langford does

But yes, combine results will be interesting to see, too

I’m very low on Langford for that reason (although I find it slightly difficult to rank players without a crows hat on so maybe the horrid list fit that Langford would be for us skews this). I’d rather Joe Berry than Langford, and it’s not particularly close. And Berry isn’t a top 8 player in this draft.

 

[FR0GGY]

Get excited people if we have the chance to draft this lad

“Slams it on the boot” sounds perfect for us!

 

[Trigger13]

Wow ..interesting analysis

I reckon he has one of highest ceilings in draft , lots of dusty martin in his game

He’s powerful and he is able to go forward and has beautiful timing with his marking , a lovely kick normally too . Couple of errors there in that game doesn’t change that

are we talking about the same player? Smillie?

I’ll take your word for it. I’m going on more limited viewing than you prob are.