2024 Draft Thread.

[MightySaint]

Langford's footage from the underage games doesn't match the slow narrative. However, he looked genuinely slow in the VFL match. Hard one to read.
Not sure where the poor kicking is coming from. Looked pretty good from what has been highlighted. Certainly has a lot of power and penetration in his kicking.

 

[akaifu]

A bit confused akaifu if Smillie and Langford were your picks, and Langford is objectively slow, would that not also apply to Smillie? Also you sort of ruled out Reid because he is not quick and considering it would make our team decidedly slower including the mids, why would you go for these two.
Genuine question.
Someone felt Langford had no athletic traits. One thing Lyon insists on is a team that runs and runs and runs all day. He has constantly said the team that has the most run invariably wins the flag (from the finalists).
Our current team fits that requirement. We run out games, only Sydney, the minor premier have won more 4th quarters than the Saints. Now that is only one stat, however it is significant.

So with all that in mind, the direction that Lyon wants the team to go and the choices probably at 7 and 8 (if band 1) would probably not have two relatively slow selections.
On reflection even my posts above selecting Reid and Langford is probably not ideal either if Langford has no athletic traits as someone pointed out, and Reid is too slow for our already one paced midfield.

The problem with Reid is that he is slow AND 'unpowerful'. We need someone who can break out of stoppage clearance - Reid hasn't shown a capacity to do that

Smillie not only is best available but he is massive and breaks tackles for fun. He's actually relatively quick for his size too, so combine those two attributes and you have someone who can genuinely turn games with the way he causes havoc in the contest - like Owens

As I explained earlier, there's a difference between being Reid's slow and Langford's slow. Reid doesn't run with the ball, he always looks to hand it off to the outside runners. We have too many of those types. We need guys who have a balance, and Langford at least has that because he is confident enough to break away from stoppage with his legs

Your point about athleticism is right, but I think it's more focused on aerobic capacity rather than genuine leg speed. Idk Langford's time trial ranks but from eye test he looks like he could run all day with the way he plays and his ability to get 30+ disposals with that sort of running game style he possesses

 

[akaifu]

Langford's footage from the underage games doesn't match the slow narrative. However, he looked genuinely slow in the VFL match. Hard one to read.
Not sure where the poor kicking is coming from. Looked pretty good from what has been highlighted. Certainly has a lot of power and penetration in his kicking.

It's exactly my point. VFL is much faster than U18s so Langford doesn't have as much room to just run out of the front of a stoppage without being caught early

He looks fast in U18s because its low pressure and way less structured in the contest so he's able to break away very easily as long as he backs himself. VFL and AFL teams won't allow that sort of room to manouvre, so he'll have to develop other running patterns to make up for the lack of speed. I am still a fan of his big frame at 190cm though

Worst case scenario he becomes a Blake Acres type winger which is not a bad floor for a pick 9. Upside is obviously he becomes Bont haha

 

[ScrappyDo]

I’ve not really got a fondness for Lalor.. he’s powerfully built but the vision doesn’t sell me. Lacks damage by foot and does seem to be somewhat of a man playing against boys. He seems to exit the stoppage either laterally or from the defensive side which can be a bit negative from a territory perspective (but this can be educated and developed)
He’s one that I’d have loved to see some VFL footy.
My two main question marks are his scope for development and the consistency of his kicking.

I really like the look of Langford from his champs work, and think Travaglia develops in the an All Australian calibre footballer.

I pretty much agree with that assessment, but really we can't tell more than 10% of what the recruiters know. I can see merit in all 3 and would be happy to trade a F1st to get all 3 if the opportunity presented itself.
IMO it's less about the individual's characteristics and more about the midfield as a whole, and who best complements our existing group.
Langford for me is 1st preference.
Travaglia, and whatever we have to do to get Hynes after that.
Trainor is passing us bye but looks a gun and l wouldn't be upset if we landed him. His skill and follow up work is exceptional for a tall and we may just pick him on talent in the end.

 

[SteeleSaints]

A bit confused akaifu if Smillie and Langford were your picks, and Langford is objectively slow, would that not also apply to Smillie? Also you sort of ruled out Reid because he is not quick and considering it would make our team decidedly slower including the mids, why would you go for these two.
Genuine question.
Someone felt Langford had no athletic traits. One thing Lyon insists on is a team that runs and runs and runs all day. He has constantly said the team that has the most run invariably wins the flag (from the finalists).
Our current team fits that requirement. We run out games, only Sydney, the minor premier have won more 4th quarters than the Saints. Now that is only one stat, however it is significant.

So with all that in mind, the direction that Lyon wants the team to go and the choices probably at 7 and 8 (if band 1) would probably not have two relatively slow selections.
On reflection even my posts above selecting Reid and Langford is probably not ideal either if Langford has no athletic traits as someone pointed out, and Reid is too slow for our already one paced midfield.

Smillie to me is just a stand and deliver player there is very little run and carry in his game. I wouldnt rate him in the top 10 and was really surprised so many rated him as the No 1 option after his few very early games. Langford does drive with his legs if there are no obvious outlets he is very creative with his inside handballing similiarly to Murphy. I put Langford ahead of Murphy because everything he does is take the ball forward, Murphy tends to crab sideways and backwards too often for me. Langford is just behind Hynes as far as effectiveness when resting forward, but is in front of Murphy and Smillie in that aspect also.

 

[Joffaboy]

TBF I have always had a bit of a hard on for Smillie, maybe its the Cripps, Bont thing but a 194 cm mid would have me drooling if he can build a tank and not drift in and out of the game.

If he is available out our picks I would reserve one for him.

 

[Sainter93]

Adelaide will be very interesting this draft. They want Lukosius but don’t have a 2nd rounder.

They might have to split their pick 4 which could open up potential for Draper to slide?

 

[akaifu]

Smillie to me is just a stand and deliver player there is very little run and carry in his game. I wouldnt rate him in the top 10 and was really surprised so many rated him as the No 1 option after his few very early games. Langford does drive with his legs if there are no obvious outlets he is very creative with his inside handballing similiarly to Murphy. I put Langford ahead of Murphy because everything he does is take the ball forward, Murphy tends to crab sideways and backwards too often for me. Langford is just behind Hynes as far as effectiveness when resting forward, but is in front of Murphy and Smillie in that aspect also.

Still a bit to play out with Smillie. This Coates league finals series is going to be massive for his draft stocks

 

[akaifu]

Adelaide will be very interesting this draft. They want Lukosius but don’t have a 2nd rounder.

They might have to split their pick 4 which could open up potential for Draper to slide?

West Coast like Draper a lot

 

[ScrappyDo]

Murphy Reid is the one that suits that. He is exception in the short to medium kick and fast to identify targets and pull the trigger. Not the bull everyone wants but does have a skill set that improves ball movement and our inside 50 quality.

I see Reid's game as falling apart with the speed of the big league. His disposals are dinky and loopy as soon as there's pressure and his lack of pace will mean he won't get any space.
All big red flags for me. It's too much Hunter Clark without the toughness or deft touch.
Smooth and slow requires elite traits elsewhere and he just ain't gott'm.

 

[Sainter93]

West Coast like Draper a lot

They might go Trainor if Barrass leaves

 

[ScrappyDo]

Who does everyone want IF we only have one first round pick? Meaning Battle stays!

For me its Harvey Langford, people who suggest he is slow or a poor kick are way off the mark (reading others opinions) and havent seen him play enough. He is a big bodied aggressive mid who has elite skills and is an excellent kick.

I think the others I rate will be all taken. Sam Lalor being the obvious.

Agreed. Though nothing would surprise me at p7 or 8.

 

[Mighty_sainter]

Who does everyone want IF we only have one first round pick? Meaning Battle stays!

For me its Harvey Langford, people who suggest he is slow or a poor kick are way off the mark (reading others opinions) and havent seen him play enough. He is a big bodied aggressive mid who has elite skills and is an excellent kick.

I think the others I rate will be all taken. Sam Lalor being the obvious.

Has far from elite skills. He’s a meters gained player. Actually butchers it quite a bit. Elite skills is a player like Reid

 

[SaintsSeptember]

They might go Trainor if Barrass leaves

If we have two picks, and Trainor is there, it would be contentious on Bigfooty, but Trainor might be a good choice.

 

[Mighty_sainter]

It's exactly my point. VFL is much faster than U18s so Langford doesn't have as much room to just run out of the front of a stoppage without being caught early

He looks fast in U18s because its low pressure and way less structured in the contest so he's able to break away very easily as long as he backs himself. VFL and AFL teams won't allow that sort of room to manouvre, so he'll have to develop other running patterns to make up for the lack of speed. I am still a fan of his big frame at 190cm though

Worst case scenario he becomes a Blake Acres type winger which is not a bad floor for a pick 9. Upside is obviously he becomes Bont haha

Hel at worst still be a solid afl midfielder. Hes an absolute bull in the contest and will be a clearance machine. He sort of throws himself at it and is very good at extracting. What will be interesting is how his running game translates into afl. As you’ve pointed out he can get away with it in Coates league but question marks on it at afl level.

 

[Tommy Wigs]

Who does everyone want IF we only have one first round pick? Meaning Battle stays!

For me its Harvey Langford, people who suggest he is slow or a poor kick are way off the mark (reading others opinions) and havent seen him play enough. He is a big bodied aggressive mid who has elite skills and is an excellent kick.

I think the others I rate will be all taken. Sam Lalor being the obvious.

I wouldn’t describe him as aggressive. Not soft either, but he’s not a beast type. I wouldn’t describe his kicking as elite either. Probably the bonus is his dual mid and forward marking. I’m not fully certain he finishes as a mid and plays as a tall HBF/wing.

 

[botts]

Damn there is a lot of Langford hate on here

 

[MightySaint]

Damn there is a lot of Langford hate on here

I'd love to see 2 more games in the VFL to evaluate. Would draft him top 5 prior to seeing the VFL performance.

 

[SteeleSaints]

TBF I have always had a bit of a hard on for Smillie, maybe its the Cripps, Bont thing but a 194 cm mid would have me drooling if he can build a tank and not drift in and out of the game.

If he is available out our picks I would reserve one for him.

I just finished watching the Eastern vs Northern game where Smillie was BOG. He looked a lot better in that game than he has for sometime and was doing everything from rucking, to full forward to midfield. He seemed to have some zip and energy back and looked
more like he did earlier in the year. Took some strong marks and got some run and gun in his game which was promising. I have been waiting to see the spark for sometime, I wonder if he has been playing through injury.

 

[OxSaint]

At the end of the day we needs two things the most, better clearance and inside 50s. If we can’t get the clearance beast that has decent enough skills than we need someone who can improve our inside 50 efficiency. In the forward half of the ground. If a Langford type isn’t going to offer anymore than Steele, Owens, Pou and Clarke in the middle than what’s the point in picking him? He looks to much like what we already have in our midfield.

 

[Half Back Pocket]

I just finished watching the Eastern vs Northern game where Smillie was BOG. He looked a lot better in that game than he has for sometime and was doing everything from rucking, to full forward to midfield. He seemed to have some zip and energy back and looked
more like he did earlier in the year. Took some strong marks and got some run and gun in his game which was promising. I have been waiting to see the spark for sometime, I wonder if he has been playing through injury.

How did Jesse go? Kicked 3 and in the best

 

[CursingFijian]

 

[MOLTEN GANGLANDS]

langford's left is actually pretty nice, a few drop short but from the square he hits it long and flat to space, not much more you could ask for as a forward. Play in front and read the flight. The more I watch him the more I like him, really seems to find a way to win the contested ground ball too.



this kid reminds me of kozzie/hayes, we won't take him but be interesting to see if his game translates in the current day

 

[MOLTEN GANGLANDS]

At the end of the day we needs two things the most, better clearance and inside 50s. If we can’t get the clearance beast that has decent enough skills than we need someone who can improve our inside 50 efficiency. In the forward half of the ground. If a Langford type isn’t going to offer anymore than Steele, Owens, Pou and Clarke in the middle than what’s the point in picking him? He looks to much like what we already have in our midfield.

his disposal is better than steele's as is his ability to break tackles and kick long to space. Steele is a fighter but you don't see him exit stoppage very often. Owen's isn't a mid and might never be. Not every mid needs to be different to each other, if mattaes had a twin brother I'd take him in a heartbeat

besides, steele is getting traded remember

 

[hangdog]

Does that last line apply to Shiel too then?

No, he said improves our list.