Resource 2024 Draftee Highlights

[Keys]

Courtesy of the great work noobermensch in the Contract/Trade/Draft thread providing video breakdowns of potential 2024 draftees I’ve started this thread to warehouse copies of those videos (and any others that might get posted)

Those videos will remain in the contract thread so they can be discussed but I will copy them into this locked thread so over time they can be found without wading through hundreds of posts

 

[noobermensch]

Five out of five now with another excellent SANFL performance from Sid Draper as he keeps adding to his pick 1 CV. This time around his South Adelaide team copped a bit of a pasting so we got a chance to see how he responded to the adversity, and he kept up his typical competitive intensity throughout. Just like every week we got some wow moments from Sid, spinning out of tackles and bursting clear of congestion.

 

[noobermensch]

Dyson Sharp, the red hot favourite to be pick 1 in 2025, made his senior SANFL debut yesterday as a 17 year old and had an excellent outing in messy conditions for Central Districts. The physical side of the game just comes so naturally to Dyson and he showed it throughout by consistently out muscling and overpowering men many years his senior. He was pivotal in Central getting back into the game in the third quarter, influencing contests and hitting the scoreboard with a roost from outside 50.

 

[noobermensch]

A solid performance in his VFL debut from Harvey Langford, showcasing his wares to the Richmond recruiters who hold pick 1 in the November national draft. He played the same role that Finn O'Sullivan played last week, starting the first quarter on ball before playing out the final three quarters on a forward flank. Its a role that can suit his game, but he had to make the most of the limited opportunities that came his way. He flew for his marks, being unfortunately robbed of a lovely grab on the far wing, and he showed a nice step and change of direction on a couple of occasions. The one area where he let himself down a little was his kicking, which he rushed and got a bit wayward on a couple of occasions.

 

[noobermensch]

Another strong VFL showing from Tobie Travaglia to follow up his solid debut last week. He appeared more confident this week, running off his man more proactively to get involved in transition ball movement and zoning off his man to fill gaps defensively and intercept the ball coming into D50. The only slight negative is the few times he turned the footy over in dangerous areas, perhaps rushed by the greater pace and intensity than he's used to.

 

[noobermensch]

With school footy done for the year the APS boys are all back in the Talent League and gearing up for a big finals campaign to finish off season 2024. Murphy Reid celebrated his return with a massive game, finding the footy all over the ground and demonstrating his poise and confidence with the ball in hand. Sandy will be pushing to make it three Talent League titles in a row and Murphy will be in the thick of it.

 

[noobermensch]

Chock full of confidence after his exploits at VFL level, Jagga Smith returned to Talent League play with a bang, racking up over 40 possessions in a dominant display. His craft at stoppage is unmatched at this level, and he used it to drive his chargers team forward throughout the game. He was involved in everything in general play, from helping to rebound out of defense to threading balls onto the chest of leading forward and even snagging a goal himself.

 

[noobermensch]

On a weekend where 40 possession games seemed to become the standard, Lalor's modest 22 touches could get overlooked. He was strong and muscular at the contest all game, standing up in tackles or breaking them with a swivel of his hips. He showed a dash of pace to burst clear of congestion, and laced out a number of passes onto the chest of a leading forward, although the kicking was a little bit of a mixed bag as he did miss a few. He's such a powerful and beautifully balanced athlete that he seems to only just be scratching the surface of his potential.

 

[noobermensch]

Are you guys set for key defenders at this stage?

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Another prolific performance from a Dragons player on the weekend, this time Luke Trainor who found a stack of the footy rebounding out of defense and using his elite running power to get involved in possession chains through the middle of the ground. His disposal was a little mixed at times, but his overhead marking was strong throughout which should help to quell some of the concerns about that part of his game.

 

[noobermensch]

A tough game for the Panthers and a tough game for Sid Draper, the first SANFL game this year in which he's struggled to have an impact. He appeared to be put off his game at center bounce early by the bigger and more experienced Glenelg mids that pushed him off his run at the ball. As a result he never really got going, and was eventually moved out of the middle to play off a forward flank in the second half, which starved him of opportunities with Glenelg dominating territory. He still managed one sequence where he burst clear and broke the lines with elite pace and agility before dishing off to create a goal for his teammate.

 

[noobermensch]

Remarkably this was Finn's first appearance in the Talent League since the opening game of the season. The Chargers have been a huge disappointment all year, but this was the first time since the first quarter of the opening game that they've had their Rolls Royce of a midfield trio all playing at full capacity and they rolled over the red hot favourites for the Talent League crown. Finn was hugely influential through the middle early before seeming to run out of tickets in the second half and playing largely in the forward line. We're finally getting to see the real Finn O'Sullivan at something approaching full capacity and he looks to be making a late run at pick 1.

 

[noobermensch]

As we've seen a number of times this season, Smillie came out in the opening quarter with a frenetic energy and seemed to be everywhere early on finding the footy at will. That energy at times caused him to turn the footy over due to rushed disposal or decision making, but he was overall a big part of Eastern surging out to a significant early lead. He drifted out the game somewhat in the second half, which has become a bit of a trend for him, but overall he still put together a very good game.

 

[noobermensch]

Jagga might just have silenced those suggesting his game doesn't have enough hurt factor. The possession count might have been a bit lower this week (only 33!) but this was one of the most damaging performances Jagga has produced this season. Rather than taking the first release option at stoppage he looked to turn the corner and use his pace to exit the front, to spot up a kick to a forward or release a teammate with hands to run into the forward 50. He kicked two goals of his own, and directly assisted three more.

 

[noobermensch]

Unfortunately no sound on the source broadcast.

Just when I think the race for pick 1 couldn't get any messier, we get a performance like this from Lalor. As powerful and dynamic a contested game as I've seen this year. He won his own footy at stoppage, took contested intercept marks around the ground, layed bumps and tackles. He was an unstoppable beast all game, although his kicking was a little more wayward than usual.

 

[noobermensch]

A strong performance from Hamish Davis helped Claremont qualify for the finals in last game of the WAFL regular season. He predominantly played high half forward with some run on a wing, and was able to show his endurance and dash up and down the ground. He was clean in swooping on loose balls and strong overhead, slotting three goals and showing why he's one of the most highly rated prospects in the 2024 WA crop.

 

[noobermensch]

Its been a theme that the kids playing VFL come back to the Talent League chock full of confidence and turn in a ripper performance, and Harvey Langford was no different. He was relentless and beastlike around the stoppages, damaging with the footy outside of the contest, strong overhead and slotted four goals to round things off and help his team get the win.

 

[noobermensch]

An interesting day for Travaglia. Switching back to defense instead of the midfield role he had been playing, he copped an early injury and spent the majority of the first quarter off the ground as a result. That injury may have been effecting him when he returned to play as he struggled to effect the game as much as he typically does, although his pressure and tackling was still as intense as ever. With the Pioneers needing a spark Travaglia was moved into the forward line in the fourth quarter and produced an exciting cameo, kicking a couple of highlight reel worthy goals to show just how much untapped potential he possesses.

 

[noobermensch]

This was the second and final senior WAFL game by Gerreyn with West Perth missing out on finals, so the last opportunity we have to get a look at how he managed the step up to the level. Unfortunately both games were heavily impacted by rain and a very heavy deck, and as a result this wasn't a prolific game by any means but he had some fantastic moments that underlined his talent. He managed to take some nice marks with a greasy ball, and was clean at ground level. Size and strength wise he was certainly not out of place, but there were many times when the veteran Bulldogs defenders would beat him in contests with their craft and savvy.

 

[noobermensch]

A minor tragedy occurred in this game. Through one and a bit quarters of football we'd been treated to one of the best head to head battles of the year between Lindsay and Langford, directly matched up on each other in the middle and each at the absolute top of their game. Unfortunately we lost Xavier to a suspected PCL injury, cutting short the spectacle and probably cutting short his season given how few weeks we have remaining.

In his one quarter and 4 mins of play Lindsay racked up 11 disposals and 5 clearances showing just how hot a start he'd made.

 

[noobermensch]

We're going back. Back to the year 2023. It was a mystical time full of possibility, when Finn O'Sullivan actually played football. There are hordes of people out there that want to know why Finn was pick 1 favourite entering this season and why many still have him at pick 1 even though he's barely fired a shot all year due to a series of unfortunate injuries. So during these gaps in the schedule over the next few weeks I'll be revisiting Finn's excellent bottom age season, and where better to start than round 1?

 

[noobermensch]

This game from Murphy Reid was even better than the already impressive stats suggest. He proved his elite kicking skills by consistently hitting targets on a day that the wind was wreaking havoc with disposal. He managed to find space at times in a finals game where the pressure was ratcheted up several notches. He was swung forward in the final quarter and seemed to be involved in every score as the Dragons put the Jets to the sword.

 

[noobermensch]

The strong wind made clean passages of play nearly impossible and turned most of this game into a scrap, but Langford thrives in that kind environment. He used his strength and physicality at the contest attacking the ball and the man in equal measure, at times he and James Barrett threatened to turn it into a boxing match. He found a stack of footy as he always does, and hit the scoreboard at crucial times to help his Stingrays to build a lead and take the victory.

 

[noobermensch]

This was a fascinating watch as Jagga had to fight through a hard tag all game. Bottom ager Felix Kneipp got the job which he stuck to with discipline, working extra hard at stoppage to scrag and block Jagga's run and sticking with him as best he could on the spread. Jagga got frustrated at times, giving away a few retaliatory free kicks, but he mostly stuck at it and worked extra hard to break free which he managed at key moments, especially in the second half where he kicked a goal and played a role in a couple of other scoring chains.

 

[noobermensch]

An excellent performance that proved Hamish Davis has what it takes to make the step to finals footy and not just meet the level but thrive. Playing his typical high half forward role, his tank and work rate was a feature as was his ability to play at high pace with clean hands. He might have had even more than 4 goals in this game if he hadn't missed a couple of gettable opportunities, a reminder that his variable kicking technique is the one thing that might hold him back from shooting up into first round contention even with his late season surge in form.

 

[noobermensch]

For the first three quarters of this game Gerreyn seemed to be waging a one man war against the entire Subiaco team. He dominated the ruck with deft tap work, he followed up at ground level with clean and skillful work by hand and foot, he kicked goals, and most impressively took a variety of strong marks around the ground. Just prior to the 3/4 time siren he copped a heavy knock, lay prone for a while and then had to come off bleeding and visibly groggy. It was extremely surprising to see him back out there in the final term, and he looked a shadow of his former self.

 

[noobermensch]

Langford and his Stingrays team were on fire in the opening quarter. Left free to do his thing at stoppage he dominated, generating 4 clearances and getting on the end of other possession chains to drive his team forward as they built a solid lead. He was significantly subdued for the next two quarters as he was assigned a marker at stoppage who fought for front position and to block his run at the footy, and Gippsland lifted overall to fight their way back into the game. Fortunately for Dandenong, Langford was able to again find a way to influence the contest in the final quarter, playing an important role in a tight back and forth tussle that ended with the Stingrays finishing on top.