Preview 2024 National Draft Preview Thread

[SKD]

Sam Lalor for me. Richmond would be silly to pass up on Jagga Smith for FOS. Jagga is skilful, hard working, agile, quick and has good ball use - basically a guaranteed gun footballer. Yeah, his size and defensive work can be questioned but he moves similarly to Daicos and racks up disposals. Also proven at VFL level already. FOS is injury prone, doesn’t quite have the run on the boards and is a risk. Why take such a risk at pick 1?? Richmond need to nail the pick and Jagga is probably the safest bet to make it at the next level and also just as likely as FOS to become a star.

Draper I think, doesn’t suit us. Kind of. He has speed and is a hard runner but he’s purely a mid for mine and while his speed and work ethic would definitely be beneficial, I find Lalor to be a better fit with more upside and the ability to drift forward and take contested grabs. Not as one dimensional as Draper.

We need that competitive, contested bull in the middle that also has speed and can take a good grab. Because not one of our midfielders can do this. LDU has the acceleration and contested ability but is no good overheard and doesn’t have as much defensive impact too. Lalor is Cunnington with a little more speed and height.

For now, I am convinced he’s our man. And also convinced that others will think similarly the closer we get to draft night.

 

[Steele7]

Sam Lalor for me. Richmond would be silly to pass up on Jagga Smith for FOS. Jagga is skilful, hard working, agile, quick and has good ball use - basically a guaranteed gun footballer. Yeah, his size and defensive work can be questioned but he moves similarly to Daicos and racks up disposals. Also proven at VFL level already. FOS is injury prone, doesn’t quite have the run on the boards and is a risk. Why take such a risk at pick 1?? Richmond need to nail the pick and Jagga is probably the safest bet to make it at the next level and also just as likely as FOS to become a star.

Draper I think, doesn’t suit us. Kind of. He has speed and is a hard runner but he’s purely a mid for mine and while his speed and work ethic would definitely be beneficial, I find Lalor to be a better fit with more upside and the ability to drift forward and take contested grabs. Not as one dimensional as Draper.

We need that competitive, contested bull in the middle that also has speed and can take a good grab. Because not one of our midfielders can do this. LDU has the acceleration and contested ability but is no good overheard and doesn’t have as much defensive impact too. Lalor is Cunnington with a little more speed and height.

For now, I am convinced he’s our man. And also convinced that others will think similarly the closer we get to draft night.

Lalor also looks to be a great contested mark around the ground too. Also liking he’s fend offs too.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

Sam Lalor for me. Richmond would be silly to pass up on Jagga Smith for FOS. Jagga is skilful, hard working, agile, quick and has good ball use - basically a guaranteed gun footballer. Yeah, his size and defensive work can be questioned but he moves similarly to Daicos and racks up disposals. Also proven at VFL level already. FOS is injury prone, doesn’t quite have the run on the boards and is a risk. Why take such a risk at pick 1?? Richmond need to nail the pick and Jagga is probably the safest bet to make it at the next level and also just as likely as FOS to become a star.

Draper I think, doesn’t suit us. Kind of. He has speed and is a hard runner but he’s purely a mid for mine and while his speed and work ethic would definitely be beneficial, I find Lalor to be a better fit with more upside and the ability to drift forward and take contested grabs. Not as one dimensional as Draper.

We need that competitive, contested bull in the middle that also has speed and can take a good grab. Because not one of our midfielders can do this. LDU has the acceleration and contested ability but is no good overheard and doesn’t have as much defensive impact too. Lalor is Cunnington with a little more speed and height.

For now, I am convinced he’s our man. And also convinced that others will think similarly the closer we get to draft night.

Lalor is one of my favourites in this draft, but he is very much high risk high reward. He has the potential to be the best player in this draft but might end up being a half forward role player too. His versatility though is a huge selling point he is more than capable as a deep forward but he can also be damaging playing half back.

The biggest question marks I have:

Is he only dominating juniors because he is very physically advanced?

He has had a few hip and lower back issues throughout his junior career will this be a concern?

Will he be able to develop his tank enough to play a significant role in the midfield like Jordy De Goey or is he going to be one of those power athletes that can really only manage a few bursts per quarter like Zurhaar or Rayner?

 

[Themanbun]

Lalor is one of my favourites in this draft, but he is very much high risk high reward. He has the potential to be the best player in this draft but might end up being a half forward role player too. His versatility though is a huge selling point he is more than capable as a deep forward but he can also be damaging playing half back.

The biggest question marks I have:

Is he only dominating juniors because he is very physically advanced?

He has had a few hip and lower back issues throughout his junior career will this be a concern?

Will he be able to develop his tank enough to play a significant role in the midfield like Jordy De Goey or is he going to be one of those power athletes that can really only manage a few bursts per quarter like Zurhaar or Rayner?

On the plus side, being very physically advanced means that he will find it easier to work on his tank when he gets to AFL level, rather than trying to add insane amounts of bulk while building a tank.

Too many guys we draft have neither and I'm not sure they'll ever catch up in today's game.

 

[Souup]

Post it here

I've posted them for basically all top 10 Victorian prospects. Use the search and my name.

 

[The Dingrel]

He has been the best performed state league key forward across the last couple of years. I think he had some interest a few years ago and tested in the state combine but tested poorly for agility and leap. There is no doubting his contested marking ability and accurate goal kicking it’s just whether he has the athleticism to give it a red hot crack at AFL level.


You’ve spoken about not wanting sny soft players in north colours. If north were to draft young Willem he’d need to improve his physicality significant to justify your previous criteria…



That’s too perfect

Why'd we put Sellers on the list then? A reflection of this blokes limitations, or we thought Sellers had upside?

 

[TurnoverMerchant]

I've posted them for basically all top 10 Victorian prospects. Use the search and my name.

He won’t look at it. He’s in denial.

 

[The Nostradamus]

I've posted them for basically all top 10 Victorian prospects. Use the search and my name.

I’m referring to the whole list

 

[roos_fanatic08]

Why'd we put Sellers on the list then? A reflection of this blokes limitations, or we thought Sellers had upside?

I’d say for a couple of reasons:

Sellers was right under our noses and he was impressing in his first ever stint in the VFL. We gave him the whole pre-season and he kicked goals in all our intra club games. He would’ve had an understanding of our structures and systems.

I reckon the club would’ve also seen some upside in him considering his age and also considering that only 12 months prior to playing in our VFL side he was playing in the VAFA.

I was big on picking him up. I honestly thought he’d make the jump to AFL quite easily, but it hadn’t worked out that way. The contested marking that was a real feature of his VFL form last year has seemingly abandoned him this year.

 

[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.

 

[Better Loosen Up]

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.

Already looks like a giant of a bloke even at WAFL level. Conditions didn't suit like you say but he was still competitive, took marks and hit the scoreboard. I really believe this is the guy we need in our forward line to compliment Larkey.

 

[the big lebowski]

Already looks like a giant of a bloke even at WAFL level. Conditions didn't suit like you say but he was still competitive, took marks and hit the scoreboard. I really believe this is the guy we need in our forward line to compliment Larkey.

Assuming he’s available at our second pick, compare him to Goad who we took a little earlier last year.

 

[Better Loosen Up]

Assuming he’s available at our second pick, compare him to Goad who we took a little earlier last year.

Are you saying he is Goad Mk11 and if so, in what way?

 

[Colby Cheer Squad]

I’d say for a couple of reasons:

Sellers was right under our noses and he was impressing in his first ever stint in the VFL. We gave him the whole pre-season and he kicked goals in all our intra club games. He would’ve had an understanding of our structures and systems.

I reckon the club would’ve also seen some upside in him considering his age and also considering that only 12 months prior to playing in our VFL side he was playing in the VAFA.

I was big on picking him up. I honestly thought he’d make the jump to AFL quite easily, but it hadn’t worked out that way. The contested marking that was a real feature of his VFL form last year has seemingly abandoned him this year.

There's another reason, too, which is that rewarding his effort and performances in the VFL team would be seen as encouragement for the entire VFL top-up squad. These guys come to play for us when they could just as easily go somewhere else for more money. We want them to play for us to support the development of our youngest players, but there has to be a carrot for them, too. The chance to be elevated to the AFL squad may be just enough to tempt them to come to us rather than play for any of the standalone VFL clubs, or go interstate, or chase dollars at suburban or country leagues.

 

[R00StaR]

Assuming he’s available at our second pick, compare him to Goad who we took a little earlier last year.

By most draft orders he should be available and id happily take him with our 2nd if it where 5 or so places early. He looks a good fit for us.

 

[the big lebowski]

Are you saying he is Goad Mk11 and if so, in what way?

Most certainly not. It’s more a comparison between the strength of the drafts and maybe our use of a good pick on the most project of project players.

Gerryn’s game in the wafl was about 8 times as good as the best game Goad produced at vfl level this year. That might be under stating it.

I think Gerryn looks really really good

 

[chubbspeterson]

Really hope we can move our F2 into this year. Harry O'Farrell is one I'd look at.
Athletic and looks like he can play down back or forward. Kicking looks good.

 

[The acurate one]

I’d say for a couple of reasons:

Sellers was right under our noses and he was impressing in his first ever stint in the VFL. We gave him the whole pre-season and he kicked goals in all our intra club games. He would’ve had an understanding of our structures and systems.

I reckon the club would’ve also seen some upside in him considering his age and also considering that only 12 months prior to playing in our VFL side he was playing in the VAFA.

I was big on picking him up. I honestly thought he’d make the jump to AFL quite easily, but it hadn’t worked out that way. The contested marking that was a real feature of his VFL form last year has seemingly abandoned him this year.

And fair enough, at days end our investment was minimal, find another one and give him a go.

 

[chubbspeterson]

Anyone know much about Connor Evans from the Bendigo Pioneers?
Looks like he's got a nice left foot kick on him.

 

[Liam Boy]

Why'd we put Sellers on the list then? A reflection of this blokes limitations, or we thought Sellers had upside?

We had the list spot, unexpectedly due to Tarryn Thomas's transgressions, and he was already in the club and playing in intraclub games. You have the spot, why not fill it, he made sense

 

[Lomas]

We had the list spot, unexpectedly due to Tarryn Thomas's transgressions, and he was already in the club and playing in intraclub games. You have the spot, why not fill it, he made sense

And he was playing well in the VFL set up. Also, is there a salary cap in the VFL that AFL listed players don’t count towards?

 

[roos_fanatic08]

Most certainly not. It’s more a comparison between the strength of the drafts and maybe our use of a good pick on the most project of project players.

Gerryn’s game in the wafl was about 8 times as good as the best game Goad produced at vfl level this year. That might be under stating it.

I think Gerryn looks really really good

There is so much upside with him it’s ridiculous. I don’t recall a tall at junior level who is as physically impressive as him, moves like him and disposes of the ball so naturally.

If he is there from pick 15 onwards someone is getting a steal.

 

[Lomas]

There is so much upside with him it’s ridiculous. I don’t recall a tall at junior level who is as physically impressive as him, moves like him and disposes of the ball so naturally.

If he is there from pick 15 onwards someone is getting a steal.

It does beg the question, if it is even but deep draft how does such a talented tall slip back so much?

 

[roos_fanatic08]

Really hope we can move our F2 into this year. Harry O'Farrell is one I'd look at.
Athletic and looks like he can play down back or forward. Kicking looks good.

He is one another tall I’d be keen on. Such a natural defender and has a real competitive edge in his game. I like those talls that have a bit of physical presence. He’ll test really well at the combine too I’d imagine.

 

[giantroo]

Pmbangers latest rankings