parmy2balmey
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THERE is a player in the WAFL who can play almost any position on the ground.
He is brilliant off halfback, got pace to burn off a wing, strong for his size in the forward line and tough enough to excel as an inside midfielder.
A few clubs looked at him in last year’s draft and he was close, seemingly very close, to getting the AFL opportunity he deserved, but ultimately it never came.
He is my good mate Marlion Pickett, who plays for South Fremantle in the WAFL.
If you wanted the best example of the type of player who would benefit from the AFL’s mid-season draft, Marlion is your man.He is mature-age and he is ready to go.
Clubs have again shown interest in him during the lead-up to the AFL mid-season draft and I hope he gets his chance because he will do everything in his power to make it work.
When I left South Fremantle to come over to Geelong at the end of 2017, he effectively took my place in the midfield and quickly flourished, taking his game to a whole new level.
The mid-season draft is one of the great initiatives the AFL has brought in.
It is a win-win situation for everyone. Clubs can fill an immediate need on their list and only have the commitment of a six-month contract, rather than the two-year deals offered to traditional draftees.
If it doesn’t work, they can shake hands at the end of the season and wish each other well.
If it works, they’ve discovered a player they may otherwise never have thought about selecting.
Clubs have got nothing to lose.
For the player, the benefits are huge. It provides more opportunity to make an AFL list and more incentive to keep chasing your dream in the face of rejection, knowing that a strong start to the season could be all it takes to finally get reward for effort.
I have got no doubt we will see players picked up in this year’s mid-season draft who will come in and have an immediate impact.
Clubs are trending more and more towards mining the best talent out of the state leagues to support their list.
Using Geelong as an example, we’ve got Tom Stewart, Tom Atkins, Sam Menegola, Darcy Fort, Ryan Abbott, Nathan Kreuger and myself as recent examples of players selected from state leagues. Going back further we had Harry Taylor.
Fort today gets to make his AFL debut — what a moment that is for him at the age of 25.
Just last week, the WAFL played the SANFL in a state game. Not only is that a moment of state pride for the players, it now serves as a mini-audition for the mid-season draft.
While I was getting a little bit of interest in early 2017 from AFL clubs, it wasn’t until I played a state game for Western Australia that the interest really took off.
The difference now with the mid-season draft is clubs can act immediately on their instincts.
If there are players who might have some questions marks over them — whether that be their skill, commitment, off-field challenges or anything that has held them back — the six-month contract of the mid-season draft should help alleviate some of those concerns.
It is a free hit for clubs.
Back on Marlion. I think he has the versatility and talent to slip straight into AFL life. I’d love to see my good mate out there later this year, even if he’s on the opposition.
