Best Overall Draft by your Team

[Winner]

Scarlett/Egan
Glass/Hunter(well, for 06 they were a terrific duo)

Hmmm?

I agree, Scarlett and Glass were just about the best KPD in there premiership years. Both were huge defining factors in winning the premiership. Carlton just won't have a star KPP. Also, the major reason why West Coast and Geelong didn't have a star KPP was because they had so many goalkicking midfielders, Carlton don't have many.

West Coast and Geelong are the exception, not the rule. Your never going to make a dynasty without good KPP. Essendon and North have tantalsing young spines and will both be fighitng it out in a few years. People always say how if you don't have a strong midfield you don't win premeirships, there is no truth in that. A team of champions won't beat a champion team.

 

[danger_to_walker]

In a few years, the 2007 draft will be remembered as the best for the Crows.

#10 - Patrick Dangerfield
#27 - Andy Otten
#30 - Jarrhan Jacky
#38 - Myke Cook
#58 - Tony Armstrong
#71 - Aaron Kite
#75 - Taylor Walker

Dangerfield, Otten and Jacky have all played AFL footy in their first year, extremely rare in the conservative confines of the AFC. Add Symes and Moran who were traded in, as well as Petrenko who was upgraded in 2008, this is the draft to watch from an Adelaide point of view.

 

[WALL-e]

In a few years, the 2007 draft will be remembered as the best for the Crows.

#10 - Patrick Dangerfield
#27 - Andy Otten
#30 - Jarrhan Jacky
#38 - Myke Cook
#58 - Tony Armstrong
#71 - Aaron Kite
#75 - Taylor Walker

Dangerfield, Otten and Jacky have all played AFL footy in their first year, extremely rare in the conservative confines of the AFC. Add Symes and Moran who were traded in, as well as Petrenko who was upgraded in 2008, this is the draft to watch from an Adelaide point of view.

Add Petrenko in the Rookie Draft

 

[tw0kbydesign]

Ok General here's a hypothetical for you.

Back in 06 you overlook Gibbs, pick say Gumbleton at 1. Best CHF prospect in the land, touted as similar to such players as Riewoldt etc. etc.

07 sees you have your forwardline prospect taking a fair bit of shape, so instead of taking this Josh Fraser clone at 1, you pick Trent Cotchin.

Now in 08, where you should be at the point that your KPP talent is starting to show its worth, you pick a small forward in Chris Yarran with your first pick, whereas if need be you had the chance to snare a Ziebell, or even better again a Rich.

You see, the smarter teams have figured out the trend. You set up your KP talent earlier on, and sort out the midfield later on in the hope that it should all 'arrive' at around the same time.

Despite what the rest of the world says, and what you may like to believe, your midfield is still one heck of a joke, with only a few places in a draft to hang their hat on. You also traded the one KPP on your list that had any chance of making it.

In a year or 2 you will just about give anything for a Gumby or a Hansen.

 

[Winner]

You see, the smarter teams have figured out the trend. You set up your KP talent earlier on, and sort out the midfield later on in the hope that it should all 'arrive' at around the same time.

Yep. That's exactly what Essendon has done, picked arguably the best CHF prospect in years in 06, in 07 we took Myers as a tall HBF and future captain (wasn't many good defenders in 07), in 08 we took again arguably the most naturally talented full back at under 18 level. The end result, our future spine will be great, especially when you add in Ryder and Neagle. In 09 I believe Knights said they will be looking at the best available midfielder, now that we have our spine sorted out.

 

[yaco55]

Ok General here's a hypothetical for you.

Back in 06 you overlook Gibbs, pick say Gumbleton at 1. Best CHF prospect in the land, touted as similar to such players as Riewoldt etc. etc.

07 sees you have your forwardline prospect taking a fair bit of shape, so instead of taking this Josh Fraser clone at 1, you pick Trent Cotchin.

Now in 08, where you should be at the point that your KPP talent is starting to show its worth, you pick a small forward in Chris Yarran with your first pick, whereas if need be you had the chance to snare a Ziebell, or even better again a Rich.

You see, the smarter teams have figured out the trend. You set up your KP talent earlier on, and sort out the midfield later on in the hope that it should all 'arrive' at around the same time.

Despite what the rest of the world says, and what you may like to believe, your midfield is still one heck of a joke, with only a few places in a draft to hang their hat on. You also traded the one KPP on your list that had any chance of making it.

In a year or 2 you will just about give anything for a Gumby or a Hansen.

I am surprised that Carlton didn't select Lewis Johnston.

They need another key forward to support fevola.

 

[twentydollarnote]

I am surprised that Carlton didn't select Lewis Johnston.

They need another key forward to support fevola.

they already have kruzer.

 

[yaco55]

they already have kruzer.

He is a ruckman.

 

[Mego Red]

Geez, have a look at Port's 2006 draft crop

Pre-Season Draft
Pick 8 - Matt Thomas - good tough player

National Draft
Pick 5 - Travis Boak - absolute gun
Pick 23 - Paul Stewart - going to class act
Pick 39 - Nathan Krakouer - going to be class act
Pick 55 - Robert Gray - going to be class act
Pick 71 - Justin Westhoff - has already proven himself
Pick 83 - Ryan Williams - now delisted
Pick 86 - David Rodan - very good player

Rookie Draft
Pick 11 - Thomas Rischbieth - now delisted
Pick 27 - Greg Bentley - was elevated but now delisted
Pick 40 - Tim Looby - now delisted
Pick 52 - Tom Logan - elevated onto main squad

There are a lot of "going to be"s on that list, who MAY not amount to anything. Really, you got Boak and Stewart. Even Westhoff has proven nothing yet.

 

[Mego Red]

Yep. That's exactly what Essendon has done, picked arguably the best CHF prospect in years in 06, in 07 we took Myers as a tall HBF and future captain (wasn't many good defenders in 07), in 08 we took again arguably the most naturally talented full back at under 18 level. The end result, our future spine will be great, especially when you add in Ryder and Neagle. In 09 I believe Knights said they will be looking at the best available midfielder, now that we have our spine sorted out.

Great, so once you've done that and had a decade of mediocrity, you might start winning matches again. Unless none of them pan out.

 

[Jex]

Great, so once you've done that and had a decade of mediocrity, you might start winning matches again. Unless none of them pan out.

I guess we could always follow Adelaide's blueprint for success.

Speaking of decades of mediocrity, it has now been 10 years since the Crows won a flag

 

[danger_to_walker]

I guess we could always follow Adelaide's blueprint for success.

Speaking of decades of mediocrity, it has now been 10 years since the Crows won a flag

And it will be at least another 10 years before Essendon win one.

 

[Eagle87]

I'm sure there were restrictions on WA players being drafted by other clubs back then. McIntosh, for example, went about pick 112 but WC could leave him until the end because no-one else could draft him.

Ahh....so many educated fools on BF.

Ashley McIntosh was a father/son pick for West Coast.

The restrictions on picking from WA - to assist in protecting the WAFL from total decimation (2 years after the Eagles were formed it was still struggling) still allowed every club to pick 1 player from WA. 3 clubs didnt pick a single West Aussie - so ALL WA players picked up by West Coast were passed over by other clubs.

In 1989, aside from West Coast pick of Peter Matera at 4, 6 of the Top 10 were from WA and 7 of the Top 14 - these included Matera, Brad Rowe, Mark Brayshaw, Stephan Edgar, Brad Tunbridge, Dale Kickett & Ben Allan... others were picked right through the draft...

The Eagles picks in the draft were:

4. Peter Matera
50. Dean Irving
64. Tony Evans
78. Steven Schwerdt
92. Brett Heady
117. Dean Kemp (Post draft pick to compensate for a small list - we had 15 less players than everyone else)

F/S Ashley McIntosh

We traded pick 18 for Peter Wilson.

So in one draft we added Matera, Evans, McIntosh, Kemp, Heady & Wilson...

Our best ever.

 

[Smyth94]

1994 would be Essendon's best, although I could be wrong

4. Scott Lucas
10. Blake Caracella
28. Shawn Lewfatt
39. Stephen Carter
48. Gary Moorcroft
62. Justin Blumfield
n/a. Matthew Lloyd - compensation pick from losing players to Freo

5 premiership players, two of them champions of Essendon - not a bad effort

 

[Slattery_20]

Maybe if you include zone & compensation picks we'd have a strong 91 or 92 year? The 93 baby bombers were mostly drafted after the 90 GF loss, not too sure if it was one boom draft or 2 or 3 good ones.
Thinking Hird, Fletcher, Mercuri, Misiti, Olarenshaw were in there somewhere; don't know the numbers

 

[Smyth94]

Ok General here's a hypothetical for you.

Back in 06 you overlook Gibbs, pick say Gumbleton at 1. Best CHF prospect in the land, touted as similar to such players as Riewoldt etc. etc.

07 sees you have your forwardline prospect taking a fair bit of shape, so instead of taking this Josh Fraser clone at 1, you pick Trent Cotchin.

Now in 08, where you should be at the point that your KPP talent is starting to show its worth, you pick a small forward in Chris Yarran with your first pick, whereas if need be you had the chance to snare a Ziebell, or even better again a Rich.

You see, the smarter teams have figured out the trend. You set up your KP talent earlier on, and sort out the midfield later on in the hope that it should all 'arrive' at around the same time.

Despite what the rest of the world says, and what you may like to believe, your midfield is still one heck of a joke, with only a few places in a draft to hang their hat on. You also traded the one KPP on your list that had any chance of making it.

In a year or 2 you will just about give anything for a Gumby or a Hansen.

Agree 100% with this post, it's the age old debate in drafting - KPP's vs midfielders, what do you go with first.

Essendon and Carlton are a great example and it will be fascinating to see which method will result in a premiership.

Here are my thoughts on Carlton - Taken from BB by Humble Minion:

The Blues have talent on their list, no doubt. You can't finish in the bottom two for half a decade, in an era of ludicrously generous priority draft concessions, and NOT manage to accumulate some kids who can play. Gibbs is going to be quality, Murphy might never be true a-grade but will be a very, very solid senior player. Etc etc.

"What they don't have is structure. They've built their list opportunistically, rather than systematically. Say what you like for Essendon's drafting over the past few years, but there's been a pretty coherent and consistent strategy behind it all - ie, fixing up the next-generation spine before the retirements of Lloyd/Lucas/Fletcher, going for speed/disposal with early midfield picks and leaving the gritty inside guys til later, and picking one promising bottom-ager each year in the hope we get a bargain (Neagle, Reimers, Pears, Still).

Carlton have been all over the shop. Minds like a goldfish down Princes Park way. They threw the kitchen sink at Judd (understandably, given the state of their side at the time), and that's fine. But the kitchen sink included their only real Fev-successor candidate, and they didn't bother to replace him. And then the year after they threw another sink (possibly the one from the bathroom) at Warnock. Do they not rate Hampson or Kreuzer? Do they maybe intend to play Kreuzer (whose main standout attributes were his engine and ability to act as an extra midfielder - ie, just what you want in a ruckman) as a key forward? Why have they not drafted ANY key forwards in the 2 drafts since they sent Kennedy west, despite Fev having nearly been delisted 525169 times since then? Do they have the slightest idea what their side is going to look like three years from now, or are they operating at the bigfooty 14-year-old "LOLZ WE HAV JUDD N GIBBZ UR JUST JELOUS" level?

Sure the Bombers have made recruiting/list management stuff-ups (everyone's got those...) but I can at least see some direction there. I really don't know what the Blues are trying to do, list-wise. Essendon is being patient (the odd late-Sheedy-era retread aside...) and methodical, while the Blues continue to grab frantically at the nearest sparkly thing. Essendon's recruiting reminds me of Hawthorn's a few years back. Decide what you want and go after it systematically, talls first so you can bring a group through together. Carlton's recruiting looks a bit Bulldogs-like, and Bulldogs-like they'll still be flailing around for tall forwards when Fev retires (or wrings out a kidney in the wrong place one too many times) and Judd heads into his thirties."

 

[Wallaby]

Geelong won the Flag in 2007 with a great midfield, top defence and OK attack. Top Ruck division as well.

Hawthorn won in 2008 with a good midfield, OK rucks and defence, top attack.

To say 'Draft for Structure' is a bit precious - you draft for talent and then use it as best you can - yes, you need some talls to go with the mids - so you balance the numbers as you go.

 

[Marc Shmurf 3]

Geelong won the Flag in 2007 with a great midfield, top defence and OK attack. Top Ruck division as well.

Hawthorn won in 2008 with a good midfield, OK rucks and defence, top attack.

To say 'Draft for Structure' is a bit precious - you draft for talent and then use it as best you can - yes, you need some talls to go with the mids - so you balance the numbers as you go.

finally something that makes sense.

 

[yaco55]

Geelong won the Flag in 2007 with a great midfield, top defence and OK attack. Top Ruck division as well.

Hawthorn won in 2008 with a good midfield, OK rucks and defence, top attack.

To say 'Draft for Structure' is a bit precious - you draft for talent and then use it as best you can - yes, you need some talls to go with the mids - so you balance the numbers as you go.

You are contradicting everything that Chris Pelchen has mentioned about Hwathorns recruiting strategy - That is recruiting for needs.

 

[Slattery_20]

Hawthorn - Essendon as well - targetted talls early
Cats and Eagles went more for mids

More ways than one to skin a cat. Simple as that.

 

[Smyth94]

Hawthorn - Essendon as well - targetted talls early
Cats and Eagles went more for mids

More ways than one to skin a cat. Simple as that.

Yeah but look how good their respective midfields had to be to get them over the line, especially in the Eagles' case - arguably the best midfield this decade and struggled to win the flag

 

[Burzum]

Yeah but look how good their respective midfields had to be to get them over the line, especially in the Eagles' case - arguably the best midfield this decade and struggled to win the flag

I'd argue that the Eagles possibly had the greatest midfield ever. They'd certainly be up there.

 

[GoDons]

I am surprised that Carlton didn't select Lewis Johnston.

They need another key forward to support fevola.

I don't think there's too much cause for surprise here, nor should Carlton be considered to have made any mistake selecting Yarran.

Yarran fills a hole, although not as big a one, as Johnston would, and, as far as I'm concerned, is the far superior footballer.

Johnston's an erratic forward that's going to take some serious time to develop, that's if he does. There's a lot of potential there, but he needs a lot of fine tuning.

Carlton do severely lack a player that can hit up from CHF, but I think Johnston was a long way off best available, and you can't just draft with greatest needs in mind.

It's going to be interesting to watch the direction Carlton do go with the CHF hole. Fev's going to be 29 next January, so if they are to draft one, I don't think they can count on him being ready in time to form an effective partnership with Fev. The trade table perhaps?

 

[yaco55]

I don't think there's too much cause for surprise here, nor should Carlton be considered to have made any mistake selecting Yarran.

Yarran fills a hole, although not as big a one, as Johnston would, and, as far as I'm concerned, is the far superior footballer.

Johnston's an erratic forward that's going to take some serious time to develop, that's if he does. There's a lot of potential there, but he needs a lot of fine tuning.

Carlton do severely lack a player that can hit up from CHF, but I think Johnston was a long way off best available, and you can't just draft with greatest needs in mind.

It's going to be interesting to watch the direction Carlton do go with the CHF hole. Fev's going to be 29 next January, so if they are to draft one, I don't think they can count on him being ready in time to form an effective partnership with Fev. The trade table perhaps?

we will see in 10 years time.

IMO, JOHNSTON WILL BE A BETTER PLAYER THAN YARRAN.

 

[Jono B]

As far as I see it, I prefer to go for KP players early in the draft as unlike the midfield you can't compensate for top end class with added depth.

What I basically mean is Carlton cannot cover the CHF position completely with 6/10 players such as Cloke and Fisher. Whereas in the midfield Essendon has matched Carlton despite not having anyone in Judd's class as the midfield load is spread over 8-10 players.