BigFooty Official Big Footy 2016 Phantom Draft

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Thank Christ the real draft doesn't take this long...

It's almost like those are professionals getting paid for the time, whereas this is something the guys here do for a bit of enjoyment!
 
Pick 8 - Gold Coast - Jack Bowes

This is actually where I expect him to get a bid, but it would not surprise if it was higher as Gold Coast will take him. He is the best QLD academy player to come through the system and the best QLD player to come through since Nick Riewoldt went number 1 imo. I rate him as the third best player in the draft behind McLuggage and McGrath. He is at his best as a midfielder but is very good at pushing forward and hitting the scoreboard well. He started off as a CHF and that can be seen in his strong marking and ability to play up forward.

As for some of the highlights, he is an excellent overhead mark for his size, he judges the ball well and appears to have a good vertical leap. He has a lot of time with the football and his decision making is a highlight. He works well in traffic and is very clean with his ball use. His kicking, whilst not elite is definitely very efficient and effective. He may not be that true big-bodied aggressive inside player but he is still very good in contests and is often the player that receives it from the first handball. He will need to improve his ball winning a little bit and he is not an elite athlete by any means. What you are getting with Jack Bowes is someone who has had an excellent junior career, he hits the scoreboard well and is super smooth. He can play almost immediately and has been dominating in the NEAFL against some good teams. He did not have a brilliant DIV 1 carnival, but was not poor either, and I attribute that to the Allies being thrown together with little practice and struggling.

I imagine that he will come in and start as a forward or half forward next year, and I can see him being quite dangerous although he does need to put on more muscle. I also see him having stints off the wing before moving into the midfield after a couple of seasons.
 
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Pick 11 - Gold Coast - Tim English

There is no real standout for this pick left and the next 10 players are quite even and not a lot separate them. I was actually hoping to get Berry at this pick but Chris25 beat me to it (good selection btw). You look at the players left and Tim English imo easily has the highest upside left (also has high bust potential imo). I see him first and foremost as a ruck, but he could play a Mark Blicsavs role as a tall winger very well. He is could also be great as a CHB so there are options.

As a ruck, few have come through with better skills, he is one of the better kicks in the draft and I would have no problems with him kicking the ball. His ground level work is exceptional and he wins the ball like a midfielder. Athletically he is above average for a ruckman, he has good speed for a big man, is agile and seems to have a decent leap on him. His actual ruckwork imo has developed this year and he has become better so it gives me hope that in the future he will be a good player. His marking is imo average and it could be an issue of body strength in the contest. He seems to read the play well and whilst not a big disposal winner he has potential here.

The two issues that I primarily have with him are firstly that he does not hit the scoreboard much and needs to develop a forward game. Secondly his body is a huge concern and will take time. He is very thin and lacks a lot of strength. Still he has huge upside and it would not surprise me if he became the number one ruck at the Gold Coast quite quickly. Gold Coast has really failed with rucks developing as expected recently with Gorringe, Smith and Nicholls imo not performing as well as expected. English has the ability and potential to be as good as Dean Cox, and there are not many ruckman that you can say that about. He also has bust potential and could end up like Gorringe. With already taking 3 mids and Scheer most likely on the way too, why not take a shot with English and let him develop.

Also with Gold Coast having 4 picks in the top 10 it was a matter of balancing the picks. I was always going to match with Bowes no matter where he was selected. I wanted SPS with his disposal skills he would add a lot to Gold Coasts midfield, likewise Brodie adds that big body. I like Taranto and have him right up there with those two. So far I am happy with my selections.

Snoop Dog all profiles are completed.
 
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Pick 12 - North Melbourne - Jack Scrimshaw (Sandringham Dragons)

While I'm certain on draft night the name called out will be either Daniel Venables or Ollie Florent, it's hard to ignore the fact Scrimshaw is still on the board. A naturally talented utility who has primarily played in defence before moving through the midfield in stints this season. A prototype midfielder who is that tall mid who can move well and help create for his side.

I wasn't expecting him to be available at this pick, so did not think I'd have the option to draft him. But I think based on talent and potential ceiling, Scrimshaw is the best available at this selection. I think any club would be happy to have him and I really think he has a big scope for improvement. Did have a few games where his kicking was a bit off, but as a whole, he's a reliable kick and certainly will be a best 22 player. I would expect he could get games next year and slot into that back half before eventually progressing into the midfield. Has a nice left boot and has shown he can find the ball with plenty of 20 plus disposal games.

The Sandringham Dragons have certainly not been light-on for talent this year and Scrimshaw is another product who is likely to be called out in the top 10 and certainly the first round. Welcome to the Roos Jack!
 
Pick 13 - West Coast. Sam Powell - Pepper. 186 cm 83 kg. East Perth.

I have been keeping a close eye on "The Shaker" for some time now and he keeps impressing me.
First and foremost he is a "footballers footballer", he has a hunger for the contest and revels in the one on one challenges of winning the hard ball. He loves the physicality of the game and in fact seeks it out.

He possesses a few old fashion traits that I still value highly in assessing talent and the most important of them is that he hates losing.
His efforts in the East Perth Colts Grand Final against the highly fancied Claremont side were inspirational as he went about "willing his team on" at every step, even in the face of overwhelming odds , simply put he lead by example, gathering 22 possessions , 7 tackles and hitting the score board with 4 goals 1 point. He never gave up.... he never does.

As far as his suitability for West Coast : He brings to the list several traits that we are in need of.
His intensity and ability to hit the contest at speed with velocity is one of them as is his ability to run and carry, The Shaker spreads the field and he is a genuine 70 meter player. Some of his running dashes are reminiscent of Peter Matera in full flight. He is also an inside / outside player and his tackle counts are high.

He has some points of difference that are also appealing.
Agility. :heavycheck:
Speed. :heavycheck:
Endurance. :heavycheck:
Raw Agression. :heavycheck:
Great athlete. Check out his Combine results. :heavycheck:
Even better footballer. :heavycheck::heavycheck:

There are also some other part to his make up that impress me as as West Coast supporter.

He bleeds Blue and Yellow and barracks for the Eagles.
Zero go home factor he would be an Eagle for life.
He does have positional versatility as he can play half forward, through the midfield and half back.

Sure he does have his flaws and his kicking on the run needs some more work. Having said that his kicking in 2016 has been much improved over his 2015 production.
Much of his kicking shortcomings are more to do with composure as he often has a tendency to rush his kicks, thats partly due to his bull at a gate approach. He needs to use his blistering pace in measured amounts and after he has gained separation on the run he needs to take a few steps to steady before he kicks. Thats something that can be both taught and learnt.

There is another aspect of The Shakers development that has scored well with me.
I loved that he has had good production in the Colts and WA teams over two seasons.
I have mentioned this in previous years and I will do so again. The kids who go back to their local WAFL and SANFL sides and play at at higher level and hold their own tend to make it at the AFL level.
Sam after the championships played a few Colts games and then got up graded to the East Perth Reserves for three games after which he was elevated to the League for the last five games of the regular season where he didn't look out of place. In fact he looked very comfortable at that grade.
He then in the finals played in the Colts and the benefit of having played at a higher level was evident as he took his finals games in the Colts to a higher level.
That to me is indicative of a someone with a high ceiling and a passion to learn his craft.
There is a lot of improvement in this kid.

His progression over the last two seasons cant be ignored and in fact demands some respect.

He has his detractors who point out with regular monotony the fact that he is not an elite kick, however the detractors rarely comment on what he does exceedingly well. He has a real point of difference.
When you concentrate on what he does well and don't become so preoccupied with what he needs to work on, then its pretty hard to not be excited by what he could become.

Who does he remind me of: Dustin Martin comes to mind .

Others I considered were : Florant and to a lesser extent Venables .
Also I was tempted to bid on Harrison Perryman who I am a real fan of, but I knew that GWS would match that bid.

In the end the Home Grown Talent was simply to hard to pass up on.



Thunderstruck your up mate.
 
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Tim English to the Gold Coast, did not see that coming what with
their already gigantic forward line, thought you might have just
nabbed Scheer and left it at that.

Why would I do that, Scheer will be matched most likely with 53 and 72. Also English is a ruckman/winger/CHB, most definitely not a forward at this stage. Why not take a ruckman and try and fix an area of weakness for Gold Coast.
 
Nice draft from a Suns point of view they have the outside class of SPS and inside grunt of Brodie and still adding Bowes to the List

SPS is a good inside player and very well balanced, in fact I prefer him more as an inside mid rather than an outside mid. Brodie on the other hands is primarily inside. It is rare to get a player like SPS imo who is great in the contest but has such silky skills.
 

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