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There’s been clubs that have deprioritised the draft before, but Hawthorn really seems to be taking it to the next level.
The first two rounds of the draft are obviously where the elite juniors are. Throw in a few compensation picks etc, let’s call it the top 40 picks. This is the sum total of Hawthorn’s top 40 draft picks for eight years:
2011 #33 Brad Hill – traded
2011 #38 Jordan Kelly – delisted
2012 #28 Tim O’Brien
2013 #24 Billy Hartung – delisted
2013 #38 Dayle Garlett – delisted
2014 #31 Daniel Howe
2015 #19 Ryan Burton – traded
2015 #22 Kieran Lovell – out of contract?
None in 2016, 2017 or 2018 (their first pick will be #53)
Now of course it’s not like they have no talent coming onto their list... they’ve nailed some later picks, and brought in top players through trading – though of course with trades, you pay more than you do at the draft, so it makes getting quantities of talent difficult.
Can they possibly compete for a flag without using the elite end of the draft? Where will this leave their list?
It’s interesting that some pundits – namely Dal Santo and Johnson last night – have them tumbling down the ladder in 2019. That, in itself, wouldn’t be a disaster – it’s only one year and happens to all clubs. But have they got enough talent to haul them back up if it did happen?
People point to Clarkson – who is a genius and one of the greatest coaches of all time – but even for him, this is new territory. He won four flags, but look at some of the core of those teams:
Hodge (pick 1), Roughead (pick 2), Franklin (pick 5), Lewis (pick 7), Rioli (pick 12), Birchall (pick 14), Shiels (pick 34), Mitchell (pick 36).
Of course they added to it, but that huge core quantity of stars came from the only place you can get them cheaply - the pointy end of the draft.
Can this current approach work?? It’s fascinating. Since the draft was introduced, I’m not sure there’s a club that has had the balls to sideskirt it so heavily.
The first two rounds of the draft are obviously where the elite juniors are. Throw in a few compensation picks etc, let’s call it the top 40 picks. This is the sum total of Hawthorn’s top 40 draft picks for eight years:
2011 #33 Brad Hill – traded
2011 #38 Jordan Kelly – delisted
2012 #28 Tim O’Brien
2013 #24 Billy Hartung – delisted
2013 #38 Dayle Garlett – delisted
2014 #31 Daniel Howe
2015 #19 Ryan Burton – traded
2015 #22 Kieran Lovell – out of contract?
None in 2016, 2017 or 2018 (their first pick will be #53)
Now of course it’s not like they have no talent coming onto their list... they’ve nailed some later picks, and brought in top players through trading – though of course with trades, you pay more than you do at the draft, so it makes getting quantities of talent difficult.
Can they possibly compete for a flag without using the elite end of the draft? Where will this leave their list?
It’s interesting that some pundits – namely Dal Santo and Johnson last night – have them tumbling down the ladder in 2019. That, in itself, wouldn’t be a disaster – it’s only one year and happens to all clubs. But have they got enough talent to haul them back up if it did happen?
People point to Clarkson – who is a genius and one of the greatest coaches of all time – but even for him, this is new territory. He won four flags, but look at some of the core of those teams:
Hodge (pick 1), Roughead (pick 2), Franklin (pick 5), Lewis (pick 7), Rioli (pick 12), Birchall (pick 14), Shiels (pick 34), Mitchell (pick 36).
Of course they added to it, but that huge core quantity of stars came from the only place you can get them cheaply - the pointy end of the draft.
Can this current approach work?? It’s fascinating. Since the draft was introduced, I’m not sure there’s a club that has had the balls to sideskirt it so heavily.