Toast Fremantle's 1st 2018 National Draft Pick: Sam Sturt [Pick #17]

[sherrif]

Brayshaw ?, I’d say he’s tracking ok at the moment.

LDU was the majority choice on here.

 

[Fred Ziffel]

Yep, I see the biggest comparison with Fyfe over any other existing player tbh.

Imagine a team with 2 Fyfes.

Yes, especially if one of them is much faster and a much better kick.

 

[sherrif]

The kid has all the tools. Please FootyInjury Gods be nice to him (and us).

The kid has all the tools bar endurance. Which means unless he improves a ton in that department he is unlikely to play much next year at afl next year. Most of the kids who play a lot in in year one already have good endurance. Doesnt change the fact he looks an exciting long term prospect who potentially fills a role we dont have covered that awkard macth-up forward.

 

[FD2646]

Question guys.

Who was Freo's last Dandy draftee?

Freo's only Dandenong Stingrays in our history are Jeff White, Adam McPhee and Dylan Roberton, who was the most recent prior to tonight.

 

[Joao]

The kid has all the tools bar endurance. Which means unless he improves a ton in that department he is unlikely to play much next year at afl next year. Most of the kids who play a lot in in year one already have good endurance. Doesnt change the fact he looks an exciting long term prospect who potentially fills a role we dont have covered that awkard macth-up forward.

Tend to agree although since he has never had any sort of preseason (club cricket doesn't count) then he might respond really well to the professional environment and improve (he may not too). As a pure forward he could get away with flashing in and out of games. If he only has 7 touches but kicks a couple none of us will complain (well some will but you know).

 

[Righteo]

Since I’ve been on Bigfooty, at no stage has our first pick ever gone the way the majority predicted.

Getting quite funny actually.

We got Logue right even if most people were desperately hoping SPS would slip

 

[tonygeeks]

Cam McCarthy is shaking in his boots


Sam Sturt welcome to Freo, enjoy number 29

I hadn't heard of Collingwood's number 32 goes to their first round pick each year as a mark of respect to Prestiagicomo's service to the club but it would be a good honour for the big fella if we did the same with 29 even if it's a bit dorky not to have thought of it first


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[tonygeeks]

The bloke must be good - they named a SAFL club after him.

Whats his nickname by the way? "Charlie"? after Charles Sturt. "Highway"?

Pea ?


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[tonygeeks]

Great pick, this guy is a beautiful kick and has massive upside.I'm thinking Freo a great chance to imrprove to the final eight this year.Is this a good possibility gambling wise?

I think we have addressed our talent deficit the last couple of years but I personally have my doubts on whether the coaching staff can use it well enough and if our good players can stay on the park so you would need 5 to 2 at least for mine but if you can get a better price than that it's not a horrible bet


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[ImperialPurple]

Looks great in purple. Love the boy and his excitement to "get outta town and head west to Freo."

 

[beetz]

The Fremantle fc subreddit has gotten Freo's first round picks right two years in a row now.

Link to said sub reddit pls?

 

[jusjoshin]

Yep, I see the biggest comparison with Fyfe over any other existing player tbh.

Imagine a team with 2 Fyfes.

Stop! I can only get so erect.

 

[Rob]

Mundy ??

Long time ago now.

TBH Langdon looks like the only decent Melbourne kid we've picked up in the last 10 years (obviously ignoring Brayshaw/Cerra who were super high picks). Plenty of draft fails in that time - some high picks too. Those fails are basically why we're currently shit. The players we should have picked up with our 1st and 2nd rounders between 2010 and 2015 were mostly duds. Go and have a look - it will make you cry. It's probably no coincidence that the only 2 decent players we picked up in the first 2 rounds were Blakely and Pearce - both players from nowhere near Melbourne.

Agreed but that doesn't really gel with your other statement about failing vic kids because vic clubs would have better eyes on them.

Actually it does. No matter how many resources we allocate to Melbourne we're not going to be able to match the eyes on the ground that the Vic clubs have. They're going to have networks of people - a lot of them voluntary - at so many more games than us. They're more likely to know the coaches. Look at someone like Apeness - incredibly unlucky with injuries which is obviously a key reason as to why he wasn't a success. But could that have been known before the draft? Maybe - I don't know. But I do know that it's likely every other Victorian club would have been in a better position to assess it than us. And that will always be the case.

The other problem is that the more resources we throw at Victoria we inevitably neglect the WA market - which should be our strength. We end up with duds like Simpson when we should know the local kids far better than that.

Let me clarify I have nothing against Sturt. I've never even seen him play. But i've heard it all before about Melbourne kids where we've supposedly found some gem in the most crowded market.

Here's hoping this time that's actually the case.

 

[Galapagoose]

Sturt like Fyfe? based on the footage available?

He's averaging 12 touches and 2 goals a game over 6 games.

Drinking hard mid week isn't cool.

 

[Skippos]

Everyone looks good in highlight vids. That's why they're called 'highlights'.

In the end none of us has seen as much of him as our recruiters - what concerns me is that every other Melbourne club would have seen him a lot more than our recruiters. That's why (IMO) our drafting from Melbourne has been utter, utter ratshit since pretty much day 1, except for a couple of mature age VFL players that were drafted super late.
This idea that we can outsmart 10 other clubs in their own backyard is fanciful bullshit, and this selection reeks of that.

I just saw this post appear in the sidebar on the main forum page and *had* to respond.

AFL clubs aren't idiots. >50% of players come out of Victoria. Knowing that, do you think they base their recruitment team/s out of their home state?

While I don't know the ins and outs of Fremantle's situation specifically, I'm nearly certain they'd have nearly as many Victorian based recruiters as Victorian clubs. Recruiters who live there, work in a small team there, conference there, and then report back to HQ. I know of interstate clubs (Ogilvie @ Adelaide, for example) who have their head recruiters based in Vic. Why wouldn't you? They're exposed to the widest variety and depth of prospects weekly and can conference with the biggest recruiting team far more easily.

Don't kid yourself. This is a multi-million dollar industry. Clubs aren't biased by region. They don't make low percentage decisions on staffing out of regional convenience. They don't let their rivals get better looks and more depth than them. You covered your bases. If you've picked Sturt, your recruiters have seen as much of him as other clubs and liked it.

 

[Wally Walpamur]

Ok, now that I’ve had time to think about it, this feels more like Logue than Fyfe. Player that chose football late, good athlete, great kick, great mark. Hopefully he has more luck with injury.

 

[anchor man]

So many of our "supporters" are very negative.I am not sure why.
Skippos nailed it about recruiters.We have as many eyes on the ground in Melbourne as any one.Every club is the same.
Every club selects the best player , or the best player to suit their wants and needs. Obviously the recruiters saw Sturt as a project player who will give us plenty in a year or maybe his second year.His body doesn't loo quite up to it right now.
He seems more than happy to be coming to Fremantle.If that is the case , then we are on a winner.Maybe not this coming season, but the next.

 

[Frigate]

Firstly I am happy with the selection. Secondly, I do not think we should pick local for the sake of it - every kid is different, and you need to back your environment by picking what is in the interests of the club.

Here is the fun part. If we all write down who will be 100 game players out of the top 36 picks (2 picks each club) -keep it simple fellas for me!
the stats on a selection playing 100 games inside the top 10 is reasonable. Beyond that it gets more shady. This draft - the top 36 - even in a super draft, there will be maybe 11 players that play 100. You can quote me on this later.

Comparing a kid drafted to Nat Fyfe is just silly. A Brownlow medalist needs not be compared to a new recruit in any way or form.
We hope he plays a game, then 10 games, then 20 games, then 50, then we are looking at a 3 year player in most cases. So from there, hopefully within another 3 years they have met the 100 game barrier. This is for the "elite recruits". Others may take longer, some to injury, some to family, some to attitude. Some just do not develop in skill or smarts.

100 games, is it hard? F#ck yes it is. It becomes a lifetime of commitment to AFL as a profession.

Living the dream? Perhaps, when the fans want you.

We need to love our players again, we need to enjoy losing (competitive - not smashings), then win, and win more. Expecting Sturt to be Steph next year - how does that help us? ...

 

[Dockers v Channel7West]

So why are we so bad at drafting Melbourne kids?

What like Cerra and Brayshaw ?
Doesn't look too bad to me.....

 

[One_Wing]

Link to said sub reddit pls?

https://old.reddit.com/r/FremantleFC/

 

[Carson Dial]

Prozac appears to be in short supply atm

 

[maccamk]

He looks like Fyfe when he was the same age. Same height and same great marking ability.

No one is comparing him to present day Fyfe.

 

[The Joker]

This is exactly the 'type' we need so I'm stoked with this selection (I've never seen him before today so im only going by his profile and online clips).

Really surprising they went for such a raw kid but in a happy way. It's always good to see a kid that can not only get the ball, but use it well too, especially when they are at Fremantle!

 

[Rob]

I just saw this post appear in the sidebar on the main forum page and *had* to respond.

AFL clubs aren't idiots. >50% of players come out of Victoria. Knowing that, do you think they base their recruitment team/s out of their home state?

While I don't know the ins and outs of Fremantle's situation specifically, I'm nearly certain they'd have nearly as many Victorian based recruiters as Victorian clubs. Recruiters who live there, work in a small team there, conference there, and then report back to HQ. I know of interstate clubs (Ogilvie @ Adelaide, for example) who have their head recruiters based in Vic. Why wouldn't you? They're exposed to the widest variety and depth of prospects weekly and can conference with the biggest recruiting team far more easily.

Don't kid yourself. This is a multi-million dollar industry. Clubs aren't biased by region. They don't make low percentage decisions on staffing out of regional convenience. They don't let their rivals get better looks and more depth than them. You covered your bases. If you've picked Sturt, your recruiters have seen as much of him as other clubs and liked it.

My analysis is more evidence based.

Our record in drafting Melbourne kids out of the first half of the draft is terrible. I don't doubt that they liked what they saw with Sturt - just like how they liked what they saw with Sheridan, Apeness, Pitt, Crozier, Michie and Balic (that's all the Melbourne kids we drafted from 2010 to 2015 in the first 2 rounds).
None of those players are currently on our list.

Please, tell me more about how great our recruiters are.

 

[Vintage]

Sturt like Fyfe? based on the footage available?

He's averaging 12 touches and 2 goals a game over 6 games.

Drinking hard mid week isn't cool.

out of interest what were Fyfe's stats when he was drafted? He was drafted as a (skinny) HFF wasn't he?