Is the Draft Camp a load of old guff?

[UNIT]

Ooooh ooooh such and such had the all time greatest skin fold test in the history of the universe....

Ooooh ooooh such an such recorded the greatest ever beep test time.....

Ooooh ooooh such and such recorded the greatest jump and chalk of all time....

Seriously is the Draft Camp just identifying clowns like Graham Polak who might be gun athletes but rubbish footballers?

What would of happened to blokes like Scott West and Drew Banfield if they were coming into the game in this day and age? Sorry son your vertical leap isnt high enough? Sorry son your sit and reach wasnt good enough?

I have no problem with the Draft Camp in as much as its an opportunity for recruiters to see whats in there before they name a bloke...but people need to remember its football, not basketball.

 

[drakeyv2]

Helps lazy recruiting officers.

 

[hotpie]

At band camp..........

 

[The_Eagles]

lots of athletes just cant find the pill for some reason..however others will annihilate their slower teammates

 

[UNIT]

lots of athletes just cant find the pill for some reason..however others will annihilate their slower teammates

And some 'footballers' will annihalate some 'Athletes' in terms of heart, courage and commitment. Just look at Nick Riewoldt the soft bastard.

 

[Mr Crow!]

I agree UNIT.

Hate to think what would happen to Greg Williams, if he was an up and coming youngster developing in the system.

Sorry recruiters, but 2 Brownlow medals is greater than the worst beep test record.

 

[James23]

yeh its pretty sad that the new methods used to bring players into the AFL system benefit natural athletes rather then natural footballers.. i very much doubt darren jarman would get drafted under the current system had it been used back then

 

[Stiffy_18]

I don't think recruiters use Draft Camp as a primary source when rating thse kids. Draft Camps are used just to supplement what is already known by the recruiters. Its tells you a fair bit about the kinds apart fromt their athletic ability.

You might really like a certain kid as a footballer, he can find the footy, he can use it but you don't know what his psychological of the kid. If he performs really crap in the beep test it tells you that he is probably not great with handling the pain. Beep test is as much mental as it is physical. When the lungs start to burn, the the feet feel like they are made out of concrete, some players quit, some go on. Those that go on show you that they are mentally tough to play the game. They are determined and will not give up until they give everything they can.

You might also like another kid a lot but you aren't sure about his pace or his agility and how that would translate into AFL footy. Draft camp gives you the opportunity to see if this kid is good enough in that area or not.

Rectuiters first and foremost look at players as footballer. However, people need to realise that the game of football has gone up a notch in terms of athletic ability. Its become faster, players cover more ground than they ever did before and there is a certain level of athletic ability that players need to have. There is still a place for footballers in the game. West, Sam Mitchell, and Drew Banfield are proof of that.

 

[demon_fan]

I think recruiters and coaches should look deeper into the TAC cup as apposed to the draft camp.

 

[Bigger]

Graham Polak?

An athlete?

I don't mind your inflammatory nonsense, in the main - it's amusing in the way drunk people in caravan parks tend to be - but you really should put a bit of effort into your examples. Polly may kick like he's just been pulled off the bucket bong but he's a footballer first, last and middle.

An athlete!

 

[TuskenRaider]

It would help them when they can't decide between Player A & Player B, they can look at the various results and maybe choose one over the other based on that.

It's certainly not going to mean they will be a better player but it's going to help to know if a potential midfielder has good endurance or a small forward has plenty of speed.

Otherwise, I agree that they over-hype it.

 

[windyhill]

Agree with Unit. It`s a load of ********.

 

[Freo Big Fella]

And some 'footballers' will annihalate some 'Athletes' in terms of heart, courage and commitment. Just look at Nick Riewoldt the soft bastard.

or McDougall.

 

[theorangeapple]

UNIT you are being pretty close minded. Recruiters are past the stage of looking for athletes. They have gone back to a more footy based player. However, the draft camp is needed to allow recruiters to seem all the players together so a comparision can be drawn. It is not purely based on athletics, their are interviews, lectures, skills sessions and physological testing. How do you propose we test all those attributes when players are spread all over the country playing in different standard of leagues?

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

The draft camp is a load of new guff.