Project Players??

[Saints08]

There is been a growing trend recently (last few years) of coaches to label their draftees 'project players'. It usually is a term given to young, thin ruckmen who need development, or perhaps athletic players converted from basketball or rugby.

What I want to know, is what percentage of these so called project players actually develop into good AFL players? Can anyone name any that are now at the top, especially ruckmen? Which of the top AFL ruckmen were project players, Cox? Hille? Sandilands? Petrie?

 

[Ochre]

dean brogan would have been one

 

[hawks_time]

I dunno about project players but I think a lot of ruckmen were basketball people before taking up AFL, I know Robbie Campbell was.

 

[Zvim]

Goldstein is a project player, had very little exposure to AFL and is shaping up to be a good ruckman for us.

Campbell was a project player, picked up in the third round of the rookie draft, he was very small and was a tad underweight but got elevated through injury and has been great for us since.

 

[4n20]

Every draftee should be labelled as project players. But i would think that players who are labelled 'elite' in only a small range of attributes for AFL and require a fair bit of work in the areas that are lacking would fit the bill as project players in AFL at present.

 

[Quinz]

Cox certainly was, Sandilands too most likely although the Dcokers fans would no more than I would.

We picked Cox in the rookie draft back in 2000, he was skinny and struggled big time when he first arrived with time trials and so on. But I guess we saw the potential and stuck with him and he turned out gold. He worked hard and got the rewards.

Doesn't always work out that way though, plenty of our project players have been delisted without playing many games.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Luke McEntee and Zac Dawson were project players for Hawthorn. McEntee was a late late convert to AFL from basketball and was always going to be up against it due to his lack of stature for a ruckman in the AFL.

Dawson is a tease. Could be a very good defender but his concentration wanders and I always had my heart in my mouth when he had possession. I hope he makes it with the Saints.

 

[bomber69]

Tadgh Kennelly comes to mind.

 

[__aria__]

brad moran didnt work out but goldstein is coming on in a huge way

dont think we have had any others

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Tadgh Kennelly comes to mind.

Further back, you have Jim Stynes and Sean White at the Demons.

Mike Pyke at the Swans is definitely a project player. Will be interesting to see how he turns out.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Daniel Merrett

 

[Johnson#26]

Tristen Walker.

 

[CrowMania1990]

Kurt Tippett,Joel Tippett and Ricky Henderson.

 

[Glassjaw]

Matty Egan. James Kelly brought him to the club and made them take a look at him. Was a tennis player up till then.

 

[#1 Dogs Fan]

At the Kennel

Tom Williams is our project player.
He has only managed 19 games in 4 years but that is mainly due to the fact he keeps getting injured. He is a very good athletic defender who will be one of the more better defenders in the AFL if he can stay on the pasrk.

Also I am not just saying that because he plays for the dogs but to anyone who has seen this kid play they will tell you he is very serviceable with plenty of upside.

 

[Ruddeger07]

Andrew Mackie was a project player in his early years at Geelong.He was a high draft choice,which suprised a lot of people.It turned out to be a good pick by Stephen Wells.

 

[dylan123]

n.bock?

 

[joe stalin]

I think every team probably has 1 or 2 on their list . Not as many as there used be though . Now , with lists limited to around 40 , plus rookies , and at least 3 draft picks must be used , if players haven't developed in 3 years , they have to go .
When every team had reserves and thirds ( under 19's ) , it didn't matter how long it took to develop .

Most u 19"s were project players .

 

[edgehead47]

I would say Sandilands was a project player. Came off the rookie list debuting in 2002 and spent a few years as the back up ruckman, missing games when we didn't want to go in too tall (or if it was too windy...)

 

[doondoon]

simon taylor was a rower for us, taken as an older pick

 

[Jeremias]

Shaun Hampson.

 

[BarneyBent]

Mike Pyke, Jake Orreal, Brendan Murphy.

 

[halfback dasher]

Do you also rate players who are taken in the draft that have bad injury,s as project players......i know thats a little different but sort of the same( will take an underclosed amount of time/work to MAYBE make it).....??

 

[Reverend Shinboner]

Hamish McIntosh is a classic project player. He was a top ten draft pick, but took 3-4 years to come on. When he did (2007) he was a big boost to NMFC.

 

[oneandone]

Spida was a project at the saints as was barry hall.
on the current list blake mcgrath is a ruck project and eljay connors is a put on weight project.
not sure about other clubs other than players already listed