BigFooty Official The 2013 BigFooty Phantom Draft

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missionpossiblet: 30852578 said:
To be honest I don't think it matters who Brisbane pick as long as they don't go left field. aish, Billing, scharenberg, Sheed, Bontempelli all good for Brisbane.
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Spot on...no rucks or talls around the pick 7 to tempt us. Best available mid type...our picks later will get interesting
 

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TerryWallet said:
Why would you use a top 12 or 15 pick on a less skilled Sam Mitchell?

It is Sam Mitchell's skill that makes him Sam Mitchell and not Matt Priddis.
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Sam Mitchell would be worth pick 2 in this draft.
Sam Mitchell isn't all skill with that rare ability to use it on both sides so well. He's also got the most natural inside game in the competition despite his relative lack of size but then also finds it outside.

Priddis would probably be worth a pick somewhere around 10 this year. Not everyone picked 10-20 even make the grade. And not so many become stars with usually only 1-2 exceptions to this most years in that draft range.

That said I'd take Crouch before I'd take Priddis. He'll find more of the footy. His kick while it's not Sam Mitchell's. No natural inside mid has that same type of ability on both sides as Mitchell and no other inside mids have that same ability by foot. By foot Crouch's weakness has been overstated. I have no issue with it. It's not heart in the mouth stuff with he has the ball. When it is, that's when you've got an issue.

It's like those who keep rabbitting on about Sheed lacking pace. It's overstated. He's a good player despite it. And if anything he's a relatively good mover the more I look at his game.

So I wouldn't make so much of relative weakness/limitations. If you do what you do better than the next guy you can make it in our game and not everyone has the ability to be a star, nor do they need to be a star to present value and be a strong selection.
 
Pick 13: Carlton - Matthew Crouch
Height: 181 cm,
Weight: 80 kg,
DOB: 21/04/1995
Club: North Ballarat Rebels

I have had the pleasure of seeing more of Matt Crouch than I have of many of the other top picks. Unlike many of the better performed midfielders in this cohort, he is not a dwarf, although he is not huge. Many of his direct competitors were around the 173 - 176 cm range. Crouch, at 181 has a slight advantage in this area.
However, it is his style of play that suggests crouch will be a player. Crouch is a clearance specialist, and probably the most effective inside player in this cohort. He rarely got less than 30 possessions in a game, even with the time restrictions of the U18 format. He h\managed to get more than 40 possessions at least 3 times that I recall, and this in a team that had a very poor year and who did not have a dominant ruck combination. Nor has he been 100 % fit when getting these numbers: he had a hand injury that bothered him for much of the season.
Crouch tackles hard and enthusiastically. He seems to thrive on the contact and the contest. He is excellent at smothering others and getting the ball to hand or foot quickly.
One of his issues is that his kicks do not always hurt, but considering that a large proportion of them come direct from contests, that does not surprise me that much. Chris Judd has been criticized in the same way in recent times for similar reasons: he is extracting the ball from packs and contests with lots of bodies hungrily circling. In that regard he remind me a bit of Barry Armstrong (Carlton) and Des Meagher (Hawthorn). Both guys were criticized for their kicking when they got ball in packs and got their foot to the ball before anyone else could stop them.
Crouch's kicking is never going to be huge: do not expect him to heave goals through from 60 m out. However, given time, he usually hits targets.
At this point he has been labeled an ordinary to lazy trainer. I am not sure he will remain that way in an AFL environment. Any issues with his tank will be addressed, and probably pretty quickly. I cannot see him being satisfied to bring up the tail on the run around Princes Park that often, like Fev used to. Certainly his ability to improve can be seen in his pace, something that was labeled a major weakness last year, and yet has not been a significant issue this year at all. However, his brother does seem to have that extra bit of athleticism and burst of speed that Matt lacks at this point.
Strengths

    • Inside Ball winning ability – I expect Crouch to do well in his first season in this area and I would expect him to be ranked close to the top in contested ball inside a couple of seasons. It is his specialty and he does it well. I expect him to challenge for centre clearances, hard ball gets, clearances, 1st possessions and tackles.
    • Overhead skills – Crouch doesn't get a lot of opportunity to show his marking skills, but he does have a good pair of hands and rarely 2 grabs marks. Don't expect him to fly over packs and take hangers, but I wouldn't be surprised if he got more contested marks than most would expect.
    • Reading of the play – Like Diesel Williams and Sam Mitchell, Crouch usually gets where the ball is, or where it is going. He doesn't do much running around other guys and getting soft possessions, he is a primary ball winner and he places himself in thick of the action.
    • Defensive ability – Crouch plays a lot like an aboriginal player: he doesn't tend to stick closely to his man, instead he hunts him and buries him when he gets the chance. His pace means he doesn't tend to run a lot of guys down from behind, but in a pack he may get a series of tackles on anyone who deigns to steal 'his' ball. He doesn't mind how big they are: they all fall just nicely.
    • Speed of Disposal – Crouch appears to have good reflexes: he gets his hand or foot to the ball very quickly. This is especially useful near goal, where he scrubs through goals from nothing situations.
    • Consistency – Crouch is a consistent player, he always seems to perform most weeks and plays his role well. He consistently racks up the disposals and rarely gets less than 30.
    • Clean Hands - Crouch is very clean below the knees, he rarely fumbles, is one touch and is quick to get the ball out of contests.

Weaknesses/ Areas of Improvement

    • Athleticism – There have been questions raised over how hard Crouch appears to train. I expect to see some changes in this regard when he becomes part of the AFL environment, especially as he appears to be quite competitive. he lacks that leap and burst of pace his brother has, but he has improved in this area significantly since he started in the U18's.
    • Disposal - Not known for either length of kicking or the percentage of his ball finding team mates. basically this come from his role and how he gets his foot to the ball. His kicking is neat enough in space.
    • Versatility - definitely not his strength, Crouch will play predominantly in the midfield, with some time as a small forward.
 
TerryWallet said:
Why would you use a top 12 or 15 pick on a less skilled Sam Mitchell?

It is Sam Mitchell's skill that makes him Sam Mitchell and not Matt Priddis.
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Not sure why you are dissing Priddis when that guy has given us plenty of grief over the last few years. Personally I think Carlton do need another acculumator/clearance winner

Priddis has given us a touch up over the years though.
 
I cannot believe a certain Tasmanian is still available, people must be scared off spelling his name, he is top 6 imo and quality. Also I like the pick of Salem TFLUA-Tiger he is a great prospect imo and I have him at 7. Personally I think Bontempelli is overrated and that whilst Freeman has a ton of potential there are a few holes in his game. Lastly I think Acres will go closer to 20, as whilst the talent is there to be very good I feel he has been overrated a fair bit.
 
Offsider said:
I cannot believe a certain Tasmanian is still available, people must be scared off spelling his name, he is top 6 imo and quality. Also I like the pick of Salem TFLUA-Tiger he is a great prospect imo and I have him at 7. Personally I think Bontempelli is overrated and that whilst Freeman has a ton of potential there are a few holes in his game. Lastly I think Acres will go closer to 20, as whilst the talent is there to be very good I feel he has been overrated a fair bit.
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Tasmanians will usually slide on these, not worried. People just seen more of the players from the other states.
 
Knightmare said:
Sam Mitchell would be worth pick 2 in this draft.
Sam Mitchell isn't all skill with that rare ability to use it on both sides so well. He's also got the most natural inside game in the competition despite his relative lack of size but then also finds it outside.

Priddis would probably be worth a pick somewhere around 10 this year. Not everyone picked 10-20 even make the grade. And not so many become stars with usually only 1-2 exceptions to this most years in that draft range.

That said I'd take Crouch before I'd take Priddis. He'll find more of the footy. His kick while it's not Sam Mitchell's. No natural inside mid has that same type of ability on both sides as Mitchell and no other inside mids have that same ability by foot. By foot Crouch's weakness has been overstated. I have no issue with it. It's not heart in the mouth stuff with he has the ball. When it is, that's when you've got an issue.

It's like those who keep rabbitting on about Sheed lacking pace. It's overstated. He's a good player despite it. And if anything he's a relatively good mover the more I look at his game.

So I wouldn't make so much of relative weakness/limitations. If you do what you do better than the next guy you can make it in our game and not everyone has the ability to be a star, nor do they need to be a star to present value and be a strong selection.
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I would be happy if Crouch could run hard and kick like Brock Mclean who is a terrific kick with both feet. Mclean weights his kick beautifully like a poor man's Mitchell, Williams or Ratten. "A neat kick in space" sounds more like your Shaun Grigg or Kane Lucas who are more outside mids. Don't want that after hearing that and another description of Crouch as being an OK kick. We need good kicks and decision makers.

No one really runs down and stops Mclean getting the ball. Brock doesn't stop moving in spite of his lack of pace. Terrific awareness and footy smarts plus a bigger engine than Crouch. Brock ran a 3.03 twenty metres and 14.7 beep at draft camp. Crouch is a lot slower than Mclean. Crouch might turn out to be a bargain or another Andrew Swallow, yet he doesn't appear to tick the boxes most would want in a mid. Especially with the interchange cap.
 

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You are comparing a seasoned AFL player to a kid though.


If Crouch is capable of been a player who can rack up the clearances and hardball then he sounds like a great inside mid. I think we need another player who is willing to bleed for the footy.
 
A_McKay said:
I would be happy if Crouch could run hard and kick like Brock Mclean who is a terrific kick with both feet. Mclean weights his kick beautifully like a poor man's Mitchell, Williams or Ratten. "A neat kick in space" sounds more like your Shaun Grigg or Kane Lucas who are more outside mids. Don't want that after hearing that and another description of Crouch as being an OK kick. We need good kicks and decision makers.

No one really runs down and stops Mclean getting the ball. Brock doesn't stop moving in spite of his lack of pace. Terrific awareness and footy smarts plus a bigger engine than Crouch. Brock ran a 3.03 twenty metres and 14.7 beep at draft camp. Crouch is a lot slower than Mclean. Crouch might turn out to be a bargain or another Andrew Swallow, yet he doesn't appear to tick the boxes most would want in a mid. Especially with the interchange cap.
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I couldn't care less about the interchange cap.

Crouch will learn to rotate forward and present as a marking target. Those inside types with that level of inside ability learn can learn that. Luke Ball learnt that. Brock McLean learnt that. He's got the hands where he can integrate that into his game.

Crouch is impressive because he doesn't have that running ability. He's first the to ball every time so it couldn't matter less. Once he's in a professional environment and builds that endurance he'll only reach greater heights.

It sounds like you underestimate Crouch's running game and footskills. You don't have to test well to be good. Testing means nothing.
Ask anyone who's watched Joel Wilkinson get a draft combine record of 2.75sec on the 20m sprint.
It's about what they do on the field. Not on the track.

And Crouch gets it done on the field.
 
Offsider said:
I cannot believe a certain Tasmanian is still available, people must be scared off spelling his name, he is top 6 imo and quality. Also I like the pick of Salem TFLUA-Tiger he is a great prospect imo and I have him at 7. Personally I think Bontempelli is overrated and that whilst Freeman has a ton of potential there are a few holes in his game. Lastly I think Acres will go closer to 20, as whilst the talent is there to be very good I feel he has been overrated a fair bit.
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He was absolutely my second choice for the Dogs at four - and not too far behind Aish. I'm stunned he's still around to be taken.
 
Dannnnnnnnnn said:
He was absolutely my second choice for the Dogs at four - and not too far behind Aish. I'm stunned he's still around to be taken.
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This is how ridiculous sliders like Darling and Grundy come about.

Recruiters get fixed on a player they think will be around their mark and then ignore the inexplicable slider.

Happens every year.
 
Knightmare said:
I couldn't care less about the interchange cap.

Crouch will learn to rotate forward and present as a marking target. Those inside types with that level of inside ability learn can learn that. Luke Ball learnt that. Brock McLean learnt that. He's got the hands where he can integrate that into his game.

Crouch is impressive because he doesn't have that running ability. He's first the to ball every time so it couldn't matter less. Once he's in a professional environment and builds that endurance he'll only reach greater heights.

It sounds like you underestimate Crouch's running game and footskills. You don't have to test well to be good. Testing means nothing.
Ask anyone who's watched Joel Wilkinson get a draft combine record of 2.75sec on the 20m sprint.
It's about what they do on the field. Not on the track.

And Crouch gets it done on the field.
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Mitch Grigg blew his sprint at the combine in 2011, should have gone first round but because a perception was created he was too slow. Slid to us at 41!

He will be an absolute gun - what a bargain thanks to the combine sprint
 
TerryWallet said:
This is how ridiculous sliders like Darling and Grundy come about.

Recruiters get fixed on a player they think will be around their mark and then ignore the inexplicable slider.

Happens every year.
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Kolodjashnij didn't quite have the same amount of hype coming into his draft year as either of those two.
 
TFLUA-Tiger said:
Kolodjashnij didn't quite have the same amount of hype coming into his draft year as either of those two.
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His hype has built pretty steadily over the past month though because of his move to the wing. Has climbed significantly in a lot of peoples' calculations.

Going to be a tough choice for Gold Coast if both he and Scharenberg are there I feel.
 
Knightmare said:
As I mentioned in my Bontempelli writeup Collingwood is too small, slow and workman like with few classy users of the footy and sticking to the theme of addressing these list weaknesses I'm again picking the only other guy along with Bontempelli who genuinely has the ability in this draft to become a star in this game with the combination of traits he has at his height while also having the production on the board.


Collingwood Pick 10 Blake Acres

My philosophy is when you can get quality size you take it. Acres as with Bontempelli is just another example of this.

Acres is a tall, classy user of the footy with extra time and space than the next guy with that evasive sidestep of his as well as some versatility, ability to win his own footy, tackle and the ability to take a grab.

Acres in the immediate would fit into my plans on a back flank or wing with those the glaring immediate weaknesses but eventually if and when Collingwood complete the back half and find someone else to become a wingman (hint: free agency next year) Acres I'd like to see become a full time midfielder who can rotate forward with this really where his value lies as someone who can find the footy easily wherever he plays but then also do damage with his touches with that extra time and space he has in combination with his precision ball use. He's just so unique at his height because you can genuinely play him anywhere and he'll look like the best guy out there.

Down back he'll read the play better than anyone else and take the intercept marks, win his 1v1s and then rack it up and use it better than anyone else but also provide meaningful rebound with his perfect footskills.

Up forward he'll find it just as easily with the way he finds the ball as a natural inside/outside accumulator. Provide a marking target but then also serious scoreboard impact as a natural finisher who will find it within range but then also push up the ground and be a playmaker with that ability to find the inside 50 targets.

Then through the midfield he'll win plenty of his own footy inside the contest as the most natural inside ball winner of all the tall midfielders this year but then balances that out with a natural outside game where he can equally find the footy and do his damage by foot.

Acres I feel will be one of the more immediate players despite being a tall as someone who performed so strongly this season showing that he can really find the footy. In addition to immediate performance he's also got monster long term potential going not only by that height and that combination of attributes but also that continued improvement. Acres is another story of he's got the pedigree. Both of his parents were athletes. He's got that endurance from his parents but then has also played plenty of basketball and you can really see it in his play in that Pendlebury type way.

He's been held back some with his shoulder this year but having seen enough guys from early picks put those injuries as juniors behind then - Judd/J.Selwood it's not something that concerns me. And the fact that he got through this year carrying that shoulder and still found and won so much of the ball so easily. That suggests to me that once he gets that shoulder right he has the opportunity to develop into an absolute monster of an onballer.

Had he been healthy people talk about him as someone who would quite possibly have featured in the top 10 but I think he would have been a top 5 selection had we seen a healthy Acres.
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I for one am not a fan of both Sheed and Acres being drafted before 11.:(
Although this may just be West Australian bias on my part
 
I don't think the question is whether or not Crouch will be a good player at the next level, it's more where he sits in comparison with others in this draft - and I couldn't take him ahead of either Trent Dumont or Luke Dunstan. Both are just as good clearance players in the middle, have more versatility in others of the ground, have better disposal and are bigger bodies. The only advantage I see Crouch as having is that he is Victorian.

I think Crouch will be a solid player, but others will be better.

As for this sliding Tasmanian, I have a feeling he wont last another pick...
 
# 14 GWS - Kade K

Lots of good of good options left with Taylor who am massive fan of but with Billings I don't need Taylor as much, Gardiner who I rate for this pick GWS have Tomlinson, Jaksch, Corr and Plowman for those spots and probably need a ready made defender more than anything and freeman who I still think could do 10-13.

Copped some side ways looks when I took Billings but had a hunch if it went that way and let GC take Scharenberg that Kade would get through to me at 14 and if that happened I would have got a kid I rate 2-3 in Billings plus a kid who is very similar type to Scarenberg insomuch as he can provide a quarterback type option or push onto a wing or mid role. I'll admit am warming to KK every day as have seen some more recent vision and he has a few people who should know and i trust super excited about him.

Real hard letting Lewis past. He is a steal from here on. If he Gardiner and Freeman aren't gone in next 3 saints will be over the moon.

Write up to come and can't wait for 29. With Boyd, billings and KK in the bag I reckon I have 3 which will go top 6
 
Pick # 15. Sydney. Darcy Gardiner.

Write up to come latter as I am about to head into a busy morning of meetings.

Brief comment I too was torn on letting both Taylor and Garlett go with this pick and Kolonoscopy was also very much in the mix but snoop just picked him up.

However Gardiner is a pick that very much satisfies a real need for Sydney and at the same does not compromise the position in which he has been taken he also fits in nicely, at this point with my strategy to select what I believe Sydney are after.

Still some ripper players still available on the board.

LemmingMaster your up.
 

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