List Mgmt. The 2024 Draft (Nov 20/21)

[Keys]

Quick links

• Player contract status
• Draft prospect video highlights (thanks to noobermensch)
• Provisional 2025 Draft order

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Key Dates

• Oct 17 to Nov 8: Pick swap window
• Nov 1 to Nov 8: Delisted free agency period
• Nov 20-21: Telstra AFL Draft
• Nov 22: Telstra Pre-Season Draft and Rookie Draft

List Spots Available

• 5 Main list
• 1 Rookie list

Current Draft Picks

• Main Draft - 12,26,73,81,99
• Rookie Draft - 3

 

[Keys]

Trade week is done and dusted for another year and our focus shifts exclusively to the upcoming draft which is now less than a month away

It’s fair to say trade period didn’t go as well as hoped. The draft hand we’ve been left with is somewhat short of what many had envisaged

Starting out with a draft hand of picks 3 and 23 that was set to be bolstered by the Barrass trade to Hawthorn, we’ve been left with picks 12 and 26 after splitting 3 for 12 and Liam Baker

7

Liam Baker

Age

26

Ht

173cm

Wt

72kg

Pos.

D/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.7

4star

K

7.8

3star

HB

7.9

5star

M

3.2

3star

T

2.6

4star

MG

222.2

3star

D

14.6

4star

K

6.8

3star

HB

7.9

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

1.8

3star

MG

191.9

3star

D

14.4

4star

K

6.2

3star

HB

8.2

5star

M

1.6

2star

T

1.8

4star

MG

224.2

4star

(and Matt Owies). Pick 23 was pushed back to 26 after FA compensation, whilst the Barrass bounty was achieved in the form of future picks

It wasn’t a popular result with fans and has tempered draft expectations due to the absence of a genuinely high draft pick. That said, it’s now on our recruiters to nail what is a very important draft

Before getting to my Five Burning Questions, a quick recap for those living under a rock or unwilling to scroll through 800 pages of the most recent trade/draft thread

Start point- Picks 3,23,59,77

Trades :
• Jack Graham

34

Jack Graham

Age

26

Ht

181cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.7

4star

K

8.0

3star

HB

6.8

4star

M

2.1

2star

T

6.3

5star

CL

1.8

4star

D

11.8

3star

K

5.3

2star

HB

6.5

4star

M

2.8

3star

T

4.2

5star

CL

1.2

4star

D

14.0

4star

K

6.0

3star

HB

8.0

5star

M

1.8

2star

T

7.0

5star

CL

3.2

5star

signed as a FA
• Jack Darling

27

Jack Darling

Age

32

Ht

191cm

Wt

95kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.1

3star

K

7.9

3star

HB

4.2

3star

M

5.0

5star

T

3.0

5star

G

1.9

5star

D

8.0

2star

K

4.3

2star

HB

3.7

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.4

3star

G

1.3

5star

D

14.6

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

7.0

5star

M

6.0

5star

T

4.0

5star

G

1.4

5star

for pick 67
• Then the trade that blew up the trade thread, separated into its three components
a) Pick 3 for picks 12,14
b) Picks 63,68 for Matt Owies, 73
c) Pick 14 for Liam Baker

7

Liam Baker

Age

26

Ht

173cm

Wt

72kg

Pos.

D/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.7

4star

K

7.8

3star

HB

7.9

5star

M

3.2

3star

T

2.6

4star

MG

222.2

3star

D

14.6

4star

K

6.8

3star

HB

7.9

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

1.8

3star

MG

191.9

3star

D

14.4

4star

K

6.2

3star

HB

8.2

5star

M

1.6

2star

T

1.8

4star

MG

224.2

4star

• Tom Barrass

37

Tom Barrass

Age

29

Ht

197cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.2

3star

K

8.8

3star

HB

3.4

3star

M

6.1

5star

T

0.9

3star

MG

158.5

3star

D

10.1

3star

K

8.0

3star

HB

2.1

2star

M

5.6

5star

T

0.3

1star

MG

139.6

2star

D

11.4

3star

K

7.2

3star

HB

4.2

4star

M

5.2

5star

T

0.4

3star

MG

160.0

3star

and our F4 for Hawthorn’s F1,F2,F3

End point-
• Picks 12,26,73,81
• Pick 3 in the Rookie Draft
• Picks 2xF1, 2xF2, 2xF3 (Ours and Hawthorn’s), no F4

New players - Graham, Baker, Owies

Retired - Gaff
Traded - Darling, Barrass
Delisted - Jones, Trew(R), Baker(R), Witherden, Burgiel, Culley(R), Rotham

Contracted players for 2025 -
• Main list - 32
• Rookie list - 3
• Cat B - 2
• TBA - 1 (Luke Edwards who hasn’t been delisted or been contracted for 2025)

Leaves us with 6 open list spots - 5 main list and 1 rookie list - pending a decision on the future of Luke Edwards.

That should bring everyone up to date with where we stand, now to what lies ahead.

 

[Keys]

My Five Burning Questions

1) Who do we draft with picks 12 and 26?

By trading pick 3, we’re out of the very top end of the draft but can still get a quality player with pick 12 in what is considered an even draft, albeit that our choice will be largely dictated by what clubs do before our turn comes

There are, by my reckoning 8 players (all midfielders) we’d have considered to varying degrees with pick 3 - Finn O’Sullivan, Jagga Smith, Sam Lalor, Sid Draper, Harvey Langford, Josh Smillie, Toby Travaglia and (possibly) Bo Allan.

Most, if not all, of these will be gone by pick 12 (will probably be 15 on the night due to academy/FS bids). How many of that group remain will depend on which of the following are taken before our pick -

• Alex Tauru (Tall defender)
• Harry Armstrong (Tall forward)
• Murphy Reid (Midfielder with go home issues)
• Taj Hotton (See Reid but with an ACL injury)
• Luke Trainor (Defender)
• Jobe Shanahan (Tall forward)

Tauru, Armstrong and Reid are all very likely to be taken but we need at least one, and preferably all three, of the others to ensure at least one of that group of 8 falls through to our pick.

Worst case scenario is we’re left with none of the 8, or just Allan. That would leave us with a choice between say Allan, Hotton or Reid or pick from the next tier of talent- someone like Xavier Lindsay, Joe Berry or Cooper Hynes

Pick 26 is a very open field and we may look to add another mid, a running half back or a KPD. Players to look out for here include, but aren’t limited to, Harry Oliver, Tom Gross, Christian Moraes, Kale Gerreyn, Hamish Davis, Jack Ough, Noah Mraz and James Barrat.

2) Do we trade for another pick in the draft?

Don Pyke is in record as saying we will investigate trading for an extra pick in this draft as our plan was to have 3 picks in the top 30 or so. Due to the Barrass trade we are well stocked with future picks that we can use to acquire another current year draft pick. Our options are (and note that I am firmly against using two picks to get one) -

• Trade our F1 pick for a top 10 pick. Firstly, I think it will be near impossible to find a dance partner for this. Given we likely finish bottom 4 again, we’d be better holding that pick for next year
• Trade the Hawthorn F1 pick. If we could get one of pick 19 (Sydney), 20 (Richmond), 21 (GWS), 22 (Sydney) or 23 (Richmond) then I’d take it. GWS and Sydney might be looking for future picks with strong academy prospects on the horizon and Richmond might want to spread their draft bounty over 2 years. That said. I’m doubtful any of those three will take the Hawthorn pick without asking for extras which means I’d be unwilling to give more unless someone we REALLY like is still on the board
• GWS (37), Carlton (38) and Sydney (44) might be interested in a later trade of picks
• The trade that has been discussed in the earlier thread and which I think is the best option is a trade with Essendon. They have picks 28 and 31 which will be burned matching a bid on Isaac Kako, so they’ll be looking to trade those picks as they have later picks with sufficient points. So trade the 2xF2 picks we have for 28 and 31, then trade 26 to Essendon for their F2 after they’ve matched the Kako bid. There might be a need for some swaps of later picks but essentially that trade works for both clubs. Would give us two bites at the players I listed earlier as possible targets with 26

Note that the above options are glaringly obvious so other clubs will be trying to do the same as us and may be willing to offer a better deal, but I do believe we’ll secure another pick at some point during the draft

3) Can we match a bid for Malakai Champion?

Champion is our sole NGA prospect for 2024 and since we traded picks 63 and 68 for pick 73 as part of the overall pick 3 trade there’s been some undue concern that we’d be unable to match a bid on Malakai.

Firstly, there’s a genuine possibility that no bid will come. If one does however, pick 73 (and 81 if necessary) will come in by 8-10 places due to earlier bid matching on other players and give us enough points to match a bid at around pick 45 or later. A bid before 45 seems unlikely.

Should no bid eventuate we would have the option of drafting him with whatever pick 73 becomes or hold over to the rookie draft and take him with pick 3

There is also the option, if we’re confident of no one bidding, of moving Dewar to the rookie list to open up a Cat B spot thus enabling us to prelist Champion as a Cat B rookie after the main draft. The risk here is if a bid does come we’d lose a list spot as Dewar would be need to be moved prior to the draft - we’d be better off assuming a bid will come and take Champion in the RD if one doesn’t

End result is that one way or another, Champion will be in the wings come November 21/22

4) How do we round out our list?

For those who’ve been keeping count, from the above we will have added 3 new draftees and Malakai Champion which would leave us with 2 list spots unfilled.

To do this we can use one or more of the following -

• Signing a player in the DFA period from November 1 to 8
• Signing a player(s) as a SSP selection post draft after assessing them as a train on option
• Using an extra draft or rookie draft pick which seems unlikely given the clubs comments

A number of names have been linked to us, either in the media or on the wishlist of posters here. They include-

• Jack Carroll (my preferred option as a DFA)
• Denver Grainger-Barrass
• Tom Clurey (my least preferred option)
• Ethan Phillips
• Max Knobel (my funniest but least likely option)
• Coby Burgiel who has been invited to earn his spot back as a train on option
• Isiah Winder (my wishful thinking option)
• Trey Ruscoe

Just who we choose may well depend on the player types we pick up in the draft

5) The curious case of Luke Edwards

As people would know, the future of Luke Edwards is in doubt as he undertakes medical testing to assess his capacity to continue playing after suffering three separate concussions during 2024

The prevailing assumption is that he’ll be forced into medical retirement but it’s unknown when that decision will be made. And until that decision comes he will remain on our list as apparently there are legal/compensation implications if he’s delisted prior to that decision

Strong possibility he’s delisted prior to the draft then added back as a rookie draft selection giving us more flexibility with list spots. If he’s then cleared to play he does so as a rookie listed player or alternatively he is then retired and we then add another player as a SSP selection from the list identified above



Over to you lot (Heaven help me)

And play nice

 

[omgfridge]

**** me thats some overall depressing albeit accurate summary of our moves. Mostly just how far our draft pick drops and the players we are now missing out on. I'd really not want Allan. We already have a very capable defender who didn't have the smarts for midfield - Ginbey.

I haven't read the million pages of the former thread but has Parfitt been linked to us as a DFA? I'm not overly fussed but I'd take him over few of the links. Phillips would be my choice for a key defender over DGB & Clurey.

 

[Keys]

**** me thats some overall depressing albeit accurate summary of our moves. Mostly just how far our draft pick drops and the players we are now missing out on. I'd really not want Allan. We already have a very capable defender who didn't have the smarts for midfield - Ginbey.

I haven't read the million pages of the former thread but has Parfitt been linked to us as a DFA? I'm not overly fussed but I'd take him over few of the links. Phillips would be my choice for a key defender over DGB & Clurey.

Parfitt might have been tenuously linked to us very early but there’s been nothing I’ve seen recently in the media

I think given that due to his age (26) being similar to that of Graham(26). Baker(26) and Owies(27) who we’ve already brought in we’re unlikely to bring him across as well

My best guess is we eventually bring in 3 players via DFA/SSP following the medical retirement of Edwards

• Jack Carroll seems too obvious not to take and if he wants more game we’re his best option
• Coby Burgiel because I suspect we still want him as he has the talent for AFL but needed to give him a jolt to realise he needs to work harder and want to see evidence of that before committing to him
• Probably another KPP, especially if we don’t draft one, and I suspect that it’ll be Clurey as a short term emergency option for a year or two

 

[JADED]

Hopefully we start a 2025 Hawthorn death ride thread next year. (No point til final picks are locked)
Most see them on the improve with their additions, but fingers crossed they finish bottom 8.
Stranger things have happened..

 

[We_The_West]

Parfitt might have been tenuously linked to us very early but there’s been nothing I’ve seen recently in the media

I think given that due to his age (26) being similar to that of Graham(26). Baker(26) and Owies(27) who we’ve already brought in we’re unlikely to bring him across as well

My best guess is we eventually bring in 3 players via DFA/SSP following the medical retirement of Edwards

• Jack Carroll seems too obvious not to take and if he wants more game we’re his best option
• Coby Burgiel because I suspect we still want him as he has the talent for AFL but needed to give him a jolt to realise he needs to work harder and want to see evidence of that before committing to him
• Probably another KPP, especially if we don’t draft one, and I suspect that it’ll be Clurey as a short term emergency option for a year or two

Thanks for the clean thread Keys!

Agree with all the above - really hoping that we get a gun mid slider. Although it appears very risky with the go home factor, there needs to be a line drawn by non-VIC clubs around these precious Melbourne mummies boys.

There seems to be a growing trend of young Victorian draftees thinking it's acceptable to tell clubs they're not interested in moving interstate.... the AFL needs to stamp this out immediately if it is taking the competitive balance review seriously.

If Murphy Reid slides, we should take him! Bring him over to the West, find him a bomb hot missus and get excited for the next 15 years of the Reid Tripod - Harley, Archer and Murphy

Furthmore, Burgiel does seem to fit that Richmond 2017-2020 profile or small, fast, skillful pressure fwds/mids that we need. Drafted as a forward/mid, developed into a half-back/winger... maybe we should give him a crack at being a fwd/mid...

 

[Wooshaaaa]

For me

Carroll is a must. 21. Hard ball gets. Clean with the ball. Reasonable pace.

Phillips has to be a consideration. He is tried and tested at VFL. Some further development could result in a Moneyball coup.

I hope we do find a way to have another selection in the draft around 25-35. There will be plenty to choose from.



On Pixel 6 Pro using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[We_The_West]

For me

Carroll is a must. 21. Hard ball gets. Clean with the ball. Reasonable pace.

Phillips has to be a consideration. He is tried and tested at VFL. Some further development could result in a Moneyball coup.

I hope we do find a way to have another selection in the draft around 25-35. There will be plenty to choose from.



On Pixel 6 Pro using BigFooty.com mobile app

Agreed - worst case they are both great additions to the Beagles

 

[Spooky17]

Carroll, Phillips and Knobel please.

 

[squashface]

Starting out with a draft hand of picks 3 and 23 that was set to be bolstered by the Barrass trade to Hawthorn, we’ve been left with picks 12 and 26 after splitting 3 for 12 and Liam Baker (and Matt Owies). Pick 23 was pushed back to 26 after FA compensation, whilst the Barrass bounty was achieved in the form of future picks

Thanks Keys now I'm annoyed again