Recruiting Trade/Draft Talk III - Zaharakis for a SIG BET?

[Lore]

JOIN AUSTRALIA'S BEST DRAFT COVERAGE

Who will the Bombers make this year's No.1? Here's how you can follow every pick of the 2016 NAB AFL Draft on Friday, November 25.

Pre-draft show from 3pm AEDT

• Join Brownlow winner Patrick Dangerfield and our draft experts for all the last-minute news and whispers LIVE from Sydney's Novotel Central

Follow the draft live from 6pm AEDT

• Join draft guru Cal Twomey for live coverage and analysis on AFL.com.au and the AFL app
• Watch the telecast LIVE on the Official AFL app
• Follow every pick as it happens on the AFL.com.au Draft Tracker
• Watch instant highlights of your club's new recruits
• Follow @AFLDraft on Twitter and AFL on Instagram and Snapchat for all the best behind-the-scenes access

http://www.afl.com.au/draft/draft-tracker

I'm just gonna leave this here, because I've been trying to find the information everywhere and there it is. I assume others were curious as well.

edit: as soon as I post everyone else's posts come up asking about it XD Timing!

 

[Scottie65]

I know it says kick off is at 6pm, but has a time been stated for the picks to begin? Or does anybody remember how much faffing around there was before the real stuff got going?

7pm

 

[GUMBLETRON]

Struggling to find radio station to listen. Help!!! When will first name likely be read out? Best advice for someone who hasn't got fox?

SEN on AM, DAB or streamed online.

 

[Jade]

I know it says kick off is at 6pm, but has a time been stated for the picks to begin? Or does anybody remember how much faffing around there was before the real stuff got going?

Around 7:10 is about right for pick 1.

You'd want to be listening by 7pm just to be safe.

Or in WA time, about 1986.

 

[Andronicus]

7pm

Cheers

Around 7:10 is about right for pick 1.

You'd want to be listening by 7pm just to be safe.

Or in WA time, about 1986.

Cheers, and **** you.

 

[Jade]

Cheers, and **** you.

 

[EnolaGay]

Im sold


Oscar Junker

Utility | Western Jets/Vic Metro
23/01/1998 | 191cm | 84kg
Player comparison: Luke Shuey

Snapshot:

Oscar Junker is one of those prototype tall midfielders who is able to use his big frame to win the inside ball yet hurt opposition on the outside. A balanced player, Junker wins 48.1 per cent of his possessions in a contest and averages an impressive 4.2 long kicks per game.

Perfect fit for the Bombers - give him #87 and nickname him Stuka.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Would suck if pick 29 turns into 38 like they showed on Fox Footy.

 

[Andronicus]

Would suck if pick 29 turns into 38 like they showed on Fox Footy.

It doesn't actually turn into pick 38 when the picks there are players we don't have access to.

 

[Loonerty]

To the live thread!
https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/2016-afl-national-draft-special-event.1152879/

 

[Loonerty]

One hour to go!

 

[Tippa43]

KEEEEEN

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

They look so young lols.

 

[ezard15]

Anyone else going to watch this on the AFL live app?

 

[quotemokc]

The only player I dont want at 20 is SPP

 

[DapperJong]

Nice OP WEEVZ

 

[Harlequin]

Great work WEEVZ

 

[DapperJong]

Anyone else going to watch this on the AFL live app?

I am, I'm stuck at work

 

[Zach Package]

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Are McGrath and Luggage manged by Connors? if so do not want

 

[Jade]

WEEVZ if I sounded like I was being rude to you in the draft thread I apologise - I'm happy that people have varied opinions on our boys and what we should be doing as a club.

 

[Jade]

Are McGrath and Luggage manged by Connors? if so do not want

No.

 

[Jade]

Are McGrath and Luggage manged by Connors? if so do not want

Ainsworth is though....

 

[DapperJong]

Ainsworth more like campaignerworth

 

[coastalpipeline]

Hey everyone, so here we are on the day of the 2016 AFL National Draft. A historic day for the Essendon Football Club and us the supporters as we hold the No. 1 pick for the first time in the clubs 143 year history and in the 20 year history of the draft. It’s an exciting time to be a Bombers supporter!

I was asked by the mod group to make this special event thread so we can discuss the draft as it happens and the potential options available to us. So let’s get stuck in!

So what is our draft strategy? Although suitably vague, Adrian Dodoro described it as follows:

PICK 1
“We’re taking the player we think is the best in Australia, and we think is the best fit for us. He just happens to tick both those boxes”

PICK 20
“A couple of the kids we’re looking at for pick 20 were names that we thought would be top-five picks at the start of the year. I think we’ll get a very good player”

PICK 29 and 41
“It’s not a draft we’ll go in with an exact order. It’s, ‘Get the first one, get the second one and then see what we’ve got and take a nice balance’. We’d like at some stage to get a tall, but we’ve also discussed it might be next year”

PICK 68
“It’s OK to get the No.1 pick right, but we need to get 67 right as well. We’re going in with the intention of using all our selections”

ROOKIE DRAFT
“We’ve got three selections. We have offered some previously listed players a spot and they have accepted, which we are really pleased with”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So what can we make of all of this?

Obviously it’s been well documented that Pick 1 is a three horse race between speedy half-back/inside midfielder Andrew McGrath, the goal-kicking and skilful midfielder Hugh McCluggage (my personal favourite in case I haven’t mentioned that before), and the tall Bontempelli-like Will Setterfield.

Opinion is split fairly evenly between McCluggage and McGrath with both viewed as potentially filling key roles in our side in years to come.

From there it starts to get interesting as given this is perhaps the deepest and most even draft in recent memory, it is difficult to predict where players may fall. For example, talented but raw key forward Todd Marshall was viewed as a certain top 10 prospect earlier in the year but after tailing off in form towards the end of the TAC Cup season could very well be available to us at Pick 20, as could combative forward Josh Battle who has been mentored by Bombers legend and all-time leading goal-kicker Matthew Lloyd, could we even see eth-dog's man-crush Will Brodie slide after an indifferent finish to the season? Unlikely but who knows! What is certain is that we are likely to get a very good player at Pick 20.

After this it seems we’ll look to fill needs to balance it all out. One player rumoured to be in the mix at Pick 29 is the big-bodied forward/mid Josh Begley after don patch sword confirmed that Adrian Dodoro had said at a game he felt that one of the Eastern Ranges players was being severely under-rated. Whether those of us who have discussed this are on the mark remains to be seen, but even at Pick 29 we will doubtless be getting yet another very good player.

Picks 41 and 68 is where it really starts to get interesting as these are almost certainly needs based picks. Many seem to want crafty small forward Willie Rioli at one of these selections, with other names doing the rounds as well. Do we go with Xavier Richards at Pick 68 to gain some key forward depth? It will be an interesting one to see, as looking at the list we are in desperate need of a ruckman as well with Mathew Leuenberger and Tom Bellchambers both having injury issues, and Shaun McKernan being demoted to the rookie list and not really up to AFL standard (he looks a likely candidate to be permanently delisted next year).

The rookie draft will again prove interesting as with the likelihood of Yestin Eades and Shaun McKernan being re-listed, it looks likely that we will only be making one live selection. Could that spot belong to Xavier Richards? Or could we look to add another mature-ager (Brett Eddy, Mason Shaw, Darcy Cameron and Jye Bolton spring to mind) or add a developing ruckman?

And let’s not forget the apparent certain addition of American Category B rookie prospect Travis Wilson.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope you’re all looking forward to the draft starting, because it’s going to be an absolute ripper.
Please note player threads have already been created, ready for the draft. Please do not start any new threads for the players drafted.

As always please remember to keep the discussion respectful and open. Go Bombers!

Who is Wilson?