2018 Mock Draft

[elephants]

Nooooo Ian Hill is ours ty

[GoLions]

My 2018 top 20 phantom as well

1. Carlton - Walsh
2. Gold Coast - Lukosius
3. Gold Coast - Rankine
4. St Kilda - Max King
5. Port Adelaide - Isaac Rankine
6. Sydney - Nick Blakey (GC bid matched)
7. Gold Coast - Jye Caldwell
8. Western Bulldogs - Bailey Smith
9. Adelaide - Ben King
10. GWS - Jackson Hately
11. Port Adelaide - Jordan Clark
12. North Melbourne - Tarryn Thomas (GWS bid matched)
13. GWS - Riley Collier-Dawkins
14. Geelong - Liam Stocker
15. Adelaide - Chayce Jones
16. Fremantle - Ian Hill
17. Port Adelaide - Xavier Duursma
18. Adelaide - Zac Butters
19. Western Bulldogs - Rhylee West (Richmond bid matched)
20. Richmond - Ely Smith

and rest of first round

21. Brisbane - Jez McLennan
22. North Melbourne - Bailey Scott (GWS bid matched)
23. GWS - Sam Sturt
24. West Coast - Xavier O'Halloran

I am one of the minority that doesn't expect a Quaynor bid to come in the first round.

Rankine gonna play for suns and port? Fuark

[Koop]

My 2018 top 20 phantom as well

1. Carlton - Walsh
2. Gold Coast - Lukosius
3. Gold Coast - Rankine
4. St Kilda - Max King
5. Port Adelaide - Isaac Rankine
6. Sydney - Nick Blakey (GC bid matched)
7. Gold Coast - Jye Caldwell
8. Western Bulldogs - Bailey Smith
9. Adelaide - Ben King
10. GWS - Jackson Hately
11. Port Adelaide - Jordan Clark
12. North Melbourne - Tarryn Thomas (GWS bid matched)
13. GWS - Riley Collier-Dawkins
14. Geelong - Liam Stocker
15. Adelaide - Chayce Jones
16. Fremantle - Ian Hill
17. Port Adelaide - Xavier Duursma
18. Adelaide - Zac Butters
19. Western Bulldogs - Rhylee West (Richmond bid matched)
20. Richmond - Ely Smith

and rest of first round

21. Brisbane - Jez McLennan
22. North Melbourne - Bailey Scott (GWS bid matched)
23. GWS - Sam Sturt
24. West Coast - Xavier O'Halloran

I am one of the minority that doesn't expect a Quaynor bid to come in the first round.

Rankine gonna play for suns and port? Fuark

Shut up Dav

[shaker]

Ely Smith has received a late invitation to attend tonight's draft  ;)

[kilbluff1985]

Ely Smith has received a late invitation to attend tonight's draft  ;)

yeah Twomey has him going to Brissy

[shaker]

Ely Smith has received a late invitation to attend tonight's draft  ;)

yeah Twomey has him going to Brissy

The kid was a standout for consistency in the combine
Kicking test - 4th
Standing vertical jump - 1st by 5 cm's
Running vertical jump L/F - 5th
"                             " R/F - 4th
Agility - 9th
Yoyo test - 8th
188 cm 86kg's can't believe no one rated him would not surprise me if he did not make it to the Lions pick.

[RaisyDaisy]

Highlight of the night was the look on Ben King and both of his parents faces

Absolutely gutted they were lol

[Bill Manspeaker]

Highlight of the night was the look on Ben King and both of his parents faces

Absolutely gutted they were lol

give it 2 years Ben  8)

[Koop]

DRAFT REVIEW

Note: Excuse the Port bias. Also haven't written much on the first 4 prospects as they were all pretty expected & everyone's probably read every man & their dog's take on them elsewhere. Will post the later rounds over the next few days.

ROUND 1

1   Sam Walsh   -   Carlton - No surprises here, maybe not the most talented player in this pool, but it's obvious he's extremely well put-together & his junior ballwinning numbers are spectatcular.

2   Jack Lukosius   -   Gold Coast Suns - Taken the generational KPP, good on them. Work is on GC now to keep him there. Lead-up speed & field kicking will delight fans in years to come.

3   Izak Rankine   -   Gold Coast Suns  - Biggest match winner of the crop, hard work is also ahead for the Suns to keep him there.

4   Max King   -   St Kilda - No surprises here, freakishly athletic key-forward who should blossom into a modern full-forward ala Joey D given the time & right development.

5   Connor Rozee   -   Port Adelaide - Bit of disparity among different watchers as to how they rate this kid. I'm personally rapt with picking him up at 5. Provides ample class, drive & speed that we were lacking, both in the midfield and up forward. Does have a tendency to go missing from time to time when up forward at the moment (Champs), but does something pretty much every time he touches it. Played extremely well off the back flank in the SANFL finals series showcasing his class, versatility & booming boot. Guy can kick it 55+ with ease.

6   Ben King   -   Gold Coast Suns  - Hmmm... Honestly not a huge fan of this pick from the Suns. I think you need to balance trying to bring in the best kids to your club, with the prospective ability to keep them there given GC's situation, and I think they've bitten off a lot more than they can chew here. You can pick up from interviews with both Ben & Max, as well as his parents, that they are each others close support network, and being away from the mother, who seems a bit of a mother hen, isn't going to end well.  If any of the 3 go home within the first 2 years, it's Ben 100%. Caldwell would've been the better option for them I think, or I wouldn'tve been opposed to Chayce or Hately given their situation.

7   Bailey Smith   -   Western Bulldogs - For all the negative pre-draft press about his attitude or his mother continually providing running commentary, the Bulldogs have picked up a contested beast with good skills & fantastic breakaway speed/overall pace. Good pick & should do really well over the course of his career.

8   Tarryn Thomas   -   North Melbourne - Very surprised to see Thomas bid on before Blakey, but it's Adelaide's special isn't it? Probably the second best one-touch player behind Rankine in the pool & oozes class. Needs to work on running out games at the next level.

9   Chayce Jones  -  Adelaide - Busy busy little player who from all reports is an outstanding character to boot. Jones is going to leave no stone unturned on his AFL journey, which is what you want from any draftee. I am SLIGHTLY concerned he is too short to impact a high volume of contests at AFL as he moves forward, but his combination of pace, agility & terrific work-rate should see him forge a respectable AFL career at the minimum no doubt. Good outside/inside winner at TSL & U18 Champs level this year.

10   Nick Blakey   -   Sydney Swans - Unique prospect whose mix of athletic traits, goal smarts & clean disposal will excite Swans fans for years to come. Needs to work on putting it together more often though if he is to make more of an impact at the next level. Draw's obvious comparisons to Buddy.

11   Jye Caldwell   -   GWS Giants - A wretched run of injuries leaves questions over Caldwell's durability, but there's no doubting he has some fantastic attributes for GWS to work with, highlighted by his breakaway pace from stoppages & ability to win both inside & outside ball.

12   Zak Butters   -   Port Adelaide - Was slightly confused by this pick considering the options left on the board until I saw Hinkley's welcome video for him. Butters is an outside midfielder/forward who doesn't particularly rack up the ball, but has fantastic pace, agility, the innate ability to spot targets inside the forward 50 arc and the ability to make something magical happen whenever he touches the ball. From what has been said he is going straight under Robbie Gray's wing and will be the future successor for that role once Robbie eventually hangs up the boots. Expect him to be a damaging forward half player who constantly makes defenders worry when he's near the ball.

13   Isaac Quaynor   -   Collingwood - Not sure I would've bid on a sub-180cm small defender in the first round, because that's exactly what he is. He won't ever be a damaging rebounder or interceptor, and at best will be an intelligent small backman who knows how to get the better of his opponent in 1 on 1 contests. A handy player to have at AFL level? Definitely. First-round worthy? I'm not convinced.

14   Jackson Hately   -   GWS Giants - Seen him criticised as being too vanilla, but I think he's a perfect, safe pick who could be a 25-30+ touch midfielder at AFL level, despite not having the hurt factor a few other midfielders have. Hately is a good size at 190cm and possesses extremely clean disposal & elite hands in congested situations (think Lachie Neale, or the last player I saw to come through with them, Zac Fisher.), as well as the endurance base to comfortably get from contest to contest. He also has the ability to drift or rest forward and kick goals.  All in all he is the perfect package as a modern AFL midfielder, and should have a very solid career barring something catastrophic. Could be a very popular DT/AF premium in 3-4 years time depending on other GWS departures. Averaged 19 touches at SANFL League level against men in 2018.

15 -  Jordan Clark   -   Geelong Cats - Attacking half-back who has excellent vision & decision-making. Will need to play in a team & role that accentuates his strengths, as he's very Hartlett or Seedsman-esque in being allergic to the contested, hard stuff from time to time. Still, solid pick.

16   Edward McHenry   -   Adelaide - Ehhhh.... I love Ned & think he is one of the best characters to come through in quite a few years, but I think this was about 10-15 picks too early. I don't see him as being tall enough to go through the midfield at AFL level & envision him as a small-forward, where he lacks the tricks in-front of goal that Jack Higgins has. Has a fantastic pressure game as well as good evasive skills, so there's definitely a role for him, I'm just not sure it's again, like Quaynor, a first rounder role.

17   Sam Sturt   -   Fremantle - Honestly haven't seen enough to comment too much on Sturt, but his leap & lead-up speed has been a highlight from the limited vision I've watched. Fills a need for a medium, quicker marking target up forward for the Dockers & does have absolutely elite athletic traits to work with. Watch this space.

18   Xavier Duursma   -   Port Adelaide - I watch this kid's vision & the first name that springs to mind is Justin Westhoff. Solid at all the fundamentals without being spectacular. Hugely courageous, willing to take the game on when needed & a fantastic mark, both contested & uncontested, for his size. Lacks the height to be a genuine tall option like Westhoff, but is probably a shade quicker. Both are extremely wiry which is the immediate thing that makes you draw that comparison from vision. All in all I think it's a safe selection, and the spiritual replacement to the great beard.

19   Liam Stocker   -   Carlton - Very obvious that Carlton have gone all-in on this being the last year of them residing at the bottom of the ladder with both the trade & this pick. Stocker is probably the most well-spoken prospect I've seen come through in a number of years alongside Andy Brayshaw. Does his best work at the coalface & is a clearance specialist who also possesses ample speed to explode from contests & good foot skills. My one knock on him is that his handball-receive numbers indicate he doesn't have the endurance yet to get himself involved in other possession chains (outside of clearances) to further use his weapons & broaden his impact on games at a whole. Hopefully he can work on this because he is close to the complete package otherwise for mine.

20   Riley Collier-Dawkins   -   Richmond - High risk, high reward pick from the Tigers who much has been spoken about pre-draft. Possesses a blend of speed, clean hands & explosiveness very rarely seen in players of his size. Needs to learn how to harness these into the complete package.

21   Ely Smith   -   Brisbane Lions - Massive fan of this pick. There haven't been many inside bulls come through in recent times that have both the consistency in production & agility-levels to weave through contests like Smith, not just force their way through with brute strength. Built like a brick showerhouse to boot. Won't crack the Lion's midfield straight away but given time I think this could turn out to be a very astute selection.

22   Xavier O'Halloran   -   GWS Giants  - 20-possession per game inside midfielder who's pace, vision & leadership elevated him to a first round selection whereas perhaps I had him slightly lower. Needs to work harder on his accumulation to further impact at the next level, but a nice prospect for GWS to work with nonetheless.

23   Jez McLennan   -   Gold Coast Suns - Solid intercept defender who can also play lock-down roles when required. I think this pick is what the Suns need more of. Kids who will come up to the GC (expressed his desire to go to QLD before the draft) and do their job week in, week out with minimal fuss & fanfare. (Not to be confused with journeyman with effort but with questionable AFL-quality traits) A good cog to plug into a rebuilding Suns team.

[Koop]

Personal opinion here as well

BIGGEST STEALS: Bailey Scott, Jack Bytel (injuries permitting), Boyd Woodcock
TAKEN EARLY: James Rowbottom, Justin McInerney, Xavier O'Neill
DONT RATE: Oscar Brownless, Darcy Fort