Mr.Craig's Rookie Spotlight 2014 (Index On Page 1)

[Mr.Craig]

Sean Lemmens



Port Adelaide 2/11/94 182cm/66kg

Drafted: Round 2, Pick 27 Gold Coast

2013 SANFL Reserves Ave: 65.3
2013 SANFL Seniors Ave: 65

Profile

Rookie watchers were caught slight unawares by Lemmens being taken in the draft, particularly with such a high selection. He is a 19 year old who has been plying his trade in the SANFL reserves this year for Port Adelaide. A slightly built rebounding defender he had some up and down performances through the year but provided some good link up work, won a decent amount of ball at times and regularly kicked a goal or two in games. His DT scores for 2013 were 49, 121, 77, 50, 73, 21, 56, 85, 66, 52, 82, 52. Sean's one game in the seniors came in the final round of the home and away season and he did pretty well, kicking a goal and scoring 65 DT. He performed well for S.A in the Champs, averaging 16.8 disposals (at 79.8% efficiency), 3.2 marks, 9 handball receives and 2.8 tackles (63.8 DT per game).

Bound For Glory: Lemmens is a 19 year old who played for South Australia as an over-ager this year. He is a bit of a late bloomer, after he didn't make the Under 18 squad last year, but has been super for Port Adelaide and South Australia since moving to the backline. He cuts off a lot of forward entries and makes good decisions with the ball in hand. Lemmens is one to look out for late in the draft, despite the lack of talk about him.

Chris25 (BigFooty): Of all the 19 year olds playing in the Championships this season, Lemmens would be competing with Nankervis as the most improved. Last year, he wasn't named in the U18 squad and didn't receive even a state screening invite. He did get a tryout with Port Adelaide prior to the rookie draft, but that's it. So he really has come from nowhere, considering he has played in every game for South Australia this year. Last season, he tended to play more across half forward and he was fine without ever standing out. But this year, he has moved to the back line and has been excellent - consistently being named in the better players, even winning 24 touches against Vic Country. Lemmens is reading the ball really well coming into the defensive 50, and is heavily involved in linking up out of the back line. I think he'll get his chance in the draft this season, and has some good football blood lines - including having Geelong's Allen Christensen as a cousin.

Knightmare (BigFooty): Lemmens has played some strong footy this season and is a much improved player after being overlooked last year. He looks set to develop into a high production rebounding backman or a wingman at the next level. He's a clean user of the footy and a real endurance athlete who will link up and get involved in the play. Down back he has the ability to leave his man and take the intercept mark but then also has strong 1v1 marking strength. Also provides some run and carry when given the opportunity.

Fantasy Prospects

It's unlikely we'll see much of him in 2014, maybe a few games at best and his scoring will probably be around the high 50's/low 60's.

Media

http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/news/2013-11-22/young-magpie-files-north
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-20/sean-lemmens
http://bigpondvideo.com/AFL/591910/draft-prospect-sean-lemmens/

[Mr.Craig]

James Sicily



Western Jets 6/1/95 186cm/77kg

Drafted: Round 3, Pick 56 Hawthorn

2013 TAC Ave: 85.7
2013 VFL Ave: 34

Profile

Sicily is a medium forward/midfielder who had a quiet Under 18 Championships but stormed into draft calculations with some eye catching TAC performances in the second half of the year. When forward he provided a strong marking presence and ended up kicking 26.19 for the season but he also got plenty of the ball through the midfield, with a number of 20+ disposal games. His DT scores in 2013 were 82, 37, 52, 117, 73, 78, 88, 80, 100, 123, 94, 137, 93, 71, 79 and 67. James was given a taste of VFL action in August with his one game for Wiliamstown resulting in one goal, five possessions and three tackles. He's still got some muscle to put on before being considered at AFL level but he has the kind of qualities that the Hawks' coaching staff seem to love.

Bound For Glory: He can take a very good mark, especially for his size, and he out-marks most midfielders who follow him down into the forward line. When he rests forward he is often the main target for the Jets and as a lead up option he is very competent, taking the ball out in front and using his body well to ensure the opponents can't get a fist in. His real strength is his overhead marking. Sicily has a very good leap and strong hands so he can outmark most people when the ball comes in long and high. Even on a wet and miserable day at Wangaratta against the Murray Bushrangers, Sicily was consistently taking marks both out in front and above his head in extremely difficult conditions. When playing in the midfield he provides the drive and class that helps to propel the ball into attack.

SC Paige: Sicily is an incredible talent, he is a strong mark, a reliable kick, has a fantastic work-rate, runs hard, creates, has plenty of courage and loves to kick a goal. Sicily is very smooth, and naturally plays any position handed to him well. Although he may start his AFL career as a half forward type, Sicily has uncanny goal sense and reads the play superbly. He can play in a pocket as a third tall marking target or in a ball-winning high half forward roaming role, or simply play straight through the middle, or on the wings where his run, carry and speed are always creatively used. Sicily adds a bit of x-factor, he's got some flair and capable of damaging the opposition very quickly if allowed too much space.

Mad Monday: Picked in the Vic Metro squad, he showcased his ability to take a clean contested mark up forward and then push onto a wing where he proved he has the ability to run hard both ways on the open spaces. Sicily wins a lot of uncontested ball due to those hard running capabilities. Sicily is dangerous forward of centre where he has the ability to kick multiple goals at critical stages. Sicily's marking is elite due to his talented clean hands and body positioning, able to take marks uncontested on a lead or in a contested one on one situation.

Fantasy Prospects

I think this kid could be a good DT pick some time down the track but it would be foolish to think he'll force his way into the premiership side during 2014 unless there is a significant run of injuries in the starting 22.

Media

http://www.hawthornfc.com.au/video/2013-11-21/pick-58-james-sicily-highlights
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/west/western-jets-midfielder-james-sicily-drafted-by-hawthorn/story-fngnvog3-1226765999750
http://www.maribyrnongweekly.com.au/story/1792986/afl-draft-westerm-jets-james-sicily-to-hawthorn/
http://www.sen.com.au/display-article-2013/Path-to-the-Draft-James-Sicily/62537
http://www.maribyrnongweekly.com.au/story/1792860/afl-draft-western-jets-james-sicily-on-the-radar/
http://bigpondvideo.com/AFL/591890/draft-prospect-james-sicily/
http://boundforglorynews.com/2013-draft-profile-james-sicily/
http://www.scpaige.com.au/draftees-in-focus-james-sicily/
http://madmondayshow.com/2013/08/07/player-profile-james-sicily/

[nrich102]

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-11-22/who-will-earn-a-second-chance

Who Callum Twomey  thinks has a chance of getting picked up in the rookie draft.

[Nige]

Sam Landsberger believes it's unlikely that key forward Mitch Thorp will be offered a rookie spot lifeline next week.

[kilbluff1985]

Sam Landsberger believes it's unlikely that key forward Mitch Thorp will be offered a rookie spot lifeline next week.

poor bloke :'(

[Vinny]

:'(

That sucks, was hoping he would get a second chance! Poor guy.

[Mr.Craig]

George Hewett



North Adelaide 29/12/95 185cm/79kg

Drafted: Round 2, Pick 32 Sydney

2013 SANFL U/18 Ave: 104
2013 SANFL Reserves Ave: 42.3

Profile

We didn't get to see a lot of Hewett in 2013 and it was a surprise to see him taken by Sydney with such a high draft pick. He is an inside midfielder who excels in the stoppages, has some real pace and is a dead eye dick around goal. He was near the top of the stats sheet for each of the Under 18 game he played for the year with excellent DT scores of 108, 116, 100 and 92. George played a few Reserves games for North, struggling in the first one but doing okay after that. His scores were 19, 54 and 54. He got a bit of the ball in the Under 18 Championships, averaging 16 disposals, 3 marks and 3.4 tackles for 62.2 DT per game. It will be interesting to see his game develop in the NEAFL and if he can make a career for himself at the Swans but for DT in 2014 he won't be in the picture.

Mad Monday: Hewett's inside work is commendable, he shows courage at contests and is more than willing to put his body on the line when working at contests. He is a fantastic extractor, he draws the ball out of stoppages well. Hewett is also composed and seems to have a bit of extra time with ball in hand. He is capable of drawing opponents to him and then feeding off with a quick, accurate handpass. Hewett's skills are sound, he hits targets but is not particularly damaging with ball in hand. That said, he can go forward and score and Hewett is quite clever near the goals.

Chris25 (BigFooty): He is real ball magnet and can win his own ball in and around the stoppages. Since then he hasn't played a lot, but he had a really good time of it in the U18 Championships playing as a midfielder and half forward - he absolutely dominated the contested possessions, which was a very pleasant surprise. He has good, not elite, speed and endurance and nice clean skills. He is one of those players who just seems to make things happen, so much so that I think he could be a real surprise packet on draft day. Has that versatility and size many teams will be looking for. Also, he has a very late December birthday so he is only draft eligible by a couple of days, which I like to think means he is still has development to come.

Fantasy Prospects

He was the youngest player taken in the draft. That, along with the need to develop his body a bit and the fact he got picked by Sydney means he's got very little chance of playing in 2014.

Media

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/2013-11-21/meet-george-hewett
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-20/george-hewett
http://madmondayshow.com/2013/09/17/player-profile-george-hewett/
http://bigpondvideo.com/AFL/591415/draft-prospect-george-hewett/

[Mr.Craig]

Jarrad Jansen



East Fremantle 2/5/95 190cm/91kg

Drafted: Round 2, Pick 36 Geelong

2013 WAFL Colts Ave: 86.6
2013 WAFL Reserves Ave: 25

Profile

Jansen is a tall midfielder/forward from Western Australia who had a relatively good year at Colts level, averaging 23 disposals, 4.1 marks and 3.1 tackles while also kick 11.11. His DT scores for the year were a bit up and down and were not helped by a poor kick to handball ratio - 99, 64, 66, 113, 54, 77, 98, 100, 73, 78, 83, 99, 140 and 69. Jarrad just played the one reserves game for 2013 and only managed to gather six touches. His Under 18 Champs was not impressive from a fantasy viewpoint with 14 possessions, 2.6 marks and 3.6 tackles a game resulting in a DT average of just 57.4. While he already has a good sized body to compete at AFL level, there is still some work to be done on the technical aspects of his game, particularly disposal efficiency.

SC Paige: Jansen is everything the modern day game demands; he's a ball accumulator, a goal kicker, stoppage specialist, big tackler and hurts you both ways with the ball. Jansen has predominately been labelled an inside midfielder, however his work on the outside streaming forward with the ball with some line-breaking pace has seen his draft stocks rise over the past few months. Jansen is a terrific kick of the football, and his teammates look to get the ball into his hands, given he creates forward of centre, and gets involved in scoring chains, making him a play-maker and an important avenue to goal.

Bound For Glory: Jansen dominates in the congestion of the centre square and is one of the better clearance winners in the draft. He uses his bullocking frame to barge through and pick up the loose ball and is certainly not afraid of body contact. He can also block to make it easier for his teammates to win the ball, as he showed in the Champs where he often played second fiddle to Patrick Cripps and took care of his man to allow him to pounce on the ball. His tackling is fantastic but it is what you would expect from a physical big man. He makes them stick and opponents end up looking on the ground for their teeth when they get up. When Jansen tackles or blocks you, you don't get up and impact the contest. A huge advantage with Jansen is that he is not purely an inside player as he has shown an ability to go forward and kick goals and he has a reasonable ability to spread and get easy kicks on the wings and flanks.

Fantasy Prospects

Keep a watch on his performances and scoring the VFL because if he does everything right there is a chance he could get a handful of games and make a bit of money. Vest risk would be quite high.

Media

http://www.geelongcats.com.au/video/2013-11-21/jarrad-jansen-highlights
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-20/jarrad-jansen
http://boundforglorynews.com/2013-draft-profile-jared-jansen/
http://www.scpaige.com.au/draftees-in-focus-jared-jansen/
http://madmondayshow.com/2013/10/17/player-profile-jared-jansen/
http://bigpondvideo.com/AFL/591491/draft-prospect-jarrad-jansen/

[JBs-Hawks]

Darcy Lang coming soon? :)

[Mr.Craig]

Darcy Lang



Geelong Falcons 21/11/95 181cm/77kg

Drafted: Round 1, Pick 16 Geelong

2013 TAC Ave: 94.8

Profile

Lang's promising season ended abruptly when he snapped his leg and dislocated his ankle in Vic Country's final game of the Under 18 Championships. He is a medium midfielder with some decent toe, good awareness and the ability to kick a goal. His stats in the TAC during 2013 suggest Darcy could be fantasy relevant at some point in the future with solid scores of 72, 95, 93, 96, 107, 113 and 88. Despite the injury, Lang still ended up with respectable numbers in the Champs, having averaged 15.2 disposals, 3.2 marks, 3.6 tackles and kicking a couple of goals (66 DT per game). While the serious injury dented Lang's prospects for 2014, Geelong had seen enough to commit their first round pick to him and obviously have the view that he could be a part of their future midfield.

Bound For Glory: He has fantastic vision from under a pack and can rapid fire a handball out to a running teammate very similar to North Ballarat's Matt Crouch. While he might not be as highly touted as Crouch, if you were to need a similar player later in the draft, Lang might be the guy to turn to. He does prefer to handball it a fair bit but his kicking is far from inefficient, hitting more targets than not which helps him maintain his spot in such a strong midfield. He was impressing at the Under 18s Championships before injury struck him down. A terrible ankle injury that has ruled him out of playing football since the fateful day against Vic Metro at Etihad Stadium has seen question marks arise as to who he'll end up athletically. From all reports so far, his injury was bad, but it shouldn't affect his football career.

SC Paige: Lang, who is verging on 80 kilograms looks slim in his build, but he is a brute force in close, who thrives on the contested ball, and really established himself in the Geelong midfield in the absence of several players throughout the season. The big tick for Lang, is that unlike most inside midfielders, he has terrific and notable speed - in that he offers plenty of breakaway pace and can hurt opposition teams if he's allowed space to move into. Although Lang's bread and butter is his inside work, he has display brilliant endurance and uses the ball efficiently under pressure through traffic. His direct hands for one, are a standout - as is his vision to place the ball accordingly for teammates to run onto, always putting the ball in front of a player, rather than selling a teammate into trouble.

Fantasy Prospects

The injury has put him behind the 8 ball and it's difficult to imagine he'll make a debut any earlier than the latter part of the year.

Media

http://www.geelongcats.com.au/video/2013-11-21/darcy-lang-highlights
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-20/darcy-lang
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-11-24/langs-break-not-unlucky
http://boundforglorynews.com/2013-draft-profile-darcy-lang/
http://www.scpaige.com.au/draftees-in-focus-darcy-lang/
http://bigpondvideo.com/AFL/591865/draft-prospect-darcy-lang/

YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T36Q7ytxa_o

[The F.A.R.K.]

Last pick in the draft, Jake Barrett please? Was prelisted by GWS through the academy

[Nige]

AFL.com.au understands Tippett, the younger brother of Sydney Swan Kurt, has attracted strong interest from Melbourne, Fremantle, North Melbourne and St Kilda ahead of the Rookie Draft.

[JBs-Hawks]

I guess they didnt watch his semi final vs norwood where he couldnt hit a target to save his life.

[The F.A.R.K.]

AFL.com.au understands Tippett, the younger brother of Sydney Swan Kurt, has attracted strong interest from Melbourne, Fremantle, North Melbourne and St Kilda ahead of the Rookie Draft.

Would be a very solid pick up, has already been on Lions and GC list and has been dominating the SANFL the last few years. Reckon he is ready to hit the AFL

[nrich102]

AFL.com.au understands Tippett, the younger brother of Sydney Swan Kurt, has attracted strong interest from Melbourne, Fremantle, North Melbourne and St Kilda ahead of the Rookie Draft.

Lol #Spuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud