HISTORICALLY, we’ve never seen a draft like the one we’ll see this year.
Other non-Victorian clubs, which have entered the competition since 1987, weren’t given the concessions Gold Coast will receive this year. Non-Victorian clubs also didn’t participate in the NAB AFL Draft as we know it today.
This year, Gold Coast has nine of the first 15 picks in the draft, making it a unique situation.
The challenge for Melbourne - and all clubs - is how you are positioned.
Fortunately, we’re in a good position at Melbourne, as we bottomed out two years prior to the concessions applying.
Although last year’s draft was diminished, with 17 year olds being ineligible, our drafting position was strong enough not to concern us much. The depth of the draft was also good, although that’s still to be proven.
In terms of this draft, many people are looking at it in a negative light. But in terms of our ladder position at the moment, if that was to be maintained, we would have a top 12 pick. If you have a top 12 pick in any draft - that’s a good result.
Really, we at Melbourne can look at this draft with optimism.
And there will be no less opportunity once the two new clubs are in the competition.
As our list develops, we are aiming to finish high on the ladder. And if you’re finishing in the top eight, you will be selecting from 10 to 16 anyway.
From our perspective, it is a compromised draft, but the opportunities are still good for Melbourne.
We might end up with picks around the No.12, No.30 and No.46 mark this year.
They’re pretty good picks in a normal drafting period.
What will dictate our drafting position this year is the talent pool - not so much the number of picks we’ve got.
As every club experiences, you can always pick up good players later in the draft.
We’re no exception.
Last year, we rated Max Gawn (No.34) and Jack Fitzpatrick (No.50) much higher in the draft - even though that’s a cliché used after every meeting. You’ll always hear clubs say after the draft ‘I can’t believe we got such and such at that pick’.
Without factoring in trading - and what may or may not happen there later this year - this draft is not as negative as many believe.
We’ve also got to keep in mind that Gold Coast is building a list, so it may factor in ‘needs’ players much earlier in the draft. Remember, Gold Coast will have six of the first nine selections. It will need to build a structure.
One of the great challenges of this draft is trying to understand what Gold Coast may or may not do. At this point, it seems reasonably obvious.
Gold Coast has already committed to David Swallow, and players such as Harley Bennell, Sam Day and Andrew Gaff will be fairly strong contenders in the first few picks.
In that case, where does Gold Coast go from there?
There will be some diversity in the top end of the draft. Last year we saw John Butcher (Port Adelaide) and Daniel Talia (Adelaide) selected in the first round. This year, we are more likely to see talls in the top 10.
It’ll be interesting to pre-empt where those talls fall. Then it’ll be interesting to see how the other teams select their picks inside the top 10.
We’ll be trying to balance out Gold Coast’s picks, interspersed with the other clubs in the top 10.
Gold Coast, on the other hand, will be working it out the other way, so it can maximise its opportunities.
It only adds to what will be a fascinating and historic draft.
Other non-Victorian clubs, which have entered the competition since 1987, weren’t given the concessions Gold Coast will receive this year. Non-Victorian clubs also didn’t participate in the NAB AFL Draft as we know it today.
This year, Gold Coast has nine of the first 15 picks in the draft, making it a unique situation.
The challenge for Melbourne - and all clubs - is how you are positioned.
Fortunately, we’re in a good position at Melbourne, as we bottomed out two years prior to the concessions applying.
Although last year’s draft was diminished, with 17 year olds being ineligible, our drafting position was strong enough not to concern us much. The depth of the draft was also good, although that’s still to be proven.
In terms of this draft, many people are looking at it in a negative light. But in terms of our ladder position at the moment, if that was to be maintained, we would have a top 12 pick. If you have a top 12 pick in any draft - that’s a good result.
Really, we at Melbourne can look at this draft with optimism.
And there will be no less opportunity once the two new clubs are in the competition.
As our list develops, we are aiming to finish high on the ladder. And if you’re finishing in the top eight, you will be selecting from 10 to 16 anyway.
From our perspective, it is a compromised draft, but the opportunities are still good for Melbourne.
We might end up with picks around the No.12, No.30 and No.46 mark this year.
They’re pretty good picks in a normal drafting period.
What will dictate our drafting position this year is the talent pool - not so much the number of picks we’ve got.
As every club experiences, you can always pick up good players later in the draft.
We’re no exception.
Last year, we rated Max Gawn (No.34) and Jack Fitzpatrick (No.50) much higher in the draft - even though that’s a cliché used after every meeting. You’ll always hear clubs say after the draft ‘I can’t believe we got such and such at that pick’.
Without factoring in trading - and what may or may not happen there later this year - this draft is not as negative as many believe.
We’ve also got to keep in mind that Gold Coast is building a list, so it may factor in ‘needs’ players much earlier in the draft. Remember, Gold Coast will have six of the first nine selections. It will need to build a structure.
One of the great challenges of this draft is trying to understand what Gold Coast may or may not do. At this point, it seems reasonably obvious.
Gold Coast has already committed to David Swallow, and players such as Harley Bennell, Sam Day and Andrew Gaff will be fairly strong contenders in the first few picks.
In that case, where does Gold Coast go from there?
There will be some diversity in the top end of the draft. Last year we saw John Butcher (Port Adelaide) and Daniel Talia (Adelaide) selected in the first round. This year, we are more likely to see talls in the top 10.
It’ll be interesting to pre-empt where those talls fall. Then it’ll be interesting to see how the other teams select their picks inside the top 10.
We’ll be trying to balance out Gold Coast’s picks, interspersed with the other clubs in the top 10.
Gold Coast, on the other hand, will be working it out the other way, so it can maximise its opportunities.
It only adds to what will be a fascinating and historic draft.
