The Herald Sun Footy PodcastWe might just be heading into one of the most exciting AFL drafts we’ve seen, stacked with AFL standard talent and no clear top 10 let alone number one.
On today's show, Dan Batten joins to talk through the ins and outs of this year’s draft including a few of the names you’ll definitely be hearing on November 20.
Sure, it's trade period this week, but we might just be heading into one of the most exciting drafts we've seen, stacked with AFL standard talent and no clear top ten, let alone number one. Hello and welcome to the Herald Sun Footy Podcast. I'm Andy Belaiz, and on this week's show, I'll be joined by one of our draft gurus, Dan Batton, to take us through the ins and outs of this year's draft, including a few of the names you'll definitely be hearing on November twenty. He's Dan's trade time, but once the trades are over, it's draft time. And there we have two very good, very detailed draft experts here at the Herald Sun. One of them is Chris Cavanaugh and the other one's Dan Baton and Dan joins me.
G Dan, I've been pulled in off the bench CA have obviously not feeling too well today, but good to be here.
Hey, Dan.
So the draft is obvious, you know, everyone is looking at it, all footy fans, all fans of eight en clubs. Who can they get with their top pick? Mainly who's the rough diamonds out there that they might be able to get with later picks and things like that, you've got the top sixty, your predicted top sixty, you and Chris coming out this week. What can you see in this year's draft, because everyone says it's really even.
Yeah, absolutely, and that's even trying to rank the top twenty top twenty five is difficult. You feel like you're leaving names out constantly, and that's why we have gone out to sixty and genuinely there could be in the previous year there has been less picks. There's been more sort of a fifty five to sixty five. I wouldn't be surprised if they's closer to seventy of this year. And it seems like a lot of players, particularly uncontracted players, being left in limbo more than we've seen your guys like Brandon Parford and Mitch Hardy for example, from Geelong getting delisted when they were, you know, playing some good senior footy and some good VFL footy. We see that more often because clubs are really wanting to get stuck into this draft and it's a sort of draft I think that you know, we'll look back at, you know, in a few years time and it's picked thirty five, pick forty and we go How did they slip that far? But yeah, there's definitely not even rough diamonds. These guys who are genuinely, really talented prospects who might go in the second or or second or third rounds.
So in previous years we've seen, you know, players get pulled out of mature players getting pulled out of the state leagues and even country leagues in some sometimes in the last couple of years, and were also are seeing they're all from junior underrating type footy that that you're you guys are looking at.
No.
So we've actually got a few VFL guys. We've got the fold the Girl Round Mitchell medallists Sam Davison, So that's awarded to the best young player in the VFL. We've had so the last seventeen of those who have been drafted into the AFL, whether it's a rookie or you know, national draft. So he's a medium forward out of Richmond VFLD VFL until this year, but he's kicked plenty of goals for the Tigers. And obviously we know how much they struggled in the AFL. They were getting pumped by one hundred and fifty points some weeks in the VFL, so yeah, he had a really promising year. Roley Bias is another one from Wear to Be VFL. We saw Sam closely taken out of where it be last year as a running defender for Goal Coroasting and had a huge impact on a wing there for the Suns. Roley Bis is another guy I could probably have that incident impact. He's a great ball user with his left boot. And another guy just to keep an eye on as well who's attracted some pretty late interests. Hadn't been been a part of any junior programs through his eighteen years. Se in his nineteenth year after kicking fifty goals in thirteen games for Narr Warren out in there in the Outer East League. Sam Toner is another one to watch as well. He is nineteen and exciting forward. Played a few games for the Dan Long Sting Rays, but he sneaks into that list as well.
Sam Toner keep an eye on it. So we look of flow further into the draft. When we're talking top first round. Who are some names that will be able you think we'll be seeing in the first round.
Oh, so there's there's obviously the well documented ones like y Levi I Ashcroft, Jagger Smith, Phinosalivan, Harvey Langford. I think most draft followers would probably know those names. But a guy who's creeping up massively and he was at thirty in our list a couple of months ago, but he's he's sword since then is Alex Taweru from the Gippsland Power intercept defender.
I think James sis League.
He's spunk and swung forward at times as well and had a huge impact, got a massive leap, ran a pretty good two kind of time trial as well at the Draft Combine over the weekend and he's one that even there's talk that he could go as high as say a pick three if Melbourne look at potentially a key position prospect there. He's only one ninety three, but he leaps a lot higher, so he's a lot higher than that. That high suggests. Some other guys sort of in that top run have risen. Harry Armstrong's had a really strong part of one back half of the season. He's a key forward. They're from the Sandraham Dragons. Toba Gavali is another one.
I really like. Running machine.
One coach has actually dubbed him the albino Whitfield so yeah, so it can run well, uses the ball well, but yeah, it just goes.
I could go on and on and on. Genuinely, there's some guys.
Who around though we have around probably the fifty twenty five mark, just in our personal how we rate them who in other years could be top ten prospects quite easily.
And I remember talking to cav earlier in the year, we're talking about how this draft compared to others, is very midfield focused draft. Is that still still we're still seeing that or are we looking, you know, their key position players with their rucks who are creeping into your sort of your predictions at the top top round.
Yeah, I mean that that was probably the case before Championships, but then since then a lot of other different types have emerged, and particularly clubs in that sort of fifteen to thirty range, there's quite a lot of key position players because are available, because often if a club needs a key forward, they're not just going to pick, you know, if they've got pick in the top five, they're often not going to just pick a key visition player. North Melbourne maybe an exceptions to that, considering they've had picked so many midfielders in recent years.
But you know, you look at the Witlock twins.
Cab may have mentioned them earlier in the year, Jack being a sort of a rock forward, Matt being a key position swingman. Twins there, from Shepton who probably in that fifteen to thirty bracket, Johnty Fall a key forward. You've got even a guy like Noel Mraz who is a key defender. From Dan long Sting Rays sat out the whole year. He was probably looking like a top ten to fifteen prospect, but because so many other players have gone ahead of him now he could slide into the second round as well. So yeah, there's plenty of names there, and yeah, it's why a lot of clubs are wanting to hold their picks and trade future picks instead so that they can, you know, stop polo list with this talent.
So Dan tell us when the draft is, so when footy fans can sort of start to get a sense of who's going to be wearing their jump next year.
So the draft it self is on November twenty, then November twenty and twenty one rather, and then the rookie draft on the twenty first on the Friday there, so another month in a bin. Obviously, all the picks that we finalize and list spots and that sort of thing. Yeah, I dare say that quite a lot of the players who are in limbo at the moment may not get contracts just because they're like, Okay, we can get this player at pick fifty or whatever it is.
Yeah, for sure. How many more times will you revise your predicted list?
Well, yeah, it's a good question. I mean, obviously this is just just to clarify. This is the purely how we rate the talent. Chris Kavanaugh will be doing his full phantom draft, which is actually where they will go and which clubs are interested in that sort of thing. But I think we maybe even extend the list out next month to potentially seventy because I mean, that's how many players could get picked up this year.
So it's incredible.
But yeah, I mean, yeah, Chris and I had plenty of conversations even at the combine. We're like, oh, maybe we bump this guy up, maybe we chuck this guy down. It's no, it's and I'm sure recruiters are doing that, you know, day by day, because a lot of them met with you know, thirty prospects over the weekend at the combine.
And obviously we've also seen in recent years that Draft d's eighteen year olds, more so than in years gone by, are Round one ready in their first year. So we could be seeing anywhere up to thirty or more of these guys running around Round one in twenty twenty five, which is really exciting in itself.
Yeah, that's right.
And as you say that the midfielder guys at the top ends, obviously we know it's it's probably a bit easy for these midfielders to debut and a slight key position player you know, Levi I Ashcott, Jago Smith, you know Salvon Harvey, Langford, Sid Draper, Murphy Reid, Josh Smiley, Leo Lombard, like these guys, these like they're all sort of midfielders.
They can probably push forward.
I'd expect all of them are definitely a big chance of playing Round one.
Very exciting prospect. Dan, we're going to take a break because the combine was on the weekend. Draft combine obviously is all the testing that the AFL does for the for the clubs. We'll have a chat about that after the break. Here on the Held Sun Footy Podcast, I'm joined by Dan Batton, who is taking us through some of the very exciting draft prospects with the draft coming up in later in November, so about six weeks away, so you can really nail down who you want your club to pick. But on the weekend in and around Melbourne was the Nation Draft Combine. Dan tell us a little bit about that.
Yeah, so pretty much prospects from across the country. It was about sixty seven at the national combine, the further sixty or so at the state combine. So the National combine usually it's an indication that probably three or four player or three or four clubs are interested in you because a lot of them go through club interviews, they go through that national testing and so they're doing fitness testing everything from a twenty minute sprint, two klim a time trial, you know, vertical leap, that sort of stuff, and also doing club interviews and also doing.
Some media interviews as well.
So we'll have plenty of interviews myself and CAV of some of the top prospects and even some of the guys a bit later back with some good stories.
So, yeah, that that all happened over over the weekend.
And so what sort of stuff did they test for and who were some of the better performers.
Yeah, so just looking at some of the big names we rattled off before. So Gold Coaster Academy prospect On Bard showed his his real power and speed there came first in the agility test and second in the twenty minute sprint. Fino Sullivan has been injured for most of the year. It's just been really unlucky with like a broken thumb and then he had some broken fingers and so he was second in the running vertical. He's always had a really good leap and he shows that with his marketing ability and eight in the agility test. He's great in traffic as well, which is why he's being touted as a potential number one pick WA midfielder. Bo Alan's one hundred and ninety centimeters and also finished fourth in the agility, fourth and the standing vertical and third in the running vertical. And then you've got Bendukob Pioneers, Toby Trevalia sort of like a half back wing midfielder, you know, a bit of almost a bit of a Will Day sort of type, finished second in the two k time trial, and then obviously Alex Taler, who he mentioned before, won the running vertical with a ninety four centimeter jump, which is that's pretty good.
Oh yeah, that's a good jump.
And obviously these these tests, you know that it's not gameplay, but the tailored to show how they can players can you know, move their bodies in a game sense, aren't they?
That's right?
And you know some of these guys like a Finoslavan in particular, who hasn't played a lot and maybe had a bit of time to train for this. Even a guy like Noam Maraz for instance, key defender who sat out pretty much the whole year. You know, I spoke to him at the combine. He worked his backside off to get back. And you know, clubs love that that, like, you know, because it's easy to just to just sit out the combine, but he, you know, worked hard, got like a six thirty five as a one hundred and ninety nine centimeter key defender in the two KR. That sort of stuff impresses clubs. But a lot of clubs do just get they have the GPS data, they know they've watched these guys inside and out for the last four or five years. So most of the time it's not really too much a surprise. To them these athletic traits, but often particularly later in the draft, if a club's like we need some speed, like we're looking more specifically at list needs or a specific trait, you know, a really strong run or twenty minute sprint or whatever can help get a kid drafted.
And just one last question, Dan that when it comes down to November the twentieth, when the draft is on, is it pretty well sort of slocked in you know that top Do every club have the same ideas that are going to be the same sort of order, Yeah, order of first round picks or do you think there are some who are sort of looking to you know, pull a rabbit out of a hat or pull someone in that other clubs probably haven't been looking at more closely.
Now, it's a great question.
I think this year more than others, we will see different draft orders for different clubs. You'd say that probably most clubs are looking at you add that number one sort of range A Levi, Ashcroft, Jago Smith, you know suther Than Harvey, Langfords Sam as well another I didn't mention before in that in that really top bracket, that top chel. But at the same time it's not as as not as clear cut as in previous years, and particularly in that mid range of ten to thirty five, we'll see a lot of difference as opinion. And yeah, clubs may be more willing to pick on needs then purely on talent, but they may rate you know, the guy that someone else has at thirty five as the tenth best. And we've seen gwos in particular, they love a rogue selection. They picked like a leer I think four or five years ago as a I think it was as a twenty one year old at pick fifteen. So we'll definitely see some surprises and I guess to answer your question, it's it's going to be a bit of a moving feast there and that in particularly in that sort of late first round to second or third round.
It's very exciting. I'm looking forward to it. I'm hoping Melbourne can use pick five for a what are the respond to what they need a key position for? But you know they probably will pick Why wouldn't you pick some one of those supreme midfield talents.
Especially you've played Ola and Christian murcharker days and numbers.
Yeah, anyway, it's always it's always exciting at this time of year, Dan, have a fun next six weeks and you'll have a few gray hairs, I'm sure by the end of it.
Thanks for your time, I already do so. Thanks thanks having on That'll do us.
On today's HERALD'SU On Footy podcast, I'm Andy BelAZ and my thanks to Dan Batton for joining me today. As discussed in the episode, keep an eye out for Chris Cavanah and Dan's massive Top sixty Draft Prospects piece, which will be online Wednesday. All the trade news through the week, including the daily Live blog, all the news out of Week seven of the afl W season, and plenty more. I'll catch you next time.
