This is the first in a series of articles that will appear at various times during 2004 to update everyone on some of the possible draftees come November.
I saw three and a half games on the weekend and The Blue View’s under 18 correspondent Cazzesman saw two others and the general consensus was the talent on show was a little disappointing.
Certainly in the games I saw there weren’t many players who stood out straight away, and that concerned me slightly – however at this time of the year with so many new players (to me) on show it can be harder to know who to be looking at closely.
It should also be noted the AIS Academy players were still representing Australia in the International Rules series, and many of them will be the top 20 picks in the draft. Also, SA and WA were the dominant teams in the under 16’s carnival last year and logic would suggest more draftees should come from there in 2004.
I’ll only be focussing on 2-3 players from each side, and not necessarily the stars but more who happened to play well. More detailed analysis of possible draftees will appear around October like last year.
Gippsland v Bendigo
After struggling for several years Gippsland look like they have got their act together and may be the best country side this year. They have a good tall forward line that is hard to match up. Bendigo were very ordinary and their game plan was shocking, far too much chipping around.
Gippsland
Brett Dore – 14 Apr 87, 188cm, 98kg. An absolute man mountain at full forward, impossible to get around. Kicked 4.1, including a 60 metre torpedo that I’m sure he meant to be a drop punt. Not too convinced about his pace or ability below his knees.
Steven Foster – 10 Sep 86, 198cm, 90kg. Impressive ruckman who was very intelligent with his tapwork. Needs to work on his kicking a bit, but I thought he looked very promising. Getting taught by Jim Dear, brother of Paul and Greg.
Andrew McQualter – 9 Jun 86, 180cm, 75kg. Looked like he had bulked up over summer, newly shaved head probably accentuates this. Gathered a lot of the ball in midfield, was very good in traffic. Not a true inside midfielder, but might not have the pace to be an outside one either. Ball magnet though.
Dean Polo – 5 Aug 86, 187cm, 76kg. Played in defence and was named as Gippsland’s best player. Reads the play well and mopped up a lot of attacks. Good mark and kick, but seemed to panic a couple of times when in possession.
Bendigo
Kurt McGlynn – 5 Nov 86, 174cm, 74kg. Cousin of current Box Hill player Ben, Kurt played onball and won a lot of possessions and clearances. Is a good mark for his size and showed real courage, but was undisciplined on a couple of occasions.
North Ballarat v Murray
Ballarat were in control most of the day to win by a few goals. I thought Murray were very disappointing, their two stars in Drum and Deledio were missing but I heard a scout say he considered them the worst Murray side in years.
North Ballarat
Clinton Young – 16 Feb 86, 187cm, 71kg. Had a very good game up forward, kicking 3.2 including an incredible wrong foot snap at a crucial time. Led well and really moved well around the forward line.
Daniel Batson – 8 May 86, 201cm, 92kg. Thought he was excellent, gave 1st use of the footy to his midfielders most of the day. Good kicking skills for a big man and took a couple of impressive contested grabs.
Nick Bone – 31 Mar 86, 177cm, 71kg. Probably too small, but played onball and used the footy really well, very classy. Was a good grab for his size.
Murray
Robert Montgomery – 4 Dec 86, 172cm, 72kg. Drifted between onball and forward pocket and kicked 3 goals, including a nice snap. Once again, queries over size.
Chris Egan – 26 Oct 86, 186cm, 78kg. Big wraps on this kid, but I’m still not convinced. Has massive natural talent, but tends to fail to do the basics far too often. Clean hands, magnificent mark, lopes along, bit like a mini-Adam Goodes. However, failed to chase a few times and needs to be more consistent.
Adam Prior – 19 Jan 87, 188cm, 94kg. Had taken 21 marks and kicked 7 goals the week before, so I kept a close eye on him. Very solid build, took a lot of marks and ended with 4.1. Nothing really special about him, just worked hard around the ground. Query his pace and ability below his knees.
Oakleigh v Dandenong
I’ll confess I only saw half of this match – a 6 goal breeze was blowing to one end (away from the grandstand) and conditions were very ordinary. Most of the better players seemed to be those who had played TAC Cup last year.
Oakleigh
Ben Sharp – 10 Jul 86, 187cm, 81kg. All class this guy. Sort of drifted between the centre and a half-back flank. Just uses the ball so well, always looks poised. Good off either foot. Won a few clearances too. Did drop one easy mark but bounced back quickly. One to watch.
Christopher Cain – 14 Jul 87, 180cm, 75kg. Busy onballer who was dangerous in front of goal. Too young for this year’s draft.
Myles Krakouer – 8 May 87, 178cm, 75kg. Son of Phil, looks taller, played as a forward and is clearly talented, great mark and moves well. Also too young.
Dandenong
Luke Herrington – 4 Jan 86, 178cm, 81kg. Playing more as a half-forward flank, still very dangerous. Sticky hands and a great long kick, particularly from a set shot. Doesn’t work hard defensively.
Jayden Attard – 27 Feb 86, 184cm, 79kg. Exceptionally quick winger or half-back flank who worked hard and showed clean hands. Was good last year as well, but overlooked.
Rowan Nayna – 3 May 86, 181cm, 78kg. Played onball, has a huge leap on him and went 3rd man up in the ruck contest at least half a dozen times. Didn’t show much poise with disposal.
Greg Bentley – 9 Apr 87, 185cm, 80kg. Bit too short to play CHF, but moved well and took some good pack marks.
Eastern v Calder
Calder jumped out of the block to lead by 8 goals at half-time, but then eased off and only ended up winning by 20 points. They look a very strong side still, although Eastern impressed me.
Eastern
Chris Knights – 25 Sep 86, 183cm, 79kg. Started slowly but had a huge 2nd half, racking up the stats. Showed his class when he burst clear and kicked a 50m goal on the run. Very promising player.
Heath Hocking – 27 Dec 87, 182cm, 85kg. Underage kid who really went HARD. Looks a bit like his namesake Garry, and worked really hard, getting a lot of touches. Needs a bit of work but could be one to watch next year.
Evan Johnson – 19 Nov 86, 185cm, 79kg. Very busy match, gathered a lot of touches. Won a few clearances and showed his class with a great gather at pace. Best game I’ve seen from him.
Travis Cloke – 5 Mar 87, 195cm, 95kg. Will be taken. Dominant performance kicking 5.4 at full forward. Big kid but moves well and reads the play OK. Good 2nd efforts and defensive work too. Needs to work on his kicking a bit, but if I was Richmond I’d be doing everything to get him down to Punt Road.
Calder
Matt White – 15 Apr 87, 178cm, 72kg. Small forward who worked well in tandem with Little, ending with 4 goals. Good finisher and very quick.
Matt Little – 3 Jan 86, 183cm, 79kg. Strange choice at FF, but doing very well, kicking another 6 to add to his 8 from last week. Bit like Herrington, has sticky hands and is very quick on a lead. Nothing outstanding about him, just runs to the right spots.
James Ezard – 24 Mar 86, 178cm, 70kg. Nephew of Alan, very clean hands and classy use of the footy. Has good vision too, but faded as the match wore on.
Jesse W. Smith – 29 Sep 86, 187cm, 78kg. Son of Ross Smith, North will take him at the end of the year. Good overhead, enjoys carrying the football as well. Versatile player as well.
Shane Neaves – 11 May 87, 197cm, 91kg. Another tall who misses out because of the rule change, Neaves was very good, smashing the ball in the ruck and dominating his opponent. At one stage did a great pick-up for a big man. Question his kicking, but showed potential for next year.
Cazzesman’s review of Western v Geelong and Sandringham v NSW can be viewed here.