1997
1 Travis Johnstone - Melbourne
2 Brad Ottens - Richmond
3 Trent Croad - Hawthorn
4 Mark Bolton - Essendon
5 Luke Power - Brisbane
6 James Walker - Fremantle
7 Kris Massie - Carlton
8 Chris Tarrant - Collingwood
9 Chad Cornes - Port Adelaide
10 Shane O'Bree - Brisbane
Cornes won with the team that drafted him, so did Power in Brisbane, and after a trip to Fremantle sorted him out even Trent Croad became a premiership player for the club that originally drafted him. So more than a few clubs found success in the top 10 of this draft.
Ottens also won, but not with the club that originally drafted him. Tarrant and O'Bree were good for the Magpies, although Tarrant is now a Docker and O'Bree started his career in Brisbane. Johnstone is now in Brisbane. Walker and Massie had long AFL careers, so they were not draft busts, Massie did his best work after going to the Crows.
Out of everyone from this very successful top 10, there were times when Mark Bolton seemed to get more things said about him than the other players selected. He was a Sheedy-favourite who didn't quite perform to the level expected, although there were times when the Bombers would name him to play the role of stopping Goodes and Bolton did play well in that role.
The Hawks had a lot of players that contributed to their Grand Final win. One who was very important when the game was in the balance was Stuart Dew.
Kicking 2 goals that gave the Hawks the momentum to get the win. Taking a very strong mark in the middle of the ground to stop dead a Geelong attacking move. Dew was in the right spot when it mattered during the biggest game of the year.
His stats included 2 goals and 1 behind, as well as 10 kicks, 9 handballs and 5 tackles.
It was a low-risk move by Hawthorn when they drafted Dew. Some in the media and at other clubs derided them for doing it but obviously they were wrong. He may have been a “Mountain Dew” but that is a good thing, as he used his size to run over players and his big leg to kick the ball longer than most other footballers.
The Hawks received the biggest reward possible from their investment in Dew and now he has premiership medals from two clubs.
2005
1 Marc Murphy - Carlton
2 Dale Thomas - Collingwood
3 Xavier Ellis - Hawthorn
4 Josh Kennedy - Carlton
5 Scott Pendlebury - Collingwood
6 Beau Dowler - Hawthorn
7 Patrick Ryder - Essendon
8 Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls - Richmond
9 Mitchell Clark - Brisbane
10 Marcus Drum - Fremantle
This draft wasn't too long ago, so the taller players get a pass because they should break through soon. Ryder has been a solid defender for a couple of seasons while Clark and Kennedy showed a lot of improvement in 2008.
The smaller players all get a pass, as do the teams that picked them. Ellis is a premiership player, Thomas and Pendlebury are the faces of a new Collingwood club and Murphy is an important piece of Carlton's talented midfield.
It seems to happen a lot, Fremantle didn't do too well out of a draft. Drum could have a breakout year in 2009 for the Dockers if he stays healthy. Richmond has also been known to draft poorly, and things are not looking good for JON. Dowler probably needs a move to a new club, or a move to the Hawthorn back line, to get playing time.
Right now, this draft is looking very good. In a few years, this top 10 could be one of the best.
2000
1 Nick Riewoldt - St Kilda
2 Justin Koschitzke - St Kilda
3 Alan Didak - Collingwood
4 Luke Livingston - Carlton
5 Andrew McDougall - West Coast
6 Dylan Smith - North Melbourne
7 Laurence Angwin - Adelaide
8 Daniel Motlop - North Melbourne
9 Kayne Pettifer - Richmond
10 Jordan McMahon - Western Bulldogs
The Saints were lucky that this was the year that they were terrible, as it set up their next decade by adding both Riewoldt and Koschitzke. The Saints should also be thankful that Riewoldt didn't live closer to Brisbane as he could have been playing for the Lions as a zone draft selection.
After the two star talls from the Saints, the draft provided people talented with the football but also with plenty of reasons why they should not be picked.
This draft also shows that when players get another chance at a new club they don't always take it. Motlop has been a success but others were not. McMahon was a draft mistake by the Bulldogs, and while it has only been a season and he may come good for them, it looks like he was a trade mistake by Richmond.
Excluding Riewoldt, no other player taken in the top 10 tried as hard as Livingston. He was an undersized full back on a poor team so it was always going to be difficult, he is doing much better when it comes to team success in the VFL.
This draft was when the Saints were given a chance to rebuild, they made the right choices with the top picks and importantly they went tall when they picked.
1994
1 Jeff White - Fremantle
2 Anthony Rocca - Sydney
3 Shannon Grant - Sydney
4 Scott Lucas - Essendon
5 Joel Smith - St Kilda
6 Robert McMahon - Fitzroy
7 Tony Brown - St Kilda
8 Daniel Harford - Hawthorn
9 Ben Wilson - Collingwood
10 Blake Caracella - Essendon
A lot of successful players in this top 10, but it also illustrates the dreaded "go home factor". The Dockers and Swans only rented the players they took in the top 3.
Essendon would be the happiest with the top 10. Lucas is a superstar tall forward who will spend his entire career with the Bombers. Caracella was also useful, but would be traded from Essendon towards the end of his career.
The Swans picked talented players but neither Rocca nor Grant lasted very long in Sydney. An expansion team is often not somewhere that players don’t want to be, and White went back east after a few years with Fremantle.
One star ruckman, two impressive key forwards, several quality midfielders, this is how a top 10 draft should look.
Ranking The AFL Draft Top 10s
1994
2002
1992
2003
1989
1993
1988
1998
1986
1996
1991
1995
1990
1987
It's not something you're likely to hear again after a hard-fought NFL game, but Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown gave no hint that he was joking when he said, after the 15-6 victory over the Steelers, that punter Sav Rocca "won the game."
"They were unbelievable," coach Andy Reid said of Rocca's punts. "You don't very often talk about a punter being a weapon, but he sure was a weapon tonight."
Ben Graham wasn't a Jet one week, and was the next. The New York Jets did waive him but brought him back after their new punter hurt his leg.
The New York Jets re-signed recently released punter Ben Graham in time for him to play in the team’s Monday night game against the San Diego Chargers.
Graham was cut last Tuesday after getting off to a poor start in his fourth season with the Jets. New York signed journeyman Reggie Hodges to replace him, but Hodges injured his left thigh in practice late last week and was ruled out for the game at San Diego.
2002
1 Brendon Goddard - St Kilda
2 Daniel Wells - North Melbourne
3 Jared Brennan - Brisbane
4 Timothy Walsh - Western Bulldogs
5 Jarrad McVeigh - Sydney
6 Steven Salopek - Port Adelaide
7 Andrew Mackie - Geelong
8 Luke Brennan - Hawthorn
9 Hamish McIntosh - North Melbourne
10 Jason Laycock - Essendon
Maybe this shows that "good things come to those who wait". Patience with prospects is sometimes needed, but there can be big rewards.
Not too long ago, Jarrad McVeigh might have been considered a draft bust. At best he was a useful tagger, but not one of the first players picked each week by Sydney. Jarrad McVeigh has certainly stepped up his game and is kicking goals and getting a lot of the football in the middle.
The Kangaroos would have expected it could take several years for McIntosh to become a starting ruckman at AFL level. 2007 was his breakout year. The Bombers saw Laycock have a breakout game one Anzac Day, and not much else, but are still hopeful.
Brisbane is also being rewarded for being patient with J Brennan. They tried him as a forward, and in the back line and everywhere else, including the ruck, but it took him until last year to show that he wasn't a circus performer doing magic tricks with one hand. In 2007, he was helpful beside Brown, as Bradshaw was injured, and in 2008 he showed that with his size and mobility he could dominate in the centre. Hawthorn was not as fortunate with their Brennan, Luke Brennan.
Geelong was looking for help up forward when they drafted Mackie. He didn't impress there but has become a very exciting tall, running defender.
Salopek, Goddard and Wells are also still with the clubs that drafted them and are among the core group of players at those clubs. Something that is expected when a player goes in the top 10.
While there isn't a great superstar in this top 10, most clubs did make very good choices and are happy with the players they received.
Ranking The AFL Draft Top 10s
2002
1992
2003
1989
1993
1988
1998
1986
1996
1991
1995
1990
1987
A win is more likely if one team's important midfielder is contained and the other team gets some run and possessions from their players in the middle. Nick Dal Santo was made to look foolish by Chance Bateman, while Bateman provided plenty of dash for the Hawks and was over 20 possessions for the game.
The only idea that the Saints had that actually worked for getting Dal Santo away from Bateman was sending Dal Santo to the bench. Dal Santo had only 6 possessions in the first half, so Bateman did his job there when the game was won.
Bateman also had the ball himself with 12 kicks, 9 handballs and 6 marks. Sam Mitchell sent the ball inside 50 on 7 occasions, the only other player on the ground that also did that 7 times was Chance Bateman.
It could be hair versus no hair in the Grand Final if Bateman goes up against Ablett. That is where Hawthorn could get the win if Bateman can be as good in the AFL Grand Final as he was against the Saints.
1992
1 Drew Banfield - West Coast
2 Nathan Chapman - Brisbane
3 Michael Prior - Essendon
4 Justin Leppitsch - Brisbane
5 Jason Spinks - Sydney
6 Robert Pyman - North Melbourne
7 Wayne Hernaman - Richmond
8 Paul Symmons - West Coast
9 Martin Pike - Melbourne
10 Brett Chalmers - Collingwood
This might have been the draft that had many of the potential draftees writing to clubs telling them not to draft them. Probably not the best way to start a career in the AFL.
The Eagles made a solid choice. Banfield won at the start and at the end of his career. Not really the powerful key position prospect that should go up the top of a draft, but Banfield was a very productive player for the Eagles for many years.
Brisbane did find a key position player in this draft, Leppitsch was very good when played at either end of the field. Starting his career as a key forward, and ending it as their centre half back. Chapman might have also had key position height, but not the game.
Pyman would have been someone that Collingwood might have liked at pick 10, but he went earlier. He would get to Collingwood a few years later. The Magpies did draft Chalmers, which was not a good move.
Clubs did find future premiership players in this draft, and that is what they hope for when they make their draft selections.
Ranking The AFL Draft Top 10s
1992
2003
1989
1993
1988
1998
1986
1996
1991
1995
1990
1987
If it is the "midfielder's award", then Richardson is a chance for the Brownlow this year. He moved into the midfield, and the back line, while still getting forward often enough to kick plenty of goals.
Richmond didn't get a lot of wins, compared to the Cats, so the potential for 3 votes in many games going to Richardson is limited. The Cats will have to share the votes, and with Ablett missing games, Corey Enright having a big month in the middle of the season, and with Corey and Bartel and many more Cats deserving votes it is hard to see who their best will be.
Harvey has far fewer challengers at North Melbourne for votes, so he is the pick for the medal, but Matthew Richardson probably deserves it more than any others do.
A Geelong Brownlow trifecta, yet another potential piece of history for this machine of a football team, is a distinct possibility. Gary Ablett and Jimmy Bartel are first and second favourites, Joel Corey equal fourth, and Joel Selwood equal eighth in the betting.
2003
1 Adam Cooney - Western Bulldogs
2 Andrew Walker - Carlton
3 Colin Sylvia - Melbourne
4 Farren Ray - Western Bulldogs
5 Brock McLean - Melbourne
6 Kepler Bradley - Essendon
7 Kane Tenace - Geelong
8 Raphael Clarke - St Kilda
9 David Trotter - Kangaroos
10 Ryley Dunn - Fremantle
2003 was not a good time to be drafting. Cooney was considered to be the only prospect that had star potential, and that may have been proved correct. Everyone knew that Cooney would go with the top pick, and few had any idea who the other players in the top 10 should be.
If Melbourne could have measured the character of their possible picks, they would have taken someone different. If the Dockers and Saints would have known how injury-prone their players would be, they too would have looked for someone else. Ray, Bradley, Tenace and Trotter were also lacking in a skill or attribute that they were expected to have when they went in the top 10.
Walker is still mentioned with the word "potential". He may become a regular 20-possessions a game player, who also contributes in other ways due to his athleticism, but Walker will never be someone that a team builds around.
Short on talent, and also short when it comes to height except for Bradley, the 2003 top 10 isn't looking very good right now but maybe a few of the players listed start to turn things around soon. R Clarke is one who has lifted his play recently so there is still hope for others in the top 10 from 2003.
Ranking The AFL Draft Top 10s
2003
1989
1993
1988
1998
1986
1996
1991
1995
1990
1987
Supposedly it is back, Channel 7’s Footy Marathon. You can watch Benny Hill run around chasing people at 11:45pm and after that the TV guides say it is 8 hours of past Grand Finals.
The VFL Grand Final is also on the Friday night, on the ABC at 7:30 pm. Pay TV may be showing the TAC Cup Grand Final, from 4:00pm.
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There used to be a time when Channel 7 had 3 Grand Finals to show on the Saturday, now they only have the big game. It looks like they will try to fill in 6 hours with a Daddo Family member, that can’t be good for ratings.
The Grand Final Marathon should be one of the highlights of the week, and showing in full the 1989 Grand Final is a must so hopefully 7 do that.
They didn't pay for a ticket for this game, they didn't sit in an allocated seat, some of them left before the game was over. No, this isn't about the MCC members, it's the flock of seagulls.
A Flock Of Seagulls
The night Grand Final is being pushed, by those who think they can make a bit more money out of it, but there are plenty of reasons against it. One of those has to be the seagulls. It has been said before and can be said again, and it also provides an excuse to play an odd music video, a night AFL Grand Final will be hampered by birds and slippery conditions. It can be guaranteed that tonight's game will have Dew on the ground.
Baseball game at night and birds take over.
The seagull infestation at the MCG does seem to be worse at night. Probably because during the day most seagulls are visiting the beach or a Kentucky Fried Chicken car park. During the Cats and Bulldogs game, it seemed the Williamstown VFL team was also on the field as there were a lot of seagulls. Sandilands was lucky he wasn't out there last night, as the birds were flying low enough they would have collided with him.
Roughead will always be in the shadow of Lance Franklin, not that it seems to worry him. It is much better to be the second star forward on a contender than get a lot of personal praise on a team that wins wooden spoons.
Opposition teams seem to forget that Roughead would be the main man at many teams, and he has shown that he can kick 5 goals in a game when teams don't respect his ability, or 5 goals in a quarter.
Roughead scoring 100 goals in a season, when Franklin does the same, is achievable. Maybe this could happen next year, or some time after that. Counting finals, he could play 25 games, 4 goals a game is only 1 per quarter, Roughead can do that. When Roughead and Franklin have the expansion teams to feast on in a few years, there could be some records broken in those games.
Franklin kicks a goal, with some help from Roughead.
A couple of years ago, a story was posted on this site detailing how Lance Franklin was the best young talent in the AFL then. He didn't reach the goals that were mentioned, he did even more than expected.
This might not be a good thing for Richmond supporters to see, as they missed out, twice. In the 2004 draft the top pick went on Deledio, pick 2 was Jarryd Roughead, pick 3 was a good choice with Ryan Griffen and Richmond was back again with pick 4 and Richard Tambling. Richmond didn't do too badly though, as Deledio is a star and Tambling may get there. Hawthorn should have taken him with 2 when he was available there, but they were lucky and at pick 5 they drafted Lance Franklin.
When Franklin was drafted he was listed at 196cm and 87kg. This season his weight was listed at 95kg, probably his perfect playing weight. This was not a Josh Thurgood case, this was a player with the potential to get stronger and that was achieved.
The developed Franklin is not only around 10cm taller than Brereton or Dunstall, but he nearly weighs as much as Dunstall did in his prime.
Now Franklin only has the potential to be as good as those two, but he is going in the right direction. In his first year he kicked a goal per game, in his second season Franklin had just over two goals per game. There is no reason why he can't get at least three goals a game for 2007.
He didn't improve just the total goals, and goals per game average, but it was also his accuracy from all distances and angles. He kicked behinds at the same average over both his first two years in the AFL, he increased his goals kicked per game so his accuracy in 2005 was 62% and for 2006 he improved to 78%.
If there is a problem, it is where he should be played. Franklin can play nearly anywhere so the question Hawthorn must answer is to find which spot he will do the most damage. Maybe they can put him alone in the goal-square and watch as he kicks 80 goals a season. But he doesn't have to be that close to score goals, Buddy is also one of the best shots for goal from outside 50m.
If there is a statistic that shows how underrated Franklin is, it is tackles. Last season he had a per game average that was higher than Crawford, Brown, Smith and Bateman. Lance was 8th on the Hawks for tackles per game, and the players who were ahead of him all played on the ball most of the time. Franklin might be tall but he is also fast, and this pressure on opposition defenses will create scoring opportunities.
If you have a player that you compare Franklin to then post a comment below, but in many ways he is unique. If you compare Franklin to other forwards he is either quicker or much bigger. Maybe Richardson comes closest, but Franklin is a decade younger than him. Riewoldt is another player to judge Franklin with, if Franklin had played the entire 2006 season he probably would have kicked as many goals as Riewoldt.
While comparing players to Franklin is difficult it is even harder for teams to find players to play on him. If they put a tall player on him Franklin will just run off them, if they try a faster opponent Franklin is too big for them.
Franklin ended 2006 with 3.25 goals a game over his last 4 games. If he keeps that going for 2007 that would equal 71 goals. An improvement on that would get him the Coleman, while 60 or 70 goals next season could get him on the All-Australian team.
Franklin would have started a bidding war among the AFL clubs if he had not signed a new contract. That he did agree to stay at Hawthorn means they have their most important piece in place and can build a contender around him.
If there is a better prospect, aged 21 or under, in the AFL then post a comment below.
Some agreed that Franklin was a superstar about to arrive.
He has the potential to become the complete player. A true utility that Hawthorn can use to roam freely and break games open at the blink of an eye lid.
All Hawthorn needs is a traditional link up half forward to come along and relieve Franklin of this responsibility. Perhaps that will be Roughead or it may be Sellar or Thorp pending this draft.
Don't get me wrong Deledio will be a superstar, but Buddy is something special!
wow I love buddy I wished we took him it the draft, There is so much natural talent, just wait till he learns to controll it. watch out he is going to be un believeable..
Some comments from then indicate that not everyone was sold on his future stardom.
The guy has had only 2 decent games to date. To be calling him a "Best young" is laughable.
Please not compare him to Dunstall or Brereton.
As a Hawthorn supporter I'd very much like to agree with your thoughts on Buddy, unfortunately to me he still lacks the marking ability and the decision making you're likely to get from an up and coming star. I hope he proves me wrong and kicks 80 odd in 07!!
Thats a joke....I'm sorry but 2 good games doesn't make you the best Player u/21, u's are all kidding yourselves and as a kangaroos supporter so im totaly unbiased in this comment but Brett Deledio is by far the best player in that age bracket, Brock is fantastic but he has no more improvement in him, what we see now is what we get with Brock.
Roughead talks.
Jim Rockford fills up his petrol tank for only $3, not even Franklin or Roughead can do that.
1989
1 Anthony Banik - Richmond
2 Matthew Croft - Western Bulldogs
3 Jody Arnol - St Kilda
4 Peter Matera - West Coast
5 Brad Rowe - Brisbane
6 Mark Brayshaw - Kangaroos
7 Stephen Edgar - Carlton
8 Brad Tunbridge - Sydney
9 Dale Kickett - Fitzroy
10 Daryl Groves - Collingwood
A lot of the other drafts mentioned so far didn't have a superstar go in the top 10. This one did, Peter Matera.
Although after Matera, the top 10 didn't include many other big names. Dale Kickett was a useful player for Fitzroy, and West Coast too, St Kilda as well, and Essendon, and did his best work at Fremantle.
The Bulldogs thought they were getting a key position player, but Croft was too short to be effective in that role. They still played him there, with little success.
Sydney went tall with their pick in the top 10, Tunbridge only lasted a few seasons but he was a big presence and produced a lot of hitouts.
Picks 11 to 20 in this draft went a bit better than the top 10, as some of the players selected included Gavin Wanganeen, Ben Allan, Nathan Bower and Gilbert McAdam.
Ranking The AFL Draft Top 10s
1989
1993
1988
1998
1986
1996
1991
1995
1990
1987
It seems that the one small area that needs improving at the Hawks is the amount of quality tall defenders they have. Roughead has played there before, and maybe he could go back there again permanently.
Franklin, Williams, Rioli, Boyle, Thorp and Osborne, they could provide enough goals to give the Hawks a winning score. Roughead, Croad and Gilham could take the tall defender positions and be assisted by Birchall, Guerra and Ellis.
It has happened before, one example is Brisbane with Leppitsch. A forward early in his career, he went to centre half back and helped them win premierships. Joel Bowden started as a forward before going to the back line. Leo Barry is another example.
Roughead could also be a trouble-shooter as his career progresses, playing as a forward one week and then going to the back line the next, depending on who the opposition is and what injuries the Hawks have to their tall players. McPharlin did some of that this season, while players like Pavlich, Waite, Bock and Hunter have also been used in that way over their careers.
If Croad or Gilham is injured, or the Hawks are playing a team with a lot of height up forward, or if they need to figure out a way to get Thorp into the side, maybe Roughead to the back line would work. It may be an odd idea now, as Roughead is very valuable and effective up forward, but that is what people thought the first time they saw Leppitsch go to the back line.
The Rockford Files. It looks like Jim Rockford's car was close to a Hawthorn colour.
The Box Hill Hawks went into its opening match with four new and exciting Hawthorn-listed names in its line-up. Rookie Ruory Kirkby, Jordan Lewis, Jarryd Roughead and Bo Nixon (against his former club) all made their Box Hill debuts. Williamstown selected many experienced VFL listed players including ex-Hawks Brad Lloyd and Rayden Tallis. 2004 Hawthorn rookie Paul Shelton was also named for the Seagulls.
The Box Hill forward line functioned like a well oiled machine in the first half. Key forwards Jarryd Roughead, Clinton Alleway and Tim Harvey severely tested the Seagull defence with their marking ability (Alleway and Roughead taking 16 marks between them) and all round aggression. Small forward Kristan Height did brilliantly in winning the contested footy (21 possessions and 6 marks) but let himself down with some missed chances in front of goal.
Apart from one season from Brad Ottens, Richo has never had a foil like Jarryd Roughead.
"Roughie" is precisely the buddy that Franklin needs along side him: a solid bloke with a lumberjack physique, who can't be budged. He's the rock on which the cult of Franklin will be built.
"Yeah, well, you get to play next to the guy who's arguably going to be the best bloke to ever play footy, and sometimes you get the second-best defender, so it's a win-win every week! You get a good view of watching Buddy do what he does and you have a good chance of beating your opponent," the less-profiled but no less valued member of Hawthorn's enviably talented duo of tall forwards says, before undertaking morning goalkicking practice in the lead-up to tonight's first final.
When they met as 15-year-old All-Australian representatives, Roughead and Lance "Buddy" Franklin liked each other instantly. As 21-year-old AFL teammates, they remain best mates despite the fact that as footballers, personalities and physical specimens, they are more yin and yang than peas in a pod.
"(It) was noticeable early in the game, Roughy had to sacrifice his position a fair bit, but that's what team play is all about," Clarkson said.
"As it turned out, they (the Bombers) were recognising that Franklin was making too great a contribution and that's when 'Roughy' started to kick his goals. He ended up with three, so that's what team play's all about."
Jarryd is very mobile and kicked 46 goals for the Gippsland Power in 2004. He is a fantastic one-grab mark, competitive and looks a superb talent.
Most of his 2005 season was spent in defensive roles, where it is hoped he will develop his football nous. Many believe his future lies in the front half of the ground.
The 2004 AFL Draft Results:
1. Richmond: Brett Deledio (Murray Bushrangers)
2. Hawthorn: Jarryd Roughead (Gippsland Power)
3. Western Bulldogs: Ryan Griffen (South Adelaide)
4. Richmond: Richard Tambling (Southern Districts)
5. Hawthorn: Lance Franklin (Perth)
6. Western Bulldogs: Tom Williams (Morningside)
7. Hawthorn: Jordan Lewis (Geelong Falcons)
8. Adelaide: John Meesen (Geelong Falcons)
9. Carlton: Jordan Russell (West Adelaide)
10. Collingwood: Christopher Egan (Murray Bushrangers)
11. Port Adelaide: Adam Thomson (Sturt)
12. Richmond: Danny Meyer (Glenelg)
13. Melbourne: Matthew Bate (Eastern Ranges)
14. Essendon: Angus Monfries (Sturt)
15. Melbourne: Lynden Dunn (Calder Cannons)
16. Richmond: Adam Pattison (Northern Knights)
17. St Kilda: Andrew McQualter (Gippsland Power)
18. Brisbane Lions: Cameron Wood (West Adelaide)
19.Port Adelaide: Ryan Willits (Northern Knights)
20. Richmond: Dean Polo (Gippsland Power)
21. Hawthorn: Thomas Murphy (Sandringham Dragons)
22. Western Bulldogs: Jesse Wells (Tassie Mariners)
23. Collingwood: Sean Rusling (West Adelaide)
24. Adelaide: Nathan Van Berlo (West Perth)
25. Carlton: Adam Hartlett: (West Adelaide)
26. Hawthorn: Matthew Little (Calder Cannons)
27. Brisbane Lions: Patrick Garner (Western Magpies)
28. Adelaide: Chad Gibson (Norwood)
29. West Coast: Matthew Rosa (North Ballarat Rebels)
30. Essendon: Andrew Lee (Tassie Mariners)
31. Sydney: Jarred Moore (Dandenong Stingrays)
32. Geelong: Brent Prismall (Western Jets)
33. St Kilda: Cain Ackland (Port Adelaide)
34. Port Adelaide: James Ezard (Calder Cannons)
35. Port Adelaide: Fabian Deluca (Eastern Ranges)
36. Richmond: Luke McGuane (Broadbeach)
37. West Coast: Mark LeCras (West Perth)
38. Western Bulldogs: Damian McCormack (Dandenong Stingrays)
39. Collingwood: Travis Cloke (Eastern Ranges)
40. Adelaide: Ivan Maric (Calder Cannons)
41. Carlton: Luke Blackwell (Swan Districts)
42. Kangaroos: Jesse W Smith (Calder Cannons)
43. Melbourne: Michael Newton (Murray Bushrangers)
44. West Coast: Mitch Morton (Claremont)
45. Brisbane Lions: Justin Sherman (Clarence)
46. Essendon: Henry Slattery (West Adelaide)
47. Sydney: David Spriggs (Geelong)
48. Geelong: Nathan Ablett (Modewarre)
49. St Kilda: Mark McGough (Collingwood)
50. Brisbane Lions: Jayden Attard (Dandenong Stingrays)
51. Port Adelaide: Benjamin Eckermann (Sturt)
52. Richmond: Dean Limbach (Calder Cannons)
53. Hawthorn: Simon Taylor (Box Hill Hawks)
54. Western Bulldogs: Stephen Tiller (West Adelaide)
55. Collingwood: Adam Iacobucci (Calder Cannons)
56. Adelaide: Chris Knights (Eastern Ranges)
57. West Coast: Bradley Smith (Subiaco, WAFL)
58. Kangaroos: Bradley Moran (Southport)
59. Fremantle: Benet Copping (Sturt)
60. Essendon: Paul Thomas (Adelaide rookie)
61. Sydney: Heath James (Sydney)
62. Geelong: Matthew Egan (Geelong, VFL)
63. St Kilda: James Gwilt (Noble Park)
64. Brisbane Lions: Luke Forsyth (Dandenong Stingrays)
65. Richmond: Mark Graham (Hawthorn)
66. Collingwood: Pass
67. Fremantle: Toby Stribling (North Adelaide)
68. Kangaroos: Ben Schwarze (Port Melbourne)
69. Fremantle: Daniel Haines (Fremantle)
70. Essendon: Pass
71. St Kilda: Pass
72. Richmond: Pass
73. Carlton: Chris Bryan (Frankston)
74. Kangaroos: Daniel Pratt (Brisbane Lions rookie)
75. Fremantle: Pass
76. St Kilda: Pass
77. Carlton: Anthony Raso (Dandenong Stingrays)
78. Carlton: Pass.
1993
1 Darren Gaspar - Sydney
2 Nigel Lappin - Brisbane
3 Justin Murphy - Richmond
4 Glenn Gorman - Sydney
5 Adam Heuskes - Sydney
6 Trent Cummings - Fitzroy
7 Chris Johnson - Fitzroy
8 Michael Frost - St Kilda
9 Rohan Warfe - Fitzroy
10 Trent Ormond-Allen - Melbourne
This may have been the first AFL draft that was televised live. What an event that was. The AFL draft needs to be put back on television, with a live show and a commentator who doesn't say that every pick is great.
Gaspar seemed to have nearly everything a top overall pick needed, except he couldn't kick the ball. He was a very good defender, and his unique hairstyle would have made David Hasselhoff jealous, but Gaspar isn't what a team should select up the top of the draft. Sydney also were not able to keep Gaspar for very long, and he would later join Richmond.
Lappin was a Bear that become a Lion, Chris Johnson was a Lion who would move north and still be a Lion later in his career. They were two good picks in this top 10.
Murphy achieved stardom very quickly with Richmond, and then disappeared from their team, after that he was traded around a few clubs.
It isn't really what a top 10 should look like, very few key position prospects, and zero ruckmen.
Ranking The AFL Draft Top 10s
1993
1988
1998
1986
1996
1991
1995
1990
1987
1 Brett Delidio Richmond
2 Jarryd Roughead Hawthorn
3 Ryan Griffen Western Bulldogs
4 Richard Tambling Richmond
5 Lance Franklin Hawthorn
6 Tom Williams Western Bulldogs
7 Jordan Lewis Hawthorn
Above is the actual order, but things could have easily been different then.
Deledio has talked about how he thought Roughead would be joining him at the Tigers. It might have happened, if the Tigers had taken Roughead first. The Hawks wanted size and may have taken Franklin at pick 2 while the Bulldogs have been reported to say that Griffen was who they wanted, even at pick 1. Of course, Richmond still miss out on Franklin, but would be improved with Deledio having Roughead to kick to up forward.
1 Jarryd Roughead Richmond
2 Lance Franklin Hawthorn
3 Ryan Griffen Western Bulldogs
4 Brett Delidio Richmond
5 Richard Tambling Hawthorn
6 Tom Williams Western Bulldogs
7 Jordan Lewis Hawthorn
So if the Bulldogs were not going to miss out on Griffen, and the Hawks were after height with Roughead the preferred choice they would select before Franklin, that means the Tigers could have also gone with Franklin at 1 and maybe still had Deledio at pick 4.
1 Lance Franklin Richmond
2 Jarryd Roughead Hawthorn
3 Ryan Griffen Western Bulldogs
4 Brett Delidio Richmond
5 Jordan Lewis Hawthorn
6 Tom Williams Western Bulldogs
7 Richard Tambling Hawthorn
Sometimes the Hawks talk about why it was Roughead before Franklin, that was to stop the Tigers getting Roughead. Below is how the Tigers hoped the draft would go for them.
1 Brett Delidio Richmond
2 Richard Tambling Hawthorn
3 Ryan Griffen Western Bulldogs
4 Jarryd Roughead Richmond
5 Lance Franklin Hawthorn
6 Tom Williams Western Bulldogs
7 Jordan Lewis Hawthorn
Hawthorn fans are probably very happy that the draft did not work out that way, although they would still have Boyle or Thorp or Dowler, or even Dawson, who could be used in Roughead's spot.
If there is a lesson here, it is that teams should draft big when they are picking up the top of the draft. Hawthorn or St Kilda will be in the 2008 AFL Grand Final. The Hawks can thank the Roughead-Franklin draft while the Saints are where they are due to the Riewoldt-Koschitzke draft. Geelong never had high picks in recent drafts, but they did acquire Ottens who went very early in his draft. Of the four remaining teams, obviously the smaller Bulldogs are an exception as they went small in so many drafts. But at least they tried here and while they did miss taking Roughead or Franklin in 2004 they did get Tom Williams.
Have a look at Jarryd Roughead’s Wikipedia site, and if you are a Roughead fan maybe send them some information as Roughead deserves more than one paragraph.
Given that he is such a tall, athletic and naturally gifted player, it was probably inevitable that Lance Franklin would become a popular player in the AFL. But it's fair to say that even his club, Hawthorn, was not expecting this — with the season (and his career) only four weeks old, he's developed such a cult following at Glenferrie that on Saturday, the club's merchandise store at the MCG ran out of the entire Franklin stock of pins and badges.
"A changing of the guard," was how one Hawk insider described it yesterday, saying youngsters such as Franklin, Sam Mitchell and Luke Hodge are gradually taking over from Shane Crawford, Nick Holland and Jonathan Hay as the most popular players at the club. But it's Lance "Buddy" Franklin — the nickname comes from his father, who is also Lance "Buddy" Franklin — who is all the rage, particularly among the younger supporters, as evidenced by the merchandise sellout and also by the way he was mobbed at a kids' footy clinic last week. And check through the Hawks' chat room websites and it seems that Franklin is the player everyone wants to talk about.
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson says the weekend's 46-point win over Brisbane and a Rising Star nomination for young forward Lance Franklin have justified his decision to persist with a youth policy.
The Hawks have had six rookies make their debuts this season and recorded their first win of the season on Saturday to climb off the bottom of the AFL ladder.
1988
1 Alex McDonald - Hawthorn
2 Todd Breman - West Coast
3 Carl Dilena - Fitzroy
4 John McNamara - Kangaroos
5 Chris Naish - Richmond
6 Ray Sterrett - Geelong
7 Leon Cameron - Western Bulldogs
8 Dion Scott - Sydney
9 Michael Werner - Essendon
10 Peter Higgins - West Coast
Leon Cameron and Chris Naish are the better players out of this top 10. Naish was a very dangerous forward while Cameron was someone who could get the ball in the back half and supply it to the forwards with an accurate kick on either foot.
Geelong needed to look closer to home when they picked. Instead of taking Sterrett who was from the other side of Australia, he was recruited from East Fremantle, the Cats could have driven an hour or two down the road where Leon Cameron was playing for South Warrnambool.
The big news at the time was Hawthorn and their trade to acquire the top overall pick. They were probably hoping that Alex McDonald would be a big part of keeping Hawthorn up the top of the ladder throughout the 1990s but that didn't work.
North Melbourne was the worst team picking in the top 10, as they were the only team here that received zero games from their top 10 pick, but when they picked again in the 1988 draft they selected Anthony Stevens. 1988 was also the draft that Chris Grant went at pick 105, it is safe to say that all of the clubs above, except for the Bulldogs, wish they had taken him when they had the chance.
Ranking The AFL Draft Top 10s
1988
1998
1986
1996
1991
1995
1990
1987
Clarkson said the club's younger players, such as Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead and Josh Thurgood, had established a foundation for future success.
"These kids are going to be great players for us, but they just need some time and need some experience like young Roughead did against (Cameron) Mooney on the weekend," he said.
Hawthorn's Jarryd Roughead is the round 19 nominee for the AFL rising star award after his solid all-round performance against Brisbane at the Gabba on Sunday.
He is the third Hawthorn player to be nominated this season joining Lance Franklin and Jordan Lewis.
The future of football is said to be Jarryd Roughead.
1998
1 Des Headland - Brisbane
2 Justin Longmuir - Fremantle
3 Nic Fosdike - Sydney
4 Ryan Fitzgerald - Sydney
5 Michael Stevens - Port Adelaide
6 Murray Vance - Carlton
7 Josh Carr - Port Adelaide
8 Jude Bolton - Sydney
9 Mark McVeigh - Essendon
10 Brandon Hill - West Coast
Probably not the smartest draft class of all time. The Swans managed to find some players, as they picked up two future premiership onballers, but they also missed with another early pick.
The story for this draft was Brisbane deciding between Headland and Longmuir. Headland never fulfilled his potential with the Lions, and would leave to join Longmuir at the Dockers. Longmuir had more talent than anyone else in the top 10, but injuries cut short his career. Josh Carr would win a premiership before departing for Fremantle too, but unlike Headland it seems he had a return ticket and could be a Power player again soon.
Carlton have shown they can select star players, when given the number 1 pick, but they miss with a lot of other top 10 picks. They gave Vance a chance, which was not a good idea.
It seems like M McVeigh was drafted more recently, he has made a steady progression during his career at Essendon and is now one of their main stars.
Ranking The AFL Draft Top 10s
1998
1986
1996
1991
1995
1990
1987
For someone who did seem to be unsteady in front of goal too often this year, Nick Riewoldt performed when it mattered. He led from the front, and as he kicked accurately for goal so did the rest of the Saints.
15 marks, those are numbers that are expected from Riewoldt. They were not the easy marks that Blake and Sam Fisher provided each other in the back line, Riewoldt was taking his marks up forward under pressure from the Collingwood defenders.
5 scoring shots, Nick Riewoldt does that often. But sometimes the result is only 1 or 2 goals and a few behinds. This time it was 5 scoring shots and 5 goals. He was kicking them from distance too.
Riewoldt's importance to the Saints has been shown in the opening rounds of the finals. If he is contained, the Saints will struggle to win. If Riewoldt stars, the Saints can defeat anyone. If the Hawks have one weakness it is their depth of tall defenders, so if Riewoldt can replicate his game against the Magpies it could mean the Saints get to the AFL Grand Final.
It's not J Rockford, it is J Roughead. The site has changed colour and a few stories about the other forward at Hawthorn will be posted. Forever linked with his pal and buddy, so a few Franklin stories probably sneak into The Roughead Files too.
1986
1 Martin Leslie - Brisbane
2 Steven Sims - St Kilda
3 Steven Febey - Melbourne
4 Richard Anderson - Richmond
5 Michael Taylor - Geelong
6 Richard Cousins - Western Bulldogs
7 Chris Lindsay - North Melbourne
8 Grant Fielke - Collingwood
9 Andrew Payze - Essendon
10 John Brinkkotter - Sydney
The first AFL draft, so more than a few teams didn't know what they were doing. They all get a pass mark, as does the AFL which was the VFL then, as the introduction of the draft enabled the AFL to distribute the talent more fairly than happens in other sports in Australia.
Melbourne grabbed Steven Febey in the top 10, and his brother later with their next pick. That might be called conduct prejudicial to the integrity of the draft these days, but then it was good family values.
Brisbane have used many early picks in the drafts, and when they selected Leslie it was actually one of their better choices they made in those times. Unlike many players picked by the Bears, Leslie did join the team and he had a solid career for them.
Ranking The AFL Draft Top 10s
1986
1996
1991
1995
1990
1987
1996
1 Michael Gardiner - West Coast
2 Chris Heffernan - Essendon
3 Rory Hilton - Brisbane
4 Mark Kinnear - Sydney
5 Daniel McAllister - Essendon
6 John Rombotis - Port Adelaide
7 Bowen Lockwood - Port Adelaide
8 Leigh Brockman - Geelong
9 Mark Harwood - Port Adelaide
10 Nathan Brown - Western Bulldogs
It was bad news for most clubs here. Maybe Essendon did better than the others as they did find a future premiership player, the Eagles thought they had the best player but it could be the Bulldogs as they got more than West Coast did when they traded out their player from this draft.
It depends on how success is judged, as to whether Nathan G Brown has been successful. Plenty of goals and a big profile, but the Bulldogs and Tigers didn't win with him around. Gardiner played in a Grand Final and the Eagles lost, he didn't play the next year and they won.
When Port Adelaide entered the AFL they began piecing together a team that would win a premiership in 2004. Their early picks in this draft did not help them get there. Lockwood was injured, Rombotis and Harwood did not do much for the Power.
AFL drafts started in 1986, but even in 1996 there were plenty of draft busts going in the top 10.
Ranking The AFL Draft Top 10s
1996
1991
1995
1990
1987
A 4 round mock draft for the 2008 AFL draft has been posted at AllFooty.Info so have a look at the potential superstars, and also possible draft busts, that could be joining AFL clubs for season 2009.
1991
1 John Hutton - Brisbane
2 Marcus Seecamp - Fitzroy
3 Darren Kowal - Melbourne
4 Andrew McGovern - Sydney
5 Jason Norrish - Melbourne
6 Paul Burton - Sydney
7 Jeremy Guard - Fitzroy
8 Michael Symons - Essendon
9 Stephen O'Reilly - Geelong
10 Andrew Lamprill - Melbourne
Above are the actual results for the top 10 that year, not a lot of players there have the qualities that the top 10 picks possess in most drafts.
Four or five solid players, no real stars, definitely no superstars. When Stephen O'Reilly and Marcus Seecamp are the best from the top 10, it wasn't that great of a top 10. Michael Symons may have been the most exciting of the top 10 players.
Winning games, kicking goals, selling memberships, that is what teams hope they will get from a player when they pick them up the top of the draft. Fitzroy, Melbourne and Brisbane didn't have fans requesting memberships due to the excitement their picks created. At least those clubs were not as bad as Sydney, who in those times was probably the worst when it came to drafting.
Most fans can name a lot of the first overall draft picks, but few can remember who John Hutton was. If it wasn't for the fact that he wore a helmet, there wouldn't be anything that set him apart from the rest of the draft picks in 1991.
The top 10 from 1991 does look like a future Fremantle team. There is O'Reilly, Hutton, Norrish, McGovern. The Dockers also had a couple of Burtons, but Paul Burton was not one of them.
1995
1 Clive Waterhouse - Fremantle
2 Matthew Primus - Fitzroy
3 Brendan Fewster - West Coast
4 Scott Bamford - Fitzroy
5 Brendan Krummel - Hawthorn
6 Daniel Healy - St Kilda
7 Ben Edwards - Fremantle
8 Jared Crouch - Sydney
9 Allen Jakovich - Western Bulldogs
10 Simon Prestigiacomo - Collingwood
Any draft with Allen Jakovich in the top 10 is a worry. As this wasn't the first time he was drafted, the Bulldogs made a huge error when they went so early to grab the injury-prone former Melbourne forward. He may have achieved more than this with the Bulldogs, but hobbling off the ground with a sore hamstring or back might be all that people remember.
The Dockers messed up their draft, not an uncommon occurrence. The Eagles did the same, that was something that didn't happen a lot, then or now. When Waterhouse arrived in the AFL, he was hyped up by the Dockers as being an amazing full forward, to say football fans were disappointed by his performances is an understatement. It wasn't all Waterhouse's fault, as the ball didn't get down that end of the ground too often. At least his hair continues to live on with the Dockers, as Scott Thornton does have a resemblance to Waterhouse.
Sydney and Collingwood deserve some credit, they still have the players they selected, and while Crouch and Prestigiacomo were never stars they did do important jobs for their coaches and made their teams better.
The good and the bad from Fitzroy was on display here. Primus was a great choice, a strong ruckman, while Bamford was someone that should never have been drafted in a top 10.
It was 1995, so clubs were drafting for nearly a decade and should have been able to identify talent better than they did. It was certainly a strange top 10, and there were future stars available to choose, but Hall, Harvey, Bradshaw and others went much later in the draft.
The site went purple for a while, and here is a little update to the Fremantle Dockers stories. The Dockers are reviewing all aspects of their club, including the heavy anchor they make their players carry around on their jumpers.
There probably isn’t anything better than the anchor for Fremantle to replace it with, so it looks like it will stay. Their club song is also unlikely to get a heave ho, so that means “Heave Ho” will stay.
Fans of the Dockers can view the story from the link below.
Rosich said the colour purple had become a key marketing tool for Fremantle, while he also said changes to the club's song and the logo were unlikely.
The logo in particular has come under heavy scrutiny since the club's inception in 1995. The club has made the finals just twice in 14 seasons and are the only team in the competition yet to win a premiership.
Sydney's season seemed over, and North Melbourne had the game under control for a lot of the first quarter. But then captain Kirk put in a stellar performance, with enterprising effort that had the Kangaroos stunned. North Melbourne tried to cling on, but were no match for Kirk. Whenever a Kangaroo thought he had found space, Kirk was there to shoot him down.
What Kirk did during the game wasn't based on any great skill, it was all about effort and persistence. He fought for the ball and continually won it. Half of his possessions were listed as contested, but a contested possession by Kirk had a lot more work put in than most contested possessions by other players. There were also the times when a stat wasn't recorded, as Kirk dove into the action to knock the ball away from several Kangaroos.
22 possessions and 8 tackles, a typical Kirk game. More hustle than any other player on the ground is also the usual when it comes to Kirk. It was win or go home for the Swans and Kangaroos, and Kirk was the difference then and he may also be the matchwinner if the Swans win again this week.
1990
1 Stephen Hooper - Geelong
2 James Cook - Carlton
3 David Donato - Fitzroy
4 Jason McCartney - Collingwood
5 Stewart Devlin - Geelong
6 Allen Jakovich - Melbourne
7 Damian Hampson - Carlton
8 Paul Gow - Western Bulldogs
9 Matt Clape - West Coast
10 David Ogg - Brisbane
Any draft with Allen Jakovich in the top 10 is a worry. None of the clubs found any success, when it came to premierships, with the players selected in the top 10 here. The Eagles couldn't find a spot for Clape in their winning teams, but he would later make a contribution to a win by the Blues.
The teams picking high in this draft had a lot of optimism when they made their selections. But nothing worked out for anyone. Jakovich kicked a lot of goals, at senior and reserves level, and entertained the fans but his bad attributes outweighed the good ones and he wasn't at Melbourne very long. Cook and McCartney were supposed to be 200-game players for Carlton and Collingwood but never did anything for their original clubs. The Cats don't get to pick up the top of many drafts, and here when they had the chance they didn't find a future star.
1987
1 Richard Lounder - Richmond
2 Chris McDermott - Brisbane
3 Graham Wright - Collingwood
4 Andrew Brockhurst - Fitzroy
5 Michael Quirk - St Kilda
6 Andrew Rogers - Essendon
7 Darren Davies - Western Bulldogs
8 Darren Jones - Geelong
9 Michael Murphy - North Melbourne
10 Michael Parsons - Sydney
In those days, Brisbane would draft a lot of future AFL stars but they wouldn't go to Brisbane. The new Gold Coast AFL club will have it a lot easier than the expansion Brisbane Bears did.
The only team in the top 10 that found anything was Collingwood, and they made the Wright choice. The Magpies were one of the better clubs at scouting prospects in the initial AFL drafts, they seemed to lose that ability in the 1990s but things have picked up in the most recent drafts.
A lot of things went against the Fitzroy Lions that they could not control, but one thing that they could have had some control of was their picks and they missed with a lot of first rounders over the years.
All the AFL drafts will be ranked, from worst to first, according to the players selected in the top 10 picks and what they did or didn't do for the clubs that picked them.
When a car is purchased, it soon drops in value. When J Carr was purchased, the Dockers didn't think they would be sending it back to where they got it from but that is now the case, and the value has gone down immensely.
Josh Carr is expected to go back to Port Adelaide, and the Power probably get him cheap.
Fremantle should ask for Pettigrew, he would be a welcome addition to their back line, but that is unlikely to be the trade. Nathan Krakouer has been mentioned and the Dockers should take that trade if it is offered. Krakouer gives them some speed and excitement in the middle that they need.
A new centre half forward could be something the Dockers are looking for. Lobbe could be a Power player to go for, but a more realistic option is Damon White and the Dockers may even be able to get a draft pick thrown in with White to make the trade work. White is capable of double-figure marks at centre half forward, that is something the Dockers need.
The Power might get Carr for a third round pick, and for the Dockers that is better than nothing, and if they scout well the Dockers may be ale to find a future star with that draft pick.
When the Dockers traded for J Carr they thought that they were buying a premiership player that would take their team to the next level, but instead of that they were just renting Carr for a few years.
The Carrs provided some hits, but not as many as The Cars.
The Fremantle List - 2007
Bell, Peter
Black, Heath
Browne, Andrew
Campbell, Adam
Carr, Josh
Carr, Matthew
Collard, Clayton
Cook, Troy
Copping, Benet
Crowley, Ryan
Dodd, Steven
Drum, Marcus
Duffield, Paul
Dunn, Ryley
Farmer, Jeff
Foster, Andrew
Gilmore, Daniel
Grover, Antoni
Haddrill, Robert
Hasleby, Paul
Hayden, Roger
Headland, Des
Ibbotson, Garrick
Johnson, Michael
Longmuir, Justin
Mcmanus, Shaun
McPharlin, Luke
Mourish, Calib
Mundy, David
Murphy, Ryan
O'Brien, Brock
Parker, Shane
Pavlich, Matthew
Peake, Brett
Rumble, Darren
Sandilands, Aaron
Schammer, Byron
Smith, Chris
Solomon, Dean
Tarrant, Chris
Thornton, Scott
Walker, James
Warnock, Robert
Webster, Luke
That is enough of the purple for now, and if someone wants another club looked at in some detail, post a request in the comments area.
Also check out AllFooty.Info with more draft profiles added, and a three round mock draft preview will be posted there soon.
Every team that doesn't win can go through the "ifs", and the Dockers would have been much better if Justin Longmuir and Clem Michael had avoided injuries and had long careers with the Fremantle Football Club.
If the Dockers had Longmuir and Michael they would have also had a few more draft picks to use, as they would not have traded for Tarrant.
If the Dockers had Longmuir and Michael, Pavlich could have gone into the middle whenever he wanted as there would still have been marking targets up forward.
If the Dockers had Michael, as well as Longmuir and Pavlich, they might have made it into the 2006 AFL Grand Final, as the Swans didn't have the height in the back line to compete.
Every team has players who could have been stars if it were not for injuries, and at Fremantle they would have been much better if Longmuir and Michael were able to reach their potential.
Longmuir kicks a goal and wins the game.
The Fremantle List - 2005
Bell, Peter
Black, Heath
Browne, Andrew
Campbell, Adam
Carr, Josh
Carr, Matthew
Cook, Troy
Copping, Benet
Crowley, Ryan
Dodd, Steven
Duffield, Paul
Dunn, Ryley
Farmer, Jeff
Gilmore, Daniel
Grover, Antoni
Haddrill, Robert
Haines, Daniel
Hasleby, Paul
Hayden, Roger
Headland, Des
Johnson, Michael
Juniper, Jack
Krieger, Joe
Longmuir, Justin
McManus, Shaun
McPharlin, Luke
Medhurst, Paul
Mundy, David
Murphy, Ryan
Parker, Shane
Pavlich, Matthew
Peake, Brett
Polak, Graham
Sandilands, Aaron
Schammer, Byron
Schofield, Jarrod
Siegert, Andrew
Smith, Dylan
Stribling, Toby
Thornton, Scott
Walker, James
Warren, Michael
Webster, Luke
Woods, Dion
The Dockers don't win a lot of things, so while the Rising Star Award is not the greatest achievement it is a step forward for the Dockers. It shows they are drafting better, and that is how a future premiership team is constructed.
Palmer is the second Fremantle player to win the accolade after Paul Hasleby in 2000, and joins an elite crop of emerging guns including the last three recipients – Joel Selwood (Geelong), Danyle Pearce (Port Adelaide) and Brett Deledio (Richmond).
He played 20 games this year after being drafted by the club with selection No. 7 in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft, having stood out at the NAB AFL Under 18 Championships.
Trading is the right thing to do, but teams can't pay too much. The Dockers have probably come out on the wrong end of trades, not because of what they got back but because of the price they had to pay.
The early years will be overlooked here as the Dockers were often beaten in trading by teams like the Eagles and Bombers. But things have not improved a lot since then.
Peter Bell was an original Docker, they got rid of him and then after he won with the Kangaroos they wanted him back. Pick 6 would have been more than enough for a fair trade offer, but the Dockers also added Jess Sinclair to the package. By trading out Clement and Holland they received a first round pick and then added that to the deal. So Bell cost them two top 10 picks, another later pick and Jess Sinclair, it was too much to pay.
If only the Dockers had drafted Luke McPharlin when they had the chance, that would have saved them from a big mistake. The top pick in the draft, as well as two more good picks, were given to Hawthorn for McPharlin and also for taking Croad off the Hawks' hands. At least the Dockers overpaid for size, but Croad was a terrible addition to the Dockers.
When Des Headland wanted out of Brisbane, the Lions wanted a lot for him. Unfortunately for the Dockers, they were happy to give up a lot. Pick 3 in the draft was overpaying, but the Dockers also sent out a bit more in the deal too.
Josh Carr may have been worth a first round pick. The Power didn't let him leave until they also had Fremantle's second and third rounders too.
It did seem like a good idea at the time, acquiring Chris Tarrant to help Pavlich in the forward line, but it has been another failure. Picks and players went east, and not a lot went right for the Dockers after that.
Maybe the Dockers deserve some credit, and when they traded an old Stephen O'Reilly for a couple of draft picks they were actually on the winning side of a trade. But then they took the pick they acquired, pick 16, and gave it to the Eagles for Brendon Fewster.
The Fremantle Song.
The words for the Fremantle Song.
Freo, heave ho!
Freo, heave hol
Give ‘em all the old
Freo, heave ho!
Freo, way to go!
Hit ‘em real hard, send ‘em down below
Oh Freo, give ‘em the old heave ho
We are the Freo Dockers!
Freo, heave ho!
Freo, heave hol
Give ‘em all the old
Freo, heave ho!
We’re the rollers
We’re the rockers
We’re the mighty Freo Dockers!
We’re gonna roll ‘em and we’ll rock ‘em
We’re gonna send ‘em to the bottom
And if they get up, we’ll do again
The Dockers stop at nothing – nothing
Freo, way to go!
Hit ‘em real hard, send ‘em down below
Oh Freo, give ‘em the old heave ho
We are the Freo Dockers!
Freo, heave ho!
Freo, heave hol
Give ‘em all the old
Freo, heave ho!
Dock dock Dockers
Show ‘em how we rock
(Freo heave ho)
Dock dock Dockers
Show ‘em how we roll
Go Dockers, Go Go Go!
Freo, way to go!
Hit ‘em real hard, send ‘em down below
Oh Freo, give ‘em the old heave ho
We are the Freo Dockers!
The Fremantle List - 2003
Bell, Peter
Browne, Andrew
Carr, Matthew
Colreavy, Ben
Cook, Troy
Croad, Trent
Crowley, Ryan
Cunningham, Ben
Dodd, Steven
Doswell, Brett
Edgcumbe, Greg
Farmer, Jeff
Gilmore, Daniel
Grover, Antoni
Haddrill, Robert
Haines, Daniel
Hasleby, Paul
Hayden, Roger
Head, Josh
Headland, Des
Jones, Anthony
Koops, Steven
Longmuir, Justin
Longmuir, Troy
McManus, Shaun
McPharlin, Luke
Medhurst, Paul
Mott, Ricky
Parker, Shane
Pavlich, Matthew
Polak, Graham
Sandilands, Aaron
Schammer, Byron
Siegert, Andrew
Simmonds, Troy
Thornton, Scott
Toia, Luke
Walker, James
Waterhouse, Clive
Webster, Luke
Woods, Dion
“After talking to Mark and Chris today it is clear that the club is moving in a different direction and I have decided after a 14 year career to retire from the AFL,” he said.
His record of 483 career goals is the most kicked by an Indigenous player in the history of the VFL/AFL, while his tally of 224 goals for Fremantle ranks him second in the club’s all time goal kicking records.
The Dockers seem to be going in the right direction, and the retirements of a lot of their veterans have helped them decide to rebuild. The oldest club, for the average player age, at the start of the season wasn’t something a team that was not contending needed. They will soon be among the youngest, and can steadily build around Pavlich over the next few seasons.
Farmer was probably a good acquisition for the Dockers. It didn’t cost them a lot to trade for him, Farmer kicked plenty of goals and probably helped sell tickets and memberships.
Solomon may be the oldest Docker now, and if he leaves the title of oldest Docker could go to Grover.
A few weeks ago, he was out of the side due to a team-imposed suspension. There was talk that his future may not be at Port Adelaide, round 22 showed that Peter Burgoyne wants to continue with the Power.
Port Adelaide were playing for draft picks, the Kangaroos were playing for a top 4 spot, it didn't seem like the scenario for P Burgoyne to grab over 40 possessions in a huge Port Adelaide win at the MCG.
23 kicks, 22 handballs, 5 marks, 4 tackles and a goal, Peter Burgoyne was very busy. Kane Cornes had 30 possessions, Burgoyne had 15 more than that, Shaun Burgoyne has been the better Burgoyne this year and while his possessions were quality they were less than half of Peter Burgoyne's.
P Burgoyne had 14 possessions in the 3rd quarter, there were 10 Kangaroos who had fewer were the entire game.
Port Adelaide get a lot of their goals from attacking moves that start with Peter Burgoyne at half back or along the wing and if he is able to take his round 22 form into next season it could mean Port Adelaide will be a big improver in 2009 and a team that is playing finals.
Chuck Norris never wins any Academy Awards for his movies, and Brownlow Medals have gone to Liberatore and Hardie instead of Chris Grant and Brad Johnson, so when the Rising Star Award is given out the right player may not receive it.
Rhys Palmer is the only player that it should go to, but it seems that Cyril Rioli is getting a big push from the media, and some even think he should be All-Australian. Rioli has been great in his first year of AFL, but Palmer has been much better. Others have been suggesting Cotchin is the deserving recipient of the award, that wouldn't be fair to Palmer or Rioli.
Palmer has been playing so well that other teams often assign someone to try to stop him. This does not happen to Rioli. Rioli is kicking goals, and as a forward pocket that is his role, Palmer has kicked fewer goals but as a midfielder it is a bit more difficult. Their accuracy in front of goal is nearly identical.
Palmer gets around 10 more possessions a game than Rioli, if they want a statistic to separate the two when voting for the award they should look to that.
Maybe Palmer does get the award, but if he doesn't it will mean that the Dockers have been ripped off more than they were in the Tarrant trade.
Maybe Mayne gets a DeLorean, or Kepler Bradley flies around the world to reverse its rotation, and the Dockers get to go back in time. Here are their drafts the way they were, and the way they could have been.
The drafts redone here are a best case revision, but even if the Dockers had selected better with just a few of their past picks they may have been a real contender in 2006.
Picks in the top 50 of the AFL National Drafts have been looked at here. The Dockers have found players with later picks, as well as rookie picks, but it is more important for teams to use their high picks well.
1994
1 Jeff White Melbourne
22 Winston Abraham
42 Douglas Headland
The Dockers didn't do too badly here. White would return to Victoria, but if they had taken A Rocca or S Grant the same thing would have happened. There were other options though, and Lucas from the West of Victoria might have stayed if he was drafted out West.
1 Scott Lucas
22 Michael O'Loughlin
42 Brad Scott
1995
1 Clive Waterhouse
7 Ben Edwards
13 Brad Rowe
23 Jay Burton
The 1994 draft was a lot better than the 1995 draft for the Dockers. They were hoping Waterhouse would be their star forward, he wasn't and there were plenty of those around in this draft. The Dockers could have built their young, expansion AFL side around big Primus, they didn't but eventually Port Adelaide did.
1 Matthew Primus
7 Simon Prestigiacomo
13 Barry Hall
23 Daniel Bradshaw
1996
12 Heath Black
31 Jess Sinclair
46 Matthew Clucas
There were better options than Black, but for where they picked Sinclair they should be happy. They didn't keep Sinclair long-term. Mooney was around later in the draft, teams didn't think he would be a premiership forward then.
12 Max Hudghton
31 Jess Sinclair
46 Cameron Mooney
1997
6 James Walker
21 Clem Michael
26 Brodie Holland
32 Troy Johnson
The Dockers didn't have a good draft here, although plenty of other teams struggled to identify the best players that year too. Walker was around a long time, but wasn't a very successful pick, especially for a top 10 selection.
6 Chad Cornes
21 Clem Michael
26 Simon Black
32 Adam Goodes
1998
2 Justin Longmuir
18 Daniel Schell
31 Gary Dhurrkay
49 Garth Taylor
The Dockers couldn't find the talented prospects, and once again they missed on WA players. The Longmuir pick was good, their next few picks didn't have any success.
2 Paul Hasleby
4 Matthew Pavlich
5 Leigh Brown
46 Adam Butler
49 Ben Cunningham
There isn't much to complain about for Fremantle fans here, they did get Pavlich while Hasleby is a good player and Brown was supposed to be. Hawthorn passed on Lance Franklin, when they took Roughead a few spots ahead of him, and the Dockers did a similar thing when they went Hasleby and then Pavlich.
2 Matthew Pavlich
4 Joel Corey
5 Luke McPharlin
46 Chance Bateman
49 Ryan O'Keefe
2000
39 Adam McPhee
Only one pick in the top 50, although they did take Dion Woods at pick 51. McPhee is a good player, it is just that Essendon found that out and not the Dockers.
39 Adam McPhee
2001
4 Graham Polak
They did get Medhurst at pick 56, but it is all about picking correctly with early picks. Bartel, Dal Santo, Hale, Gram, Mitchell, there were better options at pick 4.
4 James Bartel
2002
13 Byron Schammer
48 Greg Edgcumbe
Schammer isn't a bad player, but the Dockers could have united the Selwoods. They did get Crowley at pick 55 in the 2002 draft.
13 Troy Selwood
48 Adam Selwood
2003
10 Ryley Dunn
12 Ryan Murphy
19 David Mundy
27 Adam Campbell
43 Brett Peake
There wasn't a lot for most AFL teams in this draft, so the Dockers can be pleased with their picks.
10 Brent Stanton
12 David Mundy
19 Michael Pettigrew
27 Sam Fisher
43 Brett Peake
2004
They sent out all their early picks, and didn't find anyone useful with their later picks in this draft. J Carr was what they added with the picks.
2005
10 Marcus Drum
26 Garrick Ibbotson
42 Robert Warnock
The Dockers did very well here. Warnock was a steal. Ibbotson took a few years but is now an important part of the lineup while Drum is getting close to that level too.
10 Grant Birchall
26 Garrick Ibbotson
42 Robert Warnock
2006
31 Clayton Collard
Tarrant and Solomon were the results of the Dockers' trading, and that is where a lot of their picks went. Their drafting of Collard seemed like a good idea but for some reason did not work.
31 Kurt Tippett
2007
7 Rhys Palmer
24 Clayton Hinkley
40 Christopher Mayne
The Dockers had a great 2007 AFL draft. Many people were sleeping on Bradd Dalziell, but when he was right under the Dockers' radar for several seasons they should have been aware. That doesn't matter as Palmer and Mayne are stars.
7 Rhys Palmer
24 Christopher Mayne
40 Bradd Dalziell
The Fremantle List - 2001
Bandy, Daniel
Bell, Peter
Black, Heath
Bootsma, Brad
Brown, Leigh
Butler, Adam
Carr, Matthew
Clancy, Ashley
Cook, Troy
Cunningham, Ben
Dodd, Brad
Eastaugh, Simon
Fewster, Brendon
Fletcher, Adrian
Grover, Antoni
Haddrill, Robert
Haines, Daniel
Hasleby, Paul
Hayden, Roger
Jones, Anthony
Kickett, Dale
Koops, Steven
Longmuir, Justin
Longmuir, Troy
McManus, Shaun
McPhee, Adam
Metropolis, Daniel
Michael, Clem
Modra, Tony
Norrish, Jason
Parker, Shane
Pavlich, Matthew
Prescott, Ashley
Schell, Daniel
Shipp, Andrew
Siegert, Andrew
Simpson, Dwayne
Thornton, Scott
Toia, Luke
Ugle, Keren
Walker, James
Waterhouse, Clive
Wira, Brad
Woods, Dion
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