The Good and Bad of the 2003 AFL Draft - Western Bulldogs
1 - Adam Cooney
4 - Farren Ray
50 - Iszac Thompson
62 - pass
From The Age: Who your team picked
It isn't the Bulldogs' fault that they didn't use this draft, and two early picks, to become a contender. Other drafts have Riewoldt and Koschitzke, Roughead and Franklin or Fraser and Pavlich available at the top end. The 2003 AFL draft didn't have a lot of height.
Nothing wrong with the Cooney pick, he was considered the only worthwhile top selection all that year. Although it would be interesting to find out what other clubs did offer for that pick.
Trading pick 4 would have been something to do, as Ray is not yet part of their best 22 players. The Bulldogs thought both Cooney and Ray were "exciting", that description is apt for Cooney but Farren Ray and "exciting" are not used in the same sentence very often.
The Bulldogs have always struggled to plan ahead, and never looked for a big ruckman to replace Wynd and overlooked a lot of tall prospects that could have helped Grant when he played, and taken his spot when he retired. Trading for a tall, using pick 4, would have been the way to go here. There was also Kepler Bradley available, maybe things would have turned out differently if the shorter Bulldogs had selected him and not the Bombers who were loaded with height, and maybe it would have been the same result.
The Bulldogs can consider this draft a success when they compare it to many others they had around that time, Cooney is a much better player than Tim Walsh, Sam Power and Jordan McMahon who were all first round picks.
The Good and Bad of the 2003 AFL Draft - West Coast
4 - Farren Ray
50 - Iszac Thompson
62 - pass
From The Age: Who your team picked
The club says "Our destiny was set out a bit with picks 1 and 4 and it fell the way we thought. We’ve got two exciting players and our last pick (Iszac Thompson) was speculative. He’s a 185-centimetre flanker-type who was an All-Australian under-16 and had glandular fever this year, but he’s got some terrific athletic attributes and we’ll be very patient with him."
Scott Clayton, recruiting manager
It isn't the Bulldogs' fault that they didn't use this draft, and two early picks, to become a contender. Other drafts have Riewoldt and Koschitzke, Roughead and Franklin or Fraser and Pavlich available at the top end. The 2003 AFL draft didn't have a lot of height.
Nothing wrong with the Cooney pick, he was considered the only worthwhile top selection all that year. Although it would be interesting to find out what other clubs did offer for that pick.
Trading pick 4 would have been something to do, as Ray is not yet part of their best 22 players. The Bulldogs thought both Cooney and Ray were "exciting", that description is apt for Cooney but Farren Ray and "exciting" are not used in the same sentence very often.
The Bulldogs have always struggled to plan ahead, and never looked for a big ruckman to replace Wynd and overlooked a lot of tall prospects that could have helped Grant when he played, and taken his spot when he retired. Trading for a tall, using pick 4, would have been the way to go here. There was also Kepler Bradley available, maybe things would have turned out differently if the shorter Bulldogs had selected him and not the Bombers who were loaded with height, and maybe it would have been the same result.
The Bulldogs can consider this draft a success when they compare it to many others they had around that time, Cooney is a much better player than Tim Walsh, Sam Power and Jordan McMahon who were all first round picks.
The Good and Bad of the 2003 AFL Draft - West Coast
