With many young guns who missed out in the National Draft we look at who are the top stories that emerged from the Rookie Draft.
Adelaide Crows – Ended taking 5 players in the Rookie draft. The pick of the bunch would be Timothy Milera taken at number 15 from the Port Magpies. Small dynamic forward who stands at only 171cm and 74kg.
Brisbane Lions – Nothing really to report from the Lions who re-selected McCulloch, Proud and McCauley. Along with these 3 players Brisbane also picked up Brad Harvey a midfielder from the Eastern Rangers.
Carlton – Picked up 4 Rookies along with re-listing Rhys O’Keefe. Mainly looked at midfield types for the list with Ed Curnow of the Box Hill Hawks being most notable considering he was able to win the Box Hill best and fairest despite fracturing his leg in round 13 of the season.
Collingwood – No real surprises from Collingwood who opted for youth in the Rookie draft. Keeping the Irish connection alive they took Paul Cribbin with their last pick. Cribbin has been on the Collingwood radar and gets the chance to be another Irish convert. Stands at 191cm but only weighs 79kg.
Essendon – Jay Neagle and Tyson Slattery are the stories for Essendon fans. Along with selecting 3 young players Essendon reached out to both Neagle and Slattery who have both been inconsistent in the past. Would have to assume it is the last chance for both players.
Fremantle – Have gone chasing forwards if the Rookie draft is anything to go by. Picked up Gavin Roberts from Norwood who at 188cm is a forward prospect. Fremantle also re-drafted Bucovaz and Ruffles.
Geelong – Geelong has made some interesting selections in the Rookie draft most notable is the listing of Ryan Bathie. Bathie played college Basketball in the USA at stands at 198cm. Obviously Geelong wants another ruck man. Re-drafted Simpkin onto their list as well.
Gold Coast – Didn’t do too much in the Rookie draft. Took Joel Tippet from the Brisbane Lions but largely stayed out of proceedings in the Rookie draft.
GWS – Not surprisingly the Giants took young players from across the land to bolster their list. Ended up picking 6 rookies to add to their 2011 list.
Hawthorn – Very active within the Rookie draft ending the day having recruited 9 players in total. Re-drafted Travis Tuck after a tumultuous season along with extending a life-line to another former Demon in Paul Johnson.
Melbourne – Recruited 6 new players in the Rookie draft extending a life-line to McNamara as well. Daniel Nicholson was their first choice who is a young midfielder from the University Blues. Stands at 183cms and dominated in the Amateurs last season.
North Melbourne – Only made two choices in the Rookie draft taking Cameron Pederson and Aaron Mullett. Pederson is listed as a 193cm key defender which is a good choice for North Melbourne providing a very big body down back.
Port Adelaide – Made 5 choices during the draft with one being a life-line to Matthew Westhoff. Their first choice was on Thomas Jonas from Norwood who is a 185cm reliable defender.
Richmond – Ended up with 6 additional players along with Houli from the draft proceedings. Gave Brad Miller another chance along with Tom Hislop. Nice mix of both youth and experience taken by the Tigers.
St Kilda – Only took 4 players including re-listing Robert Eddy. Nothing more to report from the Saints who only need to bolster their current playing group.
Sydney – Largely inactive only selecting 3 players from the Rookie draft. Picked up the brother of Andy Otten, Max who is listed as a defender but has also spent time up forward during his career.
West Coast – Took 4 players during the drafting period including re-listing Tim Houlihan. Most noteworthy was the pre-season draft choice listed above.
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Just on the hawks, should be noted that the last 3 guys (Tuck, Johnson and the other forward) haven’t got a confirmed spot but are battling for the last spot on the rookie list. My gut feel is that Tuck has the lead on that spot and only a rash of injuries in our ruck spot or forward line would see him not get the last rookie spot. Clarko said as much about Paul Johnson this morning on SEN.
“. . . Neagle and Slattery who have both been inconsistent in the past.”
No argument on Neagle, but more than a touch harsh on Slattery. He has played only one senior game, the shellacing by Adelaide where he showed a good deal more than many of his teammates on the night. It could be argued (logically) that he can’t have demonstrated any consistency at all, good or bad, from only one performance.
Yes that Adelaide game was definately one sided