Talk about your growth spurts
Sam De Koning was 186cm at the under 16 champs a few years back now as an 18 year old he is 200cm!
14cm is not so unusual over 2 years, especially for a kid who has an older brother the around the smae height. Paddy Cripps from memory went from 170s to mid 190s in a little over a year, or so the story goes.
Is Sam any good as a defender? Athletic? Skills?
Compared to other kids this year his growth is far more prominent.
Has played down back mostly but when he has been moved forward I’ve liked what I saw, played really well in the country and Metro trials getting 17 disposals (2nd highest overall), 2 contested marks and 4 rebounds playing as a pure defender. A lot of potential and one to keep an eye on for the champs.
Cripps kept growing after he was drafted, pretty sure he wasn’t even 190 when he got drafted but was still a good size for an inside mid.
Cripps was 188
Are there any good Ruck prospects in this draft?
Take a rookie ruck again
I’d be happy with that, I think we need to keep the pipeline fresh rather than filling gaps with retreads.
Round 4 we had Pick 25 and 35
Round 5 we had Pick 30 and 31
Fun tracking our picks.
A few names
Luke Jackson
Nick Bryan
Jack Bell
Andrew Courtney
Aaron Gundry
Not sure at all on their range or if they will even be drafted but those are some names, Jackson looks the best prospect but his height may mean he plays key position instead of ruck
Is that last one meant to be Grundy? If so, any relation to the Collingwood bloke?
Nah Gundry, plays for Bendigo
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Thoughts on Jeka? I feel he’d be well suited to FB/CHB but with the lack of forwards across the board I don’t see him getting much time down back
She’s from the Yorke peninsula - Fiona O’Loughlin’s sister.
He reminds me of Scache a bit and Langford in other areas. Can be flaky and he has the smarts and skills that make him look good but the speed and aggression mostly isn’t there often enough. He is a tough one to rate.
Interesting, I thought his athleticism was one of his strengths. From the limited vision I’ve seen of him, he doesn’t have the ‘presence’ to be a forward. When you compare him to other mid-draft forwards like Ratagolea who, whilst raw, seemed to draw the ball as a junior, Jeka just seems like more of a reactive player as opposed to someone who makes the play.
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Athletic with his leap and movement at ground level but don’t think he is overalls powerful or quick.
Yeah that’s not a bad summary of him
Still can’t believe Richmond got Sydney Stack for nothing, top 30 prospect last year no question.
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Yep, the one that got away, I wanted him quite a bit. Even with his apparent issues. I would have turfed McNeice in a heartbeat once he slipped through to the rookie draft.
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McNeice is on the B-list. Dea or Jok would have been passed over if we’d taken Stack.
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Some kids just need an arm around them. I see a kid with an incredible level of maturity who’s grown up more quickly than he needed to in order to survive… The demands of AFL are nothing compared to what he’s faced earlier in life where apparently there were times that he didnot have a home to go to. And he’s entered an environment where some kids are struggling to cope with the demands of playing sport! Much different to fighting for your life…
Loved the look of him early days, so tough, skilful and courageous. Would’ve looked great in our backline!
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