2025 draft spec (Part 1)

Football Discussion Trade week Duursma head in
6664

Its not just about midfield though. Perkins has failed develop in any position.

We have had far fewer players “develop” than the opposite.

Even the higher draft picks that have remained in the side havnt really kicked on either.

Compare Mcgraths first year to the player he is now and not many would say thats positive development.

Ditto Parish aside from 1 or 2 good season.

The same can be said for Jones, Tsatas, Hobbs, Menzie, Davey jnr, Aaron Francis. The list goes on.

I absolutely dont think questioning our development of players is overdone. Its a massive issue at the club.

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6665

It actually really does highlight how stupid a system free agency is that we might miss out on a top tier talent because a massively cooked Oscar Allen decided to leave West Coast.

In no way, shape or form is Allen worth pick 2.

6666

We’ll likely need our own F2 to match on an NGA kid (Blake Justice)

6667

In my mind this club is starting fresh from last year in our rebuild. Caddy, Kako, Roberts, Caldwell, Durham, Reid. This draft is super important that we find more players to continue the rebuild. Anything from Perkins is purely a bonus at this stage.

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6668

I think this all has to do with our selection criteria and what we’re placing weight on.

I think Disco heavily emphasized ‘up-side’ at the ND. I suspect to him this meant potential being held back by immature physical or footballing ability or maybe a key weakness which he thought could be corrected.

I look at a guy like Steinberg, picked on athletic potential on the assumption that he’s be able to take the next step with his football. But he never did. to be sure he was an excellent vfl player but didn’t have the rounded game he needed for senior level.

It’s a tendency to favour what’s unseen and in the box rather than what what is out on display.

It’s picking a 7/10 footballer who with think will turn into a 9 over an 8/10 footballer who will probably stay an 8.

At the msd level we just pick the 8/10 guy because the pool of 7/10 guys isn’t really there

6669

I can’t see Richmond not taking him if he is there anyway.

6670

A topic for another thread really, but Steinberg was a case imo of picking a player for a game style that was falling out of fashion. We were behind in recognizing the shift, and never assembled a list that could force our style to suit a Steinberg player.

6671

I think that raises the question then, who the hell are Thomas Burton, Max Kondogiannis, Harry Kyle and Koby Coulson?

From Zero Hangar, more information on each in the links.

Max Kondogiannis
In an up-and-down carnival for Vic Metro, few enhanced their stocks as much as Max Kondogiannis, a third-tall defender who intercepts and kicks with great confidence.

The Oakleigh defender backs himself to read the flight of the ball and take intercept marks, and has great composure to get his team out of trouble and counterattack when the ball hits the deck. He averaged 19 disposals and five marks for Vic Metro, consensually viewed as the best defender in game one and improving from there. It’s also worth noting that due to a finger tendon injury, he didn’t play any footy between game one and two, yet still carried on his very strong form.

Thomas Burton
Western Jets halfback Tom Burton is an exciting dual-position threat who had no isse finding the football in 2025.

Burton is a player who creates chaos for opposition defences. He knows one way and that is to go, go, go, taking the game on and being an entertaining watch as he opens up opportunities for his side going forward. He has unbelievable running power, showing an ability to get from the inside to the outside in a flash in 2025, and while his kicking has at times been questioned, his unpredictable ways often work in his favour.

Harry Kyle
Sydney Swans academy

Koby Coulson
Gold Coast Academy

Queenslander Koby Coulson is one of the leading products to come out of the Gold Coast Academy this year. Concealed by the big three Suns Academy boys entering 2025, Coulson quickly stamped himself as a player worth tracking with his excellence in the Coates Talent League, and went to another level at the U18s National Championships, averaging 24 disposals and five tackles, relishing the midfield responsibility. An old-school, hard-nosed inside midfielder who wins the ball in and under and can distribute to teammates, Coulson does his best work around stoppage and switches from offence to defence in a flash if the opposition wins the footy.

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6672

Is it over coaching contributing to the inability to play with instinct?

Combined with mental fragility, the desire to not mistakes and an overall lack of confidence?

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6673

He was certainly very capable in the air and I could easily see him turning into tom Stewart in a set up with elite pressure on the ball and some good key tall around him. Playing him on a tall, fast, hard leading forward in ben brown did him no favours at all.

That said. My point is his exposed football form was well below the level of Luke parker yet we picked him over Parker. I think at msd time we’re picking Luke parker.

Probably also seeing a picking for need philosophy at play at msd time as opposed to picking best available

6674

Jasper Chellappah just posted that Dovaston ran the third best all time agility run at the combine. That’s impressive.

Oska Taylor went 2.82 for the 20m and was second in the agility. Can also kick a ball.

Grlj was sub 6mins for the 2k and sub 3 seconds for the 20m. Great combo runner.

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6675

I remember he would play of a forward like Vickery in the VFL and towel him up then come up against him in the seniors and get beaten. Should have picked Luke Parker.

6676

2.82 is lightning. Given his end to the season surely he’s a first round chance now.

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6677

I think when you’re going back over a decade and a half to get your example, from a compromised draft and with a player who went in the thirties, that maybe you’re reaching.

6678

We need another earlier FRP to take Dovaston (need to get ahead of the Dogs who apparently want him).

6679

I’ve been saying for a while if we get #10 for Merrett, we should use that on Dovaston.

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6680

Possibly. But with most of our players over the last 20 years , they pass through multiple coaching regimes and don’t really improve. Many seem to go backwards.

It’s a combo, imo. Too often, we pick the wrong players , and the club has long been in a malaise where players seem to just settle in to get paid to play and there’s not a hugely apparent stomach for aggressive competitiveness from too many.

I recall being told way back that there was a concern that even the Hurley era of draftees were at risk of losing sight of the passion and why we play the game and it just becoming a career. I think that’s played out pretty much across all of our sides since 2005-ish as a generality.

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6681

Yeah fair, it’s an old example and it’s almost a meme at this point.

Kav ahead of seb ross is another old one . Kav was a big upside selection because he’d had a lot of injuries in his final jnr year as I recall (not unlike tsatas). Ross would certainly have been looked at as jobe’s cousin and was a very solid meat and potatoes footballer

Lual is a more recent example that springs to mind. Reckon he was definitely an upside pick because you wouldn’t have selected him on exposed form, I wouldn’t have anyway.

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6682

I like to look back at the draft combine results once players are in the league. Like the agility run all time best is Darcy Jones (7.70) which seems right when you watch him play. As a point of reference Izak Rankine was the best in his year (8.04). All time number 5 with 7.80? Elliott Yeo.

Which is why you do the tests, I suppose.

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6683

Durham also missed a year due to covid, just like Perkins did, after going undrafted in 2019 and being a late converter to footy. He did one preseason with Richmond VFL and played less than half a season of games before we picked him up in that years MSD. When he arrived with us he had a brilliant attitude to hard work and some excellent athletic traits, but his general game was incredibly raw, as you would expect given his history. You can’t deny that Sam Durham has developed massively within our program from where he was when we drafted him, I firmly disagree that he was already more developed than Perkins when he arrived.

I agree that Dodoro and his team have had more success (at least relatively) through later picks and alternative talent pathways, but that doesn’t change the point I was making. There have been examples of players that have developed significantly within our program over the years. So while our development program hasn’t been perfect and more investment will hopefully pay dividends, I don’t believe our woes can be blamed on that to the extent that some here have been arguing.

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