Good hands in pack marking contests, good footy IQ, neat left foot disposal. There is a lot to like about this mobile tall.
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Another example of Dyson Sharp’s mature and effective inside game as he racked up an impressive eight clearances as a bottom ager against Vic Country. His spatial awareness in traffic is outstanding, allowing him to find creative angles to release teammates into space. He does a lot of subtle work at stoppage that can go unnoticed such as using his body to block or shepherd, creating space for his teammates.
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I love Sharp. If he could tidy up the kicking to cut out some of the bombing, and find a few more team-mates on the lead, he will go number 1
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Its an interesting situation. He’s been the standout prospect from this class through the junior levels, but he doesn’t have a flashy game that will make more casual draft watchers gush and definitely has some deficiencies that need work… his kicking as you mention can be variable. As this draft cohort gains more widespread attention it wouldn’t surprise me if people start pushing for others to be pick 1 favourite instead of him.
3 Likes
Good player - maybe not what Essendon need as we really need players who are great kicks but he looks pretty handy
I really like this kid for us with one of our first rounders
The young man with the name that ruins my thumbnail graphics is back. Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves showed his outside dash and class in this game, working up and down the wing for the first three quarters of the game and getting involved in many of the best attacking moves for the Stingrays. With the game on the line entering the fourth quarter, his move into the forward line proved to be decisive with Noah slotting three majors for the term, helping his team to a relatively comfortable win.
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Two first rounders and the possibilty of 3 if we upgrade our 2 second rounders. The 25 draft crop is already looking good for the first round at least. Very astute by Rosa. His performance during during the 24 trade and draft period was first class. He also did it without the normal Dudoro drama of taking it to the wire and trying to do over everone.
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If, and it’s a big if, Draper (or another valuable player) goes and we get a 1st round pick for them, should we trade back for an extra 1st round pick in 2026?
We would have ours, Melbourne’s plus 2 2nd rounders already to play with.
Use whatever costs us less to get an extra the following year.
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Lachy Dovaston will enter the season as one of the more highly rated small forward prospects in this draft class. Quick, hardworking, and with plenty of tricks at his disposal, he’s able to create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates through incisive moments with the ball or disruptive defensive pressure.
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A good example of Onley’s strengths and weaknesses as a bottom ager in this game. His agility, pace and balance for a kid his size combined with an ability to win contested footy are exciting attributes, but the hope will be that he’s able to put work into developing his disposal by foot over this pre-season.
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Sam Swadling is one of the guys in the 2025 draft pool that I feel isn’t getting enough attention. He definitely needs to work on his composure with ball in hand and ability to execute skills under pressure, but his ability to find the footy inside and outside the contest is elite. His athleticism allows him to impact in the air and play taller than his 187cm height, giving him the versatility to play as a medium/third tall at either end when he’s not in the midfield.
There are some issues to overcome, but his talent level could see him jump up the rankings in 2025.
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I know it’s early days but are there any players you like who are excellent kicks?
Early doors I’d say kicking skills aren’t a strength for the top end in general, but Fred Rodriguez is pretty elite in that area. Completely two footed and capable of lacing out difficult targets on either side, plus he’s got the vision to spot the creative options. Most of the other top end prospects I want to see improvement in their kicking skills from their bottom age to top age… hopefully its a real pre-season focus for them.
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Great thanks mate, would definitely love some more quality ball-users with multiple early picks.
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For this performance Kelly was named best on ground for WA by their coaching staff. He was particularly impressive in the opening quarter, booting a goal, finding the footy and applying strong tackling pressure. Blake is a strong and tough inside mid with a nose for the footy at stoppage which he showed at times in this game when given the opportunity to play on ball, but for a lot of the game he was stationed in the forward line which allowed him to show his versatility.
A look at elite prospect Fred Rodriguez putting in a strong performance as a bottom ager in the WAFL Colts competition. While he wasn’t able to find quite as much space in this game as he typically does, he was damaging with the opportunities he had and put in a real shift at stoppage, extracting the footy himself or laying a strong tackle.
Can Fred make an early move in 2025 and challenge for pick 1 favouritism?
