Yeah with the first bit I agree a little. But it is also showcasing the type of player you are drafting.
The defensive stuff though is more poignant. Knowing how a player works in a system they are probably more use to and I had seen guys get tagged when I went through APS back in the day.
Think pf the dynamic duo in Nate Caddy and Issac Kako when they played together for Parade.
Recommend watching Noobs HVH vid then go look up Luke Jackson’s draft vid. You could almost be watching the same player. Maybe Jackson a touch smoother.
I’m still deeply scared by Gumby, Laycock and ■■■■■■■ Kepler ■■■■■■■ Bradley…. taking a big guy so early whom is not an out and fwd makes me feel sick.
Gumby was a generational injury magnet, not a drafting mistake that could have been foreseen given his mostly pristine injury record as a junior.
Laycock was a lazy ■■■■. Poor interview process perhaps, definitely an evaluation fail.
Kepler was a classic drafting mistake. He played ruck for WA from memory and looked great, but was never likely to play there at AFL level given only 198cm. Then we discovered that he didn’t really have a position.
Kepler was pigeonholed as a kpd from the minute he arrived at EFC due to the age profile of our list and the problems we were having replacing Wellman and Wallis. He never had the speed off the mark to do the job, and rather than recognising that we kept hammering futilely at that square peg for years. If he’d have been developed as a mobile roaming chf from day 1 I think he would have had a perfectly solid, if not spectacular, career.
Fair. Freo played him as a fwd and second ruck and he was pretty solid for them. Not amazing, but solid.
Max Gawn was pick 34 / Xerri was in the 70’s. Surely we can find a good ruckman if we think we need one in the draft a little further back
Anyone saying we can find a good ruck later in the draft obviously didn’t see Jackson last night… the game has changed. Athletes like HVH are rare as hens teeth. There hasn’t been one like him at his height and size probably since Nic Nat (and he is 4-5cm taller than Nic Nat).
Statistically you’re more likely to find an Arki Butler type at a later point later in the draft…
You can say that about any position though. Theres always someone from a late pick who came good and became a gun if you scan the entire league. Early picks are all about increasing the probability and certainty.
It used to be the generally held wisdom that you could find small forwards with later/rookie picks. Then the game changed, the importance of that role grew and expanded, and we had guys like Pickett and Watson taken in the first round.
yep Watson at 165cm being taken top 5 was a big deal at the time
Yes you can still get away with playing a low talent stiff dinosaur in the ruck to just compete for the hit outs and then stand around like a statue in general play… but in recent years teams have started to figure out that you can get a lot more out of your ruck than that if you’re open minded and they’re talented enough.
Well, they’ve known that way back since Nic Nat, Dean Cox and even John Barnes to be fair. It’s just that finding a big bloke with the talent to play like that is not easy, and as rucks heights have crept up over the last two decades it’s only gotten harder.
As much as it gives me the hibbey jibbeys, if we were going to bet big on a ruck, now is the year to do it. We are 5-6 years away from being a contender and thats how long rucks take to come on.
It’s not like Fremantle drafted Luke Jackson. Dees selected him where he learnt off Max Gawn to develop his ruck craft before being traded to Freo at the end of 2022.
Sorry mate, I’m not sure what the point of this comment is
The one shining light is that we have a part time ruck coach to help HVH become a world beater. We need better development at Essendon to make all our players better and I think its likely to have more of an impact with a player type that needs long term development - if we put the resources there then sure but we dont at the moment.
Watch the National Champs; specifically Vic Metro and you will see both Arki and HVH. Then you will have a better idea if it’s worth spending pick 1 or 2 on them. That would be my suggestion…
Just back to my point on developing for a player. Dees had Gawn and Choco Williams helping Luke Jackson early years in his development. Essendon is not exactly leading the race here in development so its all well and good to say we can draft a Jackson or Darcy but it takes more to get them to that level.
Fair enough, but that’s not an argument against picking HVH if he’s the best talent available, its an argument for spending the soft cap necessary to build a best in class development team.