Binked Best 22, Trade & Draft review.
Trade period Ins: Max Gawn, Picks 54, 60, 69, 91
Outs: Ben Cunnington, Jonathon Ceglar, Ben Brown, Picks 42, 114, 123, 168
I wasn’t expecting to be particularly active during trade period unless I could secure a top 5 pick, however I did want to strengthen my ruck division so despite needing more quality C’s I was willing to lose Cunnington to give me a second strong ruck and hopefully guarantee a strong score in that position regardless of injury. Moving Brown on wasn’t something I was particularly looking to do, but when Silly Billy came knocking the trade was made to make my keeper selections a bit easier. He probably got the better of that deal, but it also allowed me to move on Ceglar who had got surprisingly little interest and get 8 picks in the top 100.
Draft:
Pick 6: Clayton Oliver (C - Melbourne)
Had really hoped Hopper would be overlooked and make it to my pick, but unfortunately not. Debated long and hard over Weitering, but ultimately decided I still needed more midfield depth. Kid has looked reasonably comfortable at AFL level so far throughout the NAB and should see plenty of game time at MFC.
Pick 24: Sam Butler (B - WCE)
Needed some depth in the backline and had a decent average and should hopefully be best 22 this season, back half of 2015 was good.
Pick 54: Mitch Honeychurch (CF - WB)
Have liked Honeychurch since his debut season although he’s struggled to stay in the Bulldogs 22. I’m still struggling to find 5 good forwards (as evidenced by Everitt making my keepers) and I’m hoping this is the year he can establish himself as a permanent part of the team.
Pick 60: Ed Langdon (CF - Fremantle)
Similar to Honeychurch I’m hoping Langdon can start to establish himself in Freo’s 22 this year. Has a very strong record at WAFL level and looked like he could handle the pace of AFL in his 2 games in 2015. There’s going to start to be a little bit of regeneration around Freo’s team this year I suspect and hoping that means opportunities for him.
Pick 69: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (BF - Essendon)
Probably early here for Walla but I had my heart set on him since he was drafted to the club in the rookie draft and given the situation at the club this year I think he’ll get plenty of game time. Plus I was sick of people taking the players I had my heart set on in the few picks before mine :P. Probably won’t score too highly, but I kind of don’t care :P. Chance to make my keepers if he can average around 60 with Smith possibly going to lose his back eligibility next season if he moves into the midfield as expected at the Crows.
Pick 78: Ryan Clarke (C - NM)
I had sworn I wasn’t going to load up with young mids, but try to pick a few best 22 even if they were lower scorers. However, I didn’t really like the options left on the table by this point and this kid was good value at the pick. Club rates him having already extended his contract.
Pick 91: Andrew Phillips (RF - Carlton)
I rate Phillips and tried pretty hard to fit him into my keepers, so was happy to pick him up as my 3rd ruck. Forward eligibility is handy if he should show some form throughout the year. Probably could’ve held off a bit on picking him, but Melk showed some interest in him during trade period so was conscious of taking him either with this pick or 96 before Melk was back in the draft.
Pick 96: Ethan Hughes (B - Fremantle)
Needed another back and didn’t like the dregs on offer, so went with youth again. Looked good in his debut last year and earnt a promotion to the senior list for his troubles. Probably won’t play much early, but I think he’ll see senior action again this year.
Pick 130: Billy Evans (CF - BL)
Another re-draft for me. I like the look of this kid and the Lions rate him. Might not get games early, but will get games throughout the year and can hopefully step up.
Pick 147: Dean Gore (C - Adelaide)
Probably not going to do much this year, but it’s late in the draft and it was either bank someone for a development year or select an low-scoring regular 22 player.
Overall the draft is more speculative than I had planned, but unfortunately whilst my backline is reasonably strong, my midfield still needs a couple more gems and the forward line is still extremely weak.
Best 22:
B: Tom McDonald (B), Tommy Sheridan (B), Chris Yarran (B), Tomas Bugg (B), Brodie Smith (BC)
C: Adam Treloar ©, Luke Shuey ©, Tom Liberatore ©, Josh Caddy ©, Jack Crisp ©, Dom Sheed (CF), Mark Hutchings (CF)
F: Josh Green (F), Kyle Langford (F), Dean Towers (F), Jackson Merrett (F), Andrejs Everitt (F)
R: Max Gawn
Int: Ben McEvoy ®, Ed Langdon (CF), Clayton Oliver ©, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (FB)
Season expectations:
I honestly don’t know what to expect from my own team from year to year, but I think my list is better than the last season showed. Liberatore back will help although is balanced somewhat by trading out Cunnington. Crisp losing forward eligibility is mitigated by Sheed and Hutchings both gaining it, unfortunately though I am unlikely to have the midfield depth to push either of them forward.
If any of my speculative CF picks come on as hoped (or Oliver scores well enough to make my starting 18), that could all rapidly change. Overall goal is to make the bottom half of the 8 and I think the top half of my list is strong enough to achieve that. As always, it’s the bottom half that will really determine where I end up.