EMMA QUAYLE PREDICTS HOW THE FIRST ROUND 0F THE AFL DRAFT COULD PAN OUT
The Age
Thursday November 26, 2009
1 MELBOURNETOM SCULLYVITAL INFORMATION: 18, from the DandenongStingrays and Haileybury College. 182cm, 74kg. A runningmachine with super-quick hands and a sharp mind.THE RATIONALE: Jack Trengove and Scully are the best twoplayers in the draft.BEST-LAID PLANS: Trengove - will the Dees call his name fi rst?2 MELBOURNEJACK TRENGOVEVITAL INFORMATION: 18, from Sturt. 185cm, 82kg.Hard-running, skilful midfi elder who has great anticipationand takes a great mark.THE RATIONALE: The Demons need worry only about pickingthe best two players in the draft, and he is one of them.BEST-LAID PLANS: Only Scully, if Melbourne has decided tocall Trengove€™s name fi rst.3 RICHMONDDUSTIN MARTINVITAL INFORMATION: 18, from the Bendigo Pioneers,Castlemaine and Sydney club Campbelltown. 186cm, 88kg.Strong ballwinner with beautiful foot skills.THE RATIONALE: He€™s the next best player with an aggressivestreak that will appeal to new coach Damien Hardwick. Willcomplement Brett Deledio, Trent Cotchin and RichardTambling nicely in the Tigers€™ midfi eld.BEST-LAID PLANS: If Scully or Trengove miraculously fellthrough, the Tigers would snaffl e either. That won€™t happen.They will have looked very hard at both Anthony Morabito andJohn Butcher before settling on Martin.4 FREMANTLEANTHONY MORABITOVITAL INFORMATION: 18, from Peel Thunder.191cm, 97kg. Tall, explosive midfi elder who makes thingshappen.THE RATIONALE: Morabito is a unique player in this draft -he is a powerful, barnstorming runner and at his height thatmakes him diffi cult to match up on. Throw him into theDockers€™ midfi eld alongside Rhys Palmer, Stephen Hill, NicSuban and it looks a versatile group.BEST-LAID PLANS: The Dockers looked very seriously at bothBen Cunnington and Gary Rohan, but Morabito seems thesafe bet.5 NORTH MELBOURNEBEN CUNNINGTONVITAL INFORMATION: 18, from the Geelong Falconsand the Cobden juniors. 185cm, 84kg. Strong, aggressiveonballer who can slip forward and take a good mark.THE RATIONALE: Slip Cunnington into a groupcontaining Jack Ziebell, Levi Greenwood, LiamAnthony and Daniel Wells and the Roos€™ nextgenerationmidfi eld starts to come together.BEST-LAID PLANS: North also needs pace,and probably another key forwardoption given Robbie Tarrant€™s injuryplaguedfi rst two years at the club.This makes both John Butcherand Gary Rohan €” a forward,back or wingman but fastwherever he plays €” strongpossibilities at this pick.6 SYDNEYGARY ROHANVITAL INFORMATION: 18, from the Geelong Falconsvia Cobden. 188cm, 82kg. Exciting, extremely fast halfforwardor half-back who does the unexpected.THE RATIONALE: Rohan is a country kid with raw but hugepotential and once again, the most talented playeravailable. With recent draftees Patrick Veszpremi and LewisJohnston, he has the ability to add some pace andexcitement to a sometimes stodgy-looking Sydney side.BEST-LAID PLANS: The Swans have also looked closely atLewis Jetta, John Butcher and they are fans of JakeMelksham. They love Ben Cunnington and, if Northoverlooks him in favour of Rohan, will mostly likely pounce.7 WEST COASTBRAD SHEPPARDVITAL INFORMATION: 18, from East Fremantle.186cm, 81kg. A composed, rebounding defender withclass.THE RATIONALE: The Eagles love him - and if they don€™tpick him here, he won€™t last until their second choice.BEST-LAID PLANS: Lewis Jetta and Kane Lucas, anothertwo local boys, are the other two players the club hasbeen considering. Should they pick one of them, the restof the order could get thrown into chaos, with Sheppardthen likely to last until mid-late fi rst round. The samecould happen with Lucas and Jetta €” West Coast holdsthe key to how it all pans out.8 PORT ADELAIDEJOHN BUTCHERVITAL INFORMATION: 18, from Maffra andGippsland Power. 197 centimetres, 87 kilograms. Powerful,fast-leading, pack-marking forward.THE RATIONALE: The Power€™s forward line needs bolstering.Butcher is a bigger, stronger player than either of theWesthoffs and a more natural forward than MatthewLobbe. He€™s also the best key forward in the draft and abargain at this pick.BEST-LAID PLANS: With two picks in a row, Port may callsomeone else€™s name out fi rst. Midfi elders Kane Lucas andJake Melksham are others they have been linked with fortheir two top-10 picks. Daniel Talia, a key forward/backfrom the Calder Cannons, is another possibility at eitherpick.9 PORT ADELAIDEJAKE MELKSHAMVITAL INFORMATION: 18, from the Calder Cannons.185cm, 75kg. Smooth onballer who can win the ball insidepacks and put it in his teammates€™ hands with nicelyplacedpasses.THE RATIONALE: The Power have been big fans of Melkshamfor a long time - his ball-winning ability and polish makehim a nice fi t alongside Travis Boak, Hamish Hartlett andothers.BEST-LAID PLANS: Talia is a chance here too, as is Luca10 ESSENDONKANE LUCASVITAL INFORMATION:18, from East Fremantle.187cm, 79kg. Midfi eld accummulator with great agility andendurance.THE RATIONALE: Best player available and an addition to amidfi eld that needs a youthfuul boost.BEST-LAID PLANS: Both Andrew Moore and Jasper McMillanPittard have been linked to the Bombers and could becalled out here. Aaron Black and Daniel Talia are otherpossibilities, and they would love Jake Melksham.
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