2021 Draft Thread

[Dont Argue]

BOMBERS KICKSTART HOBBS TALKS​

ESSENDON has opened talks with first-round pick Ben Hobbs over a new deal.

Hobbs is one of just two first-round selections from the 2021 AFL Draft left unsigned, but has told the Bombers he is keen to stay at the club and has recently entered into talks around an extension.

The tough midfielder and former No.13 draft pick played 17 games in his maiden campaign at Essendon, but dealt with an injury-interrupted summer and was sidelined over the weekend with an ankle complaint.

With his future still unresolved beyond this season, Hobbs' manager Marty Pask told AFL.com.au's new trade and draft podcast Gettable that the teenager had recently started dialogue with the club over a likely two-year extension.

"We're talking at the moment, which is pleasing," Pask told AFL.com.au's Gettable.

"We're going to go down that path now of trying to work out how it looks. There's a preparedness from both parties to have him continue at Essendon, which is perfectly clear and on the table. It's just a question of how it all looks and how we get a deal done.

"He's keen to stay, 100 per cent. You've got a player that's drafted with a first-round pick and he's in Victoria. Something drastic would need to go wrong and there has certainly been nothing but good things at the moment for him there." – Riley Beveridge

 

[spook]

Just looking back at live postings in this thread on draft night and although there were a few melts at taking Brown, not one poster said it should have been Jacob van Roycehart, it was all about Matt Johnson.

 

[King Kong]

Just looking back at live postings in this thread on draft night and although there were a few melts at taking Brown, not one poster said it should have been Jacob van Roycehart, it was all about Matt Johnson.

It should have been Johnson

 

[spook]

It should have been Johnson

You were a big Brown fan too though. I still like him.

 

[Dont Argue]

Why am I feeling so angry that we’ve drafted the wrong person before the draft has even started?

I sort of knew something was going to go wrong

 

[King Kong]

You were a big Brown fan too though. I still like him.

I was for sure. I didn’t pick up his lack of intensity though which is a critical flaw

 

[tigersnake]

I was for sure. I didn’t pick up his lack of intensity though which is a critical flaw

Well you should have. There is no excuse for not having perfect foresight when drafting.

See, I'm getting on board with the KK way!

 

[spook]

I was for sure. I didn’t pick up his lack of intensity though which is a critical flaw

Critical but not irreparable.

 

[Dont Argue]

Critical but not irreparable.

Hope so because that’s been the knock on Brown by some of his coaches. Dimma for one.

 

[King Kong]

Critical but not irreparable.

It’s hard to tell yet. If it’s combined with a reluctance to put his body on the line then he is a bust. If he has above average courage then it should be able to be improved

Corey Ellis who I was not a fan of I wanted Touk Miller had a similar lack of intensity and it was unsolvable. They tried hard by making him play as an inside mid in the 2s but it didn’t work.

 

[Leysy Days]

The guy that a lot of PRE's astute judges wanted to avoid from this draft is really starting to blossom.

Leysy's boy Mac Andrew's upward curve is pronounced.

5 intercept marks on the weekend. Still only 19.

Still spewing he didn't sneak through to us. Reckon if Gold Coast went someone else at 5 he would have.

 

[bullus_hit]

The guy that a lot of PRE's astute judges wanted to avoid from this draft is really starting to blossom.

Leysy's boy Mac Andrew's upward curve is pronounced.

5 intercept marks on the weekend. Still only 19.

Still spewing he didn't sneak through to us. Reckon if Gold Coast went someone else at 5 he would have.

Really fluid kicking for a big man, developing nicely.

 

[Scoop]

The guy that a lot of PRE's astute judges wanted to avoid from this draft is really starting to blossom.

Leysy's boy Mac Andrew's upward curve is pronounced.

5 intercept marks on the weekend. Still only 19.

Still spewing he didn't sneak through to us. Reckon if Gold Coast went someone else at 5 he would have.

Yep you nailed him. Looks like a real find for them. I thought they'd take Gibcus at that pick. Right type, different player tho.

Looks every bit a footballer. Smooth mover.

 

[tigerman]

The guy that a lot of PRE's astute judges wanted to avoid from this draft is really starting to blossom.

Leysy's boy Mac Andrew's upward curve is pronounced.

5 intercept marks on the weekend. Still only 19.

Still spewing he didn't sneak through to us. Reckon if Gold Coast went someone else at 5 he would have.

He'll do nicely at Punt Rd in a couple of years time.

 

[eZyT]

The guy that a lot of PRE's astute judges wanted to avoid from this draft is really starting to blossom.

Leysy's boy Mac Andrew's upward curve is pronounced.

5 intercept marks on the weekend. Still only 19.

Still spewing he didn't sneak through to us. Reckon if Gold Coast went someone else at 5 he would have.

Yeah i had him in the bust basket,

But hes tracking very well

 

[spook]

Yep you nailed him. Looks like a real find for them. I thought they'd take Gibcus at that pick. Right type, different player tho.

Looks every bit a footballer. Smooth mover.

He followed me in.

 

[Dev Tiger]

Jake Soligo is going well at the Crows. A mid thirties pick playing every week and signed till the end of 2029.

 

[Redford]

Jake Soligo is going well at the Crows. A mid thirties pick playing every week and signed till the end of 2029.

We were very keen on Soligo. Interviewed him several times.

 

[Number8]

I started to go back through the draft posting (FYI: starts at about page 420) but remembered I have PTSD from those two nights.

I'm never one to judge a kid before he's played 20 or more senior games but I still cannot get my head around the drafting of Brown at 17. Less about him (although the signs aren't ideal) and more about the list management.

Of course, we now have to view that draft through a lens that has us recruiting Hopper and Taranto. But I'd still love a Johnson, Soligo or Sheldrick learning their chops at Tigerland. And van Rooyan increasingly looks like he would have been the sensible pick. Owens, Butler and Lohmann all look very promising.

All came after Brown

 

[tigertim]

I think we are going to look back on this draft as a huge missed opportunity.