2021 Draft Thread | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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2021 Draft Thread

bullus_hit said:
I dunno Smokey, I just don't get a Dusty vibe with Horne-Francis, I think he will be a very good player but one who will run a bit hot and cold and a player who will probably sustain a few injuries over the distance. Danger's first few years were mediocre, there were 5 years of greatness and now he's clearly on the decline in his early 30s. If Horne-Francis is more K-Mart Dusty then these deals will go down in folklore for all the wrong reasons.
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Dont get me wrong I am not comparing Horne to Dusty. No one should ever be compared to the great man.

But if you want to get the best you need to pay for it. Risk vs Reward. These type of deals make or break recruiters and clubs. Time will tell if these hail Mary offer was worth it.
 
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zippadeee said:
Only if you get them right.
our crew struggles to pick them when the kids have all played a full season leading up to the draft.
But god help us this year.
I saw Hartley and Clarke at Rebels buying darts. Thats not a good sign.
No wonder they offered the house to get pick 1, it just shows they aren't confident in choosing kids.
Then the question would be why stack up on picks in the first place.
why haven't we ever chosen a 'academy' kid? Have we got an academy?
This draft has 2004 the sequel written all over it.
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I actually see 2005 draft written all over this batch, that is a playing group that would appear to be very evenly spread, players who have outstanding kicking skills, tallish players who have multi position talent and generally good athletic traits that will translate exceedingly well to AFL football. That draft was panned, worst in a decade they said, a draft worth trading out of to stockpile for 2006. 15 years later and half the first round are still playing, there's 4 club captains, an All Australian ruckman, a Coleman Medalist, a four times premiership rebounder and a premiership forward who was instrumental in bringing home the silverware. Godfather deals, if you are inclined to make them, should be reserved for established stars, not rookies. Horne-Francis is not an established star, think people are forgetting that.
 
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bullus_hit said:
I actually see 2005 draft written all over this batch, that is a playing group that would appear to be very evenly spread, players who have outstanding kicking skills, tallish players who have multi position talent and generally good athletic traits that will translate exceedingly well to AFL football. That draft was panned, worst in a decade they said, a draft worth trading out of to stockpile for 2006. 15 years later and half the first round are still playing, there's 4 club captains, an All Australian ruckman, a Coleman Medalist, a four times premiership rebounder and a premiership forward who was instrumental in bringing home the silverware. Godfather deals, if you are inclined to make them, should be reserved for established stars, not rookies. Horne-Francis is not an established star, think people are forgetting that.
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Why aren't you working at Punt rd?
 
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Smoking Aces said:
Dont get me wrong I am not comparing Horne to Dusty. No one should ever be compared to the great man.

But if you want to get the best you need to pay for it. Risk vs Reward. These type of deals make or break recruiters and clubs. Time will tell if these hail Mary offer was worth it.
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I cant ever recall a junior being so much better than every other junior in the country as Horne*

O'Meara was probably the last one billed as such? which I guess supports Bullys case.

*I haven't even seen highlights of Daicos, nothing.
 
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Smoking Aces said:
They discuss Tom Brown, Tyler Sonsie and Josh Sinn.

Twomey believes Sinn goes from pick 10 onwards, Browne a pick in the 20's and Sonsie from pick 15 - 20.
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I reckon Sonsie is the most fluid and natural non preferred side of his body junior I’ve ever seen. He’s totally seamless using his left side. Even the best players eg Dusty look to go on their preferred side first for a split second before going non preferred. But not this kid. He just moves and uses whatever side he wants to naturally, at any time.

But there’s something not quite right with Sonsie. There’s something holding him back a bit with clubs I get the sense. Thought Staedler Twomey was almost gonna drop it in that podcast but he pulled himself up. Think I know what it is but have absolutely no proof what so ever. Just a 6th sense.
 
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All the talk is that there's no talls in this draft.
Bazzo and Polson are a couple of key position players who have impressed me the couple of times I've seen them. Bazzo has a higher profile and will definitely get picked up.
Polson isn't getting much comment, he takes a good grab and looks to be fairly mobile, I hope we are having a good look at him.
 
Redford said:
I reckon Sonsie is the most fluid and natural non preferred side of his body junior I’ve ever seen. He’s totally seamless using his left side. Even the best players eg Dusty look to go on their preferred side first for a split second before going non preferred. But not this kid. He just moves and uses whatever side he wants to naturally, at any time.

But there’s something not quite right with Sonsie. There’s something holding him back a bit with clubs I get the sense. Thought Staedler Twomey was almost gonna drop it in that podcast but he pulled himself up. Think I know what it is but have absolutely no proof what so ever. Just a 6th sense.
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I get where you a coming from, the gap between his best and worst is seemingly large, maybe ticker issues, who knows really. How much credence can we put into u/16 football? A bit but not huge amounts, Tom Swift is a good reminder that being a junior elite doesn't ensure success at the highest level. Sonsie is a much better player, Swift's kicking was ungainly and awkward but I am a touch concerned about Sonsie's injury history.
 
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Redford said:
I reckon Sonsie is the most fluid and natural non preferred side of his body junior I’ve ever seen. He’s totally seamless using his left side. Even the best players eg Dusty look to go on their preferred side first for a split second before going non preferred. But not this kid. He just moves and uses whatever side he wants to naturally, at any time.

But there’s something not quite right with Sonsie. There’s something holding him back a bit with clubs I get the sense. Thought Staedler Twomey was almost gonna drop it in that podcast but he pulled himself up. Think I know what it is but have absolutely no proof what so ever. Just a 6th sense.
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Sonsie was dropping fast before his injury. Had a few games where he literally didn’t touch it Inc the AFL Academy game. That makes recruiters very nervous. I wouldnt say he is timid but maybe more of a Caddy type issue. Sometimes he just can’t be arsed or lacks motivation
 
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bullus_hit said:
I get where you a coming from, the gap between his best and worst is seemingly large, maybe ticker issues, who knows really. How much credence can we put into u/16 football? A bit but not huge amounts, Tom Swift is a good reminder that being a junior elite doesn't ensure success at the highest level. Sonsie is a much better player, Swift's kicking was ungainly and awkward but I am a touch concerned about Sonsie's injury history.
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Yes. At u/16 stage if he wasn’t rated the best player in the country then he was pretty close to it. But he’s dropped off a bit - Covid lack of games, bruised knee not withstanding.

He is a super skilled and talented player. But what’s his work ethic like ? When I look at his body composition I don’t see the definition you’d ideally like to see. Is he going to be capable of subscribing to the huge workloads and professionalism required at AFL level? Maybe. Who knows. But gut feel tells me that’s what’s got him 10-15 range instead of clear top 10.

Is it also why he’s been inconsistent in games this year as well ? He’s predominantly an outside mid fielder when he plays that role, which is ok especially with his disposal skills, but you gotta have a big tank to get to as many receives, clearance situations etc as possible all game long eg Macrae style and others. Does he have that or is he just gonna be a hff that has a run through the midfield every now and again ?

Dane Swan was a lazy laggard early in his career but got to work and pushed himself to become a Brownlow Medal winner so kids can change and develop. But right now I just get a 6th sense there’s a bit of a professional query on Sonsie.

I might still take the risk on him if he was there at 15 because with his talent, if the professional aspect was there, or a club was confident it could be developed, then he could be the super bargain of the Draft. He’s just so talented.
 
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Redford said:
I reckon Sonsie is the most fluid and natural non preferred side of his body junior I’ve ever seen. He’s totally seamless using his left side. Even the best players eg Dusty look to go on their preferred side first for a split second before going non preferred. But not this kid. He just moves and uses whatever side he wants to naturally, at any time.

But there’s something not quite right with Sonsie. There’s something holding him back a bit with clubs I get the sense. Thought Staedler Twomey was almost gonna drop it in that podcast but he pulled himself up. Think I know what it is but have absolutely no proof what so ever. Just a 6th sense.
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Above the shoulders???
 
Redford said:
Yes. At u/16 stage if he wasn’t rated the best player in the country then he was pretty close to it. But he’s dropped off a bit - Covid lack of games, bruised knee not withstanding.

He is a super skilled and talented player. But what’s his work ethic like ? When I look at his body composition I don’t see the definition you’d ideally like to see. Is he going to be capable of subscribing to the huge workloads and professionalism required at AFL level? Maybe. Who knows. But gut feel tells me that’s what’s got him 10-15 range instead of clear top 10.

Is it also why he’s been inconsistent in games this year as well ? He’s predominantly an outside mid fielder when he plays that role, which is ok especially with his disposal skills, but you gotta have a big tank to get to as many receives, clearance situations etc as possible all game long eg Macrae style and others. Does he have that or is he just gonna be a hff that has a run through the midfield every now and again ?

Dane Swan was a lazy laggard early in his career but got to work and pushed himself to become a Brownlow Medal winner so kids can change and develop. But right now I just get a 6th sense there’s a bit of a professional query on Sonsie.

I might still take the risk on him if he was there at 15 because with his talent, if the professional aspect was there, or a club was confident it could be developed, then he could be the super bargain of the Draft. He’s just so talented.
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Could be a classic case of the kid with all the talent and dominated junior footy. The type of kid who pulls out of training due to the slightest of injuries (real truth is he cant be arsed) because he knows he can still dominate on the weekend.

In other words he has never had to work hard. This is all too common at junior level. This type of kid either gets a rude shock when he enters the AFL world and works his butt off or simply sees out his two year contract, gets delisted and plays bush football because to be a professional footballer is all too hard.

These type of footballers need to be drafted by clubs with a strong leadership and culture if they have any chance of making it.

If this is the issue with Sonsie, at pick 15 or more, I would still definitely take him. If anything we are the perfect club to get the best out of him.
 
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eZyT said:
I cant ever recall a junior being so much better than every other junior in the country as Horne*

O'Meara was probably the last one billed as such? which I guess supports Bullys case.

*I haven't even seen highlights of Daicos, nothing.
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Daicos is an absolute gun so anyone taken in front of him must be special..
 
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Best mid, best tall, best mid, best tall.

Wouldn't have won premierships without Jack, Rance, Astbury, Grimes and Lynch and Balta.
 
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tigerman said:
Best mid, best tall, best mid, best tall.

Wouldn't have won premierships without Jack, Rance, Astbury, Grimes and Lynch and Balta.
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I'd go best mid at 7, best mid at 15, best mid at 26, best key defender at 28. If Bazzo & DVR are off the board then look at another mid slider like Roberts. Think we have to look at the top 2 teams and work out how we can challenge in the centre square.

This is all speculative and more based on upside but here's my thinking.

Pick 7. I'm sticking with tall midfielder here & I like Johnson, think he fits that Macrae mould of fine kicking skills and good accumulation.
Pick 15. Goater presents as the perfect upside selection with a very high floor, worst case is he plays in Houli's position which is still hugely important. At best he becomes a Bont, kicking is much better than advertised.
Pick 26. One of Taylor, Butler, Roberts, think one will be there. Maybe as case for DVR if still available.
Pick 28. Key defender.

Next year we can look at a tall forward, think there will be a better pool of players to choose from.
 
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King Kong said:
I reckon that's a large part of it.
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think attitude ................maybe just maybe he thinks he is already MADE it .............based on what happen 2 1/2 years ago ............work to be done in that space .........
my concerns are is his size rehab focus and working through the hard times esp in games? how competitive is he? both on and off the field .........work to be done with him .........but clubs would know that
 
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