How did we go in the 2018 draft? No. Really?

[damienc]

At roughly this time, every year, serious scribes and club supporters alike ,are heard to mutter the same thing: This draft will be/is the most important for our football club, whichever club it is.

Sometimes it's true. Clubs get lucky and unearth a kid who turns out to be a superstar. We did when we recruited Roo. He didn’t win us a premiership, not through want of trying. He did his best and he and Lenny nearly got us there. It takes more than a couple of players even if those players are exceptional. But I digress.

There is more than a ring of truth in this year’s draft, shaping up to be a defining moment, one way or the other for our footy club.

Let me explain.

Our draft haul was a mixed bag of lollies. Two kids and four mature aged ready to go types. Make that six matures if you count Hannebery and Kent.

So let’s breakdown those selections. There was some speculation we may trade pick four for a later top ten pick and a second rounder but in the end we went with what we were dealt.

King is an intriguing selection.

I absolutely get why we went for him. Not your average tall forward by any stretch.

There is a bit more to him than just a tall who can mark a footy. King is quick. Super quick for his size. And when the ball hits the ground that is where he differs markedly from other key positional forwards.

He is quick and elusive with clean skills. That makes him a deadly combination and difficult to stop. His highlights package is like all highlights packages. They don’t tell you a lot but what they do tell can be compelling.

He kicked 8.6 in his one and only TAC Cup game. He did his ACL soon after and didn’t play for the rest of the year.

His kicking for goal is pretty ordinary. He needs to definitely work on that aspect of his game. That 8 goal haul could easily have been 10 or 12 or more if he had his radar switched on.

So it’s pretty obvious that clubs might get excited about Max King.

But his selection is also a puzzle. Do we need another tall forward? Haven’t we got plenty already? Membrey, Bruce, Battle, McCartin.

All those guys and Max King won’t fit in our forward line. I suppose you could mount the argument ,King is a long term prospect, probably won’t play at all in 2019 with the club not wanting to risk his rehab. But I’m betting he will play.

So who does King’s arrival put the most pressure on?

The answer has to be Paddy McCartin. He was the number one draft pick. The hoped for replacement for Roo. But Paddy is yet to show us anything. that lives up to him being the number one draft pick. 2019 is going to be defining moment, a make or break year for McCartin, I predict.

They coaches might try him as a defender but if he shows nothing much, wherever they put him, the powers that be won’t keep McCartin

If King starts showing a bit then they won't need McCartin.


And what about the other newbies?

In summary, the overwhelming philosophy for our draft tilt was to recruit players who are speed bullets. Kent, Young, Parker, Hind. They are all quick running mid/forwards. As Simon Lethlean said so eloquently, you would expect all of them to play, if they are good enough, and we think they are good enough.

And if you add another mature age, ready to go rebound defender in Wilkie, you’d expect him to be a regular starter in our best 18.

The sum total of all of this is that quite a few guys who played regular footy for us last year and didn’t bring us the success we crave, are now under a lot of pressure for their spots. Nothing wrong with that. And if you add Bytel, a kid who probably should have gone top ten in this year’s draft, if it wasn’t for injury. then it will be interesting times at the selection table.

I personally like what I’ve seen of Bytel. Of course it was his highlights reel, so take it with a grain of salt ,but what really stood out for me is that this kid seems to move as if he has all the time in the world. Very cool head and very good skills. Looking forward to seeing what he can do for us.

So what sort of marks should we give our recruiters?

No A listers apart from Hannebery but plenty of potential and lots of speed. I like the mix. There are numerous historic examples of mature aged guys going on to be vital contributors or even superstars. Geelong’s Tim Kelly springs to mind and now we’ve recruited one of his team mates who was also tearing it up in the WAFL.

So I give our recruiters a cautious 7 out of 10. One thing’s for sure none of us is going to die wondering.

We’ll know soon enough just how important the 2018 draft is for our footy club.

[chico2001]

There is already a thread on this and started a couple of days ago, why don't you throw your comments in there?

[skeptic]

In short, live or die by Max King...

Over 2001-2004, the Saints nailed their top picks... didn’t always get the best player at the pick ala Kosi and Ball but the guys they got were good players.

The jury is still out on Paddy but he’d want to show something soon.

[tedtheodorelogan2018]

B grade. Our entire off season was B grade from the trade period to off field additions. Well done Saints.