2021 trading, drafting and list management: players and personnel

[Auntie.Gerald]

Angus Sheldrick takes on Horne-Francis - YouTube

Kade Dittmar and Angus Sheldrick pulverize Roberts. - YouTube

little bit of bite in the tackles by Sheldrick vs SA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0ToitIquUk

Full game just above and Sheldrick and Roberts line up on each other at the first bounce !

[Mr Magoo]

I have been trying to work out who we might be targeting as a KPD next year. There is an U17 specialist CHB in the Swans Academy who looks pretty handy. Another red head BTW named Webster. Does anyone know how he is regarded by the club as a future prospect?

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Webster well regarded by the Swans. Another tall Billie King also well regarded and has played ruck in older age group games in the past.

Gabor is next age down who already was selected in the rams team this year and is held in high regard as well but he is a midfielder type not a key position.

Swans academy finds it hard to get talls of absolute top level quality - if you looked at the draft , interstate tall key position players were 198 plus in most instances - Swans get few of these boys coming through and not having as much exposure to AFL as the southern states often means they dont often have the skills and footy nous of the interstate kids.

[707]

Thanks Magoo

[giant]

Webster well regarded by the Swans. Another tall Billie King also well regarded and has played ruck in older age group games in the past.

Gabor is next age down who already was selected in the rams team this year and is held in high regard as well but he is a midfielder type not a key position.

Swans academy finds it hard to get talls of absolute top level quality - if you looked at the draft , interstate tall key position players were 198 plus in most instances - Swans get few of these boys coming through and not having as much exposure to AFL as the southern states often means they dont often have the skills and footy nous of the interstate kids.

Very interesting. Why do you think that is (ie, why don't we attract "absolute quality talls" to the Academy)?

[bloodspirit]

I'm still a little disappointed we didn't take Arlo Draper with our 3rd pick - especially since learning he and Matty Roberts are best mates. I'll try not to bring this up any more, especially since I think I'm the only one that feels this way. Really happy with our other 3 picks. And hopefully Corey will be great.

I swung past training. Felt slightly sorry for Matty Roberts and Lachie Rankin who were mostly stuck looking on and having a few shots for goal while the rest of the team trained. Lachie seemed more extroverted and at ease than Matty. I wonder if Matty is a bit down about sliding to pick 35. He was talked about as a top 10 pick for much of the past couple of years including a fair bit of this year and he said he was aiming to be picked as high as possible. Plus it must be tough relocating to another city and quickly having to get to know a whole new group of people. It was nice to see JPK put his arm around Matty at one stage but a lot of the time Matty and Lachie were a little bit apart and on the outer. Matty is a bit of a unit - very solid thighs. Lachie obviously much slighter.

[TheBloods]

Very interesting. Why do you think that is (ie, why don't we attract "absolute quality talls" to the Academy)?

It is simple maths . How many A to B grade mid sized players are there in the AFL ? 100 ? 150 ? More ?? How many A to B grade talls are there ? 20 ? 30 ? The same percentage would work for our academy , its averaging what 2 players drafted a yr ? So there arent enough players up to the standard yet to give ourselves the chance of finding a good tall

[Maltopia]

It is simple maths . How many A to B grade mid sized players are there in the AFL ? 100 ? 150 ? More ?? How many A to B grade talls are there ? 20 ? 30 ? The same percentage would work for our academy , its averaging what 2 players drafted a yr ? So there arent enough players up to the standard yet to give ourselves the chance of finding a good tall

The other maths part of it is in a team of 22 (including bench), you have a ruck usually up to four tall KPP. The Swans have T Mcartin at 194 cm, Buddy and Hickey. Plus sometimes one of Reid, Almarty or McLean, and in the future Logan). Translate that to a lower level high school team, and again, you only get around four spots in a team for the taller kids, and the rest are taken up by the small and medium players who have the leg speed, ground skills etc. So taller kids (which are a smaller proportion of the population admittedly) are competing for much fewer spots on the team and don't get to play enough to get better, or go play basketball etc, especially in non AFL traditional states.

[Mr Magoo]

I think its a matter of numbers . In essence in the southern states almost everyone has some AFL connection even if say Basketball is also the other sport they play. Here in NSW , the pool is diminished due to rugby union, league etc so the bigger units tend to head that way . From what I have seen , the swans tend to try to target some of these kids (eg McAndrew) but the reality is that the really good coordinated kids get more certainty and opportunity from rugby union and league at a younger age. Look at tommy turbo - rugby league comes in at age 16 and essentially can guarantee him a place whereas he could have stayed with the academy and hope to be drafted.

Look at this draft , not one kid drafted and believe me this wasnt a rubbish year, just a group that essentially got left behind with covid.

You soon realise with academy, if they arent drafting you , then no one seems to take a serious look so if Im a talented athlete I would rather take my chance at a scholarship from a number of predominately sydney based clubs than to hang out and maybe wait for a non committed one off chance that the Swans will pick me.

[rickmat]

4pm today Monday lodgement of list to AFL. We will then finally find out who is on the list, who is listed on the couple of rookie lists. Hopefully all will be cleared up once and for all

[The Runner]

I think the failed Karmichael Hunt and Izzy Folau experiments offer an insight on to the challenges of the different positions.

Playing in the midfield can be more instinctual, and adaptable from northern sports like the rugby codes. And we saw glimpses of Hunt making it as a footballer.
Playing tall is really difficult to learn late - the smarts required to get to the right spaces, use the body and read the footy are difficult to pick up from other sports.

As such, I think it's easier for us to produce more defensively minded players, or instinctual midfield types, than key forwards.

[Goal Sneak]

Maybe we're all just a bunch of short-arses in NSW?

[giant]

I think its a matter of numbers . In essence in the southern states almost everyone has some AFL connection even if say Basketball is also the other sport they play. Here in NSW , the pool is diminished due to rugby union, league etc so the bigger units tend to head that way . From what I have seen , the swans tend to try to target some of these kids (eg McAndrew) but the reality is that the really good coordinated kids get more certainty and opportunity from rugby union and league at a younger age. Look at tommy turbo - rugby league comes in at age 16 and essentially can guarantee him a place whereas he could have stayed with the academy and hope to be drafted.

Look at this draft , not one kid drafted and believe me this wasnt a rubbish year, just a group that essentially got left behind with covid.

You soon realise with academy, if they arent drafting you , then no one seems to take a serious look so if Im a talented athlete I would rather take my chance at a scholarship from a number of predominately sydney based clubs than to hang out and maybe wait for a non committed one off chance that the Swans will pick me.

Cheers, makes sense - I kinda thought we'd have our choice of the 200+ cm kids in NSW, but your point re more certainty in league/union makes sense.