AFL Draft 2022: Richmond labels Swans as ‘Bidney’ after bidding frenzy at this year’s draft
Regular draft bidders themselves, Richmond has given the Swans a nickname of their own after the club’s bidding antics on both nights of the draft.
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Richmond dubbed serial bidder Sydney “Bidney” after the Swans ruffled feathers by sticking to their talent order and holding clubs with priority access to star teenagers accountable at the draft.
Swans list boss Kinnear Beatson appeared prickly in Tuesday night post-draft interviews after constant media questions and commentary regarding their tactics.
The Swans made a bold entrance on Monday night, placing consecutive first-round bids on GWS academy player Harry Rowston and then Adelaide father-son Max Michalanney at their first selection.
After both bids were begrudgingly matched, the Swans traded their pick back down the order and acquired two valuable future selections from Hawthorn.
On Tuesday night the Swans used pick 27, the selection they had received from the Hawks, to draft Cooper Vickery out of Hawthorn’s Next Generation Academy.
The Hawks had no rights to match because NGA prospects are in the open draft until pick No.40.
The Swans had upset the Giants by telling them they could prevent a bid on Rowston by trading a future selection for that pick.
That upset the Giants, although rival clubs privately tipped their hats to Sydney for respecting the bidding system.
“Now we’ve handed the mantle to ‘Bidney’, so it’s good they’ve got that job now,” Tigers recruiter Matthew Clarke said on Tuesday night.
Respected Sydney recruiter Simon Dalrymple was comfortable with his club’s approach and said the club’s recruiting analyst, Chris Keane, had simply done his homework.
They had been hunting a future first-round selection as one of “20 potential deals”, but settled for Hawthorn’s second and third-round selections in the 2023 draft.
“Of the 20 potential deals, one came off and we’re happy with that,” Dalrymple said.
The Swans ranked Rowston at about No.12 in the draft and placed their bid at No.16.
“He was on our talent list. We only bidded on him because he was on our talent list, and we rated him there and were disappointed we didn’t get him in the end,” Dalrymple said.
“Really, the club (GWS) is pretty irrelevant. It’s more the player and where we rate him.
“I thought it was (fair to ask for a trade). Options open, their call whether they take part in that transaction.
“So that’s their decision and it didn’t go any further. “
The Swans found it difficult to split players 11-30 on their talent board, but ended up drafting three teenagers they had ranked inside 20.
The Hawks said they were “disappointed” to lose Vickery, but wished him well.
The task-orientated Orbost boy drove five hours one-way to a match in Wangaratta this season and Dalrymple said the consequent lack of training from travelling boded well for his improvement.
“We rated him really highly. He was in our mix at the 18-20 mark, so it validated the slide back to No.27,” Dalrymple said.
“Obviously not eligible to Hawthorn until post-40, so they’re in the open market and (we’re) happy to have him.
“(We like) his speed, competitiveness and he’s got a good temperament. I think he can play on those really dangerous small forward-types.”
Recruiters’ question mark over Dons draftee
— Jay Clark
They were the picks which were put up for sale.
Amid all the excitement about this year’s draft and particularly the first 10 selections, there were also clubs which called Monday night’s draft a kiddie pool.
Simply, as soon as it got to the trickier picks in the teens, things got a bit shallow.
It was all the talk in the build-up as Western Bulldogs (pick 13), Melbourne (15), Greater Western Sydney (16 and 21) and Sydney Swans (18 and 20) all walked into Marvel Stadium trying to off-load their choices in the back-half of the first round.
They either wanted Essendon’s pick five, or considered trading out into next year’s draft where it is widely thought the talent runs deeper.
Clearly, the Swans’ jury was out about what was on offer late in the first round when the club traded pick 18 to Hawthorn for pick 27 and a future-second and future third-rounder.
That’s not to underestimate the quality at the pointy end of this year’s crop, but there is a growing belief about the significant divide between the top-10 picks and what comes after.
Greater Western Sydney secured their next poster boy spearhead landing Jeremy Cameron-clone Aaron Cadman at No. 1, Brisbane netted the next Nick Daicos in Will Ashcroft, and North Melbourne pair George Wardlaw and Harry Sheezel will put lots of bums on seats.
There are shades of Patrick Dangerfield (Wardlaw) and Steve Johnson (Sheezel) in the latest cornerstones of North Melbourne’s rebuild.
But there were some who thought the Bombers’ pick five was the toughest call of the night.
For Essendon, it was a difficult toss-up between Elijah Tsatas, the Dylan Shiel-style midfielder who averaged 34 disposals and one tackle a game, and 192cm onballer Mattaes Phillipou.
While the 186cm Tsatas has a brilliant burst and stole the show at a training run last week, some recruiters questioned his defensive game.
Tsatas will add some electric run and flair for the Bombers as part of a midfield-forward group which will need to become more selfless, team-oriented and in-synch under new coach Brad Scott after 18 years without a finals win.
But they also strongly considered Phillipou, who told clubs he wanted to help change the direction of their organisation and become the top player in the game.
St Kilda will love Phillipou’s swagger, for it is a club which desperately needs another matchwinner more than most after missing out on Collingwood superstar Jordan De Goey in the exchange period.
There are high hopes for the next chapter under new coach Ross Lyon but he will be left bringing a knife to a gunfight unless the club can add more stars.
But Phillipou is a midfielder who can punish the opposition out the front of the clearance with his sharp hands and penetrating kick in the same vein as Marcus Bontempelli.
It is why former Saints’ great Leigh Montagna on Monday night said Phillipou could be the steal of the draft and the one with the most upside.
If that was the sexiest pick, one of the most unsurprising selections of the night could yet hand Geelong yet another 200-gamer.
That’s the way recruiters talk about local boy Jhye Clark who is the rock-solid, dual-sided and totally fearless midfielder who has moulded his game on Joel Selwood.
It was never going to steal the headlines, but at 181cm Clark might be one of the safest bets of the lot and a frustration for rivals that Geelong landed another star, essentially for free, in the Jack Bowes deal with Gold Coast.
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Originally published as AFL Draft 2022: Richmond labels Swans as ‘Bidney’ after bidding frenzy at this year’s draft
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