AFL Draft revisited: Josh Ward, Josh Rachele, Mac Andrew and the big calls from the past two years
Big draft calls can define a football club – so who’s made the right one over the past two years? Jon Ralph takes a closer look at five crucial decisions since 2021.
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Danny Frawley would have loved Mac Andrew.
The Gold Coast second-year defender has been building form for a while, but on Saturday he exploded with the breakout performance of his 18-game career.
Andrew hauled in four intercept marks as Adelaide ran rampant early, but the seven perfectly-timed spoils to kill dangerous Crows thrusts would have had “Spud” Frawley reaching for his Golden Fist award.
They came with Andrew flying over huge packs and running back with the flight to spoil McAdam or just when his Suns teammates seemed beaten.
Andrew was playing on Shane McAdam, rather than fellow mid-sized Crow Josh Rachele, which would have been too neat a slice of draft comparison.
Because, after Gold Coast kept Collingwood honest – bidding on Nick Daicos at pick four in the 2021 national draft – they chose Dandenong Stingray Andrew (pick 5) instead of Rachele (pick 6).
Those calls can define a club – think Marcus Bontempelli v Jack Billings or Christian Petracca v Paddy McCartin.
Rachele exploded onto the competition in round 1 last year with five superb goals in a 17-goal, 13-game season stopped only by a hip tendon injury.
And yet despite Rachele’s brilliant junior resume and flashy tricks, Gold Coast has itself a beauty.
How are those big draft calls from the last two drafts shaping as clubs begin to assess their list needs entering the 2023 silly season of drafts, free agency and trades?
Josh Rachele (Pick No. 6 Adelaide) v Mac Andrew (Pick No. 5 Gold Coast)
The Suns didn’t need Rachele anyway because Izak Rankine was staying at the Suns for life.
Gulp ….
The Suns’ array of quality small forwards – Rankine, Ben Ainsworth, Malcolm Rosas – would have instructed their decision to overlook former soccer sensation Rachele, but it was still high-risk.
Rachele had more consistent exposed form as the Kevin Sheedy Medallist from 2019 and Vic Country MVP in the same year.
But Melbourne-linked NGA product Andrew shot up draft charts in his final season with the Demons crestfallen to miss out given changes in those academy rules.
Rachele has only a single goal in his past five games and yet the Rachele-Rankine combination will be together for 200 games for Adelaide.
Andrew is perfectly suited to play the third tall behind Charlie Ballard and 29-year-old Sam Collins until he takes over when Collins ultimately retires.
In an era when intercept defenders are worth their weight in gold, Andrew only needs to continue his trajectory for the Suns to be proved correct.
Nasiah Wanganeen Milera (Pick No. 11 St Kilda) v Josh Sinn (Pick No. 12 Port Adelaide)
As St Kilda backed in lightly-built South Australian Wanganeen-Milera at pick 11 instead of Melbourne bayside prodigy Sinn (pick 12) in the 2021 draft, it was natural there would be doubters.
St Kilda hadn’t had a top-20 draft pick since Max King (pick 4) so why not go for the rock-solid former Vic Metro captain over a potential flight risk?
Sinn’s debut season was wiped out by groin issues before three senior games so far, with his best still to come.
But it is apparent Wanganeen-Milera is not only something special, he fits St Kilda’s needs as a classy running distributor down to the ground.
This year he has played 20 games averaging 23 disposals and 454 metres gained – at 72 per cent kicking efficiency – and is locked away until the end of 2025.
Jacob Van Rooyen (Pick No. 19 Melbourne) v Angus Sheldrick (Pick No. 18) v Tom Brown (Pick No. 17 Richmond)
Melbourne was desperate to get back into the first round of the 2021 national draft so gave up its future first-rounder for pick 17 in a trade that gave the Dogs points for father-son selection Sam Darcy, with St Kilda and Adelaide also involved in the four-club swap.
Then the Demons swooped on WA colt Van Rooyen at what turned into pick 19 as the draft’s sixth tall after Darcy, Andrew, Jye Amiss, Josh Gibcus and Leek Aleer.
That haul of talls already looks amazing.
Richmond loved running half back Tom Brown at pick 17 and Sydney chose Angus Sheldrick at pick 18.
But what would the Tigers do for Van Rooyen now given they are searching so hard for a replacement for Jack Riewoldt?
Josh Ward (Pick No. 7 Hawthorn) v Jye Amiss (Pick No. 8 Fremantle) and Josh Gibcus (Pick No. 9 Richmond)
The Hawks’ selection of first-class individual and outstanding midfield talent Ward made so much sense.
They were selecting on character and needs, determined to replenish a midfield that would see Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara walking out the door by the end of 2022.
How could they have known Conor Nash would become a midfield beast and that mid-season pick Jai Newcombe, then only seven games into his career, would evolve into an All Australian contender?
It is always so easy in hindsight but a Hawthorn side now looking for a key position forward and defender might have preferred deadeye left-footer Amiss or key back Gibcus.
Ward racked up 23 possessions (at 92 per cent kicking efficiency) to go with seven score involvements against Collingwood and is improving at a rate of knots.
And their own development pathway is allowing players like Seamus Mitchell, James Blanck, Connor Macdonald, Cam Mackenzie, Brandon Ryan and former summer rookie Ned Reeves to flourish.
Even though the cost of trading up for pick 18 Josh Weddle is considerable (pick 27, this year’s 21 and 39) rival list bosses believe it was a win given how hard it is to find stars past 25 in the draft.
Harry Sheezel (No. 3 NM) & George Wardlaw (No.4 NM) v Jason Horne Francis (No.1 2021, traded to PA)
Many of us wondered why the Roos would hand over the No. 1 pick as they tried to maximise their trade hand when the Jason Horne-Francis fiasco hit?
In the end they gave up Horne-Francis, the No. 1 overall pick and a Freo third-rounder and got back picks 2, three, 40, 43 and the Port Adelaide first-rounder this year.
The question was why would they give up the rights to Vic Country tall Cadman when they so obviously needed another big man to play alongside Nick Larkey?
Nearly 12 months on the Roos couldn’t be happier.
Cadman was a needs-based pick for GWS and will have a strong career after a dozen games so far for the Giants.
But the Roos’ capacity to bring in both of Sheezel and Wardlaw allowed them to flourish together as great mates who will play together at Arden Street for 10-15 years.
Put it this way – would any Roos supporters swap either of Sheezel or Wardlaw for Horne-Francis, even if they could park their emotions at his exit?
Now what do the Roos do with the Power 2023 first-rounder left over, and how good can their No. 36 selection Brayden George be?
They took George as a long-term play after he fell down the draft order with an ACL tear, but the Roos do have the capacity to come out of the Horne-Francis deal as winners.
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Originally published as AFL Draft revisited: Josh Ward, Josh Rachele, Mac Andrew and the big calls from the past two years
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