Draft powerplay leaves Port Adelaide well-placed to take top father-son prospect Jackson Mead with its fourth pick
βHe has the body and skill set to play next year,ββ says SA under-18 coach Tony Bamford of Port Adelaide father-son prospect Jackson Mead. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST
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Port Adelaide father-son prospect Jackson Mead is a ready-made AFL player who will quickly become a fan’s favourite, according to SA under-18 coach Tony Bamford.
As the Power went all in on the draft for the second consecutive year by completing a trade with Brisbane on Monday, which landed it an extra first-round pick – giving it three in consecutive years – the deal should also allow the club to secure the son of inaugural Power club champion Darren Mead for a bargain basement price.
Just prior to Port’s complicated pick swap with the Lions being ratified, where the Power received selections 16, 52, 55 and 72 and gave up 29, 71 and a future first-rounder, Bamford told the Lowdown AFL Draft Podcast he rated Mead so highly that he doubted whether he would have slipped to the club's original second-round selection at 29.
This would have forced Port to use that pick and later selections to match a bid for him.
Now – unless a rival “reaches’’ for Mead in the top 20 – the Power is likely to be able to package a series of later picks to move up to claim the powerful midfielder, who has been dubbed “The Professional’’ by Bamford and his State under-18 teammates.
The Power, which claimed Rising Star runner-up Connor Rozee, running machine Xavier Duursma and exciting small forward Zak Butters in the first round of last year’s draft, should now be in the enviable position of being able to take All-Australian under-18 Mead as its fourth pick in the draft.
“Port was always going to try to delay that (Mead selection) as much as they could,’’ Bamford said.
“I didn’t think he would get to 29 because he’s too good a player to get to that number and clubs are interested in him in the 20s.’’
The Power now owns selections 12, 16, 18, 52, 55, 66, 67, 68, 72 and 86 this year, with football operations manager Chris Davies declaring the club wanted to get its teeth into “more top-end talent’’ for the second consecutive year.
Next year’s draft also is more compromised than this year’s.
Bamford, who has overseen Eagle Mead’s development at under-age level, believed the 18-year-old would step straight into AFL ranks next season.
“He has the body and skill set to play next year,’’ he said.
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“That’s a reason I think clubs will be really interested in making an (early) bid for him.
“I rate him really highly for a number of reasons. He's a really good leader on and off the field and the one in our (SA Academy) hub and state program this year that drove the elite lifestyle standards because he’s such a professional.
“He ticks all the boxes off field in terms of the way he prepares for games, the way he reviews his game, he understands modern football concepts exceptionally well, takes information on really quickly and rarely needs clarification.’’
Bamford said Mead was not only a “combative’’ midfielder, but a damaging forward.
“He has shown he can be a very good scoring forward through marking contests and has an ability to get to the right areas at the right time, while being good at ground level,’’ he said.
Bamford said Mead ending up at Port, where his dad played in three SANFL premierships, would be a “good story’’.
“He’s a quality kid, respectful, hardworking and I know his family would love him to stay here,’’ he said.
“If he goes to Port it will be a good story and he’ll probably bring in a few extra members for them.’’
