AFL Draft 2022: All the latest news and whispers on the top prospects and your club’s plan
A Wangaratta young gun has come from the clouds to enter serious AFL Draft calculations, after a surge of interest from a handful of clubs.
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The AFL national draft is less than six weeks away and with the trade period out of the way, clubs are zeroing in on their targets.
Here’s the latest talk from around the traps.
Where injured x-factor could land
There is much intrigue surrounding where Murray Bushrangers power forward Brayden George will land in this year’s draft order.
George had an injury-interrupted season, missing almost three months in the middle of the year after having clean-up surgery on his right knee.
He returned to the field late in the NAB League season but played only half a game against Bendigo and then did the ACL in his left knee in the first quarter of a wildcard round game against Sandringham the following week.
The latest injury is expected to sideline George throughout 2023 and may therefore scare off some less established teams, but he is still expected to find a home in the second round of the draft.
“I would have thought he’s top-10 if he doesn’t get injured,” one recruiter said.
“His best has been as good as anyone’s, really.”
George has been likened to Melbourne’s Christian Petracca and Brisbane’s Cam Rayner and booted six goals against Greater Western Victoria Rebels in Round 5 of the NAB League this year.
“He’s a pretty unique player with his power and his ability to play tall and small and hit the scoreboard,” another recruiter said.
“With what he is, how unique he is, he’ll definitely find a home somewhere and 20-30 could easily be the range.”
Country smokey firms to be taken as interest ramps up
Country footy smokey Joe Richards has come from the clouds to enter serious AFL Draft calculations after a surge of interest from a handful of clubs.
Testing at this month’s state draft combine after receiving an eleventh hour invite, Richards has turned heads with his electric speed, innate goal sense and kicking on both sides of his body in the Ovens and Murray Football League for Wangaratta.
The 22-year-old school teacher, who looms as a potential rookie option, came equal third in both the standing vertical jump and running vertical jump at the testing day in Melbourne earlier this month.
Grand finalists Geelong and Sydney are understood to be among the clubs to have registered interest in the playmaker, who has won three best-and-fairests and has been coached for the past two seasons by former Collingwood premiership player Ben Reid.
Collingwood has also touched base with Reid about the speedy forward, with Reid telling Magpies recruiting boss Derek Hine: “This kid can play.”
The Swans first reached out about Richards through Bruce Reid Jr, the father of Ben and Sydney tall Sam.
“Those two clubs, I think both of them could take a punt on him – I hope he goes to the Pies to be honest!” Reid told News Corp.
“He’s got a lot of AFL traits in terms of his speed and the way that he can break games open with five or six quick steps.”
Reid, who played 152 games for the Magpies before his retirement in 2020, believes Richards deserves a spot on an AFL list, saying that he has significant upside along with the attributes and dedication to make it at the next level.
“I think he hasn’t even scratched the surface yet. If he went into an AFL program he would go to another level,” he said.
Richards has a scintillating highlight reel at local level and was best on ground in Ovens and Murray’s interleague clash with Goulburn Valley this year.
Athletic tall Kaelan Bradtke is another smokey from the Ovens and Murray League, earning a call-up for Sydney’s VFL side earlier in the season and testing at the state combine following a breakout campaign for Corowa Rutherglen.
“Coming back to Ovens and Murray there are more kids than just Joe that if I was a recruiter, I’d be coming to look at. It’s a really healthy league,” Reid said.
Will the Giants bid on Ashcroft at pick 1?
Key forward Aaron Cadman is expected to take on the No. 1 draft pick tag this year, despite some opposition clubs believing he shouldn’t.
Brisbane father-son prospect Will Ashcroft is widely regarded as the standout talent in this year’s draft pool.
However, some clubs have been reluctant to bid on father-son and Next Generation Academy players at the top of the order.
While Adelaide boldly bid on Western Bulldogs NGA player Jamarra Ugle-Hagan at pick 1 in 2020, it took until Gold Coast at pick 4 to make a bid on Collingwood father-son Nick Daicos last year.
Daicos was considered by many recruiters to be a standout player last year and went on to win the AFL Rising Star award this season.
The No. 1 pick in the draft receives a $10,000 bonus cash prize from draft sponsor NAB and a 12-month ambassador agreement.
GWS recruiting manager Adrian Caruso said last week that the club had not decided whether it would bid on Ashcroft at pick 1, adding it “comes back to our order”.
However, North Melbourne is considered more likely to bid on Ashcroft at pick 2, which would be a win for the Lions who would have to find only 2517 draft points to match a bid then instead of 3000 draft points at pick 1.
Vic guns on possible interstate move
Greater Western Sydney has made no secret of the fact it had concerns about some interstate players at the top of the draft order and whether they would remain with the club long-term.
Some players have expressed significant excitement about making a move interstate, while others have been open and honest about how they think they would handle a big move.
“I think I’d be fine,” Sandringham Dragons forward Harry Sheezel told News Corp when asked about his willingness to move interstate.
“It is a bit of unknown. I don’t know how I’d go until it happens, really. But I think I am a pretty determined person and loyal where I’d work to give everything I can to try and stay there and give them my all to help the club reach success. While I would prefer to probably stay here in Melbourne with family, I think I would try and make it work.”
The Giants pick 1 target – Aaron Cadman – has no such preference to remain at home in Darley, which lies just past Melton to Melbourne’s west.
“I actually look forward to getting an opportunity to try new things,” Cadman said.
“So I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens. I’m more than happy to go interstate. I’d honestly probably rather to go interstate and get a restart and just experience it.”
Indigenous talent happy to join Hawks
Hawthorn-linked Indigenous talent Cooper Vickery has no reservations about joining the Hawks in this year’s draft despite the racism allegations levelled at the club.
His management group, Kapital Sports Group, confirmed that the Next Generation Academy prospect is more than happy to become a Hawk, where he spent time during the school holidays earlier this year.
The Hawks may be denied the chance to secure the speedy lockdown defender, however, with changes to NGA bidding rules allowing rivals to snap up NGA talents inside the first 40 selections.
Vickery, from Gunaikurnai country in the East Gippsland region, sits in the second to third round range.
A nervous second night of the draft awaits the Hawks with the lingering threat of a bid coming in the 30s.
The Orbost product has impressed for Vic Country and Gippsland Power this season and ran the eighth-best time in the 20m sprint at the national combine.
Vickery told News Corp at the national combine that it doesn’t faze him where he ends up in the draft.
The small defender said that he loves to embrace his Indigenous culture and will look to help stamp out racism during his career.
Hawthorn also has access to key forward Jerome Lawrence – the son of 1991 premiership player Stephen – as a father-son and 178cm small Josh Bennetts through their NGA program, who both shape as later draft or rookie chances.
What combine snub means for SA young gun
A dominant bottom-age season last year, two goals against the Crows in his SANFL League debut this year, but there was still no national combine invite for SA young gun Kobe Ryan.
It came as a surprise to a ‘disappointed’ Ryan, and his club, after the West Adelaide midfielder made his mark across multiple levels in 2022.
“I thought I had a pretty strong season, I was pretty happy with how I performed. Getting a League chance, that was a serious improvement,” Ryan said after testing at SA state combine.
“Of course I was a bit disappointed, but I am just glad to be out here at least.”
Slightly-built, but smart and tough, Ryan tallied 21 disposals and two goals in his first appearance for the Bloods at senior level, in a performance his former coach Brad Gotch described as “special”.
The versatile teenager went on to perform consistently for SA at the national carnival, before a dominant finish to the season at Reserves level, where he averaged 26 disposals and 156 Champion Data ranking points in West Adelaide’s three finals.
“I felt like adapting to new structures and new teams, and getting thrown around a bit was good for me,” Ryan explained.
“Playing up (at senior level) is a really big difference but I felt performing well in my first game, and just consistently playing my role for the team was what I was really happy with.”
But AFL recruiters are worried about how – and in what position – Ryan’s game translates to the top level.
Despite having no trouble winning it, there’s also a concern about what Ryan does when he gets the ball – an area for improvement he acknowledges.
“One of my spaces to work on is my kicking, my disposal efficiency, because when I get fatigued, I tend to get slack and lean back,” Ryan admitted.
To be invited to the national combine, a player has to receive nominations from at least three AFL clubs.
But the interest has been there for 18-year-old all year and AFL Talent Ambassador Kevin Sheehan says Ryan is still “in the mix”.
“Every year, there is more than a dozen that go in the national draft from what we do at state level, they go past a dozen or more of those at the national combine,” Sheehan said.
“It’s the old principle, you only need one (club) to really like the way you play.”
And West Adelaide’s under-18 coach Paul Streatfield asks, “Are there really 60 better players than Kobe Ryan in the draft?”
First-round stars’ charity event
Gippsland Power prospects Bailey Humphrey and Jacob Konstanty raised more than $8,000 for mental health awareness through a golf challenge fundraiser last Friday.
The two friends and their Lowanna College school teacher completed three rounds of golf in three hours in their relay event, ‘Tee Off On Mental Health, raising funds for Mindfull Aus.
Mental health is a subject close to Humphrey’s heart, with the likely top-10 pick losing his best mate Riley Pearce, who tragically took his own life in 2021.
Humphrey has also battled depression and anxiety since he was 14-years-old - bravely sharing his story with News Corp this month - with Riley’s loss the major inspiration behind the event.
“I’ve had my own mental health battles but losing Riley ticked a light in my brain that I wanted to go down that path. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, trying to help others with something, that’s important to me as well,” Humphrey said.
The Moe matchwinner has been one of this year’s biggest draft bolters after an exciting finish to the season following his return from injury.
Konstanty, a pressure small forward who has been touted as a potential first round choice, has become one of Humphrey close friends with both going through their draft journey together.
“I’m proud of him for what he’s achieved and he’s proud of me I think – well I’d hope so,” Humphrey said with a laugh.
“I’m glad I’ve got to go through the journey with him and I think there’s a lot of it to come.”
SANFL set for another mature-age raid
A Norwood premiership pair and a North Adelaide speedster headline this year’s top SANFL mature-age draft prospects, according to a local talent expert.
Former Adelaide recruiter Mark Ross, who helped compile the Redlegs playing list that won three consecutive premierships from 2012-14 and has just joined Central District as football manager, believes small forward Baynen Lowe and his Norwood premiership teammate, key defender Jack Heard, are the standout SANFL mature-age prospects, along with Roosters
excitement machine Frank Szekely.
He also thinks AFL clubs should take a punt on Sturt backline ball magnet Casey Voss - son of Carlton coach, Brownlow Medallist and triple Brisbane premiership captain Michael Voss - Glenelg small forward Hugh Stagg and South Adelaide four-gamer Kim Kantilla.
Key defenders Rhett Montgomerie (Central) and Will Coomblas (Sturt) also should be looked at closely, according to Ross, who has a broad knowledge of the local competition and knows what attributes AFL clubs covet.
“Lowe, Heard and Szekely are the three SANFL standouts from my point of view,’’ Ross said.
“We know how important small, opportunist forwards are in the AFL now, they are in vogue.
“Clubs are climbing over themselves for players who can kick three goals from five kicks and that's what Baynen does.
“If he has a shot from anywhere inside 50 you’d back him to kick a goal nine out of 10 times and his defensive pressure lifted tremendously during the year.
“Like all small forwards, he had some average games because it’s such a tough role to play but his work inside 50 is elite, he’s a one-grab player, takes the ball at real speed and he doesn’t miss much in front of the sticks, including kicking the miraculous ones.’’
Low pick numbers
A historically low number of draft prospects look set to be given an opportunity to join the AFL this year as clubs instead eye what shapes as a super draft in 2023.
Multiple clubs surveyed by News Corp this week said they expected only around 50 players to be drafted in next month’s national draft.
Following the trade period, Adelaide, Melbourne, Port Adelaide and Richmond each hold only two draft picks and are understood to be happy with that.
Clubs are becoming more creative and are finding different ways to try and stay competitive, rather than relying heavily on the draft as they have in the past.
Next year’s strong draft crop is also playing on the minds of some.
“It’s obvious everyone likes next year’s draft better,” one senior recruiter said.
Players who do miss the national draft can still get opportunities through the rookie draft, pre-season supplemental selection period or even the mid-season rookie draft next year.
A total of 65 players were selected in last year’s national draft.
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