The draftees who should be on your 2019 SuperCoach cash cow radar
They are the most talented young footballers in the country but they won’t all be relevant in 2019. The Phantom looks at the potential SuperCoach cash cows - and their junior numbers - from this year’s draft
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They are the most talented young footballers in the country but they won’t all be relevant in 2019. With help from Champion Data, The Phantom looks at the potential SuperCoach cash cows - and their junior numbers - from this year’s draft.
FIRST ROUND
Izak Rankine
Gold Coast (Pick No. 3)
With many believing he was ready for AFL footy last year, The Phantom expects the electrifying Rankine, who made his senior debut for West Adelaide in the SANFL as a 16-year-old, to have the biggest impact of any draftee in 2019 — even at a struggling Gold Coast side. The sublimely-skilled forward, who could push into the midfield in the coming years, tallied more goals, assists and score involvements than any other player and averaged 120 SuperCoach points per game at the 2018 Under-18 championships.
Rankine might not win as much football as some of his fellow first-round selections but he will turn a game like no other. Expect some high scores despite limited possession.
Sam Walsh
Carlton (Pick No. 1)
Everything you hear about the classy, hard-working midfielder is overwhelmingly positive.
And his numbers are no different.
In 41 junior matches covered by Champion Data, the No. 1 pick averaged 29 disposals per game.
Walsh, who averaged 142 SuperCoach points at the Under-18 championships, is likely to follow in the footsteps of last season’s top draft pick Paddy Dow and feature heavily in the Blues midfield in his first season.
And his numbers should be better.
Bailey Smith
Western Bulldogs (Pick No. 7)
The dedicated Smith is ready to be an AFL player and, at the Bulldogs, if he has no further trouble with the Achilles injury which ended his 2018, he should get his chance in his first year.
The tough, hard-running 186cm midfielder averaged 25 disposals and 125 SuperCoach points per game at the national championships this year.
Only Walsh won more football at the carnival.
Jackson Hately
GWS (Pick No. 14)
After averaging 91 SuperCoach points in 12 senior games at SANFL level this season, the 190cm Hately is another big-bodied midfielder ready to go.
The 18-year-old has done his best work on the inside, rating elite for clearances and tackles at the Under-18 championships, where he averaged 108 points per game.
But he’s also shown he can break away from the contest and be damaging on the outside.
Dylan Shiel’s spot in the midfield is available and Hately could be ahead of new teammate Jye Caldwell, who was taken three picks before him.
Liam Stocker
Carlton (Pick No. 19)
After a slow start, the 183cm midfielder averaged 25 disposals, 14 contested possessions and six clearances in the final nine games of the year, to finish with a SuperCoach average of 110 and a Morrish Medal as the TAC Cup’s best-and-fairest.
And the Blues, who were desperate to land Stocker after trading picks with the Crows, should give him a chance early in 2019.
Ely Smith
Brisbane (Pick No. 21)
The contested beast, who also possesses a brilliant vertical leap, was a late bolter after averaging 114 SuperCoach points per game in the TAC Cup this season. At 188cm and 87kg, Smith is another with an AFL-ready body.
SECOND ROUND ONWARDS
Luke Foley
West Coast (Pick No. 31)
After being overlooked in last year’s draft, the tall midfielder lands at the Eagles after a terrific 2018 season.
Foley, who stands at 187cm and 75kg, averaged 17 disposals, eight tackles, five clearances and 115 SuperCoach points per game, to be Western Australia’s highest-rated player at the Under-18 champonships.
Back in the WAFL, the 19-year-old averaged 26 disposals, seven tackles and 139 points at Colts level and hopes to follow a similar path to Docker Bailey Banfield, who was also drafted a year after he was eligible last year.
Luke Valente
Fremantle (Pick No. 32)
There’s a lot of Jack Graham about Valente.
Both are strongly-built midfielders, who captained South Australia at Under-18 level. They won plenty of footy and dominated junior games.
And, like Graham, the questions revolve around Valente’s speed and upside, in comparison to a number of other midfielders in the draft.
But, after overcoming an early-season injury, Graham played a big role in the Tigers’ drought-breaking premiership in his first year in the competition.
In a developing Docker engine room without Lachie Neale, Valente could do the same.
The 186cm, 80kg Valente is great by foot – on both sides of his body – and averaged 22 disposals and 118 SuperCoach points per game as he lead his side to the 2018 Under-18 title.
Jack Bytel
St Kilda (Pick No. 41)
After averaging 27 disposals, 14 contested possessions and six tackles as a bottom-age player in the TAC Cup in 2017, the tough inside midfielder was tipped to be a first-round pick at the start of the year.
But the strongly built 18-year-old played just six TAC Cup games – averaging 22 disposals - in 2018 after a nasty back injury and fell to the Saints at pick No. 41.
Ben Cavarra
Western Bulldogs (Pick No. 45)
SuperCoaches love mature-age rookies and the 22-year-old small-forward will be no different in 2019.
Cavarra, who captained the Eastern Ranges and won the Morrish Medal as a midfielder in the TAC Cup in 2013, has booted 65 goals in the past two seasons, playing for Williamstown in the VFL and averaged an impressive 97 SuperCoach points per game in 2018.
Nick Hind
St Kilda (Pick No. 54)
But, wait, there’s more.
The 24-year-old play-making defender, plucked from Essendon’s VFL side, should feature for St Kilda in 2019.
Hind, who averaged 22 disposals, four marks and 87 SuperCoach points in 2018, brings speed and line-breaking ability - two traits the Saints are crying out for, especially in the back half.
Marty Hore
Melbourne (Pick No. 56)
With the arrival of Steven May from the Gold Coast, the Demon defence won’t be easy to break into in 2019.
But it’s still worth adding the 190cm defender from Collingwood in the VFL to the watchlist.
The long-kicking left-footer, who averaged 102 SuperCoach points, reads the play exceptionally well, ranking second for intercept possessions and marks in the VFL this season.
Lachlan Schultz
Fremantle (Pick No. 57)
The Phantom is beginning to like the Dockers more and more. After picking mature-agers Luke Ryan and Bailey Banfield in the past few years, the club has added another two to their list in the 2018 draft.
Schultz is another forward from Williamstown, who has booted 55 goals in the past two VFL seasons.
The 177cm 21-year-old showed his ability to impact the game away from goal in the second half of 2018, averaging 95 SuperCoach points per game.
Brett Bewley
Fremantle (Pick No. 59)
And the second mature-age Docker recruit, who also hails from Williamstown, could be even more popular within the SuperCoach community.
The damaging left-footer, who stands at 186cm and 85kg, ranked No. 1 in the VFL for effective long kicks this season and averaged 25 disposals, five inside 50s and 104 points per game.
The 23-year-old could add plenty to the Dockers’ line-up as early as Round 1 next year.
Boyd Woodcock
Port Adelaide (Pick No. 76)
A great, late-draft selection for the Power here.
Woodcock won the McCallum Tomkins Medal as the best player in the SANFL Under-18s in 2017, playing as a midfielder, before moving to a small-forward role at senior level this year.
And he had a big impact.
The 175cm 18-year-old averaged 15 disposals, five marks, four tackles, two goals and two assists in North Adelaide’s successful finals campaign.
It’s also worth noting, Woodcock averaged 155 SuperCoach points from six early-season Under-18 games.
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