Crows confident they will get the player they want at AFL draft, despite trading back in first round with Giants
Adelaide’s national recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie says he is positive the club will still draft one of its prime targets following its pick swap with Greater Western Sydney.
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Adelaide is confident it will get its man with its prized first pick at next week’s AFL national draft, despite trading back from four to six.
Revealing that he believes the “six or seven’’ players after outright No. 1 favourite Matt Rowell are “very even’’, national recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie said the Crows were “sure’’ they would get one of their prime targets with their highest ever national draft selection.
“Matty separates himself from the pack but the next six-to-seven players are very even, hence why you (the Crows) go back from four to six, the two spot slide,’’ Ogilvie told The Lowdown AFL Draft Podcast after Adelaide traded pick four to GWS for pick six and the Giants’ 2020 first-round selection.
“Do we get the same player (it had earmarked at four), who knows, we can’t jump into a time machine.
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“But if there are three names there (the club has listed), then I’m sure that when we went with the trade we thought we would get one of them – and we probably still will.’’
Adelaide has long been linked to star Norwood midfielder Dylan Stephens – a player Crows fans appear to be enamoured with – and Ogilvie confirmed the endurance beast was on its shortlist.
But he said Stephens was just one of a handful of players the club had closely monitored for its top pick.
“It’s no secret that every club that has a pick in the five-to-15 bracket would have Dylan Stephens in their mix and we’re no different,’’ Ogilvie said.
“I rate him highly but he’s not the only player in our mix.
“There’s (Caleb) Serong’s foot skills and goal sense, (Sam) Flanders’ power out of the stoppage, some of (Luke) Jackson’s ground balls after his ruck work is unbelievable.
“They all have their strengths, hence why they are being talked about with those top 12 picks.’’
Adelaide has been strongly linked with all four players and Victorian key defender Fischer McAsey.
Ogilvie said that while Victorian midfielder Rowell was the best player in the draft by “20-to-30 per cent’’, he didn’t share the widely-held view that his best mate and teammate Noah Anderson was clearly the second best.
He said Anderson was in that next “even bracket’’ of 'six or seven.
But he does not believe the Crows will have the chance to snare the tall midfielder at pick six, with Gold Coast certain to pounce on Rowell and Anderson with the top two selections.
“No-one in the industry has any doubt that those boys are going one and two to Gold Coast,’’ Ogilvie said.
Adelaide – in a rejuvenation phase after losing a host of key, veteran players in the off-season – is armed with picks 6, 23, 28, 37, 45 and 49 and Ogilvie said it would target a key forward and key defender with two of its selections, noting that Taylor Wallker and Daniel Talia were in the back end of their careers.
“We’ll look at best available talent first and then perhaps balance off two picks with some needs,’’ he said.
“We’d love another tall forward and tall back at some stage and as many midfielders with speed and power as we can get.’’