Despite a number of recent failed bids on AFL Draft night, Adelaide won’t be afraid to go again with GWS Academy gun Tom Green in its sights
As it stands, Adelaide will have pick No. 3 in November’s draft but if Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson are gone, there’s a chance the Crows could place a bid on a contested-ball beast and rival academy prospect.
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After bidding — and missing out on — young stars Tarryn Thomas, Harrison Himmleberg and Harry Perryman in recent drafts, is this the year Adelaide finally lands a rival’s academy prospect?
The Crows wanted Thomas, the young star who has played 18 games in 2019, last season when it placed a bid at pick No. 8 and it wasn’t just to force North Melbourne’s hand.
The same can be said for Himmelberg, the older brother of Crow Elliot, in 2015 and Perryman a year later.
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“We do it because we want a player. We bid hoping the team doesn’t match,” Adelaide’s national recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie said on the AFL’s Road To The Draft podcast.
“We’ll get one one day.”
And that day might be just around the corner.
As it stands, Adelaide will have pick No. 3 in November’s draft but if the top-two prospects Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson are gone, as expected, there’s a chance the Crows could place a bid on contested-ball beast Tom Green, who is tied to GWS’ academy.
Playing for the Allies, the 188cm, 85kg midfielder won more contested possessions than any other player at the recent National Under-18 Championships and boasts a game similar to Carlton’s Patrick Cripps and Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver.
“Green has rarely played a poor game, he’s got fitter this year, he’s got eyes in the back of his head, he reminds you so much of Clayton Oliver,” Ogilvie said of the big-bodied midfielder who lost 7-8 kilograms last summer to improve his running power.
“He’s a fantastic player and an outstanding young man, he couldn’t have done much more.”
Ogilvie confirmed the thought amongst recruiters that Green and Fremantle Next Generation Academy Liam Henry “both look like rippers” and “deserve to be high (on clubs’ radars) on their performance”
With Green widely regarded as a top-10 prospect, the Giants are unlikely to give up its access to player who’s spent so much time at the club already.
But if the early bid does come from the Crows, coach Leon Cameron and national recruiting manager Adrian Caruso will have a big decision to make, especially with so many talented young on-ballers already at the club.
It’s a decision which could potential cost the Giants both of their current first-round selections - its own and Essendon’s, which was part of last year’s Dylan Shiel trade.
While there’s so much still to play out - with Ogilvie admiting Adeaide is “open” to trading -the Crows could head into the draft with a handful of picks inside the top-30 and rejuvenating its engine room appears high on the list of priorities.
“You can never have too many good midfielders. We’re open to tall-mids or outside speed,” Ogilvie said.
And another play who fits this criteria is Port Adelaide father-son Trent Burgoyne.
The eldest son of premiership player Peter Burgoyne has been invited to the South Australia state combine, despite an injury-ravaged 2019 campaign.
While the Power have access to the Woodville-West Torrens junior, Adelaide is another club who want to see more of the exciting midfielder.
“He’s a player we’ve had our eye on. We loved what he did last year and he’s certainty got some speed, which is something we’ll look at,” Ogilvie said of the Crows’ interest.
“We nominated him (for the state combine) because we need to get some more data because he hasn’t played.”
“I bet we’ll bid on one (this year), we always do.”