History shows Port Adelaide got the 2009 AFL draft ‘horribly wrong’
AND then there were none. Nine years after then Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams declared the Power had shored up its on-field future by having three first-round draft selections, not one is left on the club’s list.
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AND then there were none.
Nine years after then Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams declared the Power had shored up its on-field future by having three first-round draft selections, not one is left on the club’s list.
And all three failed to deliver on the promise Williams had hoped for.
This week’s trading of Jasper Pittard to North Melbourne saw the last of Port’s 2009 first-round picks leave.
The rebounding half-back follows key forward John Butcher and midfielder Andrew Moore out of the Alberton exit door.
Butcher was taken at pick 8, Moore at 9 and Pittard at 16.
None of the Victorian trio lived up to the hype that Williams believed he had secured nine years ago when Port gained two first-round selections for trading a wantaway Shaun Burgoyne to Hawthorn.
While Burgoyne — upset that he wasn’t given the Power captaincy that was handed to Dom Cassisi — has gone on to win three premierships with the Hawks and become a champion of the game, Port failed to hit the mark with the greatest draft hand it has ever had.
Butcher, 27, played just 31 games and kicked 41 goals for the Power from 2010-16.
Drafted to be the long-term key forward replacement for club great Warren Tredrea, he struggled with his kicking and is now playing in the SANFL for Central District.
Moore, 27, played 55 games and kicked 18 goals for Port from 2010-15 before being delisted.
He joined Richmond in 2016 but played just five games and kicked one goal and is now playing for VFL club Box Hill.
Pittard, 27, played 126 games and kicked 11 goals for the Power before being traded to the Kangaroos, along with midfield speedster Jared Polec, on Wednesday.
He was the most successful of the trio at Port, being an All-Australian nominee in 2016, but fell out of favour in the past two years, playing just 11 games in both seasons.
Club games record holder Kane Cornes described the Power’s botched draft as “a wasted opportunity’’.
“In 2009 Port Adelaide had a magnificent opportunity to set up the footy club with three picks inside the top 16 and two in the top 10,’’ he told AFL Trade Radio.
“But, in hindsight, they got it horribly wrong.
“And it gets even worse. Four picks on from Pittard, Fremantle took (Brownlow Medallist)
Nat Fyfe at 20 and there were other good players taken after pick 16.
“They include Jake Carlisle (Essendon, 24), Mitch Duncan (Geelong, 28), Jack Gunston (Adelaide, 29), Max Gawn (Melbourne, 34) and David Astbury (Richmond, 35).’’
Other quality players the Power overlooked at the draft were Jake Melksham (Essendon, 10), dual All-Australian defender Daniel Talia (Adelaide, No. 13), dual premiership player Lewis Jetta (Sydney, 14), classy forward Daniel Menzel (Geelong, 17) and Ben Stratton (Hawthorn, 46).
Cornes warned that the 2009 draft was evidence that — while Port and the Crows are loading up with high-end draft selections this year — there are no guarantees with draft picks.
andrew.capel@news.com.au