Andrew Capel’s Road to the Draft: Panther Hayden Sampson following dad Clay’s path to glory
THE son of a Crows premiership player has drawn similarities to Richmond excitement machine Shane Edwards.
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HE is the son of a Crows premiership player who has drawn similarities to Richmond excitement machine Shane Edwards.
Hayden Sampson — the 18-year-old son of Adelaide 1997 premiership half-forward Clay Sampson — is quickly making his own name and AFL clubs are paying attention.
Hayden made a strong league debut for South Adelaide against Port Adelaide in round 16 and is one of 13 players from the SANFL invited to this year’s AFL draft combine.
A classy wingman, Hayden isn't eligible to be drafted by the Crows as a father-son player because Clay only played 24 games for the club despite being a member of its inaugural premiership side.
But he is coming into draft reckoning with a bullet because of his class.
Hayden models his game on clever Tiger Edwards, a North Adelaide product who is quick, evasive, highly-skilled and an excellent kick.
And as Clay noted, football has started to turn full circle with more emphasis on good skills and less on pure athleticism.
“Five-to-10 years ago it was all about who was the best athlete and could run the fastest and the furthest,’’ Clay said.
“Now it’s going back to skills, being a good kick and being able to hit targets because turnovers kill you.
“You need players who can use the ball well to break through zones and presses.
“That should work in Hayden’s favour because while he’s still got a lot of growth left physically and from a maturity point of view he’s quite clever with the footy, he makes good decisions and he doesn't second guess when to give the ball. He’s very team-oriented.’’
A member of SA’s AFL under-18 championships winning team this year, Hayden oozed class in his league debut against the Magpies two weeks ago.
Given a taste of big-time football when he spent time on AFL men Lindsay Thomas and Jake Neade, Hayden had 18 disposals and showcased his elite kicking in the Panthers’ 74-point win — their biggest at Alberton.
“It was a really good experience to be given the chance to play league footy and a really proud moment for the family,’’ he said.
Clay — drafted from South by Melbourne at pick 51 at the 1994 national draft — played 13 games for the Demons from 1995-96 before being traded to Adelaide where he played in the club’s historic first AFL flag.
After two years with the Crows he joined Richmond where he played 27 games in 1999-2000 before being delisted and rejoining South, which he coached in 2008-09.
He played a total of 64 games and kicked 35 goals at three AFL clubs.
Hayden said his dad, who coaches South Adelaide’s under 16s after a six-year stint coaching Myponga-Sellicks in the Great Southern Football League, had been a big influence on his career, having coached him at junior level.
“Having played at the highest level I’ve been able to learn a lot from him,’’ Hayden said.
“Now that I’m playing seniors he's backed away a fair bit and is leaving my development to my coaches but he’s always there if I need him for advice, which is great.’’
Sampson is one of 13 SANFL players, including 12 who played in SA’s championship-winning under-18 side, among the 80 from around Australia invited to the national draft combine in October.
Congratulations to son of a gun Hayden Sampson on his League debut today! The 8th product of our Junior Talent Pathway to debut this season. Well done Sambo! ðŸ‘💪#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/79PdcLsoFY
— South Adelaide FC (@southadelaidefc) July 28, 2018
The others are his Panthers teammate Tom Sparrow, potential No. 1 picks Jack Lukosius (Woodville-West Torrens) and Izak Rankine (West Adelaide), Jackson Hately and Jez McLennan (Central District), Connor Rozee (North Adelaide), Ben Jarvis, Jacob Kennerley and Luke Valente (Norwood), Riley Grundy and Hugo Munn (Sturt) and Double Blues mature-age prospect Shane McAdam.
Twenty-four Croweaters also have been invited to this year’s State Combine.
They include Central’s Darcy Fort and Aaron Nietschke, Glenelg’s Finn Betterman, Declan Carmody and Tobin Cox, North’s Oscar Chapman, Cameron Wilkie and Boyd Woodcock, Norwood’s Connor Bristow, Kade Chandler, Jacob Collins, Tyler Martin, Matthew Nunn and Isaac Saywell, South’s Tate Coleman, Job Colwell, Nathan Kreuger and Jake Tarca, Sturt’s Tom Lewis, Mihail Lochowiak and Casey Voss, West’s Chris Burgess and the Eagles’ Martin Frederick and Kai Pudney.
SA EYE-CATCHERS
Connor Rozee
North Adelaide
Roosters utility again showcased his class with an impressive performance in his side's shock loss to Glenelg at Prospect on Sunday.
He kicked two of North’s eight goals in the wet while taking six marks and having 13 disposals.
Rozee, 18, still needs to win more of the ball, with coach Josh Carr noting he has yet to grab a game at any level by the scruff of the neck, but he is a class act and should be a first-round draft pick this year.
Izak Rankine
West Adelaide
Unusually for the brilliant goalsneak, he did not hit the scoreboard in the Bloods’ 26-point win against Port at Richmond on Saturday.
But he made a strong impact playing further up the ground.
The top-five draft contender had 19 disposals, seven marks and laid three tackles in a strong display after a couple of quiet games following his heroics at the AFL under-18 championships.
MATURE AGE WATCH
Jono Beech
West Adelaide
Former Crow had his best game of the season for the Bloods in their convincing with against the Magpies, kicking seven goals, having 18 disposals and hauling in 10 marks.
The 27-year-old former rookie list draftee lost his AFL gig at the end of last year after playing just three games for Adelaide and has struggled with a succession of injuries back at West this year.
But Beech illustrated what he could do against Port as the Bloods kept their slim finals hopes alive.
Chris Burgess
West Adelaide
18 disposals, seven marks and two goals in West's 26-point win against Port Adelaide at Richmond on Saturday.
This followed his four second half goals against Glenelg in round 16 when he hauled in nine marks and had 17 disposals.
Burgess is tall (191cm) and athletic and can play at either end of the ground.
His overhead marking and straight long-kicking are features of his game and it is understood at least three AFL clubs have expressed strong interest in drafting him.
THE QUOTE
If there are people out there, managers, who are prepared to get up on radio and say ‘Don’t go to the Gold Coast’, we’ll have them in court as quick as we can. Tell them to get on the radio and put their balls on the line on radio, and then we’ll smash them in the court. — Gold Coast chief executive Mark Evans on ABC Grandstand responding to triple premiership coach Mick Malthouse’s claims that he knew some gun draft prospects who’d had conversations with their player managers about avoiding being drafted by the Suns.
PLAYER COMPARISON
Luke Valente = Jordan Lewis
BEST OF THE REST
Oscar Brownless
Midfielder, Geelong Falcons/Vic Country
The son of former Geelong star forward Billy Brownless was dominant for the Falcons in their 81-point thumping of Bendigo Pioneers on the weekend.
Co-captain of the Falcons with No. 1 draft contender Sam Walsh, Brownless is a 186cm midfielder who had racked up 27 disposals, four marks, seven clearances, five inside 50s and five rebounds 50s.
He is eligible to be a father-son pick by the Cats, with dad Billy having played 198 games and kicked 441 goals for the club from 1986-97.
Xavier Duursma
Midfielder, Gippsland Power/Vic Country
Line-breaking on-baller who is compared to Carlton's Sam Docherty had a field day in the TAC Cup against Oakleigh Chargers as his side won by five points.
Duursma — the son of former Sydney and Melbourne player Dean Duursma — had 29 disposals, seven marks, two clearances, eight inside 50s and four rebound 50s to push his draft claims.
He is a running machine who makes things happen for his team.
PICTURE THIS
SAY WHAT?
The Suns should take the free agency compensation for Tom Lynch. Then with picks two and three they should take (Victorian) twin brothers Max and Ben King. Having them playing together could help keep them at the club and they would be bookend key pillars for 10 years. — former North Melbourne star, AFL games record holder and AFL Academy assistant coach Brent Harvey.
SA DRAFT FLASHBACK
Scott Lycett
Selected by West Coast from the Port Adelaide Magpies at pick 29 at the 2010 national draft after the 203cm ruckman surprisingly fell out of the first round. He had been linked to both the Power and Crows in the lead-up to the draft but dropped to the Eagles despite them already having star 2008 No. 2 draft pick Nic Naitanui.
Lycett, 25, took time to develop in the AFL — playing just 10 games in his first three seasons — but has now played 69 and kicked 45 goals in eight years.
He will carry West Coast’s ruck hopes during the finals following the season-ending knee injury to Naitanui.
From Thevenard on the Eyre Peninsula, Lycett is a product of Henley High School’s powerful football program.
He was in the same Henley team as Crow Brodie Smith and Port’s Jared Polec. Lycett is out of contract at the end of the season and is understood to be on the radar of both the Power and Crows, whose lead ruckman Paddy Ryder and Sam Jacobs respectively are both in their 30s. Lycett will go head-to-head with Ryder at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
AFL DRAFT ORDER
(After Round 20)
1. Carlton
2. Gold Coast
3. Brisbane
4. St Kilda
5. Western Bulldogs
6. Fremantle
7. Adelaide
8. Essendon
9. North Melbourne
10. Geelong
11. Sydney
12. Port Adelaide
13. Collingwood
14. Hawthorn
15. Adelaide (from Melbourne)
16. GWS
17. Gold Coast (from West Coast)
18. Richmond
19. Adelaide (from Carlton)
20. Gold Coast
21. Brisbane
22. Port Adelaide (from St Kilda)
*Gold Coast is in line for a draft compensation pick after its first selection for losing free agent Tom Lynch. That pick currently sits at No. 3 overall.
WORTH WATCHING
The Crows have strong interest in trading up to secure gun forward Lukosius, who turned 18 on Thursday. They will get a bird’s eye view of him — and can pick an opponent to test him — when they play the Eagles in the SANFL at Woodville Oval on Sunday.
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