My Two Cents: Host of young SANFL stars emerge as AFL mid-season draft prospects
Some were spurned in their inaugural draft years, another was ruthlessly dumped from the AFL system. A host of exciting young SANFL players want a second chance in the draft.
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Some were spurned in their inaugural draft years, another was ruthlessly dumped from the AFL system.
Now a host of young, exciting SANFL players who have overcome their share of adversity are making their mid-season draft cases.
After three rounds of the 2024 SANFL season and a state game against the VFL, more than half-a-dozen players once thought to be on the AFL scrap heap are suddenly garnering recruiters’ attention.
Woodville-West Torrens’ Patrick Weckert, Luke Beecken and Adam D’Aloia, Central District’s Jez McLennan, South Adelaide’s Noah Howes and West Adelaide’s Kobe Ryan and Will Patton are among the young South Australians who have lit up the SANFL in the early rounds and propelled their names in front of AFL clubs for the May 29 mid-season rookie draft.
Nineteen-year-old key forward Weckert, who gave away a promising cricket career as a fast bowler to concentrate on football, was overlooked at last year’s draft following a disappointing AFL under-18 national championships campaign.
But the 194cm tall, who dropped 5kg over summer, has enjoyed a standout start to the 2024 league season, kicking eight goals in three games for the top-of-the-table Eagles, including seven in the past two weeks.
He also has averaged five marks and is fitter than last season, enabling him to cover more territory.
“Patty is enjoying the fruits of having had his first full pre-season of football training,’’ said his agent Greg Size from Deliver Sports Management.
“He’s missed a lot of footy training because of his cricket and now he’s reaping the rewards of a full pre-season, it’s made a world of difference for him.
“He’s worked really hard and improved his strength and explosiveness and I think it’s fair to say he’s now got a bit of that (Collingwood star) Brody Mihocek style work rate about him.
“And because of his lack of football experience his upside his massive.’’
Dashing half-back flanker Beecken, who turned 23 last week, is a late bloomer who was expected to get drafted after the Eagles won their second of back-to-back premierships in 2021.
The grandson of legendary football administrator and SA Football Hall of Fame inductee John Condon, he appears to have taken his game to the next level this season, having averaged 22 disposals, five marks and four rebound 50s.
The 184cm backman has chalked up 56 disposals in the past two matches and oozes AFL qualities with his size, running power and excellent kick.
Hard-as-nails midfielder D’Aloia, 20, was overlooked at the past two national drafts, despite being SA’s under-18 captain in 2022 and winning the state’s MVP medal and team-first player’s player award.
Like Weckert and Beecken, he has blossomed at league level this season, averaging 28 disposals, nine clearances, six tackles and six inside 50s.
Running halfback McLennan, 23, spent four years on Gold Coast’s AFL list after being selected at pick 23 at the 2018 national draft.
But he did not play an AFL game before being delisted at the end of 2022, when he returned to the Bulldogs.
McLennan was selected in last year’s The Advertiser SANFL Team of the Year and has this season played even better for the unbeaten Dogs.
He won the prestigious Fos Williams Medal as SA’s best player in the win against VFL earlier this month, recording 26 disposals and eight marks across halfback.
The 184cm McLennan is averaging 25 disposals, seven marks and six rebound 50s for Central.
Exciting Panthers key forward Howes, 18, has overcome a series of bad injuries to make his presence felt on the league stage this season.
He has kicked four goals and averaged four marks in a struggling side, impressing with his powerful marking and long kicking after booting 3.3 in South’s under-18 grand final win against Sturt last year.
Midfield hard nut Ryan, 20, was considered unlucky not to have been drafted in his first draft eligible year in 2022.
A strong contested ball winner who does his best work at stoppages, he possesses clean, quick hands, tidy skills, great tackling ability and an extremely high work rate.
Ryan finished equal-seventh in last year’s Magarey Medal count, polling 17 votes, while becoming the first West player to win the Powerade Breakthrough Player award.
He has improved even further this season, averaging 23 disposals, 11 tackles and six clearances and won the Russell Ebert Medal as best afield in the Round 2 win against Port Adelaide at Waikerie.
Port SANFL coach Hamish Hartlett, a former West teammate of Ryan’s, rates him so highly that he said in the pre-season that if he could pinch a player from a rival club to play for his team he would choose Ryan.
Key defender Patton, 19 and 193cm, is, like Weckert, a former gun cricketer.
Patton played First-Grade for Adelaide as a batsman before focusing on football in his draft year.
He was SA’s under-18 captain last year and the only draft-eligible Croweater to make the All-Australian team.
Patton has this season cemented himself in West’s league side at centre half-back and was one of the Bloods’ best in their narrow loss to unbeaten Norwood in Port Lincoln last Saturday, with 16 disposals and five marks.
Glenelg premiership forward/midfielder Archie Lovelock, 19, Tigers tall Riley Holder, 21, and Bloods 197cm key defender Darcy Minchella, 19, are three other young SA prospects who have caught the eye in the lead-up to the mid-season draft after previously being overlooked.
Now they play the waiting game.
NUMBERS GAME
1
North Melbourne wins from its past 27 games.
7
Consecutive Essendon wins against Adelaide.
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