AFL Draft: Jai Saxena emerges as shock draft contender through NGA program
A small forward who has never trained with the club has emerged as the latest hot draft prospect linked to the Magpies, but whether he gets to Collingwood might hinge on Brayden Maynard.
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Collingwood will have the luxury of four draftable father-son and academy selections after a small forward who has never trained with the club became the latest shock draft contender to emerge.
Jai Saxena kicked five goals for the Oakleigh Chargers on the weekend, starting the season on fire after booting two goals in each of his previous two contests.
Mick McGuane’s son Tom McGuane, Ryan Lonie’s son Oscar and 199cm academy ruck-forward Zach McCathy are all linked to the Pies, with McGuane and McCarthy being potential first-round picks.
Saxena is a true bolter, linked to the Pies through their Oakleigh zone but not considered a draft prospect until his explosive start to the season.
He is an NGA prospect because one of his parents is Indian, with very few AFL players apart from former Essendon rookie Ben McNiece having Indian heritage.
The irony is that the Pies have protested nearly as loudly as St Kilda over Gold Coast academy access, despite securing Isaac Quaynor as an Academy player given his Ghanaian heritage.
The club’s captain Darcy Moore and star midfielders Nick and Josh Daicos were also father-son selections.
Chief executive Craig Kelly’s son Will was another father-son who has now been delisted by the club.
However, the Magpies have worked hard to cultivate their links, with Steve Grace working on the NGA program and former player Lynden Dunn honing the father-son crop.
Oakleigh Chargers coach Ash Close, a former Pies staffer, is thrilled with Saxena’s emergence.
“We are excited for him to come through with that background and come into footy. He has a lot of talent and he’s come a long way,” he said.
“To be completely honest, Jai’s development has been very fast over the last three months. It’s a credit to him that the penny has dropped. It’s happened very quickly. He trained with us last year and would have three touches and kick three goals but he has worked on his ability to get up the ground and support ball movement and put pressure on as well.
“He’s turned himself from a five-possession three-goal player to a five-goal 21-possession player.”
“Credit to Collingwood. They have really stepped up their involvement with these kids. I worked at Collingwood for 10 years so we almost train them up like Collingwood players now so that helps the two boys become familiar with the Collingwood style of play.”
New list changes which reduce the former 20 per cent discount for matching bids to just 10 per cent — as well as changes to the draft value index (DVI) — mean the Pies might not take all four players they have links to.
For the first time clubs will have to pay a fair price for linked players and Collingwood does not have a first-round pick after trading it out in the Dan Houston trade.
It will add another complicated element to Collingwood’s hopes of keeping Brayden Maynard.
Losing Maynard for a quality compensation pick would allow them to bring in some of the kids which would help their list transition.
Originally published as AFL Draft: Jai Saxena emerges as shock draft contender through NGA program
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