AFL Draft: Jarrad McVeigh hopes Sydney can find a 200-game player with first draft pick
Sydney’s last pick five was Jarrad McVeigh, who went on to play 325 games, and the Swans legend is hoping that another player who can have a prolific career at the Swans. Which players are in the mix?
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Club legend Jarrad McVeigh insists the Swans’ precious pick 5 is a rare chance not to be wasted and he would love to see another quality midfielder to further strengthen the foundations for a new dawn of success.
Explosive midfield pace was in short supply last season and Zak Jones’ departure in the off season has further depleted the stocks.
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The Daily Telegraph columnist Mick McGuane is among those who believe that rectifying that situation must be priority number one.
McVeigh was the club’s last pick five in 2002 and he racked up 325 games before retiring at the end of last season.
He has now joined the coaching ranks and is working with the club’s midfielders.
McVeigh believes the club’s existing options are already strong but hopes pick five delivers a player who can have a lengthy and prosperous career with the Swans.
“With all the research done, probably a lot more than they did when I was pick five, you’re probably getting a 200-game player and someone who will be a really strong player for our footy club for a long time,” McVeigh said.
“The club will go for the best player available. It might be a mid, it could be someone else, but it’s a great position for our club to be in.
“Every single draft is extremely important. It’s not just for next year, it’s for the next 10 years. To set your club up in the right way and have that longer-term view.
“Pick five is a really important one but so are the other ones. We’ve seen a lot of great players come from rookie draft and later in the draft.
“When you do arrive at a club, that draft pick is just a number and you’re all on the same level and you try and fight your way up the pecking order. That’s where the real hard work starts.”
The Swans are in the mix for a number of pacy midfielders, including 182cm Sam Flanders from Gippsland Power.
Speedy half-back flanker Lachie Ash is another on the radar.
Kinnear Beatson is the Swans’ recruitment chief. He and his team have analysed every option.
“With the very early picks in the draft, you’re just looking to secure the best player,” he said. “And quite often that’s difficult to determine in itself if you’re comparing a tall with a mid or a smaller player, so it’s not a simple process.
“There’s one particular tall ruckman who’s getting a lot of interest early, Luke Jackson. There are a couple of very smart running half-backs, good ball users in Hayden Young and Lachie Ash and then there’s a group of midfielder who are really talented players as well in Tommy Green, Dylan Stephens and Sam Flanders.
“But it’s completely different to when Jarrad got drafted as pick five because the academies weren’t there, matching father-and-son picks was completely different and certainly no ability to trade your draft pick during the night itself.”
But like McVeigh, Beatson said it was not about acquiring an instant miracle. It’s about adding to a quality squad and helping the crop blossom in the years ahead.
“You shouldn’t be reliant upon your new draftees to change your fortunes in a year,” Beatson said.
“That’s unrealistic. It’s more the players that were drafted two to three years ago that should be really starting to step up and make a significant difference.”