Carlton hails pick three Jagga Smith best player in stacked 2024 draft class
Carlton believes it landed the best player in the stacked 2024 draft class by securing prolific on-baller Jagga Smith with the third pick.
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Carlton believes it has secured the best player in the entire draft, confirming No. 3 draft pick Jagga Smith was the top name on its draft board as it rounded out its draft haul with the Camporeale twins and a young developing tall.
A night after securing Oakleigh Chargers mid Smith with the third selection, the Blues drafted inside midfielder Ben Camporeale at pick 43 then matched Geelong’s bid for left-footed flanker Lucas Camporeale at selection 54.
The Blues also had an eye to the future when they were able to take Calder Cannons 197cm key defender Harry O’Farrell at pick 40, allowing them to preserve pick 43 for Ben Camporeale.
O’Farrell is a long-term key position prospect who will need to put on bulk, and would like to follow in the footsteps of father and lawyer Peter O’Farrell.
The barrister’s role clearing Patrick Cripps in the 2022 appeals case for his bump on Cal Ah Chee saw the Blues hero eligible to win the first of his two Brownlow Medals.
Lucas Camporeale said the wait after his brother’s selection was the most agonising 30-minute wait of his life, but conceded Ben had bragging rights on his dad Scott’s No. 16 jumper given he was drafted first.
But while the Camporeales and O’Farrell could take some time to develop, Smith is the explosive mid who will instantly add to the club’s midfield mix.
List boss Nick Austin confirmed the club had Smith as the first name on its draft board, thrilled Carlton could take him after Richmond secured mid-forward Sam Lalor and the Roos took Finn O’Sullivan.
“We clearly had Jagga at the top of the class. We’ve watched him for a long time now, and we’ve always thought in the back of our minds, whoever is going to get him is going to be stoked and for us to be that club after the trade period is really exciting,” he said.
“Any one of those top five guys are going to have fantastic careers. They’re all sensational players in their own right.
“We just felt with Jagga it wasn’t a decision so much for now, even though it is, but it’s (also) a 10-15 year decision. We feel like he’s going to be a sensational player for us over a long period of time.
“He’s different to what we’ve got with his agility, his ability to see the game unfold. He takes the ball off the line, he can really run and play inside and outside from the stoppage. So he’s just an exciting player. He’s been compared to some pretty handy players in the league, and we’re super excited to get him involved with our midfield group.”
The Blues never felt they were in the race to secure Collingwood-bound Dan Houston but once it became possible to secure pick three from West Coast the club was all in on the draft instead of considering established players.
Got our man? There's no doubt about it ✅
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) November 21, 2024
The tension and excitement were palpable inside our draft room in the process to make Jagga Smith a Blue. The inside look of how it all panned out 👀
“We were pretty clear from the start that we wanted to prioritise the draft at that point in time. If you had said we could get up to three, that was a fair way away. But once we got up to three, we haven’t looked back,” Austin said.
O’Farrell will bide his time in the VFL but has a big upside after an injury-interrupted year hampered his development.
“He is a mad Carlton fan. He’s been injured a little bit but we feel like with his athleticism and ability to develop, he’s going to be an important part of our future and one that can sit there and develop.
“A guy like Nick Haynes is going to be fantastic for him to work off. So he’s going to get to work. He needs to put on some size but his skill set is really suitable.”
Originally published as Carlton hails pick three Jagga Smith best player in stacked 2024 draft class
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