Jason Horne-Francis prepared to be first pick in 2021 AFL Draft, join North Melbourne
Nick Daicos may have been the talk of the town throughout the season but that doesn’t worry the Roos, they’re about to land their man for the next 15 years.
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Jason Horne-Francis might not have the rockstar haircut or massive social media following of Western Bulldogs midfielder Bailey Smith.
But to watch his most recent finals performances is to realise he can make a similar impact to the brilliant Dogs No.7 draft pick, who is yet to miss a game in his 67-match career.
Like Smith he is a superb accumulator with quick hands at the stoppages who can go forward to kick an impossible goal either on the run or at the fall of the ball.
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And if the Roos are honest, a club that has whiffed on its fair share of opposition stars over the years might need a bit of showman in Horne-Francis, who certainly has some rock star in his performances.
To watch his preliminary final last week was to watch a complete player who bursts through stoppages, kicks goals for fun (three goals and two posters in his side’s six-goal effort) and managed to amass 11 clearances with his 24 possessions.
One of those posters saw him ragdoll a senior opponent inside 50 and burst onto his right foot in what would have been a goal-of-the-year nomination if it hadn’t shaved the upright.
All three of the goals were unique - and spectacular - in a perfectly rounded game.
Adelaide last year did exactly what it needed to in bidding for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan both for the integrity of its draft order and to ensure it secured young small forward Jimmy Rowe later in the draft.
Luke Beveridge labelled it “vindictive” - the same word he levelled at finals critics of Adam Treloar - but it was just smart business.
A year on North Melbourne should back in its instincts about the explosive South Adelaide teen Horne-Francis and take him with the No.1 overall pick in November’s national draft.
It can leave bidding on Collingwood’s Nick Daicos to whoever ends up with the Giants’ No.2 overall pick for a multitude of reasons.
Horne-Francis is desperate to actually be the No.1 player in the draft and as player managers have suggested, what message does it send to him by strategically overlook him by placing a rival bid when they know he will still land at Arden St?
The Roos get the hype, Horne-Francis gets an extra $10,000 investment package as the No.1 overall pick and the club knows given his instant impact he won’t have to deal with the same selection issues Jamarra Ugle-Hagan faced.
They put a flag in the ground: this is our man for the next 15 years.
And they do it knowing Horne-Francis is the rival of Nick Daicos, where Adelaide would have had to overlook the higher-rated player in Ugle-Hagan to secure Riley Thilthorpe as the No.1 overall pick.
But Collingwood’s pick swap with Gold Coast yesterday also allows the Roos to know they won’t be costing themselves a potential player if they do overlook Nick Daicos.
As Adelaide’s recruiting boss Hamish Oglivie later revealed, the Dogs held a real interest in Jimmy Rowe.
Bidding at pick one meant the Crows had to commit 2400 draft points (3000 points with a 20 per cent discount) instead of 2014 which meant the Crows’ next pick shuffled from 38 back to 66.
Adelaide eventually moved up the draft order to nab Rowe ahead of another interested party in Carlton.
Collingwood’s pick swap with Gold Coast leaves the Pies with 2924 points and a range of picks that include 22, 36, 41, 43, 46, 48, 58, 78 and 79.
But if the Cats and Dogs play hard ball on Nathan Kreuger and Patrick Lipinski the Pies will have to give up something like 43 for Lipinski and 58 for Kreuger.
Unless the Pies import more picks they will likely have enough to secure Nick Daicos, Patrick Lipinski and Nathan Kreuger but not much more.
By the night of the draft the Roos will know exactly how many points they have stockpiled and can make a judgement call.
The Roos onfield future is bright regardless given young midfielder stars like Jy Simpkin, Tarryn Thomas, Jed Anderson and Luke Davies-Uniacke but this can be a symbolic decision about a player North Melbourne fans will soon grow to know and love.
‘He’ll kill someone’: Why North can’t go wrong with ‘Hornet’
Jason Horne-Francis has his sights set on North Melbourne calling out his name ahead of every other player in November’s national draft.
If they had any reservations his final SANFL match last weekend might just have been his mic drop moment.
The brilliant South Adelaide midfielder’s season came to a close with a finals exit but for Horne-Francis it was another barnstorming reminder of his brilliance.
Anyone not convinced he was good enough to be the draft’s best player would have walked away wowed by his multidimensional talents.
The 24-possession, 11-clearance, 160-ranking point, 10-score involvement game showed that the Kangaroos will not only call his name, they will do so fully aware he can step into senior football from Round 1 next year.
Just as he did when he was elevated to senior SANFL football in Round 7 last year and never missed a beat.
Did we mention the three goals in Friday’s performance – one perfect crumbing goal at the front of the pack, a scrounged goal line soccer from the pack, and then an exquisite left-foot snap from the tightest of angles on the boundary line?
So yes, he’s ready to go No.1 …
The only minor problem is he has no idea because he hasn’t actually spoken to North Melbourne.
“No, I haven’t actually spoken to North yet, which I think most people think is a little weird. But I think we will get there soon,” he told the Herald Sun.
“I have spoken to 11 or 12 clubs but I am happy to go anywhere really. I think North have some interest but I will embrace wherever I go.
“North are a really young and developing team. They are exciting to watch, so it would be good to come into a young squad like that and develop with the young boys, but I haven’t heard much from them yet.”
The Roos, of course, might end up bidding on father-sons Nick Daicos and Sam Darcy to keep those clubs honest before they end up securing Horne-Francis.
And yet there is a case that Horne-Francis’s exposed form over the past 18 months makes it easy for the Roos to justify bestowing upon him the No.1 overall pick tag.
“I think earlier in the year it was just wherever I go I will be happy. That’s still the case, but I have put a bit of a challenge on myself to see if I can get that No.1 spot. It would be great. It would be a reflection of all the hard work I have put in and the family has put in as well. That’s what we are striving for, but if it doesn’t happen that’s fine as well.”
Like Ash Barty’s use of the “we” instead of “I”, Horne-Francis’s success comes with a support cast that has been integral to his development.
Horne-Francis recently turned 18, which allowed him to legally change his name from Horne to Horne-Francis to recognise stepfather Fabian Francis, who played 109 games with Melbourne, Brisbane and Port Adelaide.
“My dad and mum (Trish) split up and we moved out and mum met Fabian and he’s my stepdad. So ever since I was six or seven he has taught me so much. He’s been good to have around and to help bring my family up. He likes to talk himself up to me, tell me how good he was, so we give each other a bit of s**t and have a bit of fun.
“We just thought turning 18 when I could (change my name) it was the right time to do it.
“All my other family, my sister and brother and mum have done it, so it was the right time.
“I can’t thank mum and dad enough for what they have done and sacrificed for me. They knew where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. They put everything aside for me.”
Managed by Ben Williams, of Players Ink, he has the same flair and spark as another Williams client in Isaac Heeney.
His barnstorming SANFL take-down tackle of AFL-listed Darcy Fogarty went viral – “Yeah, I definitely love that part of the game, it’s good to get aggressive with the big boys” – as did his skyscraper of a hanger as a mid-sized forward.
What happened when the potential No.1 NAB AFL Draft pick took on Darcy Fogarty... ðŸ˜
— AFL (@AFL) July 12, 2021
Jason Horne is ready to play 💪
(via: SANFL / @CalTwomey Twitter) pic.twitter.com/pvpsZDheT1
His 11 clearances last weekend showcased the full range of skills – hitting the contest at top pace, reefing it from the bottom of the pack, reflex intercepts, clever handball releases to teammates in space.
In a midfield with Ben Cunnington, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Tarryn Thomas, Will Phillips and Tom Powell he will easily go forward and make use of his explosiveness at times next year like the best midfielders in the game in Dustin Martin, Christian Petracca and Marcus Bontempelli.
If North did use their No.1 overall pick on him, it would secure the club much-needed hype and, given his likely early impact, it won’t fuss him in a year where Luke Beveridge got crotchety about Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s delayed debut.
“He won’t mind it. He is laconic. He will just go and get the ball or kill someone trying to get it,” said a confidante.
The Roos will strike gold with Horne-Francis a year after SANFL mid Powell became a value pick at No.13, with South Australia’s relatively untouched junior competitions giving the pair a leg up on rivals from Victoria’s Covid-ravaged NAB League.
Horne-Francis finished Year 12 last year so has put his time to good use with a weekly schedule that involves babysitting brother Fabian Jr on Mondays and a job that still allows him time to devote to his craft.
“I work for Fleurieu Milk four days a week, five hours a day, and then I look after my little brother on Mondays. He is one and a half, not far from two, so he’s getting to an age where he’s a ratbag, but it’s good to have him and give him some company and he acts a lot like me when I was younger as well.”
Horne-Francis will find himself at Arden St alongside Jack Ziebell and Todd Goldstein but admits he will have to give up his childhood love of a team much further west across the Nullarbor.
“I go for Freo. I know it’s unusual for an Adelaide boy. But I was coming through when they had success back in Adelaide and I just liked Nat Fyfe. The way he went about his footy, and Freo really grew on me from there. I think I liked the way he went about his off-field preparation, the way he did everything he could to get himself right, I love the way he attacks the ball, how aggressive he is.”
Baby steps for Horne-Francis, but he is at least the prototype of the modern footballer who like Fyfe can do a little bit of everything – bring down a rampaging opponent, climb on someone’s head, bounce back up and kick a jaw-dropping goal a moment later.
It is why his name will be spilling out of the mouth of the lucky Roos recruiter to call his name at 7pm on November 24 ahead of a long career at Arden St for David Noble.
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