AFL Draft 2021: Every Adelaide Crows pick and all the fallout
Trent Dumont has been given an AFL lifeline by Port Adelaide but all eyes were on the Crows as they made a surprise move for an athletic Victorian. See the rookie draft wrap.
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Last year Trent Dumont finished fifth in North Melbourne’s best and fairest as a member of the Kangaroos’ leadership group.
Now, the midfielder will be looking to resurrect his career back in South Australia after being handed another AFL opportunity by Port Adelaide in Friday’s rookie draft.
In a move that would not have surprised too many, the Power selected Dumont, a Norwood junior, with the first of its two selections, pick 14.
Although Dumont placed in the top five of North Melbourne’s best and fairest from 2018-20 – he was fourth two years ago and equal-fifth the previous campaign – the club cut the 25-year-old last month.
He battled a calf injury to start 2021 then played the last 14 games, taking his career total to 113.
Dumont will add experienced midfield depth at the Power after Tom Rockliff’s retirement.
Port Adelaide also relisted ex-Brisbane utility Sam Mayes on Friday with pick 16.
The Power had committed to reclaiming Mayes, who played 11 AFL matches this year.
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ROOKIE DRAFT WRAP: RECAP EVERY SELECTION AND ALL THE NEWS
Adelaide’s newest recruit, Luke Nankervis, was chosen via the pre-season draft, rather than as a rookie, after the Crows heard a rival club, rumoured to be Essendon, might have taken him.
The Bombers passed their pre-season selection once Adelaide took the athletic half-forward/wingman.
Nankervis, 18 and 189cm, caught the eye of Adelaide recruiters during a Sandringham Dragons internal trial.
“We were pretty happy he was going to be our first pick in the rookie draft but then we got a little bit of a whisper around that another club might have picked him so we activated a spot on our list and in the pre-season draft then took any risk out of it and picked him,” Adelaide national recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie told the club’s website.
“We actually picked him out in the first quarter (of the trial game) … because we didn’t know him and he was really, really exciting.
“He’s got high level running power, high level speed and agility – he’s a really good athletic package.”
Ogilvie said he became a little emotional when he called Nankervis after he was selected.
The Bentleigh product was a retirement present to long-time scout Steve McCrystal, who had been with the Crows for 26 years, including the past nine in recruiting, and had “loved Nankervis from a long way out”.
“That was one we were riding pretty hard,” Ogilvie said.
“We get to send Steve off with one of his favourites, which was very pleasing.”
Adelaide redrafted Ben Davis at pick 4 with its only rookie selection on Friday.
The Crows also upgraded midfielder Ben Keays, who was runner-up in their best and fairest this year, to the senior list.
Why height is no issue for new Crows
Adelaide has added a pair of “pure old-school footballers with solid fundamentals” on the second night of the national draft.
Twenty-four hours after selecting exciting small forward/midfielder Josh Rachele at pick 6, the Crows landed two Victorian on-ballers on Thursday – Eastern Ranges’ Jake Soligo (selection 36) and Calder Cannons’ Zac Taylor (44).
All three new draftees are listed at 180cm, adding to Adelaide’s mosquito fleet.
Crows national recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie said their height was not a factor in the selections and it was impossible to ignore the tough, creative ball-winners.
“These two are just pure, old-school, really good footballers with solid fundamentals and they just performed well,” Ogilvie told News Corp.
“That was one where it was ‘stay true to your talent order’ and they were just too good not to take.
“Yeah, they’re all around the same height but you can’t have too many good players.
“You don’t have to worry about teaching skill, or ground ball or fundamentals because their games are already so solid.”
This moment never gets old 💙â¤ï¸ðŸ’› Can't wait to have you on board Jake!#AFLDraft#weflyasonepic.twitter.com/znn0CfpI6M
— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) November 25, 2021
Earlier, the AFL rejected a pick swap between the Crows and Melbourne at pick 36, when Adelaide ended up taking Soligo.
The league was reported to have knocked back the deal because it was selections they had already dealt during this year’s trade period.
Adelaide traded a 2022 third-rounder with Melbourne so it could get back in the order to take Taylor.
Ogilvie said the club needed to add to its midfield but was not sure it was going to be able to do it on Thursday.
“I know everyone says it but we just didn’t think those two boys would get through to us,” he said.
“We always thought Soligo would go to Richmond and we probably thought Zac Taylor would go to Sydney, then when they were both there together, we kept riding it and got back in to make sure we could at least try to get one of them, if not two.
“It just worked out really, really well for us.”
Taylor can play as a small forward or on the ball, while Soligo has lined up at half-back, half-forward and in the middle.
Both won the best-and-fairests at their NAB League clubs this year.
“They’re not just one-position mids, they can play other spots,” Ogilvie said.
“Soligo is just pure football skill, genuine mid, more hard running power.
“Zac has got some speed – his speed’s lateral movement, the ability to get out.”
Adelaide will use one pick in Friday’s rookie draft.
“We’ve got one player on our board who we’re really, really keen on and we hope he’ll be there at our pick, but who knows,” Ogilvie said.
New Crow draws Greene, Weightman comparisons
Adelaide has lacked pizzazz and spunk forward of the ball since the departure of Eddie Betts.
The Crows have gone a big way to helping address that by selecting Victorian small forward/midfielder Josh Rachele with pick 6 in Wednesday night’s national draft.
Rachele, a 180cm, 78kg talent from Murray Bushrangers, is considered among the most exciting players in this year’s pool.
With Adelaide making no secret it wanted speed and power from this year’s draft, the Crows stuck to pre-night predictions by taking the former Australian under-17 soccer player with its first choice.
Adelaide national recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie told News Corp the club was able to address a list need and take who it considered the best available talent.
“He’s exciting and he’s kicked some difficult goals,” Ogilvie said.
“He’s good on the ground and in the air.
“He was a player we’d identified, clearly, and we’re rapt to get him in.”
Ogilvie said although many Victorian prospects had missed so much football due to consecutive Covid-impacted seasons, the club had seen enough from Rachele’s 13 games to have confidence it was making the right call.
Rachele kicked six goals in a NAB League match this past season against Northern Knights but played on the ball in 2019.
That year, he claimed the Kevin Sheehan Medal as the best player in Division 1 of the under-16 national championships.
“He’s a genuine two-position player,” Ogilvie said.
Two other things about Rachele stood out to the Crows’ recruiting boss.
Playing for Caulfield Grammar against Brighton Grammar, he protected his younger teammates when they came under fire from the opposition.
The 18-year-old had also got his hands dirty, working on his family’s orchard, near Shepparton.
“He’s a fun kid, he’s mature, he’s worldly,” Ogilvie said.
“He’s been out on the orchard from 10, 12 years of age out in the sun … so he knows what hard work looks like.”
RECAP: EVERY PICK, ALL THE ACTION FROM NIGHT THAT HAD IT ALL
Ogilvie said Rachele would back himself in to debut next season but the club would need to help get him physically ready due to his lack of football the past two years.
Betts helped bring supporters through the gates at Adelaide Oval during his 132-game career in the tricolours from 2014-19 and Rachele had the potential to also become a fan favourite.
Fox Footy’s David King said the Crows were recruiting a lot of spunk.
“You get the ultimate finisher,” King said.
“I think this is a great selection.
“He’ll bring a lot of pizzazz … particularly in their forward 50.
“Think Toby Greene, think Cody Weightman, that’s what they’ve got tonight.”
Ogilvie said the Crows, whose next pick was 35, would consider moving up the order for night two on Thursday.
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