Gary Buckenara reveals the manic reality of being an AFL Draft recruiter
THE 2018 draft is being billed as the next super draft. So how do AFL recruiters decide who is the best talent out there? GARY BUCKENARA gives first-hand insight into what it takes to discover the next best thing.
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EVERY club’s recruiting department has now started its busiest period as they begin preparations for this year’s draft.
The under-18 championships are now underway but there are also other important matches occurring in coming weeks and months, so recruiters will be flying in and out of states quickly as they get to as many games as possible during this period.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE BUCKY’S TOP 10
These last months, from June to September, are the last opportunities for talent watchers to take final notes on on-field ability as they assess this year’s talent pool by watching games live.
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It is incredibly important for recruiters to get to as many games as possible – no matter if they’re in a main city like Melbourne or in a country town in Western Australia - as there is no substitute for watching potential future players live.
There is so much more knowledge about every player to be gained, traits you can’t see by watching these matches on TV.
I think back to when I was watching a guy by the name of Bradley Hill when I was working as a full-time recruiter with Hawthorn.
Hill didn’t get much game time in the under-18 championships and played for a poor team in the Western Australia Colts competition. That meant we didn’t get to see much of him at the carnival and when he was playing in the Colts, a lot of the work he was doing off the ball – like running forward to provide an option or where he had positioned himself on the ground plus his running power and running capacity – was going to waste because he wasn’t used or when he was the intended target, the ball was turned over on several occasions despite being in really smart positions.
As I watched him more and more it became evident he possessed great footy smarts and just knew where he needed to be on the ground. As recruiters, that is exactly what we’re looking for and one of the ‘AFL traits’ we talk about.
Not everything is about stats and whether player X has had 25 disposals in every game or his kicking efficiency is 75 per cent.
We need to know what kind of kick this player was executing – he could be kicking easy 20m passes every time and you’re not always going to get those type of options at AFL level. Players need to execute skills under extreme pressure.
So, despite the fact Hill wasn’t getting as much of the ball as what he could have been had be been playing in a better side, I had seen enough to know that in the right system and with development in a full-time AFL environment he could become a seriously damaging player at AFL level.
We selected Hill with pick No.33 in the 2011 draft and he made an immediate impact for us on the field and really never looked back, going on to be a critical part of our three-peat premierships in 2013-15.
Over the course of the year recruiters will or should be watching at least 100 games live.
In many cases, for example, you will fly to say Sydney to watch a game before boarding another flight on the same day to Perth for a game the next day.
Then, you’d catch the first possible flight home, often late on a Sunday night, and get home in the very early hours of Monday morning before heading into the club to watch more vision and compile all your notes on players from those games. And then you do it all again the next weekend.
By the way, recruiters aren’t just watching the under-18 championships, they are also watching the under-16 championships as well.
Why? Future pick trading.
No club can give up a future selection during the trade period without doing their due diligence on the next year’s draft crop.
Recruiters need to know the exact value of every pick they are giving up in trade deals.
For example, a first-round pick in the 2019 draft might be more valuable than a first-round pick in this year’s draft so list managers need to be very careful of that when negotiating trade deals for players during the exchange period.
Every recruiter also needs to build a folio of information on players coming through not just in this year’s draft, but next years. It’s not a year on year job, you need to be looking two, three and four years down the track so you know what’s coming and who to keep an eye out for.
All that work culminates in a big recruiting meeting where every recruiter at the club, whether they’re stationed in South Australia or Western Australia or wherever will come together in the one place and meet to present on what they’ve seen from the state games and the under-18 carnival and list the players they like and why and then we all discuss.
That’s how clubs begin to put together their big “talent flow” charts together that is taken to the draft in November as you rank every player you believe will be drafted in order (from who you rank as pick 1 etc) and cross names off as they’re selected so when it gets to your pick, you know exactly who is available and where you’ve had them ranked to make an easy decision.
Sometimes you get lucky and a player you’ve had ranked high will slip through.
From the list you develop in that meeting, which can sometimes have about 150 names on it, those are the players you pay most attention to in the second half of the season and attend as many of their games as possible.
Sometimes you need to drive to some obscure places to gather your final lots of information from their on-field talent point of view.
Also in that meeting you look at your own list and group players into positions and types (inside midfielder, small forward erc) and look at the age groups and identify the holes. You look at things like do we have two key forwards with three years left and do we have any
developing or do we need to make that a priority in this draft?
So a lot more work goes into it before you arrive at your final talent flow days before the draft.
There is so much work that goes on behind-the-scenes that fans probably don’t realise occurs but it’s all valuable information and required information because when it comes down to it on draft night, clubs are making a $500,000 decision every time they call out a player’s name.
That’s how much time and money has been invested to get to that point where you’re comfortable in adding that player to your playing list.
TOP 10 PLAYERS TO WATCH IN THE 2018 UNDER-18 CHAMPIONSHIPS
TARRYN THOMAS (Allies)
Midfield, 189cm, 73kg
A North Melbourne academy player who looks to be a very good prospect. Watch him closely through the midfield as he’s a smart playmaker with some exciting traits. It will be a real bonus for the Kangaroos to be able to add a potential star of the future to their list at the end of the year. He will cost them their first-round pick.
NICK BLAKEY (Allies)
Forward/midfielder, 195cm, 80kg
The son of former Kangaroo and Swan John Blakey, Nick can can play in the midfield, up forward and down back. He's a tremendous athlete and a very smart footballer and that
versatility only adds to his appeal. He looks to be a very good player in the making. He’s eligible as a father-son for both North Melbourne and Sydney but has selected the Swans as
his preferred club. Will most likely cost Sydney their first-round selection.
JACK LUKOSIUS (South Australia)
Tall forward, 193cm, 84kg
Lukosius certainly didn’t do his chances of being the No.1 draft pick in November any harm with a very polished display in game one of the under-18 championships, as well as his match-winning goal last weekend. The 196cm prospect is a beautiful kick of the ball and has showcased his range of skills and his versatility in his carnival matches so far. I really like him and I’m sure if he doesn’t end up going No.1, then he’ll be very close.
IZAK RANKINE (South Australia)
Midfielder, 180cm, 76kg
With a combination of speed and uncanny goal sense and just the way he moves around the ground, Rankine is one of the most exciting talents to emerge from South Australia in recent seasons. He’s been playing senior SANFL football for two years now and was an All-Australian as a bottom-age player last year. I expect he will be taken very early in the 2018 draft.
SAM WALSH (Vic Country)
Midfielder, 183cm, 74kg
Walsh is a lightly-framed player who will showcase some nice outside run and skill throughout the championships. In my opinion, he will develop into a very nice midfielder who will win his share of ball inside, when he gets a bigger and stronger body, and because of his athleticism and skill, he will be dangerous on the outside as well. I think he will be an early pick at this year’s draft.
BAILEY SMITH (Vic Metro)
Midfielder, 185cm, 82kg
Bailey is an elite decision-maker who reads the play well and has a good outside game. He’s a hard worker in games and I’m sure those who watch him will notice his work rate and hard transitional running to defence and in attack, which is so important in the modern game. I’m sure Bailey will have a lot of interest from clubs come November’s draft.
BEN KING and MAX KING (Vic Metro)
Forward/ruck, 202cm, 85kg
It’s not often twins with this amount of ability and size come onto the scene and while Max unfortunately tore his ACL earlier this year, he will still be a first-round pick. Ben is also going to provide spectators of the championships with a view of his talents (very similar to his brother’s), of which he has plenty. He is a great size and possesses athleticism, skill, clean hands and versatility. There’s no doubt Ben and Max will be highly sought-after players.
IAN HILL (Western Australia)
Forward/midfielder, 175cm, 76kg
Some nice bloodlines here as the Western Australian prospect is the cousin of Fremantle’s Stephen and Bradley Hill. Ian is a clever small forward/midfielder with speed and goal sense. He can flash in and out of games and probably needs to work on his endurance but Hill can be very exciting in bursts. I’m not sure where he sits in this year’s draft as yet, I’ll know more after the championships but he certainly has AFL traits clubs are looking for.
CONNOR ROZEE (South Australia)
Midfielder, 185cm, 71kg
Another South Australian prospect that is one to watch. Rozee is a clever player with a good combination of speed and endurance and has good skills to go with his sound decision-making. I like the way he goes about his football and he should be another South Australian
called out reasonably early at the draft.
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