Ultimate guide: Players auditioning for AFL chance at clubs during pre-season
Eleven clubs have vacant spots on their list and can sign players to fill them from January 6. St Kilda have invited a North Melbourne reject in.
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For years the rookie draft was an annual last roll of the dice for players to land on AFL lists.
Now those who miss out at the end of the year do not have to wait 12 months for another window because of the Supplementary Selection Period (SSP) and mid-season rookie draft.
The chance for clubs to recruit players between January 6 and March 9, then again on June 2 takes on added intrigue in 2021.
After coronavirus last year led to Victorian competitions to be abandoned and interstate leagues were shortened, a swag of clubs kept list spots vacant so they could get a closer look at prospects who missed all or most of their seasons in 2020.
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Eleven clubs – Adelaide, Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Richmond, St Kilda, Sydney and the Western Bulldogs – have positions to fill.
Some of them have already invited overlooked players to train.
All teams have reached the minimum of 37 list spots so none are required to sign anyone, but there are potentially more hidden gems than usual still available.
Here is how each club sits ahead of the start of the SSP on January 6:
ADELAIDE
Vacant list spots: 1
Train-on players: Ayce Taylor (Crows), Nick Murray (Williamstown, VFL)
Crows recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie has indicated it will be a two-man battle for one position and the club will make a decision before the March 9 SSP deadline.
Both Taylor (191cm) and Murray (193cm) are tall defenders. Adelaide recruited Taylor during the SSP last March then delisted the 20-year-old in September.
The athletic, speedy backman did not debut and was unable to push his case via the SANFL because clubs could not field state-league teams amid the coronavirus. Murray – the brother of ex-Collingwood player Sam Murray – was a former member of the GWS academy and featured in eight NEAFL games for the Giants in 2019. After losing Kyle Hartigan to Hawthorn, Adelaide will choose between the known quantity and the outsider to boost its backline stocks.
CARLTON
Vacant list spots: 1
Train-on players: Oscar McDonald (Melbourne), Callum Moore (Carlton/Richmond), Zavier Maher (Murray Bushrangers, NAB League)
An 81-game key defender, a tall forward with 10 matches to his name and an unlucky midfield draft prospect are in contention to fill Carton’s list hole.
McDonald, 24, was a Demons backline regular from 2016-18, playing 60 matches, including all three of their finals in the latter season, but managed just seven appearances last campaign and was axed.
The Blues’ tall backline stocks do look a little thin and they may want more support for Jacob Weitering and Liam Jones. Moore, also 24, joined Carlton via the SSP in March and played two matches, only to be cut in November.
The Blues might re-list him for forward cover given Charlie Curnow’s delayed start to pre-season after knee surgery. Taking Maher would be a case of not wanting to miss out on a youngster many thought would be drafted. He is powerful, quick inside midfielder. Our prediction would be McDonald.
COLLINGWOOD
Vacant list spots: 2
Train-on players: Jack Briskey (Sherwood Magpies, Queensland)
If Collingwood snared Briskey, it would be rookie-listing him on raw potential, not as someone who would be expected to contribute immediately.
The athletic, aggressive key defender, was in Brisbane’s academy and an overlooked draft prospect last month.
The Toowoomba local performed strongly at the draft combine, including finishing equal-fourth (94cm) in the running vertical jump and recording 2.94 secs in the 20m sprint.
Collingwood may want to wait until the mid-season draft to make its decisions, so it can look at the best available talent, particularly in Victoria, where there has not been lower-level games for a year.
Given their significant squad turnover, the Magpies may opt for a more experienced option, either coming off a list or in a state league, rather than an 18 or 19-year-old.
ESSENDON
Vacant list spots: 1*
Train-on players: 0
Essendon has one spot available now but can open up another if it moves anterior cruciate ligament victim Irving Mosquito to its inactive list.
The Bombers added three top-10 draft picks last month but might want to sign one of the best overlooked draftees.
Would Maher appeal? If the Bombers sought a more experienced option, could they look to a mature-age forward, such as 24-year-old West Australian Alec Waterman? Illness ruined the 182cm prospect’s two-season stint at West Coast but he won Claremont’s best and fairest last year and was the WAFL’s top-ranked general forward.
HAWTHORN
Vacant list spots: 0*
The Hawks do not have any room yet but can bring someone in if they move James Sicily to the inactive list.
If they do that, it will be interesting to see if Hawthorn seeks the best available player or a medium defender to help fill Sicily’s void.
Unless the Hawks believe they are a finals contender, taking the best young player makes more sense. Hawthorn could do with another developing ruckman so Geelong Falcons’ Henry Walsh — brother of Carlton star Sam Walsh — or Sandringham Dragons’ Max Heath might appeal.
MELBOURNE
Vacant list spots: 2
Train-on players: Kobe Farmer (Peel Thunder, WAFL)
Farmer is one of the best feel-good stories among the train-on players — he is the son of three-time Demons leading goalkicker Jeff Farmer.
The Peel Thunder prospect booted 10 majors from seven WAFL colts games last season but was overlooked in the drafts, including by the Demons and Fremantle, which both had access to him via the father-son rule. Farmer, 18, is listed on the Thunder’s website at a tiny 169cm and 65kg so looms as a project player if taken.
Melbourne list manager Tim Lamb last month said the club had tracked his progress for years. “We thought this would be a great opportunity to get a closer look at him,” Lamb said.
Melbourne Next Generation Academy prospect Deakyn Smith has been touted as another contender for the list vacancies. Smith, 18, is a speedy but raw wingman/half-forward from Dandenong Stingrays.
NORTH MELBOURNE
Vacant list spots: 1
Train-on players: Flynn Appleby (Collingwood), Sam Skinner (Brisbane)
North Melbourne is seeking more experience after their off-season clean-out and have given two delisted players an opportunity to battle for one spot. And with Jasper Pittard, Majak Daw, Sam Durdin, Jamie Macmillan, Ed Vickers-Willis, Marley Williams and Tom Murphy all gone, the Kangaroos look to be targeting a defender.
Appleby, 21 and a medium backman, played 11 games for the Magpies, including one last year. Swingman Skinner, 23, notched three matches for the Lions. The 198cm Gippsland Power product endured three knee reconstructions early in his career. They address different areas of need and both have a case.
PORT ADELAIDE
Vacant list spots: 1
Train-on players: 0
Port Adelaide has indicated it will assess prospects ahead of the mid-season draft, rather than add anyone during the SSP.
That will allow its recruiters to watch three months of football where youngsters overlooked at the draft have a chance to shine. Glenelg forward Kaine Baldwin may be an option if he shows he has recovered from his second consecutive ACL injury.
Baldwin was considered a possible top-10 pick in 2019, given his ability to pluck marks and crash packs, only to suffer his injury setbacks.
The Power drafted Sandringham Dragons tall forward Ollie Lord but a highly-touted local spearhead could be tough to bypass. Port Adelaide might instead look to strengthen its depth with a more experienced state-league player to help its premiership tilt.
If it went down that path, ex-Hawthorn swingman Luke Surman might be an option. He walked away from the Hawks midway through 2017 after a year and a half on their rookie list, before returning to Norwood. Surman has joined Port Adelaide’s SANFL team as a top-up player.
RICHMOND
Vacant list spots: 2
Train-on players: Nicholas Couroupis (West Adelaide, SANFL), Derek Eggmolesse-Smith (Richmond), Josh Green (Marist AFC, ACT), Rhyan Mansell (Woodville-West Torrens, SANFL)
Eggmolesse-Smith is the obvious frontrunner for one of the two spots.
He played six games for the Tigers in 2020 and received two Brownlow Medal votes against North Melbourne yet was surprisingly delisted in November. But Mansell appears to be vying for the same spot as a speedy defender.
The 20-year-old is coming off four consecutive senior flags – three in Tasmania with Launceston and last season with SANFL club Woodville-West Torrens. Mansell gathered 19 disposals and had eight marks in the Eagles’ grand final win in October.
Green – the younger brother of GWS top-10 pick Tom Green and grandson of four-time premiership Tiger Michael Green – offers something different as a 192cm utility. Inside midfielder Couroupis played reserves for West Adelaide last season, where his kicking and defensive workrate stood out.
He was something of a draft smoky because he missed most of the 2018-19 campaigns with stress fractures in his back. On paper, it appears Eggmolesse-Smith and Mansell are battling for one position and Green and Couroupis for the other.
ST KILDA
Vacant list spots: 3
Train-on players: Mason Wood
Delisted North Melbourne forward Mason Wood is chasing an AFL lifeline after being invited to train with St Kilda.
Wood spent his first day at Moorabbin on Tuesday and is the only uncontracted player the Saints have invited to training.
St Kilda has one spare list spot that is able to fill under the AFL’s pre-season supplemental selection period before March 9.
A mid-sized forward at 192cm, Wood has struggled to live up to his potential and managed just eight AFL games for the Kangaroos last season.
Wood played 65 games and kicked 76 goals across seven seasons with North Melbourne.
The 27-year-old’s best goalkicking return in a season came in 2018 when he booted 22 goals from 13 games.
Elsewhere, former Melbourne defender Oscar McDonald is training with Carlton, while North Melbourne has invited Flynn Appleby (Collingwood) and Samuel Skinner (Brisbane) to training at Arden St.
Richmond defender Derek Eggmolesse-Smith and Carlton forward Callum Moore are also seeking second chances at their respective clubs after being delisted at the end of last season.
SYDNEY
Vacant list spots: 1
Train-on players: 0
The Swans are yet to name any train-on players, which may be a sign they will assess second-tier competitions and select someone in the mid-season draft.
Sydney might consider boosting its key defensive stocks, which look a touch thin behind Dane Rampe, Lewis Melican, Tom McCartin and Kaiden Brand. Would South Fremantle mature-age backman Chad Pearson be worth a punt? Or if the Swans want to go younger, how about Collins?
WESTERN BULLDOGS
Vacant list spots: 1*
Train-on players: Ewan Macpherson (Northern Knights), Corey Preston (Eastern Ranges), Anthony Scott (Footscray)
Sam Lloyd’s retirement last month made one position available but there would be two if the Bulldogs moved Toby McLean, recovering from an ACL, to the inactive list.
The three train-on players are very different. There is an overlooked father-son prospect, a youngster yet to feature in the NAB League and a VFL club best and fairest.
The Bulldogs opted against taking Macpherson, whose dad Stephen played 188 games for the club, as a father-son pick but invited the halfback/midfielder a chance to press his case over summer.
Macpherson was Vic Metro’s skipper at under-16 level and was set to co-captain Northern Knights last year before coronavirus struck. Preston is something of a wildcard. He has not featured in the NAB League, playing mainly for Eastern Football League club Ferntree Gully.
At 180cm, he is likely a small forward at AFL level. Preston is known for being a strong mark, neat skills and high vertical leap. The Dogs would know plenty about Scott, a midfielder who won Footscray’s best and fairest last year.
Given their riches in that area, you would not think the Bulldogs would need any more on-ball depth, which might boost Macpherson and Preston’s chances.
Clubs without vacant list spots: Brisbane Lions, Fremantle, Geelong, GWS Giants, Gold Coast and West Coast.
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Originally published as Ultimate guide: Players auditioning for AFL chance at clubs during pre-season
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