AFL Draft 2020: The Victorian smokies hurt most by NAB season shutdown
The NAB League cancellation left a number of Victorian draft hopefuls unable to showcase their skills in 2020. These are the players impacted most.
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The scrapped NAB League season may not have had much impact on the bona fide stars in Victoria, but there is no doubting the impact for those on the periphery.
Each year many prospects burst onto the scene as 18-year-olds and rocket up draft boards, a luxury that hasn’t been afforded to Victorians this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Performances in a top-age year ultimately have the biggest say on whether a player is drafted – just ask South Australian bolter Brayden Cook, who came from the clouds after a barnstorming top age year and is now in first round calculations.
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While the likes of Elijah Hollands and glittering Oakleigh duo Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Will Phillips had showed their undoubted talents last year, others were only able to show glimpses.
Key position products who had not quite developed enough, inside midfielders stuck in the queue behind 2019 draftees and luckless prospects who were sidelined with injury.
And countless others who began to show their wares at the back end of last season, who were set for a bumper 2020 campaign.
Check out the Victorian smokies who were hurt most by the season shutdown.
NAB LEAGUE
Bendigo Pioneers
Cobi Maxted has come on in leaps and bounds since his bottom age year, where he managed four games in defence for the Pioneers.
The 186-centimetre product showed promise as a key forward in both practice games earlier in the year – with his attack on the ball and leap standing out – and has good speed and mobility.
Co-captain Jack Evans is a rangy wingman/halfback who was expected to attract more interest with the opportunity push his case to recruiters in 2020.
The Echuca native is a composed ball-user and a good runner, averaging 16.6 disposals, 3.6 inside 50s and 88 KFC SuperCoach points per game in 11 NAB League games last season.
Both are viewed as chances to be picked up as 19-year-olds next year.
Calder Cannons
Key forward Josh Eyre, one of two Essendon Next Generation Academy prospects at the Cannons along with Cody Brand, blitzed the Vic Country draft combine with fantastic all-round results.
Eyre, who has been held back by injuries throughout his junior years, boosted his draft stocks with second-placed finishes in the two-kilometre time trial (6 mins, 31 seconds), 20-metre sprint (2.89 seconds) and both the standing and running vertical jump tests.
That is impressive athleticism for a 197cm tall.
Matthew Allison, another mobile tall forward standing 191cm, was tipped to thrive in his top-age year after his eye-catching form in pre-season practice matches.
He showcased his exceptional work rate with a time of 6:17 in the 2km time trial.
Dandenong Stingrays
Big things were expected from quick inside midfielder Will Bravo in 2020, who has flown under the radar despite being arguably the Stingray’s most promising draft hopeful.
Bayleigh Welsh began to blossom in the back half of 2019 with his run and carry from defence.
The speedy halfback boasts strong leadership qualities and stood out in Dandenong’s pre-season games before the NAB League season was postponed and then abandoned due to COVID-19.
Flanker/wingman Deakyn Smith, a natural footballer who played nationals at under-16 level, had worked hard on improving his skills – one of his deficiencies in the past – over the pre-season.
Eastern Ranges
Corey Preston is the closest thing to a draft bolter in the Victorian crop, having received a combine invite without playing a single NAB League game.
Last season saw the dynamic 180cm forward/midfielder – who has great hands overhead – unable to crack into a strong Ranges side with his campaign marred by glandular fever.
Eastern was excited about his prospects this year but the scrapped NAB League season means Preston remains a great unknown for recruiters.
Jack Diedrich, a 200cm forward/ruck, has areas of improvement but is very mobile and reasonable upside.
Geelong Falcons
Charlie Ham – a late bloomer like his brother, Essendon defender Brayden – was tipped to dominate off halfback this season for the Falcons.
The slim defender showed a rapid rate of improvement from his bottom-age year during Geelong’s pre-season hit-outs, impressing with his dare and decision making.
Blake Reid spent most of his year playing school football with Geelong Grammar in 2019 and battled niggling injuries throughout the year, managing two NAB League matches.
The 179cm defender/midfielder has tidy skills and is incredibly agile, leading all comers in the agility test conducted during the pre-season.
Gippsland Power
Wingman Ryan Angwin came from the clouds at the backend of 2019 and has since shown his standout athletic traits.
The 184cm midfielder took out the Vic Country 2km time trial (6:11) and finished in the top-five in the running vertical jump trial (80cm).
He is viewed as a prospect with major upside who was sure to impress in his top-age year. Will Papley, the brother of Sydney goalsneak Tom, endured an injury interrupted campaign last season and was another who could have risen up draft boards if the NAB League went ahead in 2020.
An exciting forward/inside midfielder, he has exceptional footy IQ and forward craft, like his older brother, but may not have the runs on the board.
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Greater Western Victoria Rebels
Running machine Harry Sharp obliterated the 2km time trial record – set by Collingwood midfielder and former Rebel Jay Rantall last year – at the Vic Metro combine with a staggering time of 5:28.
A junior steeplechase champion, Sharp has split his time between athletics and football, possessing good skills to go with his elite endurance.
Returning over-age players Isaac Wareham and Liam Herbert were perhaps the players most affected by the season shutdown at the Rebels.
Wareham, a speedy midfielder/defender who uses the ball well, had a great pre-season training with Geelong’s VFL side, after his draft year of 2019 was ended prematurely by a serious knee injury.
Herbert only joined the Rebels program in 2019 and showed promise through the middle, having represented Australia in basketball alongside Rantall as a junior.
Record broken in AFL Draft Combine test today with GWV Rebels Harry Sharp running a 5 minutes 28 seconds for 2 Km - brilliant performance! pic.twitter.com/6Fr1CXEwig
— Kevin Sheehan (@AFL_Shifter) October 31, 2020
Northern Knights
Liam Kolar has unique athletic traits for a 195cm prospect, recording the third quickest 2km time trial time (6:02) and a top four finish in the 20m sprint (2.87 seconds) at the Vic Metro combine.
Coming from an athletics background, Kolar was plucked by the Knights last year, playing three games, and has growing interest from clubs.
Raw 194cm forward Liam McMahon had more opportunity than Kolar but was set for an improved season.
He registered the sixth best vertical jump (86cm) at the Vic Metro combine, which comes as no surprise considering his high-marking feats in the NAB League in 2019.
Liam Bowne is a small forward with explosive speed and agility.
Interrupted by a bout of glandular fever last year, Bowne was born on December 31st 2002 – making him one-day off being ineligible for the 2020 draft.
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Murray Bushrangers
Dominic Bedendo was another to impress at combine testing, recording the highest running vertical jump (99cm) in the draft pool and a speedy time of 2.95 seconds in the 20m sprint (third at Vic Country combine).
An athletic medium forward who can stand on top of heads, Bedendo played nine games during the back-half of the year for the Bushrangers and would likely have shown greater consistency in 2020.
Zavier Maher is an inside midfielder with explosive speed (2.887 seconds in 20m sprint) who played just six matches for Murray last season.
Recruiters saw enough of him in his best-and-fairest winning season for Caulfield Grammar in school football last season, but higher possession counts and Vic Country honours were set to come his way in 2020.
Oakleigh Chargers
Inside midfielder Lochlan Jenkins finished second in the Chargers best-and-fairest as a bottom-ager – to a solid ball-winner named Matt Rowell – and was one Oakleigh were eager to see in action in 2020.
Jenkins tallied 18.6 disposals, 4.2 clearances and 88 SuperCoach points per game in his 18 matches last season and would have built on that without the likes of Rowell and Noah Anderson, Giorgio Varagiannis, a quick outside midfielder with good skills, and tough inside midfielder Fraser Elliot also managed strong possession tallies last season and would have had greater opportunity to press their claims.
Tall swingman Sam Tucker is very athletic and was due to play through the midfield at stages in 2020 after breaking in for six NAB League games last year.
Sandringham Dragons
Ruckman Max Heath was unable to have the opportunity to compete with Falcons big man Henry Walsh for the number one ruck spot in the pool and stamp his claim further to recruiters.
The competitive 202cm tall excelled during the pre-season and his rapid rate of improvement was expected to continue during the season.
Fraser Rosman, a 192cm forward with extreme running capacity, and Lachie Carrigan, a lean outside midfielder, are both raw talents who received combine invites.
Rosman clocked a rapid time of 5:52 in the 2km time trial – beaten only by Harry Sharp – and finished the 20m sprint in 2.896 seconds (fifth).
Darby Hipwell is a typical inside midfielder who had taken considerable strides during the pre-season.
He played five matches for Sandringham last year, mixing his time with Brighton in the talent-laden APS competition, and was likely to be named co-captain along with possible second round selection Jake Bowey.
Charlie McKay, the son of 244-game Blue Andrew, began to enter draft calculations after an improved pre-season and was set to occupy a starting midfield spot for the Dragons.
Western Jets
Billy Cootee was predicted to be named captain of the Jets if the season went ahead, in what would have been an important year for the clever inside midfielder.
A duel sportsman, captaining the Vic Metro under-17 cricket squad, Cootee managed just five NAB League games in 2019 due to being sidelined with an achilles injury and juggling his cricket commitments.
Cody Raak, a versatile tall tied to the Western Bulldogs as an NGA prospect, could have pushed his case further with another year of development.
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