AFL draft rewind: Opinions have changed dramatically on the 2017 draft
The 2017 AFL draft was highly scrutinised, but one recruiter says North Melbourne young gun Luke Davies-Uniacke is on his way to fulfilling expectations.
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Before Brisbane anointed Cam Rayner as the dux of the much-scrutinised 2017 AFL Draft class, the Lions were open to wheeling and dealing.
A year earlier, they packaged pick two and a bunch of later selections to get Greater Western Sydney’s No. 3 (Hugh McCluggage) and 16 (became 17, Jarrod Berry).
Brisbane acquired gun small forward Charlie Cameron in 2017 for pick 12, which Adelaide spent on Darcy Fogarty, and was open to ‘splitting’ its top selection again.
The Saints had picks seven and eight, which were later used on Hunter Clark and Nick Coffield – two players they were linked to pre-draft – but they had the chance to get involved in a deal for the Lions’ No.1.
History shows that never eventuated, or got particularly close, in what was widely regarded as one of the most even draft crops in years.
However, both clubs should be delighted with how it all worked out.
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Rayner, Zac Bailey, Brandon Starcevich and even Jack Payne are proving to be terrific picks from Steve Conole and his recruiting team, while Clark, Coffield and Ben Paton look like gems for St Kilda.
It’s a draft overall that, especially at the top, was seriously maligned and has generated significant storylines, including three first-round selections seeking fresh starts at a second club.
“Initially in that draft, there were comments it wasn’t a great year to have three selections where we had them (in the first round),” Conole told the Herald Sun.
“We were really open and saw some depth there, then as the year unfolded and the (Under-18) Championships formed, there was a bit more confidence and everyone started thinking, ‘Gee, this isn’t a bad group’.”
No one argues now about the depth, given Oscar Allen, Tim Kelly, Noah Balta, Liam Ryan, Brent Daniels, Sam Taylor, Bayley Fritsch, Tom McCartin, Charlie Ballard and James Worpel found AFL homes after pick 20.
Liam Baker and Brody Mihocek were among the rookie selections.
OPINIONS ARE CHANGING
One AFL recruiter who was a sceptic of this draft class then and in the immediate years following has done a 180.
“The 2017 draft will stack up as a historically good draft,” he said. “I was definitely very, very wrong.”
The talent spotter highlighted No. 4 selection Luke Davies-Uniacke as one player who had surprised him and was on track to become an “elite” footballer.
He tipped power forward Aaron Naughton, Clark, Balta and Allen to emerge as the cream of the crop, but was also bullish about Bailey and Wil Powell, while calling Kelly and Ryan “very, very good”.
Naughton started as a key defender but has settled in attack, including one extraordinary five-goal performance against Richmond, where he took nine contested marks and seven inside 50.
Question marks remain on the likes of Rayner, Paddy Dow and Fogarty, the same recruiter thought.
West Coast’s Allen, the No. 21 selection, and Dockers Andrew Brayshaw and Adam Cerra, the second and fifth picks, respectively, have separately caught Conole’s eye for their positive progress.
Many recruiters rated Brayshaw and Cerra as the safest bets that year.
In many ways, though, two contrasting midfielders – Davies-Uniacke and the third player picked, Dow – were who guided much of the early perception about the 2017 draft.
Then-Kangaroos coach Brad Scott warned that Davies-Uniacke would be a slower burn than his top-10 draft peers, but there was impatience as he struggled to win much of the ball when he did play.
A long-term groin problem at the start of last year didn’t help, but he started to click once his body healed, with his line-breaking run and ability to shimmy through traffic among his weapons.
Davies-Uniacke is now described in some quarters as the most important piece in a North Melbourne midfield that includes Ben Cunnington, Jy Simpkin and Jed Anderson.
“My brief that year was to be aggressive and pick someone with upside who could become an elite-type player,” the Kangaroos’ national recruiting manager, Mark Finnigan, told the Herald Sun.
“We picked him knowing he might take a bit longer to get there, and on top of that he’s had a few injuries, but he’s starting to find his feet and tracking in the direction we hoped.”
Carlton pumped games into Dow in his first couple of seasons, but some wayward kicking and lack of regular impact saw those opportunities evaporate last year.
His inconsistency as a star junior was why some recruiters rated him lower than others in his draft year, whereas there were some who fell in love with his glimpses – dubbing him Paddy ‘Wow’.
Dow had one of those performances in the pre-season against Essendon and forced his way in for Round 1, but, unlike Davies-Uniacke, isn’t part of the first-choice midfield group yet.
The other footballer the Blues took in the top 10 that year, endurance athlete Lochie O’Brien, was dropped after playing in the season opener.
They chose him over Bulldog Ed Richards. Like Dow, O’Brien played heaps of senior games in 2018 and 2019, but they’ve dried up since.
He was a polarising prospect, with Carlton snaring him at pick 10, but another recruiter telling the Herald Sun this week that O’Brien wasn’t even on his list that year.
THE TIDE TURNED (FOR BETTER OR WORSE) IN 2020
Dow and O’Brien fell out of favour last season, while Jaidyn Stephenson – a standout winner of the 2018 Rising Star award – stalled at Collingwood after a 2019 betting scandal and other issues.
Stephenson was the subject of pre-draft drama when details of his heart condition emerged.
It’s understood about half of the 18 clubs wiped him off their draft board at that stage, but the Magpies swooped at selection six.
After 76 goals in 54 matches, Stephenson crossed at the end of last year to the rebuilding Kangaroos and won a career-high 33 disposals in Round 1.
At Arden Street, he joins first-round draft peers Davies-Uniacke and Aiden Bonar, who was traded from the Giants a season earlier after battling for senior chances.
Bonar’s still finding his way, but has settled into a defensive role at North and played both matches this year.
Elsewhere, Jack Higgins became an instant cult hero at Tigerland for his on-field genius and amusing one-liners, but life became tougher for him.
Not only was Richmond’s senior line-up difficult to crack into, but Higgins suffered a brain bleed in mid-2019 that saw him undergo serious surgery and ended his season prematurely.
The 22-year-old forward-midfielder managed 10 games last season before requesting a trade to St Kilda. He’s still rated highly.
Last year was a positive ‘moving’ season for others.
Clark and Coffield established themselves in defence at St Kilda, and Starcevich carved out a niche as a small lockdown backman for a strong Lions outfit.
Speaking about Clark on Fox Footy last week, Brisbane premiership great Jonathan Brown and Saints champion Nick Riewoldt agreed he had “star quality”.
Rayner showed progression, too, bobbing up and contributing to a series of key moments. He was primed for more midfield time in 2021, before going down with an ACL injury in early March.
“That draft is really starting to take shape,” Finnigan said. “There will be some 200-game players who come out of it.”
Then there’s Sydney’s Matt Ling, a left-footed speedster whose introduction to AFL football was ruined by toe and Achilles injuries.
Ling finally made his senior debut in Round 8 last year and added two further matches – but he hasn’t cracked the senior line-up this season.
Even so, Conole said this next “almost second phase of their career” was most critical.
“They’ve started to cement a spot and are getting comfortable, but now the challenge is to take the step in becoming regular AFL players,” Conole said.
“We’ll be watching the whole pool, and so many have set really solid foundations.
“It’s who really builds on that now, because that group of players will be the basis of how strong their clubs are in four or five years’ time.”
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