By Marc McGowan
South Australia’s under-18s coach, Tony Bamford, hopes the Camporeale twins – Ben and Lucas – both end up at Carlton in this year’s draft, despite the pending changes to father-son and academy rules.
AFL football operations boss Laura Kane revealed at the weekend that the changes, part of the broader competitive balance review, might be introduced as soon as this year, which would most affect the Blues, Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast and even Richmond.
Ben Camporeale (left) can join Carlton in this year’s draft via the father-son rule.Credit: AFL Photos
That scenario would leave Carlton facing a more challenging task to bring in both Adelaide-based sons of premiership Blue Scott, who are tipped to be drafted by the second round at the latest.
Ben Camporeale was best afield in last year’s AFL Futures game and is typically rated the higher of the twins, but there are recruiters who prefer the left-footed Lucas, who some consider to be a superior kick.
“They’re both great kids, and both love Carlton,” Bamford said.
“Carlton have done a lot of work with them and supported their footy journey, so from a feel-good-story perspective, I’d like them to end up at Carlton. They’re grateful for all their opportunities, and are respectful, highly driven, motivated and competitive young men who are desperate to play in the AFL.”
Sandringham Dragons midfielder Levi Ashcroft, the son of triple premiership-winning ex-Lion Marcus and brother of Will, is as good as certain to be a top-three selection this year and can join Brisbane via the father-son rule.
The Lions also have promising academy talents Sam Marshall and Ryan Gilder, while the Giants have ruckman Logan Smith.
“We will make sure we get through the player movement outcomes, including father-sons, in the next couple of months,” Kane told SEN. “The clubs have been on notice. We’ve been talking about this for 12 months.”
Levi Ashcroft is set to follow his brother Will (main image) and father Marcus (inset) in playing for the Lions.Credit: Getty Images
However, four club list management sources, who spoke to this masthead on the condition of anonymity because the rule tweaks were still to be decided, remain in the dark on exactly what the changes will be.
Their expectation is the AFL will make it tougher for clubs to match bids rather than them being able to bundle together late selections for top-end prospects. One possible scenario would mean clubs needing to use a pick from the same round the bid comes in.
Those same sources were in unison that any new rules should not be actioned until next year’s draft, given trade decisions were already made under the current system.
The rules in place now enable clubs to match opposition bids on father-son and northern academy players as part of a points system, which includes a 20 per cent discount in the first round.
The Suns matched bids on four academy players – Jed Walter (pick three), Ethan Read (nine), Jake Rogers (14) and Will Graham (26) – in the first round last year, using a smattering of lower selections to do so. They used picks 26, 30 and 32 to match North Melbourne’s bid on Walter, while gaining 58 and 87 in return.
They have another potential top-10 academy prospect, midfielder Leonardo Lombard, in this year’s draft.
But clubs cannot match a bid on a Next Generation Academy player until pick 40 or beyond under the current set-up.
Essendon are set to miss out on exciting small forward Isaac Kako on this basis, like Melbourne (Mac Andrew), St Kilda (Cam Mackenzie), West Coast (Lance Collard) and Fremantle (Mitch Edwards) in previous years.
Hawk Cam Mackenzie was in St Kilda’s Next Generation Academy.Credit: AFL Photos
The Tigers made a series of trades last year to bolster their 2024 draft hand, positioning themselves to benefit and move up the order as a partner for clubs looking to add points to help them match bids on father-son and/or academy prospects.
They would be in an awkward spot if rules change dramatically, whereby later selections were no longer as valuable for clubs with father-son or academy prospects.
The Camporeales are not the only father-son prospects in South Australia, with Tyler Welsh (Adelaide), Rome Burgoyne and Louie Montgomery (both Port Adelaide) also eligible.
Welsh is certain to continue his father Scott’s legacy at the Crows, but unlikely to attract a top-30 bid, particularly given his up-and-down form at the national under-18 championships.
“He’s a pure talent player, who plays on instincts, but he’s got to build more consistency into his game,” Bamford said.
“Forwards rely a bit on what’s happening up the ground to showcase their skill set, but he knows there are aspects of his game he needs to keep working on … [but] he’ll end up at the Crows, whether that’s in the national draft or being rookie-listed.”
South Australia’s other leading draft hopes are midfielder and possible top-five pick Sid Draper, key forward Charlie Nicholls, ruckman Alex Dodson – who has represented Australia at underage level in basketball – defender Angus Clarke and high half-forward Jacob Newton.
The frontrunner to be next year’s No.1 selection, 188-centimetre midfielder Dyson Sharp, also hails from SA.
Sharp, 17, won the Kevin Sheehan Medal as the best player at last year’s under-16 championships and has performed well as a bottom-age player in this year’s under-18 equivalent.
“Dyson’s clearly a talented player, and is a big boy for his age. His ability to win the ball or stop the opposition from taking it away at stoppages is clearly elite,” Bamford said.
“He’s also good overhead for a midfielder. He’s got to keep working on his fitness and repeat speed running, but he’s a star. I’m trying to keep a lid on it a little bit because there is so much pressure on these kids.”
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