By Peter Ryan
Money TalksCredit: The Age
Brisbane Lions father-son prospect Levi Ashcroft could become the second player to attract a bid at pick one of the national draft in November as clubs start to drill down on ranking the 2024 national draft pool.
St Kilda president Andrew Bassat’s outburst about the AFL’s draft system at the Saints’ best and fairest put the spotlight on the fact the premiers will pick up the highly rated junior who is the brother of Norm Smith Medal winner Will Ashcroft and son of triple premiership Lion, Marcus Ashcroft.
Three club list managers who wished to remain anonymous to speak freely about draft matters considered the 18-year-old a top three selection in an open pool with the decision on when the bid comes down to an individual club’s willingness to make that call.
A bid will come for Lions’ father-son prospect Levi Ashcroft within the first five selections.
Some clubs with the No.1 selection in the draft have shown a preference to not use the first pick to make a bid as they want to ensure the player selected ends up in their jumper.
Adelaide are the only club to use the No.1 pick on a father-son or academy prospect with the Crows choosing Western Bulldogs forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan at pick one before settling on exciting local forward Riley Thilthorpe with pick two after the bid was matched.
None of the clubs involved at the pointy end of the draft have given an indication whether they would be prepared to bid on Levi Ashcroft who had an outstanding season with the Sandringham Dragons, which won the Coates Talent League premiership. In his VFL match with the Lions he had 35 disposals against the Giants. Richmond hold the first selection with North Melbourne the second and West Coast the third pick.
Marcus Ashcroft during the latter stages of his career in 2002.Credit: Getty Images
The Kangaroos lodged a bid for Gold Coast’s Jed Walter at pick three last season and on Will Ashcroft at pick two in the 2022 national draft. The Giants lodged a bid for Western Bulldogs’ father-son Sam Darcy at pick two in 2021 while the Suns lodged a bid for Collingwood’s Nick Daicos at pick four in the same season, showing that clubs are no longer hesitant to use high picks to make bids.
Despite the AFL delaying the introduction of a new bidding system which will force clubs to pay a higher price for father-son and academy graduates until 2025, the Lions still face a difficult battle to gather enough points for both Ashcroft and academy graduate Sam Marshall, under the system that has been in place since 2015.
The Lions have picks 18, 56, 69 and 92 in their hand and will likely look to maximise the value of pick 18 to accumulate enough points to match the bid.
Half the clubs in the competition are putting their most serious bids to the Gold Coast to get pick 12 as the Suns need points for academy graduate Leo Lombard, but they may turn their attention to pick 18 once that question is resolved.
The Lions will also need to keep in mind that academy prospect Daniel Annable is also due to graduate ahead of the 2025 national draft with clubs pondering whether they may have to trade out a required player at some point to achieve that goal.
Collingwood land Perryman but miss out on football boss target
Collingwood have missed out on landing Port Adelaide football boss Chris Davies as the hunt to replace Graham Wright continues, but they have secured GWS free agent Harry Perryman on a six-year deal.
The 25-year-old Perryman informed his former club of his decision on Tuesday.
Perryman’s call is a win for the Magpies, who are still on the hunt for a football manager to replace Wright after Davies decided to remain in Adelaide, according to two industry sources with knowledge of Davies’ decision.
Harry Perryman has chosen to accept a six-year offer from Collingwood.Credit: Getty Images
Collingwood president Jeff Browne and football director Paul Licuria are leading the search for a replacement for Wright, who chose to pursue other opportunities following a sabbatical overseas. Wright is a huge loss for the Magpies, who also chased the Brisbane Lions’ football manager Danny Daly. Daly will remain with the premiership team.
Perryman attracted interest from Port Adelaide, Adelaide and Hawthorn throughout the year, but the Magpies made a significant offer that turned his head late in the season.
Collingwood had learned that running defender John Noble wanted a trade to the Gold Coast and then key defender Mark Keane decided against pursuing a trade that would have seen him return to the Magpies and instead extended his time with the Crows.
That cleared room for Perryman to not only fill several roles but arrive without having cost a draft pick with the Giant shaping as a perfect replacement for Steele Sidebottom when his career ends. The Magpies are keen to add a tall defender to the mix to replace premiership defender Nathan Murphy who was forced into early retirement due to concussion.
Perryman spent the weekend weighing up his offers before deciding to join the club his family has long supported. He is expected to play a range of roles at Collingwood including in the midfield as well as defence after showing his talent as a reliable defender in 129 matches for the Giants.
Perryman was a major attraction for several clubs as he is an unrestricted free agent, meaning he can move to his club of choice without being traded. He would likely command compensation at the end of the first round for the Giants due to the length and potential size of his contract.
From the Riverina, Perryman is one of several Giants considering their future, with Isaac Cumming joining Adelaide as an unrestricted free agent.
The Giants remain hopeful of retaining in-demand midfielder James Peatling, who has several clubs including Melbourne, St Kilda, Collingwood and Adelaide interested, while Conor Stone may also remain as opportunities to play AFL open up.
Midfielder Xavier O’Halloran has attracted interest from the Western Bulldogs and swingman Wade Derksen wants to join Melbourne, but the Giants say they are contracted and won’t be traded.
Collingwood is also waiting on a decision from small forward Joe Richards who is yet to decide whether to continue with the Magpies
North Melbourne gaining traction in market as Houston departure uncertain
Former West Coast key forward Jack Darling is expected to be one of the first trades completed next Monday when the Kangaroos hand over a late pick to land the 298-game premiership player. Pick 64 is expected to be enough to complete the deal with Darling appealing to North Melbourne because of his willingness to play a team-oriented role inside the Kangaroos forward line.
Sydney premiership player and former Swans’ skipper Luke Parker is also expected to speak to Sydney this week about his desire to join the Kangaroos on a multi-year deal after 293 matches with the Swans.
Parker has one year remaining on his contract but was starved of opportunities in the midfield this season after Sydney recruited Taylor Adams from Collingwood and then Isaac Heeney starred as a midfielder.
Luke Parker remains contracted to the Swans but has attracted interest from North MelbourneCredit: Getty Images
Parker played as a defensive forward in the grand final and kicked three goals in the final quarter in a disappointing afternoon for the club against the Brisbane Lions. Parker also laid more tackles than any other Swan in the match.
The Kangaroos are also in the hunt for Port Adelaide’s Dan Houston but his club’s willingness to let the All-Australian return to Victoria with three years remaining on his contract has become more complicated after Perryman and Cumming’s decisions to join the Magpies and the Crows respectively. It means they do not have a natural replacement for the 27-year-old and another running defender Kane Farrell is a free agent at the end of next season.
However, a deal could still get done if those pursuing Houston have the draft capital to satisfy Port Adelaide with Carlton one of numerous clubs chasing Gold Coast’s pick 12 as they retain an interest in Houston. The Kangaroos’ future picks are likely to be valuable as a significant rise up the ladder is not be expected until 2026, and they are also interested in using a future pick to bring in a pick in this year’s draft.
Western Bulldogs’ defender Caleb Daniel is also weighing up whether he wants to pursue interest from North Melbourne or continue his career at the Bulldogs, where he has won a premiership and a best and fairest. The popular Daniel put his head down and won back his spot after being left out of the team in round one however he is no guarantee to be in the Bulldogs’ best 23. He is contracted until the end of 2026.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.