AFL Draft 2020: WA young guns Logan McDonald and Nathan O’Driscoll could be in the mix for the Crows’ first two picks
Gun key-forward Logan McDonald is one of three players Adelaide is likely to pick from at No. 1 in December’s AFL Draft. But could his star WA teammate join him at the Crows? Get the inside word on the club’s draft plans.
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It is an age-old question in Adelaide when it comes to what the Crows will do with their draft picks, but this time there are bigger stakes.
Will they choose a local or take an interstater?
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Two months out from this year’s national draft, Adelaide has the No. 1 selection for the first time after claiming a maiden wooden spoon and hometown forward/ruckman Riley Thilthorpe is a leading contender.
There are considered to be only two other candidates: West Australian key forward Logan McDonald and Victorian midfielder Elijah Hollands.
Unless things change dramatically during the trade period, Adelaide will enter the December 7 draft with its best ever hand and who it takes No. 1 will be among three key talking points for the club on the night.
The others are: what do the Crows do with the rest of their picks? And how many of their academy prospects will they draft?
This is an early analysis on how one of the most important night’s in the club’s rebuild may unfold:
THILTHORPE OR INTERSTATER?
Three AFL clubs contacted by The Advertiser are in the dark as to who the Crows will take first — but it will be hard for them to bypass West Adelaide’s Riley Thilthorpe.
There is some expectation Adelaide, which has a history of bidding on rivals’ academy prospects, will call out Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s name to keep the Western Bulldogs honest about their NGA talent, who has been likened to Lance Franklin.
Then Thilthorpe looms.
Yes, he has had groin issues, causing him to miss the last five minor rounds and stopping him from testing at last week’s AFL Draft Combine.
But he is a mobile 201cm and 99kg tall, has played in senior SANFL ranks for two seasons, is highly-professional and has potential to spearhead the club’s forward line for a decade, as well as offer ruck support for Reilly O’Brien.
Add to that, the Crows’ history of being burnt by the go-home factor and Thilthorpe is a tantalising prospect.
“Thilthorpe’s way up there and he’d certainly be under investigation — he’s very good,” a rival club’s recruiting manager told The Advertiser.
“He’s there if they want him.”
McDonald had greater output from his nine games in the WAFL this year than Thilthorpe’s nine in the SANFL, but it should be noted Thilthorpe spent some matches in the ruck and the Bloods won just twice, while Perth made the finals.
West Adelaide football manager Wayne Siekman believed the Crows “would be mad” if they did not pick Thilthorpe.
“I think they’re very interested,” Siekman said.
“Anyone that’s homegrown, lives around the corner and has shown that talent for that many years, it’s hard not to be.
“I don’t think anyone’s 200cm who can run the way he does and understand the game of footy.
“He’s had an overload of groins this year because he wants to get better in certain areas and all he needed was rest, which he’s getting now in preparation for next year.”
History suggests the Crows can expect parochial backlash if they overlook Thilthorpe for a non-South Australian.
Adelaide copped criticism for taking Victorians Patrick Dangerfield (pick 10, 2007) and Jake Lever (No. 14, 2014) instead of locals Brad Ebert and Sam Durdin — two decisions that were quickly justified.
But there is plenty of appeal in taking McDonald or Hollands.
In a season without junior football in Victoria, the 196cm and 85kg McDonald had arguably the best campaign of any prospect in the country to help Perth end a 22-year finals drought.
Known for his strong marking, hard running and athleticism, he could immediately rejuvenate Adelaide’s forward line.
McDonald last month told AFL.com.au he had not thought much about where he would be selected.
“It’s a good thing if people are talking about you and I think I’m someone who loves pressure,” McDonald said.
“I want to go as far as I can in the draft and hopefully I’m going the right way about that.”
Hollands is a Crows supporter, having been born in Adelaide during his dad, ex-Richmond player Ben’s, time with the Bloods and lived in SA until the age of eight.
The Murray Bushrangers product seems a longer shot to be Adelaide’s first pick because he is recovering from an ACL injury sustained in February.
He has not played this year but neither have other Victorian prospects because of the coronavirus so may not slide in the draft.
Hollands, who stands 188cm and 85kg, is a long kick, explosive in stoppages, is rated the best midfielder in the pool and can be a handful in attack.
The Advertiser understands Adelaide has done plenty of homework on him and his injury.
“He’s is a good player too so it’ll be a big call (for the Crows),” a rival recruiting boss said.
Murray Bushrangers talent manager Mick Wilson said Hollands’ football IQ was “through the roof” and he was extremely versatile.
“He ticks so many boxes but of course there’s a risk with all players that have a knee injury, particularly a significant one,” Wilson said.
“He’s done the work … and is meeting all the benchmarks according to all the medical reviews.”
West Australian key defender Denver Grainger-Barras is also regarded as a top-five candidate but he is not believed to be in the mix for the Crows’ initial selection — it is a three-horse race.
So will Adelaide take a local or interstater?
The three clubs The Advertiser spoke to said it was still too early to know what the Crows were thinking and usually they did not get more idea of rivals’ plans until after the trade period.
One rival official said Adelaide should keep it simple.
“The moment that you steer away from taking the best talent because you’re worried about the go-home factor, you should shut the door,” the official said.
“They’ll work it out.”
L OCAL TALENT: SA’S TOP 30 DRAFT PROSPECTS
WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER PICKS?
Adelaide’s draft hand as it stands is pick eight (received from GWS last year), 20, 29, 44 and 50 but expect that to change.
Not only will there be compensation picks for Joe Daniher, Zac Williams, Aidan Corr and most likely Brad Crouch, trades of Jackson Hately and Adam Saad to finalise and many other moves to come — all while clubs, players, potential draftees and managers wait for AFL confirmation of 2021 list sizes.
But the Crows are set to be a key player in the lead-up to the draft and on the night itself because of the valuable hand they hold.
The expected Crouch compensation is still to be factored in, but seems likely to be an end-of-first-round call, rather than pick No.2.
There has been some suggestion Adelaide may try to deal for the Bulldogs’ 12th selection to allow them to stock up on points with later picks to afford Ugle-Hagan.
If Adelaide takes Thilthorpe or McDonald, a midfielder will surely be in its sights next.
That may bring Oakleigh Chargers accumulator Will Phillips or classy Geelong Falcon Tanner Bruhn into the mix at eight — a pick that will slide once there are academy bids for Ugle-Hagan, Braeden Campbell, who is tied to Sydney, and possibly even Port Adelaide prospect Lachie Jones.
Also keep an eye on West Australian inside midfielder Nathan O’Driscoll.
He told 9 News in Perth this week that the Crows had been talking to his and McDonald’s parents about trying to keep them together.
The later picks could help Adelaide snare one or more of its trio of academy prospects.
MORE DRAFT NEWS
AFL Draft 2020: Check out the best midfielders in this year’s class
AFL Draft 2020: The best tall prospects and key-position players from each state
AFL Draft 2020: The next-gen kids your club is eyeing and indicative draft picks
September power rankings: South Australia’s 30 top AFL Draft prospects
NEXT GENERATION PROSPECTS
The Crows are no certainties to secure father-son prospect Luke Edwards or Next Generation talent James Borlase and Tariek Newchurch, even though they can match rival clubs’ bids so long as they have the requisite points on draft night.
Edwards — a Glenelg utility and son of Crows great Tyson Edwards — has not yet declared if he will nominate the Crows, where his dad is a two-time flag winner and 300-gamer, saying last week that he will have to talk to Adelaide this month to decide his future.
But several people with links to Edwards told The Advertiser they would be shocked if he opted to commit to the Crows and they expected him to make himself available to other clubs.
The Edwards family is known to have had issues with Adelaide, stemming from oldest son Jackson’s time as a rookie.
He attended the Crows’ controversial 2017 pre-season camp and was delisted at the end of the following year without playing a game.
This year, Edwards played one league match for Glenelg, as well as seven in the reserves and three under-18s.
Sturt defender Borlase’s stock rose in the back half of the campaign, culminating with him being best afield in the SA All-Schools Cup grand final and testing well at the combine.
He dominated the schools decider for Prince Alfred College, proving impenetrable down back, where he took a stack of intercept marks in the win over Henley High.
Borlase — the Egypt-born son of Port Adelaide SANFL premiership captain Darryl Borlase — is understood to have had interest from Victorian clubs and has no issues moving interstate, but the Crows are keen on him and he has been at West Lakes in recent weeks.
He is ineligible to join Port as a father-son selection due to Darryl falling short of the required minimum of 200 games before the Power’s AFL entry in 1997.
Like with most academy prospects across the league, where bids come for Borlase and Newchurch, and what picks they have, will determine whether the Crows match.
North Adelaide small forward Newchurch fills a lot of needs for the Crows, such as speed, X-factor and goal scoring, and he is coming off strong late-season performances.
He played well in the all-schools final for Henley and kicked four majors and was third-best in his last SANFL under-18 match.
The 185cm, 72kg Indigenous talent has generated interest from rival clubs but some expect Adelaide to pick him up so have not invested a lot of time into him.
An Adelaide supporter, he was awarded the Crows’ Children’s Foundation Academies scholarship to support his development on and off the field this year.
He is in doubt to play in the SA futures game at Thebarton Oval on October 23 due to a fractured finger.
CROWS LOCK AWAY BARGAIN RECRUIT WITH NEW DEAL
By Matt Turner
Ben Keays has been rewarded for his impressive first season at Adelaide by signing a new two-year contract.
The ex-Brisbane midfielder joined the Crows via pick six in last year’s rookie draft and went on to be a shining light in their worst season.
He played all but the first game for the wooden-spooner, ranking fourth at the club for disposals in 2020, fourth in tackles, third for inside 50s and fourth for clearances.
Last month Keays finished fifth in Adelaide’s best and fairest and won its Players’ Trademark Award.
The 23-year-old Queenslander said he was grateful to receive a second chance at Adelaide.
“I wanted to make sure I made the most of the opportunity I was given,” said Keays, who played 30 games at the Lions before being delisted.
“Having the faith of my coaches and teammates has helped me play the strongest footy of my career so far.
“I’ve loved the year despite the challenges and it’s great to be able to repay everyone’s faith in me by signing on.”
Brisbane drafted Keays with pick 24 in the 2015 national draft.
Crows list manager Justin Reid said Keays was an important part of the club’s future.
“He has impressed everyone with his professionalism and training ethic, and his desire to get the best out of himself sets a strong example for his teammates,” Reid said.
The Crows have also re-signed ruckman Kieran Strachan on a one-year deal.
Strachan joined Adelaide via the 2018 rookie draft and played his sole match in Round 9.
He was the only true ruckman backing up best and fairest winner Reilly O’Brien this year.
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Originally published as AFL Draft 2020: WA young guns Logan McDonald and Nathan O’Driscoll could be in the mix for the Crows’ first two picks