AFL Draft 2022: All the latest news and intel
As Tasmania awaits an announcement about a 19th AFL licence, the state has hit a lean draft patch. Will it change this year? See their potential chances and where they could land.
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Here’s all the latest draft news from around the country.
TASSIE’S DRAFT DROUGHT TO END
Tasmania’s AFL draft drought will end this year with up to five prospects in the mix to join AFL clubs in November’s draft intake.
The Apple Isle has produced seven prospects in three years – only two of those draftees remain on AFL lists – in a lean patch for the state where Covid-19 shutdowns have heavily impacted their junior program.
Richmond defender/wingman Sam Banks – taken by the Tigers at pick 29 last year – was the only Tasmanian taken in the national draft during that period.
Their potential haul this year will be a welcome boost as an announcement on Tasmania’s 19th licence looms, with Tasmania Devils talent manager Jeromey Webberley believing at least three products are likely to be taken, headlined by explosive defender Lachie Cowan.
Cowan, a possible first-round prospect, is certain to be the first Tasmanian called out on draft night after a scintillating season where he tied for the Morrish Medal in the NAB League, averaging 27 disposals, eight intercepts and 141 ranking points.
Sydney is among his suitors and will be right in the mix for their two first-round selections slated at 14 and 17.
Speedy key defender Tom McCallum will appeal to clubs in the second round, while small forward Seth Campbell has attracted interest from a handful of clubs including Carlton in the back-half of the draft.
Crafty 19-year-old forward Brandon Leary, who came second in the NAB League goalkicking with 33 majors – has been linked to reigning premiers Geelong and Hawthorn later in the piece, while developing ruckman Cam Owen is also considered a chance to be taken later on.
The Devils also have a promising draft crop next year, boasting three representatives – Colby McKercher, Jack Callinan and Arie Schoenmaker in the Under-17 All Stars game on grand final day.
Webberley conceded living up to the expectation of previous decades – where Tasmania consistently punched above its weight in producing talent – has been challenging and expected Tasmania’s draft hauls to continue to fluctuate each year.
“It is a very exciting time within Tassie footy, obviously we have got a pending announcement which everyone is sort of on the edge of their seat waiting for,” Webberley told the Herald Sun.
“Of course we would have liked to have more drafted over the past couple of years but it’s going to ebb and flow a little bit (with our low population) and this year we potentially have three, if we get lucky we may get a couple more so.
“We’ve had such a rich history and sometimes when we try to live up to that it can be quite challenging.”
COULD EARLY BID COME FOR CROWS FATHER-SON GUN?
It could be a nervous first night of the draft for Adelaide, with a potential early bid for Max Michalanney looming.
The Crows have officially nominated Michalanney, the son of Norwood great Jim, who played 211 SANFL games for the Redlegs between 1974 and 1986, as a father-son prospect and will be able to match any rival bid in this month’s national draft.
And that could come earlier than in the 25-40 range that many expect, with one club recruiter telling News Corp this week that even a bid in the teens wouldn’t be a surprise.
The Bulldogs are understood to be big fans of the classy, competitive defender, who played three senior games for Norwood this year and was named in the under-18 All-Australian team.
They have selections 11 and 21 – with the second pick appearing the more likely spot – while Sydney and GWS hold four of the final five calls of the first round.
Adelaide gave up pick 5 in a deal with Gold Coast for South Australian young gun Izak Rankine.
It also traded pick 23 to North Melbourne for 59 and the Roos’ future second-round selection, in a move to strengthen its hand for 2023 before the value of this year’s hand gets wiped out by matching a Michalanney bid.
After a separate trade with Brisbane, the Crows hold picks 46, 56 and 59 – selections which equate to 683 draft points.
A 20% discount is applied to any father-son bid in the first round, meaning if a club called Michalanney’s name at pick 17, it would cost Adelaide 820 points (1025 less the discount) to match.
The discount on any bid from the second-round onwards is capped at 197, meaning a bid at pick 25 would see the Crows give up 559 points (756 less the discount).
Clubs can go into a points deficit, affecting their draft hand the following year, but a bid inside the top 20 would make things interesting inside the Crows’ draft room, especially if it’s on the first night.
BETTS CONNECTION FOR BOMBERS PROSPECT
Essendon father-son prospect Alwyn Davey Jnr is living with ex-AFL champion Eddie Betts in the countdown to the AFL national draft later this month.
The son of former Bombers forward Alwyn Davey, the 18-year-old had been boarding at Xavier College.
However, Davey finished the last of his Year 12 exams last Monday and has since moved in with Betts and his family.
Davey hails from Darwin but told News Corp earlier this year that he loved life in Melbourne.
“I love to roam around the city and enjoy the city life,” he said.
Betts has taken in and mentored other indigenous players in the past, including Geelong premiership player Tyson Stengle.
The former Carlton and Adelaide star retired from the top level last year after 350 senior games, before serving as a development coach with Geelong this season.
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Alwyn and his twin brother Jayden have both nominated Essendon under the AFL’s father-son rules as they seek to follow in the footsteps of their father and pull on the red and black.
Alwyn is considered a potential top-20 selection, while Jayden is expected to be picked later in the draft after missing this year with an ACL injury.
Essendon is interested in trading pick 22, which would be wiped out if a bid for Alwyn comes before that point.
Interested clubs Western Bulldogs (pick 21) and West Coast (pick 20) shape as the main threats to the Bombers.
It is believed three clubs are interested in Essendon Next Generation Academy member Anthony Munkara, who the Bombers will be hoping slides past the first 40 picks which are protected from Academy bids being matched.
Sides such as Fremantle (30, 43 and 44), Port Adelaide (33) Hawthorn (41) and North Melbourne (40) have picks that are in the danger zone for Essendon.
IS THIS KID THE NEXT JAMES SICILY?
He idolises Hawthorn’s James Sicily and hasn’t had a “proper’’ haircut for 10 years.
He also is one of South Australia’s hottest draft prospects.
Meet Glenelg’s Jakob Ryan.
A self-confessed “happy-go-lucky’’ character, the 18-year-old’s star continues to rise.
The athletic, rebounding defender, who models his game on Hawks 2022 club champion Sicily, is skyrocketing up draft boards, with AFL talent ambassador Kevin Sheehan claiming he “could be SA’s second-best prospect’’ behind powerful Eagles midfielder Mattaes Phillipou.
It’s expected Ryan will hear his name called in the early-to-mid second round.
SA under-18 coach Tony Bamford said Ryan had this year “done a lot of work to significantly improve his ability to win one-on-one contests, which now complements his offensive impact’’.
It is all part of his grand plan to emulate his hero Sicily, who he is even nicknamed after and unexpectedly met (and had a photograph with) at last month’s AFL Draft Combine at Marvel Stadium.
“I’ve been a big James Sicily fan for the past four or five years,’’ said Ryan, who has supported Hawthorn since it stunningly upset Geelong in the 2008 grand final.
“I love the way he plays, being that intercept type defender, his flair, unique personality and the fact that he is a little bit different on the field.
“He plays on the edge, with a bit of spunk and takes the game on and I try to play the same way.
“And mum’s always said I look a bit like him.’’
Ryan, who is the same height (189cm) as Sicily, shows him so much love that his Glenelg teammates, in particular 2023 top draft prospect Ashton Moir, have nicknamed him “Sis’’.
“And I love it,’’ Ryan said.
Ryan was floored when he got to meet his idol at the combine, where he was interviewed by 12 clubs.
“Sicily was sitting with the Hawthorn recruiting staff, listening in on some interviews, and the Hawks knew I modelled my game on his and introduced us,’’ he said.
“They told me to take the opportunity to get my photo with him, which was pretty cool. We only had time for a brief chat but he was super nice.’’
HOTTON IS HOT PROPERTY
The son of former Collingwood and Carlton player Trent Hotton has emerged as a first-round draft pick this year on the back of a little help from an Essendon legend.
Traditionally a midfielder throughout his junior football, Olli Hotton was moved into a new role across half-forward with the Sandringham Dragons in the NAB League at the start of this season.
“The first three or four weeks I was pretty average,” Hotton said.
“Then I went back to school footy and built my form each week and just got better as I went along”.
Hotton completed Year 12 studies at Haileybury this year, where his school football coach was former Bombers forward Matthew Lloyd.
“He’s one of the greatest forwards of all time so he helped out a little bit,” Hotton said.
“There’s still massive room for improvement. But I definitely developed that game a lot more and worked out the leading patterns and all that sort of thing.
“My dad has also helped a bit. He was a small forward. Not so much individually, but just a little bit here and there going over some vision and giving some good advice.”
Hotton caught the eye of AFL recruiters playing as a forward through the under-18 national championships, during which he averaged 16.8 disposals and kicked six goals from four matches.
He went on to finish equal-fourth in the vertical jump at the AFL draft combine in October, as well as sixth in the 20m sprint test.
“He’s still got a bit of work to do but he’s starting at a good base with a good athletic profile,” one recruiter said.
Hotton is not eligible to join Collingwood or Carlton under father-son rules, given his dad played only 17 games for the Magpies and 61 matches for the Blues.
However, a number of clubs including Sydney (picks 14 and 17) have shown interest in the 18-year-old as a potential top-20 selection.
‘ANNOYING’ FORWARD WITH LOTS OF FANS
Livewire small forward Charlie Clarke has no shortage of suitors as he looms as a near-certain top-25 pick in this month’s national draft.
The Sandringham Dragons product — who openly admits he likes to get under the skin of his opponents by being “real annoying” — has been interviewed by 15 AFL clubs.
It is understood that clubs including Greater Western Sydney, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Collingwood have shown significant interest in Clarke.
“He’s had a really good season, he brings great energy and he’s a cracking kid,” one recruiter said.
The 182cm Clarke averaged 18.6 disposals and 1.9 goals across 15 NAB League games for the Dragons this year, while also featuring in all four matches of the national championships for Vic Metro.
Clarke told his story to the Herald Sun last month, which included growing up in Port Melbourne public housing and dropping out of school at the end of Year 9.
He was part of St Kilda’s Academy program but was cut from that at age 15.
TALENTED TALL FILLS OUT, SON OF GUN A MONSTER
Measurements are a minor part of the national draft combine process, but they can show just how much a prospect has shot up – or the work they’ve been doing in the gym.
Highly touted key position forward Matthew Jefferson has filled out considerably, adding six kilograms to his lean frame since the beginning of the year.
The likely first-round prospect was a string bean at the beginning of the season, weighing just 78kg at 195cm, and he has more size to add as a stay at home forward.
Meanwhile, Mattaes Phillipou – who has been linked to Essendon – appears a big chance to play senior footy next year after putting on six kilograms of size while maintaining his elite fitness, running a 6:27 2km time trial at the draft combine.
Dimuntive West Australian Darcy Jones, who has drawn comparisons to Caleb Daniel, was the smallest player and lightest player measured at the draft combine at 174.4 centimetres, just below fellow WA small Jed Hagan (174.6cm).
DRAFT DOSSIER: ALL UPDATED MEASUREMENTS AND INTEL
It is understood some clubs flagged concerns by his slight weigh-in, despite Jones’ starring role at WAFL senior level late in the year and at the national combine, where he took out the agility and vertical jump tests.
Ruckman Max Knobel – the son of Tiger, Saint and Lions ruckman Trent – has grown to a whopping 206.4cm, making him the tallest player of the draft class.
The beanpole ruckman, who shapes as a promising project player later in the draft, has added five kilograms to his slender frame as well as growing two centimetres this year.
South Australian Harry Barnett, regarded as the top ruck prospect in the pool at 202cm, also put on four kilograms of muscle across the year while managing to run an eye-catching 6:32 2km time trial.
Fellow SA all Isaac Keeler, a Crows Next Generation Academy prospect who Adelaide didn’t nominate with the likelihood that he wouldn’t reach the pick 40 bidding threshold, grew two centimetres to 200cm and added another seven kilograms.
SON OF A SWAN STILL WORTH A PUNT
A season ruined by injury has seen Luke Teal’s name slide down club draft boards this year.
However, his NAB AFL Academy coach Tarkyn Lockyer believes the rebounding halfback is still very much worthy of selection in this month’s national draft.
The Oakleigh Charges product sat out the NAB League testing day in March with an ankle injury, had his appendix removed on the eve of Round 1 and then had his collarbone broken in a tackle during a school football match mid-year.
The injuries meant that Teal played just four NAB League games for the season and he returned for only Vic Metro’s final match of the national championships.
“Unfortunately he’s had a few little bumps in the road, which you don’t like to see for any player,” Lockyer said.
“But certainly the way he faced those challenges and worked through them was really impressive. He’s a super professional kid who is really driven to get the best out of himself.
“He got back towards the end of the year and played a couple of games and was able to show that he’s got some talent.”
The Trinity Grammar student is the son of Robert Teal, who played 18 games for Sydney in 1989-90 before a back injury cut his career short.
Teal grew up a Hawthorn supporter but has kept a close eye on a Bulldogs backman in recent years.
“Bailey Dale’s a big one for me,” Teal said earlier this year when asked who he models his game on.
“He’s a halfback and his game’s really attractive to me. I love the way he plays.”
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