The last month of Under 18 football has been exciting. A clear favourite has emerged from the championships, many players are doing their draft stocks some good, and we’ve now had a fortnight of live streaming of the games for the first time.
It’s exciting and extremely convenient to be able to view these games and to see for yourself who’s looking the goods. This is where I come in, to sum up those whose draft stocks are rising, or falling.
Round 3 saw South Australia claim Western Australia by 73 points, as Vic Country downed Metro by 35 points.
Round 4 saw Vic Metro smash Western Australia again by 74 points and Country beat the Croweaters by 28.
Let’s have a look at a category with some of the top prospects and their performances, to keep them separate from those who are rising greatly at the moment toward the top.
Top prospects
Aaron Francis
South Australia (West Adelaide)
Medium defender/utility, 190cm, 86kg
I’m a firm believer that at this stage Francis is the standout player of the crop. With pre-champs hype being thrown in the direction of Jacob Weitering thanks to Callum Twomey and co. it may take another few weeks for people to realise that Francis has most likely overtaken him in terms of performance, and that’s not saying Weitering has been bad.
Francis dominated in Round 3 against WA, this time playing as a midfielder and in the forward line, amassing 22 disposals, 8 marks, 7 tackles and kicking 4 goals, 5 behinds, also taking a magnificent hanger in the forward pocket. In Round 4 he was good again with 17 disposals and a goal. Has put in a month of good performances and reminds me of a Brendon Goddard type. Has shown he can be great in the back and forward line, to top it off would be to improve his midfield game, which isn’t horrible either, he has a good game sense and goes third man up at the stoppages a lot when he’s in there.
Joshua Schache
Vic Country (Murray Bushrangers)
Tall forward, 199cm, 96kg
After 10 goals in the first two weeks, including a bag of 8, and some media frenzy comparing him to Travis Cloke, Schache has responded well with 2 goals in Round 3 and a bag of 5 in Round 4, which gives him 17 for the championships at an average of 4.25. Schache is most definitely the best key forward prospect at this draft, and Carlton and Brisbane especially would both have a serious look in at Schache.
Rising
Darcy Parish
Vic Country (Geelong Falcons)
Midfielder, 181cm, 73kg
Parish has always been considered one of the better players of the draft, but talk has recently drifted towards other players with Parish missing a couple of weeks with a minor injury. Now that he’s back he’s showing why he can be one of the best of the draft, if not the best.
Parish’s comeback game in round 3 saw him rack up 25 disposals, 5 marks, 5 inside 50s and a clever goal at 72per cent disposal efficiency. In round 4 he amassed 24 touches, 7 marks, 3 tackles, 7 inside 50s and 2 behinds. Parish will continue to prove his worth as possibly the best midfielder in the crop in the final two weeks.
Jack Silvagni
Vic Metro (Oakleigh Chargers)
190cm, 81kg
The Blues finally have something to smile about. With a lacklustre first couple of championships games, Silvagni has come back to boot 6 goals along with 18 disposals and 7 marks. A son of a Carlton favourite, Silvagni’s rankings have been mid-late draft or even a rookie chance, but with his performance on the weekend his stocks are most certainly rising. He’s still very wiry but with some bulk could become a good AFL player, and his game last week will give the Blues something to look forward to despite some bleak times ahead.
Kieran Collins
Vic Country (Dandenong Stingrays)
Tall Defender, 193cm, 94kg
Collins is a clear first round pick for mine if there is a club in need of a defender. He has all the right things about him to become a successful defender at AFL level. He marks well and rebounds off his man and had 21 disposals and 10 marks at 95 per cent in Round 3. In Round 4 his 11 disposals and 4 marks at 91 per cent did him no harm as he was again a rock in defence. Behind Weitering and Francis and the like, Collins is in the next tier down of taller types who can play back.
Riley Bonner
South Australia (West Adelaide)
Half back, 191cm, 80kg
Bonner has some serious rebounding skills and has a bullet of a kick to boot. In the last two weeks has amassed 18 disposals, 4 marks and 1 goal at 72 per cent and 24 disposals and 1 goal 2 behinds at 79 per cent. By many has been considered around the 20-30 mark but I think could seriously push for a first round selection and has so much to work with.
Special mentions: Ryan Clarke, Will Snelling, Levi Ridley, Rhys Mathieson
Falling
Callum Ah Chee
Western Australia (South Fremantle)
Forward/Midfielder, 182cm, 71kg
Has long been considered a top 10 prospect but has had a little bit of an underwhelming championships. Has had one game with 13 disposals and 2 goals at 85 per cent but apart from that has had a disposal efficiency of 45 per cent, 50 per cent and 57 per cent and has been butchering the ball too often.
There was early talk of him carrying a bit of an injury but nevertheless his performances haven’t been up what has been expected of him. He is slowly sliding and he needs a big performance or two to redeem himself.
Stephen Tahana may have escaped being here yet again. Average performance again in Round 3 but Round 4 saw him get 18 disposals at 72 per cent. Will have to monitor if he follows it up again next week.
Darcy Tucker is getting better as he goes but may be slowly falling due to the performance of others for the most part, but overall I feel he may not have been as damaging as I thought he’d be. Still looks a first round pick for sure, most likely top 10. Hopefully shows what he’s really capable in the next couple of games.
This week also marks the beginning of the Division 2 championships which is great, it’s time to have a look at Queensland, NSW, Tasmania and NT. There are a few good talents going around this year.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
The All-Australian player has been below his best this year, and Matthew Lloyd has suggested that he be moved more into the midfield to…
The AFL need a more simple approach to high contact and one that makes players accountable, regardless of intent.
He and Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell do not like having a player to sub on and would rather have an extra player available on…
The Footy Classified commentator says people should give Jason Horne-Francis credit for what the young star does for Port Adelaide in key moments -…
What is the pass mark for a number one draft pick? Harley Reid still needs to prove his long-haul value before he is worth multimillion-dollar contracts.
Multicultural round was changed in 2018 showing that the AFL have not been as committed to multiculturalism as they should be.
