For draft prospects all over the country, it’s an exciting time ahead of the first round of the AFL’s division one national under-18s championships this weekend.
And for Essendon, Fremantle and Brisbane fans – sorry guys – it’s kind of exciting too.
Traditionally the championships go a long way toward sorting out who will have their name called out early on at the National Draft later in the year, and this year will be no different.
But compared to previous years such as Tom Boyd in 2013 or Jacob Weitering in 2015, there is still not yet a consensus number one pick, and with as many highly regarded academy prospects, the top ten is as unclear as ever.
Accordingly, players like North Ballarat’s Hugh McCluggage, Western Australian Sam Petrevski-Seton – who has more intense admirers than Jennifer Lawrence – NSW’s Todd Marshall and even Academy pair Jack Bowes and Harrison Macreadie, are all contenders for the top spot and have been the focus of much media attention.
But as the great Will Ferrell and the less great Mark Wahlberg once pondered, what about the other guys?
Here’s a few names to watch out for that could see their draft chances rise with a strong championships through the next month.
Jordan Gallucci
A lively player hailing from the Eastern Ranges, Gallucci was an impressive part of a largely unimpressive Vic Metro team at last year’s championships as an underager. After an injury interrupted start to this year, Gallucci is working his way back to his best form at just the right time, coming off a best-on-ground performance against the Gippsland Power.
The lightly framed Gallucci has good speed out of congestion and his kicking on the outside is generally well-weighted. A versatile player able to play anywhere on the ground, the big question for Gallucci will be whether he can fulfil a full-time midfield position for Vic Metro.
Sam Fowler
A small forward with the Dandenong Stingrays, Fowler has enjoyed a brilliant TAC Cup season so far, amassing 25 goals from his seven matches. At 169cm, clubs may be concerned with Fowler’s ability to translate to the AFL, but he has the pace and smarts around goal to overcome any question marks.
The best small forwards create pressure without the ball and make the most of their opportunities when with the ball in hand. If Fowler, who averages three and a half tackles a game and has a goal accuracy of 67.5 per cent, can replicate his TAC Cup form at the championships, it’ll go a long way to getting his name onto an AFL list at the end of the year.
Sam Powell-Pepper
In the year of the hyphen, Powell-Pepper is one of the best available true inside midfielders in this draft pool. Already more solidly built than most Hollywood sequels, Powell-Pepper is also blessed with speed off the first few steps that he uses to strong effect to squeeze out of stoppages.
He had an up and down championships last year playing off half-back, a role which neither he nor his kicking is particularly suited to, given how precise kicks need to be out of the back-half. While not fantastic, his kicking is acceptable when playing his inside role as he generally feeds it out to better kicks.
Jonty Scharenberg
Another who had a strong championships campaign as an underager, Scharenberg has nonetheless slipped under the radar a bit this year for the heinous crime of not being flashy enough.
Scharenberg has quick hands and is a very good link-up player with reasonable skills on the outside, particularly for an inside-oriented player. He’s already started playing SANFL football this year, which bodes well for his ability to compete against adults. Should be in the discussion to feature in the first round at the end of the year.
Brett Blair
An overager for the Geelong Falcons, Blair has seen success again this year playing as a key forward. While not particularly quick, Blair is a strong marking player with a handy leap that he uses to present at the ball-carrier. Blair generates a lot of scoring chances, with 45 scoring shots from his first seven TAC Cup games this year, but his accuracy can be an issue at times.
At 189cm, he’s a little too undersized for a club to take a punt on to be their primary key forward, but if he can demonstrate an ability to get up the ground and fulfil a third tall role while still remaining the scoring threat that he is capable of being, his draft stocks will rise exponentially.
Anthony D'Arcy
Editor
"The Happening" is all I can ever think of whenever I see Wahlberg now; my brain is a lot better at repressing the lower moments in Ferrell's career (I'm teeing you up for a good retort there). I was a big of fan of Scharenberg at last year's champs, and yeah, if he keep a long the rate of development he was on last year, I agree that he'll be a top 20 odd draftee.
The Original Buzz
Guest
The only point I can disagree with here is that Mark Wahlberg is far greater than Will Feral. Jonty Scharenberg has shown some promise and looks the goods. So far, I will be surprised if he isn't in, or at least near the first round. Haven't seen a lot of the other players though.
Slane
Guest
The author mentions a 'Sam Bowes' in his 4th paragraph. One would assume he meant to mention Jack Bowes. Chill.
Anthony D'Arcy
Editor
My article was just highlighting 5 players that I like that I haven't seen much media about despite that, in the case of Scharenberg, Gallucci and Powell-Pepper, I think they're capable of being drafted in the first round somewhere, and in the case of Blair and Fowler, I think they're both good enough to be drafted. Queensland have some good prospects this year, with Brisbane academy player Jacob Allison and Gold Coast academy players Jack Bowes and Brad Scheer among those likely to be taken relatively early. Elliott Himmelberg is a key-position player that with a good championships in division one could come into contention in the first couple of rounds too. All these guys will play for the Allies team this month.
Judy Atu
Guest
What no players at all out of Queensland rate a mention from the U18s Championship??? find that very hard to believe. Or do you not bother to look that far?