While those in Victoria and Western Australia were seeing their personal fairytales unfold before them, South Australians already had their eyes on a prize of a different kind: a draft so full of local talent it’s almost overwhelming.
Okay, it’s hardly premiership glory and, given the choice, the preference would surely have been to go deep into finals, play out the redemption arc of dreams and hear Tex give a winner’s speech that would move even the harshest naysayers to tears.
However, with this fantasy well and truly quashed by the end of Round 22, sometimes you need to find a silver lining on the storm cloud. The same could be said for Port Adelaide, who held on to their finals hopes a little longer than the Crows only to find themselves similarly unoccupied come September.
Only those in the inner sanctum will know which players are most needed and desired by a club. Rumours abound about trades, tying significantly into what they can do for draft hopes – is Mitch McGovern, plus whatever bells and whistles Adelaide can add in order to sweeten the deal, worth that elusive pick 1? Or is that massive overs and something that Carlton would be mad to accept?
Mitch McGovern of the Adelaide Crows. (AAP Image/David Mariuz)
The answer is probably the latter, but you miss all the shots you don’t take and don’t you need to take every shot you can in order to land the Jack Lukosiuses of this world? Or the Izak Rankines?
The Crows are surely weighing this up and, over at Alberton, the same names will be on a whiteboard in the recruitment office, organised into meticulous pros-and-cons columns.
The list of pros will be filled to bursting – these are talented kids, and one would hope that drafting locally will inspire old-school tales of homegrown heroes.
How strictly do you try to balance these ideas with the all too real question of: who does the team actually need? Is there really much point in selling the farm for Rankine if it turns out Chad Wingard isn’t leaving the Power for a Victorian side after all?
Is Lukosius superfluous to Adelaide’s needs at the moment, or is he available at just the right time, to bulk up in the SANFL so he can slot into the side as Walker and Jenkins inch closer to their thirties?
Landing a sought-after draft prospect is a morale boost in anyone’s book, so both South Australian sides can expect some hefty competition.
For Adelaide, the draw of a superstar without the go-home flight risk may be too good to pass up. For the Gold Coast Suns, who are reportedly eyeing off Jack Lukosius and his good mate, Connor Rozee, seem to have some ideas of their own about how to draft and retain interstate talent.
With some top picks at their disposal, it may be that they’re the biggest roadblock on the path to recruitment victory.
Some of the best in our game come from more humble beginnings, however, and it’s important to remember that for every top pick, there could be – and probably is – another Rory Laird waiting in the rookie draft, ready to work hard and surprise everybody.
There are no consolation prizes, only new opportunities.
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Round 5 of the AFL provided plenty of action, from big scorelines to upset wins and pressure starting to build on some clubs and coaches already.
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