AFL premiers Melbourne have shown their sentimental side by using the final pick of the national draft to recruit Taj Woewodin as a father-son selection.
Unlike top-end father-son prospects Sam Darcy (Western Bulldogs) and Nick Daicos (Collingwood), Woewodin did not attract a bid from a rival club.
It allowed the Demons to wait until pick 65 to snap up the East Fremantle midfielder.
Woewodin is the son of 2000 Brownlow Medal winner Shane Woewodin, who played 138 games for Melbourne over six seasons before ending his AFL career at Collingwood.
Taj Woewodin was in tears when the Demons notified him of their intention to select him.
“It’s magnificent going through that process of letting him and the family know,” Demons recruiting boss Jason Taylor told Fox Footy.
“They were quite emotional, but it’s well deserved for Taj.
“He really works hard on his footy, he’s a sensational kid and he improves every day.”
Woewodin was the fifth father-son recruit of the 2021 draft class, in proof that the competition’s most romantic – and somewhat controversial – rule is alive and well.
Darcy and Daicos were always going to end up at the Bulldogs and Collingwood respectively, but those clubs were forced to match rivals’ early bids to secure their key targets on Wednesday night.
There was a flurry of late father-son selections as the draft wrapped up on Thursday, with North Melbourne able to take Jackson Archer at pick 59 before Port Adelaide recruited Jase Burgoyne with pick 60.
Archer, the son of Kangaroos legend Glenn Archer, has similar traits to the “Shinboner of the Century”.
“When you see him play, you know straight away whose son he is,” North Melbourne football boss Brady Rawlings said
“He’s aggressive and highly competitive. It’s a good foundation to build on in today’s footy.
“He is one of the most competitive and courageous players in this year’s draft.
“He has a never-say-die attitude towards his footy which we can’t wait to see in North Melbourne colours.”
Burgoyne, the son of Port Adelaide premiership player Peter Burgoyne, arrives at the Power just weeks after older brother Trent was delisted by the club.
“Jase has shown over a period of time he has the football IQ and game sense to be able to accumulate large amounts of the ball and the skills to execute going forward,” Port talent manager Geoff Parker said.
Carlton selected dynamic forward Jesse Motlop, son of former North Melbourne and Port Adelaide livewire Daniel Motlop, with pick 27.
Motlop was not eligible to be a father-son selection for either the Power or Kangaroos, because Daniel did not play enough games for either club.
epicguy 3237
Roar Rookie
beutiful sadly me wife aint no romantic :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: ....... :crying:
Chris M
Guest
So you have the father-son rule and the father-daughter rule, and possibly in the future the mother-son rule and the mother-daughter rule. Does that mean we should also have the brother-brother, sister-sister, brother-sister and sister-brother rule? In that case, Fremantle, who drafted Caleb Serong, would have had first call on Jai Serong and would have been able to match a bid by Hawthorn. Sydney would have been able to do the same by matching a bid on Corey Warner, if one had come before their third pick, by having already drafted Chad Warner. If you take it a step further, because St Kilda drafted Max King with pick 4 in 2018, should they also get the opportunity to match a bid on his twin brother, Ben King, by Gold Coast's at pick 6 in the same year? There is no right or wrong answer, but I'd say, "No" to the sibling rule. The draft may then become far too compromised by disrupting the equalisation process for which the draft was created. That said, it was a lovely fraternal outcome that the Warner brothers were drafted to the same club without the need for such a rule. We may see Chad on the inside feeding the ball out to Corey on the outside. It will also be delightful reunion of sorts to see the McCartin brothers on the same list, if that occurs in the pre-season supplementary period, and hopefully successfully playing together, perhaps as fullback and centre half-back.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
Jason Horne-Francis was the first test of the stepfather-son rule. Step-dad Fabian Francis played 109 AFL games, but only 86 for Port. He also played 33 SANFL games for Port, including the 2 seasons before they were admitted to the comp. It just missed on 3 counts: 14 games short, some rubbish about SANFL games needing to be played before a certain year, and Fabian is not Jason's biological father. Ask the kid who his Dad is and who he should be playing for? Jesse Motlop's father Daniel played 130 AFL games, but only 83 for Port. Jonathan Brown's Dad Brian played 51 games for Fitzroy, allowing his son to be claimed by the Brisbane Lions and go on to win 3 flags. Somewhere along the line things got messed up with what was once an elegant rule designed to allow the orphaned son of a fallen soldier to play for the same club, and it changed the game forever.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
I think a little bit of decorum is called for when it comes to Gaz and his boy. Maybe he'll have kids who go on to play footy, but it isn't really appropriate with Levi. Nonetheless, at the Suns we'll claim them. As for Buddy, if his boy/s are up to it, there's going to be a three-way fight between Hawthorn, Sydney and the Gold Coast. Jecinta is a GC girl, her family are there and that's where their kids will grow up. Rocky Franklin will be in the Suns Academy by 2033.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
Actually, Nick Daicos was more tempted by a pitch from the Gold Coast Suns, led by his school and club teammates Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson and Ned Moyle. The Suns would have had to throw a lot of picks at the push, but considering the cache of picks they had at that time and the fact that Daicos fell to pick 4 anyway had he not nominated Collingwood there might have been a free-for-all.
Chris M
Guest
Nick Daicos may have been a father-son selection for Collingwood. However, I believe he grew up as a Carlton supporter. There was no chance that he was going to land at Carlton in an open draft as one of the likely first few draft selections. He probably thought that the next best option would be for him to land at Collingwood. If Carlton had won the wooden spoon, I wonder if he would have been happy to nominate as a father-son. Nick Blakey had the opportunity to nominate as a father-son but instead chose to be linked to the Swans via the Academy. It's great if sons wish to join the same club as their fathers via the father-son rule and just as great if they prefer to choose a different path.
AJ73
Roar Rookie
I love the F-S rule, it is something unique to the game. As much as I would love to have Nick Daicos or Sam Darcy turning out for my club, I think it would not be "right". The more this world progresses, the less romance is left in any sport. I can't imagine a Silvagni really playing with a team other than Carlton either, but say Gary Ablett jnr's son or Buddy's son are budding AFL players, who do they pick. I would like the rule tweaked further to allow the non-Victorian clubs to select players from famous fathers in the SANFL/WAFL/etc without the harsh rules (150 in the WAFL, 200 for SANFL, yes before 1987 I know, but it did prevent a couple of players playing e.g. Bryce Gibbs). I know that will change as more players from those clubs reach 100 games under the criteria. Not every Son picked up is a successful player Keep the bidding process, maybe change the reduction in points and reduce the number of game's criteria. It will never be perfect though.