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Opinion
It’s the off season, so to pass the time in my ADHD-addled brain I decided to write up my remarks on players who are yet to debut or are in the nascent period of their careers.
The rules for this piece are as follows:
• One player per club.
• The player must have played under ten games.
• The player cannot be selected in the 2021 AFL draft (mid-season rookie draft is acceptable).
• The player must be under 21 coming into season 2022.
Adelaide Crows: Brayden Cook
Cook played three games in 2021 after being taken pick 25 of the 2020 AFL draft.
Standing a solid 190 cm with the ability to play half forward or wing, Cook has begun developing primarily in the Patrick Dangerfield role that he showed an aptitude for in his draft year, kicking 26 goals from 13 matches while averaging 18 disposals to be counted among the elite forwards in his draft year.
The Crows will look to increase his forward nous as they will be without Taylor Walker and Tom Lynch for the first part of next year.
Brisbane Lions: Blake Coleman
The small forward/midfielder is a clone of his older brother, providing explosive pace and solid goal-sense.
Coleman has steadily developed as a speedy forward prospect, averaging 10.2 disposals at reserve grade level. He should come in early next year, with the Lions decidedly lacking in speed on the ground, particularly through the back line and midfield.
Carlton Blues: Jack Carroll
A big-bodied midfielder that slid all the way to pick 41, Caroll averaged 23 disposals in the East Fremantle Colts in his draft year.
The Blues now have a lot of depth in the midfield but Patrick Cripps has begun to break down due to eight years of carrying the load of midfield play. With the ascendancy of Sam Walsh, as well as the introduction of Adam Cerra and George Hewett, 2022 represents the perfect opportunity to blood Carroll.
Collingwood Magpies: Reef McInnes
Standing 193 cm and 88 kilograms, the Pies would be pinching themselves that their Next Generation Academy player slid all the way to pick 23.
McInnes represents the first in a line of new Collingwood players that are sure to fill midfield roles for the next decade. Unfortunately, his first season was derailed by injury but his explosiveness through the midfield would have the Collingwood faithful champing at the bit for his debut – particularly with the recent standing down of Jordan de Goey.
Essendon Bombers: Kaine Baldwin
This was genuinely a toss up between Zac Reid and Baldwin, but I went with the latter because he plays in an area of need for the Bombers and after two ACL reconstructions he looks ready to set the world on fire.
Standing 193 cm, he moves like a midfielder and plays like a bullocking tall forward. He was rated as a top-ten prospect in his draft year (2020) and can form an intriguing partnership with Jake Stringer, holding down the fort while the mercurial Stringer goes into the guts.
A Bombers side that has been bereft of hope for over a decade now finally appears to be putting things right.
Fremantle Dockers: Luke Valente
It has been a slow burn for Valente, with three years on the Dockers’ list. His career has been derailed by injury but his leadership capabilities are extremely highly rated.
2022 shapes as a make-or-break year for Valente, who is yet to debut, and with Fremantle’s glut of draft picks coming through this year he may find himself on the outs.
Geelong Cats: Cooper Stephens
An inside midfielder whose career has been derailed by a leg fracture in 2019 and the preference for Geelong selecting aged talent.
Originally rated as a first-round talent and standing 188 cm tall, he shapes up as the natural successor for Joel Sellwood’s position in the midfield who, at 34, will need to look at moving to a forward flank.
Geelong have shown an innate ability to get the best out of their prospects from the local region and Stephens shapes up as another selection in that form.
Gold Coast Suns: Elijah Hollands
When you tear your ACL and still manage to go pick seven in the draft, clearly you are a highly rated prospect.
The Suns have managed to build up a coterie of young players that are sure to improve their standing, with Hollands the last in a line of forward midfielders whose season was derailed by the second consecutive year of the COVID pandemic and the lack of a reserve-grade competition on the east coast.
Hollands will debut early next year, as his talents are too potent to ignore, despite the fact the Gold Coast already have a pretty deep midfield.
Greater Western Sydney Giants: Conor Stone
The Giants have been spoilt with a glut of high first-round selections across their history, using three in the first round of the 2020 draft. They took Conor Stone with the third of their picks, a versatile prospect who was able to make it into the line-up for five games.
While his stats do not make for particularly good reading, that is at least somewhat to blame on his position as the sub in a couple games. He is the ideal replacement for Toby Greene, who will be out for the first five games of the season, as he can play forward or through the midfield and will be sure to benefit from another preseason under his belt.
Hawthorn Hawks: Emerson Jeka
The 197 cm key forward is highly rated at the Hawks, as he provides a point of difference to their forward line, being strong in the air and ably bringing the ball to ground for the fleet of smalls to gather it up.
A key forward, it will be a slower burn for him as he puts on size and increases his tank, but he is sure to build on the performances of 2021 in 2022.
Melbourne Demons: Jake Bowey
It might be a cop-out to name a premiership player but he meets the rules.
Bowey won all seven of his games in 2021, including the grand final that broke the long drought for the Demons, keeping established talent like Jayden Hunt out of the side in the finals series.
An outside midfielder/half back, Bowey is a versatile prospect shaping as an important part of any potential Dees dynasty.
(Photo by Mark Dadswell/Getty Images)
North Melbourne Kangaroos: Phoenix Spicer
A half forward/wingman with speed to burn, Phoenix Spicer has a name that puts Orazio Fantasia to shame.
A gifted small forward who averaged 5.7 inside fifties in his draft year, a broken arm ended his year early. He came in for one game in 2021 but needs to add some strength and size to his frame before he can consistently nail down a position in North’s best 22.
Port Adelaide Power: Lachie Jones
A mullet that is sure to make him a cult figure, Jones came in for six games in 2021, where he acquitted himself well.
Standing 186 cm and in possession of a booming right boot, he adds a harder edge to the Port backline, with the ability to lock down the opposition’s best small forward.
He may look to push into the midfield in 2022 where there is a significant drop off after their best players in Oli Wines and Travis Boak.
Richmond Tigers: Maurice Rioli Jr
The father-son prospect shapes as a talented small forward/midfielder possessive of the traits that made his father such a talent for the Tigers.
The younger cousin of Daniel Rioli, Junior played a couple games at the end of 2021 and will shape as a solid addition to a rapidly ageing side.
He provides a mercurial edge to a Tigers line up that has been overflowing with gifted small forwards across their dynasty and will look to add games to his record in 2022.
St Kilda: Cooper Sharman
A mid-season draftee who is already paying dividends for the Saints, Sharman came in for five games this season, kicking ten goals, bringing an accurate set-shot and a solid tank to a forward line that desperately needs it.
His 193 cm frame has single-handedly turned St Kilda from a small-forward dominant line-up built on pressure into a key-forward dominant line-up where he can use his tank as a point of difference.
In particular, his performance in Round 23 – with four goals and seven score involvements – is hopefully a sign of things to come for a side that has been struggling since 2013.
Sydney Swans: Will Gould
The Swans have experienced an extreme reversal of fortunes as a club going from bottom four to top eight between 2020 and 2021, largely built on the new game-style they have created, as well as debutants.
The one player who has yet to debut is Will Gould, a big, bullocking half back who plays above his 191 cm frame. With Dane Rampe approaching the end of his career, Gould is presented with a make-or-break opportunity to nail down a spot in Sydney’s best 22.
West Coast Eagles: Bailey Williams
A ruck that just qualifies under the rules, Williams shapes as the long-term successor to Nic Natinui.
He needs to work on collecting more of the ball but he is a capable ruck and has an exemplary leap that enables him to take centre bounces as well as cover the ground effectively.
In a team decidedly lacking young talent, West Coast have had to make lemonade from the proverbial lemons and Williams is a solid selection.
Western Bulldogs: Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
A cop out? Most certainly. But Ugle-Hagan was so highly rated that the Crows took him pick one, even though they knew the Bulldogs would match the bid.
With multiple hauls of five or more goals in the VFL to go with five games at senior level, Ugle-Hagan shapes as a work in progress but he certainly serves the Bulldogs well, particularly because of the injury-enforced absence of Josh Bruce.
The only question is how to best play Ugle-Hagan in the forward line without becoming too top heavy.
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