2020 AFL draft: Club-by-club review, my take on every team
After what at times felt like an eternity on Wednesday night, the 2020 AFL Draft has come to a close and 59 new AFL…
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Josh is a rusted-on North Melbourne tragic with a penchant for pun headlines - and also abnormal alliteration, assuredly; assuming achievability. He once finished third in a hot chilli pie eating contest.
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After what at times felt like an eternity on Wednesday night, the 2020 AFL Draft has come to a close and 59 new AFL…
There's no more optimistic day on the AFL calendar than the draft. Dozens of bright new talents make their way into the AFL for…
In 2007 the AFL introduced a rule which has been a bit of a slow burn but become very popular. For the first time,…
There never has been and, let's hope, never will be another AFL draft like 2020. The combination of compromise and pandemic will define this…
Now that the AFL's player exchange period has wrapped up for another year, attention is turning to the draft, which is scheduled as a…
After a frenetic, dramatic, and of course controversial final day of the 2020 AFL trade period, the competition's player movement window has come to…
We all knew it would end this way: deadline day has arrived and with more than a dozen trades still waiting in limbo, it…
If Collingwood move on Adam Treloar before the close of the 2020 AFL trade period, it seems increasingly likely that his destination will be…
The biggest AFL trade news to break on Thursday was that Josh Dunkley has officially requested a trade from the Western Bulldogs to Essendon,…
The Adelaide Crows' pride has taken a blow after they announced at the final minute on Wednesday afternoon that they would not match St…
As the opening of the 2020 AFL trade period nears, the future has gotten clearer for some of the biggest names on the market,…
After months of rumour and intrigue, the AFL's player exchange period will start today with the opening of free agency – allowing 2020's free…
The 2020 AFL grand final has come to an end, and the Richmond Tigers have claimed the 2020 premiership. Here are my talking points…
Here's something that I, as a post-'90s North Melbourne fan, have never had the opportunity to actually know: when a football team has gone…
The lead-up to the AFL grand final has been punctuated by the somewhat unexpected news that 2019 Coleman Medallist Jeremy Cameron is leaving Greater…
The AFL preliminary finals have been played and won, and now we know: it's Richmond and Geelong in the 2020 AFL grand final. Here…
Geelong club president Colin Carter was quoted yesterday expressing his joy at the Cats' continued success over the last decade and a half, praising…
After a remarkably entertaining first week of finals, it'd be fair to say the semis didn't quite hold up their end of the bargain.…
After much speculation, out-of-contract Essendon defender Adam Saad has made a decision: he's requesting a trade to Carlton. The news comes as another major…
The first week of the 2020 AFL finals is complete and two teams have seen their season end while the rest move on to…
I know there are a lot of draft watches who rate O’Driscoll really highly, so wouldn’t be shocked to see him go earlier.
AFL phantom draft 2020: A very early top 25
Downie definitely could attract a bid in the top 25, we’ve generally seen over recent drafts that except for the very highly rated ones, academy prospects tend to get bid on later rather than earlier, so I think he probably won’t get a bid that early. If it was an open draft he may well get picked before then.
AFL phantom draft 2020: A very early top 25
I believe it’s down to just 1. Gold Coast are apparently planning to only take the 1 pick, given that they will be able to sign 3-4 academy prospects outside the draft.
AFL phantom draft 2020: A very early top 25
Have to admit I agree. They were really the hardest club to pick for as I just don’t see who they could pick that is actually going to help them/want to stick around. The players who could impact right away are probably your inside mid types which they already have plenty of, the players who could actually fill the roles they need are more slow-burn types who may not be ready for a few years.
AFL phantom draft 2020: A very early top 25
It’s definitely a possibility. That said, I think most clubs rate the talent/certainty of next year’s draft higher than this one, so I’m not sure any will be seriously pursuing it. It would be a good move for GWS in particular if they can pull it off, but I’m not sure who if anyone will want to do a trade like that.
AFL phantom draft 2020: A very early top 25
Both would make sense. It’s a bit of a nuffie take but I wouldn’t be surprised if Essendon don’t bid with picks 7 or 8 specifically so they can still have the ‘three picks in a row’.
AFL phantom draft 2020: A very early top 25
I think the local boy aspect could definitely be part of the attraction but as Steve mentions, the Dockers have always backed themselves to retain talent from out of state, so it probably won’t be a big factor. That being said, with no VIC prospects getting to play this year and club recruiters being limited in their travelling abilities, perhaps SA/WA clubs will trend more to players in their own state.
AFL phantom draft 2020: A very early top 25
In my view, the “plays at both ends” types don’t often work out to be long-term key forwards. Most of them tend to wind up settling into defence, which isn’t really a need for Freo. I do think they would like to get a quality young tall forward on the books but should probably wait for the right opportunity rather than trying to fit what might be a square peg into a round hole, if that makes sense.
AFL phantom draft 2020: A very early top 25
I think their order of preference would be 1. Logan McDonald, 2. Elijah Hollands. So if the Crows go McDonald as I’ve written here, Hollands, if the Crows pick Thilthorpe or Hollands or anyone else, McDonald.
AFL phantom draft 2020: A very early top 25
I’m sure Carlton will look at him given the family connection but I think they’re pretty happy with Tom De Koning as their next long-term ruckman, so probably unlikely to really pursue Walsh unless he falls into their laps.
AFL phantom draft 2020: A very early top 25
I think the AFL likes to throw that kind of thing out there every now and then to see what kind of a reaction it gets from fans/clubs before deciding whether or not to go on with it. I’d be surprised to see the second period pop up, but, who knows.
AFL phantom draft 2020: A very early top 25
From a North perspective, no thanks. I don’t think any of the clubs in the top 4-5 will be looking to trade down, the prospects in that range are just that good.
AFL phantom draft 2020: A very early top 25
If a club goes into deficit they only get deficit against a future pick in the round where the bid came – I don’t think Eyre or Brand will get a bid until the second or third round at the earliest, so if the Bombers must go into deficit it would only be a slight downgrade on their picks in those future rounds. They’ve already traded out their future second in fact so even a bid in the second round would be a deficit against their third-rounder. Simply put – nothing to worry about, if they want to match those bids they should be able to.
AFL phantom draft 2020: A very early top 25
Leigh may have accidentally given votes to the wrong player so not sure that’s a big vote of confidence in him. I do agree that having journos on the panel is a bit meh
Five talking points from the 2020 AFL grand final
I saw the bounce and then picked up my chips, haha.
Five talking points from the 2020 AFL grand final
Unless I’ve missed someone – Max Rooke, Shannon Byrnes and James Podsiadly are Geelong’s premiership players drafted via the rookie list, though some more might be added in the weeks to come. So you might lose that bottom dollar as I believe Richmond had something like four rookie-selected players in last year’s premiership alone.
Wells is obviously excellent and I did mention in the article that good mature age selections and salary cap managment have been important to Geelong’s success. I don’t think he’s necessarilly been streets ahead of other clubs at the draft over the last decade or so, but the quality mature agers have been a point of difference.
The Geelong Cats are at a crossroads – again
It’s more of a burrito gut than a beer gut 😁
Richmond versus the field: Can anyone topple the Tigers in finals?
Sam Frost I was like “no, that can’t be right” at first.
AFL trades: Zac Williams, Aidan Corr and the giant problem at GWS
Here’s the complete list if you’re interested.
Matthew Kennedy – CA
Lachie Plowman – CA
Will Setterfield – CA
Taylor Adams – CO
Will Hoskin-Elliott – CO
Adam Treloar – CO
Andrew Phillips – ES
Dylan Shiel – ES
Devon Smith – ES
James Stewart – ES
Jacob Townsend – ES
Rory Lobb – FR
Cam McCarthy – FR
Nathan Wilson – FR
Sam Frost – HA
Jonathon Patton – HA
Tom Scully – HA
Adam Tomlinson – ME
Aiden Bonar – NM
Jack Steele – ST
Josh Bruce – WB
AFL trades: Zac Williams, Aidan Corr and the giant problem at GWS
I enjoyed many parts of this read Cam, but none moreso than the unexpected driveby shooting of Essendon.
GWS are broken in every way
Have probably over-dramatised it a little – but they are now relying on other results to go their way. They’ll be watching Richmond vs Geelong on Friday intently.
Six talking points from AFL Rounds 15 and 16
To be fair, my overall sentiment in those pieces was that they should keep investing in youth and target free agents (rather than spend draft picks on trading players in), which isn’t really what they’ve done. Whether my strategy would’ve worked out any better, who knows.
Stuck in the middle with you: Essendon are in no man's land
My mistake re Zaha, have fixed in the article.
Stuck in the middle with you: Essendon are in no man's land
I don’t think they’ll have any chance of getting further up the order, unfortunately.
AFL phantom draft 2020: A very early top 25