Mock 2008 AFL Draft - Ver 1.0

2008 AFL Draft – 1st Round Version 1.0 (24 May 2008)
1	Melbourne	Nicholas Naitanui	Swan Districts (WA)	196cm, 79kg, 4/5/1990
Naitanui is a developing ruckman of Fijian decent. He was first seen at the 2006 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships and improved considerably throughout 2007. He was the No.1 hitout winner in division one at the 2007 NAB AFL Under-18 championships where he averaged 11 disposals and five hardball gets per game. At WAFL colts level he was part of Swan Districts premiership team, scoring 11 goals in his 14 appearances. He averaged 13 disposals per match and was again impressive at ground level with an average of four hardball gets. His hitout to advantage rate as a junior ranks in the average category. Natanui is potentially a complete freak. The height of a Kreuzer (i.e. smallish ruckman) but already has a mansize physique which will get bigger (think islander type rugby players). He has unbelievable speed, strength and jumping ability and hits contests in a way that AD will probably try and outlaw (as it will frighten the soccer mums). The pessimists would say that NickNat may not be tall enough to ruck, may not be "footy" smart enough to play as KP forward (as such has no position) OR the optimistic view is that he may be a complete freak of nature, a Kouta in his prime (but bigger/faster and stronger), a rich mans Adam Goodes. Thats the thing with NickNat, he has "best player ever" or "coud've been anything" written all over him. Boom or bust. The dreadlocked Natanui, a tall, sinewy, mobile and athletic high-leaping ruckman, here for all to witness was a 17-year-old star in the making. I have no doubt that scouts from the 16 AFL clubs will be watching his progress with keen interest. Holds a 2006-07 AFL AIS Scholarship. A likely high draft choice in the 2008 AFL National Draft.
2	West Coast	Daniel Rich	Subiaco (WA)	180cm, 75kg, 7/6/1990
Rich's impressive performances for Subiaco in the WAFL seniors late in 2007 stamped him as a likely high selection in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft. He has 16 disposals and booted three goals in the preliminary final before picking up another 13 disposals and two goals in Subiaco's grand final win. Possessing one of the best kicks of anyone his age, Rich ranked No.1 for effective kicks at the 2006 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships and has maintained an elite kicking efficiency in his junior career to date. He was named in the All-Australian team after the 2007 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships and has the numbers to suggest he's going to be an elite goal kicking midfielder at AFL level. He has the hardness and body type of Daniel Kerr with the skill and poise of Luke Hodge. Has inside ball winning ability together with Hodge like kicking skills. Was one of the best players in last years WAFL Grand Final as a 16 year old (he may have just turned 17 but you get the idea) and he was clearly the classiest player on the field. He is very very very good. I personally think he is underrated by some who see him as "just" an inside mid. He is an inside mid who can also run away from a contest and kick 50m pinpoint. As such, he is exactly what West Coast lack. He is not the longest kick in the world preferring 40m passes and doesn’t seem as comfortable past that distance. Rich has the elite skills especially kicking and tackling
3	Essendon	Michael Hurley	Northern (VIC)	192cm, 88kg, 1/6/1990
Hurley is a proven performer at both ends of the ground and produced impressive numbers in the 2007 season. In 17 games for Northern in the TAC Cup he averaged 18 disposals per game playing in key positions at either end of the ground. When up forward he was always a threat, being a multiple goal kicker five times including a haul of 6. He spent most of his time in defence, however having six or more rebound 50s on seven occasions and averaging four spoils and two marks from opposition kicks per game. He is strong overhead highlighted by his tally of 29 contested marks, of which he took at least one in all games. He dominated at full back for Vic Metro in the 2007 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, totalling four more rebound 50s than any other player.
4	Fremantle	Jackson Trengrove	Calder (VIC)	196cm, 77kg, 2/11/1990
Trengrove was one of the best players in the 2007 TAC Cup finals series, putting in four dominant performances in the ruck for premiers Calder. He averaged 17 disposals, six marks, six groundball gets, 19 hitouts and three clearances in those four games, winning plenty of possession around the ground along with an eilte hit out to advantage rate. While he impressed in the ruck towards the end of the year, he was versatile enough to play in defence early in the season when he averaged six rebound 50s and six spoils per game in his opening four matches.
5	Richmond	Hamish Hartlett	West Adelaide (SA)	181cm, 67kg, 14/8/1990
Hartlett is the younger brother of Adam who has been on Carlton's list for three years. But Hamish is a completely different player. While his brother is a key position type, Hamish is a midfielder who was prominent for South Australia in the 2006 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships. In that carnival he averaged 31 disposals and ranked No.1 for hardball gets and uncontested marks. He averaged 17 disposals in last years NAB AFL Under 18 Championships and made his senior SANFL debut late last season. A ball magnet type midfielder.
6	Port Adelaide	Aaron Cornelius	Glenorchy (Tas)	191cm, 81kg, 29/5/1990
Cornelius has proven in his junior career to date to be one of the best marks for his age. Since taking nine contested marks for Tasmania in the opening game of the 2006 NAB AFL Under 16 Championships, Cornelius has continued that form to average more than three per game in 14 games of under-age football for his state in the past two years. At age 17 he made his debut for Tasmania in the VFL late last season and took the equal most marks of anyone in the 2007 NAB AFL Under 18 Championships. Is now a regular in the Devils line up. He played a BOG for AIS/AFL U17 Australian side against combined Perth side at Subiaco before they went to South Africa, played on and beat Michael Johnson from Fremantle. Unlucky to get injured against Stingrays but took 9 marks last week, 8 contested. Freak athlete for 196cm, inspector gadget arms A real dark horse, not many people know of him. From Tasmania, basketball background, in 2007 AIS Squad. Great presenter at CHF, unreal hands. Easily the best Div 2 prospect and is a definite top 10 pick I think. He played CHF for Tas and is a top shelf forward prospect. He is a little on the short side for a KP (about 191) but he is a fantastic mark. Quite simply his hands are superb and combining that with excellent judgement of the ball in flight and pretty good pace makes him a very difficult match up. He is a reasonable shot for goal without being elite. The other thing which I think teams will like is the work he does in support of his team. He works hard on the 1%ers, chases hard and works well within the team concept. The only player I saw out of the two games on Saturday that really jumped out at me was Cornelius. He's got real presence out there, and he knows how to get himself into the action. His 1%ers resulted in at least 4 of Tasmania’s goals by my count. By the end, NT had absolutely no idea what to do about him. Tassie ended up moving him up the ground to help out when the rest of his teammates dropped off.
7	Carlton	Ayce Cordy	Geelong (VIC)	200cm, 72kg, 6/8/1990
Cordy is eligible to be taken by the Western Bulldogs under the father son rule in 2008 after his father, Brian, played 124 games for the club from 1981-88. He spent most of 2007 playing school football, but appeared 3 times for Geelong in the TAC Cup where he showed his mobility by averaging 14 disposals per game. He was strong in the air with an average of two contested marks in those games and despite standing over 200cm he was also good at ground level where he averaged 5 hard ball gets.
8	Brisbane	Matthew Broadbent	W’ville-W Torrens (SA)		187cm, 77kg, 1/8/1990
Broadbent is a midfielder who is damaging as both an inside and outside player. His best performances as a junior came in the 2006 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships where he ranked third in division one for handballs, equal fourth for hardball-gets and equal sixth in the handball-receives. In 2007 he played two games for South Australia in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships and also made seven appearances in the SANFL reserves for Woodville-West Torrens.
9	North Melbourne	Tyson Davis-Neale	South Adelaide (SA)	184cm, 74kg, 20/3/1991
Davis-Neale averaged 12 disposals and scored four goals in the 2007 NAB AFL Under 16 Championships for South Australia. While not a huge ball winner, he showed signs across half forward that he could potentially be a high selection in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft. He booted 20 goals in 13 games at SANFL Under 17 level for South Adelaide last season.
10	St Kilda	Matthew De Boer	Claremont (WA)	183cm, 77kg, 10/3/1990
DeBoer bypassed the 2007 NAB AFL Draft despite being one of the leading junior midfielders in 2007. In 17 games at WAFL colts level for Claremont he averaged 25 disposals, 5 hardball gets and 3 clearances per game and had a kicking efficiency of 73% which was in the average category. At the 2007 NAB AFL Under 18 Championships DeBoer averaged 17 disposals and five hard ball gets per game.
11	Western Bulldogs	Steven Gaertner	Dandenong (VIC)	196cm, 83kg, 2/1/1990
Gaertner played 11 games for Dandenong in the 2007 TAC Cup but was surprisingly overlooked in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft. He averaged only 13 disposals per match for the stingrays after starting the season well before struggling towards the end. He averaged 16 disposals in his first six games, but that average dropped to less than 10 per game in the final five rounds. In a sign of his ability he had 27 disposals, took 14 marks and scored 4 goals in the round 5 game against Tasmania, but struggled to settle in one position throughout the season which hindered his development.
12	Collingwood	Sam Blease	Eastern (VIC)	182cm, 70kg, 19/2/1991
Blease was one of the leading midfielders at the 2007 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships, averaging 19 disposals per game. His disposal efficiency of 83% was elite and he showed an ability to read the play by winning the equal third-most loose ball gets of any division one player. He scored 5 goals at the carnival and also averaged 3 clearances and four inside 50s. Has incredible skills and very good speed.
13	Adelaide	Tom Hill	Northern (VIC)	196cm, 73kg, 7/4/1991
Hill is predominantly a key forward who scored six goals for Vic Metro at the 2007 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships. He averaged 13 disposals, five marks and three inside 50s per game at the carnival, and also totalled 4 score assists in the three matches. He had elite disposal efficiency of 82% and was strong overhead with a total of five contested marks.
14	Sydney	Lewis Johnstone	North Adelaide (SA)	192cm, 87kg, 3/3/1991
Johnstone is a power forward who averaged 13 disposals and three marks at the 2007 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships. While his numbers at that carnival were only modest, he spent the 2007 season in the SANFL U-17's where he produced some impressive performances. He kicked 31 goals in 20 games and was named in the best players on seven occasions, proving to be not only strong overhead but also at ground level.
15	Hawthorn	Kieran King	East Fremantle (WA)	181cm, 80kg, 5/3/1991
King is an Australian junior running champion but proved in the 2007 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships that he is also a talented footballer. He averaged 19 disposals in the three games playing across half forward using his pace to full effect by ending the carnival with the second most running bounces of any division one player (13). He was able to do so because only 26% of his possessions were won in a contest, and he posed a threat pushing forward with an average of five inside 50s and two goals per game.
16	Geelong	Tom Lynch	Sandringham (VIC)	190cm, 75kg, 15/9/1990
Lynch missed the majority of the 2007 season after undergoing a knee reconstruction but impressed enough in the opening three rounds of the TAC Cup season to be considered a likely early pick. In that time he averaged 24 disposals, nine marks, six hard ball gets, six inside 50s and two goals per match and looks capable of filling a number of roles.

2008 AFL Draft – 2nd Round Mock Draft: 3 May 2008
17	Melbourne	Shaun McKernan	Calder (VIC)	195cm, 87kg, 1/9/1990
McKernan is a similar player to his older brother Corey, spending time both up forward an in the ruck for Calder in the 2007 TAC Cup. He scored 17 goals in his 12 games last season and was a multiple goal kicker on five occasions. He averaged one contested mark per match, while in the ruck he averaged 15 hitouts with an elite 29% hitout to advantage rate.
18	West Coast	Steele Sidebottom	Murray (VIC)	181cm, 74kg, 2/1/1991
Sidebottom was one of Vic Country's leading players at the 2007 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships, proving dangerous through the midfield and up forward. He averaged 20 disposals per game and totalled the third most kicks of any player (46). He showed strength overhead for his size with two contested marks in each match and was also good at ground level where he averaged eight groundball gets. He was a threat when pushing forward averaging six inside 50s and two goals in the three games.
19	Essendon	Ashley Smith	Dandenong (VIC)	184cm, 83kg, 20/7/1990
Smith played five games across half back for Dandenong in the 2007 TAC Cup, averaging 21 disposals. He had an elite disposal efficiency of 79% and produced impressive averages of four rebound 50s and three marks from opposition kicks per game.
20	Fremantle	Nick Suban	North Ballarat (VIC)	179cm, 78kg, 9/5/1990
Suban averaged 19 disposals per game in the 2007 TAC Cup where his kicking efficiency of 76% ranked in the elite category. He can play all over the ground and works hard when not in possession, averaging five tackles per game last year. Suban was named in the All-Australian team at the 2007 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships where he ranked in the top three in division one in kicks, long kicks and rebound 50s and won a large portion of his possessions in an uncontested manner.
21	Richmond	Tom Swift	Claremont (WA)	183cm, 75kg, 6/7/1990
Swift underwent a knee reconstruction in April last year and as a result missed the remainder of the season. He is still a likely early draftee for 2008 after producing amazing numbers as a midfielder for Western Australia in the 2006 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships. He began the carnival with 40 possessions, followed up with 24 in the next game and racked up a whopping 45 disposals in the final game against Vic Metro. He led division one in handballs, marks, short kicks, contested possessions, uncontested possessions, handball receives, clearances and frees for and looms as a prolific ball winner.
22	Port Adelaide	Tyrone Vickery	Sandringham (VIC)	198cm, 78kg, 31/5/1990
Vickery is another potential draftee in 2008 who suffered a long term industry last season. He underwent a knee reconstruction after only one TAC Cup game for Sandringham but showed enough in the 2006 NAB AFL Under 16 Championships to suggest if he returns well from injury he'll be in consideration. He averaged 10 disposals and 11 hitouts per game in that carnival, taking three contested marks and booting four goals in one game as a forward/ruckman.
23	Carlton	Michael Walters	Swan Districts (WA)	175cm, 68kg, 7/1/1991
Walters may stand only 175cm, but he proved at the 2007 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships he could be an elite goalkicking midfielder at the highest level. He not only led division one in disposals with 87 in the three games, but his tally of 10 goals was also the equal most. He had an elite 85% kicking efficiency, led the carnival with 40 effective kicks, and was most damaging as an inside player as he won the second most contested possession and most clearances of any player.
24	Brisbane	Chris Yarran	Swan Districts (WA)	179cm, 82kg, 19/12/1990
Yarran is a talented general forward who booted 26 goals in 12 games for Swan Districts in the 2007 WAFL colts. He scored at least one goal in each game he played and was also a threat around the stoppages where he averaged four clearances. He played all three games for Western Australia at the 2007 NAB AFL Under 18 Championships where despite limited game time he totalled four goals and three score assists.
25	North Melbourne	Jack Ziebell	Murray (VIC)	188cm, 82kg, 28/2/1991
Ziebell is a utility who performed well in a variety of roles for Vic Country in the 2007 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships. He averaged 17 disposals per game with his ball use the feature of his play, hitting the target with an elite 89% efficiency. He laid the third most tackles of any division one player and will play for Murray in the 2008 TAC Cup.
26	St Kilda	Jacob Hislop	Tasmania (TAS)
Brother of Tom Hislop at Essendon who was drafted at number 20 in the 2006 National Draft. Knows how to find the ball he is a prolific possesion getter, mostly rotating through the midfield and half foward line as he just has that awareness that a selct few have around the goals. He is extremely fit, great pace and agility and has very tidy skills. Just recently kicking 2 goals for the mariners getting 22 odd possesions and getting named in the best. Solid guy with good height for a midfielder. He has an innate ability to position himself to receive the ball from ruck contests and accordingly he gets first hands on the ball more often than not. The problem though is that he does not seem to have very fast hands and he rarely seems to get the ball away and is caught with the ball entirely too much and turns the ball over a lot. Disposal is only average. Someone might like him and give him a chance but I would be reluctant to take him.
27	Western Bulldogs	Tyson Mihocek	Burnie Dockers (Tas)
Has been performing extremley well for both dockers seniors and tassie mariners and is pushing for VFL Selction. Just recently got 2nd b.o.g in the mariners tac cup challenge against bendigo pioners booting 4 majors and having 18 possesions. I have looked at most of the mariners write ups and his name just seems to keep popping up. He is also the youngest in NTFL history to kick 10 or more goals in a match. He has explosive speed over 20-40 metres being the quickest in the state. He is the son of former Essendon Hard Man Jack Mihocek who played played for them in the late 70's. Solid FF with good strength but without great height. I think his greatest asset is his ability to read the play. His judgement is very good and he is a fair mark. His shooting for goal though can be a bit hit and miss. His has pretty good length on his kicks.
28	Collingwood	Stephen Hill	West Perth (WA)
29	Adelaide	Anthony Collica	South Fremantle (WA)
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2008 AFL Draft – 3rd Round Mock Draft: 3 May 2008