Collectively, the team has viewed well over 900 games, numerous training sessions, interviewed the players at their homes, watched them test, reviewed their psychology testing, and spoken to coaches, parents and others closely associated with the players. The team has logged over 3,500 match reports on around 100 players. It is a long process and we hope that this work will serve the Club well.
While the 2012 Draft has been run, it will be some time before we know who has ‘won’. Each club exercises its selections with sound reasoning behind them. The reasoning behind our Draft selections is provided below:
Pick No.8 - SAM MAYES
Sam was, in our view, the best available player at that selection. We had debated long and hard as to whether we take the best available tall, or the best player at Pick 8. In our reviews of the players likely to be around the Pick 8 mark, we were always going to be happy with adding Sam to our list. He is one of those players who gives the impression of having ‘class’ due to his accurate and precise kicking, coupled with this smooth movement across the ground.
In 2011, Sam was selected as an All Australian forward due to his performance for South Australia at centre half-forward where he kicked 13.9 in his five games. At 187cm, Sam is clearly not a CHF, however in 2012 he played as a high half-forward for North Adelaide and as a forward/midfielder for the State team.
Other than a quiet game against Vic Metro, Sam again impressed in this year’s championships, earning another All Australian honour. He showed the capacity to play as an on-baller whose ability to anticipate the play and spread from the contest was an attraction for us. The ability to spread from the contest is an area that we need to build, and we feel that with a couple of years in the AFL system, Sam should be able to move from a forward role into our midfield group. Having a player with Sam’s foot skills deliver the ball into our forward 50 would be a real plus - as it’s so often that last kick into the 50 that determines whether we have a shot on goal or the ball is being rebounded.
Currently measuring 187cm and 78kg, Sam has a frame that suggests that, with time and effort, he will develop a strong body that should see him capable of playing both inside the contest as well as outside. In the long term, we hope that he can be that player whose game time is shared between playing as an attacking forward (he is an excellent lead) and a running mid. I’ve no doubt that when he matures he will be the type of player who, at times, will be asked to go forward to create a goal.
From a physical performance point of view, Sam’s AIS testing results shows he has the potential to keep up with the modern game as evidenced by the following:
• 20m sprint time of 2.99 would have placed him at the 63rd percentile at the Draft Combine
• He has consistently tested in the elite range for agility, in one instance recording a time of less than 8.0 for the agility test
• He recorded a shuttle of 14.4 at the AIS which also is well above average.
In total, we logged 14 match reports on Sam at SANFL and Under 18 Championships level, and saw him play in 16 games. Our scouts are confident that Sam has the ability to make a strong contribution to the Brisbane Lions throughout a long career.
Pick No.23: MARCO PAPARONE
Marco Paparone is perhaps the most interesting of the players we selected.
Marco is a running machine who leads long for the ball, or runs hard forward to make position. He kicked over 40 goals with East Fremantle Colts, winning their Best and Fairest and also winning the MVP for the WA Under 18 Championships team. Our Western Australian scouts had a strong view on Marco, having watched him play 21 games this year and logged a report on each of these.
Marco’s mobility is outstanding, recording beep tests results of 15.1 at a Colts testing day earlier in the year. In terms of type, he should become that hard and long running half forward who can connect our defense with our forwards. Marco does not play as a key forward, and we are not expecting that of him. He willingly takes front position in a marking contest and his one-out overhead marking was quite consistent during the year, as he tends to mark the ball at its highest point - something that is assisted by his long arms (arm length was at the 91st percentile at the Draft Combine).
Marco is a long kick capable of kicking goals from outside 50. He does have an unusual kicking action as he tends to release the ball with both hands at nearly the same time. Our viewing suggests that his kicking is generally accurate but will need development to stand up to the extra pressure of AFL. Pleasingly, he is willing to kick on his left foot and does so quite well.
Marco has a preference for kicking over handball and this, along with pack marking and ground ball skills, will no doubt be areas that he works on developing. As he builds his strength we are hopeful that with greater power in his legs he will improve in some of the power attributes such as speed and jumping.
One area where Marco is a standout is his approach to his training. He is regarded by all who have been involved with him as an outstanding trainer who brings intensity and focus to his training. He is very conscientious in his preparation, and we are confident that these attributes will enable him to continue his progress.
As a player, Marco offers us great versatility. He could play as a long running high half-forward, a deep forward who works his opponent over, or a wingman who is able to get behind the opposition’s defence and stream forward. I happily admit that when I worked with Kevin Sheedy, I was influenced by his love of ‘running height’ and there is no doubt that Marco is an even taller version of what Kevin was referring to.
In the week of the Draft, we met with Marco’s parents who were extremely supportive of the prospect of a move to Brisbane and reported that Marco had also spoken enthusiastically of the prospect. Independent in nature, we are confident that Marco will enjoy the move to Brisbane.
Pick No.32: MICHAEL CLOSE
We always intended to add one true key position type to our list through the Draft. Our preference was for a forward, however we did also consider a defender. When we reviewed the list of key position players likely to be in our 2nd or 3rd pick range, we rated Michael as having the attributes we most desired and felt he also had large scope for development. We recognised that Michael’s second half of the season had not been as strong as the first (he suffered ankle and foot injuries), so were fairly confident that he would be available at Pick 33, which later became Pick 32.
Michael is a big-framed boy who stands 196cm tall and currently weighs 84kg. His work rate and ground coverage is outstanding for a player of his size, and aerobically he is in the upper echelon of players in his size bracket. In fact, he ran a 15+ beep at the Vic Country testing during the pre-season. This is a great attribute to have as the ability to lead up the ground and offer repeat leads is a key success factor for the key position players who play up the ground. Even those who start deep need to be able to apply the pressure necessary to keep the ball in the forward half, and players who have struggled to build endurance bases have struggled to have impact at AFL level given the emphasis on transition in today’s game. This will become even more critical if the game moves to a cap on rotations or two interchange and two substitutes.
In the last two years, Michael has boarded at St Patrick’s in Ballarat, and has played with North Ballarat in the TAC Cup. In 2011, he played at centre half-back while in 2012 he was played predominantly as a centre half-forward. Early in the season, Michael’s marking was a feature of his game, however it is also an area that he will continue to develop in order to build consistency. As he becomes stronger through the shoulders and forearms he will be able to stand tall in packs and compete well in the air.
A real strength of Michael’s is his kicking. He kicks the ball well for a player of his size and is quite a reliable set shot at goal. Another of Michael’s attractions is his controlled aggression. From a pressure perspective, he averaged 4.5 physical acts in his championships games with four of those being tackles, ranking him as the 4th best for Vic Country in terms of converting physical pressure to tackles. This is a rare attribute for a young tall, and is an attribute that is highly valued by coaches and elevated him above some of the other boys who were of a similar type.
Speed and agility-wise, Michael’s early season results were positive as he recorded a 20m sprint time of 3.03 and an agility test time of 8.45. At this stage Michael hasn’t really bought these attributes to his game but as he finishes growing and developing they should come to the fore.
Michael is the classic developing tall who will need time to add 10kg to his frame to compete at AFL level. Having viewed most of Michael’s TAC Cup games this year (12 reports were logged) we are confident that Michael’s work ethic and desire to improve himself will give him every chance of succeeding.
SUMMARY
Over the full Trade and Draft period, we believe we have addressed some of our list needs in both the short and long term. Our list now consists of 26 players who will commence the New Year at 23 years of age or younger. An interesting exercise for supporters is to pick a team of these players to get a glimpse into what our future hopefully looks like.
Given the number of young players on our list, the players we have selected this year join the list with some time to develop their games. Sam Docherty is one player who in the pre-season looks to have benefited from taking the first year to find his feet and build an AFL suitable body.
At the other end of the spectrum we have added an experienced inside midfielder in Brent Moloney and versatile tall - Stefan Martin - who has played ruck, forward and back, and has the opportunity to build his career while our younger tall stocks continue to develop.
As we look to the Rookie draft we are hopeful of adding a couple of additional players to our list. Certainly there were a couple of young players who we felt would be drafted who missed out and we feel could have futures at AFL level. The club will make a decision on whether we participate in the next week.
Finally, I would like to thank the recruiting team for its valuable work. Our team consists of Stephen Conole, Andrew Farrell, Rick Dowling, Ash Craig, Russ Gardiner and Stewart Page in Victoria. Graeme Hadley, Peter Fitzgerald, James Saywell, Terry Pass and Brett Wills cover SA and WA while Darren Perry covers Tasmania with Leigh Brain covering NSW. In Queensland, Ashley Drake monitors the local talent with the support of Luke Curran and Scott Borlace. The efforts of this group are been greatly and all are hoping that these young men go on to make a strong contribution to the Brisbane Lions.
MOVEMBER SUPPORT
I wanted to lastly thank everyone who has donated towards my Movember cause, which obviously helps support men’s health issues such as prostate cancer and depression.
David Gibson, Michael Jorgensen, Warren Lester, Andrew Chiodo, Jon Raven all made generous contributions after reading my Trade analysis, as did a number of other Lions fans who preferred not to be mentioned.
My father suffered from prostate cancer, and fortunately he was lucky enough to get through it, but most people have had friends who have gone through a similar battle. So it’s an important initiative to promote the awareness of men’s health issues.
As for the ‘Mo’, I reckon it’s looking alright and I’m a bit reluctant to part with it at the end of next month! You can take a look at http://mobro.co/4895677
GO LIONS!
