Meet the cream of the crop. Same as the old cream of the crop.
Puttanesca Chiefs
The greatest team in the land is gearing up for a third flag. Any team wanting to take it out will surely need to go through them.
Is anyone up to the task?
Coaches Predictions:
- 4th – 1 coach
- 3rd – 3 coaches
- 2nd – 2 coaches
- 1st – 3 coaches
- Tipped for the flag – 2 coaches
2020 Draft Results:
| 18 | Jayden Short RI – B |
| 22 | Kyle Langford ES – C,F |
| 27 | Josh Battle SK – B |
| 37 | Gryan Miers GE – F |
| 52 | Jeremy Finlayson GWS – F |
| 57 | Heath Shaw GWS – B |
| 67 | George Hewett SY – C |
| 72 | Will Setterfield CA – C |
| 77 | Zach Tuohy GE – B |
| 87 | Tom Scully HW – C |
| 94 | Ben Brown NM – F |
| 107 | Jasper Pittard NM – B |
| 117 | Liam Henry FR – C,F |
| 127 | Harry Jones HW – C |
| 137 | Hamish Brayshaw WC – C |
| 147 | Jake Stringer ES – F |
| 157 | Sam De Koning GE – B |
| 167 | Noah Cumberland RI – C,F |
| 177 | David Mundy FR – C |
| 187 | Mark Blicavs GE – B |
| 197 | Elijah Taylor SY – C,F |
The Chiefs know where they are – smack bang in the premiership window. With that in mind, they’ve eschewed rookies, at least early, and focused on players who can contribute now. This is a stellar draft.
Jayden Short is a great get at pick 18. Langford and Battle are exciting (if frustrating) players to have on your list. Gryan Miers scores well in spite of his name. Finlayson is coming off a break-out, Hewett just needs Josh Kennedy to retire, Heath Shaw somehow hasn’t retired. Will Setterfield threatens to maybe be something someday, maybe.
The stretch of Tuohy, Scully, Brown and Pittard is knockout stuff. Four players who can comfortably fill roles in a 22 – even if you’re not in love with it as you do it. These are valuable additions if you’re a team who plans on winning the flag.
From here, the Chiefs get their fill of young prospects – top ten draft pick Liam Henry is great value at 117, Harry Jones and Hamish Brayshaw are unproven players with some upside. Stringer doesn’t quite fit the mold here, but he is contractually obliged to don a chiefs uniform at this point.
A couple of questionable picks for are Sam De Koning and Noah Cumberland, but at 157 and 167, who cares? Their following picks in David Mundy (177) and Mark Blicavs (187) are found money at this point in the draft. If Blicavs finds himself playing ruck or wing, he’ll be right in the mix as the best value selection.
Early Verdict
This is a team that has been neck deep in the premiership mix since season two. They’re the most successful team in the land. They boast the best, or near best, scorers on every line.
So why aren’t they as favoured as the next team?
I’m tempted to assume it’s part of some grand elaborate troll work on everyone else’s part. We’ll just keep nominating this last remaining team for the ultimate glory, knowing the universe then conspires to prevent them from reaching the grand final.
But maybe it’s the losses in the forward line. Dangerfield, Marshall, Billings and Kelly have all lost forward line eligibility (each of them were All-Australian forwards last year…). Whitfield gaining F status obviously helps – he automatically becomes the highest average scorer in the position. But behind him the Chiefs have only a solid array of forward options. I say only only because it doesn’t make for as impressive reading as every other part of the field – but it’s still pretty good. Gunston and Greenwood are very solid ‘second tier’ forwards. Fritsch, Miers, Finlayson, Brown and Stephenson are all capable of triple figures on their day. It’s just not as awe-inspiring as last year’s edition.
All that said, it’s hard to imagine this team not featuring yet again in the Preliminary Finals. And if last year is anything to go by, it’ll be somewhat shocking if they’re not featuring in the very last game of the season.
Defenestrators
Once again, the team in pink find themselves in pole position. We’ve been here before – and it’s ended in tears every time. They are Usain Bolt in the first half of the year, and me playing Super Smash Brothers in the second half (read: terrible, bordering on incomprehensibly so)
Coaches Predictions:
- 4th – 1 coach
- 3rd – 1 coach
- 2nd – 1 coach
- 1st – 6 coaches
- Tipped for the flag – 4 coaches
2020 Draft Results:
| 6 | Ryan Burton PA – B |
| 26 | David Swallow GC – C |
| 30 | Gary Ablett GE – F |
| 46 | Jack Higgins RI – F |
| 49 | Matthew Kreuzer CA – R |
| 56 | Michael Hurley ES – B |
| 61 | Jesse Hogan FR – F |
| 76 | Will Gould SY – B |
| 86 | Jed Anderson NM – C |
| 106 | Rupert Wills CW – C |
| 116 | Jamie Elliott CW – F |
| 126 | Josh Kennedy WC – F |
| 136 | Luke Breust HW – F |
| 146 | Dayne Beams CW – C |
| 156 | Dylan Clarke ES – C |
| 158 | Sam Naismith SY – R |
| 166 | Jimmy Webster SK – B |
| 176 | Andrew Phillips ES – R |
| 196 | Chayce Jones AD – F (21st Keeper) |
| 200 | David Mackay AD – B,C |
I think this is my favourite draft – at least from a ‘clarity in strategy’ approach. The Defenestrators have gone all in.
Their first seven selections wouldn’t have looked out of place on a keeper list (Higgins may be a stretch given his absences, but he’s an exciting prospect nonetheless). Burton, Swallow, Ablett, Kreuzer, and Hurley are all players you would expect to start most weeks. Hogan, provided he’s actually playing, would fit this description too.
Four successive picks in the backhalf – Elliot, Kennedy, Breust, Beams – are all great value picks at that point in the draft. The first three are startable forwards (and typically have started when fit)
Beams is obviously a massive question mark, but at pick 146, that is a gamble worth taking. It’s not like the Defenestrators have paid a significant price if he doesn’t come close to taking the field.
This author isn’t blind to why some of these selections were even possible. Many of these players have injury issues. Some of them are plain old.
But these are gambles worth taking when you have a squad like the one coach Zerna possesses. They’ve been brought undone by injuries in the home stretch of several seasons now. Investing further in injury prone players may seem unwise, but this is a depth play. They can’t all be injured at the same time, can they? (can they?)
Early Verdict
Their starting six defenders are Sicily, Johannisen, Hurn, Suckling, Hurley, and Burton. Harry Perryman is the odd man out. Phwoar.
I won’t list out the midfielders one by one, but basically all you need to know is only one of Joel Selwood, Will Brodie, and Jed Anderson can fit in the 22.
The three forwards I mentioned in the draft summary as being starters most weeks? All on the bench.
Ruck is the only question mark, and even there they’ve buffered themselves through the draft. Naismith, Phillips and Kreuzer will duke it out for the number 1 role. And if push comes to shove, they’ve got the resources to acquire one through trades.
The coaches are broadly aligned. 60 per cent of the league think their combination of scoring power and depth will get them the minor premiership. 40 per cent think they’re going to win the flag. This is a team that finished 2019 with 6 losses on the trot, yet they find themselves the clear favourite for 2020 – at least in the eyes of their peers.