For a first time AFL keeper league drafter this draft had some of the biggest hits in the league, but they were few and far between, and could be one reason this team primed for finals didn’t make the cut. Every good team needs depth and this draft exposed that.

For the positives, Sheezel is the obvious one, undoubtedly the biggest hit of the draft for any team. Period. 18 yr olds + 94 average = superstar. Great find by coach Rowan. Wood was another, which I called in the preseason review (instead of ya know actually picking him myself) and some massive scores out of the blocks set the tone for the team to prepare to take off for a finals run. Blicavs was also a steal in the 3rd round, providing solid scoring and durability. Zach Guthrie was a great pick past the half way mark of the draft and Mitch Lewis and Oskar Baker proved serviceable at the bottom of the draft.

Outside of that, there’s… really… nothing. In this author’s opinion Rowston and Fin Macrae were high upside dart throws that didn’t land (and coach Rowan probably saw a few more in that draft pool in that light too). I can’t knock a guy for making those calls, but with every gamble, it hurts when it doesn’t pay off. I almost put DBJ as the steal of the draft, when an almost 80 averaging defender in his prime is taken in the sixth round, that should be the safest pick in the draft. But Byrne-Jones clearly left his soul in the backline, as his lifeless body flitted around the forward half seemingly disinterested in going near the football. I can only assume his antics were an unsuccessful ploy to show Hinkley ‘I’m clearly not good as a forward, you’ll have to shove me back in defence’.

All that to say, I give this draft a tick if only for Sheezel alone, as at the end of the day I’d give a draft full of serviceable bench cover (and probably more) for the high end talent of a guy like Sheezel. Nothing else matters.