Prospects, order, mid-season draft date, Gold Coast Suns trade out first-round pick, Jake Rogers, Jed Walter, Harley Reid concussion, Ryan Maric

The Suns had already traded heavily into this year’s draft due to the calibre of their 2023 academy talent.

But they might need a few more picks still if they don’t want to go into draft deficit, for three academy graduates are set to attract ample attention at the pointy end of the draft.

Key forward Jed Walter, 172cm forward-midfielder Jake Rogers and 202cm ruck-forward Ethan Read all lined up for the AFL Academy against Carlton’s VFL side on Saturday night at Marvel Stadium.

While there’s been ample hype around 195cm goalkicker Walter for a few years — he booted nine goals for the Allies last year to make the Under 18 All-Australian team as a bottom-ager — Rogers stole the show on Saturday night, racking up 27 disposals, 13 contested possessions and six clearances, while going at 81 per cent by foot.

Rogers had already impressed recruiters with his speed, agility and groundball ability, but to do it on the big stage against a VFL team was particularly noteworthy.

Rogers won the medal for the AFL Academy’s best player across its two matches against state league opposition after he also had 12 disposals, seven contested possessions, seven tackles and three clearances against Port Adelaide’s SANFL side last month.

Walter also had some eye-catching moments against the Blues on Saturday, booting one goal from nine disposals and two score assists as he played with presence. Read also booted one goal from 13 disposals and five marks.

This time last year many recruiters viewed Rogers as a predominantly a small forward. But his midfield craft and ability to have an impact at the coalface has seen him surge into middle to late first-round contention.

The sense is Rogers sits behind Walter on most draft boards, with the latter being touted as a potential top-five pick.

Read’s draft position is a little more polarising. One recruiter spoken to by foxfooty.com.au believes Read could be a top-10 pick, while another said he’s more likely to be a mid to late second-round pick because, a) rucks rarely get picked early — although Mitch Edwards this year might be an exception — and, b) he’s tied to a club’s academy.

The Suns already hold one pick in the first round, two in the second, three in the third and three in the fourth, meaning they’re armed with points to match inevitably early bids and well placed to trade in more picks later this year.

But recruiters also wouldn’t be surprised if Gold Coast’s natural first-round pick is placed on the trade table later this year — particularly if that selection ends up being beyond Pick 8, which is seen as Walter’s draft range at this stage — to allow the Suns to split it with a rival and help them bank points.

Nonetheless, it’s a good problem for the Suns to have.

ACADEMY GAME STANDOUTS

Several other top prospects caught the eye in the AFL Academy’s tight win over the Blues.

Tassie duo Colby McKercher (Launceston) and Ryley Sanders (North Launceston) had a lot of the footy, finishing with 22 and 24 disposals respectively. The pair had more handball receives than any other player on the ground as they provided the AFL Academy team with ample drive, although McKercher’s kicking was a touch patchy. McKercher, who’s been likened to Essendon captain Zach Merrett, is considered a top-10 prospect, while Sanders is also in the first-round mix.

Peel Thunder’s Mitch Edwards was mightily impressive, to the point where recruiters wouldn’t be surprised to see gim taken in the top five later this year.

Edwards booted one goal from 11 disposals, five marks and 13 hit-outs. Most importantly, two of his five marks were contested — the only contested grabs taken by an AFL Academy player during the game — late against a hardened VFL side.

Likened to Tim English in terms of looks and playing style, Edwards is widely considered the best ruck of the class and has improved with every game that he’s played so far this season. The 205cm ruck linked to Fremantle via its Next Generation Academy, but the Dockers can only match a bid on him if it comes outside the top 40 — and, at this stage, there’s no chance Edwards is getting picked that late.

Claremont’s Daniel Curtin (195cm) was polished in a defensive role, finishing with 14 disposals and five marks, while fellow top-10 prospects Nate Caddy, Zane Duursma and Nick Watson kicked one goal each and showed glimpses without having massive influences.

Overwhelming Pick 1 favourite Harley Reid was surprisingly quiet (13 disposals) before he was placed in concussion protocols due to a head knock in the third term.

Despite the incident, AFL Academy coach Tarkyn Lockyer said Reid was “in a really good place”.

“I spoke to him today and he’s feeling really good,” Lockyer told SEN.

“Obviously, he took it pretty easy last night (Saturday), he actually went home, he left camp and went home with his family.

“It’s unfortunate for him because he was playing a great game, he’s obviously putting together a really good front-half of the year.”

MID-SEASON DRAFT STATE OF PLAY

The 2023 AFL mid-season draft is scheduled to be held on Wednesday May 31. But how many players are taken and which clubs will participate remains a mystery.

As it stands, only Hawthorn, Fremantle, Essendon, Western Bulldogs and Geelong have free spots on their lists after entering the 2023 season with a vacancy.

But several other clubs could open up opportunities should they move long-term injured players to their inactive list.

Sydney veteran Sam Reid (hamstring), Port Adelaide forward Mitch Georgiades (knee), West Coast young gun Jai Culley (knee) and Giants duo Darcy Jones (knee) and Adam Kennedy (knee) have all been ruled out for the rest of the season. Should those five clubs officially move the injured players to their inactive lists, they would have the option of picking in the mid-season draft.

Richmond would also be eligible for a selection after triple premiership forward Jason Castagna announced his shock retirement in February.

Clubs must advise the AFL if they plan to take part in the mid-season draft by May 24. AFL Media also reported the league will also allow clubs to open up a spot after that deadline should an injury or retirement occur before May 31.

But recruiters would be surprised if there’s more than 10 selections on draft night, with clubs likely to keep spots open to give them more flexibility come the end of the season.

TOP MID-SEASON PROSPECTS

A host of Victoria’s top mid-season draft prospects have had a chance to push their cases across the past fortnight in the 2023 Young Guns Series.

The two-game series pitted the ‘Young Guns’ — a team made up of eligible mid-season draft prospects (eligible for the AFL draft prior to this year and aged 19 or under as of January 1, 2023) selected by AFL recruiters — against a selection of Victoria’s best country and metro Under 18 boys footballers.

Ample eyes were on Gippsland Power’s Ryan Maric (193cm), who’s the prospect that has excited recruiters the most with his goal nous and efficient kick. Maric didn’t have his kicking radar on in the first game against Vic Metro (1.3 from 9 disposals), but impressed as a defender against Vic Country, racking up 23 disposals, seven marks and eight rebound 50s while going at 76 per cent by foot.

Eastern Ranges’ 204cm ruck Clay Tucker had a strong second game against Country, pushing forward to kick two goals while also finishing with 13 disposals, five marks and 14 hit-outs. He’s a strong chance to be taken by an AFL club in a fortnight’s time.

Maric and Tucker are viewed as the two best Young Guns prospects and should get picked up. 203cm Oakleigh Chargers big man William Elliott – the son of former Australian Test cricketer Matthew Elliott – also has AFL attributes. After kicking one goal in each game for the Young Guns, he’s still a chance to get picked up.

Then there’s a few speculative picks on the cusp of being picked.

Richmond VFL’s Luke Teal was one of the most impressive performers across both Young Guns games. A 188cm prospect that played as a defender in previous years, Teal racked up 18 disposals, eight tackles and three clearances as a midfielder against Metro before collecting a whopping 32 touches, 12 contested possessions and eight marks (three contested) against Country. Teal was considered one of the unluckiest not to get picked up in last year‘s drafts after his 18th year was curtailed by injury.

Jedd Longmire, a 188cm prospect who’s been playing for Collingwood’s VFL side this year after being overlooked in his top-age draft year in 2022, had a big game in the wet against Vic Metro, finishing with 23 disposals, five clearances, five tackles and seven inside 50s. He backed it up with 17 disposals and 10 contested possessions against Country.

Geelong Falcons’ Archie Sinnott — a winger with a booming left foot kick and turn of speed — had 23 and 17 disposals respectively in the two games.

Defender Jack Cleaver (188cm), who’s been with Essendon’s VFL side this year, also had two solid games, finishing with 18 disposals and six marks against Metro before a 27-disposal display against Country. Could the Bombers upgrade him from their VFL list to their AFL list?

Nicholas Newton (187cm, Murray Bushrangers) impressed as a midfielder across both games, Rye Penny (186cm, Calder Cannons) provided good drive to do his chances no harm and Archie May peppered the goals with 1.4 and 2.1.

Of the state league players in the mid-season draft mix, luckless ex-Swan Sam Naismith is a good chance to get picked up after three knee reconstructions during his stint at Sydney. Geelong has been heavily linked to Naismith, who’s become one of the VFL’s most dominant rucks this season, while Collingwood and Sydney are also monitoring.

However the Swans have also been linked to ex-Demon and Blues utility Oscar McDonald, who’s had a strong start to his 2023 VFL campaign with Williamstown.

North Adelaide 191cm forward Noah Casalini, who won the best on ground medal for six-goal, 10-mark display in an Anzac Day victory over Norwood, is one of the SANFL’s best chances, while 199cm Claremont key forward Jack Buller reportedly has interest from the two WA clubs.