As the majority of the Crows football department focuses on a strong finish to the season leading into finals, the Club’s recruiting team is looking further ahead, working hard behind the scenes in preparation for the upcoming draft and trade periods.
Recently, afc.com.au caught up with List Manager David Noble to get his thoughts on the 2012 Draft, the introduction of Free Agency and the state of Adelaide’s squad.
You've had a more hands-on role in recruiting this season. How many games have you seen already in 2012?
DN: “I’ve seen over 100 games live now I think. I’ve been giving (National Recruiting Manager) Hamish Ogilvie a bit of a hand with the recruiting. At the National Championships, you see a lot of games in a short period of time and then it’s making sure you’re across the state league competitions as well."
You mentioned the recent National Under-18 and Under-16 Championships. How did you rate the standard of competition at both levels?
DN: "We had some interesting results between Division One and Division Two at the Under-18 Champs, and the Division One games over in Melbourne were really good. It was a really good standard. The Under-16 Championships in Sydney were also encouraging. We think there are some really good talls coming through. It's only early days because those kids are still a couple of years away from being drafted. In this draft, there are more mids and running-type players. There are some good quality talls, but not a high number of them."
Several South Australian draft prospects, including Jimmy Toumpas, Brodie Grundy and Troy Menzel, have been touted as potential early picks. How are the SA stocks looking overall?
DN: "The South Australians were good at the Under-18 Championships. The team performed well overall. They might've been disappointed in the odd game they got beaten in with regards to the overall Championships, but they had some strong performers. They had a number of players selected in the All-Australian squad, which is usually a good indicator. I think we can expect the South Australian boys to vie strongly in probably the first round-and-a-half. Inside the top 30 picks, there should be a strong contingent of South Aussie boys."
This year's draft was touted as a very good one from a long way out. Is it still shaping up that way?
DN: "The quality remains the same at the top end. It's probably a matter of whether you have 10 or 15 of your high-grade draft quicks. I think it also depends on what each club is specifically looking for. I think it's shaping as a normal standard from what I can recall. Hamish can probably give a better indication. I'm not sure it's at the 'super' draft point that was, maybe, being touted earlier this year but there are still plenty of diamonds in the rough there."
As it stands, we could be entering the draft quite late this year …
DN: "Yes, we could … and that would be good because if we're picking later it means we've been more successful this year! It's a bittersweet scenario. The other aspect to consider is that there are still a number of uncontracted players GWS can take. If that happens and those compensation picks are engaged this year, it will push the draft picks down even further. There are also two '17-year-old' picks available. Those won't push the draft list down, but GWS do still have the option of dealing and maybe engaging some of those compensation picks if they can get them back. They could also put those picks in the back pocket and use them over the next five years. Our first-round pick could be anywhere from 18-26 depending on the activity between now and when the draft gets up and running.
Are you confident the Club can still secure a quality player in that mid-to-late first-round draft range?
DN: "No doubt. All clubs are the same. If you're doing your work, your due diligence and have people out there who have an eye for it, there's no doubt you can get really good picks further down the list."
Free Agency comes into play this year, and there are already names being bandied about. How is the Club approaching this new frontier in player movement?
"We won't be discussing any individuals or our strategy in the media. But like most clubs, we're doing our due diligence on the players that might be available through Free Agency and trade, so we're prepared.”
Log onto afc.com.au on Tuesday to read Part Two of afc.com.au's interview with David Noble, where he discusses Adelaide's list and the merits of the 17-year-old 'mini-draft'.
