Mid-season rookie draft review A Set the default text size A Set large text size
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The 2021 mid-season rookie draft has added a dimension of intrigue to the annual recruitment calendar, with 22 undrafted and mature aged players getting an unexpected AFL lifeline.
However, unlike the pre-season supplemental selection period (SSP), where five of the 11 players taken were recycled past players, the mid-season draft yielded 21 previously undrafted players and only one delisted player who had previously been drafted as a mature aged player.
Several hopeful delisted players missed out on another chance, including (but not limited to) Nathan Freeman, Tyson Stengle, Riley Knight and Wylie Buzza, as most clubs opted to recruit for the future rather than for right now.
The deadline for lodgement of inactive lists has come and gone, with the mid-season rookie draft order now set in cement. However, it is wet cement and things can change by Wednesday night as clubs move into their final war room strategy period. Jacob Edwards has shot into favouritism to be picked with the first […]
An insider’s guide to the AFL mid-season draft
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By Matt Rendell
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Wednesday night’s mid-season rookie draft is an important chance for the bottom 10 clubs to address gaps in their lists, and for players running around in state leagues or the underage NAB League to kick-start their AFL careers. Think Marlion Pickett, who won a premiership four months after Richmond plucked the 27-year-old from South Fremantle in 2019.
It’s open to players overlooked in last year’s national and rookie drafts, and to players previously delisted.
Recently Clare High School (CHS) specialist football program students were involved in the foundation three-day ‘Life as an Elite Athlete’ camp in and around Adelaide.
This camp is directly aligned to the CHS specialist football academy, which started this year under the guidance of Nick Prokopec and Kristy Lewis.
Nick explained that prior to the camp, the class of five females and 17 males had been involved in a strength and conditioning program under guidance from Will Pratt, the strength and conditioning mentor.
“These sessions have been a mixture of high intensity training, specific physical literacy movements, elite comparison and data tracking,” Nick said.