WOOF Welcomes Our 2012 Draftees

[GVGjr]

Pick 5 - Jake Stringer
Pick 6 - Jackson Macrae
Pick 21 - Nathan Hrovat
Pick 49 - Lachlan Hunter
Pick 50 - Josh Prudden
Pick 84 - (Kept open for the Pre-season draft)
Pick 98 - Tom Campbell
Pick 105 - Jason Johannisen

[chef]

Nice mix. Added some names that can play forward as well as a couple of pure mids.

[Eastdog]

Nice mix. Added some names that can play forward as well as a couple of pure mids.

That's important to have a mix of forwards and Mids.

[Eastdog]

Do you reckon Prismall will be picked up by us with our Pick 84 going to the pre season draft.

[stefoid]

One pick left could also be rookie, yes? When is the rookie and PSD?

[soupman]

One pick left could also be rookie, yes? When is the rookie and PSD?

Could be filled by a promoted rookie, de-listed player or bran new 18 year old. So anyone really.

[stefoid]

FWIW: Quigleys writeups of our top 3


Jackson Macrae
DOB: 3/8/94 Ht: 189 Wt: 76

Macrae is one guy who has risen sharply on draft boards over the course of the year. He was not really on my radar early in the year but certainly got my attention at the Champs with some very nice performances and just as importantly he built on that good work finishing the year strongly in the TAC particularly in the finals where he averaged 28 possessions a game. Clubs really seem to value strong finishes to the year and Macrae certainly had that and I think he is now every chance to go top 10.

Looking for a comparison in current AFL ranks I would probably say Dal Santo would be a good one. Both are left footers and have a similar kicking style. Despite Macrae having a reputation as a very fine kick he is not in the Dal Santo category yet although I am sure whoever picks him will hope he can get there. He is predominantly an outside player but he will put his head over the ball when needed. Like Dal Santo, Macrae tended to be the guy that the ball winning mids for Metro liked to get the ball to. O’Rourke in particular looked for Macrae at virtually every opportunity. He was the class receiver in that Metro midfield unit.

Macrae’s kicking is somewhat overrated at the moment. He has nice penetration and a very pretty kicking style but his decision making and execution can be a bit suspect on occasions. He is prone to making a poor decision and turning the ball over but I think with a bit more experience and work that can be ironed out. He goes for things and can drop passes into tight slots very nicely. His set shot for goal technique is a bit variable and he can at times look a bit unbalanced in his approach. At other times he looks great. He also tends to grip the ball on his set shots a little on the side which again makes his technique seem a little out of the ordinary. He is not the most accurate shot for goal although not terrible either.

At the Champs he played a fair bit of time up forward and did a pretty decent job of it. He worked hard with his leading and is very capable overhead. He provided good defensive pressure on the ball coming out of defense and had a couple of very nice intercept marks when opposition players underestimated his ability to close the space, get off the ground and mark the ball. It would not surprise me if Macrae started his career as a HFF before moving into the midfield as he develops a bit more physically.

He is a bit on the light side at the moment but should fill out fine. He has nice height and a burst of pace which tends to catch opposition by surprise. He closes space and accelerates from a contest very well. At the Combine he tested up with the very best over the first 10m before dropping away pretty sharply and his 30m repeat sprint time was on the poor side. In game situations he does use his ability to get up to speed quickly to good effect and although I didn’t notice a top end speed problem during games looking back I can sort of see it in the way he plays.

His endurance seemed pretty good in game situations but he again tested pretty poorly in this regard at Combine. He will need to improve this for any move to the midfield but I note when he is around the play he seems to work hard and so his gut running seems okay. Personally I think there should not be a problem with him developing the tank necessary for a move to the midfield. In traffic Macrae is reasonably elusive but not close to being elite. As I described it in my notes he is elusive enough to enable him to get a kick away but not evasive enough to beat everyone around him. What he does have is a very nice baulk which he is not shy about bringing out and he sells it very well when he does.

Although he works pretty hard chasing he is not a great tackler. He is okay and will try but he needs some work done on his technique. On the other side of the coin he is not particularly easy to tackle and is able to shrug tackles better than you would expect a player of his size. Again I think the opposition often tend to underestimate him. In tight situations he displays good spatial awareness and takes the time that he needs and is there. This is a good skill and one that will be helpful the AFL.

Overall I think Macrae is probably not elite in any one category but he has a lot of really nice traits which teams will find attractive and think they can build on. If he does build on them he could become an elite midfielder and he is one of the easier to see becoming such in this draft.



If the Bulldogs want to continue to add to their collection of guys who can’t kick and make a matching pair at the back with Talia then Stringer has to be a big chance here.

Jake Stringer
DOB: 25/4/94 Ht: 191 Wt: 94

I am sure Stringer is well and truly sick of questions being asked and doctors probing his leg but that is the big issue with him. If he gets back full confidence and movement in his leg without any complications then Stringer should have a very good AFL career. If he doesn’t though he could be out of the competition in three years. That is the risk. Out of all the possible top ten picks he and Menzel would present as the greatest risks and teams will be cautious with him especially when he has openly admitted having issues throughout the year. For those who don’t know Stringer badly broke his leg early last year and has been slowly working back.

Stringer is likely to start his AFL career up forward as a third tall. Down the track though expect him to move into the midfield. There will be a few teams at the pointy end of the draft who will be dreaming of getting the next Jobe Watson or Josh Kennedy. He has the potential to be a key position sized inside midfielder who can just outmuscle those around him and then go forward and be a really effective forward. To get there though he needs to regain his explosiveness. It is slowly coming back perhaps but he is still a way off what he was before the injury. He tested for pace and agility at the Combine (not endurance) and whilst he was in the bottom half of each I thought his results were not as bad as they might have been especially the 20m time.

Stringer played mostly through the middle at the Champs and in all honesty was pretty ordinary. I would have had him behind at least Whitfield, Wines and Crouch for influence for Vic Country. He looked a bit out of shape and lumbered a lot, lacking pace and agility. Credit to him though he did cover a lot ground and pushed himself when it would have been easier not to given his fitness level. In an under he is not particularly clean but is such a strong body that he makes room and gives himself chances to claim the ball. With the lack of mobility he has tended to straight line the clearances when going for the ball and getting to the ball was often half the battle with him. When he did get to the ball he rarely came out the other side but he is very strong over the ball and that gave him time to get it away. He was too big for most of the under 18s to handle effectively and as he develops even more, it could be very much the same at AFL level. He might struggle a bit initially because of the step up in strength of his opposition but as he builds himself up more he should be fine. Prior to his injury he used to bull through tackles a bit more than he does at the moment. At the Champs I noticed that he would often feel tackles and go with it a bit more than he used to. As he gets his confidence back in his leg this may change.

Skills-wise, Stringer is reasonable but maybe not much more than that. He seems to have good awareness of where everyone is when in tight but his handballing can be a bit hit and miss. He looks very confident with the ball in hand and can handball off with either hand but he tends to miss a few handballs he should make. He is a right foot kick with a good style. He is not the longest kick in the draft but he does have reasonable penetration and pretty good ability to hit targets when he has a bit of time. One of his most effective kicks is a little around the corner punch kick which is quick and effective and with which he tends to hit targets very well. Up forward he is usually a reliable shot for goal although he can have the occasional off day.

As a forward he is a handful. He is like a bigger version of Tom Rockliff or a smaller version of Jonathan Brown. That is a strong, not hugely athletic player who is good overhead, leads strongly for the ball and can overpower defenders in a wrestle. He protects the drop zone very well with his body and judges the ball very well in the air. He is a very smart forward who works hard to get to dangerous spots and once he is there times either the lead or the lean on the opponent very well. His strength is very apparent and if he gets going he can kick big bags. In his first TAC game back from his injury he picked up 9 goals.

Stringer played seniors toward the end of the year and acquitted himself very well. He more than held his own in senior company and had some very good games including a 25 possession game against Box Hill. There were still evidence that his leg might be still troubling him but he was not letting it stop him. People were still noticing a limp on occasions which might be a concern but realistically he did not have a particularly smooth running style before the injury and people could be noticing an awkward gait on what is his normal style. He is tends to take short strides to get up to speed and this can look a bit awkward as well.


Nathan Hrovat
DOB: 7/6/94 Ht: 175 Wt: 79

You have to admire a kid who does not accept defeat and just goes out there and plays so well he demands to be picked. This year that player is Hrovat. For conventional wisdom Hrovat is too short and not athletic enough to compensate. Only a few years ago Hrovat would have had very little chance of being picked but thankfully things have moved on a bit.

This year Hrovat has made every post a winner. He was selected to be Capt of Vic Metro and lead them very well. He was a high possession winner at the Champs (25.2 disposals per game) and made the AA side whilst leading Metro to the title. Due to other commitments he only played 8 TAC games but managed to pick up the Best and Fairest for the Knights. All pretty bloody good for a kid to short and too slow.

Hrovat somewhat because of his size is thought of predominantly as an inside player but he has shown some excellent outside skills this year. He has really worked on his endurance and whilst he tested pretty mid-pack his ability to spread and work the wings is up there with blokes right at the pointy end of this draft. He is smart and gets to good positions to receive and provide an option if needed. He is never going to be a big marking target but he is a good mark for his size and I would back him against guys bigger than himself.

One thing I love about Hrovat is that he does everything at speed. A lot of guys cruise in junior level and then struggle when the pace of the game goes up. Hrovat has been practicing playing at pace this entire year and he does it well. His attack on the ball is first class and his thinking on the go is very good. He plays on quickly and works to link to move the ball quickly very well. He has been playing AFL style football against junior opposition.

Another thing which is very much AFL style is his kicking. He has flattened his kicking out really well and he punches his passes to his targets. He does not have a typical loopy junior kick. He has a reasonable leg on him but tends not to go long very often preferring chips or ¾ strength kicks. His accuracy and decision making is good at those distances and combined with the flatness of his kicks I think will convert to AFL football pretty well. He is strongly right footed. Up forward he doesn’t have the most confident approach to goal and will look to pass off if there is a reasonable option. When he does take the shot he kicks through it well but the accuracy can be a bit variable.

Unlike a lot of guys his size I do not see him starting his AFL career up forward. His goal kicking and goal awareness are not great and his pace is below what you would like for a defensive small forward. At the Combine he did not test well for pace which was not a surprise but his terrible 5m times might have hurt a big. I think he does play quicker than he times and he uses what pace he does have well but even his most optimistic supporter would have to concede his pace as being no more than average.

When on the inside he is a player who will camp at the ruck’s feet and work his way out from there. He has good quick hands and gets the ball to foot in those situations quicker than anyone I can think of in this draft. He is not a big bloke but is strong over the ball and maintains nice balance in the contest. He has good awareness of where everyone is in the contest and this allows him to get the ball out and also feel when a tackler is coming. When tackled he keeps his arms free well and does not panic at first contact. He rides the contact well, maintains balance and gets the ball away nicely. Inside he will also throw himself into tackles and is generally good but is a little prone to bouncing off the really big blokes in there (eg it happened a couple of times at the Champs with Stringer that I noticed).

It’s possible that Hrovat could struggle against the bigger quicker athletes in the AFL but I would tend to back him in given how well he has stepped up to every level so far.

[chef]

FWIW: Quigleys writeups of our top 3



If the Bulldogs want to continue to add to their collection of guys who can’t kick and make a matching pair at the back with Talia then Stringer has to be a big chance here.


Isn't Stringer a pretty good kick?

[stefoid]

Looks like Hrovat has a bit of weave and run and carry from the stoppages which we desperately need.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/pick-me-clearance-king-nathan-hrovat-could-be-the-next-sam-mitchell/story-e6frf9jf-1226510125450

[Mofra]

Josh Prudden uses the ball fantastically well in traffic judging by his video. Seemed smothered a couple of times but got an effective possession away.

Doesn;t he get a welcome thread? Poor kid :P

[bulldogsman]

Isn't Stringer a pretty good kick?

Yes he's a good kick. He really struggled with his kicking at the start and middle part of the year. He had an issue with his leg though and he had very noticeable limp which did affect his kicking. It's a lot better now. His goal kicking does need some work, but it's ok.

[stefoid]

String Macrame? Like one of those 70s bikinis?

Macrae's highlights from the dogs site are pretty funny, he pretty much baulks the entire opposition side in one piece of play - Hrovat and Macrae not afraid to carry the ball through traffic which is one of our glaring deficiencies. Stringer not so much, but will probably lay his best footy as a high forward with bursts in the midfield, I reckon.

[GVGjr]

Josh Prudden uses the ball fantastically well in traffic judging by his video. Seemed smothered a couple of times but got an effective possession away.

Doesn;t he get a welcome thread? Poor kid :P

I couldn't find a picture :)

[Go_Dogs]

Found a picture on the Dogs website.

http://mm.afl.com.au/Portals/0/images_bulldogs/Prudden_TACCup_T1EFMbGf12DT_246c.jpg

http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/westernbulldogsnewsfeatures/newsarticle/tabid/4112/newsid/151569/default.aspx

[Bulldog Revolution]

345

How about this one, like the roy like jumper

[The Bulldogs Bite]

From the footage on the website, he looks very capable.

Looks pretty tough and capable of winning his own ball, but looks clever in traffic and has a pretty neat left boot.