{"id":57005,"date":"2023-11-16T12:32:25","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T02:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/?p=57005"},"modified":"2023-11-22T09:35:30","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T23:35:30","slug":"three-players-you-dont-want-your-afl-draftee-compared-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/2023\/11\/three-players-you-dont-want-your-afl-draftee-compared-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Three players you don&#8217;t want your AFL draftee compared to."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\">The AFL draft is kind of strange compared to North American sports where the draft is a show. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\">Their drafts can be bigger events because fans have a pre-existing relationship with most of the players throughout their college careers. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\">Footy doesn\u2019t have that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We get Paranormal Activity style shaky camera work of prospects demolishing other blokes with very little frame of reference.<\/p>\n<p>For those of us who aren\u2019t getting to 100 TAC cup games, we think in archetypes and comparisons.<\/p>\n<p>In this piece, therefore, I\u2019m going to name three players that I wouldn\u2019t want my team\u2019s draftee to be compared to.<\/p>\n<p>The game would be particularly dull if I was saying that I\u2019d prefer the player I drafted not be compared to Will Setterfield or some other mediocre player.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1639886889321893888&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2023%2F11%2Fthree-players-you-dont-want-your-afl-draftee-compared-to%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>&#8220;Got a bit of the Will Setterfields about him&#8221;\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Instead, we\u2019re going to go with good players that are either undesirable archetypes or play in a way that is only sustainable because of their unique brilliance.<\/p>\n<p>The best example of this in modern sport is comparing a quarterback prospect to Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes is uniquely freaky. Only he can pull of his blend of arm elasticity and strength, escapability, and improvisation skills.<\/p>\n<p>If a draft prospect is compared to him, it probably just means he tried too many things in college and if he tries them in the NFL he will fail quickly. Zach Wilson springs to mind. Caleb Williams, in this coming draft, is another one that\u2019s compared to Mahomes.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll see how that works out.<\/p>\n<p>So, first I\u2019ll identify the player that you don\u2019t want your draftee to be compared to, then I\u2019ll give a player of a similar ilk who is a more hope inducing comparison.<\/p>\n<p>This doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that the comparison will be the better player, of course.<\/p>\n<p>Just that the sort of player is more repeatable.<\/p>\n<h1><\/h1>\n<h1>(1) Cyril Rioli<\/h1>\n<p>Cyril is one of not many AFL players that are referred to on a one name basis only.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s Cyril, Buddy, Plugger and not terribly many more.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cyril celebration: The 10 best Rioli career highlights | 2018 | AFL\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hsJXSwvk5hg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Surely, therefore, it\u2019s a good thing to be compared to Cyril? Wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Why?<\/p>\n<p>Well before we get to that, pay attention to every comparison that is made around draft time. Most of the world doesn\u2019t see colour, but draft analysts do. Every indigenous player will inevitably be compared to another indigenous player.<\/p>\n<p>Only in footy could Shaun Burgoyne and Alwyn Davey be compared as players.<\/p>\n<p>Footy media does not adhere to the Daryl Morey rule of only cross-racial comparisons.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, moving on.<\/p>\n<p>Why is being compared to Cyril a bad thing?<\/p>\n<p>It probably just means that the prospect doesn\u2019t get enough of the ball.<\/p>\n<p>Cyril averaged 15 disposals and 1.5 goals a game.<\/p>\n<p>His career high for disposals in a game was 29.<\/p>\n<p>The reason he was so good was because of how effective he was in those rare times that he got the ball.<\/p>\n<p>The Rioli high-wire act is impossible for most normal people to pull off.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody else, realistically, can do it.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the Daniel Day-Lewis\/Jared Leto principle.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Day-Lewis can get away with being as method as he is because of the results he gets.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets3.thrillist.com\/v1\/image\/2732568\/792x449\/scale;webp=auto;jpeg_quality=60.jpg\" alt=\"Craziest Daniel Day Lewis Method Acting Stories - Thrillist\" width=\"362\" height=\"206\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Daniel Day-Lewis &#8211; has a bit of the Cyril Rioli&#8217;s about him.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jared Leto gets a lot less leeway for sending severed ears to castmates because he is such a mediocre actor.<\/p>\n<p>If you draft someone who is compared to Rioli, it probably just means he\u2019s a pretty good ball user who drifts out of games.<\/p>\n<h3>Comparison you\u2019d rather:<\/h3>\n<h3>Turbocharged Luke Breust.<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"500 Seconds For 500 Goals | Luke Breust Highlights\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/p16h50fjSa4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>(2) Zach Merrett<\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Zach Merrett is a gun.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"2023 Crichton Medalist | Zach Merrett | Season highlights\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ejnreBVhS5U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Four time best and fairest, albeit at a crap club, and three-time All-Australian.<\/p>\n<p>He gets plenty of the ball and is a reasonable user of it.<\/p>\n<p>Why is he a bad comparison?<\/p>\n<p>It probably just means you drafted an undersized, outside midfielder with limited penetration in his kicking.<\/p>\n<p>Merrett is good because he is able to get involved in scoring chains (20th in the AFL for score involvements) and is a voluminous, if not punishing, tacker (17th in total tackles).<\/p>\n<p>But Merrett is not a contested ball winner and perception does not match reality with his tackling.<\/p>\n<p>Merrett is, mostly correctly, perceived as a small outside player (42nd in contested ball) who can\u2019t go forward and doesn\u2019t kick goals. That\u2019s not the way the game is headed, especially in midfield.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s more likely you end up with a Lachie Hunter type than a Zach Merrett level player.<\/p>\n<h3>Comparison you\u2019d rather:<br \/>\nLachie Neale.<\/h3>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1706288392517099671&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2023%2F11%2Fthree-players-you-dont-want-your-afl-draftee-compared-to%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>(3) Mark Blicavs<\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\">Mark Blicavs is probably the most obvious one on this list.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1543168191760740354&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2023%2F11%2Fthree-players-you-dont-want-your-afl-draftee-compared-to%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\">Blicavs is a freak athlete. Truly rare in the AFL. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\">The fact that he has been so successful in the AFL after having played very little footy before becoming an AFL footballer was only possible because he is such a superlative athlete who is also smart enough to pick up the nuances of the game quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\">There are so few of those stories.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\">Most pure athletes who attempt to enter the AFL just can\u2019t do it. They can\u2019t grasp the game or work out how the ball bounces. Look at Israel Folau.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Izzy the Giant - AFL\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8uEAtsJe-DY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\">Blicavs is different.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\">He is a rare genuine utility because his size, speed, tank, and footy IQ is underrated. Most prospects that would be compared to Blicavs would be players who are pretty good, but not as good, aerobic and anaerobic athletes who haven\u2019t played any footy and don\u2019t have an obvious position.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\">Chances are you\u2019re getting a Nik Cox type, more than a Mark Blicavs type. That\u2019s Margot Robbie v the girl that looks vaguely like Margot Robbie in Sex Education.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\">Betting on athleticism, generally, is smart.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\">But Blicavs is an exception, not a rule.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Comparison you\u2019d rather:<br \/>\nSlightly slimmer Esava Ratugolea<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"AIRsava has landed at Alberton \ud83d\udeeb\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rFDcTxUvwYw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Like what you read from our hard-hitting columnist?<br \/>\nFollow\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/guywholikesspo1\">@Guywholikessport<\/a>\u00a0on Twitter or check out his\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/guywholikessport.wixsite.com\/guywholikessport\">FULL BLOG HERE\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":57007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8298,598,344],"tags":[8450,29,8060,8260,3094,36],"hub_post_cat":[],"class_list":["post-57005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australian-rules","category-guywholikessport","category-special-interest","category-sports","tag-2023-afl-draft","tag-afl","tag-afl-2023","tag-guywholikessport","tag-opinion","tag-special-interest"],"acf":{"md_tip_date":null,"md_tip_date_end":null,"md_market_url":"","tip_date":"16\/11\/2023","event_country":"Australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57005"},{"taxonomy":"hub_post_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub_post_cat?post=57005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}