Footy Tragic

Dear Footy Tragics,

The rookie list is widely acknowledged as a brilliant thing for AFL football. Many players who were overlooked for various reasons as 18 year olds have been given a second chance and grabbed that chance with both hands. Some of the best players in the competition and premium dreamteamers such as Brad Sewell, Matthew Boyd, Dean Cox and Aaron Sandilands have made their way into AFL footy courtesy of the rookie list. The AFL have now taken the rookie list a step further by allowing clubs to nominate a mature age rookie, giving players such as the 28 year old James Podsiadly from Geelong an opportunity to play AFL football in 2010.

As the rookie list expands, so too do the number of rookies being elevated to play senior AFL football. In Round 1, we saw the debuts of the following rookies: Michael Barlow, Fremantle (22 year old, $105,800 midfielder), Jarrod Kayler - Thomson, Hawthorn (24 year old, $77,800 midfielder), Alex Silvagni, Fremantle (22 year old, $77,800 defender), Ben Howlett, Essendon (21 year old, $77,800 defender), Cameron Hitchcock, Port Adelaide (19 year old, $97,800 forward) and Relton Roberts, Richmond (24 year old $77,800 forward).

From a dreamteam perspective, I see two distinct advantages with picking a rookie over a first year player who has come through the National Draft:

1 - Rookies are usually cheaper (Barlow and Hitchcock are slightly more expensive because they were selected at picks 8 and 12 in the rookie draft);

2 - These rookies are often in their early 20’s and therefore more advanced in their physical development when compared to 18 year olds in their first year of AFL footy.

Taking a closer look at my second point, the players I have mentioned above have had on average, 3 - 4 years experience playing senior VFL, SANFL, WAFL or QAFL football. Compare this to players such as Tom Scully, Melbourne ($157,500 midfielder), Gary Rohan, Sydney ($137,500 forward / midfielder) and John Butcher, Port Adelaide ($129,500 forward), who have all played almost exclusively against 17 and 18 year olds for the past two years. While I fully expect Scully, Rohan and Butcher to become quality AFL footballers in time, I don’t see any of them helping my dreamteam greatly in 2010.

We focus so much on the latest batch of draftees coming through the system, that we often ignore the fact that these 18 year olds are still boys, playing a brutal mans game. The exception to this rule is Dustin Martin, who already has the body of a 24 year old, but he is a freak of nature.

The perfect example last year is the number one draft pick Jack Watts. Watts was drafted as a 17 year old and he was still completing his VCE in 2009. The fact that he managed to play 3 games last year is a credit to him, but if you picked him in your dreamteam he was a wasted pick. Once again, I expect Watts to become a quality AFL player in time, but not in 2009 or 2010. We all love a first round draft pick in our dreamteams, but freaks like Joel Selwood, Daniel Rich and Dustin Martin are rare.

In conclusion, my advice is to embrace the mature aged rookie. The hard work and development has already been done at VFL, SANFL, WAFL or QAFL level in previous years. These rookies have worked and lived outside the AFL bubble and they appreciate how lucky they are to be full time professional footballers. They are so incredibly determined to succeed and work so hard, that they often produce immediate results. As an astute dreamteam coach, that should be music to your ears.

Good luck!