WA talent manager Adam Jones reflects on dire draft prediction after 10 locals realise AFL dream

A total of 10 sandgropers made their way onto AFL lists across the national and rookie drafts this week, down from 14 in 2023. That’s despite this masthead reporting in May that WA was bracing for its worst-ever national draft.

“I don’t think there will be a West Australian legitimately drafted this year – that’s how bad WA is at the moment. It’s the worst year for talent they’ve ever seen,” one recruiting expert said.

While disappointed the comments were made in the first place, Jones said the negative publicity worked in WA’s favour.

“We didn’t think they were justified,” Jones said.

“You look back and you question the credibility of the comments at the time.

“You feel for the players who had to read it and the people who put in a lot of work to help the boys get drafted. The timing of the comments as well, being before the national championships had been played, was really disappointing.

“With the players, it could’ve gone one of two ways. They might’ve read the comments, believed them and their form and performances could’ve gone backwards.

“But I think it was a testament to the strength of character of the group that they used it as real motivation. Thankfully the positive outcome was achieved so now we can look back and rubbish those comments.”

The WAFC was realistically expecting 7-8 WA players to be drafted so they were delighted to see 10 players realise their AFL dreams, headlined by first-round picks Bo Allan and Cody Angove. Jones did concede that a lot of players were prospective picks at the start of the year.

“Back in January, we were hopeful that a few guys would develop,” he said. “We had a skinny (Will) Hayes and (Cody) Angove who had talent.

“We knew Bo (Allan) was going to be a good prospect. We needed to develop Kayle (Gerreyn) as a forward and show his ability there. (Hugh) Boxshall wasn’t even in our summer program at that stage.

“The guys who have been drafted have really had to prove themselves this year. As the year went on, we were more confident that there would be some draftable players.

“At the end of the Championships, we had a good level of confidence we’d get to seven or eight. We’re really pleased with how it’s turned out this year.”

Jones believes that West Coast is one of the big winners of the draft, picking up Allan and Claremont forward/midfielder Hamish Davis after both slid further than expected.

Allan, a premiership player with Peel Thunder this season, was strongly linked to Richmond at picks 12 and 14 and even Melbourne at 11. But the Tigers instead opted for Taj Hotton and Jonty Faull.

“Richmond were concerned that who they ended up picking wasn’t going to make it to their next selection so it pushed Bo further down the equation,” Jones said.

“It meant that Bo spilled out but it’s a fantastic result for West Coast.”

Davis was originally predicted to be drafted anywhere from 30-45 after a strong finish to the season at Claremont but he slid all the way to the Eagles at pick 65.

“We thought he might have been a chance with West Coast’s earlier picks,” Jones said. “We thought a number of other clubs were interested as well.

“As he kept sliding down, we were getting a bit concerned for him. But it’s a fantastic result for West Coast to get him where they did.

“West Coast did really well. They had a lot of luck with players slipping.”

Claremont had the most players selected this year with five Tigers making their way onto AFL lists.

Angove and Hugh Boxshall were WA’s biggest bolters, the former landing at GWS in the first round while St Kilda traded up the order to secure the latter.

Jones believes that Clancy Dennis (Claremont), Tom Bell (South Fremantle) and Jaxon Artemis (South Fremantle) are unlucky to have been overlooked.

Dennis, a defender, was an All-Australian at the National Championships but suffered a stress fracture in his foot late in the season. Bell had AFL interest after coming from nowhere this season, while Artemis was named WA’s MVP at the Championships but struggled for consistency.

WA DRAFT RECAP

Pick 16 – Bo Allan (West Coast)

“Richmond were concerned that who they ended up picking wasn’t going to make it to their next selection so it pushed Bo further down the equation. It meant that Bo spilled out but it’s a fantastic result for West Coast.”

Pick 24 – Cody Angove (GWS)

“I was expecting him to go on Thursday night so it was a pleasant surprise to hear him get called out on Wednesday. He was over the moon. I don’t think he was even prepared for it given his mum wasn’t with him. It was a shock for everyone.”

Pick 37 – Kayle Gerreyn (Essendon)

“Clubs have been viewing him all year as a key forward who would be able to back up as a ruck in-game. He played a lot of his footy in that role this year and we saw some fantastic growth in his forward craft. He’s naturally skilled for a big guy and he can almost play as an extra midfielder.”

Pick 45 – Hugh Boxshall (St Kilda)

“He had six weeks off with a quad injury before playing the last three Champs games and then he had a collarbone injury before playing finals with Claremont. To produce what he did off the back of two significant injuries was a fantastic achievement along with the results he produced at the state combine. There was a fair bit of demand for him on that second night.”

Pick 56 – Will Hayes (Collingwood)

“We think he was really deserving. We were hopeful he would go on the second night of the draft without having any strong links to any clubs in particular. It’s a great opportunity for him to go to one of the biggest clubs in Australia. He’s slight in stature but he’s an outstanding runner. He’s got speed, skill and smarts.”

Pick 57 – Luke Urquhart (North Melbourne)

“We thought his best chance might’ve been as a rookie, not knowing that North were really keen on him. They’re super happy they got him where they did. There were a few clubs interested late in him. We’re really pleased for Luke. He’s one of the most driven kids in the group. With a young developing squad at North Melbourne, hopefully he can play some games in the next year or two.”

Pick 63 – Jaren Carr (Fremantle)

“We invited him to play in the WAFL 21s game against our 18s this year. He kicked a couple of goals in that game and looked really good. He was physically underdeveloped the past few years but now he’s started to fill out into his body a lot like his dad. At colts level he certainly showed really good ability to read the play and get into good positions.”

Pick 65 – Hamish Davis (West Coast)

“He’s got a real opportunity to play AFL next year. The character that he is and what he brings with his football ability, I think they’ve got a beauty late in the draft.”

Rookie draft pick 7 – Aiden Riddle (Fremantle)

“He had a really good level of interest throughout the year. Towards the end of the year, we were a little concerned that interest had waned a bit. The clubs that expressed interest picked up other rucks as the draft wore on. It was fortuitous for Aiden that Gold Coast plucked Max Knobel from Fremantle, giving Aiden his opportunity.”

Category B rookie – Malakai Champion (West Coast)

“He could be a real bargain. He had a really good year at State Championships and league level. It’s going to take him a couple pre-seasons to get his running up to AFL level but if he can do that, he’s got all of the tools he needs to succeed as a small forward.”