By Jarrod Potter
THURSDAY at 7pm marks the moment of a lifetime for the best teenage footballers in Australia. The top of the crop will find out if they fulfil lifelong dreams of becoming AFL players and also which team will select them. The Pakenham Gazette has picked out the seven best draft prospects from our local area who, we hope, will have their names read out tomorrow night in Sydney.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:
Matthew Buntine
Club: Dandenong Stingrays/AIS-AFL Academy/Vic Country/Berwick
Height/Weight: 188cm/93 kg
Position: Defender/Midfielder
Club comment: “He’s a superstar and will be a great acquisition for whatever club that gets their hands on him. He’s one of the best all-round players I’ve ever coached at the Stingrays in nine years. I’d be surprised if he didn’t play round one next year.” – Stingrays coach Graeme Yeats
Gazette comment: Buntine is a complete package player. He can play on tall forwards, as he did against Eastern Ranges’ Jonathon Patton, as a running midfielder, link up half-back man or any other position you can imagine. Has the run and drive off the half-back line which has become synonymous with top level football. He is a proven leader and could step into the leadership group of any club within two or three years.
The shin splints he had at the start of the season and hamstring injury from the Vic Country match against South Australia were minor hiccups, but his run home after finishing Vic Country and AIS-AFL Academy duties was exceptional. He was awarded the Ben Mitchell Medal from the AIS-AFL Academy because of his leadership and exceptional match play.
If he isn’t a top five selection, then he’ll definitely be snapped up by either Port Adelaide at pick six or Greater Western Sydney at seven or nine.
Pick Prediction: 5-10
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:
alex benbow
Club: Dandenong Stingrays/Vic Country/Beaconsfield
Height/Weight: 173cm/70kg
Position: Midfielder
Club comment: “Alex has had a pretty good year. He won the Morrish Medal, but that doesn’t automatically get you drafted. His development from his seventeenth to his eighteenth year has been brilliant. He worked very diligently in the last four or five weeks to give him the best chance. I think he’ll be a great asset as well. Possesses great leadership qualities and has good pace, is a powerful athlete, smart and can win his own footy.” – Stingrays coach Graeme Yeats
Gazette comment: Alex Benbow held the Stingrays together through the difficult middle rounds of the season when Vic Country decimated the lineup. Benbow’s regular bag of possessions throughout that time was always above 25 touches and his hard ball get count would be difficult for anyone to surpass. He was at the bottom of every pack and the first to drive it out.
Not being selected for the national or state combine might play against him, but the Morrish Medal around his neck is hard to ignore. A recruiter looking for midfield depth and a proven leader will find great value in Benbow.
Prediction: Third round – fourth round
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:
damien johnstone
Club: Dandenong Stingrays/Beaconsfield
Height/Weight: 186cm/80kg
Position: Midfielder/Half-Back
Club comment: “Johno had a really good year. He’s an attacking prospect off half-back who sets up a lot of play. He improved his game defensively with his hard running and penetration off his line. Fingers crossed and we’re hopeful for him.” – Stingrays coach Graeme Yeats
Gazette comment: Damien Johnstone grew into his role as the year progressed. His solid year in the midfield was overshadowed by some of the more recognisable names at the Stingrays, but his achievements shouldn’t be discounted. A crucial link for the Hallam Senior College schoolboys’ victory on the MCG against Peninsula-Essendon Grammar School, Johnstone has the big game mentality and is able to step up when the pressure is on. Johnstone was invited to the state combine and has the engine to step up immediately to AFL standard, but may need to fill out first. He could hit a rookie list, but if he’s overlooked I can see him coming around again for another year at the Stingrays.
Prediction: Rookie list – not selected
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:damien volta
Club: Eastern Ranges/Box Hill Hawks/Gembrook-Cockatoo
Height/Weight: 181cm/74kg
Position: Midfielder/Wing
Gazette comment: Volta played every match for the Eastern Ranges over the last two seasons – an achievement that highlights his consistency at the club. He also represented the Box Hill Hawks in the VFL as the 23rd man. He plays best as an inside midfielder, but can play either end of the ground in running positions or on the wings. He could return next season to the TAC Cup as a 19-year-old or otherwise head to the VFL with Box Hill. Volta was hampered by injury at the state combine, so didn’t perform the agility test, but his speed is blistering fast considering he won the 100m sprint at the Victorian school championships after not running for five weeks. While he could find his way onto a rookie list, I think he is more likely to head to the VFL or back onto the Ranges list as an overage player.
Prediction: Rookie list – not selected
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:josh tynan
Club: Gippsland Power/Vic Country/Garfield
Height/Weight: 184cm/72kg
Position: Medium Defender/Half-Back
Club comment: “Obviously he had a terrific season and a terrific nationals and has given himself every opportunity to get drafted. He had a really good finals series as well, so that helps bring him come into contention. He played mainly back, but can play in the midfield and is just one of those players who can play on talls and smalls and is one of those players recruiters would be looking at.” – Gippsland Power region manager Peter Francis.
Gazette comment: Josh Tynan fits the same build as Matt Buntine – playing tall and small when the situation requires it. He was the last line of defence for the Gippsland Power and played off a half-back flank and in a back pocket for Vic Country. Tynan is in the build of a true defender, which a few clubs desperately need and have undervalued for the last decade of the draft at least. With that in mind, Tynan will fall to the third round before a club like Hawthorn, North Melbourne or Melbourne will look to him to prop up their backline stocks.
Prediction: Second round – third round
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:SHAUN MARUSIC
Club: Gippsland Power/Casey Scorpions/Vic Country/Kooweerup
Height/Weight: 193cm/92kg
Position: Tall Utility
Club comment: “Shaun was runner up in our best and fairest and had a really good year at centre-half-back and centre-half-forward. One who we’re hoping will go in the draft or rookie list. We brought him back as a 19-year-old and needed to develop him a bit more. He could turn out to be a brilliant athlete, great skills on both sides of the body and had a terrific year.” – Gippsland Power region manager Peter Francis.
Gazette comment: Shaun Marusic is a versatile tall who plays where the coaching staff require him. Can lead out, mark and kick goals or mind a forward up the opposite end. Played for the Casey Scorpions as the 23rd man and also made appearances in the blue vee for Vic Country. Probably enters the draft just outside the top 10 talls, but with GWS snatching up the best four, it leaves room for a guy like Marusic to find his way to another club dying for height. Expect to see him later in the draft or definitely in the rookie draft.
Prediction: Third round – fourth round
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:ANTHONY TIPUNGWUTI
Club: Gippsland Power/Northern Territory /Drouin
Height/Weight: 169cm/78kg
Position: Forward/Midfielder
Club comment: “We hope that he’d be a real chance to be drafted or rookied. Exciting Tiwi Islander and played for Drouin. Played mostly at forward and also at half back, has beautiful skills either side of his body and uses it great by hand and foot, so he’s hopefully another one we think will go. – Gippsland Power region manager Peter Francis
Gazette comment: Anthony Tipungwuti has the right elements to make it as a footballer – clean foot skills, ability to break lines, fleet-footedness and great goal sense and forward line ability. Would make an excellent addition as that X-factor small forward. Probably falls to the last round of the draft proper or into the rookie draft if he gets his chance.
Prediction: Rookie list – not selected
Stingrays not from area in draft contention: Nick Haynes (Frankston Bombers), Todd Elton (Somerville), Jordan Kelly (Edithvale-Aspendale), Brett O’Hanlon (Edithvale-Aspendale), Darren Minchington (Dromana), Piva Wright (Noble Park).
Power not from area in draft contention: Clay Smith (Lucknow), Sam Docherty (Phillip Island), Shaun Wyatt (Maffra), Simon Deery (Bairnsdale), Haydn Hector (Traralgon), Damien Hector (Traralgon).
