IT WAS a different build up to the national draft for Port Adelaide’s recruiting staff, but the group is thrilled with the club’s haul of tall developing talent.
Having claimed seven first-round picks in the past four drafts, this year’s first selection came in at pick 36 after a strong trade period which landed the club another first-rounder in Jason Horne-Francis and forwards Junior Rioli and Francis Evans.
It was unfamiliar territory for National Recruiting Manager, Geoff Parker who says coming in part-way through the second round meant he had several names on the whiteboard before Tuesday night.
“You really don’t know how they’re going to fall,” Parker explained to portadelaidefc.com.au. “We had to try and work out who might be in the positions around where we were picking and what positions they play.
“We had an idea that we wanted to pick a key defender or a couple of key defenders, which we were able to do and the local tall forward in (Tom) Scully was a bonus for us.”
Port claimed athletic 192cm defender Tom McCallum with its first pick before picking up South Australian talls Tom Scully (pick 53) and Kyle Marshall (pick 59) with the final selection on the night.
Parker said while each of the new recruits will take some time to fill out and be ready for AFL football, they will have the benefit of learning from some senior players.
“Given we traded in guys like Junior Rioli and Jason Horne-Francis who will help impact straight away, we really targeted young talls in the draft who can take some time to develop,” Parker explained.
“Tom McCallum might only be 192cm but he’s got great speed and agility. He’s shown all season he can play on the tall forwards and we just thought with the profile of some of the tall, lean key forwards like the King boys and Eric Hipwood, that he’ll develop into someone who can play on those types because of his athletic ability.
“Tom Scully has shown this year that he can really impact the scoreboard. He’s got some real forward smarts and he knows how to find some space and get on the lead. For a 200-centimetre player he’s also reasonably good on the ground and the big thing is that he is an accurate goal kicker.
“Given how skinny he is he’ll take some time to develop but we think he’s got some things to work with.
“And Kyle is similar in that he’s got really good speed. For his height he’s a really good athlete and with the shift from the big strong forwards to the more athletic types, we think he’s got the athleticism, speed and reach to play on those guys. Once again, he’s a skinny kid who will need some time in the gym, however we think he’s got some attributes that will transition into AFL football.”
Port Adelaide rounded out its list by re-listing forward Dylan Williams through the rookie draft as promised and signing Next Generation Academy graduate Nathan Barkla as a category B rookie.
