What grade would you give Freo for its all-WA NAB AFL National Draft haul?
Freo selected Jye Amiss at no.8, Neil Erasmus at no.10, Matt Johnson at no.21 and Eric 'Roy' Benning at no.54.
Here's what the draft analysts had to say about Freo's picks on the Wednesday and Thursday of the National Draft.
On Friday, the Club also added winger Karl Worner in the Rookie Draft.
AFL.COM.AU
Verdict: One of the big winners of the draft. The Dockers seized on the opportunity to land a key forward and took Amiss, whose goalkicking at WAFL colts level this season was prolific with 51 majors and the left-footer has plenty of development to come too. They toyed between a number of midfield options for their second pick in the top-10 but landed on Erasmus, who can be a big-bodied midfielder for the future as David Mundy gets to the end of his stellar career. Fremantle had offers for its pick 21 but in the end was set on taking Johnson, who could be a steal in this year's draft and brings some of the class that has been lost in Adam Cerra's departure, while Benning is an athletic tall who will be given time to develop. - Callum Twomey
Leigh Montagna says: “They’ll be absolutely stoked with four West Australians. Amiss, Erasmus and Johnson were ranked in people’s sort of top 10 to 12, so to walk away with three of them and to go with a group they’ve already got and built in recent years, they tick some areas off with midfield depth. Versatility they’ve got Johnson as an inside / outside player, Erasmus can be midfielder / forward, they get their key forward they can develop along with a young ruck.”
Kevin Sheehan says: “They’ve capitalised on the great form of kids in the under 19 level and to keep four of them is a pretty good hand.”
FOX FOOTY
A terrific result for the Dockers, securing arguably the best three WA-based players in this year’s draft class. They’d been linked for many weeks to key forward Amiss, who’ll bolster a forward line that already includes Matt Taberner, Josh Treacy and Rory Lobb. Erasmus is an exciting, versatile player blessed with great footy smarts and strong overhead marking ability. And after slipping through the first round, the Dockers rejected rival offers for the first pick of the second round and selected draft slider Johnson, who’s a tall, athletic midfielder with ridiculously good composure in traffic. A lovely story at the end of the draft too, selecting NGA prospect Benning before a club had a chance to place a bid on him, making it four local WA acquisitions. - Ben Waterworth
Grade: A+
ESPN
Grade: A+
Rationale: The Dockers took Western Australians with all four of their selections. Their first and last picks in Amiss and Benning address their key forward needs. Amiss does his best work on the lead and, contrary to his name, is a reliable kick for goal. Benning is an athletic emerging key forward who can also push up through the ruck. The two value picks that make this an A+ draft were midfielders Erasmus and Johnson, with Erasmus a strong contested ball winner and mark while Johnson is a tall midfielder with rare skills and evasion for someone of his height.
