CLICK HERE FOR DRAFT SUMMARY: IN SHORT
Draft summary: Day 1
A North Adelaide premiership player and two young midfielders joined Port Adelaide after the first round of the 2018 NAB AFL Draft in Melbourne.
The Power selected versatile midfielder Connor Rozee with its first pick at number 5, Vic Metro midfielder Zak Butters with its second pick at number 12 and Vic Country midfielder Xavier Duursma with its final pick at number 18.
Port Adelaide champion Gavin Wanganeen was on hand to present each player with their first Power guernsey on stage at Marvel Stadium.
National Recruiting Manager Geoff Parker says the club was delighted with the result.
“A couple of years ago we identified this draft pool of players as being very talented and our list management strategy was to maximise our picks in the first round,” Parker said.
“For the first time since 2009 we had three picks inside the first round and we are very pleased to welcome Connor, Zak and Xavier to our club. We are confident all three players will be very important contributors for our club for many years to come.”
Rozee showed class and poise beyond his years while representing North Adelaide at senior level this season. He finished the year strongly as a defender in the Roosters’
“We made it clear that we didn’t move up the draft order just to secure a local South Australian, but that a player of Connor’s class was still available at pick 5 made it a very easy decision for us. The fact that he is a local South Australian is just a bonus,” said Parker.
“Connor has been on our radar for a while, having won the medal at the national Under-16 championships a couple of years ago.
“He is a very good mark for his size, uses the ball well and is very versatile demonstrating an ability to play both forward or back, or in the midfield.”
READ: Life’s Rozee for Port’s first pick
WATCH: Ken Hinkley welcomes Connor Rozee
Rozee’s
“Connor’s got a number of strengths that will ensure he develops into an outstanding player. He’s versatile, has speed, is very skilful and a great mark overhead,” said Carr.
“And equally from a character
With pick 12, Port Adelaide selected Butters from the Western Jets.
Butters is fast and creative and will most likely start as a small forward option before he progresses into a midfield role.
Despite an injury setback this season, Parker saw enough to convince him that Butters would add great value to Port Adelaide moving forward.
“Zak injured his shoulder midway through the season but we are confident he will bounce back strongly from that and add some real pace and class to our list,” Parker said.
“He’s tough but also a very smart player and makes good decisions going inside the forward 50.”
READ: Butters and Gray “pumped” to play together
WATCH: Butters post-draft interview
With
Duursma enjoyed a consistent season for the Gippsland Power and Vic Country, roaming through the midfield and across half-back.
Parker says speed and endurance are key elements to Duursma’s game.
READ: Duursma promises “never give up” game style
WATCH: Xavier Duursma press conference
“Xavier has impressed with his ability to run and carry the ball. He’s played a lot across half-back this year and is a very good intercept mark who uses the ball well,” Parker said.
Duursma is the nephew of former Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne defender Jamie Duursma who played 59 VFL games in the 1980s.
DRAFT SUMMARY: DAY 2
Port Adelaide welcomed two more South Australians on the final day of the 2018 NAB AFL Draft, another local product with pick 9 in the Rookie Draft and two Next Generation Academy players as Category B
The Power selected Riley Grundy at pick 73, followed by North Adelaide premiership player Boyd Woodcock at pick 76 in the National Draft.
Grundy, the brother of Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy, is a fiercely competitive, developing tall defender who represented Sturt this season at under 18 and reserves level in the SANFL.
Although Grundy was a relative late-starter to football, Port Adelaide National Recruiting Manager Geoff Parker believes he has plenty of
“Riley only took footy up four or five years ago but is developing very well as a tall defender,” Parker said.
“He’s very competitive and we wanted to get another developing tall defender onto our list so we had no hesitation when he became available.”
Woodcock, the 2017 McCallum-Tomkins Medallist as the SANFL’s best-and-fairest in the Under 18 competition, was outstanding for North Adelaide in their Grand Final victory over Norwood kicking three first half-goals, having two score assists and gathering 15 disposals.
Parker says Woodcock adds great versatility as a forward option for the Power.
“Boyd played in the forward half at league level for North Adelaide this season and showed great poise and class against bigger bodies,” he said.
“Boyd was very dangerous as an attacking forward for North Adelaide through the finals series but he has also demonstrated an ability to play a more defensive role if required as well.”
BOYD WOODCOCK BIO
BOYD WOODCOCK HIGHLIGHTS
With its two picks in the Rookie
Cox was recruited from Glenelg and Parker says he will add value as a creative small forward.
“Tobin was a highly rated 16 and 17-year-old but missed most of last year after injuring his shoulder,” said Parker.
“He’s a very clever, creative small forward who has played some league footy for Glenelg in the SANFL this year. He also represented South Australia in the Under 18 National Championships against Western Australia but was injured and missed the remainder of the championships.”
Hewett gets a second chance on Port Adelaide’s rookie list after an
“We think Cam deserves another chance on our rookie list,” he said.
“He had a very good pre-season last year before getting injured on the eve of the season. Cam never got going this year because of injury so we are keen to give him an opportunity to have a full pre-season to give him every chance to prove himself in 2019.”
Port Adelaide completed the Rookie Draft by adding Next Generation Academy players Martin Frederick and Kai Pudney as Category
Frederick, who represented South Australia in their national
“Martin is of South Sudanese descent and has developed well at the Eagles and within our NGA program over the last twelve months,” Parker said.
“He has worked really hard this year and progressed from under-18 level to reserves level this year for Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL. We are looking forward to his continued development over the coming years.”
Pudney, the 2018 McCallum-Tomkins Medallist, also represented South Australia at the 2018 under-18 National Championships.
Like Frederick, Parker has been delighted with Pudney’s development at the Eagles and in Port Adelaide’s Next Generation Academy.
“Kai has enjoyed a great year at the Eagles winning the under-18 medal in the SANFL as the competition’s best-and-fairest player,” Parker said.
“Kai’s mother is Japanese and he has been part of our NGA program. We’ve all seen him develop well over the last twelve months. He had an outstanding South Australian Draft Combine where he dominated both the yo-yo test and the agility test in October so we look forward to seeing his continued development within our program.”
Port Adelaide 2018 AFL National and Rookie Draft Summary:
AFL NAB AFL DRAFT
Pick 5
CONNOR ROZEE
POS: Half-forward/midfielder
Ht 185cm, Wt 74kg, DOB 22/1/00
From North Adelaide/South Australia
Pick 12
ZAK BUTTERS
POS: Midfielder
Ht 181cm, Wt 70kg, DOB 8/9/00
From Western Jets/Vic Metro
Pick 18
XAVIER DUURSMA
POS: Midfielder
Ht 185cm, Wt 71kg, DOB 7/7/00
From Gippsland Power/Vic Country
Pick 73
RILEY GRUNDY
POS: Defender
Ht 194cm, Wt 84kg, DOB 28/7/00
From Sturt
Pick 76
BOYD WOODCOCK
POS: Forward
Ht 175cm, Wt 71kg, DOB 5/3/00
From North Adelaide
NAB AFL ROOKIE DRAFT
Pick 9
TOBIN COX
POS: Midfielder
Ht 177cm, Wt 77kg, DOB 15/7/99
From Glenelg
Pick 25
CAM HEWETT
POS: Defender
Ht 189cm, Wt 82kg, DOB 26/02/97
From Port Adelaide
CATEGORY B ROOKIE LIST
KAI PUDNEY
POS: Midfielder
Ht 186cm, Wt 78kg, DOB 9/1/00
From Woodville-West Torrens
MARTIN FREDERICK
POS: Defender/Wing
Ht 178cm, Wt 74kg, DOB 17/5/00
From Woodville-West Torrens
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