By Paul Pickering
IF the AFL Draft was held tomorrow, as many as five Gippsland and Dandenong TAC Cup stars could be selected in the first round.
That much was clear as the National Under-18 Championships wound up last week.
The 2009 carnival ended with a four-game marathon at the Docklands last Wednesday, leaving AFL recruiters to begin the unenviable task of ranking the country’s brightest young prospects.
And in 2009, the following names will figure prominently in most mock drafts: Tom Scully, John Butcher, Koby Stevens, Ryan Bastinac and Nathan Vardy.
The outstanding local contingent is led by Scully; the Berwick teenager who has been touted as the likely number-one pick in this year’s draft.
The Dandenong and Vic Metro captain justified those raps with another impressive performance in Metro’s 12-point loss to South Australia last Wednesday, collecting 27 possessions and a goal to put an exclamation point on his dominant carnival.
Not surprisingly, Scully was named as Metro’s MVP for the championships and secured All-Australian selection for the second consecutive year.
He was runner-up to Western Australian David Swallow and Vic Country’s Andrew Hooper in the Larke Medal – awarded to the best player of the carnival.
Swallow and Hooper were joint winners this year, when the selection panel could not separate their strellar performances.
Fellow Stingrays skipper Bastinac narrowly missed out on All-Australian honours, despite being named among Vic Country’s best players again – the fourth time in five games – in last week’s 48-point loss to unbeaten champion Western Australia.
Bastinac and James Hallahan were the only Stingrays to suit up for Vic Country in the final round. Hallahan received a late call-up for his tournament debut and acquitted himself reasonably well in just over three quarters of game time.
He became the sixth Dandenong player to see action during the carnival, with Matt Shaw, Corey Millard and Mitch Hallahan – James’ younger brother – turning out for Country in the earlier rounds.
Shaw, a smooth-moving 17-year-old wingman who missed the WA game with the flu, looks likely to be targeted by the new Gold Coast franchise at the end of the year.
Mitch Hallahan, still just 16, showed enough in his two games to suggest that he will be a key player for Vic Country at next year’s carnival, while Millard struggled with the increase in tempo from school footy with Haileybury College.
Meanwhile, Gippsland guns Butcher, Stevens and Vardy have all been touted as possible top-ten drafts picks, and all played important roles for the Country outfit.
Stevens, a hard-nosed on-baller and born leader, won plenty of contested ball and led his team in tackles during the championships. He was another who must have gone close to securing All-Australian honours.
Butcher, a strong-marking forward, who was hailed as a likely top-two pick earlier in the year, worked admirably throughout the five games, but was unable to make a major impact. He showed glimpses of brilliance, but was stifled by multiple defenders in most of the games.
Vardy, an athletic 196cm ruckman, made a promising start to the carnival against Vic Metro, but struggled against some bigger-bodied opponents in the remaining games. He is still regarded as one of the best ruck prospects in this year’s draft crop.
Power midfielder Ed Carr played in every game for Vic Country, impressing the coaching staff with his work-rate and versatility.
Meanwhile, fellow Gippslanders Russell Lehman and Jack Weston played two games apiece and didn’t look beyond their depth.
Vic Country won three of their five matches for the carnival, while Vic Metro finished with two wins and three losses.
