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I know there's been some discussion about this in the Bullants forum already, but with the season now officially over for the Bullants & the Blues, it’s perhaps timely to review our Rookie List…
ie. Who will be promoted from the Rookie List to the Primary List? Who will be retained on the Rookie List? Who will be delisted? And, as much as we can this far from the Draft, who could we say are possible additions to the Rookie List for next year?
Personally, I don’t think any of our Rookie Listed players will be promoted to the Primary List this year. However, I think Casboult, Curnow, ROK & Tuohy are near certainties to be retained on the Rookie List. I think Bray & Twomey are a chance to be retained, but may well be delisted. And I think Cachia, Carter & Dare will be delisted…
RETAINED ON ROOKIE LIST
Casboult – I understand that a new rule has been introduced that will allow the club to retain 1 player on the Rookie List that has already served 2 years. I’m fairly sure Levi will be that player for us. Carlton is certainly in the market for a power forward who can also help in the ruck and Levi has shown promise. Personally, I don’t think he’s ready for our Primary List but I think the club would like to hang onto him for another 12 months and see how he develops. The potential complication with this plan is that (I think) the player has to consent to staying on as a Rookie – so if another club gets in Levi’s ear and convinces him to nominate for the National Draft, Carlton would then have to choose between letting him go into the Draft or promoting him to the Primary List before the Draft. In those circumstances, I’d be minded to let Levi go into the Draft. I think there’s too many question marks next to the big fella for us to justify promoting him now. Mobility and endurance are the main concerns (although he had made progress in these areas before his knee injury), and also his kicking is a worry. But he’s a very strong contested mark and I think another year of development on our Rookie List would be a good result. Let’s hope the ankle injury he suffered yesterday isn’t too serious and he can have a full pre-season.
Curnow – Early in the season he looked like he might be the new Michael Barlow. Late in the season, he looked like the new Jon McCormick. As he showed yesterday, he's a very good player at the next level down (although he was even labouring at VFL level in the 2nd half of the year – presumably injuries were a factor), but is he good enough to be a regular in the AFL? Or will he be one of those players that shows promise in his first few games but then drifts off the scene? Not sure. If he can get his body right and keep working at his disposal, I’d say he’s a chance to become a regular in the midfield. No doubt the Blues need more midfield depth. Curnow deserves another year on our Rookie List, but shouldn’t be promoted to the Primary List yet, IMO.
O’Keefe – Got a taste of AFL footy but had another fairly stop-start year with injuries. 2011 was his first year on our Rookie List, so we can retain without promoting him. He’s been in our system for 3 years but I would persist with him for another year. Still only 21 y.o. He’s a fraction slow, but there’s plenty to like about his attack on the ball and his disposal. It’s not hard to imagine him slotting into Carlton’s backline and bringing the ball out of defence with elite left foot kicking. Must get his body right in 2012.
Tuohy – I understand that internationals can have 3 years on the Rookie List, so I would retain Zach on the Rookie List for another 12 months with a view to promoting him to the Primary List in 2013. He adapted well to the pace of AFL and his run and carry and good ball use should see him become a regular over the next couple of years.
Twomey – This a tough call. I don’t think he’ll be promoted to the Primary List, so it’s a choice between delisting him or retaining him on the Rookie List (he's only had 1 year on the Rookie List). Quite frankly, it could go either way, IMO. I’ve been impressed with Twomey in the VFL and he hasn’t looked too out of place in the AFL games he’s played, but he will be 26 next year. He’s quite hard at the ball, tackles well and his disposal is sound. Given our premiership window is opening now, the MC might like to have a mature player like Twomey ready on standby. You do wonder how much improvement is left in a 26 year old, but he might be better next year with 12 months of AFL training under his belt. I’m leaning towards retaining him on the Rookie List, but equally I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s delisted. A lot of it may come down to what other changes we make to our list (eg. if we pick up a ready-made medium forward in trade week, I think Twomey’s probably gone).
Bray – Like Twomey, this is a very tough call and a choice between delist or retain on Rookie List (ie. no way will he be promoted to the Primary List this year). Of the little of seen of Bray in his 1st year, I’ve been quietly impressed. His workrate seemed OK to me and it looks to have clean hands. He spent quite a bit of 2011 on the sidelines or in the VFL Reserves, so it’s hard to get a handle on him. Has a long way to go to reach AFL fitness and body strength. I have no idea what his attitude is like, but all things being equal I wouldn’t mind keeping him on the Rookie List for another year and monitor his development as a forward over the next 12 months.
DELISTED
Cachia – Has matured as a footballer this year and no question he’s improved since he arrived at the club, but I just don’t think he’s quite good enough for AFL. He sort of reminds me of a less talented Robbo. Hard at the ball but doesn’t seem to have the awareness and skill level required. Can be a bit slow with his defensive transitions too. He’s had his 2 years on our Rookie List, and with Casboult our nominated player to keep for a 3rd year, I think Cachia is gone. He might be an outside chance to be picked up by another AFL club late in the Rookie Draft.
Carter – I just don’t see it with Carter. He has pace, but I don’t see anything in him that sets him apart from many other players of his type at VFL/SANFL/WAFL level. I’m no expert, but one thing I look at with a new player is how he handles the ball. There’s no room in the AFL for players that fumble. Carter doesn’t seem to handle the ball cleanly under pressure and his disposal is OK but nothing special. Unless there’s a rule that interstate Rookies have to be give 2 years (?), I would move him on. Getting a shoulder injury when he did certainly didn’t help him.
Dare – I like the way Dare plays. He’s got a little bit of a young Peter Dean about him. He’s a courageous and smart footballer with some natural leadership skills. He appears to be popular with the coaching staff too. Had a good finals series with the Bullants. If he was a yard quicker, 5cm taller and 10kgs heavier, he’d be a very exciting AFL prospect. Unfortunately, I doubt he’s going to make the grade, and with Laidler and Duigan established in the Carlton side, it’s unlikely we’ll persist with Dare. Like Cachia, it wouldn’t be the biggest shock of all time if another club threw him a lifeline late in the Rookie Draft.
That would leave us with 3 picks in the Rookie Draft. We could have as many as 4 or 5 selections if the club also decides to delist Bray and/or Twomey.
POSSIBLE ADDITIONS TO ROOKIE LIST
If Mark Austin and Rohan Kerr are delisted from the Primary List, it wouldn’t surprise me if either or both of them are selected by us in the Rookie Draft. Austin seems out of favour but has had a solid year in the VFL (probably his most consistent ever with the Bullants) and Carlton is light on for short-term KP options (ie. Watson, McCarthy, Mitchell & Levi are all still 2-3 seasons away from being regulars). He’s probably had his papers stamped, but I wouldn’t mind if he was given another chance via the Rookie Draft. In fact, I would almost rather keep Austin on our Primary List than White, if it’s a choice between the two. And Kerr is a player who obviously has some ability but is taking time to develop. He probably needs to get his fitness to the point where he can be rotated through the midfield at AFL level. I don’t think he’ll survive in the AFL as a permanent forward.
And what happened to Peter Labi? At the start of the year, I thought we’d be likely to add him to the Rookie List for 2012...
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