Shoot for No.1 pick
Turner’s tick for cool Sam
where he father Robert played more than 100 games. He finished the carnival with 30 disposals, six clearances and a goal as the Allies’ standout in their loss to Western Australia.
The leading contender for the No.1 pick started with a bang, snaring a four-goal haul in SA’s big win over Western Australia. Lukosius pulled down 15 marks and had 19 disposals, in what was one of the more dominant games for a key position player all carnival. The tall forward is a Nick Riewoldt clone and is already dominating the SANFL.
The South Australian midfielder did his top-10 chances no harm. His hands at the contest are impressive and he is able to find targets even under immense pressure. Hately was strong in the opening game of the carnival, with 28 disposals, 10 clearances, five inside 50s and a goal.
There’s no doubt Rankine could be lining up in the AFL this weekend — in fact we said the same thing this time last year when he was the sole bottom-ager in the 2017 All-Australian squad. The exciting forward produces eyecatching moments and finished the carnival with a five-goal display in what was effectively a grand final against Vic Metro at Etihad Stadium.
With twin brother Max suffering an ACL injury earlier in the year, key defender Ben switched forward and booted 12 goals for the carnival. Up forward against Western Australia, King marked everything that came his way — finishing with 15 disposals, five marks and a bag of five goals. Despite being a slim build, King marks exceptionally well in the contested situations. King booted the match-winning goal for Vic Metro with a minute remaining against the Allies. The Western Bulldogs fatherson prospect had an outstanding carnival in the attacking half. West is a contested bull and there were not too many better contested ball winners. West had a match-high 31 disposals and five inside 50s against the Allies, while he had a ridiculous 20 contested possessions against WA.
After failing to meet team standards and being left out of the Western Australia team for Round 1, Stack worked his backside off as one of its better performers in the back half of the carnival. Stack averaged 21.3 disposals through the midfield, showing off his speed when he collected the ball on the outside. The Brisbane Lions academy prospect had a superb carnival playing through the midfield and up forward. The 190cm prospect was a consistent performer, with one of his better games coming against champion South Australia in Round 4, where he had 21 disposals, seven tackles and six clearances.
The Tasmanian bottom-ager was mighty impressive throughout the carnival, pushing forward and hitting the scoreboard. O’Neill had multiple games where he had 20 disposals or more, including a 27 disposal, five inside 50s and four clearance performance against Vic Country in their opening game of the Under 18 Championships.
The South Australian defender rebounded the ball exceptionally well throughout the carnival and is going to be a name to keep an eye out for in 2019. The bottom-ager averaged 15 disposals and 4.3 rebound 50s per game.
The blond haired Western Australia bottom-age midfielder would have been happy with his great carnival. The wingman controlled the play, often collecting the ball across halfback and finding a target ahead of him. Against Vic Metro, Sharp had a team-high 26 disposals, three inside 50s and booted a goal. GEELONG Falcons talent manager Michael Turner believes Sam Walsh would handle the pressure of being the No. 1 draft pick after blitzing the national championships.
Walsh’s standing as the best midfielder in the draft pool was underlined this week after he won the Larke Medal and was named captain of the AllAustralian side.
The Larke Medal is awarded to the best Division 1 player from the carnival.
He received another accolade last night when he won the Ben Mitchell Medal as the AFL Academy’s standout player, an award voted on by players in the academy.
Walsh is regarded as the safest option of the No. 1 contenders, with Turner adamant the 18-year-old could make an immediate AFL debut next year.
“As I’ve always said, you always know who is going to be a chance at being an AFL captain — and he is one, there’s no doubt about that,” Turner said. “He’ll be a future AFL captain if injuries don’t get him — and he will play next year. He would be able to play as a midfield-winger. He’s only got a lighter body, so he will play on the outside, but he’s got a tremendous running capacity.”
Walsh, a Brisbane Lions supporter, averaged 29 possessions across his four matches for Vic Country, often despite receiving strong attention off the ball.
“We’ve had a lot of players go through the Falcons and without putting too much pressure on him, I’ve never seen a better-prepared kid,” Turner said.
“I’ve seen a lot of very wellprepared kids, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a betterprepared, professionally prepared kid. Nothing seems to faze him. He never seems to get flustered. Player run with him, they try to put him off his game, but you never see him lose his cool.
“If anyone can handle being No. 1, (Walsh can). He’s going to be able to handle it.
“The No. 1 tag puts a bit more pressure on you, I suppose, because there’s a lot more scrutiny, but in his case, being an onballer and winger type, it’s probably not going to affect him as much because he’s going to have a lot more opportunities to influence the game.”