With the off-season now officially here for TAC Cup clubs, AFL Draft Central will go back and review what 2017 was like for each of the 12 clubs. We kick off the series with Bendigo Pioneers and will end with the Western Jets.

Eastern Ranges

Finished: 6th
Wins: 9
Losses: 10
Percentage: 91
Points: 36 (eliminated in elimination final)

Players Drafted: (10)

• Adam Cerra (Fremantle)
• Jaidyn Stephenson (Collingwood)
• Sam Hayes (Port Adelaide)
• Tyler Brown (Collingwood)
• Ryley Stoddart (Sydney)
• Joel Garner (Port Adelaide)
• Tom North (Fremantle)
• Dylan Moore (Hawthorn)
• Jackson Ross (Hawthorn)
• Trent Mynott (Essendon)

2017 Review:

There is not much more that can be said for Eastern Ranges’ draft night that simply spectacular. The only bloke busier than the AFL recruiters that night was the Ranges’ social media account manager who could have been forgiven for failing to keep up with the rate of Ranges’ draftees dropping at AFL clubs. Nine in total landed at AFL clubs by the end of the National Draft and when Trent Mynott was selected by Essendon in the rookie draft, the Ranges’ reached double figure draftees.

There was a nice sense of symmetry about the clubs with pairs of Ranges heading to the same clubs. Adam Cerra and Tom North both headed west to Fremantle, Sam Hayes and Joel Garner have a slightly shorter trip west to Port Adelaide, while Jaidyn Stephenson and Tyler Brown became Pies, and Dylan Moore and Jackson Ross will don the brown and gold. Ryley Stoddart was the other player selected in the National Draft, heading to Sydney.

After such a successful night, the Eastern Ranges will look ahead to 2018 hoping for similar results. While the absolute elite talent might not be as great as 2017 – let’s face it, that amount of draftees from one club rarely happens – they still have quite a few promising prospects.

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2018 Preview:

Eastern Ranges have a few draftees to keep an eye on next year, and while they are not the huge numbers they had in 2017, there is no doubt going to be some that pop up as the season goes on, particularly those who might have been hidden at school football. Ben Cardamone is the standout with Cody Hirst and Adrian Kalcovski others who had promising bottom-age seasons.

Ben Cardamone (Eastern Ranges) 182cm | 78kg | Inside Midfielder
2017 TAC Cup: (9) 13.2 disposals | 2 marks | 5.4 tackles | 2 clearances | 51% KE | 61%DE | 57% CP

Ben Cardamone is one player who while he did not accumulate a heap of touches in 2017, is a promising inside midfielder. He laid 5.4 tackles in his bottom age year and did not get the midfield minutes because of the strength that the Ranges had on the inside this year. Expect him to be a starting midfielder in 2018 and show why he is a top prospect.

Kye Quirk (Eastern Ranges) 185cm | 72kg | Balanced Midfielder/General Defender
2017 TAC Cup: (14) 23.1 disposals | 4.6 marks | 3.9 tackles | 2.3 clearances | 49% KE | 57% DE | 41% CP

Kye Quirk is a player who was pretty solid off the half-back line this year. He does need to clean up his kicking, but he finds the ball and has a good balance of offensive and defensive traits. To average 23.1 disposals as a 17 year-old is pretty impressive and if he can iron out his kicking and potentially make a move into the midfield or make the half-back line his own, then Quirk is one to watch next year.

Others to keep an eye on:

Cody Hirst (Eastern Ranges) 176cm | 61kg | Small Forward
2017 TAC Cup: (15) 11.6 disposals | 2.5 marks | 3.9 tackles | 0.8 goals | 65% KE | 68% DE | 43% CP

Adrian Kalcovski (Eastern Ranges) 183cm | 79kg | Inside Midfielder
2017 TAC Cup: (12) 17 disposals | 3.2 marks | 5.5 tackles | 2.8 clearances | 3 inside 50s | 45% KE | 60% DE | 47% CP

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Summary:

Eastern Ranges had a superb finish to 2017 with all their hard work coming to fruition on draft night. They might have been bundled out of the TAC Cup in the elimination final, but it was clear from the start of the season the Ranges had the most top-end talent of any club and were duly rewarded on National Draft night. In 2018 the top-end talent is not as high as this year – they were flushed with AFL AIS Academy members – but the best thing about it being 12 months away is you never know which players might stand up and make a case to be drafted, so we will watch in earnest at what the Ranges will do next year.