ON AFL Grand Final Day, some of the top prospects for the 2019 National AFL Draft strutted their stuff on the biggest stage. Split in two sides named after AFL champions, Jimmy Bartel and Nick Riewoldt, there were a number of impressive performances throughout the 22-minute quarters.<\/p>\n
Team\u00a0Bartel:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0#2\u00a0Caleb Serong<\/strong><\/p>\n The tough Gippsland\u00a0Power\u00a0midfielder was unlucky not to win best on ground honours with his fantastic game through the midfield.\u00a0Serong\u00a0was a consistent performer able to win the contested ball through the midfield but also become a factor in transition forward of the ball creating many scoring opportunities with his skill by hand and ability to find space.\u00a0Serong\u00a0was everywhere\u00a0in the second<\/span>\u00a0half and he finished as his teams top disposal winner, he also hit the scoreboard to round out his game nicely.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #3 Matt Rowell<\/strong><\/p>\n After winning the TAC Grand Final Best on Ground\u00a0award, the Oakleigh Chargers prospect backed up his\u00a0award-winning\u00a0form\u00a0taking out best\u00a0on ground honours in the All-Stars game\u00a0as well. Rowell was huge in the first half with his attack on the ball and explosiveness out of the stoppage really catching the eye. His explosiveness was on show kicking a goal on the run and burning off multiple opponents on the way.\u00a0Rowell is not the tallest\u00a0midfielder, but his attack and strong body\u00a0allowed him to beat the taller and stronger midfielders he went up against and he could not be caught once getting the ball using his speed and power to get separation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #16 Lachlan Potter<\/strong><\/p>\n The Northern Knights speedster showed off his trademark speed and agility on multiple occasions. Despite being run down once, he had a nice run after taking a good mark in front of his opponent, but he would end up making a mistake bouncing the ball and he may never have been caught if not for that mistake. Potter\u2019s run and defending was a standout where he often played\u00a0in front\u00a0and used the ball well coming out of defence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #17\u00a0Elijah Taylor<\/strong><\/p>\n The Western Australia prospect had a slow start in the first\u00a0quarter\u00a0but he would show his fantastic movement through traffic and agility in the second<\/span>\u00a0quarter where he really caught the eye.\u00a0Taylor would continue to impress with his slick movement and composure under pressure and would be rewarded on the scoreboard with a nice finish on his opposite foot showing his class.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #18 Jeremy Sharp<\/strong><\/p>\n The All-Australian from Western Australia was a ball magnet on the wing often getting to the right spots and using his run and dash to find space. Sharp looked impressive with his clean hands and quick ball movement on the outside, he often worked hard into defence and would take the risk with long switch kicks that often hit their mark. He kicked a nice running goal in the first quarter where he settled nicely with a drop punt.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #22 Cooper Stephens<\/strong><\/p>\n The Geelong Falcons midfielder has a presence at the stoppages winning plenty of the ball at the coal face and opting to use the ball by hand when winning clearances. Stephens favoured using the ball by hand but his ball use by hand was fantastic often quick and putting his teammates in better positions than himself. His team looked at its best through the middle when Stephens was involved at stoppages.<\/p>\n #23 Mitchell Georgiades<\/strong><\/p>\n After winning an under 18s premiership\u00a0with Subiaco, Georgiades again played well to give his team success where he was arguably the best forward for the day. Georgiades took plenty of lead up marks and he worked hard up the ground to provide a target, he kicked two goals, one coming with a set shot snap goal in the second<\/span>\u00a0quarter and a running goal in the third<\/span>\u00a0quarter. He missed a chance in\u00a0the last quarter only managing to register a behind from the set shot. Georgiades was a hard worker and proved a great target for his team going forward with his impressive marking ability and ball use.<\/p>\n #31 Will Gould<\/strong><\/p>\n The All-Australian from South Australia, Gould was named captain for his team and he\u00a0led from the front with his kicking from defence a real feature. Gould was confident coming out of\u00a0defence, he never wasted time and took the first option and despite the risky kicks they always paid off using his long penetrating kick. Gould set the tone for his fellow defenders who also played with confidence and used the ball well.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Team\u00a0Riewoldt:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0#1\u00a0Rhai-Arn\u00a0Cox\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The WA live-wire did not get a huge amount of the ball but certainly showed his elite talent. Cox was involved early in a nice bit of play winning the ball through the middle with a good long handball before running forward to get on the end of the passage of play he created although he missed the set shot. Cox jumped at every contest showing his natural spring. His two goals were in the third<\/span>\u00a0quarter coming from a set shot and an easy goal running into the goal square.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #6 Trent Bianco<\/strong><\/p>\n The Oakleigh Chargers ball magnet was his\u00a0team\u2019s top disposal winner, gathering plenty of the ball at half-back and using it well on both sides coming out of defence. Bianco\u2019s composure and skill\u00a0was\u00a0a standout down back where he often chose the right option and did it with little fuss. His ability to weave through traffic and pick the right option was terrific along with his ability to kick well on both sides.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #8 Mitch O\u2019Neill<\/strong><\/p>\n The Tasmanian prospect battled an ankle injury heading into the\u00a0game\u00a0but it did not stop him from winning plenty of the ball through the midfield.\u00a0O\u2019Neill\u00a0showed great composure and agility around the ground and he was one of his team\u2019s better ball winners and more consistent four quarter players.\u00a0O\u2019Neill’s\u00a0kicking let him down on a few occasions, but that might have been caused from the discomfort with his ankle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #17 Deven Robertson\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The ball magnet from Western Australia, Robertson looked set for another big\u00a0possession\u00a0game winning\u00a0plenty of the ball through the midfield, he won some clearances and worked well in transition. He was moved forward in the second<\/span>\u00a0half taking some nice lead up marks and using the ball well especially by hand, Robertson was one of his\u00a0teams\u00a0better performers especially with his disposal.<\/p>\n #22 Tom Green<\/strong><\/p>\n The GWS Academy member was his team’s captain and he\u00a0led from the front, cracking into contests for the whole four quarters with his impact in the first quarter the most noticeable. Green often won first possession at stoppages leaning towards using a handball. His clean hands and attack on the ball where a standout. Green kicked a fantastic goal in the last quarter with a dribbler in the pocket from a tight angle.<\/p>\n #23 Noah Anderson<\/strong><\/p>\n The Oakleigh Chargers midfielder was one of his teams most impactful players kicking two goals from the midfield both from snaps on his left and right boot in the fist half. Anderson did not get a huge amount of the\u00a0ball\u00a0but he was generally clean with his hands through the midfield and often got to dangerous positions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #25 Brodie Kemp<\/strong><\/p>\n The Bendigo Pioneers utility was used in multiple positions throughout the day starting the game down back and showing good composure. Kemp was moved into the midfield at half-time where he looked at his best showing off his impressive movement for his size and ability to baulk the opposition. Kemp went forward in the last quarter taking a mark and converting a lovely set shot goal in windy condition from outside 50 on a tight angle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #35 Luke Jackson<\/strong><\/p>\n The basketball\u00a0convert\u00a0from Western Australia played mostly in the ruck using his impressive leap and strong fame to his advantage, he did not win a lot of the ball but generally hit his targets. Jackson went forward in the second<\/span>\u00a0half winning a free kick in the third<\/span>\u00a0quarter and converting a goal. He also took an impressive mark in the last quarter which only resulted in a behind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ON AFL Grand Final Day, some of the top prospects for the 2019 National AFL Draft strutted their stuff on the biggest stage. Split in two sides named after AFL champions, Jimmy Bartel and Nick Riewoldt, there were a number of impressive performances throughout the 22-minute quarters. Team\u00a0Bartel: \u00a0#2\u00a0Caleb Serong The tough Gippsland\u00a0Power\u00a0midfielder was unlucky […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":27581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2748,2558,2330,4131,4053,4060,2420,2553,2547,5044,7029,2521,2555,6802,2641,2561],"class_list":["post-40624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-brodie-kemp","tag-caleb-serong","tag-cooper-stephens","tag-deven-robertson","tag-elijah-taylor","tag-jeremy-sharp","tag-lachlan-potter","tag-luke-jackson","tag-matt-rowell","tag-mitch-oneill","tag-mitchel-georgiades","tag-noah-anderson","tag-rhai-arn-cox","tag-tom-green","tag-trent-bianco","tag-will-gould"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}