One is an attacking, big-framed defender, one is blessed with silky skills and one is an uncompromising inside midfielder.
And because of that, Sydney Swans coach John Longmire is rapt with the club’s Thursday night AFL Draft haul.
The second and final night of the AFL Draft saw Sydney lock in backman Will Gould with pick 26, the wizardly Elijah Taylor with selection 36 and midfielder Chad Warner via pick 39.
In a chat with SwansTV at the end of the night, Longmire delivered a glowing review of all three youngsters.
“We’ve got a good spread. I just rely on the recruiters and whether they were happy with the night – and they were really happy afterwards,” Longmire said.
“Will Gould we think is a fantastic defender. He gives some real dash across defence and is a real competitor. He’s a big body and he loves to compete, so we’re thrilled with him.
“Elijah Taylor is a highly talented player and he’s got great skills – some of the best we’ve seen. Getting him over in our system, working with him and seeing how he adapts to AFL footy is going to be a great excitement for us.
“And our last selection was Chad Warner. He’s an inside midfielder, he’s hard, he’s a competitor and we love that. Our recruiters were really hot on how he goes about it.
“From what I’ve seen they’ll all fit in really well at our footy club.”
Gould strengthened his draft credibility with a sterling 2019 AFL Under-18 Championships campaign, averaging 21.5 disposals, 4.5 marks and 7.2 rebound 50s per match as South Australia’s captain.
The 18-year-old’s golden state-level campaign earned him back-to-back All Australian honours, while he also played a stack of senior footy with Glenelg this year for a return of 19.7 touches and 5.2 marks per game.
Taylor joined Gould in the 2019 All Australian team on the back of his own brilliant form in the AFL Under-18 Championships, which saw him average 12.2 possessions and 1.5 goals per match.
Swans General Manager – Recruiting and List Strategy Kinnear Beatson has labelled the Western Australian an “excitement machine”, so impressive are his natural leap, crisp ball-handling skills and crafty ability around goal.
A fellow Western Australian in Warner also starred in the 2019 AFL Under-18 Championships, posting an average of 18.2 touches (50 per cent contested), 3.2 clearances and 6.8 tackles per game.
The Swans’ Thursday night sweep followed the drafting of Dylan Stephens with pick five on Wednesday night, a midfielder from South Australian club Norwood with top-class running abilities.
The 18-year-old became Sydney’s first selection five at a draft since the club famously nabbed Jarrad McVeigh in 2002.
Longmire said the drafting of Stephens was a massive plus.
“He’s got great speed, he’s got great endurance and he was genuinely thrilled,” Longmire said.
“He’s got great personality and he’s up and about and that’s what we love about him.
“We met his family and caught up with them last night, which was terrific.
“We can’t wait to welcome him to the club on Sunday night.”
