Beatson happy with Swans Draft haul
Beatson says the Club got what it wanted at the 2010 National Draft
SYDNEY Swans recruiting manager, Kinnear Beatson, says the club got what it wanted and filled the need for both midfielders and key position players at the National Draft.
Beatson called out the name of Jed Lamb at pick 21. He said while many considered Lamb a small forward, the Swans believe he will be much more than that.
"We are pleased. The balance of it has come out pretty well. We wanted to try to continue to improve the midfield as well as get some key position types, so we have two and two," Beatson said.
"The general view on Lamb would be that he is a small forward but we see him as someone who is well and truly capable of coming up and playing on a wing or high half forward. He's not just a small forward."
The Club is also very excited about the selection of midfielder Luke Parker at pick 40. Beatson suspected he might go higher in the Draft so was rapt to be able to bring him to Sydney.
"Luke Parker has been a really high achiever for Vic Country in the under 16s. He was a member of the AIS squad and one of the captains of Vic Country this year. He is a really hard ball winner and I'm yet to see a grand final won without hard ball winners," Beatson said.
"We were a little bit surprised he was there at (pick) 40, that was a bit of a bonus for us."
The Swans sprang something of a surprise when they selected former West Coast Eagle Matt Spangher with the overall 73rd selection, and the Swans last pick for the night.
Spangher has been training at Hawthorn but the Swans nabbed him and believe the 195cm defender can add depth to the team's defence.
"It was a list management issue," Beatson said. "Obviously some of our key defenders are getting a bit older and we had some problems towards the end of the year with injuries to Bolts (Craig Bolton)and Lewis Roberts-Thomson so we could have selected another 18 year old but history will tell you that those key position players are incapable of playing for at least two years.
"We need someone who can play now and Matt has shown he is able to play as that centre half back who can run with the Riewoldts and those sorts of players. We weren't going to be able to service that through drafting another kid."