AFL draft guru Mick Ablett has outlined who he believes from the 2022 draft crop will have an impact early in 2023.
Ablett admits it is always difficult to predict exactly which youngsters from each year’s draft will debut in Round 1 the following season.
However, he has floated a few names he believes will be right in the mix, depending on the early-season needs of their club, of course.
Ablett feels North Melbourne pair George Wardlaw and Harry Sheezel could see early action for the rebuilding Kangaroos.
“We’ll see a few early. I’m not suggesting Round 1, but I think we’ll see a few early,” Ablett told SEN Mornings.
“There’s a couple of different elements to this. Obviously there’s the question around where the club is at. Question number one is: Do they need to blood young players?
“The second point is: It suits the combative types. We’re a really contested game now, you’ve got to be able to compete and win your own ball.
“So you look at the likes of George Wardlaw and Harry Sheezel that have arrived at North Melbourne. We know North have got to blood the kids, they’ve go to bring that elite talent through, they’ve got to start to expose them.
“The sooner they can get 20, 30, 40 games into these young men, the quicker they’ll bounce back.”
Ablett has also predicted a quartet of first-round draftees who could see early action at West Coast, St Kilda, Geelong and Carlton respectively.
“Then we get to players like Reuben Ginbey at West Coast, Mattaes Phillipou (Saints), even a Jhye Clark (Cats),” he added.
“There’s a couple of guys in that mix that have tasted senior football, whether it’s in the SANFL or WAFL, then the likes of Clark who is super combative and have already proven that they can stand up and play contested footy at a high level.
“I also talk about a player like Oliver Hollands. What do Carlton need? A bit of outside class, a bit of run, someone that can carry the ball and get on the outside of (Patrick) Cripps, (Sam) Walsh and (George) Hewett.
“It just really gets back to where the club is positioned, what they need to progress and move forward early in the season.
“I’d expect to see quite a number of the players feature early in the season.”
It is also expected that father-son selection Will Ashcroft, who was taken by Brisbane at pick 2, will play early for the Lions.
18 players from the 2021 draft made their AFL debuts inside the opening five rounds of the 2022 season.