Although we are only early days into the 2013 AFL Quebec Season excitement is already building over the 2013 AFL Quebec draft. With so many new faces even at this stage of the year, speculation is mounting to who will be the AFL Quebec 2013 No.1 draft pick.
Traditionally the first round draft pick goes to the bottom placed team in the ladder from the previous year which in this case would be the West Island Eagles. However AFL Quebec takes many more factors into consideration then just the league finish itself. Factors such as injuries, suspensions and absenteeism all of which add to give a misguided representation of how strong a team actually is, players leaving the club since and of course players returning to the squad. So although we don’t know the exact order of the draft just yet, we can still speculate as to what type of player each club is after in the 2013 AFL Quebec draft.
Old Port Dockers
Last season’s runner up will want to go one better than they did last year, and take home the 2013 AFL Premiership. But to do this they will need to strengthen the team. The most obvious area for the Dockers will be in the ruck. The men from downtown started off the regular season with a wealth of ruck men. However with the redeployment of Neil Koch to Full Forward, and Phil Ronci to Centre Back this had left the Dockers with only one ruck man in Andrew Bell. However with the Queensland native returning home, the Dockers have a huge void to fill. They could move Koch or Ronci back into the middle but with both men devastatingly effective in their respective positions throughout the final series, this might be an unwise move. Tall ruck men are in abundance in this year’s draft with the big two Frenchmen of Clemente Coste and JF Bouron, the Tasmanian Devil Toby Campain and the Quebec natives Charles Gallet and Shane Foley all bound to be featuring highly on Ronan Shaughnessy’s draft wish list. Solid in defence with Rocher, Shaughnessy, Link and Eboka all having stellar seasons another area the Dockers may want to look to add to their cavalier is their on ball department. First year Rookies Loucas Dufort and Brian Lee were absolute revelations in this position but the Dockers may wish to add some experience to this area. Should he be available then expect the Dockers to shoot straight in for Randy Andrada in the first or second round and don’t be surprised to see new boy Rémi Mathieu on his way to the Dockers too.
Laval Bombers
Last year’s premiers will more than likely come into this draft as last round pick but expect them to come in gunning for a talismanic goal kicking forward that can help relieve the goal kicking responsibilities on Belzie and Fairbrother. Having spent much of last year sidelined through injury, the Bombers welcome back Steven Owens to the squad, however Fairbrother will not be content with just adding the Irishman to his forward arsenal. The free Agent draft is littered with on ballers and talls but what the Bombers might be looking for can only be filled by one man – Larry Greene. Bullish in his approach and lethal in front of goal, should the Bombers be able to pick up the explosive Irish man in the draft they might be onto a real gem. Finding a replacement for recently departed midfielder Lachlan Trumble might prove a tall task but if this next guy continues to show improvements like he has then Giordano Watkins might just be the guy to fill the void left by Adelaide native. Dorval resident Watkins has impressed at pre-season training and would be a massive addition to any team.
West Island Eagles
Flair, speed and youthful exuberance are just some words synonymous with the West Islanders and whether Matty Payne will want to continue in this fashion or add a bit of game know-how and experience will determine just how the Eagles will draft. In this commentator’s opinion, expect Payne to go with the latter. The Eagles need to add an old head to their young team and no better man then Luke O Farrell. Having been around the block, O Farrell will add much needed experience to a talented but raw side.
But don’t expect Payne to completely abandon his philosophy of drafting young, fast and exciting players to his team. The Lavoie brothers, Gabriel and Marc Antoine would be perfect additions to the Eagles and under the tutelage of Kempster, Payne and perhaps O Farrell, they will surely grow to become future stars of footy right here in Quebec.
When Nick Robidoux isn’t kicking five goals per game, the Eagles sometimes find goals hard to come by. They will also want to add a bit of height to their forward line. Expect Payne to push hard to acquire the services of Coste or Bouron or perhaps Campain. All three can also alternate to the ruck, thus relieving some of the responsibilities of the shoulders of Eliot Kempster. A forward line of one these with Smallwood and Robidoux will be a force to reckon with.
Montreal Demons
Could easily be coming into this season as AFL Quebec Premiers but after going down by one solidarity point to eventual champions the Laval Bombers (in what is probably greatest AFL Quebec game ever), the Demons could find themselves with a 1st or 2nd draft pick. When at full strength, the Demons are incredibly strong around the middle and so they will be looking to build from the back and help relieve the pressure on Nixon and Lartigue. Not much is known of Englishman John Kaveney (other than that he is English) but if he comes in at the right pick expect the Demons to pounce on him and help bolster up a depleted backline. Don’t be surprised to see Mark Koser on his way to the Demons as well. Coming from a Rugby background Koser would be a massive addition to Dee’s adding steel and grit to a team often accused of been individualistic.
However with injuries and absenteeism always an issue for the Demons all-star midfield (Legault – ACL, Graham and McNabb – International Duty), then expect this to play in the back of the mind of Coach Nathan Jacobs. Should he consider the Demons need to bolster their on ball department as a necessity rather than a luxury then expect Jacobs to push hard for fellow Australian Chris Cuellar in the first or second round draft. Or perhaps he will try and cover the best of both worlds and push for star utility man Conor O’Farrell who can be deployed equally as effective in defence and midfield.
Three Players to watch in this year’s draft:
Kevin Barranco – We have seen many players here at AFL Quebec make the transition from Rugby Player to Footy Player but we haven’t been quite this excited about one since Josh Gavidia made the switch last year. Expect Barranco to be a hard hitting, tough tackling defender but also quick and agile on his feet with the ball.
Stephane Daoust – Although new on the scene, Daoust wouldn’t look out of place on a professional footy field. Built like an Athlete, if he Daoust can continue to build on his Athletic prowess and hone his footy skills he will become very valuable, very quickly to whichever team will take a punt on the Canadian
Shane Foley – Any club would welcome Foley to their squad with wide open arms. Still with a lot to learn but another man with enormous potential, Foley could one day follow in the footsteps of Payne and Graham and become a Canadian International.
Last Modified on 13/06/2014 06:15