Imagine if the top-20 picks from the AFL draft all suffered season-ending injuries in their draft year.
That’s effectively what happened to the class of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, the No.1 pick as an academy prospect in 2020, has developed into an exciting forward.Credit: AFL Photos
“It’s like the whole lot of them had ACL injuries [in their draft year],” AFL talent guru Kevin Sheehan said.
“We have that experience over time where a kid just misses a year and is going to be a little bit behind.”
It means that AFL list managers face a challenging task assessing the progress of that draft class as 70 per cent of the top-20 picks come out of contract at the end of 2024.
Twelve of that cohort were Victorian-based so missed a season of football in their draft year as the state locked down during the pandemic, complicating assessment of their development compared to the first three seasons of other draft crops.
Sheehan said that must be kept in mind when assessing the progress of that year’s draft crop, as should the fact the recruiters were more in the dark about each player’s potential when they made their calls.
“They were absolutely crystal-balling then, with less information on the group than ever before,” Sheehan said.
Judgment day looms for AFL’s draft class of 2020
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15.02.2024
Imagine if the top-20 picks from the AFL draft all suffered season-ending injuries in their draft year.
That’s effectively what happened to the class of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, the No.1 pick as an academy prospect in 2020, has developed into an exciting forward.Credit: AFL........
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