Patrick Cripps is just 24, but regarded in many quarters already as the best player in the AFL competition. Photo: AFL MEDIA
It has only been six years since this draft took place, but amazingly, just two members of the original top 10 have avoided slipping out in this exercise in revision.
In fact, the 2013 AFL national draft is already looking like it’s going to go down as a treasure trove full of bargains.
In no particular order, Orazio Fantasia (pick 55), Toby Nankervis (35), Jake Kelly (40 – rookie draft), Aliir Aliir (44), Patrick Ambrose (26 – rookie draft), Kayne Turner (25 – rookie draft), James Harmes (2 – rookie draft), Alex Pearce (37), Tom Langdon (65), Darcy Byrne-Jones (52) and Jake Kolodjashnij (41) have already left egg on recruiters’ faces.
But such is the quality of this draft that none of those players were able to muscle their way into the revised top 10.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the new No.1 of this crop is none other than Carlton superstar Patrick Cripps, who, perhaps incredibly it seems now, slipped through to pick 13 six years ago.
Cripps is only 24, but some already regard him as the best player in the competition.
With only 101 games to his credit, Cripps has already collected two All-Australian jumpers, three best-and-fairests, an AFLPA MVP and has earned the co-captaincy of his club along with Sam Docherty. But given Docherty missed the entire 2019 campaign with a knee injury, the full responsibility fell on Cripps’ shoulders and he accepted the challenge with aplomb.
The guy is a genetic freak. Standing at 195 centimetres and weighing 92kilograms, for all intents and purposes, he should be a key position player, but he is one of the most damaging and explosive midfielders in the AFL.
He is basically unstoppable, but perhaps because he has played in such a bad team for so long – he’s only featured in 24 wins – opposition coaches haven’t felt the full force of his destructive powers. Watch out if and when he starts playing in a strong team.
Cripps already has a career average of 26 disposals, 16 contested possessions, eight clearances and six tackles per game. The fact he has only scratched the surface should be terrifying for the rest of the competition.
It was very tough to make a decision on the revised No.2 and No.3 spots, but in the end, Western Bulldogs on-baller Marcus Bontempelli edged out the Giants’ human highlight reel Josh Kelly.
Bontempelli was born to play senior footy and displayed leadership qualities very early on in his career. He hit the ground running and hasn’t looked back to become a truly elite player of the competition.
With a premiership, two All-Australians, a coaches’ player of the year award and three best-and-fairests to his credit in the space of just six seasons, he is on track to become not only an all-time great of the Bulldogs, but of the game in general.
Kelly isn’t too far behind. The GWS star is one of the most exciting footballers running around and it’s not hard to understand why clubs, including his own, have thrown some of the lengthiest and most lucrative contract offers the game has ever seen at him. The 24-year-old already has an All-Australian and a best-and-fairest to his credit and he’s only getting warmed up.
Speaking of bargains, rounding out the revised top five are North Melbourne sharpshooter Ben Brown and star Hawthorn defender James Sicily who, staggeringly, were taken at picks 47 and 56 respectively.
Essendon’s Zach Merrett, Brisbane forward Charlie Cameron (originally drafted by Adelaide), West Coast flag hero Dom Sheed, Adelaide ball magnet Matt Crouch and Sheed’s premiership teammate Tom Barrass complete the revised top 10.
Merrett (pick 26), Cameron (7 – rookie draft) and Barrass (43) have turned out to be big steals as well.
In the end, Tom Boyd, Jack Billings, Kade Kolodjashnij, Matthew Scharenberg, James Aish, Luke McDonald, Christian Salem and the luckless Nathan Freeman were replaced by Cripps, Brown, Sicily, Merrett, Cameron, Sheed, Crouch and Barrass in the top 10.
This writer has a soft spot for Boyd and would have loved to have kept him inside the revised top 10 purely because of his heroic performance in the 2016 grand final, which helped the Dogs to their historic second flag.
He should have won the Norm Smith Medal that day, but it probably wasn’t enough to justify him keeping his spot and keeping out so many other more consistent players.
