Top 5 AFL First Year Players
The 2013 AFL Draft was considered by some experts to be the weakest AFL draft for a few years, this statement is true as the usual depth wasn’t there as it had been in recent years.
This draft wasn’t as strong as it could’ve been with two of the top prospects being picked up in the mini-draft of 2012.
It will be a tight race for the Rising Star this year with a possibility of 5 top players fighting it out until season end. So who are these candidates? Read on to find out who will be the cream of the crop for first year players in 2014.
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Josh Kelly
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Picked up behind Tom Boyd in the 2013 draft Josh Kelly set the National Championships on fire earlier this year averaging 27 possessions in his four games for Vic Metro.
Has supreme endurance which included him running the fastest 3km time trial ever at the National Combine (9:48) and has ran an 800m sprint in 1:56 (fast enough to qualify for the Commonwealth Games).
His ball use is supreme which helped him finish in the top 1% for disposal efficiency at the National Championships. Although he has a light frame he is slick through traffic and has been compared to Scott Pendlebury.
Slipped all the way to pick 7 where the Lions pounced, in the pre-draft rankings he was predicted to go as high as number 2. Aish broke a record at Norwood in 2012 when he became the youngest player to debut at SANFL level in the club’s 134 year history.
A dual All-Australian who possesses all the qualities you like in a midfielder: silky, great disposal, efficiency on both sides of his body, and can work in heavy traffic.
Should feature heavily in his first year at Brisbane after playing against bigger bodies in the SANFL, was a big feature in South Australia’s 2013 National Championship winning side where he averaged just under 16 disposals a game.
James Aish
By Brent Ford