Highly touted PM CAPITAL GIANTS Academy prospects Jacob Hopper and Matthew Kennedy will be GIANTS players next year.
That’s the opinion of NAB AFL Draft expert Callum Twomey who ranked the talented duo fifth and sixth respectively in his final phantom form guide of the year.
Here’s what Twomey had to say about the pair ahead of the NAB AFL Draft on November 24:
Twomey on Hopper:
Hopper's ability to step up when his team needs him puts him among the elite category of draft prospects. The big and bustling midfielder has the body size to have a presence wherever he plays. Hopper averaged 23 disposals at TAC Cup level this year, but sometimes you have to watch closely to see his influence. When the ball is up for grabs, he's always in the thick of the action, and he averaged five tackles and five clearances a game. Hopper sets a high example, is the type of character who always wants to test himself against the best and has aspirations to be more than just a good player at the next level. As a member of the Greater Western Sydney academy zone in the Riverina region, the fledgling club will have first access to him at the draft.
Where does he go? Hopper will be in Giants colours on draft night. He warrants a bid in the first five or six picks which force the Giants to match with their pick 10 (and maybe some more points from later picks).
Twomey on Kennedy:
Kennedy's rise has been stunning this season, having never been a part of the talent pathway until earlier this year. The tall and strong midfielder is a competitive and no frills player. However, he mixes that uncompromising style developed in senior country footy with some real tricks. Kennedy is great overhead, which means he can push forward and be a dangerous option, and he likes to hit the scoreboard. A knee injury ruled him out for three months in the middle of the year, but Kennedy came back, won a local premiership in New South Wales, and then starred at the combine. The unflappable and relaxed youngster is another prospect attached to Greater Western Sydney as an academy player.
Where does he go? Kennedy is also headed to the Giants, who accumulated enough points (or picks, whichever way you look at it) in trade period to pay for him and Hopper.
The draft will have an extra dimension this year with the AFL’s new father-son and northern academy players bidding system being implemented for the first time.
Designed to ensure clubs pay closer to market value for leading draftees, the new bidding system will also make the event more of a live spectacle.
Under the reformed bidding system – which was developed throughout last year – each draft selection is allocated a points value on a sliding scale.
Clubs nominating a player as a father-son or academy draftee will be forced to use their existing draft selections to match the points value of the pick used by the club bidding for the player.
Next week the GIANTS start their comprehensive NAB AFL Draft preview which will include player profiles, interviews, stats pieces and flashback features.
The 2015 NAB AFL Draft will take place at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Tuesday, November 24.
