SUMMARY
AFL - Callum Twomey
Selections before academy and father/son bidding: 28, 44, 51, 61 Selections after bidding: 30, 35, 50, 57 Who they picked: Sam McLarty, Callum Brown, Kayle Kirby, Josh Daicos Pre-draft priority: A key defender, followed by a key forward – preferably one with ruck capabilities. Callum Twomey's verdict: The Pies were desperate to get their first pick before a bid came for Brown, and that happened (albeit only by five picks). With that first pick they filled the hole left by departed defenders Jack Frost and Nathan Brown by selecting McLarty, who runs hard at the ball and can take a good contested grab. Brown is a footballer's footballer who just finds the ball consistently, while Kirby is a bit of a punt but has some natural talent as a medium forward. Collingwood didn't need to match a bid for Daicos, so was able to grab the father-son forward with its last pick. The Pies were able to achieve two key things at the draft: keep the famous names of their club in black and white, and also add a much-needed tall defender. |
North Melbourne placed a bid on Brown, the son of three-time club champion Gavin, with pick No.35 but the Magpies quickly matched and he officially joined the club his famous father once captained.
Brown, an under-18 All Australian after averaging 19 disposals across the national championships, is an accumulator of the footy in the midfield.
At 177cm, the Eastern Ranges product regularly finds the footy and makes smart choices with his disposal.
Magpies list manager Derek Hine followed up his selection of Brown by claiming Josh Daicos, the son of five-time club leading goal kicker Peter, with pick No.57.
"It's very important to note that we rate them in the draft, we rate them where they sit in the scheme of things and they probably both fell where the market dictated they'd be," Hine told AFL.com.au.
"They both bring different things to the table and now the hard work begins."
A late bloomer, Josh Daicos failed to make the Oakleigh Chargers' list as a bottom-age player in 2015.
But he bounced back to make the list in 2016, displaying snippets of his talent throughout the TAC Cup season.
The 177cm small forward played three games for Vic Metro in the mid-year championships but finished the season with a rush and gathered 18 touches in the NAB AFL All Stars game.
Both Brown and Daicos played junior football with and against each other, while their families remain close, given Gavin Brown and Peter Daicos were Collingwood premiership teammates in 1990.
Having now been drafted by the Magpies, it is over to Callum Brown and Josh Daicos to follow in the footsteps of their famous fathers and create their own history at the club.
The Magpies took key defender Sam McLarty with their first pick in the draft (No.30 overall) and added exciting forward Kayle Kirby – a Richmond Next Generation academy player – with pick No.50.
Derek Hine, Magpies list manager:
Selection No.30 – Sam McLarty
Derek Hine says: "We had a couple of boys pegged there as key defender types. Sam hurt his shoulder halfway through the year, but he's shown, at 197cm, he can play forward, back and he's extremely athletic and a high-end competitor."
Selection No.35 – Callum Brown
Derek Hine says: "I was hoping one (a bid) wasn't going to come, but I was expecting one. I thought North might have been the problem, but it didn't really matter in the end. He's a consistent performer and we knew what we were getting when we took him."
Selection No.50 – Kayle Kirby
Derek Hine says: "Kayle is coming from a little bit behind but he brings that high-end speed and physicality to our front half. It will be interesting to see how he goes. We're in the futures market so he'll be OK I'm sure."
Selection No.57 – Josh Daicos
Derek Hine says: "Josh is a clever small forward with plenty of tricks around goal. It was great to finally select him and Callum (Brown) together. He was coming from a little bit behind, having elected to play school football, but that's all part of the futures market again."
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Sam McLarty arrives at Collingwood with pick No. 30.
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Position: Tall utility
Height: 193cm
Weight: 93kg
Born: 11/5/1998
Recruited from: Oakleigh U18
Profile
Last year saw McLarty come onto the scene as an athletic key defender for the Oakleigh Chargers as they stormed towards the TAC Cup premiership. This season the key position prospect has spent more time in an attacking role, and he has enjoyed some strong displays near goal. He has some natural spring, attacks the ball well in the air and can have sticky hands in marking contests. McLarty had only limited exposure at the national championships as he was coming back from injury and was underdone, but it's hard to find quality talls this year.
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Callum Brown was an All-Australian at under 18 level in 2016.
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Position: Midfielder/ forward
Height: 177cm
Weight: 72.2kg
Born: 27/4/1998
Recruited from: Eastern U18
Profile
Brown is the son of Collingwood 1990 premiership star and former captain Gavin. His improvement has been steady but significant across 2016. Brown played for the Eastern Ranges last year and did some exciting things, including a three-goal haul in the Preliminary Final of the TAC Cup. He's taken his talents into the midfield this season, and become a regular ball-winner. Brown isn't overly quick but moves well and rarely gets caught. He averaged 18 disposals in four games for Vic Metro at the national championships and was named an All Australian.
Plays like
It's not a bad time to be a short midfielder, and Brown is a little like Lachie Neale in the way he plays and his strengths.
What they say
"He's as clean below his knees as I've seen – he's very much Caleb Daniel like as well in terms of how he doesn't waste his possessions. He's probably a 15 to 30 metre player in terms of his kicking at this stage, but as he continues to develop that power in his legs, which he's got – his vertical is very good, his speed is getting better, he is just going to keep growing into his body – and the one thing he is, he is just super competitive, super determined, very driven and just a beautiful, natural footballer," – Len Villani (Eastern Rangers talent manager), Inside Football, November 2016.
"Such has been his TAC Cup form this year, Eastern Rangers talent manager Len Villani said the 18-year-old had roared in his estimations from being a potential rookie or late draft pick 12 months ago to a late first-round or early second-round pick. Villani said the best of Brown, who has based his game on Port Adelaide's Robbie Gray and Fremantle's Lachie Neale, was yet to come." – Toby Prime, Manningham Leader, 22 August 2016.
"Callum and Josh Daicos spent a week with us during the pre-season and it great to have them down. They are fantastic young men. They really thrived in the environment here. Just having them around was first class and both them threw themselves into it flat out. Nothing was too hard. Even when they fell short, they dusted themselves off," – Nathan Buckley, 5 April 2016.
"Callum was running around at Marcellin last year but was really small and then he did some special things and has grown up sideways and a little vertically. He has always been great with his hands and with his vision and composure and now he can win his own footy and doesn't get brushed aside," – Anton Grabic (Vic Metro coach), Herald Sun, 15 June 2016.
"He's a brilliant midfielder. He continues to improve, whether it's his fitness or his size and he wins a lot of the ball. He's always in and under the packs and he competes all day for four quarters," – Josh Daicos (contemporary and son of Peter Daicos), Herald Sun, 7 October 2016.
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Collingwood has chosen Kayle Kirby at pick No. 50.
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Position: Small forward
Height: 181cm
Weight: 89kg
Born: 31/8/1998
Recruited from: Bendigo U18
What they say
"Kayle is an excitement machine… Just a ripper. A Byron Pickett-clone with Cyril Rioli-type tricks. He's got some real x-factor, deadly accurate around goals, dangerous whenever he gets the ball, is physically intimidating and I think his speed is right up there with the best. Just got a big bag of tricks and he can used all of them in the one day. Small forward-type who could pinch-hit in the middle but he's only been playing football for three or four years so the upside is enormous. Fitness is the area of concern but if he was to get that right I think he could have an influence in senior football next year," – Bendigo Pioneers coach Brett Henderson, Inside Football, November 2016.
Selection No. 57 – Josh Daicos
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Josh Daicos represented Vic Metro during the 2016 National Championships.
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Height: 178cm
Weight: 69kg
Born: 26/11/1998
Recruited from: Oakleigh U18
Profile
The son of Collingwood champion Peter Daicos, Josh's talent is untapped but he could be one of the best small forwards in the pool. Daicos didn't take long to show his talents as a smart and crafty small forward, bursting onto the scene in the TAC Cup practice matches early in the year. After being held back from elite under 18 programs until this season, Daicos had relatively little exposure but has come on with every appearance. A broken hand threatened to interrupt his championships, but he returned to play three games for Vic Metro and show his class and creativity around goal.
What they say
"Obviously he has had just one year within our program. I reckon he peaked around championships time and we were probably a little disappointed with the end of his season. He has serious skill, a very good footy brain, and we would have liked to have had him in the program a bit longer. He doesn't look that quick out on the ground but his GPS data stacks up quite well. He lacks a yard of speed but his footy nous alleviates that. The sidestep he has learned from Dad, and there are a lot of similarities with Peter – great goal sense and the footy brain with the way he sees the game" – Craig Notman (Oakleigh Chargers talent manager), Inside Football, November 2016.
"While he has played predominantly as a small forward this season - he bases his game on Port Adelaide livewire forward Chad Wingard - Daicos is determined to improve his fitness base in order to spend more time in the midfield. One of the most unique aspects to Daicos' game is his goal kicking technique. He barely generates any momentum during his run-up, opting to slowly step towards his target. But then as he kicks the ball on his preferred right boot, his leg swings dramatically across the left side of his body, rather than following the straight trajectory of the footy." – Ben Waterworth, Fox Footy, November 2016.
"Callum and Josh Daicos spent a week with us during the pre-season and it great to have them down. They are fantastic young men. They really thrived in the environment here. Just having them around was first class and both them threw themselves into it flat out. Nothing was too hard. Even when they fell short, they dusted themselves off," – Nathan Buckley, 5 April 2016.
" Josh has got class and a nice lateral first step but the real highlight is his beautiful kicking skills. He entered the TAC Cup this year after playing at Camberwell Grammar and early in the year he showed he had some seriously special qualities" – Anton Grabic (Vic Metro coach), Herald Sun, 15 June 2016.
"He's a very skilful player, he gets a lot of the ball, he works hard and always makes good decisions," – Callum Brown (contemporary and son of Gavin Brown), Herald Sun, 7 October 2016.
