I don’t know what they’re putting in the water at Moorabbin, but if you were in charge of the Saints, you’d be bringing in some bottled water from Collingwood or the Western Suburbs of Melbourne to secure the future of your club. Ditto for Freo.
Both the Dogs and Pies have really hit the jackpot over the years with their father/son picks, with the Cats picking up some top-of-the-range quality, as well. Meanwhile, the Saints and Fremantle have had one Father/Son pick over that period. That was Bailey Rice at St Kilda – son of Dean. He played 11 games. And Brett Peake at Freo – he played 75 at Freo and added another 43 at St Kilda.
People have complained long and loud about the father/son aspect of the competition, and really, the two teams that have zero F/S picks are the ones who have the most to complain about. With just over a decade in the competition, it would have taken some pretty early bedroom activity for GWS or Gold Coast to be receiving a Father/Son pick by this stage.
But it is the heavy hitters we’re looking at in this column – those who made the most of the opportunities presented them to grab the offspring of their former players.
In my humble opinion, here are the top five teams over the journey.
1 – WESTERN BULLDOGS
TOP PICKS – LUKE DARCY, TOM LIBERATORE, RHYLEE WEST, MITCH WALLIS, LACHIE HUNTER, SAM DARCY, JORDAN CROFT
They may not have the top-end quality of the second-placed team, but the thing you’ll notice about the names listed for the Dogs is that they’ve all, bar one, stayed on the list.
Lachie Hunter headed to Melbourne after the 2022 season, but has since hung up the boots, whilst the Dogs have their second Darcy F/S pick looking like an absolute gem, as well, after Luke won an MVP Award for the club
2 – COLLINGWOOD
TOP PICKS – JASON CLOKE, TRAVIS CLOKE, NICK DAVIS, RHYCE SHAW, HEATH SHAW. DARCY MOORE, NICK DAICOS, JOSH DAICOS
I have them a rung below the Dogs due to the number of players they were able to grab that went on to leave the fold – both Shaws, Davis, and Trav Cloke all ended up elsewhere.
The current crop of stars is absolutely elite, with Moore already a premiership captain, and Nick Daicos already runner-up in the Brownlow twice.
3 – GEELONG
TOP PICKS – GARY ABLETT JR, TOM HAWKINS, MATTHEW SCARLETT, JED BEWS
Pow… look at that for quality! We could throw in Mark Blake, but when you list names like those above, to have him in there is such a stretch. Even having Jed Bews alongside Ablett, Hawkins, and Scarlett seems a little odd.
Others that have been grabbed by the Cats but haven’t blossomed include Oscar Brownless, Sam Simpson, and Osca Riccardi. Oh, and Nathan Ablett. Imagine if he was passionate about footy?
4 – BRISBANE
TOP PICKS – JONATHON BROWN, WILL ASHCROFT, JASPA FELTCHER, AND SOON TO BE LEVI ASHCROFT
Am I projecting a little into the future, here? Yeah, maybe. Perhaps I should do the same for the Blues, then, with the Camporeale boys?
The Lions got a premiership hero, and one of the more recognisable faces in the game over the last 25 years, when they nabbed Jonathon Brown, and have got excellent results from their last two F/S pickups, with Will Ashcroft already a Norm Smith Medallist, and Jaspa Fletcher looking like a 200-gamer, as well.
Levi Ashcroft is already projected to go at number one in this year’s draft. Imagine that? Winning the flag AND picking up the best kid in the country – it’s good to be a Lions fan right about now.
5 – WEST COAST EAGLES
TOP PICKS – ASHLEY MCINTOSH, BEN COUSINS, JAKE WATERMAN
Love that quality from the Eagles.
McIntosh is one of the more underrated defenders in the modern game, standing up in defence as a teenager against some of the best the league had to offer in the early 90s. And, of course, they have Brownlow Medallist on the list, as well. Regardless of how things played out with Cousins, he was a freak for the Eagles during an era of power.
OTHER NOTABLE PICKS
ESSENDON – DUSTIN FLETCHER, JOBE WATSON, JOE DANIHER
RICHMOND – MATTHEW RICHARDSON, JOEL BOWDEN, MAURICE RIOLI JR
CARLTON – LANCE WHITNALL, JACK SILVAGNI, JARRAD WAITE
PORT ADELAIDE – BRETT EBERT, JACKSON MEAD, JASE BURGOYNE
HAWTHORN – JOSH KENNEDY, CALSHER DEAR, FINN MAGINNESS
SYDNEY – TOM MITCHELL (also, could have had Josh Dunkley)
MELBOURNE – JACK VINEY
NORTH MELBOURNE – LUKE MCDONALD, BAILEY SCOTT, JACKSON ARCHER
ADELAIDE – MAX MICHALANNEY
FURTHER NOTES
The Cloke family basically chose Collingwood over Richmond. Travis retired in 2017… I wonder if he had chosen differently….
The Crows have also selected Ben Jarman and Jackson Edwards. I was sad that Jarman didn’t make it. I wanted to see some modern candy getting sold.
The Bombers swung and missed at a few – Jay Neagle, Jake Long, and Darcy Daniher were all selected.
The Pies also went all-in on Gavin Brown’s boys, with both Callum and Tyler Brown racking up games in black and white.
The Hawks and Swans basically swapped guns to give each more opportunity, with F/S picks Josh Kennedy and Tom Mitchell each playing their best footy away from their fathers’ clubs.
Time for a few Saints and Dockers to start pumping out some boys who can play, huh?
POTENTIAL 2024 FATHER/SON DRAFT CROP
Look, I’ve pinched this list from a combination of sources. I don’t know whether some of them are any good, or even if they’ve dropped off the radar – you may know better than me. Hell, some of them may not have even nominated. Earlier this season, these names were the ones being bandied around as potential Father/Son acquisitions – anyway, it is good to have a list of the possibilities, at least.
Adding the first name of the Dad, as well. Helps when there are two relations, like the Burgoyne kids.
LEVI ASHCROFT – BRISBANE (MARCUS)
BEN CAMPOREALE – CARLTON (SCOTT)
LUCAS CAMPOREALE – CARLTON (SCOTT)
TYLER WELSH – ADELAIDE (SCOTT)
ELWOOD PECKETT – ST KILDA (JUSTIN)
BOSTON EVERITT – ST KILDA (PETER)
NOAH YZE – MELBOURNE (ADEM)
LOUIE MONTGOMERY – PORT ADELAIDE (BRETT)
OLIVER FRANCOU – PORT ADELAIDE (JOSH)
KY BURGOYNE – PORT ADELAIDE/HAWTHORN (SHAUN)
ROME BURGOYNE – PORT ADELAIDE (PETER)
ALFIE WOCJINSKI – GEELONG (DAVID)
ALEX ALESSIO – ESSENDON (STEPHEN)
NOAH CARACELLA – ESSENDON (BLAKE)
RIVER STEVENS – NORTH MELBOURNE (ANTHONY)
ISAAC BARRY – SYDNEY (LEO… YOU STAR)
BAILEY BANFIELD – WEST COAST (DREW)
Still nothing for Freo… sigh.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. It is a labour of love for me, and having you guys as members of the site basically keeps me going. So sincerely… thank you – HB
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