The club’s WA recruiting manager Trevor Woodhouse says ranking such a large group of players can be like “buying a speculative share or a two-year-old horse”, but it’s an essential part of any team’s preparation in the lead up to the draft.
“We’ll go into a draft with probably 50 names and you’ve got to try and get them ranked from one to 50 which is a very difficult process,” Woodhouse says.
“We do take in obviously footy ability. We take in character, their ability to move, their ability to cope and we talk to probably more people now than we’ve ever talked to.
“It probably looks good and there is a lot more numerical data around, but I still think the basic premise is watching them play footy initially and taking that side of it.”
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Woodhouse says that although senior coaches are under more pressure to produce results than ever before, their involvement in the draft is minimal.
“They certainly like to know what you’re looking at and who you’re looking at, but it’s more about types and needs that they would prefer,” Woodhouse says.
“It might be different at some clubs, but certainly at our club for a long time that hasn’t happened.”
As free agency becomes more and more widespread, with players trying to engineer deals so they can finish their football careers in their home state, it might surprise some that Woodhouse does not have a preference for recruiting WA-based players.
Instead, they are more likely to select a player with a better chance of fast development.
“There’s always a little bit of angst to get the players up and running, so I don’t think there’s a massive difference in where they come from,” Woodhouse says.
“I think the young kids now are probably more adjusted and understand that they could go anywhere, but that doesn’t mean it’s easier for them.
“To get uprooted and leave your family and friends at 18 and head across to the other side of the country is still very difficult and we understand that and every club understands that, so that’s why we put a lot of work into trying to settle them when they arrive.”
