RIGHT now, we don’t know what Stephen Wells has planned for the 2020 National Draft, but Geelong’s recruiting guru will ensure the club is a significant player after a pick swap with Gold Coast on night two of this year’s draft.
Just moments before it was due to make a selection with pick No.27, the Cats did a deal with the Suns in which it received selection No.64 and next year’s mid-first round pick (No.11) that the Suns received as part of its AFL assistance package.
With the future pick already obtained from West Coast as part of the Tim Kelly trade, Geelong now has three first-round selections next year.
Meanwhile, the Cats have used pick No.41 to select Francis Evans from the Calder Cannons.
A 182cm forward, Evans caught many pundits by surprise with his selection having played just six quarters of NAB League in 2020 after starting the season with VAFA Division 2 club Brunswick-NOBS, where he kicked 21 goals in five games.
He was then called into the Cannons squad and kicked five goals in his six quarters before suffering a season-ending heel surgery in early June.
Geelong then did a deal in which it sent what became pick No.63 and 2020 third and fourth-round picks in return for the Bombers’ pick No.50.
With that, the Cats pounced on mid-sized Norwood forward Cameron Taheny.
The left-footer, who had been projected as a top 10 selection earlier in 2019, had an injury-interrupted under-18 National Championships with South Australia but impressed with 21 possessions against the Allies.
Evans and Taheny have joined Cooper Stephens and Sam De Koning as the club’s National Draft selections.
Geelong will have two live selections in Friday’s Rookie Draft, with the third and final pick to be used to re-draft Oscar Brownless.
More to come
Twitter: @tom_king79
