It might be December and the start of summer but football is never far from fans’ minds, particularly with last week’s AFL National Draft still fresh in our consciousness. As we all know, Greater Western Sydney scooped the pool with 11 of the first 14 selections, including the Number 1 pick Jonathon Patton, a 197cm key forward. We’re running a market on how many games he will play next year.
We’ve had a look at the performance of recent Number 1 picks in their first years with a view to how Patton will fare in his first season with the Giants. With such a young, inexperienced squad we expect the young star to play most of the season and have priced a market accordingly.
Although Patton, like Melbourne’s 2008 Number 1 Jack Watts, is a key forward, he is much more powerfully built than Watts and will be a year older than the Demon was in his first year. He should be a walk-up start for a young GWS outfit. He looks well developed and more mature than some of his young-bodied teammates and will be given plenty of opportunity to play.
GWS have already stated they expect him to feature prominently in his debut year, however key position players generally take time to adapt to AFL football. The transition to AFL training and playing can also lead to injuries, potentially reducing the number of games he is fit to play. The season does now have a bye built in for each club, so he will get a rest about halfway through the year.
History
2010 #1 David Swallow played 21 games in 2011 for Gold Coast, a start-up club very similar to GWS.
2009 #1 Tom Scully played 21 games in a weak Melbourne team in his first year.
2008 #1 Jack Watts played just three games in 2009 but he was still at school and as a skinny key position prospect needed plenty of time.
2007 #1 Matthew Kreuzer played 20 games for Carlton in 2008, a great effort for a young ruckman, but he has struggled with injuries since.
2006 #1 Bryce Gibbs played all 22 games in his debut season.
2005 #1 Marc Murphy played 13 games before injury curtailed his 2006 season.
2004 #1 Brett Deledio played 22 games for Richmond and won the AFL’s Rising Star award.
2003 #1 Adam Cooney played 19 games in 2004.
How many AFL games do you think Patton will play in 2012? Have your say and view the market here.
