SimonH wrote:Not really. Victim of his time. There's a firm view on the part of pretty much all clubs' recruiters that players under 5'9" in the old money (175cm or so) can't make it as anything other than a pinch-hitter in the modern AFL. Which is probably wrong, but what you gonna do?emerson wrote:Liberatore was 163cms. Alwyn Davey 173. Eddie Betts 173. Leon Davis 177, Tarkyn Lockyer 178, Andrew Browne 174, Hayden Ballantyne 174, Chris Hall 175, Byron Schammer 176 etc
There must be more to it.......
Libba would never be drafted in a million years these days (yes, sad and would deprive the game of a champ, but true). Davey was roundly ignored as a draft-age kid and had to prove himself in the SANFL before getting drafted as an 'ancient' 22 year old, while Betts was picked up in the PSD (i.e. he was overlooked in the national draft)... and both of them were/are freakishly fast. Which Caruso apparently isn't.
To get drafted as a kid under 175cm these days, you need to have both explosive pace and elite (if not freakish) skills... and even then you'll probably just squeeze into the rookie draft.
Caruso could well be a top 10 recruit this year, but needs to put the runs on the board. There would usually be a big difference between the anticipated top 10 recruits at the start of the year, and the top 10 at the end based on the year's performance (e.g. Kieran McGuinness wasn't an especially heralded or hyped recruit in 2007).
Fair enough...... oh well, hope the kid does alright this year then. Mind you, I know nothing about him..
