CARLTON Head of List Management Nick Austin dissects what the Club was able to do in the 2023 AFL Draft.
Here's what he had to say on new recruits Ashton Moir and Billy Wilson.
On Billy Wilson's acquisition:
"The speed is a real point of difference for us. I know he’s listed as a general defender, but we love what he did as an inside midfielder in the back half of the year and through the finals. Playing pure inside, he did some fantastic things. He’s super clean, his burst and his ball use was terrific. That’s a point of difference for us as a midfield group."
On being an apparent draft bolter:
"Not for us he wasn’t! He’s going to train with our midfield group. We know he can play back, we’ve got quite a bit of depth in our back half. We’ve also got some guys that are coming to the back-end of their career, so the ability to do both is quite unique. We love what he did as an inside midfielder: that elite speed and that burst is something we think we’re lacking, he’s going to help us."
On Ashton Moir's selection:
"Ashton Moir last night, the last pick of the first night. We’ve liked Ashton from a fair way out. He’s a point of difference forward-of-centre. He’s got beautiful skills, we certainly think he’s going to be a point of difference for us."
On Moir's 2023 campaign:
"He had an indifferent year: he had an injury, down on confidence. It’s a funny one: coming into the year being touted that highly, it’s a level of pressure on a player. He fought through that, we had some really honest conversations with him in the last few weeks. He also played some great footy as well, it probably wasn’t the year he wanted to have but bigger picture, he can come in, work hard and get his body right. He’s a great kid from a great family, we’ve got a lot of confidence in what he can do not only next year but in the future."
On his fitness leading into his first AFL pre-season:
"He battled the hip and probably played some games during the year that on reflection, he probably wouldn’t have played. That’s a big learning curve for a young player, how to manage your body and working all that out. The medical guys were really comfortable and happy to tick him off. We can get him in, get him strong and get to work."
On Moir playing with the Camporeale twins:
"No link there, I like it though! I know our supporters like seeing the Camporeale boys kick to him in his highlights, but that’s purely coincidence. Carlton’s got a great history with Glenelg with Stephen Kernahan and Bryce Gibbs and these sorts of guys."
On the upcoming rookie draft:
"We’ll have a pick tomorrow. We’ll take stock tonight, see who’s there and reshuffle our order. We can probably be a bit more targeted. We’ll take it all in tonight."
On taking the Club's two pre-determined selections:
"You just don’t know when opportunities are going to arise. We had a live trade last year when we came in to get Lachie Cowan, and that worked really well for us. We were happy to pick where we were and have those two picks close together: strategically, it worked well for us. There were a group of players you could throw a blanket over, and we had a group there we really liked. We’re rapt to get two guys that we rank pretty highly."
