Why Last Season's Draft Picks Are the Best We Have Seen

Rookies come into our game nowadays and make an immediate impact as soon as they play their first match, and last season's draft has shown to be amongst the best batch of players to have come out.

Will Ashcroft (Brisbane Lions), Harry Sheezel (North Melbourne), and Reuben Ginbey (West Coast Eagles) are all top ten selections from last year's draft period and has played every match this season and are impressing everyone's impressions.

Will Ashcroft, who was the second pick in the 2022 afl draft, shows how a young draft prospect is amongst the best players in his side, slotting himself into Brisbane's midfield and setting the tone, including earning himself a goal-of-the-year contender.

Compared to 2020 Brownlow medallist and teammate Lachie Neale, who is also averaging the most clearances per game this season. He was in and out of the team, struggling to hold his place in the side during his debut season.

In Lachie Neale's first season, he averaged 11.3 disposals and 0.5 clearances compared to Will Ashcroft, who is dominating, averaging 22.8 disposals and 3.7 clearances.

Harry Sheezel is another example, including his memorable 127 disposals in his first four matches, making him the fastest player ever to do so. The 2022 third-draft pick, too, had an impressive debut recording 34 possessions on debut, impressing straightaway.

Compared to his first season in the competition compared to Brownlow Medallist Nick Daicos, it is impossible to set the two apart. However, statistics have shown why Sheezel and the rest of the draft prospects have had a faster impact on the game than other players in their first seasons.

In Nick Daicos' first season, he averaged 25.8 disposals and 2.2 tackles as a defender, compared to Harry Sheezel's brilliant season of averaging 26.3 disposals and 2.8 tackles.

Despite West Coat's long and miserable season, they have had the opportunity to play their younger players, watch their hard work on the side, and get a glimpse of what is to come for the Eagles.

Reuben Ginbey, who was pick nine in the 2022 draft, has been a massive inclusion for the Eagles this season is a contested beast in stoppages and is among one of the best tacklers in the competition.

Compared to Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli who is in the running for this season's Brownlow, he is averaging the second most tackles on average per game with 7.7.

In Marcus Bontempelli's first season, he averaged 3.4 tackles a game when contrasted to Reuben Ginbey's strong season of averaging 6.3 tackles and the 12th most in the competition this year.

Although the debate is not saying that these players from last season's draft are better than the one's in here compared to, their impact is lasting and immediate from their first match.

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