[SPORT] Bold Move Makes CURTIN A Crow

A bold pick swap has landed Adelaide the man widely considered the best defender in this year’s draft with Western Australian Daniel Curtin now a Crow.

Adelaide completed a live trade with GWS to move up the order and snare the prized 197cm left-footer with Pick 8 on the opening night of the AFL Draft.

On a busy night for the Crows, Curtin’s arrival was complemented by two other first-round selections with big-bodied midfielder Charlie Edwards drafted from the Sandringham Dragons with Pick 21 and classy running defender Oscar Ryan from the Murray Bushrangers with Pick 27.

Curtin has excellent speed, agility and foot skills which were on show at the Under 18 National Championships where he averaged 23 disposals and six marks per game playing as a defender and midfielder.

He was named WA’s MVP and made the All-Australian team, in addition to playing senior footy including finals for Claremont and captained their Under 18 premiership.

“It was a bold play and credit to the Giants for helping us get it done, we saw the opportunity and started to think three or four days ago it was maybe a chance,” Crows National Recruiting Manager Hamish Ogilvie said.

“It was pretty bold but the opportunity was just too good and that’s the great thing about trading on the night and future trading, when these opportunities present you’ve got to be ready and we’re just so pleased to have him at the Club.

“People forget how good a forward he was as a young player, he’s a forward who has moved back, and the midfield stuff is great too, a fantastic bonus for his development.

“We think he starts back, his ball use for a tall is really high class, he’s played great senior footy already – I love the Claremont (versus) Subiaco final and how the coach used him, he threw him around, his groundball is really good and that kick is rare for a player that tall.

“We interviewed him in (at the start of the year) when the team was on the training camp in Fremantle so he was always a player we rated highly and (we thought) he would probably be out of our reach, but we were able to manipulate some picks and still stay in the draft which is a really good thing so to get Charlie (Edwards) and Oscar (Ryan) as well that worked out really well for us because they were two players we rated highly as well.”

At 191cm, Edwards is a strong-bodied midfielder who had an eye-catching season with the Sandringham Dragons in the Coates Talent League.

He started the season in defence but was moved onto the ball mid-year and relished the opportunity with his leg-speed and penetrating kick.

The 18-year-old had 22 disposals and kicked a goal in the Coates Talent League preliminary final, showcasing his versatility also as a forward.

“It will be great to have Charlie come in and learn from those (midfielders), and he wanted to come to Adelaide,” Ogilvie said.

“He’s a Bendigo kid off the farm, very mature and a really smart kid.

“He plays three parts of the ground really well, started off half-back, moved into the midfield and some of his cameos in the forward line were really exciting so at that size and with his athletic ability gives us really good scope.”

Ryan is a highly-skilled rebound defender with good speed, and renowned for his toughness and attack on the footy.

He forced his way into the Vic Country team and played every game of the Under-18 National Championships after impressing with the Murray Bushrangers in the Coates Talent League.

Ryan averaged 22 disposals, five marks and four tackles per game to finish runner-up in the Bushrangers’ best-and-fairest this season.

“He’s such a great person, and some of his footy is really exciting, we think he can maybe move off half-back and play a bit of wing and midfield as well in time.

“That’s the great joy of draft night, to see a kid like Oscar his mum and dad will be so pleased, we had great meetings with them and he is an A-Grade top class kid with some great footy skills.”

PICK 8 – DAN CURTIN

Age: 18

Height: 197cm

Weight: 95kg

Position: Defender

From: WA / Claremont

PICK 21 – CHARLIE EDWARDS

Age: 18

Height: 191cm

Weight: 85kg

Position: Midfielder

From: Sandringham Dragons / Sandhurst / Melbourne Grammar

PICK 27 – OSCAR RYAN

Age: 18

Height: 187cm
Weight: 77kg

Position: Defender

From: Murray Bushrangers / Shepparton United