The holes in every club's list ahead of the AFL Draft

Whether in key posts or through a lack of depth, each team still has rostering potholes to fill.

SUBSCRIBER | November 5, 2021 - 12:25pm

Despite being less than a month until the start of the AFL Draft, almost all of the league's 18 clubs will believe their starting line-ups are close to complete

But irrespective of this confidence, every roster still has holes.

Due to the nature of the league, it is almost impossible for two sides to be in exactly the same place, so some of these gaps may be chasmic, whilst others may be wafer-thin.

However, if left unattended, those of any magnitude could lead a side to ruin.

Although fixing an issue can often be more challenging than identifying it, with these holes in mind, every side now has a starting point for sealing ahead of next September.

West Coast

Like Jack Steele at the Saints, West Coast ruckman Nic Naitanui has strung together back-to-back campaigns that have ended with best and fairest honours and being fitted for an All-Australian blazer.

And like the situation at Princes Park and Carrara, once one looks at the strength of the club's rucking stocks, a real dearth of options will hit you between the eyes.

At the present, the Eagles only have three ruckmen on their list - Naitanui, Bailey Williams, and Callum Jamieson.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - JULY 06: Nic Naitanui of the Eagles enters the arena during the 2019 AFL round 16 match between the Fremantle Dockers and the West Coast Eagles at the Optus Stadium on July 06, 2019 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Combined, this trifecta has played 214 games of AFL football and produced 5396 hit-outs.

While this would be an impressive figure if shared evenly, when more than 98 per cent of these stoppage wins have come from the palm of the former top-three pick, a seismic imbalance is evident.

This hole in the roster widened again when West Coast decided to part ways with their latest premiership ruckman, Nathan Vardy, who was still able to produce a mean of above 10 hit-outs in 2021 - a figure Williams failed to meet.

It's an understandable point of view that players that they may not wish to spend prime years of their career playing second fiddle to Naitanui, but when you consider he'll be 32 by the end of next season, the ability to permanently succeed the Western Australian is well and truly on the horizon.

Pair this with the fact that the Eagles have tooled up for a final year with an ageing convocation, if the Swan Districts product does happen to succumb to injury next year, then a complete limp to the finish line could be on the cards.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 15: Nic Naitanui of the Eagles looks on during the 2018 AFL round 17 match between the Collingwood Magpies and the West Coast Eagles at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 15, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Although the Perth powerhouse will be able to throw money at this problem when Naitanui eventually hangs up his boots, spending one of their picks at November's draft on a protege could be a cheaper and swifter fix.

With a collection of selections that includes picks 10, 29, 35, 68, and 86, options from ready-made names to projects players will be available to them across Rounds 1 to 5 of the two-night event.

Should this prove to be the club's plan of attack, then names like Mac Andrews and Toby Conway are sure to be on their draft board already

However, backing Williams and Jamieson in to make the jump, or breaking the bank on local talents next year such as Luke Jackson or Tim English also act as alternative routes.

Either way, the Eagles are on the clock.