Three Northern Knights players now find themselves on AFL lists after Friday night’s AFL national draft.
There was no surprises for the Knights, with all three players expected to be among those likely to be picked.
Nick Coffield was the first player selected, taken at pick eight by St Kilda. The Knights skipper is the second Knights captain taken by the Saints in the last three years, after Jade Gresham was taken in 2015.
Knights talent manager Rhy Gieschen Said it was rewarding to see Coffield taken in the top 10.
“He’s had a fantastic year and has done everything right,” he said.
“He’s very talented and has really good character and has that maturity, I think St Kilda has had eyes on him for a while.
“They’ve lost a few players of his type the last few years in [Brendon] Goddard, [Sam] Fisher and even Leigh Montagna played down there this year. He suits the type of player they need.”
The Saints did look at adding a second Knights player to their list on Friday night, nominating Patrick Naish at pick 34.
Richmond, who had nominated Naish as a father-son pick, were glad to match the Saints pick and claimed Naish.
It’s a dream come true for the youngster, following in the footsteps of his father Chris Naish, who played 143 games for the Tigers,
Gieschen said they couldn’t be happier to see him go to the club he has always supported.
“He’s gone where he and everyone else wanted him to go,” he said.
“He’s worked his whole life to play for Richmond.”
The selection of Jack Petruccelle topped off the night for the Knights, taken by West Coast at pick 38.
It’s been a big 12 months for Petruccelle who made the decision to switch from a promising basketball career to play football.
Gieschen said Petruccelle is a player who is capable of doing really special things on the field.
“It’s really exciting for him and he’s used to big changes,” he said.
“He’s really excited and can’t wait to go over there.
“Whether he plays in the AFL or WAFL, they have big grounds which suit his game. I’m looking forward to seeing him run players off the ground.”
Gieschen said there was still several players in contention of the rookie draft, to be held on Monday.
Best and fairest winner Alex Federico , Ethan Penrith, Joel Naylor, Mark Baker and Ben Wiggins among those who might be selected.
If they don’t get selected, they can look to the story of former Knights star Sam Switkowski.
After missing out on being drafted, he made a name for himself in the VFL and was selected by North Melbourne at pick 73.
“There’s a few stories like that the last couple of years. Kane Lambert is the most famous one with our club,” Gieschen said.
“Kane does some welfare with the top age players and has been really good with them. Sam shows if you miss out and then still play quality footy there’s still a chance.
“We’ll preach that to the players who miss out. We don’t judge the success of a player’s time at the knights on if they get drafted.
“It’s about how they improve their footy and develop as both footballers and people.”
