Former AFL recruiter Matt Rendell says he would have gone in a different direction to the Crows’ choice of drafting Fischer McAsey with Pick 6 in 2019.
McAsey was Adelaide’s first pick in the National Draft that year but has so far failed to live up to expectations. The 21-year-old is currently plying his trade in the SANFL, and despite being drafted as a key defender, he has been playing further up the ground in the reserves.
McAsey has played eight games in the SANFL in 2022 and is yet to demonstrate the consistent form that would make him hard to overlook for AFL selection.
Rendell, a former recruiter at Collingwood, had key concerns about McAsey’s viability at the elite level.
“I was at Collingwood that year, I didn’t have him there,” Rendell told SEN SA’s The Run Home.
“I was really doubtful about him as a key back, he played key back a lot of that year, even though I didn’t do the draft that year, I did futures, but I saw him play enough while I was watching the 17-year-olds.
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“I was really worried about him playing that key back role, I just didn’t think he had enough agility, athleticism, spunk about him (and) hard-nosed competitiveness for that role.”
Thankfully for the Crows, Jordon Butts and Nick Murray have emerged and held down the key defensive roles for the majority of the past 18 months, supporting Tom Doedee.
However, the club has still conceded the fifth-most points in 2022.
Despite questioning McAsey’s attributes, Rendell understands the decision to draft the youngster with their first pick at the time.
“They were losing all their key backs, they really had no one. (Butts) has been one of the great gets, and Nick Murray, they got them for (nothing) and they’re holding down key back roles,” he continued.
“They didn’t expect that, so they were probably spooked into going that key back at that pick because they probably thought, ‘Well, we desperately need one, and he’s the best one around’, and he probably was at the time.
“(But) I probably would have gone a different way at the time.”
McAsey, a Victorian, was linked with a trade home in 2021 before signing a two-year contract extension.
He played all 10 of his AFL games in 2020, averaging 6.4 disposals and 2.1 marks a match.