CARLTON may still have the sweet flavour of draft day success in its mouth but coach Brett Ratten is already eyeing the club’s next recruit.
Speaking to afl.com.au after Saturday’s NAB AFL Draft, Ratten confirmed the Blues would select former Demon Chris Johnson at next month’s pre-season draft.
The promising midfielder walked out on Melbourne after failing to come to terms on a new contract following the 2008 season, and Ratten said he was looking forward to the 22-year-old joining a midfield rotation featuring the likes of Chris Judd, Marc Murphy, Nick Stevens and Bryce Gibbs.
“We have committed to him, it’d be great if Chris could come to our club,” Ratten said.
“You look at players that train with clubs, I think they do the work and get to know players. It’d be just great if he could now kick-start his career with us again.”
As for Saturday’s draft selections, the senior coach could not have been happier with the club’s four selections.
“If you’d have said at the start of the day that that’s what we’d have got then we would have said ‘No, there’s no chance’.
“I think most clubs are like that, you sort of go in fairly open-minded, you’ve got your wish-list and you hope but yeah we were really fortunate that it sort of fell our way.”
The Blues used four picks, passing on a possible fifth selection, which they will keep up their sleeve and use on Johnson in the NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft on December 16.
And Ratten said newly-attained big man Robbie Warnock should not be forgotten.
“This is part of this day as well. I know it was trade period but we gave up picks to get him and that really just adds to all the selections that we had.”
Highly-touted West Australian Chris Yarran was no doubt the prize selection of the Blues’ four picks on Saturday.
He will head to Visy Park after Carlton snaffled the forward/midfielder with pick 6.
While he won’t be rushed, he has had significant experience at senior level in the WAFL, so he might be one who can make an immediate impact in the AFL from 2009.
“With his talent and with his class and his balance and his poise, talent-wise he’s nearly at the top of the tree in the draft,” Ratten said.
“He shows that he can kick goals from anywhere, he had 70 shots at goal at WAFL level … so he’s very exciting and could really help our forward line.”
The coach also said he “couldn’t believe” Tasmanian midfielder Mitch Robinson would slip as far as pick 40, while the club also considered South Australian defender Rhys O’Keeffe a steal at pick 65.
“He’s a magnificent left-foot kick … we were really lucky to get him,” Ratten said.
The Blues will back in their new development academy to fast-track 17-year-old Murray Bushranger Caleb Tiller, who was their final draft choice at pick 80.
