The father-son giant who convinced the Dogs to sell the farm

On the surface, the Western Bulldogs paid a whopping price for Gold Coast’s in-demand pick four.

The Dogs handed over three first-round picks on Monday – selections 10 and 17 this year, and their top one next year – while getting numbers 46 and 51 and a future third-rounder to complete their return.

No one else was willing to pay so much, but there was method to the (perceived) madness, and it all centres on a 200-centimetre kid by the name of Jordan Croft, son of 186-game Bulldog Matthew. More on him later.

List boss Sam Power was honest when he said the decision owed, in part, to how highly they, and everyone else, rate the top-end of this year’s draft crop. Recruiters believe there is a gap between the best eight or nine kids and the rest.

It is an eclectic bunch, from power-packed No.1 elect Harley Reid, to key forward Jed Walter, the silky Zane Duursma, Tasmanian midfielders Colby McKercher and Ryley Sanders, tall swingman Daniel Curtin, and gifted small forward Nick Watson.

Rivals believe Watson is firmly on the Bulldogs’ radar, and operated on the assumption for weeks that the Suns would score pick 10, which is already being hunted by the likes of North Melbourne and Melbourne.

Gold Coast plan to match bids on four excellent academy prospects – Walter, unicorn ruckman Ethan Read, midfielder Jake Rogers and speedster Will Graham – so this deal goes a significant way to them doing that. They will keep wheeling and dealing across the next week or so.

Whichever way the Dogs go, they should find a good one, but make no mistake, they did this because they expect Croft to nominate as father-son eligible. He is tipped to attract a first-round bid anywhere from about pick 10 through to the mid-teens.

The 18-year-old forward-ruck, who is managed by leading agent Tom Petroro, has until the end of this month to make his call.

Power said they were “really keen” to secure Croft, but the highly touted teenager kept his cards closer to his chest when he spoke to this masthead at the draft combine at the MCG at the weekend.

“It really depends, to be honest. I’ve still got a little bit of time to decide, and talk to family [about] if I’m going to declare father-son,” Croft said. “I’ve always grown up going for the Bulldogs, so it would be an honour to play for that club, if they were going to take me. I just want to be able to play footy, wherever that is, whether that’s interstate or in Melbourne.”

That last line is the intriguing part.

Croft is the modern key-position archetype, at 200 centimetres and with impressive agility and endurance. He finished fourth in the two-kilometre time trial at the combine, taking barely six minutes to complete it. But he is light and will take time to develop.

The Bulldogs were once bereft of talls on their list, but these days are the envy of the competition, with an extraordinary collection of promising talls, including Aaron Naughton, Tim English, Sam Darcy, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, James O’Donnell and Jedd Busslinger.

That logjam is something Croft must consider when he makes his decision.

“I definitely need the time to develop. Being a taller player, I’ve definitely got to put on a little bit more weight to take on those bigger bodies at the next level,” he said. “But it’s a luxury for [coach Luke] Beveridge and the coaching staff to have so many talls, and definitely a benefit for the club.”

Croft kicked 23 goals in 11 games for the Calder Cannons this past season in the Coates Talent League and represented Vic Metro at the AFL Under-18 Championships, including a three-goal haul against South Australia.

For the Dogs, their chips are in. Those extra late picks from Gold Coast were also with Croft and matching a bid in mind, with their draft hand, after No.4, set to be wiped out if he does attract a bid in the first round.

But they are also committed to bringing in St Kilda’s Nick Coffield, and have expressed interest in contracted Demon James Harmes.

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