SIX NEW CATS JOIN THE LITTER IN 2011 DRAFT
Ben Jensen 24 November 2011

GEELONG drafted six new players in today's AFL National Draft, including father-son selection Jed Bews and 29 year old Orren Stephenson out of relative obscurity from North Ballarat. The Cats did not have a 'round one' pick, trading their pick 26 to the Gold Coast Suns in exchange for notional second round picks 32 and 34, which they used to draft Joel Hamling and Shane Kersten. The two West Australian forwards join recruits from Glenelg Jordan Murdoch and Lincoln McCarthy, taken with picks 48 and 66, the last picks in rounds two and three respectively. Beanpole Stephenson was pick 78 in round four, while Bews, taken with the father-son rule, only cost the Cats pick 86 in round five. Barring any shock retirements, this should be Geelong's list for 2012, with no room left for any more draftees under the Pre Season draft in December, though the club should add some new rookies from the Rookie Draft.

Official Draft statement from the Cats, featuring recruiting Tsar Stephen Wells' commentary:

Pick 32: Joel Hamling, Claremont/Cable Beach
Wells says: "We didn't see a lot of him until this year because he was living in Broome, but right from the start, when we saw him play in the under-18s with Claremont in Perth, we liked what we saw. Over the course of the year Joel demonstrated the skill-set that we thought was worthy of drafting."

Pick 34: Shane Kersten, South Fremantle/Lakes Junior
Wells says: "He's got a tremendous amount of talent. You are always prepared in the draft for whoever comes through, so we don't take too much notice of the ratings done before the draft. We just get our own list together and see who comes through."

Pick 48: Jordan Murdoch, Glenelg/Port Macdonnell
Wells says: "We like Jordan's ability to kick goals and his tremendous athleticism. He's got a lot of development left to go, but we liked what we saw of Jordan. There were a couple of games at the start of the year, playing for Glenelg under-18s, where he kicked multiple goals and showed outstanding speed. Putting that together with everything we learnt about him over the course of the year, that's why we rated him."

Pick 66: Lincoln McCarthy, Glenelg/Bordertown
Wells says: "We think he'll be able to play in the midfield, so we don't think he's just a speedy small forward. He's also got a long way to go with his development, but we're happy to have him on board. We hope he comes to our club and learns from the guys how to be an AFL player. He's got a good attitude towards the defensive part of the game in the forward line."

Pick 78: Orren Stephenson, North Ballarat/Redan
Wells says: "He was one player that we came in with a plan to select with that pick. The thinking is that we've got three very good young ruckman and we thought we needed another ruckmen to complement them. We could've drafted another young one and watched him develop, but we think Orren has earned his chance as a mature player. It was a big decision, considering he's 29, but he's healthy, hasn't had any major injuries, and has played a lot of VFL games against other listed AFL players. Orren knows that we wouldn't have drafted him if Brad Ottens was still playing, but we thought that we needed an experienced ruckman to come in and complement what our young players will be able to deliver next year."

Pick 86: Jed Bews, Geelong Falcons/Leopold (father-son)
Wells says: "Very happy to bring him to the club. He earned it in his own right. We wouldn't have been surprised at all if someone had bid for him in the draft process, but we're very happy he's at Geelong."