Shazza’s Draft Watch: Could El Souki Be Our NGA Steal?

Righto Dogs people, pull up a chair because I’ve gone full spreadsheet mode on this one. Khaled El Souki’s name keeps popping up in draft chatter, and given he’s tied to us through the Next Generation Academy, I reckon it’s worth getting properly across what he offers before November rolls around.

Who Is Khaled El Souki?

For those who haven’t clocked him yet, El Souki is a small forward with genuine zip, the type of kid who makes you lean forward on the couch every time the ball hits the ground inside 50. He’s been bobbing up on draft boards all year as one of the livelier small forward types in this crop, and the NGA tag means the Bulldogs have a real sniff at matching a bid if it comes to that.

On the numbers he’s not the biggest bloke in the draft pool, but small forwards rarely win premierships on height. It’s about pressure acts, goal sense and that ability to turn half a chance into six points. From what I’ve seen and heard from the scouting murmurs, he ticks those boxes more often than not.

The Strengths — What the Data (and the Eyeball Test) Says

I love a good eyeball test as much as the next Dogs tragic, but let’s back it with some context. Small forwards who get drafted inside the top 40 nationally tend to share a few traits: elite pressure gauge rankings, high tackle-per-game numbers inside forward 50, and a goal-per-game clip that doesn’t fall off a cliff against tougher opposition. El Souki profiles well against that template.

• Clean hands at ground level — the sort of bloke who wins the 50-50 scrap more than he loses it.
• Genuine speed off the mark, which matters enormously once you’re inside forward 50 and the corridor opens up.
• A goal sense that isn’t just about snapping from tight angles — he reads the ball in flight well, which is half the battle for small forwards at AFL level.
• Competitive edge. You can’t coach want-to, and by all reports he’s got it in spades.

On the numbers side of things, if you look at how small forwards drafted in similar ranges over the last five years have gone — think your Jamie Cripps, your Charlie Cameron types when they first came through — the hit rate on