Melb, Freo and WC

[drdrake 3,065]

6 of our last 8 games are against sides outside the current top 8. Watch out for the Port Tankers, the only game they will want to win will be the show down. They are 2 games and heaps of percentage above us. Really we can finish at best 13th but more than likely 14th or 15th with the two West Aussie teams with us in the bottom 3. Who we take is up to Bailey and his team but we are crying out for a key forward superstar, it is about time we had some luck with KPP taken early in the draft.

[Jack7 463]

Lets just do an inter club deal now.

We take Watts,Victoia

Freo takes Naitanui,West Australian

WCE take Rich,West Australian

No go home factor for any club to worry about down the track and Freo get Naita and we get Warnock & Watts,good for them,good for us.

We have enough ruckmen and i'm hangin out for a gun power forward,whether that's Watts,we won't know for a while,but if it is it could set us up for the next decade.

[Bring-Back-Powell 13,651]

I don't care where we finish as long as we win no more than 4 games, so we gain a bonus pick 17, 18 or 19.

[H_T 2,941]

I think this will be the final ladder positioning of the three teams:

14. Melbourne

15. Freo

16. West Coast

This screws any chance of us getting Natanui, but we will end up with Robbie Warnock who will leave Freo and enter the PSD.

Then we will draft Jack Watts at pick 3.

I want Natanui, but can anyone see us finishing below WC?

We play them at the MCG in Round 20, and we will smash them.

We could finish below Freo, thats lineball.

I think this will be the final 3 positions at the end of the year: -

14th Port Adelaide

15th Fremantle

16th West Coast

Forget about Natanui, Jack Watts, Rich, etc.....

They want to keep winning now.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

There seems to be a good spread of talent in the top 4 to 5 players. While there is good possibility the star we crave could found within those early picks, I would prefer 1st draft pick.

However the real cost of not finishing last is the loss of the PSD pick 1. If we finish last and its true that Robbie Warnock was to return home and possibly play with his brother at MFC then we are safe. However if we finish 14th then the straightforward path to MFC for Warnock becomes alot more cloudy and uncertain

[woe31 0]

and Fremantle

20 St Kilda Melbourne Cricket Ground Sun, 17 Aug 2:40 PM

This game is actually at Subiaco, which can only be a good thing for us.

[H_T 2,941]

That's exactly what i meant,West Coast wouldn't take him.

We have Freo over a barrel,we'll give you a 3rd round pick or we'll take him in the PSD for free or we might play fair and give you a second rounder.

I'd rather take Prismall in the PSD..

Prismall is not the be all and end all. He is as much value as Brent Moloney.

[The Emblem 1]

However the real cost of not finishing last is the loss of the PSD pick 1. If we finish last and its true that Robbie Warnock was to return home and possibly play with his brother at MFC then we are safe. However if we finish 14th then the straightforward path to MFC for Warnock becomes alot more cloudy and uncertain

Spot on, as much as I loved that winning feeling on Sunday...If we repeat last year's blunder of winning 5 games then we really are shooting ourselves in the foot.

And we aren't going to win an AFL premiership on one leg...but will be a shoe-in for a Gold medal if humpo bumpo ever makes it into the Olympics!

[Key Deefender 143]

Don't know if anyone saw this, but there was an interesting snippet in the Sunday Herald-Sun on page Sport 7 and I have to say I was surprised to say the least. Since the inception of the draft system, which I think was 1986, doesn't say in the article, only TWO No. 1 draft picks have played in a premiership team. They are retired Eagle Drew Banfield in '94 and '06, and former Lion, now Docker, Des Headland in '02. That's 22 drafts for a net premiership result of just TWO players! And neither of them turned out to be superstars, they just had awesome players around them.

Interesting stuff given the premium placed on getting the No. 1 pick, and the fruits have not been as plentiful as we would believe.

In the article, AFL talent manager, Kevin Sheehan was quoted as saying that the logical reason for this is the fine line between getting the best player and the best player FOR YOUR CLUB and that pick 7 can be as good as pick 1 longterm. He also said this year was no different, though I think he prefers to lessen the pressure on the likelies.

For what it's worth, and only from what I've read on the merits of Naitanui, Rich and Watts, I think Jack Watts may be the best fit for our club. He could be a Franklin or a Roughhead in the making, a genuine KPP quality footballer (not easy to come by). I reckon the Tigers, if they could have their time again, would have taken Buddy and Roughy who were squeezed between Delidio and Tambling.

Apart from the go-home factor for both, Naitanui, while sounding an incredible athlete, does not sound like a natural footballer and he does not seem to rack up the stats. Rich does not sound exceptionally quick, although is obviously very skilled and talented. His type is perhaps available throughout the draft, albeit a little less talented.

A tall, agile, quality key forward with a football brain who can take a pack mark and kick goals would be gold worth panning for.

To me that sounds like Jack Watts.

[Tony Tea 2,792]

Interesting article from Jake in the Age which suggests we might not be after Big Nic Nat.

'Basketballer' moves into top draft contention

Even if we don't "win" the spoon, we might end up with the pick we want. First of all: Thompsonitis*. It's a stone certainty the Melb recruiters would look at the risk of drafting one of two West Aussies (Natanui or Rich); especially if there's a comparable Victorian (Watts). Second: both the Tankers and the Wanchors would jump at the chance to draft highly rated West Aussies, leaving Watts to fall into our laps. Both Natanui and Rich would have to be clearly better for us to pick either, and that's currently at issue in the National U18s. As Jake goes on to say, Big Nic might be a great athlete, but he's not exactly a great footballer. Dunno about Rich, but Watts is burning. What's more, he's tall and quick.

A whisper from WA says that the Toast aren't sold on Natanui, and prefer Rich.

It might be one of those years where missing out on Pick No.1 works out fine, as well as taking the pressure off our pick, although it weakens our hand in the PSD. However, neither the Tankers nor the Wanchors would pick Warnock so we might be fine there, too. Getting Warnock in the PSD would also mean we wouldn't need to draft a ruckman, while Freo would need to draft a ruckman; and guess who's a ruckman - Natanui.

Recite after me: Juddy went 3. Buddy went 5.

* Also known as Folau-itis.

[H_T 2,941]

Don't know if anyone saw this, but there was an interesting snippet in the Sunday Herald-Sun on page Sport 7 and I have to say I was surprised to say the least. Since the inception of the draft system, which I think was 1986, doesn't say in the article, only TWO No. 1 draft picks have played in a premiership team. They are retired Eagle Drew Banfield in '94 and '06, and former Lion, now Docker, Des Headland in '02. That's 22 drafts for a net premiership result of just TWO players! And neither of them turned out to be superstars, they just had awesome players around them.

Interesting stuff given the premium placed on getting the No. 1 pick, and the fruits have not been as plentiful as we would believe.

In the article, AFL talent manager, Kevin Sheehan was quoted as saying that the logical reason for this is the fine line between getting the best player and the best player FOR YOUR CLUB and that pick 7 can be as good as pick 1 longterm. He also said this year was no different, though I think he prefers to lessen the pressure on the likelies.

For what it's worth, and only from what I've read on the merits of Naitanui, Rich and Watts, I think Jack Watts may be the best fit for our club. He could be a Franklin or a Roughhead in the making, a genuine KPP quality footballer (not easy to come by). I reckon the Tigers, if they could have their time again, would have taken Buddy and Roughy who were squeezed between Delidio and Tambling.

Apart from the go-home factor for both, Naitanui, while sounding an incredible athlete, does not sound like a natural footballer and he does not seem to rack up the stats. Rich does not sound exceptionally quick, although is obviously very skilled and talented. His type is perhaps available throughout the draft, albeit a little less talented.

A tall, agile, quality key forward with a football brain who can take a pack mark and kick goals would be gold worth panning for.

To me that sounds like Jack Watts.

Well......hopefully the trend continues with Carlton!!!! hehehehehehe

[titan_uranus 23,248]

We will finish 14th, Freo 15th, West Coast 16th. W.C. will take Naitanui with pick 1 to provide an able back up to Cox. Freo will take Rich with pick 2 because they could use another midfielder. So we, with pick 3, will take Watts. Which I would be happy with.

[furious d 447]

Spot on, as much as I loved that winning feeling on Sunday...If we repeat last year's blunder of winning 5 games then we really are shooting ourselves in the foot.

To miss the priority we'd need to win 4 of our last 9, it's unlikely and missing the extra pick would hurt. However, it would certainly give a very young side a lot of confidence for next year, especially with Brock gone. If they did manage to win 3 more I'd be proud of the boys and wouldn't be too upset, it's different to last year somehow. Having said that I hope we win 2 more .

The more I hear about Watts the more I think he could be right for us, I'll reserve final judgement till closer to the draft but number 1 pick is looking less important by the week. If we do end up with Robbie Warnock, a top 3 and 2 more top 20 picks. All while avoiding the spoon, I'll be absolutely stoked!

[beelzebub 22,729]

Winning or not winning a spoon is irelevant...gaining the ability to get the players we want/need IS.

Couldnt care less if we got a spoon...such memories are easily erased by a cup!!

My concern presently is is we dont finish in the box seat then we will have to trade clever if we are to get Warnock. If we're last its a monty!!

2008 is about positioning.. 2009 is about getting serious. Prioritites people...priorities !!

[furious d 447]

Winning or not winning a spoon is irelevant...gaining the ability to get the players we want/need IS.

Couldnt care less if we got a spoon...such memories are easily erased by a cup!!

My concern presently is is we dont finish in the box seat then we will have to trade clever if we are to get Warnock. If we're last its a monty!!

2008 is about positioning.. 2009 is about getting serious. Prioritites people...priorities !!

So what exactly do you suggest?

If any steps were taken to reduce the desperation shown these past few weeks I'd have to reconsider if this is an organisation I want to be a member of. Bailey promised to reward form and I'd like to see him continue with that policy. Building the right culture is more important to me than getting RW a little cheaper than may be the case. If he wants to leave WA and we are his preferred club we're still in the box seat even if we finish above West Coke. At this point in time I don't think It's that important to finish bottom

[beelzebub 22,729]

Wisdom always tempers enthusiasm with timing. Its not an easy course to tread trying to balance going forward with overall preparedness. You dont run a thoroughbread at ful gallop in every race...you wait until there's purpose. Its called intelligence.

Dont be so naieve as to think that WC and Freo cant make life hard for us on and off the pitch !

reconsider all you like...its your prerogative

[Rogue 585]

Don't be so condescending - it doesn't suit you

[Jarka 767]

The forgotten man in all this is Yarran, who is an absolute beauty. If we did win a few more games and we had pick 4 or so I'd be very, very happy to pick up this kid.

[issarab 0]

It is[essential we Finish Last no matter what we need players A BIG FORWARD A VERY QUICK MIDFIELDER and A RUCK surely the men who make these decisions know this last week I stated that Steph Martin would play his first game.

Now I am told by the same source that told me White would be dropped and Jamar will be a navy blue next year that West Coast are planning to finish last The current Coach does not have the full Backing of the Board they beleive he knew and did nothing about the players and their behaivour and hold him responsible a name we all know Daniher along with Voss will most likely be at West Coast Next year.

The player that we will get if we finish last is Natuini he will put Bums on seats also Warnock wants to join Melb that is fact .

The big decisions we must make are who else to take as this draft is very good .

Apart from the win last Sunday I was so pleased that Collingwood are spitting chips with their Draft selection we Took Bate after they took Egan and CAC told me that this was a big mistake by them isnt it great

[beelzebub 22,729]

Don't be so condescending - it doesn't suit you

must pop down the tailors for an adjustment

maybe cynical.. hardly condescending..lol

[beelzebub 22,729]

So as not to have invectives confused.. my thinking is simple. ( Yes I know thats been the concensus for years..boom boom !! lol )

If we finish last.. we have OUR selection first round... We get box seat also with PSD...which negates any secondary trading requirements ( most likely ) and we get pick 17, to do with as we please

If we dont finish last.. all that is compromised.. There is a HUGE difference in effect as to where we finish.

Now I could be rude and suggest to not understand that is to be completely THICK... but thats not my way

[Rogue 585]

must pop down the tailors for an adjustment

maybe cynical.. hardly condescending..lol

Hrm:

"Its called intelligence.

Dont be so naieve..."

PS. Fwiw, I agree with you on this. Clearly better to finish last.

[furious d 447]

So as not to have invectives confused.. my thinking is simple. ( Yes I know thats been the concensus for years..boom boom !! lol )

If we finish last.. we have OUR selection first round... We get box seat also with PSD...which negates any secondary trading requirements ( most likely ) and we get pick 17, to do with as we please

If we dont finish last.. all that is compromised.. There is a HUGE difference in effect as to where we finish.

Now I could be rude and suggest to not understand that is to be completely THICK... but thats not my way

You still haven't answered my question bub, I think, I didn't get your riddle. How, exactly, does Bailey guarantee we finish last? Who get's dropped? Does he use the interchange to our detriment? Or does he tell the players to lose deliberately? I understand what you're saying I just happen to think it's wrong. You may be a smart ass but that doesn't make you smart

[Rogue 585]

Match-day tactics (or lack thereof).

ie. Leaving a kid on someone who's giving him a towelling for 'experience' - not something you'd do in a grand final.

[beelzebub 22,729]

OH..sorry..

Well.. maybe we might need to "rest' a couple.. you know.. young kids, dont want to burn them out

We might need to explore the 'potential' ( not to mention any trade value ) of Players like Meeson.. Newton.. Weetra and Carroll ?? Possibly White gets a return..esp near end of season .. so he can go out with fanfare.. and rest a "performing " ruck or two. Such things might be done agaisnt teams we could oitherwise give a shake !!

Arguably our injuries limit our choices but there still exists a little leeway for inventive selection..and indeeed positioning on field. Some of this can be done in the guise of genuine interest to see how some might go doing specific roles. For some its a last look before the last tick goes on the travel voucher !!

You can disagree..fine by me