I love all the knowledge in this thread.

People who actually think an AFL coach won't be able to teach Naitanui the things he struggled with are clueless. If Bailey cannot do that then he is not earning his money at all and should be let go, his job is to teach young players how to play AFL footy. Naitanui has all the potential in the world, he is an incredible athlete, as was Garland, I remeber saying he just isn't a footballer and looked lost. Bailey took his time, taught him the play and 2 months later he is our most important backmen.

I put faith in Bailey to teach this possible superstar.

Watts will be a great player and could be a CHF, but so could Morton.

But to be honest, I am happy to say lets try and win as many games as possible because I would be ecstatic with Rich, Watts or Nait.

All are deserving of pick 1. Can't wait for draft day.

People who actually think an AFL coach won't be able to teach Naitanui the things he struggled with are clueless. If Bailey cannot do that then he is not earning his money at all and should be let go, his job is to teach young players how to play AFL footy.

Then why is it that some players at AFL level struggle to display the nous required?

Some guys just don't have it, and never will.

NB: Not saying Nat is like that, just don't think your rationale stacks up all the time.

also he is a deadbeat readhead

plus...

But Garland wasn't picked with pick 1!!

Interesting article with Barry Prendergast:

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl...2-19769,00.html

The 'best player available' card has reared its ugly head again, suggesting potential trade acquisitions such as Warnock may have no bearing on who we go for:

And there will be no thoughts of recruiting on a position-needs basis in the first two rounds.

"You just take the best player," he said.

your a dead set idiot, i bet this was the first time you have ever seen him play

natanui stuggles to bounce the football let alone kick one!

i think he is alright, but you make him out to be gods gift to earth. you are an ignorant stubborn poster on this site

who has no respect. natanui will not go number one. Watts will go number one or Rich. Natanui has not lived up to the number one draftee helm during the national championships and will for that reason not go number one.

If his kicking isnt good now it wont be good in the years to come, there are things he can work on to be a better footballer such as making space and contesting the right situation to many times he falls on his feet trying to play a small crumbing roll. He does have many suspect areas to his game, i am sure he will improve on but if i had the top two picks it would definately be rich and watts. Natanui will not go number one, we dont want him.

LOL..

Thanks for the input, noob.

YM, would you still want Naitanui given we are a strong chance of getting Warnock from Freo? I'd prefer to get Watts or Rich and Warnock rather than both Naitanui and Wranock, or Naitanui and another target in the PSD. From what I've seen, Rich is the only sure thing, skills like his are as rare as Naitanui's athleticism or Watts' marking.

My top 5:

1. Watts

2. Hartlett

3. Rich

4. Hurley

5. Naitanui

Niknats fallen off your radar quick smart.

YM, would you still want Naitanui given we are a strong chance of getting Warnock from Freo? I'd prefer to get Watts or Rich and Warnock rather than both Naitanui and Wranock, or Naitanui and another target in the PSD. From what I've seen, Rich is the only sure thing, skills like his are as rare as Naitanui's athleticism or Watts' marking.

I would be stoked to get any of those three.

Then why is it that some players at AFL level struggle to display the nous required?

Some guys just don't have it, and never will.

NB: Not saying Nat is like that, just don't think your rationale stacks up all the time.

Agree Rogue.

If his kicking isnt good now it wont be good in the years to come

Why?

With the guidence of an AFL coaching and in the surroundings of an AFL club, why cant he improve his kicking???

I wonder if Jack Watts is a potential superstar forward who wil step in from day 1 and make an impact ie. Riewoldt, J.Brown

For some resson, I just cant see it.

Fistly if anyone thinks that they will pick the no1 pick on that game or even the carnival are kidding themselves. Moore was the favorite to go no1 after a carnival by the end of the year he ended getting picked in the 30's.

The players who impressed me during this rnd were:

SA

HARTLETT - Was the best midfielder that I saw out of all the games.

JOHNSTON - A mobile half forward who can take a clean grab was very exciting.

O'KEEFE - I don't think he stood out but knows how to get the ball. Sheanan rated him highly.

HALL - A quick small forward who can find the goals.

SCHOENMAKERS - In and out of the game but everything he did was quality.

VC

HOOPER - A hard nut back pocket who can find the ball.

BUTCHER - Took some good grabs can play.

ZIEBELL - Disappointing he looks pretty stong for someone his age but didn't do a lot after having a pretty good carnival.

SIDEBOTTOM - Showed he can play but got caught a few times trying to do too much.

TAS

ROBINSON - Got a lot of the ball but too much of an outside player for my liking.

CORNIELIUS - Beat his opponent easily, is a bit light though.

VM

BANNER - In and under player who was everywhere.

ZAKAHKIS - Played very well looks like he can fit straight in to an AFL team.

BLEASE - A classy winger with speed. I liked him a lot. Looks like a smaller Burton plays like B.Harvey.

VICKORY - I thought he had the best allround performance for a ruckman in the round. Took some good marks and copped some hits.

MCKERNAN - plays a lot like his brother but is shorter.

WATTS - Was quiet but everything he done was class. WA took his space leaving plenty of space to Vicory and McKernan.

HURLEY - The only quality key backman in the carnival. He knows how to play but his pace is a problem got burned off by Naita, has Jason Cloke written all over him.

STANTON - Done well coming off the bench.

LYNCH - Didn't do a lot but is a strong hard nut, something that we need in the forward line.

WA

RICH - Quality player who can't handle a tag.

NAITANUI - I still think he will go No 1 but is too similar to White for my liking. Doesn't look like he can take a mark either.

PEARCE - Got a lot of the ball but turned it over a fair bit.

HILL - Gave a fair bit of dash.

YARRAN - Another player who looks like he can fit straight into an AFL team. Kicked some nice goals to get them back in the game.

Prendagast on the top 3.

I just think Naita will be number 1.

PRENDERGAST ON …

1. Nick Naitanui

“He’s in the top three. There’s no question about that. He’s got some chinks in his armour in terms of understanding the game and learning about the game, but the feedback is he’s very coachable and he’s learning. He’s not going to walk straight in and go ‘Bang, here I am, I am an AFL footballer’, but his amazing athleticism is not something we’ve seen on a footy field a lot.”

2. Jack Watts

“He’s got great acceleration and speed and lateral movement. He’s a developing power forward who reads the ball well in the air. We haven’t seen him lead up and outwork his opponents that much, but that is the way Vic Metro has set up.”

3. Daniel Rich

“He’s been tagged a couple of times in this carnival, but he’s an elite midfield player. I think he’s got good pace and is explosive. I’m sure he would have been taken high last year had he been eligible.”

your a dead set idiot, i bet this was the first time you have ever seen him play

natanui stuggles to bounce the football let alone kick one!

i think he is alright, but you make him out to be gods gift to earth. you are an ignorant stubborn poster on this site

who has no respect. natanui will not go number one. Watts will go number one or Rich. Natanui has not lived up to the number one draftee helm during the national championships and will for that reason not go number one.

If his kicking isnt good now it wont be good in the years to come, there are things he can work on to be a better footballer such as making space and contesting the right situation to many times he falls on his feet trying to play a small crumbing roll. He does have many suspect areas to his game, i am sure he will improve on but if i had the top two picks it would definately be rich and watts. Natanui will not go number one, we dont want him.

Y,M is probably right about Nat, or Nanna as someone called him yesterday. However I think you right as well in saying he's not for us. Nat has a huge upside if it all works out, But if it all goes pear shaped & he can't adjust to the oval ball skills then it's (to us where we are) a huge loss. He will take I think a year & a half from next season to get him to his first few games.

My thoughts are to let him go to a west aus team & we should pickup a surer thing like a Rich/Hartlett, Watts with our first pick. By the way, I would love to bag Tyrone Vickery, even if we get Warnock preseason.

to add my two bobs worth...was on an a plane so i missed the match but i have seen lynch play live for hailebury and i wouldnt take him in the first round...will be a good player but i dont think he is right for melbourne at the moment.

Why??????

Do we really want to be Richmond? Hearing people say I can't believe they took player X over Naitanui?

Judging him from 1 game on here is stupid.

There is a reason he is the touted top pick.

Do we really want to be Richmond? Hearing people say I can't believe they took player X over Naitanui?

Judging him from 1 game on here is stupid.

There is a reason he is the touted top pick.

there are also reasons why other players have been touted as top picks as well.

there are also lots of reasons why he is touted as not a number one pick.

this pick is very important. we cant afford to use it on a player who doesnt turn out for us. with this pick we need to pick up an elite player who plays 15 years and becomes an out and out champion of the league. if we pick up a molan, or a player who we believe will 'develop' into a player and it doesnt come off we will be in strife.

There is a reason he is the touted top pick.

Not at the moment and has not been for some time. Certainly well before the carnival. There has been alot of hype about him but a bit more reality is settling in. He will be a high pick (Top 5) but he may not be No 1 pick.

Niknats fallen off your radar quick smart.

Yes. I've now seen him live twice. I always said that I'd reserve final judgment until I'd seen him play. Make sense ?

I wonder if Jack Watts is a potential superstar forward who wil step in from day 1 and make an impact ie. Riewoldt, J.Brown

For some resson, I just cant see it.

Firstly, you wouldn't. Secondly, we won't expect him to.

Do we really want to be Richmond? Hearing people say I can't believe they took player X over Naitanui?

Judging him from 1 game on here is stupid.

There is a reason he is the touted top pick.

Oh yeah, well what happens if Nat only turns out to be a good ordinary footballer or if he takes off to another code or does his knee in one of those jumps???

What if Watts turns into a James Hird, or if Rich turns into a Voss??

They all have big upside, the early picks.

Which is the biggest risk???

I have read many people talking about the upside of Nat, that he will learn the game and develop into a superstar, he hasn't been playing for very long, etc..

My personal take on it, is that Watts is the player who has more upside. My reasoning?

If you can remember from last years carnival, Nat was such a standout that Carltons head recruiter actually stated that if Nat had have been available he would have drafted him over Kreuzer. Now a year on, a year further into his development, and many have question marks over whether he should be taken at No.1. Did he just look better last year due to the quality of player around him such as Morton, Masten and Palmer?

Now Watts is a kid who grew playing basketball for Sandringham, helping them win an U/14 national club championship and then advancing on to elite training squads such as the AIS. He has only just started playing TAC footy(instead of school footy for Brighton Grammer), and to my knowledge didn't participate in any elite football squads before this year. Now he decides he wants football to be his No.1 priority(Can you beleive he wouldn't want to play in the NBL? ), and he rolls out for Vic metro playing as a key foward and wins the player of the carnival.

Now i stated in another post that i grew up playing and watching basketball at a decent level, and athletes like Natanui are a dime a dozen in the hoops world, but it doesn't mean you can play the game. I don't beleive that Nat is definitely in that camp, but to me he is a bigger risk than Watts. Watts will be a gun and has huge upside, he's our man.

Sidebottom from Vic Country.

Is he from Shepparton by any chance?

I used to work there and there were heaps of Sidearses as they were affectionately known.

Firstly, you wouldn't. Secondly, we won't expect him to.

J Brown didn't do it anyway, and Riewoldt missed his entire first year bar a couple of games if my memory serves me correct

J Brown didn't do it anyway, and Riewoldt missed his entire first year bar a couple of games if my memory serves me correct

'correctly'