Our early draft picks

[ChaserJ 5,169]

Another 5 goals from Matthew Panos today. Anyone seen him play? A viable key position target?

[rpfc 28,844]

We need elite players.

People can make their own judgements about those we have on our list but Prendergast has to forget about 'needs' and go with the kids he reckons can be elite.

[e25 5]

Look at all the big name dominant key forwards in the AFL at the moment:

Brown, Riewoldt, Pavlich, Franklin... except for Fevola all of them have exceptional aerobic capacity and cover a lot of ground over the course of a match. This is one of the reasons Hawkins is not as dominant as ppl believe he should be.

Butcher has so far done nothing to suggest he is anywhere close to this mobile and for this reason alone I do not consider him a good chance of being a dominant forward at AFL level.

If he shows some gut-running capacity, then he'll be a clear number 2 in my eyes. Until then he's barely top 10.

[grant 10]

Look at all the big name dominant key forwards in the AFL at the moment:

Brown, Riewoldt, Pavlich, Franklin... except for Fevola all of them have exceptional aerobic capacity and cover a lot of ground over the course of a match. This is one of the reasons Hawkins is not as dominant as ppl believe he should be.

Butcher has so far done nothing to suggest he is anywhere close to this mobile and for this reason alone I do not consider him a good chance of being a dominant forward at AFL level.

If he shows some gut-running capacity, then he'll be a clear number 2 in my eyes. Until then he's barely top 10.

What your saying is so contraversial I wouldnt know where to begin. Yes you want gut running centre half forwards with a big engine but thats only one of many key attributes that makes them dominant. If Butcher was played at FF we wouldnt need a gut running cover the ground type player, for me it is a pick worth taking if at the very least we get a big body that can split packs for crummers and kick some goals, something I think Butcher could be capable of.

[Freak 100]

Elite mids are just as hard to find as elite forwards, end of story

umm no. how many elite key position forwards are there? Brown, Riewoldt, Franklin, Pavlich, Roughead, Fevola..plus if you count Bradshaw, that makes 7..but we'll say 8 in case i've forgotten one.

Now lets have a look at the elite mids: Dal Santo, Ablett, Selwood, Bartel ,Corey, Hayes, S.Black, Power, S.Mitchell, Hodge, S.Thompson, Cooney, D.Kerr, etc etc etc..i could name 40 more mids that are better than the 10th best key forward.

MORE THAN HALF OF THE BEST KEY FORWARDS IN THE COMP WERE TAKEN IN THE TOP 4

[e25 5]

umm no. how many elite key position forwards are there? Brown, Riewoldt, Franklin, Pavlich, Roughead, Fevola..plus if you count Bradshaw, that makes 7..but we'll say 8 in case i've forgotten one.

Now lets have a look at the elite mids: Dal Santo, Ablett, Selwood, Bartel ,Corey, Hayes, S.Black, Power, S.Mitchell, Hodge, S.Thompson, Cooney, D.Kerr, etc etc etc..i could name 40 more mids that are better than the 10th best key forward.

MORE THAN HALF OF THE BEST KEY FORWARDS IN THE COMP WERE TAKEN IN THE TOP 4

What you've said is very true, but Btucher has to show he can cover enough ground to even be considered a potential elite forward.

So far he hasn't done this. He is already playing as a one dimentional stay-at-home full forward.

How many AFL players are successful in this day & age playing that sort of role?

Fevola is at his best when up & around the ground chasing & harrassing defenders.

Lloyd has been forced to play more than just in the goal square, even on a half back flank, to earn his spot in the side.

Butcher will not succeed unless he adds some more strings to his bow.

[DeeMfc 621]

Another 5 goals from Matthew Panos today. Anyone seen him play? A viable key position target?

Panos has class written all over him.

If it's a Kp player we're after then Panos should be taken imo.

[Carn dees 108]

Panos has class written all over him.

If it's a Kp player we're after then Panos should be taken imo.

Yer at this stage id be hoping for him to slide to our next pic after our priority(dont no wat the chances are). Also i like the sounds of Roland ah chee

[dee-luded 2,959]

Another 5 goals from Matthew Panos today. Anyone seen him play? A viable key position target?

Yes, I saw him today, for the first time, & I've seen some video of him as well.

He looks good, a very play any key position sort of good. A very nice mark, great hands, very mobile & allready with a mans body. A genuine 6'4".

Roamed the whole forward half.

Panos is a great player & won't be there come the second round.

A lacklustre game today where SA had NSW measure comfortably.

Trengove played most of the game around the stoppages, defensive side & zoned off @ the kickouts. He's a beautifull mark of the ball in the air. He didn't push himself today just, I think playing a covering role @ the back of clearances protecting against the NSW team breaking away. They play again Wednesday, so I assume he was saving himself.

Don't get me wrong, he's smooth & a good sized body allready, great kick & smart when he gave off the ball.

SA has got some good hard working mids but not many I feel are in Trengoves class.

[dee-luded 2,959]

Panos has class written all over him.

If it's a Kp player we're after then Panos should be taken imo.

He's a beauty, plays also @ chb, can play up & down the spine. He's so clean with the ball, kicking for goal with set shot or on the run, tight angle or not, great hands, & looks to have a yard of pace. Big solid build. He looks the goods.

[Freak 100]

wouldnt wanna be any shorter. i heard he was 191cm

[dee-luded 2,959]

wouldnt wanna be any shorter. i heard he was 191cm

Nah, he's a genuine 194cms, maybe just over that.

The guy playing on him was rated @ 188cm, Panos was 2 - 21/2 inches taller than him.

Built like in the shape of Hurley last year, powerfull body.

Also SA had a few good talls playing, the 202 cm Lycett played all game in the Frwrd pkt, intelligent, agile, clever, footballer, really good. I'll see how he rucks hopefully Wednesday.

Some other talls went well too.

[ChaserJ 5,169]

Yes, I saw him today, for the first time, & I've seen some video of him as well.

He looks good, a very play any key position sort of good. A very nice mark, great hands, very mobile & allready with a mans body. A genuine 6'4".

Roamed the whole forward half.

Panos is a great player & won't be there come the second round.

A lacklustre game today where SA had NSW measure comfortably.

Trengove played most of the game around the stoppages, defensive side & zoned off @ the kickouts. He's a beautifull mark of the ball in the air. He didn't push himself today just, I think playing a covering role @ the back of clearances protecting against the NSW team breaking away. They play again Wednesday, so I assume he was saving himself.

Don't get me wrong, he's smooth & a good sized body allready, great kick & smart when he gave off the ball.

SA has got some good hard working mids but not many I feel are in Trengoves class.

Thanks mate. Very keen on seeing Panos and Trengove next week (amongst others).

[Arem 0]

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl...5-19742,00.html

Another midfielder from South Australia is coming like a freight train.

Jack Trengove (no relation to Port Adelaide's 2008 draft pick Jackson Trengove) has been so dominant at the championships that now many recruiters can't split he and Scully.

Compared to Mark Ricciuto at the same age, Trengove is an aggressive onballer who is strong overhead and can play forward.

Like Scully, he has an enormous engine. Trengove, still only 17, has run a staggering 15.4 beep test and clocked many sub-10 minute 3km time-trials.

But what has most impressed onlookers has been his ability to directly influence games. When South Australia has needed a lift, he has been the dominant force to ignite them.

A leading recruiter said: "Trengove is coming very hard. Before the national champs started a few weeks ago I would have said Scully was a clear No. 1.

"He's just an outstanding player and person who has everything: hardness, speed, but, more importantly, disposal speed.

"But if the draft was this week Trengove would be every chance to go No. 1. I think it's very close between Scully and Trengove."

Asked if Scully stood alone at the top, a recruiter of a Melbourne-based club said: "I don't think it's as clear as that. Trengove is obviously going very well for South Australia."

I'd like to order one Scully and one Trengove please.

[deanox 10,026]

if we get trengove, can we offer to relocate his family, his missus and his best mate to somewhere out near casey fields?

[Supreme_Demon 3,903]

Now I know we all need another tall forward to help out Jack Watts...and we have mentioned the name John Butcher a lot. However, we need to build a strong mid-field around our team as well.

Do you think the Demons should take another talented midfielder like Jack Trengove from South Australia to help out Tom Scully? That way we will have dominant midfield that will continually win the ball out of the centre for us.

Or perhaps we will pick Jack Trengove INSTEAD of Tom Scully?

Anyways, here is a very interesting link about all the upcoming Under 18 football talent that will be on display in about a week's time: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25694935-19742,00.html ://http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sp...-19742,00.html ://http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sp...-19742,00.html ://http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sp...-19742,00.html ://http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sp...-19742,00.html

Whatever young talent the Demons take in this year's National Draft we need to start getting some STAR players (when I mean STARS I'm talking about Gary Ablett Jnr, Chris Judd, Jonathan Brown etc). We also need to build a champion team (not a team of champions) that will hopefully be able to help us to win a Premiership in the future.

[rpfc 28,844]

If we get two mids that early, I think we will trade a first 22 mid for a tall, or better draft position.

Watts will need help.

Jurrah might show he can be that help, but right now, we do need another tall forward.

[JJJ 1,321]

Therein lies the problem with a really crap side, we have too many needs and too few top draft choices. It may force our hand, with us taking a tall with the 2nd pick, assuming we have a PP plus the 2nd. With GC taking the 12 best 17 year olds and having a multitude of picks before anyone else next year we need to address our deficiencies this year. Unless of course the tall forward is not in the same class as the mid.

[Pipefitter 2,182]

Best available. A deeply skilled and talented midfield will make bate look like dunstall.

[Whispering_Jack 30,957]

With GC taking the 12 best 17 year olds and having a multitude of picks before anyone else next year we need to address our deficiencies this year. Unless of course the tall forward is not in the same class as the mid.

I'm not sure as to whether it's sunk into the collective mind of the football public yet how comprehensive a grip the new clubs are about to have on the future recruiting needs of the existing clubs. Apart from salary cap benefits and the ability to take one uncontracted player from each club, the rules give GC17 two grabs at the best 17 year olds in the country. Firstly, at the end of this year, the unfettered right to recruit twelve 17 year olds born between 1 January and 30 April and secondly, the lion's share of current 17 year olds left in the pool will be available to them with a large number of first round picks in the 2010 national draft. If the AFL proceeds with its foolhardy plan to introduce WS18 the year after GC17 then similar rules will take the current best 16 year olds out of the equation. Certainly, the old clubs will be able to trade into early selections with the new clubs but, to do that, they will need to give away players of value making it a virtual monopoly for the new and a zero sum game for the old.

For clubs like us with a "weak" playing list the situation requires a lot of thought and careful attention. We can't afford to make too many mistakes in an area of the game where a significant percentage of decisions made by clubs do turn out to be mistakes.

It goes against my grain to say this but the situation almost demands that we must get a priority pick at this year's draft. The club simply can't drift along for too much longer winning so few games and putting in the sort of performances we've seen all too often in the past few years so it's important, in the light of what's happening, to enter this year's draft and trade period with the best options and then to get things right

I've always been sceptical about the use of the words "the best player available" in terms of drafting because it has such a loose meaning when applied to the reality of drafting. For example, IMO blind Freddie could have told you that Daniel Rich was at least close to if not BPA at every selection from 1 to 7 last year and certainly should have been taken no later than 4.

In the light of that I'm with the BPA advocates this time and, as I've not seen enough of the candidates to date, it's premature to make a call other than to say that it looks like Scully first and daylight second and that of the candidates following daylight, John Butcher is the only KPP who appears to have entered the equation. He looked very good 12 months ago at the championships but I might have caught him on a bad day at the TAC Cup Preliminary final last year. Vic Country plays a second division state today at Casey so that might not be much of a guide so I guess we'll see on Wednesday. I'm not yet convinced.

There are quite a few midfield candidates but no real stand out ruckmen worthy of an early pick like 2 or 3 so, if I was a betting man, my money would be on the next quality midfielder after Scully with Butcher still in the mix but just a little behind mids like Trengove. Given that the draft positions are still undecided and there's 5 months to go with the trade period in between, that's as far as I'm prepared to go ATM.

I'm certain however, that what happens in the next five months is going to be of the utmost importance to the future of our club.

[Hannabal 4]

I've got no doubt Scully will go no.1 if Melbourne has first pick, but if Trengove plays like it's touted and from the short footage I've seen of him, I'd salivate at a Scully/Trengove combo at the Dees next year. What's more, they'd both be in our best side from day one.

Imagine our midfield in 3-5 years time: Scully, Trengove, Blease, Grimes, McLean, Strauss, ...

[philthy phil 0]

If we get two mids that early, I think we will trade a first 22 mid for a tall, or better draft position.

Watts will need help.

Jurrah might show he can be that help, but right now, we do need another tall forward.

I reckon go for the 2 mids Scully and trengove and then trade a pick for Ben McKinley from West Coast, the West Coast supporters reckon he will

be on the chopping block and that he wants to go back to Victoria. What iv seen of him he looks like a alright Forward

[Melon22 174]

I reckon go for the 2 mids Scully and trengove and then trade a pick for Ben McKinley from West Coast, the West Coast supporters reckon he will

be on the chopping block and that he wants to go back to Victoria. What iv seen of him he looks like a alright Forward

Ben Mckinley plays like a KPP but is only 184cm, I don't think we really need another Robbo at the moment. He would be worth thinking about if ther price is right, pre season draft or late pick.

[Yencks 8]

how tall's trengrove? they say he likes to go forward as well

[beelzebub 23,388]

Laurel and Hardy, Bangers and Mash , Pie and Sauce

Scully and Tengove !!!

As others already summise better feed with intent will make the forwards job a lot easier and the defenders a nightmare. We have some talls up forward now. They will get better and some lesser mortals will benefit too. The modern game ISNT all about bombing to a tall up front, thats just one method of entry. Hard fast accurate lace out delivery doesnt require great height. It requires presence of mind, speed and power. Give the likes Of Wonna and Maric opportunities to show their craft with a decent delivery system and the potency factor rises. We need a clever drilled and potent forward line, not just a gaggle of talls stumbling in to each others paths.

The possibility of this Starsky and Hutch combo has major ramifications for some currently in red and blue. Thas football, not all can stay, nor should they. Each and every jumper must be earned; week in week out !! Better decision makers must replace the hesitant and costly. Skilled kickers must replace the errant. Positive players must replace the "hospital pass" brigade.

When you go about designing a Formula One car the most important part is the engine. All else flows from this...the chasis is next , then body design to suit. Note..to suit. Lets get the engine of this team right then build the rest around it....to suit