And now Alex Silvagni

[Supermercado 2,647]

How come every man and their dog missed Aaron Davey? That worked out alright for us.

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

NikNat is overrated. He had a whole 11 possessions on the weekend, yet was still somehow named in their best. Imagine if he makes it to 15 or so, he'll be in with a shot at the brownlow! I'm still happy with Watts.

People saying he's one of the next big 3 names to be perennial Brownlow favourites are dreaming. I don' know exactly what's going to happen with his career, but I'd put my house on the fact he'll be the most over-rated player in the AFL over his time in the game. And that's not sour grapes as a demons supporter. I said this well before he was drafted and I saw him kick. Great for the game, interesting, and will change opposition set-ups due to his skill set in the position he plays... but he's NEVER going to be in the same league as many other great tall players, like Riewoldt, Brown, Hall, Pavlich... Nor will he be in Cox's league.

Hardly suprising that Y_M has decided Nicnat is his lovechild. Why has he decided he likes him? Is it any coincidence that it's against the flow of most MFC fans' thoughts? There's your answer.

Having said all that, I think Watts will likely BECOME over-rated too, just not as much as NicNat. If he averages 3 a week when he comes good, that would probably make among the leading CHFs in the league... But he'd have to do a lot to be as good as Riewoldt... and even he has his detractors.

[Range Rover 1,935]

Having seen NOS play for Casey and short-pass to the opposition from kick in's four times in quick succession I am not upset that he is not on our list.

Caveat - he is in my dream team as an emergency. If anyone reading this knows him please ask him to direct his short passes to L.Franklin, S.Higgins, N.Riewoldt, P.Dangerfield, J.Ziebell R.Murphy or P.Chapman.

Geez you've spent some cash there on your forward line, especially with both Reiwoldt AND Chapman selected.

How'd you go for points in round 1?

[Range Rover 1,935]

But he'd have to do a lot to be as good as Riewoldt... and even he has his detractors.

Who are Reiwoldt's detractors??

[DeeVoted 582]

My only disappointment in the draft was D.Grimes.

We could have passed on Joel MacDonald,and taken Dylan Grimes.

Not that I think MacDonald wont be any good,but I would stuck on the youth policy.

But what do I know, I wanted Robbo for another year, and

would have taked Griffiths or Astbury or Black at pick 18.

If we picked all the drafts we thought we should have got we would have 72 on the list. (42 all out injured).

As it stands I'm happy with what we picked, only time will tell what draft picks will be most successful.

[Yokozuna 1,004]

As many have previously stated, we cant draft everyone.

That is what we pay people for, to make the decisions of who to take, and who not to take.

Honestly, I cant understand why people are getting so excited about Barlow and Silvagni, and why we did not pick them up, after 1 game. Silvagni showed a little, but it was not hard to in a team that dominated, and we have better defenders than him anyway. Barlow, well he amassed possessions, and some were good, but his disposal is average at best (probably fits right in with our midfield!!).

Either way, if they are both starring every week, for the entire year, I will be very surprised, and therefore quite happy that neither are on our list.

[Carlos Danger 380]

I know I've been banging on that our list management is poor and resulted in our recruiting staff missing opportunities to take some rookies in 2009.

How come Freemantle managed to recruit Barlow from Werribee & he gets 33 possies plus they get Alex Silvagni from under our nose at Casey. He had 14 poseessions and 7 marks in his first game.

Did our blokes just sit back & bludge because they had 4 picks in the top 20 ???

I agree to a certain extent, not so much on Barlow because he is certainly a diamond in the rough and huge wraps to Fremantle for picking up on him. His story seems similar to Brad Sewell, where Hawthorn was the only club to give him a chance after years of being over-looked by everyone. Silvagni however looks to be a massive mistake, right under our noses at Casey, for Freo to pick up on it and not us is ridiculous. He is a player who can go at AFL level and was well worth a mature aged rookie gamble, instead of bringing Newton and Meesen back on the list for a few more meaningless years. I hope the club learns from the trends occurring at the moment and really research mature aged rookie selections and with the way our team is looking (more so the forward line than anything else), I really hope that Mitch Thorp is high on that list.

Honestly, I cant understand why people are getting so excited about Barlow and Silvagni, and why we did not pick them up, after 1 game. Silvagni showed a little, but it was not hard to in a team that dominated, and we have better defenders than him anyway. Barlow, well he amassed possessions, and some were good, but his disposal is average at best (probably fits right in with our midfield!!).

He had 33 possessions with 79% effectiveness, only 2 other players in that game got to 30 or more touches and they're effectiveness was 72% and 75%. I'm not sure who your sources are, but they are seriously misinformed.

[Adzman 2,085]

If Alex Silvagni wins a brownlow medal during his career I will consider him "slipping" and error.

Truth be told players like silvagni are handy, but are a dime a dozen. Chances are we will end up with 3-5 silvagni types over the next few drafts, that will be younger and do the exact same thing!

Recruiters cannot be blamed for everything. Every team has a history of great and poor picks. It is part of the game of recruiting.

[The Chazz 4,077]

I agree to a certain extent, not so much on Barlow because he is certainly a diamond in the rough and huge wraps to Fremantle for picking up on him. His story seems similar to Brad Sewell, where Hawthorn was the only club to give him a chance after years of being over-looked by everyone. Silvagni however looks to be a massive mistake, right under our noses at Casey, for Freo to pick up on it and not us is ridiculous. He is a player who can go at AFL level and was well worth a mature aged rookie gamble, instead of bringing Newton and Meesen back on the list for a few more meaningless years. I hope the club learns from the trends occurring at the moment and really research mature aged rookie selections and with the way our team is looking (more so the forward line than anything else), I really hope that Mitch Thorp is high on that list.

He had 33 possessions with 79% effectiveness, only 2 other players in that game got to 30 or more touches and they're effectiveness was 72% and 75%. I'm not sure who your sources are, but they are seriously misinformed.

Very ordinary post. There were reasons we had to rookie Meesen and Newton, something about the fact that they were both contracted and we would have to pay both players out to free up their two rookie spots. Assuming they have a 2010 that most are predicting, they will be the first to be delisted at the end of the season. To say it will be a few more meaningless years with these 2 on our list really concerns me that you support the same club as I do. Don't worry, you're not on your own on this site.

[Yokozuna 1,004]

He had 33 possessions with 79% effectiveness, only 2 other players in that game got to 30 or more touches and they're effectiveness was 72% and 75%. I'm not sure who your sources are, but they are seriously misinformed.

[Nathan Jones's Hairdresser 7]

Silvagni showed a little, but it was not hard to in a team that dominated, and we have better defenders than him anyway.

Silvagni rather than Bell? How Bell remains on our list ...

[Keyser Söze 0]

Who are Reiwoldt's detractors??

I'll tell you right now his body is stuffed and he won't be playing for much longer.

I give him 2 years tops.

Still a fantastic player though.

[hrob 2]

Remember, we are the same club that took Watts ahead of Naitanui.

We are a bunch of amateurs.

This is such a laughable post.....ur a fool mate.....naitanui has to be nearly more overrated than dale thomas.....has 5-10 touches n applauded like he'll win the brownlow....watts is all class n will turn out to be everythg that we need and expect from him.....we didnt need a ruckmen we needed a tall forward......get a grip u muppet.

[Cards13 9,117]

I'll tell you right now his body is stuffed and he won't be playing for much longer.

I give him 2 years tops.

Still a fantastic player though.

Hoh! I am unsure if this is tongue firmly in the side of the face KS, you do have a tendancy to do that but you can be very serious about it too.... That would be amazing to see him slip from one of the best players in the comp to out of the game in 2 seasons. Does that count this season by the by? And you mentioned 2 seasons tops.... So he could retire after this season?

Edited April 1, 2010 by Cards13

[Yokozuna 1,004]

Silvagni or Bell?

Interesting question with a very simple answer. I would have neither of them, but I reckon Bell will finish with more AFL games to his name than Silvagni. Whether that means anything though I am not sure.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

The role Riewoldt plsys is probably the hardest and most phyisally demanding role on the ground. And the way Riewoldt plays it even more so. He has had his fair share of injuries and as the game gets faster the demands on him will only increase. Its punishing and its not the role that allows a player to glide toward 300 games unscathed. While he has had a bad knee for a while, I dont know if his body is "stuffed". But Riewoldt will need to retain a high degree of fitness to do what he does.

I keep thinking of how the build up of injuries and wear and tear cut down Wayne Carey about 10 years ago from AFL colossus to run of the mill within the space of 2 years.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Silvagni or Bell?

Interesting question with a very simple answer. I would have neither of them, but I reckon Bell will finish with more AFL games to his name than Silvagni. Whether that means anything though I am not sure.

Agree. Bell was contracted for one more year. Where would you put Silvagni in a backline with Rivers, Garland, Frawley, Warnock and Martin?

[H_T 2,941]

Silvagni showed a little, but it was not hard to in a team that dominated, and we have better defenders than him anyway.

Silvagni rather than Bell? How Bell remains on our list ...

Understand your point of view. Although Bell was contracted for 2010. Besides we have options down back.

I'm spewing on missing Barlow myself. 6"3' magnet midfielder. (Also spewing on the fact that he is ineligible for the Rising Star. Would have had great odds just quietly).

But hey ! Thank your lucky stars for the rule change and that we drafted Gawn & Fitzpatrick.