It appears I am one of the few on here who hasn't got a man-crush on Jack Darling. Even as a Weagle, the flame still burns for a lot of MFC supporters.

He was a kid who had his growth-spurt early and was able to fill out his body a lot earlier than the competition. That's why he dominated as a kid, looked super impressive in youtube footage and had many supporters begging for him in the draft. Sure he was going to be ready for AFL footy in his next year but that doesn't make him the best available at pick 12.

He took Ashley Hansen's spot and looks a bit more effective than Ashley so far but what's to say Darling won't become the next Hansen? He's already filled out and I'm of the opinion he looks as good now as he'll ever look at AFL level. Another Rhys Palmer or Daniel Rich type... impressive first season proceeded by stagnation.

I think this pick would have privately rankled Neeld when he sat down and reflected on our recruiting.

Is that right? What he was thinking about Ben Reid when he'd played 8 games is 3 years.

Is that right? What he was thinking about Ben Reid when he'd played 8 games is 3 years.

Don't know about the Pies. But his thinking about bigger bodies and stated preference for ready-to-go grunt leads me to believe he has a certain agenda for Melbourne.

Edited January 22, 201214 yr by Range Rover

Don't know about the Pies. But his thinking about bigger bodies and stated preference for ready-to-go grunt leads me to believe he has a certain agenda for Melbourne.

I think that's a bit of a reach.

We've used late picks to acquire mature bodies.

It says more about his opinion of the state of the list when he came to the club, than his coaching and recruiting philosophy.

Edited January 22, 201214 yr by Lutz

Speculation perhaps, but I reckon Neeld would swap Cook for Darling in a heart beat. Don't know if WCE would be so keen though.

Bottom line we are talking about players who are 1 year into careers, i wont be making any sweeping statements about either of the players in focus.

I am happy to say that Lucas Cooks skill set is one that i would love MFC to have at AFL level.

But who cares what all the other clubs did? We had a golden opportunity....the kid can play the type of game we need.

I care. It means every club passed on Jack Darling before West Coast took him. So it wasn't such a golden opportunity was it?

I am sure you could draft a really good team in hindsight but that's not what clubs do. Darling had a few issues. So did Buddy Franklin - even Hawthorn passed on Buddy with their first pick.

I care. It means every club passed on Jack Darling before West Coast took him. So it wasn't such a golden opportunity was it?

I am sure you could draft a really good team in hindsight but that's not what clubs do. Darling had a few issues. So did Buddy Franklin - even Hawthorn passed on Buddy with their first pick.

Apparently that is because they thought he would fall, and Roughhead wouldnt, it worked.

Apparently that is because they thought he would fall, and Roughhead wouldnt, it worked.

As far as all-time recruiting balls ups go, the Tige's Franklin/Tambling beauty would take some beating.

Mitch Thorp 1 pick before Joel Selwood..?

Fiora (3) before Pavlich (4) ... Toigs again.

Andrejs Everitt 1 pick before James Frawley and then Jack Riewoldt.

Xavier Ellis 1 pick before Josh Kennedy (WCE) and then Scott Pendlebury.

Patrick Veszpremi 1 pick before Cyril Rioli and then 2 picks later Jack Grimes.

1999 ... Danny Roach (pick 7 to the Filth) played one career game, taken one ahead of Geelong's pick 8, J. Corey.

Edited January 22, 201214 yr by Range Rover

I care. It means every club passed on Jack Darling before West Coast took him. So it wasn't such a golden opportunity was it?

I am sure you could draft a really good team in hindsight but that's not what clubs do. Darling had a few issues. So did Buddy Franklin - even Hawthorn passed on Buddy with their first pick.

FFS look at the season he just had!!! we missed a Golden Opportunity....it is plainly obvious...stop being so conservative...this clubs biggest fault.

Jack Darling has not put a foot wrong since being drafted....the fears clubs had were unfounded. FACT.

FFS look at the season he just had!!! we missed a Golden Opportunity....it is plainly obvious...stop being so conservative...this clubs biggest fault.

Jack Darling has not put a foot wrong since being drafted....the fears clubs had were unfounded. FACT.

Hahaha you crack me up WYL.

"<insert oversimplified personal opinion here>. FACT."

Edited January 22, 201214 yr by Lutz

Andrejs Everitt 1 pick before James Frawley and then Jack Riewoldt.

Xavier Ellis 1 pick before Josh Kennedy (WCE) and then Scott Pendlebury.

Patrick Veszpremi 1 pick before Cyril Rioli and then 2 picks later Jack Grimes.

This and the previous posters have exposed the "errors" of recruiters at many other clubs as well. Maybe we should see a few more sackings too.

Hahaha you crack me up WYL.

"<insert oversimplified personal opinion here>. FACT."

No it is fact because of the games he played. I am just a viewer.

FFS look at the season he just had!!! we missed a Golden Opportunity....it is plainly obvious...stop being so conservative...this clubs biggest fault.

Jack Darling has not put a foot wrong since being drafted....the fears clubs had were unfounded. FACT.

He has missed or been late for training sessions etc, so not perfect.

And it is that, one season in a 12 year career.

He has missed or been late for training sessions etc, so not perfect.

And it is that, one season in a 12 year career.

And that would stop you from recruiting said player would it??

I am in Old Dee's corner with this one. Too many choirboys have been recruited to the MFC throughout the decades. When the chance arrives Bailey & BP baulk and take a toddler.

Trouble is both Bailey & BP have left the building and we are left with another 5 year plan. We need players ready now.

It has been 5 years since this rebuild started, & 48 years since Crompton's lucky goal

Edited January 23, 201214 yr by why you little

Well put. Posters who trot out the 'all good in hindsight' retort never want to acknowledge this argument, especially the highlighted part!

And those who trot out the above refuse to acknowledge that is it not an exact science so all recruiters can do is pick the player that all data points to him being the best pick and Cook was the All Australian CHF so all data pointed to him being the better pick ( not because Darling wasnt a choir boy).

Whilst recruiters may punt on later picks there is a fair reliance on data such as all Australian selections and draft camp testing.

So I guess what you are saying is recruiters are paid to ignore what is in front of them and "punt" on selections

What do you do when you inherit the worst list in the AFL?

You over haul it, you cant make decisions for the short term because you dont have enough quality.

The only way that we were ever going to build a list with talent in it was by starting from scratch. So you want them to start on this path and then change for one player? The "5 year plan" was a plan to give Melbourne FC a list capable of winning a premiership yes, but that was never going to happen in the short term. When Cook was drafted yes Bailey was there but we were a minimum 4-5 years away from being a premiership contending team so why take the short term option?

Yes everything we have done in the last 3-4 drafts has been "long term" but thats because the position we were in did not present any "easy" or short term solutions, the MFC as a whole in almost every department was in trouble and below par.

The fix was not easy, Cook is an example for sticking to the plan, which was for a premiership side between the years of 2015-20 imo not this year or last year so why draft for this year or last year?

Thats what i see as happening

And that would stop you from recruiting said player would it??

I am in Old Dee's corner with this one. Too many choirboys have been recruited to the MFC throughout the decades. When the chance arrives Bailey & BP baulk and take a toddler.

Trouble is both Bailey & BP have left the building and we are left with another 5 year plan. We need players ready now.

It has been 5 years since this rebuild started, & 48 years since Crompton's lucky goal

I was just showing that he wasnt perfect ect

You wrote that he "didnt put a foot wrong"

Recruit Fev!!!

And those who trot out the above refuse to acknowledge that is it not an exact science so all recruiters can do is pick the player that all data points to him being the best pick and Cook was the All Australian CHF so all data pointed to him being the better pick ( not because Darling wasnt a choir boy).

Whilst recruiters may punt on later picks there is a fair reliance on data such as all Australian selections and draft camp testing.

So I guess what you are saying is recruiters are paid to ignore what is in front of them and "punt" on selections

As with all things in life, some recruiters are better than others.

And those who trot out the above refuse to acknowledge that is it not an exact science so all recruiters can do is pick the player that all data points to him being the best pick and Cook was the All Australian CHF so all data pointed to him being the better pick ( not because Darling wasnt a choir boy). Whilst recruiters may punt on later picks there is a fair reliance on data such as all Australian selections and draft camp testing. So I guess what you are saying is recruiters are paid to ignore what is in front of them and "punt" on selections

Exactly.

Choosing the right option really is the easy bit. If your best information tells you Fred Bloggs is (or will be) a better player than Joe Smith, you'd always choose Fred. If your information is dud (either through your network or your own eyes), then your selections will be dud. That's why I believe that it's too hard to assess a recruiter's performance from the outer, because it's too hard to know if poor selections are a result of his own judgement, the judgement of his recruiting network, if the club's recruiting network isn't wide enough, a result of "overall strategy", or whether the player in question just didn't show enough to warrant the pick and some other recruiter just got lucky taking a punt. All we can see is who picked who at what pick - that's only a fraction of the story.