Spot on dl . And I hope you're right re the CHF position .

Gee, Cloke would be handy though . Double whammy too with the EE reaction . That would be priceless .

Ya just never know .

Interesting you mention Cloke in this discussion. Micky M spent years & years defending him in-front of the media "cant kick, runs to the wrong spot, only worked one way" etc etc - was he the power forward he is today in his first 3-4 years - I think not. Power forwards take time.

Funny you should mention him, we have bought some duds over the years

I have a good friend who played with the Dees in that period.

He claims when he came to the MFC he was getting 5 times more than the majority of players.

The attitude was if he is that bloody good let him get it himself.

Not too many passed the ball to him.

I think your friend is right . Apparently the Richmond players did the same thing to John Pitura . I was only a young kid back then but I remember the publicity surrounding Diamond Jim coming to the Demons . 38,000 grand splashed across the newspapers if my memory serves me correct . Big money back then as you no doubt know .

A couple of years later we spent 62,000 on Big Carl . Stand corrected on the exact figures but we certainly have some history with regards the high priced recruits . Later on we snagged Templeton and Moore .

'Spose what I'm alluding to is free agency .

Nothing would surprise me .

Edited April 12, 201214 yr by Macca

Spot on dl . And I hope you're right re the CHF position .

Gee, Cloke would be handy though . Double whammy too with the EE reaction. That would be priceless .

Ya just never know .

HaHaHa,,, B)

Neil Balme was talking with that annoying little git KB on SEN this morning about this very topic

Now we may want to temper this with the thought that Balme may not want to talk up even further a highly regarding recruiting manager in Steven Wells however for what it is worth this was his comments

.

"" there are no such thing as geniuses in recruiting - it is all about the programs""

He was almost dismissive of recruiting stating that these guys are so young with so little known about them and how they will turn out that judgements can only be made retrospectively and he was a bit scathing of retrospective recruiting

They then played Brad Scott commenting on the Cats and he said Geelong were the blue print for recruiting and development coaches. Balme chose to ignore Scotts comment on recruiting and said "see Scott acknowledged developement coaches - its all about our programs"

These were Balmes comments for what its worth

Neil Balme was talking with that annoying little git KB on SEN this morning about this very topic

Now we may want to temper this with the thought that Balme may not want to talk up even further a highly regarding recruiting manager in Steven Wells however for what it is worth this was his comments

.

"" there are no such thing as geniuses in recruiting - it is all about the programs""

He was almost dismissive of recruiting stating that these guys are so young with so little known about them and how they will turn out that judgements can only be made retrospectively and he was a bit scathing of retrospective recruiting

They then played Brad Scott commenting on the Cats and he said Geelong were the blue print for recruiting and development coaches. Balme chose to ignore Scotts comment on recruiting and said "see Scott acknowledged developement coaches - its all about our programs"

These were Balmes comments for what its worth

What would he know. 30 odd years in the game. Top player, league coach, top administrator, key member of arguably the most successful club in the modern era

Neil Balme was talking with that annoying little git KB on SEN this morning about this very topic

Now we may want to temper this with the thought that Balme may not want to talk up even further a highly regarding recruiting manager in Steven Wells however for what it is worth this was his comments

.

"" there are no such thing as geniuses in recruiting - it is all about the programs""

He was almost dismissive of recruiting stating that these guys are so young with so little known about them and how they will turn out that judgements can only be made retrospectively and he was a bit scathing of retrospective recruiting

They then played Brad Scott commenting on the Cats and he said Geelong were the blue print for recruiting and development coaches. Balme chose to ignore Scotts comment on recruiting and said "see Scott acknowledged developement coaches - its all about our programs"

These were Balmes comments for what its worth

I would suggest a few of us have been trying to drive that point home for many weeks now - but what can you do.

What would he know. 30 odd years in the game. Top player, league coach, top administrator, key member of arguably the most successful club in the modern era

Bartlett thought he was mad. I respect Balmes opinion purely because Bartlett thought the opposite of Balmes opinion

I would suggest a few of us have been trying to drive that point home for many weeks now - but what can you do.

there's still that one free spot on the Board doc.

there's still that one free spot on the Board doc.

Sorry mate I told you before I would find it very difficult to represent many around here. But I'm not the first to say that so it should be no big surprise to you.

Its should be clear to you now I'm no lawyer, dentist, accountant, md or advertising executive - I'm just a humble footy lover who is trying to get the best out of himself. (thanks for the lessons by the way)

Neil Balme was talking with that annoying little git KB on SEN this morning about this very topic

Now we may want to temper this with the thought that Balme may not want to talk up even further a highly regarding recruiting manager in Steven Wells however for what it is worth this was his comments

.

"" there are no such thing as geniuses in recruiting - it is all about the programs""

He was almost dismissive of recruiting stating that these guys are so young with so little known about them and how they will turn out that judgements can only be made retrospectively and he was a bit scathing of retrospective recruiting

They then played Brad Scott commenting on the Cats and he said Geelong were the blue print for recruiting and development coaches. Balme chose to ignore Scotts comment on recruiting and said "see Scott acknowledged developement coaches - its all about our programs"

These were Balmes comments for what its worth

I heard that interview as well. Balmey was also holding his cards very close to the chest, yes the structure of Geelong is there no doubt & with proven success....He also knows how important recruiting has been to Geelong..He is not going to say too much on SEN is he...it's a fun chat hour...It is good to hear Bartlett make an idiot of himself though

Sorry mate I told you before I would find it very difficult to represent many around here. But I'm not the first to say that so it should be no big surprise to you.

Its should be clear to you now I'm no lawyer, dentist, accountant, md or advertising executive - I'm just a humble footy lover who is trying to get the best out of himself. (thanks for the lessons by the way)

Now let's not mislead the gentle readers...

Because he wasn't performing - Darling looked decidedly average, in what was his final year before the draft when he should have been performing his best.

It led to very obvious questions of whether he was just a manchild who had it easy against the kids, but would struggle against men and taller opponents.

And if you ask me, we still haven't seen conclusive evidence that he will succeed as a KPF. He currently plays as a 3rd tall, where his aerobic capacity is handy, but he is far from a world beater.

To say he is a "power forward" is a misnomer.

He is against the skinny mobile 3rd tall defenders, but against a KPD like Frawley or Glass or Taylor or many others he is just another forward.

And I don't think his contested marking is anything to write home about - unlike Cook.

Good.

He has aggression, and I like that.

I wish we had more of it.

But beyond that, I think for us Cook has the potential to be more valuable.

As Leigh Matthews said in reference to draftess, you can make them bigger, but it's very difficult to make them faster or taller.

What do you base this on; Cook hasn't taken one mark, contested or other wise in AFL football.

Cook, at this stage, hasn't even proven himself to be up to AFL standard. He wasn't injured for all of last year but still couldn't get a game at one of the worst clubs in the competition. I saw Cook at the recent Club Dinner and he is built like a stick insect so i hardly see him as a power forward and I'd bet that defenders would have a much easier job of disposing of him than they would have of Darling. Height means nothing if you don't have the strength to go with it.

Sorry mate I told you before I would find it very difficult to represent many around here. But I'm not the first to say that so it should be no big surprise to you.

Its should be clear to you now I'm no lawyer, dentist, accountant, md or advertising executive - I'm just a humble footy lover who is trying to get the best out of himself. (thanks for the lessons by the way)

a "humble footy lover" - that's exactly what is needed

don't do it for us, do it for the CLUB, do it for the COUNTRY, do it for MANKIND, heck just DO IT

do you feel inspired?

a "humble footy lover" - that's exactly what is needed

don't do it for us, do it for the CLUB, do it for the COUNTRY, do it for MANKIND, heck just DO IT

do you feel inspired?

Nope not for all the money you blokes have got. But where have you heard that before. Sorry to disappoint you but I just dont think I'd fit in to your culture - thanks for the offer.

Neil Balme was talking with that annoying little git KB on SEN this morning about this very topic

Now we may want to temper this with the thought that Balme may not want to talk up even further a highly regarding recruiting manager in Steven Wells however for what it is worth this was his comments

.

"" there are no such thing as geniuses in recruiting - it is all about the programs""

He was almost dismissive of recruiting stating that these guys are so young with so little known about them and how they will turn out that judgements can only be made retrospectively and he was a bit scathing of retrospective recruiting

They then played Brad Scott commenting on the Cats and he said Geelong were the blue print for recruiting and development coaches. Balme chose to ignore Scotts comment on recruiting and said "see Scott acknowledged developement coaches - its all about our programs"

These were Balmes comments for what its worth

Culture & leadership, thats what its about, and having a strong body of players playing an Honest games work of Footy. The hard way. Like Sydney but Better & Bigger.