Is Lucas' future cooked?

[old dee 22,966]

No more JD please.....

What might be more appropriate rjay is

No more LC!

[Hannibal 5,814]

Hi guys. All the best for this trade and draft period.

[IvanBartul13 2,564]

Some of the posts in this topic are utterly ridiculous.

Fact - Cook has been told he is no longer required by the club because he has been deemed not competitive enough - that is a 100% fact and he knew this before the season ended.

Fact - he has injury interrupted preseason and the people going on about him putting on the 3kg after he left the club. It is a fact that the fitness program he was on didnt allow him to put on the weight required for him to have accelerated development as a key forward. It was more important in his program for him to have endurance training and low skinfolds, which is madness and his development was definitely mismanagaed to a degree

Fact - Cook was a highly regarded junior, an AIS academy member and was a concensus 15-20 in the draft, so pick 12 is not that much of a stretch.

Criticisms of Cook can be that his performance was mediocre and that he may have struggled with the new regime and the workloads (not on his own in this regard, Gysberts is another, Blease was tracking the same). Being a Melbourne footballer in the last year was a very different and very difficult experience and a few players thrived and quite a few struggled.

The club has decided he doesnt fit with the program and has gotten rid of him, not showing any faith in the talent that made him pick 12. History will judge whether the club has made the right move. It could be a very astute move, but it could also come back to bite the club. I cant recall in history a high draft pick forward being shelved after two years.

But the posts in this topic are unfair on the player and almost totally ignorant. Mark Neeld is a very gung ho coach who is going to live by the sword and he has decided not to persist with a player, who then is entitled to take that lack of faith and do whatever he wants in the pursuit of his dream to play AFL.

Edited October 12, 2012 by goodoil

[Fitz Fitzpatrick 886]

Gee we have drafted some skinny kids. Instead of just delisting Morton, Gysberts and Cook why dont we get rid of the bugler and those 3 can form a boy band to sing at our home games for the kids.

[old dee 22,966]

Gee we have drafted some skinny kids. Instead of just delisting Morton, Gysberts and Cook why dont we get rid of the bugler and those 3 can form a boy band to sing at our home games for the kids.

I think you have hit on the problem Munga

They are choir boys!

[Old Man Rivers 326]

I can never buy this line of thinking. It goes in the same basket as the "but he would have gone home to WA after two seasons" school of naysaying.

Darling would've been every bit the sensation at the Dees as he has been at WC. A real turnstile-clicker.

Spot on RR

The kid was always going to be a sensation.

At least I have him locked away in my Ultimate Footy side for 2013

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Great post goodwill.

Pity it won't be taken in where it is needed most. Particularly In the choir boy fraternity.

Thanks for the posting of some sound thinking.

[Hannibal 5,814]

Some of the posts in this topic are utterly ridiculous.

Fact - Cook was a highly regarded junior, an AIS academy member and was a concensus 15-20 in the draft, so pick 12 is not that much of a stretch..

Here are 3 phantom drafts that don't have him in that range.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/105263/default.aspx

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/your-pick-of-the-afl-national-draft/story-e6frf9jf-1225947317074

http://afldraftinfo.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/2010-afl-phantom-national-draft.html

There are more if you want.

I suspect you'll say that phantom drafts are hardly indicative of a player's worth and I agree, but what evidence do you have that he was a 15-20 pick "consensus" ?

He's slow, isn't physical and doesn't compete strongly enough in the air. If you're not fast those two traits are prerequisites for a key forward. It's the right call and I congratulate Neeld on being prepared to make it. We've wasted enough time over the years by keeping players on the list for far too long. We haven't turned the list over nearly enough.

[Range Rover 1,935]

Fact - Cook was a highly regarded junior, an AIS academy member and was a concensus 15-20 in the draft, so pick 12 is not that much of a stretch.

Not a fact at all. Some recruiters had him as a clear second rounder and many internet forum posters were genuinely surprised when we called his name out at 12.

His name was called out far too early. And even more unfortunately, it was called out by us!

[IvanBartul13 2,564]

Those phantom drafts have almost zero credibility with me - Jay Clark's one is laughable, the AFL draftinfo one has that many players that didnt get drafted its not funny and Paul Daffey has a proven track record of having no clue. But its beside the point. Im not disputing Neeld's right to delist him for the reasons youve mentioned. Im just saying that a lot of what is written in these posts is unfair on the player, who hasnt necessarily been given every chance of succeeding.

Edited October 12, 2012 by goodoil

[IvanBartul13 2,564]

Not a fact at all. Some recruiters had him as a clear second rounder and many internet forum posters were genuinely surprised when we called his name out at 12.

That is laughable. Some recruiters - who? Internet forum posters - most of whom have no idea!

Sydney were taking him at 21 - guaranteed. So change my range to 15-21.

[Hannibal 5,814]

Those phantom drafts have almost zero credibility with me

OK. So we've established that you've replied with what I thought you would.

Where is the evidence of pick 15-20 consensus ?

I assume you'll come back with "industry talk". Well guess what ? They were wrong.

[buck_nekkid 5,529]

Back to an objective view:

Cook could not hold a place in the Casey 1sts

Cook rarely impacted (set alight) the 2nds to an extent that he forced his way back into the Casey firsts, from which he would need to go up another level to compete at AFL level.

We have a number of other prospects ahead of him, including Fitzy.

His 'weaknesses' are known to the football club- they have made a call on him based on what he did, what they think he can do, and what they need. And it isn't what they see in Cook.

If he is delisted I wish him luck in whatever he chooses to do. It may be the kick in the bum he needs, or at the least the regime change, to get the best out of him.

Who cares where he was drafted. If Howe was taken by us at 12 in this draft we would all be happy. If we secure a couple of good players each draft, we have done well, regardless of their number.

[old dee 22,966]

Back to an objective view:

Cook could not hold a place in the Casey 1sts

Cook rarely impacted (set alight) the 2nds to an extent that he forced his way back into the Casey firsts, from which he would need to go up another level to compete at AFL level.

We have a number of other prospects ahead of him, including Fitzy.

His 'weaknesses' are known to the football club- they have made a call on him based on what he did, what they think he can do, and what they need. And it isn't what they see in Cook.

If he is delisted I wish him luck in whatever he chooses to do. It may be the kick in the bum he needs, or at the least the regime change, to get the best out of him.

Who cares where he was drafted. If Howe was taken by us at 12 in this draft we would all be happy. If we secure a couple of good players each draft, we have done well, regardless of their number.

That about covers it BN

not a lot more needs to be said

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

That about covers it BN

not a lot more needs to be said

If Goodoil is right about Cook being told mid year that he would be delisted, its plausible that a young player would lose motivational and be dispirited. I think the decision has been made early by the Club and some of the reasons given by posters may be more a consequence of the early call by the club rather than being an influencing reason.

[beelzebub 22,271]

Just another NQR to be shuffled out the door. Not sure why so many pixels are being used to discuss it lol

[TheoX 1,218]

Just another NQR to be shuffled out the door. Not sure why so many pixels are being used to discuss it lol

Pretty much because he was a pick 12 and we could have got Darling

[daisycutter 28,666]

If Goodoil is right about Cook being told mid year that he would be delisted, its plausible that a young player would lose motivational and be dispirited. I think the decision has been made early by the Club and some of the reasons given by posters may be more a consequence of the early call by the club rather than being an influencing reason.

When did "and he knew this before the season ended" become "being told mid year"

[beelzebub 22,271]

Pretty much because he was a pick 12 and we could have got Darling

Let's all stay living in yesterday. So much gets done there.

It's all fairly pointless,he'll be kicked to the curb and we all move on, Cook included, where to I really couldn't care. I wish him well but I'm over it.

Lucas Cook , AFL player = epic fail ( hell even as a vfl player = fail )

The Cookie has crumbled !!!

[monoccular 16,329]

And here I was thinking the drafting of Hogan would alleviate everyone's sorrow of the Darling/Cook screw up.

Never mind.... some people just can't let go.

I suggest you guys move the [censored] forward like MFC are trying to do.

Keep crying over Darling. I'll look forward to Viney, Hogan and Barry.

Cheers.

It is good to see such a positive post. You can't change the past, just the future.

[TheoX 1,218]

Let's all stay living in yesterday. So much gets done there.

It's all fairly pointless,he'll be kicked to the curb and we all move on, Cook included, where to I really couldn't care. I wish him well but I'm over it.

Lucas Cook , AFL player = epic fail ( hell even as a vfl player = fail )

The Cookie has crumbled !!!

Not saying that i'm hung up on this, just that's why there's so much discussion on him

[beelzebub 22,271]

Not saying that i'm hung up on this, just that's why there's so much discussion on him

Sorry wasn't having shot at you.

Just seems we're discussing it in overs (as such)

He's done and dusted all bar the paperwork.

He's yesterday and we've so many promising tomorrows now to look forward to and I'd rather we talked about them,cheers.

[Sir Why You Little 34,768]

When a pick 12 plays 2 years in the Casey 2nds its perfectly reasnoable for members to ask questions.

[beelzebub 22,271]

When a pick 12 plays 2 years in the Casey 2nds its perfectly reasnoable for members to ask questions.

And those responsible have left the club and yours or anyone's chances of them answering those questions are nada.

It was a poor and I'll conceived choice. He (LC) didn't fail so much as the selectors.

We know what happened, we f*#ked up.

All you do now is cut your loss and move on.

[Ron Burgundy 8,584]

Surely he'll be rookied by a club at the end of this year.

I wish him all the best. That said, this pick, more than any other I can recall (including Luke Molan at number 9) has been the biggest ever blunder.

Edited October 13, 2012 by Ron Burgundy