Jump to content

The James Aish Thread



Recommended Posts

I don't care who we draft but to be an elite mid you have to win your own contested ball when taggers start coming your way. I would favour the player who has the ability to win both the contested ball and the loose ball now rather than hope he develops either of those skills after we draft him.

We can't muck this up.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aish is the goods according to my mates in SA but he's fairly light and won't be an overnight sensation in the AFL.

If we're impatient and want an Ollie Wines who will be good from the start but might only improve in small increments then we look elsewhere but if we want someone who might win a Brownlow in a few year's time, the Aish is our man.

I wouldn't swap pick 2 unless a very, very good offer presented itself. That's fairly obvious but given the evenness of this year's top 10-12, I doubt one will.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aish is the goods according to my mates in SA but he's fairly light and won't be an overnight sensation in the AFL.

If we're impatient

We are and that's why when Crouch gets the Rising Star nomination in round 2 (Hogan will get it in Round 1) we'll again be bemoaning our round 1 choice whether it be Aish, Kelly or the second coming of Gary Ablett Jnr.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I'm in the Aish camp, he seems to have been a constant number 2 choice so in the absence of any other information I hope we select him.

Most of the other top 20 players are bouncing around depending on how they are currently traveling but Aish remains number 2 in all cases.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kelly "purely" outside.

I reckon this view is crap.

I reckon you are right. The games I've watched him (admittedly only a couple), he got his fair share of contested ball and clearances. The outside tag comes from people looking at his weight not his performance.

He is clean, has good skills, is a good runner and accumulates the ball. I wouldn't be unhappy if we picked him up.

Well said fellas.

Funnily enough similar things were said about Pendlebury leading up to the 2005 draft - not enough grunt or too outside.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll go for the best available VIC midfielder. Kelly, Freeman or Crouch.

I don't want to recruit someone who is that desperate to play for Adelaide, and worry that he'll be on the first flight back once his contract expires.

We've had plenty of South Australians play for us over the years, Todd Viney is one, and most have stayed, in fact apart from Thompson I can't off the top of my head think of any other.

We've had a history of drafting South Australians and some have come from famous football families like Aish but they have all pretty much stayed and had good careers with us.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites


We've had plenty of South Australians play for us over the years, Todd Viney is one, and most have stayed, in fact apart from Thompson I can't off the top of my head think of any other.

We've had a history of drafting South Australians and some have come from famous football families like Aish but they have all pretty much stayed and had good careers with us.

I am still thinking Freeman as a power mid versus a nice outside mover.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Strong belief among journos that we will not pick Aish if we retain pick 2. Some chance he might even slide out of the first 5 picks. No firm reasoning given for the drop, might even be down to Freeman and Kolodjashnij bolting up rankings after the Combine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll go for the best available VIC midfielder. Kelly, Freeman or Crouch.

I don't want to recruit someone who is that desperate to play for Adelaide, and worry that he'll be on the first flight back once his contract expires.

Actually, on the other hand, If we take Aish, maybe we can then trade him in12 months, for one of the better Sth Australian boys we like??? Brad Crouch, Ollie wines?

If Aish goes so well, we may even get player, plus some incentive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Strong belief among journos that we will not pick Aish if we retain pick 2. Some chance he might even slide out of the first 5 picks. No firm reasoning given for the drop, might even be down to Freeman and Kolodjashnij bolting up rankings after the Combine.

What journos? What is this based on..?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Strong belief among journos that we will not pick Aish if we retain pick 2. Some chance he might even slide out of the first 5 picks. No firm reasoning given for the drop, might even be down to Freeman and Kolodjashnij bolting up rankings after the Combine.

What journos? What is this based on..?

Heard someone talking about it today (can't remember which journo) but I very much doubt a lot of weight would be placed on the combine results as far as the top end picks go. The recruiters would already know what they bring to the table, they have been watching these guys for years now.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Heard someone talking about it today (can't remember which journo) but I very much doubt a lot of weight would be placed on the combine results as far as the top end picks go. The recruiters would already know what they bring to the table, they have been watching these guys for years now.

I suspect that the journos talking about things would barely know more than you or me. It doesn't pay our recruiters to let out too much information and when something is let out these days, it's for a purpose. We've indicated that we're willing to deal on pick 2 for the right trade which brings one or two quality midfielders to the club and nothing less will do, otherwise we'll keep pick 2. That choice is likely to go on favour of Aish or Kelly if the recruiters' intention is to draft the best young midfielder on offer.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What journos? What is this based on..?

Brett Anderson was pretty strong on it, a few of the Hun journos are convinced that we'd take Kelly over Aish, and the Ox in conversation with Pickering suggested Aish could go anywhere from 2 to 7.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I suspect that the journos talking about things would barely know more than you or me. It doesn't pay our recruiters to let out too much information and when something is let out these days, it's for a purpose. We've indicated that we're willing to deal on pick 2 for the right trade which brings one or two quality midfielders to the club and nothing less will do, otherwise we'll keep pick 2. That choice is likely to go on favour of Aish or Kelly if the recruiters' intention is to draft the best young midfielder on offer.

I don't necessarily disagree with you WJ. My gut feel here is that that Melbourne may be a worried about picking a lighter framed kid who could be viewed as being too similar to Toumpas (I don't discount possible buyer's remorse here after passing on Wines). I don't view Kelly as all that different as a player, and we may see someone like Freeman jump up as he is physically more developed than the other two.

I'd hate to think that our recruiters might be spooked into bypassing a player who they rate, but you can only guess the pressure they're under given the intense scrutiny on our most recent recruiting efforts combined with a pretty high turnover in that department over the last two years. I personally would take Aish at 2 as I rate him as the best midfielder in this years group, but is he the one that's most likely to have an immediate impact? Probably not (bear in mind that Aish is still only 17 and amongst the youngest players eliglble for this years draft).

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've had plenty of South Australians play for us over the years, Todd Viney is one, and most have stayed, in fact apart from Thompson I can't off the top of my head think of any other.

We've had a history of drafting South Australians and some have come from famous football families like Aish but they have all pretty much stayed and had good careers with us.

I agree, but Bassett and Jarman were two others. Jarman only threatened it, Bassett did it.

We take the best player available though. We're just lucky this is a midfield draft. Of course, it may not come to that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


There are some conundrums with this kid.

1. He has very strong historical football ties with his home state, it is impossible for us keyboard jockeys to assess the risk of the go home factor.

2. He is unlikey to make a concerted impact for a few years due to his body type, if he does want to go home after developing in our system for a while then it is quite possible that his trade value wil drop.

There is a significant risk of paying top price for this kid, then selling him off at a discount. Obviously the club is in a better position to assess this risk than I am.

Edited by dandeeman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've taken the "class" option a lot in recent years and it hasn't paid off - we need to get a meat & potatoes mid in next year who can impact straight away (like a Wines or Rich) and help our class mids develop.

Apart from Toumpas who are these class mids you talk about?

Who ever we get needs to have class, good skills particularly by foot, good decision maker etc.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are some conundrums with this kid.

1. He has very strong historical football ties with his home state, it is impossible for us keyboard jockeys to assess the risk of the go home factor.

2. He is unlikey to make a concerted impact for a few years due to his body type, if he does want to go home after developing in our system for a while then it is quite possible that his trade value wil drop.

There is a significant risk of paying top price for this kid, then selling him off at a discount. Obviously the club is in a better position to assess this risk than I am.

I think that risk is negligible, and you face the same risk with all interstate draftees.

The track record for players going back to SA from VIC is a lot lower than players going back to WA or leaving QLD.

This really isn't a consideration for mine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've taken the "class" option a lot in recent years and it hasn't paid off - we need to get a meat & potatoes mid in next year who can impact straight away (like a Wines or Rich) and help our class mids develop.

Trade period logic, for ya.

We haven't had success with draftig classy mids, so give up on them...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that risk is negligible, and you face the same risk with all interstate draftees.

The track record for players going back to SA from VIC is a lot lower than players going back to WA or leaving QLD.

This really isn't a consideration for mine.

Sadly I think it becoming more of a concern with the expansion clubs making it easy for kids, not only to go home but to the club of thier choice.

If he is considered to be a likeliehood to go go home in 2 years, we are not going to get pick 2 back for him.

I am normally in your camp, but I think that in this particular case the risk needs consideration.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Demonland Forums  

  • Match Previews, Reports & Articles  

    PREGAME: Rd 17 vs West Coast

    The Demons return to Melbourne in Round 17 to take on the Eagles on Sunday as they look to bounce back from a devastating and heartbreaking last minute loss to the Lions at the Gabba. Who comes in and who goes out?

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 25

    PODCAST: Rd 16 vs Brisbane

    The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 1st July @ 8:30pm. Join George, Binman & I as we analyse the Demons loss at the Gabba against the Lions in the Round 16. You questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human. Listen & Chat LIV

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 15

    VOTES: Rd 16 vs Brisbane

    Captain Max Gawn has a considerable lead over the injured reigning champion Christian Petracca in the Demonland Player of the Year Award. Steven May, Alex Neal-Bullen & Jack Viney make up the Top 5. Your votes for the loss against the Lions. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 22

    POSTGAME: Rd 16 vs Brisbane

    The Demons once again went goalless in the last quarter and were run down by the Lions at the Gabba in the final minutes of the match ultimately losing the game by 5 points as their percentage dips below 100 for the first time since 2020. 

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 407

    GAMEDAY: Rd 16 vs Brisbane

    It's Game Day and the Dees are deep in the heart of enemy territory as they take on the Lions in Brisbane under the Friday Night Lights at the Gabba. Will the Demon finally be awakened and the season get back on track or will they meekly be sacrificed like lambs to the slaughter?

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 920

    UNBACKABLE by The Oracle

    They’re billing the Brisbane Lions as a sleeping giant — the best team outside the top eight —and based on their form this month they’re a definite contender for September AFL action. Which is not exactly the best of news if you happen to be Melbourne, the visiting team this week up at the Gabba.  Even though they are placed ahead of their opponent on the AFL table, and they managed to stave off defeat in their last round victory over North Melbourne, this week’s visitors to the Sunshi

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Previews

    WILDCARDS by KC from Casey

    Casey’s season continued to drift into helplessness on Sunday when they lost another home game by a narrow margin, this time six points, in their Round 13 clash with North Melbourne’s VFL combination. The game was in stunning contrast to their last meeting at the same venue when Casey won the VFL Wildcard Match by 101 points. Back then, their standout players were Brodie Grundy and James Jordon who are starring in the AFL with ladder leaders, the Sydney Swans (it turned out to be their last

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Casey Articles

    LIFE SUPPORT by Whispering Jack

    With Melbourne’s season hanging on a thread, Saturday night’s game against North Melbourne unfolded like a scene in a hospital emergency department.  The patient presented to the ward in a bad way. Doctors and nurses pumped life-saving medication into his body and, in the ensuing half hour, he responded with blood returning to his cheeks as he stirred back to life. After a slight relapse, the nurses pumped further medication into the bloodstream and the prognosis started looking good as the

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports 19

    PREGAME: Rd 16 vs Brisbane

    The Demons head back on the road for their fifth interstate trip this season when they head up to Brisbane to take on the Lions under lights on Friday night at the Gabba. Who comes in and who goes out?

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 381
  • Tell a friend

    Love Demonland? Tell a friend!

×
×
  • Create New...