Given our pitiful performance last week we are an excellent chance to loose to GWS, if they can win another then we may well end up with no 1 pick. With no 1 pick we should be able to do a deal with a bulldog or other low level club to swap no 1 for their 3rd or 4th pick and a b grade mid. That is unless we get accused of tanking again!

Don't think they would be game to accuse us of Tanking given the actions of GWS AND WCE in recent weeks.

Given our pitiful performance last week we are an excellent chance to loose to GWS, if they can win another then we may well end up with no 1 pick. With no 1 pick we should be able to do a deal with a bulldog or other low level club to swap no 1 for their 3rd or 4th pick and a b grade mid. That is unless we get accused of tanking again!

A B Grade mid is no use to us. We have to deal higher than that.

It will be year 7.

it's a sad reflection of where we are as a club isn't it?

Noone wants to come here, Josh Caddy refused talks last year even though we could have offered the best possible deal to GC for him, Luke Ball had no interest in being a demon and i imagine that Taylor Adams may be going through something similar.

We quickly need to fix these issues and become an attractive destination for players or we are just going to keep losing and missing out on talent and being a club fringe players go for a pay rise.

Well I am quite positive about that. This club has been turned on its head this season and thankfully so. A new board, admin and coach plus AFL support may make us the next new big thing in the near future. There is a postive buzz and good things are starting to happen. This season is already in the past.

We cannot afford to "stay the course" as the course we are on is not going anywhere...

We can't afford not to.

If you mean 'who do you think we'll get for pick 2 in the draft'...

No, that wasn't what I meant...

I don't think any club has successfully traded many early picks for a mid-field. They may have traded later picks for some top-ups, but the best midfields have always come from developing draft choices. Even Sydney's much-vaunted midfield has come largely from draft picks, many of them quite late:

McVeigh #5 2002

Hanneberry #30 2008

O'Keefe #56 1999

Mitchell #21 2011(F/S)

Malcejski #64 2002

K Jack Rookie elevation 2007

Goodes #43 1997

B Jack Rookie Draft #58 2013

Jetta #13 2009

Kennedy, Bolton and McGlynn have been trades. Bolton came to them for #8 to Geelong, but it was way back in 1998.

Richmond's best (Deledio, Martin, Cotchin), and the basis of their rising strength, were all draftees.

Judd is the only midfielder in recent history I can think of that has warranted a high first-round draft pick, so if we were going to trade #2, a player of that level is what I'd want. I doubt there will be any available.

The last thing I want is to waste a valuable draft pick with some knee-jerk reaction based on impatience about progress.

It is quite funny how six years of utter failure from the club can be "knee jerk"

No, that wasn't what I meant...

Nothing less than A graders with pick 2. I've already mentioned Kennedy a few times. I've also noted that if nothing falls our way, then we go to the draft.

i think sheed or aish would be a long way from a failure

Luke Ball did everything he could to dodge us. Time to stop dreaming.

no, not time to stop dreaming, but it is time to wakeup to why hard working players don't want to come to this club... i think we can all start to see the truth now,, its smashing us all in the face.

It is quite funny how six years of utter failure from the club can be "knee jerk"

I didn't say that. Six years of failure isn't knee-jerk. But a hasty, ill-considered reaction in one draft to six years of failure would be. It was the OP's contention that we must trade pick #2 without establishing any criteria.

No other club would think about giving up pick #2 for anything other than the best of elite players.

A B Grade mid is no use to us. We have to deal higher than that.

It will be year 7.

By the reports in the Hun this morning, both Dayle Garlett and Adams (GWS) might be available as a straight draft pick-up without having to trade? Both would be ready to have an impact immediately.

Also I want us to go after Andrew Gaff big time, when his contract is nearing term. (apparently (2014) so we must get in his ear over summer & thru next season... he'll be approaching 22 Yrs at the end of his current contract, the perfect time to bring him home.

Underline, bold and add an exclamation mark.

t

By the reports in the Hun this morning, both Dayle Garlett and Adams (GWS) might be available as a straight draft pick-up without having to trade? Both would be ready to have an impact immediately.

If the MFC was even half smart (regardless of what other clubs did) they would have picked Garlett as a late rookie last year, even if they let him stay in the WAFL for most of the year. No other club was going to pick him up and we had very little to lose. This club needs to think outside the box because Garlett was a top 10 on ability alone and now he is going to be highly sought after with clubs having to use a competitive ND selection rather than a cheap rookie pick.

If the MFC was even half smart (regardless of what other clubs did) they would have picked Garlett as a late rookie last year, even if they let him stay in the WAFL for most of the year. No other club was going to pick him up and we had very little to lose. This club needs to think outside the box because Garlett was a top 10 on ability alone and now he is going to be highly sought after with clubs having to use a competitive ND selection rather than a cheap rookie pick.

Dont be silly, Garlett only put in the hard yards after being shunned, had we drafted him as a rookie and left him in the WAFL it would have achieved no purpose. I have watched Garlett closely in 2012 & 2013, it's like watching two different players. There is a reason and a very good reason (trust me) why every club left him alone

love the idea of gaff! get on that!

I would love a dynamic mid that does both - but there are not many of those available (or at all). But I would never sneeze at anyone who can get 15 to 20 uncontested possessions a game.

We need run and confidence more than hard ball gets.

No point having Gaff sit out on the wing waiting for the ball if nobody can get it to give to him.

No point having Gaff sit out on the wing waiting for the ball if nobody can get it to give to him.

Ok, our problem isn't that there is a guy on wing in space waiting for nobody; our problems is that the bloke 'out the back' (that would normally get the handpass to then kick to the Gaff-like player) gets sucked into the contest because they don't trust their teammate to get it to them, and the Gaff-like player that is supposed to be running to space on the wing doesn't bother because A. he is too worried about his own bloke, and B. he doesn't think his teammates will be able to get the ball, get it out the back, and kick it to him.

Takes a while to rebuild trust in teammates.

Edited July 30, 201312 yr by rpfc

Ok, our problem isn't that there is a guy on wing in space waiting for nobody; our problems is that the bloke 'out the back' (that would normally get the handpass to then kick to the Gaff-like player) gets sucked into the contest because they don't trust their teammate to get it to them, and the Gaff-like player that is supposed to be running to space on the wing doesn't bother because A. he is too worried about his own bloke, and B. he doesn't think his teammates will be able to get the ball, get it out the back, and kick it to him.

Takes a while to rebuild trust in teammates.

Anyone can spread, except us, who saw the replays of Jude Bolton spreading on the OTC last night what a running machine, not bad for a recycled player it's called work rate.

love the idea of gaff! get on that!

Melbourne supporter as a kid and I'm pretty sure we've already had a crack before he signed last time.

Nothing less than A graders with pick 2. I've already mentioned Kennedy a few times. I've also noted that if nothing falls our way, then we go to the draft.

Nothing will.

Then draft it is. I'm simply advocating that we explore all avenues.

I cannot see an established player worthy of pick #2 wanting to come to Melbourne at the moment. I think we need to go the youth route and build a team around Hogan, Viney, Watts and Toumpas.

In saying that, generally the top few prospects in any draft are overrated (because it is unknown how they will adjust to AFL intensity) and clubs would be better of splitting high picks down the draft order. For instance #2 might be able to be split into #8 and #10. Given clubs have different orders of priority, this would potentially give us our sixth and eighth preferred player for the cost of our second priority. In this draft, where there is one ‘LeBron James pick’ (Tom Boyd) and a dozen or so high quality mids, this should be strongly considered.

Gaff, Fife, Martin, Slone all excite me. I disagree, we need to trade our pick 2. Assuming we receive a priority pick (and lets assume pick 5) I believe this should be our draft list:

Pick 2 - Inside midfielder from TAC Cup

Pri. Pick 5 - Trade for a player above

Pick 20ish- Inside midfielder in TAC Cup

Pick 20ish - Trade for inside midfielder at another club (Trading Fitzpatrick unfortunatly for a pick in 2nd round)

Pick 40ish - Small Forward/Backman

Pick 60ish - VFL Midfielder

Lets not trade Fitzpatrick. He could take another step forward next year. He is my first choice for e ruck/forward role given i don't want to see Clark anywhere near a ruck contest next year.

Lets not trade Fitzpatrick. He could take another step forward next year. He is my first choice for e ruck/forward role given i don't want to see Clark anywhere near a ruck contest next year.

I wonder if we'll see Clark anywhere the park next year. More reason to keep Fitz.