Meet gun prospect Ben Lennon

I particularly like the bottom line that goes:-

Lennon wants the ball in his hands at the big moments, a characteristic of all the best players. Kicks goals, takes some risks and understands the game. One of the top prospects available.

Sounds a lot like Sylvia.

Question is how good is he defensively

Sounds a lot like Sylvia.

Perhaps in some ways he might sound like Sylvia but I'm informed that he's always been a leader in his junior football, that he has an excellent work ethic and a good football brain. With all due respect to Colin (who I loved dearly when he played for us), some of those features might set them apart a little bit.

This put me off

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/2013-draft-discussion.1000946/page-90#post-30767854

This put me off

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/2013-draft-discussion.1000946/page-90#post-30767854

Makes interesting reading and shows the limitations of the highlights package. He has clean hands but after someone made the Silvia comment I was interested to see what his vision and awareness were like, unfortunately there was nothing to hook onto in the package.

This put me off

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/2013-draft-discussion.1000946/page-90#post-30767854

Me too. In fact I read that and immediately started thinking about Baghdad Bob's handful of duds in the top 10 every year. As I have no way of judging these players I find myself believing anything that sounds remotely thoughtful.

No doubt Roosy and the team are onto this. We will draft according to needs and best available. I for one very much trust their judgement - unlike other years. Nothing like a strong track record to build confidence....

If we don't get Freeman with pick 9, we have to go for Lennon

Lennon and longer were team mates at the McLeod Kangeroos.

This put me off

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/2013-draft-discussion.1000946/page-90#post-30767854

Good get. Quigley is a knowledgeable poster who has built up a fair bit of credibility over the years (although he can be long winded at times).

He puts forward a fairly convincing case against Lennon and, as stated above, it shows that you can't rely on highlights packages alone. However, our own recruiting people would also have their opinions on athleticism v pure football ability so it's best to leave things to them.

As I mentioned elsewhere, Cyril Rioli didn't set the world on fire in testing either and sometimes, the important thing about a player is determination, inner drive to succeed and natural talent, none of which can be measured by clock or tape.

I'm not sure that Diesel Williams or Stevie J would have come out of testing with glowing numbers either.

If we don't get Freeman with pick 9, we have to go for Lennon

No, we don't actually.

However, our own recruiting people would also have their opinions on athleticism v pure football ability so it's best to leave things to them.

Just for completeness, what's the alternative?

Just for completeness, what's the alternative?

Bad turn of phrase but my alternative is:

The club recruits players on the basis of supporter preferences as expressed on Demonland polls.

Would have achieved some good outcomes in past years.

This put me off

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/2013-draft-discussion.1000946/page-90#post-30767854

Sounds similar to what was written about Tom Rockliff pre draft...

The club recruits players on the basis of supporter preferences as expressed on Demonland polls.

Would have achieved some good outcomes in past years.

A better alternative than Prendergast/Bailey and would have saved the club some coin.

Another view (pre combine) - Ben Lennon

After chatting with our draft guru Stevo (who is a fan of Lennon), I thought I would catch up with the Vic Metro v Vic Country game which I kept on IQ on Foxtel and lo and behold, when they were discussing Lennon during the game, a caption crossed the screen telling us he had good athleticism.

Just a theory but what if he was having a bad day or two during testing at the Draft Combine?

And I still wonder how the champions of the past would have gone if they had such testing back in the day? How would "Lethal" or "Diesel" have gone had they been put through the Draft Combine?

If we can't pick up Sheed or Freeman (preferably Freeman) go for this guy.

Fwiw, not much, I reckon Quigley is the best judge of junior footy players on BF.

Good write up by Q, surprised by the combine results, but I think he undersells Lennon's IQ, decision-making and skills.

Steve Johnson isn't a fantastic athlete.

Nor is Rockliff, as someone else mentioned.

In the end, he's too much of a gamble when we really need a pure mid, and for balance an explosive one.

It's now Freeman for me, from Salem then Sheed.

Wouldn't be disappointed if we picked him up. That 'booming' kick of his - if played off half-back - would suit Roo's slingshot footy.

Its Freeman at pick 9 for me ... but if he is gone, Ben Lennon is my next call.