Four Failed Drafts

[olisik 4,060]

We need ready made players to make an impact. My view is that it has backfired as Dunstan and Kelly are definitely having a bigger impact then Salem and Tyson at the moment.

[Little Richard 6,262]

http://m.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/if-youre-a-melbourne-supporter-look-away-now-demons-draft-bungles-aplenty/story-fni5f91a-1226881324821?from=herald+sun_rss

Written by Sam Edmund, enough said.

I cannot believe a 'journalist' would write something like that. What a pleb.

To say that we'll be haunted by the decision to overlook Kelly before Salem has even debuted is total rubbish.

[Grapeviney 9,717]

Meh, it's the media's need to always frame things in terms of winner and losers.

Even without seeing Salem yet, I reckon this will be a win-win. Tyson's form so far speaks for itself.

[olisik 4,060]

Meh, it's the media's need to always frame things in terms of winner and losers.

Even without seeing Salem yet, I reckon this will be a win-win. Tyson's form so far speaks for itself.

We messed up. Lots of people are justifying it but we traded to get ready made midfielders.

At the moment we have Tyson who is good when instead we could have had both Kelly and Dunstan right now. Thats 2 ready made mids. So currently we are down by 1 ready made mid.

Long term Salem may be good but my money is that Kelly will be better. Tyson and Dunstan will probably be similair long term.

Only way we can come out on top is if Salem is better then Kelly, which is something I would not put my money on.

People are gonna keep saying "We haven't seen Salem yet", probably the same people who kept saying "we havnt seen Cook yet".

[rpfc 28,387]

You cannot judge that trade 3 games in and not sound foolish.

It looks a good trade at this stage but don't kid yourself that you know how it turns out.

[Moonshadow 17,676]

Garry Lyon in The Age:

"Compare that to Melbourne, which selected Tom Scully at one, Jack Trengrove two, Jordan Gysberts 11, Luke Tapscott 18 and Max Gawn 34....

And for those who have stunk it up royally - and there are plenty who have been spared the public hanging of others held responsible - they too should be held to account."

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/recruiters-the-afls-bestvalue-recruits-20140411-zqtfa.html#ixzz2ycPRhAYe

[TRIGON 4,783]

Whatever we do in the next draft, lets hope we get it Wright!

[Generation dee 1,336]

We need ready made players to make an impact. My view is that it has backfired as Dunstan and Kelly are definitely having a bigger impact then Salem and Tyson at the moment.

Polly want a cracker?

[Ted Lasso 19,513]

I still think Dom Tyson is as impressive as Kelly, he is an inside player with great run and outside skills, just what we needed, and alot of good judges rate Salem just as highly as Kelly anyway, we need to wait until Chrisitan fires a shot but i reckon over the next 10 years both sides will feel they won this trade.

[olisik 4,060]

I still think Dom Tyson is as impressive as Kelly, he is an inside player with great run and outside skills, just what we needed, and alot of good judges rate Salem just as highly as Kelly anyway, we need to wait until Chrisitan fires a shot but i reckon over the next 10 years both sides will feel they won this trade.

The problem is Kelly is ready to go. Salem isnt. We did the trade for ready to go players.

Yes we have Tyson but we could have had Dunstan at the same time who is also provides some grunt.

I am just concerned

[samcantstandya 1,045]

I wouldn't say Jones has improved. More like those around him have gotten worse and naturally he gets more of the ball. If you look at his statistics you'll see that if anything he's remained consistently good, but has not made the jump into A-grade territory, and for all the praise he gets from Dees fans, is not ranked top 50 (he is like 80 something).

Harsh reality is that this club can pick talent, but ultimately doesn't know how to transition that talent into star potential. Watts, Frawley, Jones, look, they're all great, but really should be BETTER than they are.

Jones for example shouldn't be going a fourth quarter without a touch against a midfield of mainly 30-40 gamers at GWS. That is very telling.

I love Jonesy to death but like I've said in another thread, he is simply going through the motions. There is not a single player on the team that takes the game by the balls. Not a single one. And there hasn't been since Jurrah left.

I'm sick of "Yeah but they try hard and work their butts off". If that were true there would be results. There isn't.

Winning games isn't rocket science. But trust Melbourne to be the team to turn winning a game of football into something similarly as incomprehensible as the Higgs Boson.

We have no matchwinners. Jurrah was & Clarke, but alas no more.

[Ted Lasso 19,513]

The problem is Kelly is ready to go. Salem isnt. We did the trade for ready to go players.

Yes we have Tyson but we could have had Dunstan at the same time who is also provides some grunt.

I am just concerned

Roos is making an example of Salem to show how young players should be developed, i'd be surprised if Kelly wasn't being treated the same, not because it's right or wrong but to change the way the club views young talent

[Redleg 40,902]

Roos is making an example of Salem to show how young players should be developed, i'd be surprised if Kelly wasn't being treated the same, not because it's right or wrong but to change the way the club views young talent

Salem was also ill pre season and didn't do all the work.

It is therefore prudent to allow him to gain form and confidence, before throwing him to the wolves.

I think it is fair to say all clubs make mistakes in drafting/trading.

The problem with the MFC, is in recent years, at least up to Jason Taylor commencing, it appears we got hardly any right.

To make matters worse 2 of those we did get right, in Clark and Jurrah, have now gone.

[Guest]

As far as Salem/Tyson vs. Kelly/Dunstan goes, the media need to be reminded that sometimes trades work for both parties.

Look at the Salmon/Jarman/Wellman and Barnard trade of '96.
Salmon won two best and fairests.

Jarman pretty much won two GF's off his own boot.
Wellman and Barnard were 100 game plus players for Essendon.

Why can't that happen this time around?

[Ted Lasso 19,513]

As far as Salem/Tyson vs. Kelly/Dunstan goes, the media need to be reminded that sometimes trades work for both parties.

Look at the Salmon/Jarman/Wellman and Barnard trade of '96.

Salmon won two best and fairests.

Jarman pretty much won two GF's off his own boot.

Wellman and Barnard were 100 game plus players for Essendon.

Why can't that happen this time around?

It's also important to consider that Dunstan is not the other person in this trade, he went pick 18 if we took Kelly would would have missed out on him anyway, It's Tyson/Salem vs Kelly/Leslie

[Vanilla Gorilla 204]

I find it laughable that the Edmund piece refers to Kelly as a "once in a decade player," when he went pick 2 that year. He wasn't even the best player in that draft, let alone the decade!

Another example of sensationalist journalism designed to grab attention and create headlines.

Ignore.

[titan_uranus 25,014]

No excuses now on that score.

If we have players that have been the victim of poor development then they will shine through now.

I don't think that will be many players - I don't see a great deal of talent amongst a lot of our list and Roos is not going to be able to get blood from a stone.

Loved to be proved wrong.

It's unprovable isn't it? Development or Recruiting?

I am still yet to see a kid hampered by our development flourish in another environment.

I don't agree that it's unprovable, but if you want to say it's difficult to determine, I'll go that far.

Nonetheless, it is most definitely not entirely drafting, and I don't agree that it's mainly drafting with bad development at the fringes. The evidence just doesn't support that. The players we took should all have gone on to have either A-grade careers (Morton, Watts, Trengove) or maybe B-grade (Blease, Strauss, Grimes). Maybe even C-grade. But none of them are there. None. The common thread is the fact that they all came into the MFC environment.

As for the argument that some have gone elsewhere but not flourished, one of those is Gysberts who I am conceding was a clear drafting error. He wasn't good enough and it surprised no one that he didn't make it at North. As for Morton, he spent his formative years with us, and I would suggest that the 'damage', if that's the right word, that was done to his career prospects is not readily undone 5 years later. He also went to West Coast, a team with a plethora of midfielders.

[Sir Why You Little 37,034]

I will add we have not drafted any leaders either.

This i think is the biggest failing of the club in the past 8 years.

None of them have stood up during a match as a leader.

[titan_uranus 25,014]

I will add we have not drafted any leaders either.

This i think is the biggest failing of the club in the past 8 years.

None of them have stood up during a match as a leader.

Not drafted, or not developed?

Grimes was captain of the Northern Knights. We drafted a leader there.

[Sir Why You Little 37,034]

Not drafted, or not developed?

Grimes was captain of the Northern Knights. We drafted a leader there.

and when has he shown leadership...Seriously?

Grimes is an honest battler. Wish he was more but it is not there.

[titan_uranus 25,014]

and when has he shown leadership...Seriously?

Grimes is an honest battler. Wish he was more but it is not there.

Didn't say he had.

My point is that we did draft leaders. The issue is what happened to them after they got here.

[Sir Why You Little 37,034]

Didn't say he had.

My point is that we did draft leaders. The issue is what happened to them after they got here.

Well i don't think Grimes is a natural leader. He wants to be but it just isn't in him when the game is on.

His performance last week was a good example.

He was very quiet in that last Q.

How can he lead when he turns the ball over so regularly.....

[rjay 24,919]

The problem is Kelly is ready to go. Salem isnt. We did the trade for ready to go players.

Yes we have Tyson but we could have had Dunstan at the same time who is also provides some grunt.

I am just concerned

Tyson is probably leading our B&F at the moment so I reckon he is going ok.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Didn't say he had.

My point is that we did draft leaders. The issue is what happened to them after they got here.

Agree. The folly of throwing Grimes and Trengove to the captaincy of an underwhelming side when so young has damaged the confidence and development of both players.

Roos is to be applauded for allowing Salem to build his football confidence in the VFL where Trengove and Toumpas are seeking to resurrect their confidence.

[rhaz 342]

Roos just said that we didn't have Kelly at pick 2 if we kept that that pick.