What makes you say that?

We clearly got our picks wrong, what proportion of that though is due to recruiter incompetence (as opposed to poor player development or just plain rotten luck). I'm assuming you know something about the way the MFC operated that we don't.

I think it is fair to say that our recruiting team failed for a long time. You can forgive them for getting the odd one wrong, but they got SO MANY high picks wrong. It can't possibly all be bad luck.

The wrong types of players were selected to play the wrong style of footy.

Edited October 18, 201411 yr by jabberwocky

What makes you say that?

We clearly got our picks wrong, what proportion of that though is due to recruiter incompetence (as opposed to poor player development or just plain rotten luck). I'm assuming you know something about the way the MFC operated that we don't.

We got so many of our picks wrong that Harry Houdini as player development manager would not conjure a capable AFL player out of them.

To have failed to convert so many top 20 picks to capable AFL footballers is embarrassing.

IMO we have failed on character judgment in determining the capability to make it AFL level. Morton, Watts, Cook, Gysberts Blease are all examples of this.

And 2ndly IMO we have been screaming out for quality midfielders over the past 7 years we have recruited a number of players who are tweeners ( Tapscott,Bennell),that cant cut it in the midfield and dont have the skill to cut it elsewhere. We took too few true midfielders when we had the picks.

While we took Watts and Jetta (pick 50s) in the 2008 draft, we could have a solved our midfield issues in one draft but we comprehensively shot blanks in a quality and deep in talent draft.

There is no doubt we have stuffed the player development in a couple of cases but we drafted many of our problems before we had a chance to develop/ mould them

Ah Rhino. You have been conspicuous in your absence. Where have you been my old china?

We got so many of our picks wrong that Harry Houdini as player development manager would not conjure a capable AFL player out of them.

To have failed to convert so many top 20 picks to capable AFL footballers is embarrassing.

IMO we have failed on character judgment in determining the capability to make it AFL level. Morton, Watts, Cook, Gysberts Blease are all examples of this.

And 2ndly IMO we have been screaming out for quality midfielders over the past 7 years we have recruited a number of players who are tweeners ( Tapscott,Bennell),that cant cut it in the midfield and dont have the skill to cut it elsewhere. We took too few true midfielders when we had the picks.

While we took Watts and Jetta (pick 50s) in the 2008 draft, we could have a solved our midfield issues in one draft but we comprehensively shot blanks in a quality and deep in talent draft.

There is no doubt we have stuffed the player development in a couple of cases but we drafted many of our problems before we had a chance to develop/ mould them

First post since April. Typically comes out swinging.

On the attitude players, there's no doubt that Cook and Gysberts were utter failures from the recruiters. As for the others, I wonder if the environment we brought them in to was simply all wrong for them (that is, the Dean Bailey laissez faire love-in style of coaching). I suspect, though we'll never know, that Blease, Watts and/or Morton would be better players now if they'd been brought into a harder, tougher environment in their formative years.

The only reason everyone was in such a flap about Wines was because nobody paid any attention to Toumpas at all, because everyone assumed he'd be gone by our pick. All the discussion at the time was around Wines vs O'Rourke.

I don't know why people find it so hard to believe that maybe Todd just thought Toumpas was a better player, like every other commentator in the business, professional or amateur.

The overwhelming sentiment immediately before and after the draft was "poor Wines, how must he feel, joining a basket case in Port Adelaide, thought he was a sure thing to join his best mate Viney at the dees until just recently when GWS' intentions became clearer, leaving a better kid in Toumpas slipping through that we couldn't pass up based on a romantic notion of longtime mates playing together..."

We got so many of our picks wrong that Harry Houdini as player development manager would not conjure a capable AFL player out of them.

Harry Houdini made things disappear. I feel like we've done a pretty good job of making our high draft picks disappear too.

Harry Houdini made things disappear. I feel like we've done a pretty good job of making our high draft picks disappear too.

Its intriguing that on demonland, Toumpas is a big thumbs down so far and Salem is a thumbs up, despite Salem averaging 6.7 possessions in his 12 games. Now granted some of that is skewed by being the sub but he passed 10 possessions once !!

Toumpas at least did that 12 out of 18 games.

I think both have talent but Toumpas will be the one Roos will be asking to step up in his third year, as he is now out of the nursery.

other sides dont have to rush their new draftees into the side some dont play for a couple of years allowing them to mature and learn in the VFL, our guys are getting pushed up and down between AFL and VFL so are under the microscope far earlier than other sides.

Its intriguing that on demonland, Toumpas is a big thumbs down so far and Salem is a thumbs up, despite Salem averaging 6.7 possessions in his 12 games. Now granted some of that is skewed by being the sub but he passed 10 possessions once !!

Toumpas at least did that 12 out of 18 games.

I think both have talent but Toumpas will be the one Roos will be asking to step up in his third year, as he is now out of the nursery.

It's simple really.

Pick 4 = Cale Morton

Pick 4 = Jimmy Toumpas

Therefore Toumpas = Morton

Salem miles ahead of the toump? Miles? Funny how people can judge players so differently. He's not soft either - or at least that's my opinion

Salem miles ahead of the toump? Miles? Funny how people can judge players so differently. He's not soft either - or at least that's my opinion

I haven't seen enough of either of them to make a definitive judgement re toughness. At many good clubs, they may not have even debuted yet. And yet here we are discussing whether they are or are not scared.

I think it is fair to say that our recruiting team failed for a long time. You can forgive them for getting the odd one wrong, but they got SO MANY high picks wrong. It can't possibly all be bad luck.

The wrong types of players were selected to play the wrong style of footy.

Just to stir the pot once more, I think its equally logical to argue that it's likely impossible to stuff up so many draft choices, so the development of said draftees must be the problem.

Just to stir the pot once more, I think its equally logical to argue that it's likely impossible to stuff up so many draft choices, so the development of said draftees must be the problem.

I think it is entirely possible if BP consistently looked at the same "qualities" that had little to no value over the ones that mattered.

Watts

Scully

Trengrove

Blease

Strauss

Morton

Cook

Tapscott

Maric

Toumpas

Gysberts

Each and every one a very high or high pick who has or will (Toumpas) be looked back upon as a terrible pick. We can blame injuries, development, whatever you like. The fact remains not one of them is an above average footballer, Many are down right ordinary. That's not bad recruiting it's an absolute disgrace. The people responsible make the whole human race look stupid. We have so many plodders it's hard to imagine us ever being good again.

Edited October 21, 201411 yr by Roost It