It just amazes me that posters watching highlight tapes, which go for approx. 3 minutes, can proclaim certain players will be stars or that they are built like brick s***houses so can go into our midfield straight away.

These posters often have never seen the said players play one game of footy but read the profiles and watch the highlights and are impressed, so that they profess to know exactly how this certain player will go in the AFL. "oh he has a great left foot......"He's as tough as they come"....."He is so composed".....They are playing against their peers and not against men in one of the hardest games in the world.

If I put all my highlights from my playing days on tape and posted it on DL, I have no doubt that someone would be impressed and say "Bossdog" should be picked at pick 40(pick 2 I would've thought)......Even though I would not put on tape my missed kicks....missed handballs....stuffed up shots at goal....missed tackles...etc.

I don't profess to know what the footy dept is thinking but I do know that they have been looking at these players for about 4 years and take into consideration how these players have gone and how they fit in to the style of footy wanted by the coaches.

That's why I never judge players by highlight tapes and sometimes I don't bother watching them at all.

The best way to assess a player's value is by watching him play or train in person. Next best is to watch full videos such as the Australian Under Championships where I saw some of the draft candidates.

I was disappointed to miss Brayshaw in the only final he played for the Dragons this year. He was named BOG but was injured late in that game. When I went to see him on preliminary final day he was selected but didn't play. I saw a cameo of McCartin in the first week of the finals but he also went off the field.

I agree though that highlights packages don't tell a great deal. My favourite story is about a highlights package put together by some Carlton supporter of our Chris Johnson from a couple of games he played for us before going to the Blues. He was playing loose at half back and picked up lots of possessions on his own and kicking without being under any pressure. He looked fantastic and some Carlton fans thought they had the greatest steal ever on their hands. Go figure!

It just amazes me that posters watching highlight tapes, which go for approx. 3 minutes, can proclaim certain players will be stars or that they are built like brick s***houses so can go into our midfield straight away.

These posters often have never seen the said players play one game of footy but read the profiles and watch the highlights and are impressed, so that they profess to know exactly how this certain player will go in the AFL. "oh he has a great left foot......"He's as tough as they come"....."He is so composed".....They are playing against their peers and not against men in one of the hardest games in the world.

If I put all my highlights from my playing days on tape and posted it on DL, I have no doubt that someone would be impressed and say "Bossdog" should be picked at pick 40(pick 2 I would've thought)......Even though I would not put on tape my missed kicks....missed handballs....stuffed up shots at goal....missed tackles...etc.

I don't profess to know what the footy dept is thinking but I do know that they have been looking at these players for about 4 years and take into consideration how these players have gone and how they fit in to the style of footy wanted by the coaches.

agree 100%

Interestingly though - I posted earlier on Petracca - he has trouble hitting a target in his highlight reel - and the reel is meant to be a best of !

I don't think they should be discounted and poo pooed entirely, they are useful in giving an idea of the strengths of a player, as long as the viewer makes judgements in context.

I remember Cale's highlight tape and thought to myself "wow, we have a champion here coming through"

It amazes me that posters get so worked up about posters trying to be experts, (who completely know they're not) analysing which players have the best attributes from watching a highlights tape.

It's a football forum. What do you expecccccttttttt...

I remember Cale's highlight tape and thought to myself "wow, we have a champion here coming through"

Deeko I remember Cale's as well during his draft year and then going back to it again a few years later and watching his highlights. You could see why he was highly fancied at the time, a tall running utility type. He displayed every skill requirement, long kicking to position, intercept marking, breaking the lines, marking on the lead etc etc. Oddly enough he replicated a lot of this in first season and some in the next then it all went downhill from there.

Deeko I remember Cale's as well during his draft year and then going back to it again a few years later and watching his highlights. You could see why he was highly fancied at the time, a tall running utility type. He displayed every skill requirement, long kicking to position, intercept marking, breaking the lines, marking on the lead etc etc. Oddly enough he replicated a lot of this in first season and some in the next then it all went downhill from there.

agree earl.

he never developed the aggression and mongrel part of the game and never bulked up

but he certainly had a lot of the basics

just shows how much of the game is above the shoulders

Edited November 10, 201410 yr by daisycutter

I would definitely like to see a "lowlights" tape accompanying every draftee's video. It would be a larf, and might actually be a better depiction of some players' ability.