The NAB Challenge

[KingDingAling 3,758]

Footscray are cactus. The wheels are exploding now.

What a great start fore the new coach!!

Club will be gone within 5 years. Maybe sooner.

The AFL are predominately socialist, they won't be folding/merging any club.

Commonsense doesn't prevail with this mob, lucky for us I guess.

[daisycutter 29,622]

The AFL are predominately socialist, they won't be folding/merging any club.

Commonsense doesn't prevail with this mob, lucky for us I guess.

first time i heard a greedy, profit-oriented, capitalistic outfit called socialist, let alone predominantly socialist

but.....i get what you mean

while they are committed by their tv rights contract to provide 9 games per week they aren't going to cut teams

[s-t-i-n-g-a 439]

Port are getting smashed by the crows...not sure how much NAB means for the real season.

[hardtack 10,555]

Port are getting smashed by the crows...not sure how much NAB means for the real season.

Didn't you know... they're going to be fighting us for the spoon.

[s-t-i-n-g-a 439]

Didn't you know... they're going to be fighting us for the spoon.

And now the Pies are being smashed by the Dogs.

[Sir Why You Little 37,052]

The Filth are being smacked around.

Practice Matches are like that.

[DubDee 25,917]

Bontempelli is unbelievable for a second year player. Could be the best player in the league in a few years

[dees189227 12,394]

are we meant to feel good because we beat the dogs and they are currently thrashing the pies by 8 goals.

[DemonOX 8,791]

are we meant to feel good because we beat the dogs and they are currently thrashing the pies by 8 goals.

No its just good to c the magpies get thumped

[chook fowler 19,459]

I love Nathan Jones but I get pi$$ed off when he says stuff like last nights effort was a kick in the backside. I would have thought our arses would be still pretty battered and bruised from the last few years. better off saying it was a poor performance for which there was no excuse.

[dees189227 12,394]

Bontempelli is unbelievable for a second year player. Could be the best player in the league in a few years

isnt it so frustrating when players from other teams that are top 5 picks play so well and we look at ours and wonder when they will perform

[rhaz 342]

Reckon collingwood fans are overreacting as badly as ours did last night?

[whatwhat say what 22,783]

yup.

[Moonshadow 17,676]

Port are getting smashed by the crows...not sure how much NAB means for the real season.

The Filth are being smacked around.

Practice Matches are like that.

are we meant to feel good because we beat the dogs and they are currently thrashing the pies by 8 goals.

Let's keep thinking that, hey, and the loss to the Dons won't feel so bad, not to mention the second half fade out to a vastly undermanned WB. I don't give a flying [censored] about what other games are doing. I wanted desperately to beat Freo, Dogs and Essendon to get off to a great start to the season.... everything else and all other excuses are bs and our usual MFCSS responses. I'm angry and god damned hungry for wins! Give them to me before I bite the head off a kitten!!! Come on round 1...

[samcantstandya 1,057]

Let's keep thinking that, hey, and the loss to the Dons won't feel so bad, not to mention the second half fade out to a vastly undermanned WB. I don't give a flying [censored] about what other games are doing. I wanted desperately to beat Freo, Dogs and Essendon to get off to a great start to the season.... everything else and all other excuses are bs and our usual MFCSS responses. I'm angry and god damned hungry for wins! Give them to me before I bite the head off a kitten!!! Come on round 1...

Since my logo is a cat. I hope u were speaking metaphorically.

[SaberFang 7,151]

Reckon collingwood fans are overreacting as badly as ours did last night?

Before I even opened this thread, I knew I'd find an asinine comparison like this after tonight's game.

When did Collingwood last win a premiership? 5 YEARS AGO.

When did Collingwood last play a grand final? 4 YEARS AGO.

When did Collingwood last not play finals, before last year? 2005.

When did Collingwood last finish in the bottom 5? 10 YEARS AGO.

When did Collingwood last finish in the bottom 5 for EIGHT CONSECUTIVE YEARS? NEVER.

When did Collingwood last have one of their best players leave the club each year? RHETORICAL QUESTION!

Collingwood can afford to be half-arsed in practice matches, just as Port Adelaide and Hawthorn have. They can afford to stay in second gear and avoid injuries for the season proper, because they have a familiar coach and a familiar game plan, and winning cultures.

None of those teams are even remotely fair comparisons to us, under a coach desperate to establish a winning culture. A coach who treated the NAB Challenge like Round 1, by picking his best 22 available players. We have no right nor luxury to be as brazen as last year's finalists after the last decade of mediocrity. If anyone from our club dared to excuse their poor performances by pointing to the losses of other, successful clubs' in the NAB Challenge it would be the most damning indictment of our playing list imaginable.

[bing181 9,246]

isnt it so frustrating when players from other teams that are top 5 picks play so well ...

No. Nature of the draft.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

isnt it so frustrating when players from other teams that are top 5 picks play so well and we look at ours and wonder when they will perform

I couldn't agree more.

[Redleg 40,971]

isnt it so frustrating when players from other teams that are top 5 picks play so well and we look at ours and wonder when they will perform

And there we have it.

[Redleg 40,971]

No. Nature of the draft.

No its not, it's the nature of our drafting.

Hopefully since Roos, we have got it right.

[The Song Formerly Known As 6,479]

No its not, it's the nature of our drafting.

.

And this sums it up in one sentence.

We have fudged too many picks for it

Just to be "bad luck".

As soon as Roos took over and things shifted in the trade/drafting department, look at who we picked up: jkh, Salem, Vanders, Newton, frost, Lumumba, cross, Garlett, Bradshaw, Petracca etc.

And before Roos? Well I don't even want to comment

[Whispering_Jack 30,239]

Which makes tonight's match huge for us.

We need the percentage to jump into the 8.

Tragically, that didn't happen but I really do believe in that adage about every cloud having a silver lining. As the dust from Friday's humiliating result against a team with four top ups picked up from a Corn Flakes packet, we learn that our NAB Challenge percentage improved and remained in the 90's and thanks to the Bullies' big victory we finish ahead of the Magpies.

The men I blame for our overall woes and our failure to make the eight over this torrid period of a little over a fortnight are Mark Neeld and Neil Craig who were in the Bombers' coaching box and I'm told haven't stopped giggling since Friday night. They must be on something.

Brisbane 2½ ½ 196 157 124.84 10

GWS Giants 2 0 191 110 173.64 8

Western Bulldogs 2 1 266 190 140.00 8

North Melbourne 2 1 285 268 106.34 8

Adelaide 2 1 275 260 105.77 8

GC Suns 1½ 1½ 200 228 87.72 6

Richmond 1 2 276 246 112.29 4

Hawthorn 1 2 289 240 120.42 4

___________________________________

Fremantle 1 1 117 108 108.33 4

Geelong 1 1 158 147 107.48 4

Melbourne 1 2 187 200 93.50 4

WC Eagles 1 1 127 136 93.38 4

Collingwood 1 2 234 258 90.69 4

Carlton 1 1 118 142 83.10 4

Port Adelaide 1 2 219 269 81.41 4

Sydney 1 1 104 131 79.39 4

St Kilda 1 2 195 254 76.77 4

Essendon 1 2 180 273 65.93 4

[Macca 17,005]

And this sums it up in one sentence.

We have fudged too many picks for it

Just to be "bad luck".

As soon as Roos took over and things shifted in the trade/drafting department, look at who we picked up: jkh, Salem, Vanders, Newton, frost, Lumumba, cross, Garlett, Bradshaw, Petracca etc.

And before Roos? Well I don't even want to comment

If we were talking about an exact science I'd agree with you but we're not ... we're talking about a glorified lucky dip (a lottery) Also ... Petracca, Brayshaw & Salem haven't done anything of real note yet.

I do tend to agree with you with our picks outside our top end picks (picks outside 1 through 5) ... that's where recruiters can use their expertise. However, outside of our top end picks, we've had a number of wins* (relatively speaking)

The stats prove to the football world that a top end draft pick will not guarantee you a top player ... there's just as much chance of drafting a bust as there is in drafting an A grader. (in terms of expectations) And if luck isn't on your side, it's entirely possible to continually draft busts ... that's how luck works sometimes.

Under 18 football really does fool a lot of people ... more so the recruiters than the general public. It's not what people want it to be. A club can have all the best experts in the world but under 18 footy is filled with players who have already reached their peak (or for various reasons these players don't progress past their last under age season) - the issue will always be in figuring out which ones have reached their peak (which is another major stumbling block)

And, no amount of 'top level' development will help in many cases ... these players are what they are. Eventually (and it may take another 10-20 years) people will come to terms with drafting. The other major issue is the age of those being drafted - these kids are way too young in order to be making accurate appraisals.

We're stuck with the system we have though so I just accept it for what it is. In other words, roll the dice and hope like hell for a win.

[Bossdog 2,002]

If we were talking about an exact science I'd agree with you but we're not ... we're talking about a glorified lucky dip (a lottery) Also ... Petracca, Brayshaw & Salem haven't done anything of real note yet.

I do tend to agree with you with our picks outside our top end picks (picks outside 1 through 5) ... that's where recruiters can use their expertise. However, outside of our top end picks, we've had a number of wins* (relatively speaking)

The stats prove to the football world that a top end draft pick will not guarantee you a top player ... there's just as much chance of drafting a bust as there is in drafting an A grader. (in terms of expectations) And if luck isn't on your side, it's entirely possible to continually draft busts ... that's how luck works sometimes.

Under 18 football really does fool a lot of people ... more so the recruiters than the general public. It's not what people want it to be. A club can have all the best experts in the world but under 18 footy is filled with players who have already reached their peak (or for various reasons these players don't progress past their last under age season) - the issue will always be in figuring out which ones have reached their peak (which is another major stumbling block)

And, no amount of 'top level' development will help in many cases ... these players are what they are. Eventually (and it may take another 10-20 years) people will come to terms with drafting. The other major issue is the age of those being drafted - these kids are way too young in order to be making accurate appraisals.

We're stuck with the system we have though so I just accept it for what it is. In other words, roll the dice and hope like hell for a win.

I agree with most of what you say Macca. Under the old system clubs had U16...U19...Reserves and the Senior side

All clubs had Zones, there were 12 clubs and any player from WA,SA Qld,Tas were open slather.(Or open cheque book)

I realised early on that under 18's is to young to tell about a player but if you don't pick them up then, well you wont get them at all

I believe that the TAC should be U19's......A year makes a lot of difference.....They would have finished school and spent 1 year working or Uni or what ever kids do after they finish school and they would have another year to develop.

The system we have now will continue and we will continue to have hits and misses as do ALL clubs.

[Macca 17,005]

I agree with most of what you say Macca. Under the old system clubs had U16...U19...Reserves and the Senior side

All clubs had Zones, there were 12 clubs and any player from WA,SA Qld,Tas were open slather.(Or open cheque book)

I realised early on that under 18's is to young to tell about a player but if you don't pick them up then, well you wont get them at all

I believe that the TAC should be U19's......A year makes a lot of difference.....They would have finished school and spent 1 year working or Uni or what ever kids do after they finish school and they would have another year to develop.

The system we have now will continue and we will continue to have hits and misses as do ALL clubs.

Yes Bossdog ... the clubs with the top end draft picks are virtually forced to pick the standout under 18 players. To not do that would be taking a huge gamble. Players like Judd, Scully, Hodge, Sylvia, Reiwoldt, Watts, Cotchin, Morton et al were therefore always going to be drafted early.

Your idea of lifting the draft age by a year has real merit ... David Parkin suggested lifting the draft age to about 20 a number of years ago (however, doing that could easily give the other sports more opportunities to acquire talented sportspeople)

I prefer to accept the draft for what it is ... therefore a lower placed draft pick is not necessarily an automatic goal in my eyes. There's top level talent sprinkled within every draft which is a sure indication that there's a lot of luck involved.

Our luck is sure to change though - Petracca doing a knee didn't help but here's hoping he bounces back. Salem looks to have the skills set - but does he have that absolute inner drive to be a star? He's not an overly fast player but he may not have to be. His pace can improve though - lots of sprint training will help him.

With Brayshaw, again, only time will tell. He's just a pup right now.