Did you end up asking about Geary?

I had a chance to speak with Todd. He did not know Jack Geary but was interested, I gave him the news articles that I listed above. Said he would speak with the recruiting guys. A great night had by all.

I did ask whether Todd and the recruiting team were comfortable what wed seen enough of injured prospects such as Weideman, Curnow and Burton to make an informed call on these kids (in light of Jake Lever missing all of his age 18 year).

Todd answered yes, although youd like to be able to see more of them and it can make it a little bit difficult. Mentioned that he would have seen Weideman at least 8 times last year and this, and seen a fair bit of him in school footy too. Raised Stringer as an example of one picked high and performing despite being affected by injury in his draft year.

Talked about Curnow a little bit in response to a question Theo (I think) raised, and referred to him as more of a contested midfielder (as opposed to his ability to play key position), and felt Francis had done enough last year that stuck in the memory to still be drafted this year.

Midfield is still the priority in the trade/draft period, and that if we got in a free agent or traded for a mid, we wouldnt go for an older type given where the list is at. The age profile would have to fit in with the bulk of where our developing talent sits (the 22-25 yo bracket), as they really want this group to come through and peak together. No need to recruit older players to set the example now.

Todd was also asked to describe Petracca, and he described him as an explosive type, and compared him to Dangerfield.

John Trotter spoke before the Vineys, and what stuck in my head was his happiness with the current financial state of the club. He said something along the lines of despite a couple of big financial losses, if you take the entirety of our last seven financial results, we are better than breakeven and it looks like well post another modest profit this year Compared us to Brisbane and Port (maybe even Geelong, but cant remember) who despite having successful onfield performances over the years are in significantly weaker financial positions.

Robbo mentioned something I found interesting about how well regarded our social media strategy had been, saying we were leading the way and even Hawthorn had made contact to get some tips on how Melbournes comms department used social media.

There goes Kennedy. Interesting that they're not looking to increase our age spread but build instead as we have a big generational hole in the middle of our list. We might then be a way off yet still but later have a solid group that can keep us atop for an extended period. It's a true rebuild. Hopefully we can manage our salary cap with this approach although it will probably be dependent on a sniff of early success.

Great report Chaser. It seems to me that Francis is firmly on our sights? Was Darcy Parish mentioned as a potential player we could seriously consider?

Thanks mate. Todd spoke about a range of midfielders in response to Theo's question on which midfielders impressed at the Championships. A few names and attributes were rattled off, and Parish was amongst those, along with Curnow and from recollection Balic. I missed part of this as some of the folks on my table started talking about how good a job Jason Taylor had done since starting at the club. That Curnow was mentioned here shows that we are one of the clubs that (if we drafted him) would be drafting him as a midfielder, not a key position player

I'd imagine Mathieson was also talked about, but I wouldn't say any indication was given on any particular mid we were honing in on, just that there were a range who had impressed.

I did have a quick word with Todd before he and Jack left and asked for his thoughts on the depth (of the draft pool). He said there'd been a fair bit of talk about it being a shallow draft, but didn't think it was as bad as reported, and was confident that good players could be found with later picks.

Edited August 8, 201510 yr by ChaserJ

Many thanks for the reports, much appreciated.

I wonder if anyone has any reports from the recent dinner with Brendan McCartney?

What was on the menu?

What was on the menu?

Lots of wines.

Lots of wines.

hmm not enough though

Sliding Doors...If only

Midfield is still the priority in the trade/draft period, and that if we got in a free agent or traded for a mid, we wouldnt go for an older type given where the list is at. The age profile would have to fit in with the bulk of where our developing talent sits (the 22-25 yo bracket), as they really want this group to come through and peak together. No need to recruit older players to set the example now.

That is terrific news! Thanks Chaser.

I detect a significant shift in our list management strategy this year. Last year we were chasing Hannebery and/or Dangerfield ie mid age, elite players to impact now.

Not getting them but getting Petracca and Brayshaw, probably had the Club decide to not worry about the 25-27 yo. gap. I suspect the rate of development of our < 20 brigade further convinced the Club to shift its strategy this year.

A by-product of our players 'coming thru & peaking together' could be a deterrent to leaving as FA's (if we climb the ladder). A by-product of not getting Danger or Hannebury is it conserves $$$ to spend on our young brigade.

I really, really like the list management shift to a 'natural' growth, 'build the future' approach. It makes me feel a lot more confident about a sustainable future than importing big names.

We are in very good hands!

Midfield is still the priority in the trade/draft period, and that if we got in a free agent or traded for a mid, we wouldnt go for an older type given where the list is at. The age profile would have to fit in with the bulk of where our developing talent sits (the 22-25 yo bracket), as they really want this group to come through and peak together. No need to recruit older players to set the example now.

This is a key point to understand our draft/trade strategy. It also answers questions as to where we sit in relation to the Dogs & Saints. We needed to use some of our currency to buy in experience...now we can build the list and naturally develop experience going forward.

That is terrific news! Thanks Chaser.

I detect a significant shift in our list management strategy this year. Last year we were chasing Hannebery and/or Dangerfield ie mid age, elite players to impact now.

Not getting them but getting Petracca and Brayshaw, probably had the Club decide to not worry about the 25-27 yo. gap. I suspect the rate of development of our < 20 brigade further convinced the Club to shift its strategy this year.

A by-product of our players 'coming thru & peaking together' could be a deterrent to leaving as FA's (if we climb the ladder). A by-product of not getting Danger or Hannebury is it conserves $$$ to spend on our young brigade.

I really, really like the list management shift to a 'natural' growth, 'build the future' approach. It makes me feel a lot more confident about a sustainable future than importing big names.

We are in very good hands!

Didn't we put a sizeable offer to Hanners this year though? And it may conserve our dollars now but if we have everyone of the same age come through at the same time it squeezes the cap as there's nothing being cleared through retirement/natural attrition etc., no?

Didn't we put a sizeable offer to Hanners this year though? And it may conserve our dollars now but if we have everyone of the same age come through at the same time it squeezes the cap as there's nothing being cleared through retirement/natural attrition etc., no?

It's not everyone coming through at the same time, it's that we now have the balance right with some good experience at the club to lead the new kids coming in.

This was the first thing we had to get right, now there will be natural attrition without desperation.

Thank goodness for the new regime...steady as she goes.

It's the 2017/18 contract negotiations that disturb me. In a semi-good way. Just don't want to lose players through unnatural attrition - inflated contract offers from rival clubs that we can't possibly match. Geelong and the Hawks have been lucky - through culture/team bonding/success or some such but those days are dying I suspect.

We still need to trade more experience. No doubt about that.

We still need to trade more experience. No doubt about that.

Younger class now 'SWYL'...22 - 24 yo

Younger class now 'SWYL'...22 - 24 yo

50-70 Game players. Ready to go

(To fill all the holes from failed Draft Picks during 08-13 period)