Emma's latest thoughts.

Which players will help shape the AFL draft order?

Sounds like Weideman and Oliver would be our picks if we had 3 and 4 and confidence in Sam's ankle and fitness. But it's not like she's definitive.

Essendon's priorities seem to be Oliver, Francis/Curnow. That makes sense to me.

As much as I want to know who we are picking I love that the club is holding it's cards so close.

So no love for Parish? Was he with Curnow last night or something?

if we take a tall..so be it...but Id be flabbergasted if we forego Parish at 3

Emma's latest thoughts.

Which players will help shape the AFL draft order?

Sounds like Weideman and Oliver would be our picks if we had 3 and 4 and confidence in Sam's ankle and fitness. But it's not like she's definitive.

Essendon's priorities seem to be Oliver, Francis/Curnow. That makes sense to me.

As much as I want to know who we are picking I love that the club is holding it's cards so close.

Just an interesting little aside from last night's meeting.

Early in the evening, Todd Viney's iphone rang.

The caller was Emma Quayle.

Sounds like Oliver is right on the money at 3

Weiderman Curnow or Parish will drop to 7

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/afl-draft-2015-titus-oreily-preview/news-story/4ddfa95a65c5eb1b4cabb31a0578503f

Titus O Riley's Phantom. He really stitches us up on our pick write ups.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/afl-draft-2015-titus-oreily-preview/news-story/4ddfa95a65c5eb1b4cabb31a0578503f

Titus O Riley's Phantom. He really stitches us up on our pick write ups.

yeah i thought so lol

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/afl-draft-2015-titus-oreily-preview/news-story/4ddfa95a65c5eb1b4cabb31a0578503f

Titus O Riley's Phantom. He really stitches us up on our pick write ups.

He stitches everybody up but at least he is probably close to the mark on his predicted selections!

What elite skills are you talking about? He reads the play well down back, that's about it. His disposal is ok/average. I think he'll be a good AFL player, but not the player I'd be looking at at pick 3. Jared Rivers is a good comparison.

Versatlility is the most overrated quality in a footballer if they can't master one position.

From all accounts he's an 'elite' kick and his marking skills are also close to that category. You sound like a Jarrod Rivers type is bad?? Nearly 200 games. Some expectations on high draft picks is crazy. Just because he is a defender doesn't mean he can't go forward or into the mid ... For memory David Neitz was a chb when he came to Melbourne then transformed into our greatest goal kicker ever. Best talent regardless of position is what we need. I remember people also knocking Fyfe. All draftees are going to have knocks it's about developing them as players.

Just wondering where all this talk about Oliver came from. Had a strong end of the season especially in the TAC cup. Midfielders like Matheison played well over the whole season and in the championships well too.

From all accounts seems similar kind of player but more accomplished? Hard at it, high accumulator, takes marks up forward and kicks goals. How come he has fallen down the charts so much?

Just wondering where all this talk about Oliver came from. Had a strong end of the season especially in the TAC cup. Midfielders like Matheison played well over the whole season and in the championships well too.

From all accounts seems similar kind of player but more accomplished? Hard at it, high accumulator, takes marks up forward and kicks goals. How come he has fallen down the charts so much?

Havnt you seen his interview clip? I dno about you guys but to me Mathieson seems like the type of guy who would ditch his boys for the girl.

Mathieson reminds me of a poor man's Brock McLean.

After much thought, if the club think Weiderman is fit enough then its Parish at 3 and Weiderman at 7 if not then its Parish and Oliver for mine!

And would be pretty happy with those picks!

Mathieson reminds me of a poor man's Brock McLean.

Similar mental capacity too.

Mathieson reminds me of a poor man's Brock McLean.

just curious as to why..or how.

Mathieson strikes me as a straight forward in sn under get the ball give it to mate type of playet. Aka in trade as 'first hands'.

Other's views are interesting

Cheers

Nic Nat said something like ,no big deal I can go home in 2 years.

That isn't right. He and his family didn't mind coming to the east coast as it was closer to Fiji. They knew it was either MFC or WCE.

This really is a fascinating draft for us. I can't recall a draft, where we had a high draft pick, actually probably the first live pick and it could be any of about 6 players, without shocking me.

We probably all agree that Parish, Curnow, Francis, Oliver , Milera and Weideman could be pick 3, without any Demon jumping off the MCG roof in disgust.

Our club has not leaked at all and the experts are all guessing and coming up with different selections for 3.

I attended the MFC draft talk on thursday and came away completely none the wiser.

It is a draft that has therefore now generated a fair bit of excitement to see who we get at 3 and 7.

Players seem to be going up or down by the day. Curnow probably down a bit since his incident. For me, Francis up a bit since I saw another highlights package.

Added to the excitement is the fact that we don't really know who the Bombers and GC really want either.

I have heard that GC would love Milera or Francis.

Clearly the Bombers will take at least one mid with picks 4 and 5.

The combinations are many and 7 could well be a key forward we need, or a mid we need if we go taller with 3.

Crazy as it sounds we could pass on Parish at 3 and still get him at 7.

I am excited for draft night for the first time in a while and I now for the last couple of drafts, have confidence in our recruiting team.

Good luck Dees and I hope we pick up a couple of champs early and a couple of very good footballers later. No bugger that, pick up 4 champs.

Actually Red id be less than impressed with us using 3 or 7 on suss1 or suss2. Pick a tall at 7 if be the ideal but i seriously think theres better value and more assurity of garnering a better long term player than those 2

Similar to others I have no idea and it is probably the least exposed I have been to the players available in the last decade.

However I don't care because for the first time in a long time I have 100% faith that we have a clear direction (a real red and blue print) as well as staff who know how to recruit and develop young men. Again as mentioned by others the apparent lack of leaks and anyone having a clue what we are doing again speaks to the level of professionalism now at our club.

For the record I hope for a combo of 2 of Parish, Weideman and Francis but would still be excited that the skill set that Oliver or Milera bring if we pick them we will get to reach it's potential. Curnow I think has too many hints to his character both in this weeks incident as well as mentions of his level of application for me to think we will take him.

Cant wait to see what we actually do.

After much thought, if the club think Weiderman is fit enough then its Parish at 3 and Weiderman at 7 if not then its Parish and Oliver for mine!

And would be pretty happy with those picks!

Must admit i am surprised you want Parish picket.

Unless there is an absolute stand out interstate player available then I would much prefer to use our pick 3 and 7 on a couple of VIC boys.

Any two of Curnow, Oliver, Parish or Weideman sounds good to me.

The go home factor in today's footy landscape is very real.

Unless there is an absolute stand out interstate player available then I would much prefer to use our pick 3 and 7 on a couple of VIC boys.

Any two of Curnow, Oliver, Parish or Weideman sounds good to me.

The go home factor in today's footy landscape is very real.

Which is i think a direct result of the ease of movement, moving home is always going to be tempting when it's so easy

having said that Jesse Hogan, who has been quite homesick at times and very close to his family imo has been managed perfectly by the MFC, i think there is a lot of mutual respect there, he knows we will do the right thing by him, and also knows how important he is to everything we're trying to build.

this is really hard

there is so much disagreement on the top 10 (or 15) and it seems to change daily

couple this with best available and needs and it gets tough

conclusions:

---i've NFI

---I trust the recruiting team

having said that i hope we end up with a good mid and tall forward

Given the collective levels of trust we all now appear to have in our footy dept, I'm pretty confident whoever is called out as our pick 3 will suddenly gain greater credence. 'If Taylor thinks he's that good then he must be' mentality will be the prevailing thought process I would assume and with good reason. There's strong arguments for 6 - 8 players for picks 3 and 7 and the choices made will provide us with a great insight into the perceived strengths and weaknesses of our list and the style of play we're attempting to develop. Could we really be just one draft away from stockpiling the core talent that will eventual be pieced together to form our premiership jigsaw?

I have a feeling it will be Oliver at 3. The club is staying quiet but the media always find out eventually and Quayle (hugely respected) and Anderson (meh) have both started taking this angle. We know he's one of the six in contention and there are strong rumours of Essendon wanting him too.

Take last year for instance, St.Kilda were extremely coy about McCartin/Petracca but the media still caught wind of it in the days leading up to the draft.

Oliver seems like the kind of player that competes, breaks tackles and gets his hands free in contested situations. I wouldn't be against him at 3 but I'm still hopeful we go for Parish.

I have a feeling it will be Oliver at 3. The club is staying quiet but the media always find out eventually and Quayle (hugely respected) and Anderson (meh) have both started taking this angle. We know he's one of the six in contention and there are strong rumours of Essendon wanting him too.

Take last year for instance, St.Kilda were extremely coy about McCartin/Petracca but the media still caught wind of it in the days leading up to the draft.

Oliver seems like the kind of player that competes, breaks tackles and gets his hands free in contested situations. I wouldn't be against him at 3 but I'm still hopeful we go for Parish.

They will be guessing this time; if the club gives the player no inkling, it won't be coming from Viney and Taylor's crew.