Messiah? Whether they had a player, or players, in mind at 3 - they evidently didn't think they would be available at 6.

What is so wrong about wanting a particular player? I applaud the desire to pinpoint a player and try to get him.

It's similar to when you get told the clubs are going through a proper and open interview process for selecting a new coach when all along they have someone cherry picked. The most recent example being Worsfold.

Good precis stmj

Another game of zig or zag.

This whole draft reminds me of paper rock scissors.

It's similar to when you get told the clubs are going through a proper and open interview process for selecting a new coach when all along they have someone cherry picked. The most recent example being Worsfold.

No, it is similar to being 6th in line with three or four Cornettos left and you get to third in line so you get a Cornetto.

Because you identified the Cornetto as the best choice available and didn't want to leave it to chance that you will be stuck with a caramel Magnum.

Personally think Parish would be extremely stiff if we passed him up.

Dual All Australian, a capacity to be equally as damaging off half back.

two ultra consistent seasons, with a great mix of contested and uncontested ball winning.

the skills, dash and creativity to add a new dimension to our midfield

Oliver makes me nervous, i can see why we'd want him, he's a competitive animal, but ultimately he's played half a good season, didn't get picked for national champs, tested pretty well at the combine but i think people are really riding a wave of hype here.

when a bloke goes from being ranked around pick 12 to ranked at pick 3 and doesn't play a game in that time, that makes me nervous.

Personally think Parish would be extremely stiff if we passed him up.

Dual All Australian, a capacity to be equally as damaging off half back.

two ultra consistent seasons, with a great mix of contested and uncontested ball winning.

the skills, dash and creativity to add a new dimension to our midfield

Oliver makes me nervous, i can see why we'd want him, he's a competitive animal, but ultimately he's played half a good season, didn't get picked for national champs, tested pretty well at the combine but i think people are really riding a wave of hype here.

when a bloke goes from being ranked around pick 12 to ranked at pick 3 and doesn't play a game in that time, that makes me nervous.

It does seem a bit strange.

Wonder where the club have ranked him, pretty sure they would have that sorted at the end of the TAC cup season and weren't waiting for the draft experts view.

We will know tomorrow night.

Personally think Parish would be extremely stiff if we passed him up.

Dual All Australian, a capacity to be equally as damaging off half back.

two ultra consistent seasons, with a great mix of contested and uncontested ball winning.

the skills, dash and creativity to add a new dimension to our midfield

Oliver makes me nervous, i can see why we'd want him, he's a competitive animal, but ultimately he's played half a good season, didn't get picked for national champs, tested pretty well at the combine but i think people are really riding a wave of hype here.

when a bloke goes from being ranked around pick 12 to ranked at pick 3 and doesn't play a game in that time, that makes me nervous.

That could also been seen as a good thing. He missed a huge chunk of footy and likely had a very limited pre-season and still managed to dominate.

I have no idea which way we should go but I'm sure Taylor has enough information to make the right decision!

It does seem a bit strange.

Wonder where the club have ranked him, pretty sure they would have that sorted at the end of the TAC cup season and weren't waiting for the draft experts view.

We will know tomorrow night.

I reckon the plan has always been Parish and then a key at 7, if the bombers and suns looked like taking them then a key at 3 and oliver at 7 as a backup.

mid/fwd combo seems like the plan.

Messiah? Whether they had a player, or players, in mind at 3 - they evidently didn't think they would be available at 6.

What is so wrong about wanting a particular player? I applaud the desire to pinpoint a player and try to get him.

Because this isn't the NFL with trades made during the draft. What if we liked Curnow but then his indiscretion has cost him? Or we liked a player and then they did an ACL training or got in a car crash.

Not to mention maybe the most obvious scenario - one of the top 2 teams change their minds and our player gets taken off the board.

They clearly liked at least 1 player, hopefully more as standouts who would be available at pick 3.

I just don't think that was the primary motivation, nor do I think it has to be Parish, it could've been and or all of Parish, Oliver and Weideman who they rated as worthy of pick 3 and then made the trade knowing they'd pick 1 once they settled on them.

Taylor was at the Pies when they picked Thomas over Ellis and Pendles in the top 5 right?

Doubt he'd be losing too much sleep about where Oliver has been listed in early season mock drafts.

Parish for me.

Word is that we are going for Oliver, who they see as a bull, who fits the Roosy style of midfield types more than Parish.

Our second pick apparently will be Weideman, although I've heard we will go Francis in the unlikely event that he is still available at pick 7 - which he won't be.

When you look back at most drafts there's often players who come in to vogue and upset the thinking of the phantom set.

Bontempelli in 2013, Pendles way back - so hopefully the trend continues.

No, it is similar to being 6th in line with three or four Cornettos left and you get to third in line so you get a Cornetto.

Because you identified the Cornetto as the best choice available and didn't want to leave it to chance that you will be stuck with a caramel Magnum.

Nicely analogised.

prefer the magnum as it happens ..lol

I know Taylor is on record as saying the pick 3 was for best avail etc etc etc.. But really what else is he going to say.

Word is that we are going for Oliver, who they see as a bull, who fits the Roosy style of midfield types more than Parish.

Our second pick apparently will be Weideman, although I've heard we will go Francis in the unlikely event that he is still available at pick 7 - which he won't be.

When you look back at most drafts there's often players who come in to vogue and upset the thinking of the phantom set.

Bontempelli in 2013, Pendles way back - so hopefully the trend continues.

Gotta love the term "word is". Just tell us who you heard it from, and we can read the BS meter.

But fark me I have no idea what's going to happen.

This whole draft reminds me of paper rock scissors.

Because you identified the Cornetto as the best choice available and didn't want to leave it to chance that you will be stuck with a caramel Magnum.

Love it, and agree with everything. This is why this draft is so intruiging, and will be watched by many draft fans.

I might sit down and have a Gaytime myself. Only because there's no Eskimo Pie's around. Seriously who made that decision!

Personally think Parish would be extremely stiff if we passed him up.

Dual All Australian, a capacity to be equally as damaging off half back.

two ultra consistent seasons, with a great mix of contested and uncontested ball winning.

the skills, dash and creativity to add a new dimension to our midfield

Oliver makes me nervous, i can see why we'd want him, he's a competitive animal, but ultimately he's played half a good season, didn't get picked for national champs, tested pretty well at the combine but i think people are really riding a wave of hype here.

when a bloke goes from being ranked around pick 12 to ranked at pick 3 and doesn't play a game in that time, that makes me nervous.

Who’s ranking??

What Oliver going to be like when he does a pre-season like parish was able to do. Maybe he would be a clear pick 3 with the benefit of a pre season and played like he did in the second half of the season all year.

What’s Oliver going to be like when he gets into a professional programme unlike Parish who has had the added benefit of being in the AFL Academy.

What’s Oliver ceiling compared to Parish when he gets the benefit of the above.

No, it is similar to being 6th in line with three or four Cornettos left and you get to third in line so you get a Cornetto.

Because you identified the Cornetto as the best choice available and didn't want to leave it to chance that you will be stuck with a caramel Magnum.

That stuff will make you fat and shorten your lifespan

Personally think Parish would be extremely stiff if we passed him up.

Dual All Australian, a capacity to be equally as damaging off half back.

two ultra consistent seasons, with a great mix of contested and uncontested ball winning.

the skills, dash and creativity to add a new dimension to our midfield

Oliver makes me nervous, i can see why we'd want him, he's a competitive animal, but ultimately he's played half a good season, didn't get picked for national champs, tested pretty well at the combine but i think people are really riding a wave of hype here.

when a bloke goes from being ranked around pick 12 to ranked at pick 3 and doesn't play a game in that time, that makes me nervous.

Happened with the Bont and that has worked out pretty well for the dogs. he got noticed in his last few games but it wasnt until the week before the draft that the rumours circled that he might go top 5

him being 'ranked' as 12 is the media and pundits/fans. the clubs know best and leasks start to come out in the last week. maybe sometimes on purpose to throw other teams off

the club will just do their research and pick the best lad and ignore all the gossip

The Parish Vs Oliver scenario is serious mind-[censored].

I feel we've witnessed this type of scenario so many times in the past with results not going our way for various reasons.

The old MFC would have definitely made it difficult for a player like Parish to flourish and develop the right way. But we are a different club now and I have to keep telling myself that. Having a body as slight as his will definitely limit his impact early on and I'm sure we'll hear the same 'merry-go-round' of comments in regards to Oliver's impact early in his career. Bigger body, streak of aggression etc.

The fact Oliver missed out on the Vic Country side doesn't bother me. We've seen quality AFL players come through without having played in the champs. But Parish clearly does get the tick over him with the whole 'body of work' thing.

It's a conundrum. It's hard to see what kind of player Parish will become. With his height, body shape and attributes. As a supporter of a club who is contributed to the failure of so many previous high draft picks with similar underdeveloped bodies, I'd almost demand he spend the entire year at Casey learning and developing his body. They're the kinds of kids that need that first year as a prep year. And they get it at the strong clubs. I understand Parish is more of an inside player than players we've drafted in previous years who have struggled to impact. But coming into the AFL with a body like his, we're going to have to play the patience game again. Which is a hard ask for Melbourne supporters. Especially for a potential number 3 draft pick.

It really is a situation we've seen so many times.

I'm leaning toward Oliver. I think the MFC's desire to draft bigger bodied, harder at the contest and aggressive players might override Parish's 'body of work' in this case.

But fark me I have no idea what's going to happen.

It's a bit of a different situation this time round though. Rather than getting Parish in and chucking him to the wolves and expecting him to lead our midfield he will likely sit at Casey/half back for some time first. We've also got some big bodies around him and around the ball to protect him rather than expecting him to be the no. 1 guy.

Previously we'd drafted these guys (Morton, Grimes, Scully, Trengove, Gysberts etc) and expected them to come in as skinny kids and be our first choice mids. Yeah we had Moloney and Jones but the list of big bodied mids fell away quickly after that. It also meant the new guys couldn't use their best attributes (disposal) and had to compete to win the footy as contested mids. This time around I feel we've built the engine room first and now can add a guy like Parish on top with his great vision and disposal to complement the likes of Jones, Vince, Viney, Brayshaw, Petracca, Salem and Vandenberg. Also the fact he is talked about as having "manic energy" and being good in the contest can't be overlooked as a point of difference to our prior draftees.

Because this isn't the NFL with trades made during the draft. What if we liked Curnow but then his indiscretion has cost him? Or we liked a player and then they did an ACL training or got in a car crash.

Not to mention maybe the most obvious scenario - one of the top 2 teams change their minds and our player gets taken off the board.

So because we don't have trading on draft day (yet) - clubs cannot target players?

If ever there was a year to target a player at 3 it is this year - there have been two players seemingly set in stone at 1 and 2 since before trade week.

Who’s ranking??

What Oliver going to be like when he does a pre-season like parish was able to do. Maybe he would be a clear pick 3 with the benefit of a pre season and played like he did in the second half of the season all year.

What’s Oliver going to be like when he gets into a professional programme unlike Parish who has had the added benefit of being in the AFL Academy.

What’s Oliver ceiling compared to Parish when he gets the benefit of the above.

I suggest you confirm that he actually had no pre season, because i'm quietly confident he at least did a part of pre season.

secondly we're discussing who is a safer bet, a kid who's been injury free for two years or a kid who's struggled with OP...

Thirdly the knocks i have on Oliver have nothing to do with pre season or not, they're simply that i don't think he's all that smart as a footballer, just a bit of a brute.

Oliver makes me nervous, i can see why we'd want him, he's a competitive animal, but ultimately he's played half a good season, didn't get picked for national champs, tested pretty well at the combine but i think people are really riding a wave of hype here.

Do you ?

The club, your club, has earmarked him as one of 6 players being considered at 3 or 7 and two media phantom drafts in the last 36 hours have him at pick 3.

Supporters are just reading the writing on the wall.

Do you ?

The club, your club, has earmarked him as one of 6 players being considered at 3 or 7 and two media phantom drafts in the last 36 hours have him at pick 3.

Supporters are just reading the writing on the wall.

I guess we will see on draft night, personally i find Parish to be a far more compelling prospect, neither will be there by 7 imo so they're very much going head to head

I guess we will see on draft night, personally i find Parish to be a far more compelling prospect, neither will be there by 7 imo so they're very much going head to head

As you say in every post.

If we do take Oliver clearly our talent experts don't agree.

As you say in every post.

If we do take Oliver clearly our talent experts don't agree.

I don't understand your attitude, is this not a debate about a very important selection?

or am i not allowed an opinion unless it's the same as yours?

I suggest you confirm that he actually had no pre season, because i'm quietly confident he at least did a part of pre season.

secondly we're discussing who is a safer bet, a kid who's been injury free for two years or a kid who's struggled with OP...

Thirdly the knocks i have on Oliver have nothing to do with pre season or not, they're simply that i don't think he's all that smart as a footballer, just a bit of a brute.

Oliver definitely didn't have a pre season at all due to OP. This is why i am excited by his upside. Killed the TAC cup with no fitness base whatsoever.

Imagine him under a full AFL pre season.