The Kalani White Thread

[Supreme_Demon 3,899]

No urgency for Kalani White to make a decision.

He should just go out and have fun and play footy. Learn to develop his skills. No pressure at this stage.

 

However, I do hope he does choose the Demons though. It would be a wonderful Melbourne Demons tradition to continue with the Father-Son rule and his Father Jeff White would be incredibly proud. I can imagine it being an amazingly emotional and memorable moment to see Kalani get handed his Melbourne Demons guernsey by his Dad too! 🥺

[Mike 329]

If you're Kalani then surely you want to follow in your dad's footsteps and play for the same club. I really hope that's how he's thinking about it.

[Dannyz 2,851]

He's definitely going to play for Melbourne.

[whatwhat say what 22,938]

14 minutes ago, Mike said:

If you're Kalani then surely you want to follow in your dad's footsteps and play for the same club. I really hope that's how he's thinking about it.

i very much doubt he wants to suit up for flagmantle

[Master Chief 80]

20 hours ago, Demon 16 said:

Kalani does live up on the Gold Coast doesn’t he? Or in Brisbane at least.

Is he actually any good though? I have read mixed reports as to whether he’s touted as a top end talent, or likely to go later in the draft (or even rookie draft).

He lives on the Gold Coast but is a hardcore Dees fan. 

Not sure what the family situation is but going interstate to play footy is par for the course for rookies. No different from any of the WA or SA boys. 

Edited March 21 by Master Chief

[Bay Riffin 1,479]

19 hours ago, Its Time for Another said:

Blakey actually had 3 teams he could go to. Might not happen again. His father played over 100 games for Roos and Lions and he grew up in Sydney and went the whole way through the Sydney Academy from the earliest age. That happened because his father was an Assistant at the Swans for that whole period. If he had moved to another team in a different State he wouldn't have stayed at the Academy and wouldn't have been eligible for them. 

thats my point, its a rort. His dad is paid by an AFL team so that why his son was up there. he would be living and breathing AFL footy as a kid. the essense of Academy selection is spending the time and $ invested into youngsters who would otherwise be lost to other codes. And even then its ultimately AFL funded. same goes for Kalani. It's a bigger rort then the COLA salary cap which was rightfully taken away (only because of the Buddy trade mind you - whatever hits the papaers matters. 

[Katrina Dee Fan 3,893]

23 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

“Is #34 free?”

Yes

[Its Time for Another 4,287]

14 minutes ago, Bay Riffin said:

thats my point, its a rort. His dad is paid by an AFL team so that why his son was up there. he would be living and breathing AFL footy as a kid. the essense of Academy selection is spending the time and $ invested into youngsters who would otherwise be lost to other codes. And even then its ultimately AFL funded. same goes for Kalani. It's a bigger rort then the COLA salary cap which was rightfully taken away (only because of the Buddy trade mind you - whatever hits the papaers matters. 

Agree with you that the purpose of the northern academy's was to find players who wouldn't otherwise play AFL. Heeney is the poster boy for the success for this. Blakey and Mills who already played AFL in a junior club are not. But how you police that I don't know. 

Don't agree with you at all on COLA. I live in Sydney and there is a very clearly identifiable difference in COL up here compared to any other city in Australia. Especially compared to somewhere like Geelong who get a massive COL advantage. The whole COLA outrage and the Buddy deal was a scurrilous beat up by Eddie Everywhere. The COLA component of the salary cap was audited by the AFL every year. It was allocated per rata to each player on the list. There was no pooling of the money and giving it to just one player, Buddy. Swans and GWS will always run with a substantial disadvantage at. attracting players because of this disparity. It has had a significant effect on their trading since it was taken away. 

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,878]

On 20/03/2024 at 14:48, Whispering_Jack said:

He was an  All Australian at Under 16 level last year so he is more than "any good".

He can play at his father's old club and has the opportunity of learning ruck craft at Melbourne under Max Gawn. 

Is there anything else that he needs to know?

'Learning ruck craft' under Max?

Surely he's already had an A grade apprenticeship under his old man and Max is adding the final touches to that?

I actually liked the look of what I saw from Verrall in the practice matches, so we could be in a position to build some good ruck depth again over a spread of age groups, which would be a good thing.

One of the great playing trates of Jeff is that he was a decent forward as well as ruck and if Kalani is cut from the same cloth, that could be very useful to us indeed.

[Little Goffy 14,639]

Am I missing something; every 'future prospects' profile as well as Kalani's All-australian selection has him as a tall defender.

So, presumably he won't be a ruck, but rather spend a 2-4 seasons as a defender before being moved forward to plug a hole and staying there, as per Demon tradition!

[Demon 16 214]

On 20/03/2024 at 14:48, Whispering_Jack said:

He was an  All Australian at Under 16 level last year so he is more than "any good".

He can play at his father's old club and has the opportunity of learning ruck craft at Melbourne under Max Gawn. 

Is there anything else that he needs to know?

I hope he is, although I have heard a few things suggesting that he might have snuck into that squad on his name rather than his output.

I’ve also heard that his dad is keen for him to select the Dees if given the opportunity.

Hopefully he is a gun and makes it to us!

[whatwhat say what 22,938]

fwiw, on the corben and ben afl podcast via the abc, one of them was saying that he's been told that kalani is tracking as a top pick in 2025

first i'd heard of him being rated that highly

[whatwhat say what 22,938]

SON OF A GUN TO SPEND TIME AT DEES by Riley Beveridge

MELBOURNE will welcome talented father-son prospect Kalani White into its program this week, as the club vies with Gold Coast for access to the gun youngster.

White, a strong-marking 200cm defender, isn't draft eligible until 2025 but will be able to join either the Demons under father-son rules or the Suns as part of their Northern Academy program.

The athletic key-position prospect is able to join Melbourne due to his dad, Jeff, playing 236 games for the Demons between 1998-2008. But he is also able to join Gold Coast, having relocated to Queensland when his father's playing career ended.

The teenager, who turns 17 later this week, is in Victoria ahead of the Gold Coast Academy's Coates Talent League clash with the Dandenong Stingrays on Sunday and will spend time at Melbourne in the lead-up to that match.

White will not be able to train at the Demons, due to being a bottom-age prospect, but will observe a series of sessions and player meetings as part of his time at the club.

The youngster caught the attention of AFL recruiters at last year's under-16 carnival, where he was named as the All-Australian centre-half back. He also played forward throughout that campaign, kicking two goals against Sydney's Academy.

Speaking to AFL.com.au in March, Jeff said his son was enjoying the opportunity: "He's really looking forward to it and having interest from Melbourne and the Suns, he likes being a part of it and talking to the recruiting officers and finding out what he needs to improve on. It's a unique position to be in but in saying that he's very dedicated to getting better."

From: Rivals keep tabs on Saint, free agency switch floated, Hawk's trigger

[Moonshadow 17,677]

He's a Dees fan and may follow in his father's footsteps. But equally, he's grown up in Queensland and may choose familiarity to play with his academy mates.

IMO best not to assume.

[rpfc 28,769]

31 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

IMO best not to assume.

This is the internet. I am sure they will take heed!

 

 

[Roost it far 8,581]

I’ll be fffing livid  if we finally have an A grade father son and he heads to a franchise coached by Hardwick. That’s like waking up from a nightmare into a nightmare. 

[Gawndy the Great 9,011]

22 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

I’ll be fffing livid  if we finally have an A grade father son and he heads to a franchise coached by Hardwick. That’s like waking up from a nightmare into a nightmare. 

Tell me about it. But we have history, legends like Gawn, Trac, Viney, and multiple AA. We play at the homeland of footy every second week. Recent premiers. With all due respect to the Suns they have nothing to offer. And oh dad played over 200 big ones and loves the club. 
 

[whatwhat say what 22,938]

Just now, Gawndy the Great said:

Tell me about it. But we have history, legends like Gawn, Trac, Viney, and multiple AA. We play at the homeland of footy every second week. Recent premiers. With all due respect to the Suns they have nothing to offer. And oh dad played over 200 big ones and loves the club. 
 

He and his twin younger brothers are all mad Dees, which theoretically should help

[Roost it far 8,581]

7 minutes ago, Gawndy the Great said:

Tell me about it. But we have history, legends like Gawn, Trac, Viney, and multiple AA. We play at the homeland of footy every second week. Recent premiers. With all due respect to the Suns they have nothing to offer. And oh dad played over 200 big ones and loves the club. 
 

🙏

[Deelectable 1,043]

1 hour ago, Roost it far said:

I’ll be fffing livid  if we finally have an A grade father son and he heads to a franchise coached by Hardwick. That’s like waking up from a nightmare into a nightmare. 

It will really test my loyalty to this game and following AFL should Kalani end up at the Suns. On one hand the AFL, media and football world spruik the romanticism of the notion of a son following in his father's footsteps at his beloved club. On the other, a contrived academy rule can gazump this  notion to rob a club the opportunity of recruiting a 'favourite son'. Read Nick Blakey. Make up your mind! It's an absolute farce. To lose a 10+ year potential KP is unpalatable. If the AFL really want F/S to remain it should always take precedence over gluttonous northern academies.

[Moonshadow 17,677]

48 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

He and his twin younger brothers are all mad Dees, which theoretically should help

One would think that wherever Kalani plays, the younger twins would strive to follow 

[dazzledavey36 55,318]

9 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

He and his twin younger brothers are all mad Dees, which theoretically should help

He's twin brothers are also handy up and coming footballers.

Club are keeping an eye on already.

[binman 43,755]

11 hours ago, Moonshadow said:

He's a Dees fan and may follow in his father's footsteps. But equally, he's grown up in Queensland and may choose familiarity to play with his academy mates.

IMO best not to assume.

I'm going to assume if he picks the dees he is certain to be a gun who will play 200 plus games fir the MFC.

And if he picks the suns he is over rated, and whilst a good average player who carves out a decent AFL career we use the draft pick to instead unearth another Taylor diamond in the rough who becomes an all time great of the club.

It's a win win.

[Biffen 12,946]

Interestingly,

We invented not only the game of Australian rules but also the first father/son priority pick after RDB lost his father Ron Senior in WW2. I believe he was raised in Richmond's Zone (Guildford/Castlemaine).Zoning still plays a very small role in drafting .The other great ruck rover of the last 100 years also came from this area.Dusty.

There is much media discussion about drafting youth but as with free agency,the very good players generally get to play where they want to play and the clubs swap picks around those decisions as compensation to those less desirable destinations.

In short, I'll eat my hat if the White Boy ends up anywhere else but Melbourne.

[Gawndy the Great 9,011]

How old are his twin brothers? Can we possibly break a record and have 3 White's playing at the one time for the same club? All KPP (CHB, Ruc, CHF)!