On 1 June 2016 at 5:23 PM, beelzebub said:

serious question....does anyone think we will really engage the draft this year...or look to use picks as currency to get a couple of ready mades from somewhere

I sense the latter....just me perhaps

We don't have a first rounder so I suspect we will be trading players for other players and looking at some late picks. But what if Prestia is on the move? How do we stay in that auction? 

On 30 May 2016 at 3:45 PM, ManDee said:

The bottom 3 sides have a lottery for first pick, 18th has 3 chances 17th 2 16th 1 - a number is drawn - only one is for the first pick. The remaining two teams toss a coin for 2nd pick.  The loser goes to the next draw with 15th & 14th same again. After the last of the bottom five side have selected you revert to normal draft order. You could finish 18th and receive 5th pick. But you are 3 times more likely to get 1st pick than if you finish 16th.

So it's still an incentive to tank.

On 31 May 2016 at 5:38 PM, TRIGON said:

Oops my bad, used to be 9 when I was a boy (back in 1892).

Who'd know!?

3 hours ago, Pennant St Dee said:

WA vs Vic Country

Headed to this game today expecting WA to put in a solid effort against a Vic Country side who I felt would be the stronger side.  Was very surprised the WA WA stood up and pretty much dominated the contest winning the clearances and Goddard dominating in the ruck.  An impressive 10 min burst by Vic Country in the first quarter saw them get back into the hunt and that period from late in the first to halfway through the 2nd quarter was there most impressive period in the game with Josh Battle certainly having many recruiters licking their lips with an eye catching display from limited opportunities

     

Great stuff PSD, always look forward to your reports.

Good to see Powell-Pepper going well, know you've liked him for a while.  General draft buzz seems to have dropped off him, but he's shown plenty of promise already, and a few more performances like this will consolidate his draft position.

What are your thoughts on Shai Bolton? Sounds like an interesting type.

11 hours ago, ChaserJ said:

Great stuff PSD, always look forward to your reports.

Good to see Powell-Pepper going well, know you've liked him for a while.  General draft buzz seems to have dropped off him, but he's shown plenty of promise already, and a few more performances like this will consolidate his draft position.

What are your thoughts on Shai Bolton? Sounds like an interesting type.

Shai  Bolton is like a lot of indigenous boys shows flashes of brilliance but goes missing often, he went through a congested pack on the Northern Wing yesterday and with acceleration and a sway of the hips nobody could touch him he found space and entered the forward 50 in similar fashion to the Hill brothers but he lacked penetration with his kicking.  Gets plenty of time on the ball in junior footy but I think with his kicking and lack of a tank is the main reason he is touted as a forward, plenty to work with and to nbe fair to Shai he is one of the younger boys in the side and with plenty of sides looking to recruit small forwards he will be taken.  

One to keep an eye out for in WA U/16's is Thomas Medhat, CHF with great athleticism and very good work rate.  Needs to put on some size and get some mongrel in him to run through defenders who float in front of him.

Not sure who we can get with our draft position but I would be keen with our defensive needs on taking Rotham if he is available.  Didn't see any real line breaking outside speed yesterday which is another priority for us through the middle    

10 hours ago, Pennant St Dee said:

Shai  Bolton is like a lot of indigenous boys shows flashes of brilliance but goes missing often, he went through a congested pack on the Northern Wing yesterday and with acceleration and a sway of the hips nobody could touch him he found space and entered the forward 50 in similar fashion to the Hill brothers but he lacked penetration with his kicking.  Gets plenty of time on the ball in junior footy but I think with his kicking and lack of a tank is the main reason he is touted as a forward, plenty to work with and to nbe fair to Shai he is one of the younger boys in the side and with plenty of sides looking to recruit small forwards he will be taken.  

One to keep an eye out for in WA U/16's is Thomas Medhat, CHF with great athleticism and very good work rate.  Needs to put on some size and get some mongrel in him to run through defenders who float in front of him.

Not sure who we can get with our draft position but I would be keen with our defensive needs on taking Rotham if he is available.  Didn't see any real line breaking outside speed yesterday which is another priority for us through the middle    

Thanks mate, look forward to seeing Bolton live, sounds like the raw talent is there.

Seems like a very even crop this year, so at this early stage very hard to tell what might be there at our 2nd rd pick, but the depth seems pretty good.  Fingers crossed a quality kpd or winger is around the mark.

With Mark Robinson casting doubt on the EFC and whether the club really gave everything to win against Brisbane on the weekend it again opens up the subject of tanking.

I'm surprised not more has been made of this but one coaching move (or lack of) in particular was a bit of an eye opener...they let Rich run free. No one does this.

If as some have said EFC are keen to use the pre season draft to lure a player away from another club the number 1 spot would be a real bargaining chip.

I wonder if the AFL will follow it up...I also wonder what will happen if it's a Brisbane player they are targeting.

Anyway, I think there are still major flaws in the draft that need fixing.

Edited July 25, 20169 yr by rjay

Looks likely that Essendon are setting up a trade.

 

Pick 1 for GC17's picks 5 and 10, meaning no one can bid on their academy kid who is rated top 3 or so in the draft and they effectively get two top picks accordingly.

 

We took advantage of the point system last year and the Bombers will reap rewards for it this year.

 

I hope Brisbane bid pick 2 for Bowes. Not a huge difference btw GC17 and the Lions!

On 5/31/2016 at 4:25 PM, TRIGON said:

Yet to be convinced that basketball is a good comparison. 7 on court v 18 on field, 12 on roster v 22. Adding one gun player to a basketball team makes a much bigger difference than it does to an AFL team. Other posters have made this point on demonland before and I think it's a good one to take on board.

He did make that exact point.

except it's 5 on court so it's even more important in basketball