On 12/11/2016 at 11:07 AM, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

I don't know how to start a new thread and this probably doesn't warrant it, anyway. And it sort of fits here?...

I notice No.31 remains vacant in the Club's new number re/allocations. Unlikely it would go to a number 47+ draft pick? So can/would Jack be rookied? (for e.g. the leadership ingredient). Sorry if I've missed anything elsewhere on here about his current status or the Club's view about him. 

Very much doubt he'll be re rookied. I expect the number to have a rest for a year. There's a thread on numbers on the main board. If you search around you'll find it.

22 hours ago, ENYAW said:

A weak draw like 2016 when we got to play one final 8 side twice.

And we weren't far off beating them twice! 

I think Hunt, Stretch and Salem will be our outside run and spread across the middle. Especially with Piggy and Milkshake coming in. Garlett and Kent may find more time rotating through there as well.

1 x project ruck, maybe from state league and a smokey mid/small forward in the draft are my guesses.

I believe we really need another high class 100+ games mid, which hopefully comes in next year's trade/FA period.

On 9 November 2016 at 9:48 PM, Skuit said:

Salem has been the constant bane when penciling in a prospective team-sheet and trying to squeeze in our considerable stock of talent. I'm not convinced he's back-line material in terms of defensive nous and he looked rather lost when I saw him there this year. Yet, I don't feel he's ready as a permanent mid and others have gone past him in the square. But slot him in at half-forward and others get pushed out. Is an outside role on the wing a reasonable solution when we have the speedsters in Stretch and Hunt primed to take on the job? 

I don't think Salem getting lost down back is a worry, more so that he was overthinking the game plan change that had our backs being overly aggressive early in the year. Then he wasn't fit with the illness returning and was running out of puff. If he's fit I don't think he'll struggle with positioning down back. He didn't look all that confident in his defensive work in a couple of games but overall he's easily good enough to spoil, tackle, mark etc across half back.

But I don't think he's the answer to our outside run. He's a guy you want positioning himself to find the ball not doing the hard running out wide. Be that forward, midfield or back.

Hunt is too good defensively and gets more bang for his buck with his change of pace coming from half back so I don't think he's the answer either.

I think it will be a mixture of Melksham, Lewis and Vince taking up one of the wing spots this year and hence I still think it's a weakness long term.

Edit: And of course Buggy to keep them all honest for a spot as well. He has his flaws but when in form and for the right match up his run and competitiveness can be handy.

21 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

I don't think Salem getting lost down back is a worry, more so that he was overthinking the game plan change that had our backs being overly aggressive early in the year. Then he wasn't fit with the illness returning and was running out of puff. If he's fit I don't think he'll struggle with positioning down back. He didn't look all that confident in his defensive work in a couple of games but overall he's easily good enough to spoil, tackle, mark etc across half back.

But I don't think he's the answer to our outside run. He's a guy you want positioning himself to find the ball not doing the hard running out wide. Be that forward, midfield or back.

Hunt is too good defensively and gets more bang for his buck with his change of pace coming from half back so I don't think he's the answer either.

I think it will be a mixture of Melksham, Lewis and Vince taking up one of the wing spots this year and hence I still think it's a weakness long term.

Edit: And of course Buggy to keep them all honest for a spot as well. He has his flaws but when in form and for the right match up his run and competitiveness can be handy.

 

How does Garlett go on the wing? I've never seen him there and I'm curious if he could play more time up ground as an outside burst runner IF we drafted Alsopp to be a goal sneak and could alternate w Kennedy in that pos.

Salem could then also play forward. I'm guessing it's a tank issue for Garlett? I still recall the Salem match winner V Essendrug. Salem could be a sharpshooting Bruest, with a killer delivery at half forward and a dead eye shot. He could also alternate on the wing or defensivively switch for unpredictablity

Edited November 14, 20168 yr by DominatrixTyson

5 minutes ago, DominatrixTyson said:

How does Garlett go on the wing? I've never seen him there and I'm curious if he could play more time up ground as an outside burst runner IF we drafted Alsopp to be a goal sneak and could alternated w Kennedy in that pos. Salem could then also play forward. I'm guessing it's a tank issue for Garlett? I still recall the Salem match winner V Essendrug. Salem could be a sharpshooting bruest, with a killer delivery at half forward and a dead eye shot while alternating on the wing or defensive switching for unpredictablity

Garlett's done short bursts there but yeah I think his tank is the issue. I think Goodwin will favour versatility and rotate a lot of players around. 

On the same note Emma Quayle is writing a series of articles covering the needs of each of the AFL clubs for the upcoming drafts:-

AFL draft 2016: club-by-club guide, part two

The Demons have got themselves into a position where they have no pressing needs and could afford to trade (largely) out of the draft. Hibberd will add some power, pace and one on one ability to their backline while Melksham should be another solid midfield number coming back from his suspension. Then there is Jordan Lewis, who, by the end of his three-year contract the club almost needs to be struggling to keep his spot. That will mean their young midfielders have progressed as expected. The club could do with bringing in another tall defender to start developing; it's difficult to predict who will be around when they start picking but Mitch McCarthy has a lot of spring, energy and overall athleticism and could complement the McDonald brothers well. Brennan Cox and Jack Maibaum are two others – whether they make it to the Demons' first pick is questionable – and they could look at bidding for GWS academy player Harrison Macreadie, who reads the play well and gets to where the footy is but after an excellent 2015 season has slipped down the order this year. Melbourne see Mitch King progressing as a ruck prospect, but could look at bringing another in given how long they can take to play. In Petracca and Oliver they have two young midfielders with power and pace; a touch more speed in that part of the ground could be useful. If any club bids for Josh Daicos it could be Melbourne, while knowing Collingwood will match, and it would be no surprise to see them bring a true crumber in. Really though, they have drafted well for a few years in a row, and have improved their list through Hibberd. They're well placed to simply call out the first names on their list when it is their turn to choose.

No surprise we are getting linked to rucks, crumbers, outside run and tall defenders. 

Certainly think we'll stick to best available with the first pick and hopefully have someone drop through, but would be surprised if the second pick isn't looking to fill a need. 

It is amazing how our list has progressed to the point, where we are talking about guys coming in and some of our developing players and you struggle to fit them in into the 22.

That is the starting point for continued success.

We have not seen the best of Hunt, Oliver, Petracca, Brayshaw, Hogan, Oscar, Frost, Wagner, Gawn ( yes he will still learn and improve ), Weideman, Viney etc. Even Watts is getting better and Kent  and VDB can add to their consistency.

Guys like Smith, Hulett, Maynard, ANB, JKH and King are developing.

We bring in Lewis and the two Bombers.

We are 5 days away from a draft, with a couple of late picks and most of us, I assume, are pretty blase about it, unlike the past, where it was our hope and salvation.

Exciting times lie ahead for our club.

6 hours ago, Redleg said:

We are 5 days away from a draft, with a couple of late picks and most of us, I assume, are pretty blase about it, unlike the past, where it was our hope and salvation.

Exciting times lie ahead for our club.

Yep, i still plan on listening to it via radio, but it will be a snooze-fest. And about bloody time too. I hate it that the most enjoyable part of the footy for the last 9 years has been in late November. 

On 06/11/2016 at 6:14 PM, rjay said:

The ruck is a liability but picking a someone who is going to take time to develop is not going to help us.

We already have King in this role...

The long & short of it is ...

We need rookie apprentice rucks, not more than 3 yrs apart, to come thru on a constant feed.  Eventually the special one will arrive.   In the meantime, we should grab an aged mature follower type.

 

We also need the smalls, quick, smart, with that  attitude about them to take em all on, take on the world.  This attitude is a must in a small.

Edited November 22, 20168 yr by DV8

Gee, Jason Taylor, after a year's work, gets to pick 2 players late in the draft and then a rookie or two.

9 hours ago, Redleg said:

Gee, Jason Taylor, after a year's work, gets to pick 2 players late in the draft and then a rookie or two.

2 national draft picks, 3 rookie picks and McKenna counts like a draft pick really. That said he'd certainly be nervously awaiting his first pick of the night. 

Funny business recruiting. The better you do the worse the picks you get for the years after. 

On 11/23/2016 at 5:03 PM, DeeSpencer said:

2 national draft picks, 3 rookie picks and McKenna counts like a draft pick really. That said he'd certainly be nervously awaiting his first pick of the night. 

Funny business recruiting. The better you do the worse the picks you get for the years after. 

And you can assume he had a big say in deciding that this year's draft was not worth as much at the top end as last year's hence the decision to trade away this year's first round draft pick for (in effect) Weideman. 

19 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

And you can assume he had a big say in deciding that this year's draft was not worth as much at the top end as last year's hence the decision to trade away this year's first round draft pick for (in effect) Weideman. 

So this year we would have had pick 11 then acadamy gifts pushing it back to possibly pick 14, I'd rather have Weideman with a year of development. 

6 hours ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

And you can assume he had a big say in deciding that this year's draft was not worth as much at the top end as last year's hence the decision to trade away this year's first round draft pick for (in effect) Weideman. 

I've never believed they can be that specific a year out, but there weren't talls in this years batch and there were quite a few other talls available last year which is why I came round to liking that move. 

I'm sure Taylor would've preferred to hold on to this years 2nd round pick given there's a strong bunch in the late 20's/early 30's. If one of those guys drops it might be the best of both worlds.

Shame there's not live draft trading yet. We could offer our 2nd rounder next year for a pick in the low 30's if a kid had fallen that far and we wanted them. 

Edited November 25, 20168 yr by DeeSpencer

Key Defender, Ruck or Ruck/Forward, Small Forward.