19 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.theage.com.au/sport/afl/wa-gun-left-out-of-championships-opener-for-disciplinary-reasons-20180601-p4zizt.html

If he cant do the basics at junior level then forget him trying to do the real hard stuff at AFL level. Especially in Melbourne away from his family in Perth.

We are in a critical stage right now of trying to win a premiership. Goodwin and Mahoney will only want players that are absolutely driven to help this club succeed on and off field. The days of the Jack Watts coasting at training are over.

He won't fit into our system.

All the media types put out their top 30 draft picks or whatever.  I wonder how many of them actually have the inside intel on character etc that top recruiters like Taylor and clubs like the MFC seem to use to heavily influence their recruitment decisions.  I doubt many do.

Must say unless we had picks in the first half a dozen, I find it had to engage with this pre-draft speculation on who goes when and goes to who.  Even then, when it seems to be more obvious, clubs pull unexpected moves like McCartin and Oliver.

11 hours ago, ChaserJ said:

Interesting to hear that Valente & Duursma are among the 20 kids invited to day 1 of the draft and Ian Hill & Curtis Taylor, who have both been comfortably ranked inside the top 20 for the last year or so, are not. 

Dees could have some handy players slide to 23 & 28.

Some more names to consider:

https://coupler.foxsports.com.au/api/v1/article/amp/afl/afl-2018-draft-board-power-rankings-26-to-50-the-hidden-gems-that-loom-as-draft-bargains/news-story/9f1044dcf7c125149ed2139eaa5108e3?__twitter_impression=true

 

Not too surprising when you consider the leadership credentials of Valente and Duursma. Character, professionalism, work ethic, etc. are all KPIs for draftees probably moreso than pure talent.

I just can’t go past Ned McHenry and would be ecstatic if he was still there at 23. From what i’ve seen he’s the sought of player that would always get the most out of himself. Immense defensive pressure and, despite some criticisms about his kicking, gets plenty on it for someone of his size. Has the competitiveness and hardness that we seem to be targeting in recent years.

On 11/5/2018 at 8:42 AM, Mach5 said:

 

Not too surprising when you consider the leadership credentials of Valente and Duursma. Character, professionalism, work ethic, etc. are all KPIs for draftees probably moreso than pure talent.

Think Jack Grimes. 

34 minutes ago, DeeBachal said:

I just can’t go past Ned McHenry and would be ecstatic if he was still there at 23. From what i’ve seen he’s the sought of player that would always get the most out of himself. Immense defensive pressure and, despite some criticisms about his kicking, gets plenty on it for someone of his size. Has the competitiveness and hardness that we seem to be targeting in recent years.

Hi Ned.

33 minutes ago, DeeBachal said:

I just can’t go past Ned McHenry and would be ecstatic if he was still there at 23. From what i’ve seen he’s the sought of player that would always get the most out of himself. Immense defensive pressure and, despite some criticisms about his kicking, gets plenty on it for someone of his size. Has the competitiveness and hardness that we seem to be targeting in recent years.

Kicking is 35-40 metres at best. Carbon copy of Spargo and could not see both in our future 22. Might be top 25 rated but not the best available tonight for MFC. 

you just described jack viney. He can't kick far. I think McHenry is a bit better than Spargo. His attack on the ball and man is a lot more than Spargo. and he is quicker. But i like spargo. Spargo kicked goals in our finals. Pretty good for a first year. 

27 minutes ago, Dr.D said:

you just described jack viney. He can't kick far. I think McHenry is a bit better than Spargo. His attack on the ball and man is a lot more than Spargo. and he is quicker. But i like spargo. Spargo kicked goals in our finals. Pretty good for a first year. 

Check put the first goal from 50m line

 

Watched McHenry on 3 occasions live.  Not even in Vineys league for toughness, build or kicking length.  McHenry is a Gresham or Spargo type.  

JT will get the best available.

I have no idea who that is but I know he does.

The BP years feel like some kind of very dated horror movie now.

 

2 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Watched McHenry on 3 occasions live.  Not even in Vineys league for toughness, build or kicking length.  McHenry is a Gresham or Spargo type.  

ummm gresham is a gun...

4 hours ago, Dr.D said:

ummm gresham is a gun...

I'd like to see him back up last year first before calling him a gun

1 hour ago, Demon Disciple said:

I'd like to see him back up last year first before calling him a gun

No he is a gun. And if it's one player id love from St Kilda it's him. Since his debut he's improved each year and gotten better.

Kicked 35 goals this year for a club that doesn't score heavily. He will play more midfield next year.

On 11/4/2018 at 10:25 PM, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Must say unless we had picks in the first half a dozen, I find it had to engage with this pre-draft speculation on who goes when and goes to who.  Even then, when it seems to be more obvious, clubs pull unexpected moves like McCartin and Oliver.

Pat McKenna / Viojo-Rainbow

David Cuningham / Luke Partington

Alex Witherdon / Patrick Lipinski

The previous three 23 & 28 pairs of draft picks up until last year.

I wholeheartedly agree that it's difficult to get excited about the expected draft options in our range.

And I'm not sure if its the Rankine factor, but this year's draft highlight packages seem especially dull after the stand-out crop of eight or so at the top. At least last year I could get excited about the potential of Liam Ryan in the 25-35 range.

With Bedford likely to be brought in with our next pick, there's not even the realistic speculative smokey to ignite some anticipation. All that's left for me is the live-trading potential to upgrade and what that might bring.

I think we sold out of every 20-30 pick possibility under Taylor to date for a reason. I hold him in high regard, but I'm not sure if spending those picks in the draft will equal our best return on the balance of worth and expense.

My hope is that they upgraded to those picks for a very specific reason, which based on history is very likely. Otherwise I'm emotionally empty as to this draft season - although not so as to our trade period.

1 hour ago, Skuit said:

Pat McKenna / Viojo-Rainbow

David Cuningham / Luke Partington

Alex Witherdon / Patrick Lipinski

The previous three 23 & 28 pairs of draft picks up until last year.

I wholeheartedly agree that it's difficult to get excited about the expected draft options in our range.

And I'm not sure if its the Rankine factor, but this year's draft highlight packages seem especially dull after the stand-out crop of eight or so at the top. At least last year I could get excited about the potential of Liam Ryan in the 25-35 range.

With Bedford likely to be brought in with our next pick, there's not even the realistic speculative smokey to ignite some anticipation. All that's left for me is the live-trading potential to upgrade and what that might bring.

I think we sold out of every 20-30 pick possibility under Taylor to date for a reason. I hold him in high regard, but I'm not sure if spending those picks in the draft will equal our best return on the balance of worth and expense.

My hope is that they upgraded to those picks for a very specific reason, which based on history is highly likely. Otherwise I'm emotionally empty as to this draft season - although not so as to our trade period.

 

Smoky is Harry Reynolds, Brighton Grammar. But that’s now a fire.  Ffs

I note the King twins are reportedly different heights. Amuses me given that they're identical...but obviously not. Not quite as amusing as the Wakelin twins who were identical but different heights and were born on different days. Or the Febey twins who were identical except one was right footed and the other left footed. 

3 hours ago, Skuit said:

Otherwise I'm emotionally empty as to this draft season - although not so as to our trade period.

Irrationally pessimistic outlook based on last year's haul - Spargo, Fritsch and Petty are all very exciting prospects and Baker could go either way.  I have expectations of some Taylor magic again.

12 hours ago, Dr.D said:

ummm gresham is a gun...

A pop gun.

4 hours ago, Fifty-5 said:

Irrationally pessimistic outlook based on last year's haul - Spargo, Fritsch and Petty are all very exciting prospects and Baker could go either way.  I have expectations of some Taylor magic again.

Agreed.  I have high hopes that we will get good value out of our ealier picks, it's just that speculating on who they might be is fairly frivolous.  Who knows what Taylor and other clubs recruiters are actually thinking and who is left by picks in the 20s.

7 hours ago, Fifty-5 said:

Irrationally pessimistic outlook based on last year's haul - Spargo, Fritsch and Petty are all very exciting prospects and Baker could go either way.  I have expectations of some Taylor magic again.

I should have made what I meant clearer. It's not that I won't be unexcited by our eventual draftees (even though I think they're less likely to get a look in over the coming year, which tempers interest somewhat) - I'm just not feeling it with the pre-draft speculation this year and suggested players in our pick range.

27 minutes ago, Skuit said:

I should have made what I meant clearer. It's not that I won't be unexcited by our eventual draftees (even though I think they're less likely to get a look in over the coming year, which tempers interest somewhat) - I'm just not feeling it with the pre-draft speculation this year and suggested players in our pick range.

Were you feeling it last year?  Did you expect our first two picks to play the vast majority of games?

1 hour ago, Fifty-5 said:

Were you feeling it last year?  Did you expect our first two picks to play the vast majority of games?

I was. As mentioned there were a number of exciting potential picks around our mark. And there were more obvious opportunities in our starting team. Maybe it's that 20-30 feels like a dead-zone - not the upper echelon and not the speculative outsiders. 

It's not common that I get called out for pessimism on here - I think it's probably the opposite and just want to get on with business. Perhaps just leave me to my musings. A lack of enthusiasm / boredom is a difficult mind-state to qualify. 

AFL Draft Central have a look at a few who they rank in the 16-30 range.

https://www.afldraftcentral.com.au/2018/11/07/afl-draft-central-november-2018-power-rankings-16-30/

 

Good mail still about Ely Smith.  Has the competitive spirit and contested footy. Good pace. Physically ready to play.  Played 2/3rd in Vfl for Collingwood and he looked very comfortable.