Luke Hodge spent a fair part of his career playing off half back with plenty of rotations through the middle as did Jarrod Mcveigh

  On 25/10/2019 at 10:41, Swooper1987 said:

Young has always been a midfielder until he went to the Rays.  It was a part of trying to teach him other roles and responsibilities as often happens with really talented kids.  Having seen the boy play since he was 10, coaching against him and knowing him through junior rep cricket as well as footy, I can guarantee that he is a genuinely multifaceted footballer.  His pace is good (not express), he is courageous - going back into packs is not a problem, he's a great mark for his size (can play a bit taller than his 188 cm) and his kicking is elite.  He can find his own ball and is also great on the outside.  He may play some defence, but I think ultimately he'll work between half back and the midfield, like Whitfield.  If we don't take him at 3 then whoever we do take had better be bloody good because they'll be hard pressed to carve out a better career than this bloke will.

lovely wrap up on the kid

it's funny watching kids play footy as they grow up - there's a girl who plays for my local footy club, who i've known since she was 5, who is just an out and out jet

sadly i doubt we'll ever see her in aflw because she'll be playing for the opals and the wnba

  On 25/10/2019 at 09:52, Axis of Bob said:

Houli: pick 42 (then preseason draft)

Stewart: pick 40 (mature age)

Mills: drafted as a midfielder at pick 3

Geary (really?): pick pick 58

Sicily: pick 56

Hurn: pick 13

McGrath: pick 1

Williams: pick 54 in the rookie draft.

 

So I’m not exactly sure what point you’re making in response to concerns about drafting a half back distributor at 3.

 

 

The point I was making is that these blokes are good footballers who play mainly off a hbf and contribute to their team's success.

To say you wouldn't use pick 3 to pick up a top hbf, who can set up play for you, seems misguided.

It doesn't have to be used on a FF or midfielder.

Pick 3 should be used to get a player who hopefully can play 200 games of good footy with us and this bloke looks a good chance of that.

In other words you pick the best player available at our pick.

Edited October 25, 20195 yr by Redleg

More class off half back. Nobody is arguing against it.

The argument is whether picking a half back flank distributor with a top 3 pick is the best use of our finite draft resources. The players you listed indicated that you don’t need to use such an early pick to get class across half back. 

  On 25/10/2019 at 06:33, Mel Bourne said:

I can get excited about drafting any player, in any position, who is a potential elite-disposer of the ball. And the footage I’ve seen of Hayden Young tells me he is exactly that. 

Absolutely Mel the next best player is apparently Young and we are crying out for class and skill in numerous positions in other words finishing expertise and the highlights for young Haydn have got No 3 and our requirements all over them.

Whether he excels as a half back Centre man or on baller his talent is needed.

And while we are At it let's continue on that theme and get a No 8 with all round skills maybe Kemp or Ash or Weightmen  or Jackson. One must be available if we do not split this pick.

I was pretty much convinced about Young from the day I saw him playing for the Aussie squad v Casey on television early this year. Thought him on a par with Noah Anderson and not that far behind Rowell. 

On that basis, it’s pretty much a no brainer that we take him with pick three. Splitting the pick shouldn’t come into consideration unless something out of the square or absolutely spectacular is presented to us.  

 

  On 25/10/2019 at 23:22, Sydney Pennski said:

Thought him on a par with Noah Anderson and not that far behind Rowell. 
 

Good to read a comparison with Anderson who I’m so upset at missing. Especially as all the talk is that this draft drops off a cliff after Anderson. Anyone else got a view about the two of them. 

I'm not in the slightest bit disappointed to be using our first pick on an elite HBF if that's what he turns out to be and that's who we pick.

We are pregnant with midfielders but our small back situation is close to dire.  Hibberd is finished, or close to, Jetta is getting on, Salem is the only small back with a good period left to play and I'm not sure who else we've got.  Whoever it is will have to either move from a better position (Harmes, Brayshaw, Fritsch) or jump out of the pack - Lockhart, Sparrow. 

Good distributors from half back are gold as Redleg is saying, just look at Whitfield, Sheppard, Hurn, Houli and Haynes.  I'm all for getting someone of that class.

Remember in 2009 pick 1 and 2 came to melbourne but the best player in that draft was Martin (3) so there is never a certainty when drafting there is no science only a recruiters gut feel.

See Clayton Oliver and Darcy Parish we selected the player we felt was best.

In 2013 we selected Salem my gut told me we should pick Patrick Cripps but I was not on the selection panel.

My gut feeling is Young/Kemp are the best 2 players in this draft in the long term.

  On 25/10/2019 at 05:52, Lord Travis said:

Young will be taken with our first pick.

Source: recruiter at another Victorian club. It’s apparently already widely known amongst AFL circles that we’ll be taking Young with our first pick.
 

Unknown yet if we bid for Green, but Sydney will definitely bid for Green if we don’t. 
 

Cant wait to see Young in red and blue commanding the half back line for the next 10 years!

any insights who else we rate early on for pick 8 >

You realise that if the MFC/Swan bids on Tom Green at 3/4 and is matched by GWS then we remove the GWS between 3 and 8 thus giving the MFC a better chance of selecting Kemp/Stephens etc

  On 26/10/2019 at 03:49, durango said:

You realise that if the MFC/Swan bids on Tom Green at 3/4 and is matched by GWS then we remove the GWS between 3 and 8 thus giving the MFC a better chance of selecting Kemp/Stephens etc

Surely there is a 0% chance the Swan's don't bid on him

  On 26/10/2019 at 00:32, It's Time said:

Good to read a comparison with Anderson who I’m so upset at missing. Especially as all the talk is that this draft drops off a cliff after Anderson. Anyone else got a view about the two of them. 

I’m not a close draft watcher, but I’m pretty sure this will be a draft like most before where number 1 and 2 won’t both turn out to be the best picks over time. Is rare they both are.

Highlights packages don’t give us the full story, but I personally think from the highlight packages you can see whether players have something that is absolutely elite that can’t be taught. The deficits in 18 year olds can be improved to be AFL standard but elite can’t be taught. Young’s kicking looks elite and directly creates scoring opportunities, and Stephens with his ability to accelerate even while going quick and elite endurance are the two for me.  Some others touted as top 10 I just can’t work out.

  On 26/10/2019 at 06:35, Watson11 said:

I’m not a close draft watcher, but I’m pretty sure this will be a draft like most before where number 1 and 2 won’t both turn out to be the best picks over time. Is rare they both are.

Highlights packages don’t give us the full story, but I personally think from the highlight packages you can see whether players have something that is absolutely elite that can’t be taught. The deficits in 18 year olds can be improved to be AFL standard but elite can’t be taught. Young’s kicking looks elite and directly creates scoring opportunities, and Stephens with his ability to accelerate even while going quick and elite endurance are the two for me.  Some others touted as top 10 I just can’t work out.

Tom Scully's hands looked elite at junior level. Not so at AFL level.

Young's kicking appears to be as strong as Gould's. Both consistently hit targets, but both for the most part, kick relatively safely. I'm not 100% on Young being an elite kick at AFL level.

Back 6 looks nice on paper if we draft Young

Jetta       May       Hibberd

Young     Lever      Hore/Salem

Obviously need Lever to stay injury free and Hibberd to bounce back from a horrible season.

The top 5 seem set Rowell, Anderson, Young, Green, Serong. The next 6 is a bit tricky in Flanders, Ash, Kemp, Robertson, Stephens and Weightman could go anywhere.

  On 25/10/2019 at 06:03, JakovichScissorKick said:

I cant get excited about drafting a half back at pick 3.    Would be very Melbourne-like to take one there though

 

I can't even work out what this is supposed to mean. You don't think half back is important enough to commit a high draft pick on? Do you only like good footballers in the midfield or full forward? 

Teams like Geelong and hawthorn have developed their entire game plan around rebounding from half back, in the case of hawthorn specifically with elite foot skills.

I get that you might not rate young, for all of us this is just opinion on very limited data. But not rating half backs at all? You've lost me there. 

  On 26/10/2019 at 10:46, WERRIDEE said:

The top 5 seem set Rowell, Anderson, Young, Green, Serong. The next 6 is a bit tricky in Flanders, Ash, Kemp, Robertson, Stephens and Weightman could go anywhere.

I don’t believe that Weightman is in the next 6.

Edited October 26, 20195 yr by The Great Pretender

  On 26/10/2019 at 10:46, WERRIDEE said:

The top 5 seem set Rowell, Anderson, Young, Green, Serong. The next 6 is a bit tricky in Flanders, Ash, Kemp, Robertson, Stephens and Weightman could go anywhere.

What makes you think that regarding the top 5? I think Flanders will be right in the mix to go in that group.

Just watched the under 18's vic metro v vic country match and it's worth watching on Kayo. 

Get excited because Young was BOG. Quality user of the ball and knows how to find it. I can't stress enough that we can't split pick 3. He is a gun. Pick 8 fine but not pick 3.

Serong is a good player was very impressive.

You know what you get from Rowell and Anderson.

Kemp didn't notice him too much.

Flanders as I said vanilla for mine.

Ash his football brain worries me a little bit but he shows some dash.

  On 26/10/2019 at 13:04, Watts the matter said:

What makes you think that regarding the top 5? I think Flanders will be right in the mix to go in that group.

Flanders is vanilla for mine played as a tagger against vic metro and didn't impress me.

Edited October 26, 20195 yr by WERRIDEE

  On 26/10/2019 at 13:09, WERRIDEE said:

Just watched the under 18's vic metro v vic country match and it's worth watching on Kayo. 

Get excited because You

Flanders is vanilla for mine played as a tagger against vic metro and didn't impress me.

Watch the games against SA and WA and you will see why he is right up there.

  On 26/10/2019 at 13:10, Watts the matter said:

Watch the games against SA and WA and you will see why he is right up there.

Is there anyway you can do that can't find it on Kayo?

  On 26/10/2019 at 13:15, WERRIDEE said:

Is there anyway you can do that can't find it on Kayo?

On the AFL website in the videos in the under 18 section.

After watching some highlights young is a must his kicking is sensational and will play round 1

  On 27/10/2019 at 04:58, brendan said:

After watching some highlights young is a must his kicking is sensational and will play round 1

The guys on the AFL site, including Lloyd and Callum Twomey, said if we get him he, will at that point be the best kick in the side.

This to me is starting to resemble the Kelly/Salem-Tyson situation.

Do you let go of the star, for an extra player/pick? Given that experience, if we want Young, then bloody take him.