Our Indigenous Recruiting

[Cranky Franky 2,032]

Melbourne used to be very good at recruiting talented Aboriginal players - usually a bit more mature & experienced than raw 18 year olds - we had great success with Matt Whelan, Ozzie Woannemirri, Liam Jurrah & Aaron Davey.    In recent years we seemed to have sopped looking. We have picked up Dion Johnstone & Jay Kennedy Harris while Richmond have managed to pick several diamonds out of the rough ie Bolton, Stack & now Pickett. 

Our recruiters need to wake up.

 

[Lord Nev 13,512]

3 minutes ago, Cranky Franky said:

Melbourne used to be very good at recruiting talented Aboriginal players - usually a bit more mature & experienced than raw 18 year olds - we had great success with Matt Whelan, Ozzie Woannemirri, Liam Jurrah & Aaron Davey.    In recent years we seemed to have sopped looking. We have picked up Dion Johnstone & Jay Kennedy Harris while Richmond have managed to pick several diamonds out of the rough ie Bolton, Stack & now Pickett. 

Our recruiters need to wake up.

Whelan was drafted in 1999.

Davey in 2004.

Aussie 2007.

Jurrah 2008.

You've listed 4 players drafted over a 10 year span seemingly as an example of how 'often' we recruited Indigenous players.

We had 5 Indigenous players on our list this year.

 

[KingDingAling 3,752]

33 minutes ago, Cranky Franky said:

Melbourne used to be very good at recruiting talented Aboriginal players - usually a bit more mature & experienced than raw 18 year olds - we had great success with Matt Whelan, Ozzie Woannemirri, Liam Jurrah & Aaron Davey.    In recent years we seemed to have sopped looking. We have picked up Dion Johnstone & Jay Kennedy Harris while Richmond have managed to pick several diamonds out of the rough ie Bolton, Stack & now Pickett. 

Our recruiters need to wake up.

 

Overhaul everything and start from scratch. Bring in coaches and recruiters from successful lines like Hawthorn, Richmond, West Coast. Then we might see things change. As it stands I wouldn't expect any improvement in recruiting.

[DeeSpencer 25,509]

Nev Jetta and Steve May are 2 pretty handy players.

Richmond have embraced the need for speed and found 2 very good small forwards - with decent draft picks mind you - in Rioli and Bolton.

Then in the last year they've had such a strong list and culture that they've rolled the dice on guys with high upside but known off field concerns in Stack and Pickett. They handled Stack really well, having him live with the coach and really push his case for a list spot when 17 other clubs didn't take the risk. Then they gambled on Pickett with the mid season draft despite a long injury lay off and have been rewarded.

I'd certainly encourage our recruiters to keep looking for guys like Bolton and Rioli to pick up in the draft, as for the other guys it's a matter of trusting your culture and staff and knowing what is and isn't a risk worth taking. Richmond have been rewarded for embracing new rules and being smart to get ahead of the competition. 

[Cranky Franky 2,032]

37 minutes ago, Lord Nev said:

Whelan was drafted in 1999.

Davey in 2004.

Aussie 2007.

Jurrah 2008.

You've listed 4 players drafted over a 10 year span seemingly as an example of how 'often' we recruited Indigenous players.

We had 5 Indigenous players on our list this year.

 

You are missing the point - which is - that there are a lot of hidden gems among potential Indigenous recruits.

For example we select Johnson & Bedford who at best need years of development whereas Richmond pick up Shai Bolton & Sidney Stack, not to mention Marlion Pickett who are ready to play from day 1.  We used to be very good at this - now we are not.  

 

[Lord Nev 13,512]

Just now, Cranky Franky said:

You are missing the point - which is - that there are a lot of hidden gems among potential Indigenous recruits.

For example we select Johnson & Bedford who at best need years of development whereas Richmond pick up Shai Bolton & Sidney Stack, not to mention Marlion Pickett who are ready to play from day 1.  We used to be very good at this - now we are not. 

Mate, I just don't think what you're saying has anything to do with players being Indigenous or not. You're giving examples that are more about cultural challenges and players seen to be a risk.

I think you've missed the point in that it's more about we haven't had strong enough leadership or club culture to back ourselves in to handle or turn around a more of a 'rough around the edges' type of person. That has nothing to do with whether they're Indigenous or not.

[John Demonic 5,750]

We should feed JKH more pies and turn him into a Dean Rioli.

[praha 11,236]

2 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

Melbourne used to be very good at recruiting talented Aboriginal players - usually a bit more mature & experienced than raw 18 year olds - we had great success with Matt Whelan, Ozzie Woannemirri, Liam Jurrah & Aaron Davey.    In recent years we seemed to have sopped looking. We have picked up Dion Johnstone & Jay Kennedy Harris while Richmond have managed to pick several diamonds out of the rough ie Bolton, Stack & now Pickett. 

Our recruiters need to wake up.

 

Stack and Pickett won't be in the system for long.

Flash in the pan Indigenous players of the Pickett variety don't last long for a variety of reasons, many of them personal and cultural.

If we we're absolutely certain at draft time of the type of players both Pickett and Jetta would be across their careers, I'd choose Jetta every day of the week.

Pickett is a great football story and no doubt he'll provide plenty of highlights. Where he has come from and what he has done is a true testament to his character. But he won't last long.

Richmond had the flexibility to draft a player of Pickett's football and personal history because he was coming into a successful environment with strong leaders.

Bringing a guy like Pickett into a team like Melbourne, where its two captains either can't string a sentence together or whose head is weighed down whenever they walk off the ground after a loss, and you'd end up with a Jurrah 2.0 scenario.

Melbourne's drafting in this area has been strong in recent years. Richmond got lucky on an EXTREMELY risky pick. Good luck to the kid.

[Deecisive 1,709]

i just want the best players we can get, aboriginal, irish even kiwi's (if we have too).

[AaronDaveyChipsAndGravey 390]

3 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

You are missing the point - which is - that there are a lot of hidden gems among potential Indigenous recruits.

For example we select Johnson & Bedford who at best need years of development whereas Richmond pick up Shai Bolton & Sidney Stack, not to mention Marlion Pickett who are ready to play from day 1.  We used to be very good at this - now we are not.  

 

Bedford was pick 60 odd and has the same weight as a stick, and hence will be given time to develop. I would have thought steven may and nev jetta are pretty hand indigenous recruits. Just because they dont have the flash of a rioli or liam ryan type doesnt mean they arent as important

Stack and Pickett are both enigmas and a punt that took off for Richmond that suit where they’re culturally at as a club. The sad reality is that I doubt either of those would really thrive at the Dees. Anyways, I’d be backing our recruiting staff to be looking at the best possible players to fill our needs regardless of their background

[The Red Fox 216]

4 hours ago, Lord Nev said:

Whelan was drafted in 1999.

Davey in 2004.

Aussie 2007.

Jurrah 2008.

You've listed 4 players drafted over a 10 year span seemingly as an example of how 'often' we recruited Indigenous players.

We had 5 Indigenous players on our list this year.

 

And two of them were busts!

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,703]

33 minutes ago, AaronDaveyChipsAndGravey said:

Bedford was pick 60 odd and has the same weight as a stick, and hence will be given time to develop. I would have thought steven may and nev jetta are pretty hand indigenous recruits. Just because they dont have the flash of a rioli or liam ryan type doesnt mean they arent as important

Stack and Pickett are both enigmas and a punt that took off for Richmond that suit where they’re culturally at as a club. The sad reality is that I doubt either of those would really thrive at the Dees. Anyways, I’d be backing our recruiting staff to be looking at the best possible players to fill our needs regardless of their background

According to some posters here on Demonland, though, May can't be any good because he's a private school boy.

[darkhorse72 1,906]

The tigers have only signed up picket for 1 year it was announced this week. 

[monoccular 17,416]

On 10/3/2019 at 10:31 PM, Darkhorse72 said:

The tigers have only signed up picket for 1 year it was announced this week. 

Interesting, after that performance.

[John Crow Batty 8,862]

whilst we have recruited 

1 hour ago, monoccular said:

Interesting, after that performance.

Shows they aren’t yet convinced he can go the distance and be a long term prospect. But with their list they can afford to keep him on the periphery. No need to take a chance. 
Whilst we have had a good record of recruiting indigenous players the best have all been solid workmanlike types. We couldn’t keep Farmer because we didn’t put an appropriate monetary value on his talents. He was kicking five and plus on a regular basis.  Bagging a star has eluded us. Charles, Wonna and Jurrah had that potential and Picket is in the same category. He’s only played one game. The test will be how he progresses next season and after.

Edited October 5, 2019 by america de cali

[FireInTheBennelly 4,072]

On 10/2/2019 at 5:34 PM, John Demonic said:

We should feed JKH more pies and turn him into a Dean Rioli.

What about KFC for a Byron Pickett?