Jump to content

Another great big Neeld era recruiting stuff up...

John Crow Batty
John Crow Batty
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

1 hour ago, dee-tox said:

Could have had Adam Goodes at pick 43 too. We all saw him strut his stuff for North Ballarat grand final day 1996...

Goodes gave away his grand final ticket  after under 18 , gave to  a person holding 1 ticket wanted sign

  • Quote
    • Shocked 1
     
    1 hour ago, Lord Nev said:

    In the article it mentions Craig and Todd Viney were recommending Sellar.

     

    Surely would have also gone through his former coach who originally drafted him.

     

     

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    Does not matter - the recruiting was a very small part of our problem at that time.

    Neale's career would likely be done by now had he been been chosen by the Dees.

  • Quote
    • Like 1
     
    11 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

    Thank god we didn't ruin Neale's career.

    We recruited the best young player from Kybybolite and stuffed his career, we didn't need to do it to the second best young player from there too.

    Too obtuse for me. Who was this "best young player from Kybybolite" whose career we stuffed up? 

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    10 hours ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

    What’s the point? I’m sure they chose the players they thought were the best available at the time, no need to be hindsight heroes. 

    It's the tag line of this site.

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    • Haha 2
    10 minutes ago, Better days ahead said:

    Harsh. the other 17 clubs passed on him as well.

    We only passed on him 3 times, he was the 4th pick for Freo, so they also passed on him 3 times. GWS had 11 picks before Neale, while Brissy and the dogs had 4 picks, The cats, tigers, port, hawks all had 3 picks before Neale went as well. I look forward to the follow up article with all their recruiting managers as well.

  • Quote
    • Like 3
    33 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

    Who was this "best young player from Kybybolite" whose career we stuffed up? 

    Jack Trengove was from Kybybolite IIRC.

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
     
    10 hours ago, Elegt said:

    Mitch Clark was good. The rest were terrible

    Max Gawn?  A million monkeys and a million draft picks ...

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    10 hours ago, Satan said:

    Goodes gave away his grand final ticket  after under 18 , gave to  a person holding 1 ticket wanted sign

    Clubs were only allowed one 17yo that year.  By taking Travis Johnstone we couldn't take Goodes, who was effectively pick 11 or something like in the 17yo draft within a draft.

  • Quote
    • Like 2
    13 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

    He rated him so highly yet he still chose Josh Tynan at Pick 52.

    Prendergast is a [censored] id iot.

    But he picked Gysberts instead of Talia and the short stocky player, whose name I forget, instead of everybody left in that draft, not to mention ignoring the boy who went at 3, for a mercenary transient and JT. The boy who went at 3 is playing this week for his third flag. 

  • Quote
    • Author

    We were very close to picking Fyfe. We recruited his next door neighbour.

  • Quote

    Richmond passed on Lance Franklin, they turned out OK because they got their whole football club right

    Edited by one_demon

  • Quote
    • Like 3
    2 hours ago, Red and Blue realist said:

    We only passed on him 3 times, he was the 4th pick for Freo, so they also passed on him 3 times. GWS had 11 picks before Neale, while Brissy and the dogs had 4 picks, The cats, tigers, port, hawks all had 3 picks before Neale went as well. I look forward to the follow up article with all their recruiting managers as well.

    The same people who moan relentlessly about skewiff results re drating also often freely admit that drafting is an inexact science.  Go figure.

    Trying to place high school age footballers into some sort of numbered order is an exercise in futility. 

    Lachie Neale joins an extensive list of late draft picks who turned out to be guns.  The reverse applies of course ... top order picks are often complete busts

    I don't see what the big deal is. 

    It is what it is

  • Quote
    • Like 3
    • Love 1
    20 minutes ago, one_demon said:

    Yes, the draft is a lottery

    Well it's not a complete lottery as you've got a much better chance of unearthing a star with a top 10 pick as opposed to a pick in the 50's but nonetheless,  drafting is flawed.

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    • Author
    1 hour ago, Macca said:

    The same people who moan relentlessly about skewiff results re drating also often freely admit that drafting is an inexact science.  Go figure.

    Trying to place high school age footballers into some sort of numbered order is an exercise in futility. 

    Lachie Neale joins an extensive list of late draft picks who turned out to be guns.  The reverse applies of course ... top order picks are often complete busts

    I don't see what the big deal is. 

    It is what it is

    The difference it not the fans who were lamenting but the the football club recruiters and powers lamenting at the one that got away. Basically they are admitting they seriously considered Neale but passed him over for three spuds instead.  If this article never appeared in the media fans would not have known better and the discussion would not have happened.

    Edited by america de cali

  • Quote
    • Like 1
    4 hours ago, mauriesy said:

    Boy, we're looking through a very hazy retrospectoscope with this one.

    Whats Jimmy Toumpas doing nowdays??

  • Quote
    • Like 2
    5 minutes ago, america de cali said:

    The difference it not the fans who were lamenting but the the football club recruiters lamenting at the one that got away. Basically they are admitting they seriously considered Neale but passed him over for three spuds instead.  If this article never appeared in the media fans would not have known better and would not be a discussion point. 

    It's a pathetic story.

    How easy is it, 9 years after the fact, to say "oh yeah I wanted to pick him but someone else said I couldn't"?

    It's a rubbish, unverifiable claim.

    The implication in your post is that we stuffed up more than any other club because we "passed him over for three spuds". As has been said, every other club passed on him numerous times just like we did. It doesn't matter what Prendergast says 9 years later he was thinking. And even if it were true, it still doesn't matter because the recruiters at 17 other clubs clearly didn't think much differently.

  • Quote
    • Like 3
    • Love 1
     
    3 minutes ago, america de cali said:

    The difference it not the fans lamenting but the the football club recruiters lamenting at the one that got away. Basically they are saying they seriously considered Neale but picked three spuds instead.  If this article never appeared in the media fans would not have known better and would not a discussion point. 

    Neale being a pick in the 50's was going to be a story one way or the other

    And recruiters don't go out to pick poor players ... that's just the way things turn out

    Prendergast picked Gawn at pick 36 and we've done well more recently with trading or swapping top end picks or reshuffling picks or in fact the use of them ... May,  Oliver,  Petracca,  Brayshaw,  Viney etc etc

    Melksham,  Hibberd,  Fritsch etc have been good pick ups for 2nd rounders as well

    Drafting - you win some,  you lose some

    The reality of drafting is that it's an inexact science and probably always will be.

    As previously stated,  no big deal

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

    Guest
    Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
    Reply to this topic...
    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • PREVIEW: West Coast

      Saturday’s election night game in Perth between the West Coast Eagles and Melbourne represents 18th vs 15th which makes it a tough decision as to which party to favour. The Eagles have yet to break the ice under their new coach in Andrew McQualter who is the second understudy in a row to confront Demon Coach Simon Goodwin who was also winless until a fortnight ago. On that basis, many punters might be considering to go with the donkey vote but I’ve been assigned with the task of helping readers to come to a considered opinion on this matter of vital importance across the nation. It was almost a year ago that I wrote a preview here of the Demons’ away game against the Eagles (under the name William from Waalitj because it was Indigenous Round).  I issued a warning that it was a danger game, based on my local knowledge that the home team were no longer easybeats and that they possessed a wunderkind generational player in Harley Reid who was capable of producing stellar performances playing among men a decade and more older than he.  At the time, the Eagles already had two wins off the back of a couple of the young man’s masterclasses and they had recently given the Bombers a scare straight after their Anzac Day blockbuster draw against the then reigning premiers.

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 1 reply
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • NON-MFC: Round 08

      Round 08 of the 2025 AFL Season kicks off on Thursday with a must-win game for the Bombers to stay in touch with the top eight, while the struggling Roos seek a morale-boosting upset. Friday sees the Saints desperate for a win as well if they are to stay in finals contention and their opponents the Dockers will be eager to crack in to the Top 8 with a win on the road. Saturday kicks off with a pivotal clash for both sides asthe Bulldogs look to solidify their top-eight spot, while Port seeks to shake their pretender tag. Then the Crows will be looking to steady their topsy turvy season against a resurgent Blues looking to make it 4 wins on the trot. On Election Night a Blockbuster will see the ladder-leading Pies take on the Cats, who are keen to bounce back after a narrow loss. On Sunday the Sydney Derby promises fireworks as the Giants aim to cement their top-eight status, while the Swans fight to keep their season alive. The Hawks, celebrating their centenary, will be looking to easily account for the Tigers who are desperate to halt their slide. The Round concludes on Sunday Night with a top end of the table QClash with significant ladder implications; both Queensland teams are in scintillating form. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons?

      • 1 reply
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: West Coast

      The Demons hit the road in Round 8, heading to Perth to face the West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium. With momentum building, the Dees will be aiming for a third straight victory to keep their season revival on course. Who comes in and who goes out?

        • Thanks
      • 290 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • REPORT: Richmond

      The fans who turned up to the MCG for Melbourne’s Anzac Day Eve clash against Richmond would have been disappointed if they turned up to see a great spectacle. As much as this was a night for the 71,635 in attendance to commemorate heroes of the nation’s past wars, it was also a time for the Melbourne Football Club to consolidate upon its first win after a horrific start to the 2025 season. On this basis, despite the fact that it was an uninspiring and dour struggle for most of its 100 minutes, the night will be one for the fans to remember. They certainly got value out of the pre match activity honouring those who fought for their country. The MCG and the lights of the city as backdrop was made for nights such as these and, in my view, we received a more inspirational ceremony of Anzac culture than others both here and elsewhere around the country. 

        • Love
        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • CASEY: Richmond

      The match up of teams competing in our great Aussie game at its second highest level is a rarity for a work day Thursday morning but the blustery conditions that met the players at a windswept Casey Fields was something far more commonplace.They turned the opening stanza between the Casey Demons and a somewhat depleted Richmond VFL into a mess of fumbling unforced errors, spilt marks and wasted opportunities for both sides but they did set up a significant win for the home team which is exactly what transpired on this Anzac Day round opener. Casey opened up strong against the breeze with the first goal to Aidan Johnson, the Tigers quickly responded and the game degenerated into a defensive slog and the teams were level when the first siren sounded.

        • Clap
        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PODCAST: Richmond

      The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 28th April @ 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we analyse the Demons 2nd win for the year against the Tigers.
      Your questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show.
      If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human.
      Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/
      Call: 03 9016 3666
      Skype: Demonland31

        • Thanks
      • 29 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland
    View All