10 hours ago, Fat Tony said:

McKercher looks pretty small for a midfielder and very left sided. 

Mckercher is like Zac Merrett but will be better imv. He had elite decision making and is a goalkicking mid.  Definitely top 5 rated in this years draft. 

29 minutes ago, Sydney_Demon said:

There definitely would be compensation. I think you go for the best prospect regardless of the Tassie go home factor. That might even scare away a few other teams from picking him.

Doing the AFL ladder predictor, I have us getting Pick 5 from Freo even if they beat the Swans this weekend (which I think they will, hope I'm wrong). If the Swans win I think there's a big chance Freo finish above them. We could still trade up expecially given Gold Coast will be looking to trade out their current Pick 6.

Currently we have picks 4, 15, 23, 34, 89. I reckon that 4 will change to 5 and 23 to 24 and of course I'm hoping 15, 34, 89 become 18, 37, 92 😀). 5, 18, 24, 37 & 92 will hopefully be a good starting point for some decent players. We wouldn't use 92 but could trade it.  

Pick 5 from Freo would be a great outcome but I’m hoping for 4 and think swans are a better team and will finish above Freo. I’m more concerned about the Suns dropping down the ladder than the Swans. 
Given the picks we currently have 4,15,23&34 as well as all of next years picks we have a stronger hand in a supposedly better draft than the year 2019 when we got Jackson, Kossie and Rivers. 
Regardless of who we bring in it’s going to be very exciting. 

He looks a serious talent but even without the Tassie go home factor I’m not absolutely sold. Prolific, tenacious and great burst speed but decision making doesn’t look great.

I got hammered for saying last year that I’m far from convinced this year will be a super draft and I think it’s shaping up weaker than last years top end crop. The talls apart from Walter aren’t blowing me away, the medium forwards haven’t come on and Harley Reid’s the only consensus top 10 mid from Vic, WA or SA which is bizarre.

4 hours ago, The heart beats true said:

Incredible speed from stoppage in that first highlight. Looks like he came home from the carnival and realised he was a class above.

I wouldn’t be worried about the go home factor with the Tassie boys. It’s the same reality as SA and WA players. Some do go home, but we have to back our system in to keep them here and happy.

A lot of the work done with the top end talent is ensuring they have the competitive mindset. Competitive players don’t want to play in losing teams. I think it’s much harder to get talent out of an existing, winning system than it is to get it in to a new one.

You can be as competitive as you want but are you turning down double the money? Because that’s the kind of offers guys got at GWS and GC.

The best argument might be he’s from Launceston so it’s not like he’d really be home if he’s off to Hobart. Driving is far more convenient than flying but the actual commute for hopping on a plane isn’t much different.

I’d almost always go with the talent as long as they’re happy to come (and he would be because he’s not sitting out 4 years), but it’s a factor.

Edited July 17, 20231 yr by DeeSpencer

Either/or of McKercher or Duursma for me with our Freo Pick. Both are highlighly rated and in my view fit positional (half forwards that will develop to senior mids) and attributes (speed and polish) that we need.  

3 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

He looks a serious talent but even without the Tassie go home factor I’m not absolutely sold. Prolific, tenacious and great burst speed but decision making doesn’t look great.

I got hammered for saying last year that I’m far from convinced this year will be a super draft and I think it’s shaping up weaker than last years top end crop. The talls apart from Walter aren’t blowing me away, the medium forwards haven’t come on and Harley Reid’s the only consensus top 10 mid from Vic, WA or SA which is bizarre.

I know that Ryley Saunders is actually boarding in Melbourne this year, so whilst 'technically' from Tassie, he's been in Melb already this year. I thought McKercher was doing the same re school in Melb this year too, ... not 100% on that bit though. 

Interestingly Nth are trying to take Ryley Saunders off the board and attempting to claim him thru the NGA as he has indigenous heritage.  But they haven't got him listed yet and are trying to get an exemption to get him. Even though they can't 'claim' him if he's top 20 or whatever it is under the current NGA rules, I think they are pushing for a concession given the fact that they are kinda hopeless.

Giving this a bump as Colby is the exact player we need.

Skillful, quick, kicks goals, hits targets . I hope he falls to us but not sure he will make it. I'd be doing everything possible to get GC's 4 to grab him  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perfect for us, sounds like North will grab him after Curtin with the McKay compensation (3) though , maybe we could make a charge for their pick 3 instead of GC 4, probably the only way. Duursma to Hawks then Watson to Dogs (at the moment that’s the narrative) so North really is the only roadblock to Mckercher

1 hour ago, Lewis said:

Perfect for us, sounds like North will grab him after Curtin with the McKay compensation (3) though , maybe we could make a charge for their pick 3 instead of GC 4, probably the only way. Duursma to Hawks then Watson to Dogs (at the moment that’s the narrative) so North really is the only roadblock to Mckercher

Maybe now that North aren’t getting Sanders, they’ll take him at 3 with their own pick anyway instead of Mckercher? Which would leave the door ajar for him to slide to our first pick 

Mckercher would be an early Xmas gift for the Dees. 

Unless we can trade to Pick 3 or 4 we wont be getting Mckercher.

1 minute ago, Jibroni said:

Unless we can trade to Pick 3 or 4 we wont be getting Mckercher.

Why

1 hour ago, Lewis said:

Why

 

Becuase North or whoever grabs Pick 4 will take him

1 minute ago, Jibroni said:

 

Becuase North or whoever grabs Pick 4 will take him

I think you’re right but worth pointing out that the Dogs are heavy favourites to land pick 4 and it’s been reported they are really keen on Watson (I’m guessing to compliment Cody Weightman in their top heavy forward line)

With West Coast also reported to be almost set on taking Reid with pick 1, draft night could look something like:

WC P1 - Reid 

GC P2 (Matched Bid) - Walters 

North P3 - Curtin 

North P4 (McKay compo) - McKercher?

Hawks P5 - Duursma (reported as being very keen on him)

Dogs P6 - Watson

Melbourne P7 - Sanders? O’Sullivan? Caddy?

Despite all the talk about GC P4 I actually think the McKay compo will be the biggest factor in shaping draft night 

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/09/23/tom-morris-update-on-all-the-big-afl-trade-period-names/

Gold Coast’s pick 4

“There’s a clear front-runner now and it’s the Western Bulldogs. They’ve got picks 10, 17 and 36, which gives the Gold Coast Suns what they want.

“This doesn’t mean that Melbourne or Adelaide or any other club is completely out of it, but I do think it is the Dogs’ to lose now and I think there’s an acknowledgement from the Suns that the Dogs are the frontrunners, too.”

19 minutes ago, demoncat said:

Melbourne P7 - Sanders? O’Sullivan? Caddy?

Despite all the talk about GC P4 I actually think the McKay compo will be the biggest factor in shaping draft night 

Yes I imagine we will be drafting one of these 3 which seems fine on face value.

If not Mckercher, Sanders ⭐️ would be fine. 

4 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

If not Mckercher, Sanders ⭐️ would be fine. 

Sanders now we’ll and truly front and centre for us unless we trade up to go higher. Personally, my first preference is McKercher but hard to see how we get him. 

Choice between Sanders and O’Sullivan also isn’t an easy one. 

1 hour ago, Jibroni said:

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/09/23/tom-morris-update-on-all-the-big-afl-trade-period-names/

Gold Coast’s pick 4

“There’s a clear front-runner now and it’s the Western Bulldogs. They’ve got picks 10, 17 and 36, which gives the Gold Coast Suns what they want.

“This doesn’t mean that Melbourne or Adelaide or any other club is completely out of it, but I do think it is the Dogs’ to lose now and I think there’s an acknowledgement from the Suns that the Dogs are the frontrunners, too.”

Good ol tom Morris , always makes to make things sound a sure thing then backtrack in the next breath. They all do it

Anyone think it’s possible that we could maneuver our way to a position whereby we could pick two of Duursma, McKercher and Sanders?

13 minutes ago, Elwood 3184 said:

Anyone think it’s possible that we could maneuver our way to a position whereby we could pick two of Duursma, McKercher and Sanders?

GC will trade out of 4, so that’s the big target for getting 2 highly rated guys. But will GWS, Geel, Ess, Adel trade out of 6-9? History says it’s very uncommon. If the Suns trade from 4 to 10 they might then go from 10 to 13 with us. 

Do we trade to get 5 and 10 if we can’t get 4 and 5? Possibly, but by draft night 10 is 13+ and that’s usually not worth moving for.

One player from the elite group and then target a few picks across the draft is what I’d do if the Suns don’t deal with us

 

 

Curtin will go 2 you'd imagine given the Roos need tall blokes and Hawks need pure mids so McKercher logically goes there.

I still think we get Duursma.

How does McKercher go on his right foot?

Generally left footers are very one sided when it comes to kicking skills.

30 minutes ago, dee-tox said:

Curtin will go 2 you'd imagine given the Roos need tall blokes and Hawks need pure mids so McKercher logically goes there.

I still think we get Duursma.

Hawks are going for Duursma that’s the narrative 

I'm on record not wanting to draft McKercher and the better he is, the stronger my conviction.

If he lives up to expectations he'll be off to captain the inaugural Tasmanian team just when we need him to take the reins from an aging midfield. Yes we'll get good draft compensation but we won't be in the phase needing an 18yo mid.

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