27 minutes ago, Dee Viney Intervention said:

It will be an interesting watch. Tairon is dominating at junior level because of he’s size. He is a big strong boy. Will that translate to senior football where he will come up against big strong men. A bit like Tom Scully who dominated at junior level racking up huge numbers on the back of his engine…….didn’t translate to senior football.

I know its a different kettle of fish so to speak, but I watch a lot of underage European football.

I am very hit and miss on my 'this kid is going to be a star' statements.

Either way it seems the AFL will tortoise there way on the issue and we'll miss out on him

11 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

But they were happy to change the rules about GC only accessing 2 picks if they make finals. Policy on the run but only when it suits from the nuffies at AFL HQ

That will mean White will have to nominate us

9 hours ago, Lucifers Hero said:

The AFL is reviewing NGA rules and zones. There is a push to include Pacific Island descendants in the new rules.

The new rules/zones will be effective in the 2026 draft.

We can still draft him but use a higher pick than we otherwise would.

The frustrating thing is this will be the third time in not many years we miss a key player due to on-the-run AFL rule changes. The others:

• Noah Anderson due to GCS getting pick 2 as a priority pick. He is now their captain. We did get Jackson so not sure we lost out short term but probably did long term.

• Mac Andrew due to the silly not being allowed to match under draft pick #40 rule. No prior warning. That rule was quickly rescinded. Too late for us. Now one of the highest potential players in the league.

I'm not suggesting an AFL conspiracy against us but last year Carlton (F/S) and Essendon (NGA) did a fine job of lobbying for the new bid matching rules to not take effect until 2025. Maybe we just don't lobby enough.

Maybe we don't lobby at all. Take last year when we lost Gus with his early retirement and we couldn't replace him on the list because it was after the cut-off date. This year we also lost AMW. I suspect when Carlton lost Jagga Smith, they kicked up a huge stink resulting in the AFL doing a backflip on the rules so we could add Culley after the cut-off date. Maybe we kicked up a stink, but if the previous year is anything to go on, we either didn't or were ignored.

Under 18 rep trials …

Dandenong Stingrays’ Tairon Ah-Mu performed strongly in game one, booting six majors as the dominant forward on the ground.

Ah-Mu booted 22 goals in eleven matches for the Rays last year and is covering the ground well this season after working on his fitness over summer. A powerful mark who can also play in the ruck, he has plenty of tools to succeed at the highest level.

“His fundamentals are unbelievable, he’s clean for a big bloke and he’s learning to be better up the ground. It was exciting to see him do that at a pretty good level,” Cox said.

Cox believes Ah-Mu, who clubs believe could also be thrown into the backline, will thrive in a full-time system.

“I know this is big, but Riley Thilthorpe is similar in a way. Big bloke who marks ball in goal square and commands the footy. Obviously, he was a bit raw when he came in, but he’s turning into a mammoth man now.”