Welcome to Demonland: Pick 9

[spirit of norm smith 16,044]

What’s the DL senate view on drafting Bo Allan?
He looks a very strong midfielder with good strong contested footy in centre clearance and stoppages. Tackles extremely well.  Good long left foot kick.  Whilst didn’t always hit targets, he played above his years and under pressure.  His pace is good. His body size 190cms and shape is a plug and play in today’s AFL World.  Because MFCSS, only knock is the WA go home factor.  I’m still perhaps scarred by Jackson.  Thankful and hopeful that we can retain Kozzy, Riv, JVR, McVee & Kolt. JT shouldn’t be afraid of Allan’s WA origins.  

[Pennant St Dee 12,965]

27 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

What’s the DL senate view on drafting Bo Allan?
He looks a very strong midfielder with good strong contested footy in centre clearance and stoppages. Tackles extremely well.  Good long left foot kick.  Whilst didn’t always hit targets, he played above his years and under pressure.  His pace is good. His body size 190cms and shape is a plug and play in today’s AFL World.  Because MFCSS, only knock is the WA go home factor.  I’m still perhaps scarred by Jackson.  Thankful and hopeful that we can retain Kozzy, Riv, JVR, McVee & Kolt. JT shouldn’t be afraid of Allan’s WA origins.  

It’s not just MFCSS, it’s a real possibility. However if the club believes he’s the one at that pick then they back themselves to create the environment and put things in place where he wants to stay. He played as an underager in 23 so has that connection with Kolt and Kentfield from state squad 

[Adam The God 29,937]

8 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Taj Hotton at pick 9.

Just so we can be the first club in history to have two Taj's on the list.

See, the dream for me is probably Smith at 5 and then Hotton at 15 and Hynes at 16. Bang.

[Palace Dees 2,247]

Forgive me for not trawling through 20 pages to see what options have been discussed already.

I have been steadfast on keeping both 5 and 9, but I'm now more open to a trade for 9.  The more I see and read, the more I realise how deep this draft is. There will be a LOT of talent in the teens that would be top 10's in most other years.

Below would be my reaction should we swap 9 for those picks in bold. The italic bold being a counter offer 2nd pick offer. Keep in mind, the Richmond pick 24 will be the first pick of the 2nd round. Highly prized and easily traded for a '25 first rounder should we so desire.

I had been trying to work out how we could get a pick in the 20's as I really like a player rarely discussed. I know I will get howled down by most for suggesting a ruckman, but I feel Alex Dodson is something special.  He is the u18 AA ruck, 203cm, and regularly gets 20+ disposals per game. Also a top level basketballer, he is really an extra midfielder and has a very high footy IQ. With 3 years under Max, I would be shocked if he doesnt become the best ruck in the league

Greater Western Sydney: 15, 16, 21?, 37, 56, 74   😃 🙂
Richmond: 1, 6, 10, 11, 18, 20, 23, 24?  🙂 😉
Sydney: 19, 22, 44, 59  😐
West Coast: 12, 26, 73 🙂
Western Bulldogs: 17, 25, 35, 48 😐

I have put on my helmet and about to jump in my fox hole. Fire away!

Breaking news:  Just did a topic search and saw old55 started an Alex Dodson thread on 5 October!  Good to know I may have a bunker buddy. 😁

Edited October 24 by Palace Dees
additional info

[The Jackson FIX 2,999]

On 23/10/2024 at 17:16, spirit of norm smith said:

What’s the DL senate view on drafting Bo Allan?

 

My guess is the club don’t really care where he is from BUT I do this time around… drafting interstaters in recent years hasn’t concerned me but there is just too much other stuff going on now at the club to take the risk, especially when there are so many good vics around that mark in the draft 

[demoncat 1,218]

On 23/10/2024 at 17:16, spirit of norm smith said:

What’s the DL senate view on drafting Bo Allan?
He looks a very strong midfielder with good strong contested footy in centre clearance and stoppages. Tackles extremely well.  Good long left foot kick.  Whilst didn’t always hit targets, he played above his years and under pressure.  His pace is good. His body size 190cms and shape is a plug and play in today’s AFL World.  Because MFCSS, only knock is the WA go home factor.  I’m still perhaps scarred by Jackson.  Thankful and hopeful that we can retain Kozzy, Riv, JVR, McVee & Kolt. JT shouldn’t be afraid of Allan’s WA origins.  

He looks a gun in every part of his game except his kicking, which looks genuinely shocking at times 

If you could fix that he could be an absolute steal, but after the past few years I think a lot of Dees fans are nervous about taking any player who isn’t at least a competent kick…

Edited Thursday at 22:45 by demoncat

[Melonmonster 108]

Is taj hotton a possibility with this pick? 
what are peoples thoughts on him.

 

have herd he dominated some games before injury , 4 goals 30+ possessions.

 

could he be a wizard Watson type player with instant impact after regaining fitness ?

[Nascent 9,041]

16 minutes ago, Melonmonster said:

Is taj hotton a possibility with this pick? 
what are peoples thoughts on him.

 

have herd he dominated some games before injury , 4 goals 30+ possessions.

 

could he be a wizard Watson type player with instant impact after regaining fitness ?

If we are going for Armstrong at 5 I don't think we take the risk here. Very exciting player though.

[Colm 2,040]

27 minutes ago, Nascent said:

If we are going for Armstrong at 5 I don't think we take the risk here. Very exciting player though.

Are you starting to believe we will take Armstrong at 5? Is this due to some of the media links is to him? I thought those links were just people assuming we’d take him as we have had forward issues. 

[Colm 2,040]

I’d be surprised if we did take Armstrong at 5 but in recent years the player we are linked too in the lead up to the draft is normally the one we take. 

[adonski 11,496]

20 minutes ago, Colm said:

I’d be surprised if we did take Armstrong at 5 but in recent years the player we are linked too in the lead up to the draft is normally the one we take. 

Still guess work this far out imo

[2021 258]

For whatever reason, we were linked to Jefferson from day one.

[Melonmonster 108]

1 minute ago, 2021 said:

For whatever reason, we were linked to Jefferson from day one.

This is what worries me 😂

Surely  we are not taking Armstrong with the talented kids available . 

[dazzledavey36 53,971]

41 minutes ago, Colm said:

I’d be surprised if we did take Armstrong at 5 but in recent years the player we are linked too in the lead up to the draft is normally the one we take. 

It's all guesswork to be honest.

We're exactly one month away from the draft and there is no way we'd have a player locked in. We'd have a list of about 6-10 names we'd be interested I with pick 5,and then probably another 10-12 names around the mark for pick 9.

Even 24 hour prior to the draft clubs will have last minute change of mind on players as well.

I am sure we have interest in Armstrong, but there would be 10 other names we'd be interested in as well.

[Nascent 9,041]

47 minutes ago, Colm said:

Are you starting to believe we will take Armstrong at 5? Is this due to some of the media links is to him? I thought those links were just people assuming we’d take him as we have had forward issues. 

Too early to say, just putting out hypotheticals based on recent speculation but not placing too much stock in it at this stage.

[DeeSpencer 25,321]

9 minutes ago, Melonmonster said:

This is what worries me 😂

Surely  we are not taking Armstrong with the talented kids available . 

It's not like we'd be saying no to talented kids and chasing a 35 year old from the Managatang thirds.

I get the concerns both in terms of list build and doubts on his game but there's a lot to like in Armstrong and if Langford, Lalor and FOS are gone there's plenty of doubt over what's left.

Plus we get one of them with 9 as well.

[Mike 292]

1 hour ago, Colm said:

Are you starting to believe we will take Armstrong at 5? Is this due to some of the media links is to him? I thought those links were just people assuming we’d take him as we have had forward issues. 

It must be media links. I watched a video on the AFL website the other day where Cal Twomey answered a submitted question about who we might take with 5 and 9, and he was a bit vague with his answer. I think he just listed a bunch of midfielders in that top 5 or 6 group. Cal is someone who tends to have his finger on the pulse, so I'd say it's probably still fairly open.

[DistrACTION Jackson 8,360]

I would be comfortable taking Armstrong at this pick, but definitely not at 5!

We need a premium level mid for that pick.

[Gawndog98 330]

On 23/10/2024 at 17:16, spirit of norm smith said:

What’s the DL senate view on drafting Bo Allan?
He looks a very strong midfielder with good strong contested footy in centre clearance and stoppages. Tackles extremely well.  Good long left foot kick.  Whilst didn’t always hit targets, he played above his years and under pressure.  His pace is good. His body size 190cms and shape is a plug and play in today’s AFL World.  Because MFCSS, only knock is the WA go home factor.  I’m still perhaps scarred by Jackson.  Thankful and hopeful that we can retain Kozzy, Riv, JVR, McVee & Kolt. JT shouldn’t be afraid of Allan’s WA origins.  

I really like Allan which personally I rate him higher than Smilie and about the same as Langford. To me he’s a got an incredibly well rounded profile with a sky high ceiling, he tested top 5 for standing & running vertical jump and top 5 for agility, he ran a sub 3 seconds 20m sprint and a 6:20 2km time trial, all at 191cm and a strong frame. Most importantly all that athleticism shows up on field with his fierce competitiveness and appetite for the contest makes him really good defensively in the midfield or down back, certainly leaps and bounds better defensively than Smilie & Langford. He plays with more of a presence than those other 2 but they at this stage certainly have him beat for skills but I think there’s a lot of scope for him to also make that a strength as he’s got a huge leg can kick the ball probably almost 60m and has flashed good decision making lowering his eyes when he needs to it’s just more about executing those short kicks he needs to get better at. To me reminds me a lot of Elliot Yeo with his power and versatility, I’d be very happy if we got him at 9.

[DeeSpencer 25,321]

2 hours ago, demoncat said:

He looks a gun in every part of his game except his kicking, which looks genuinely shocking at times 

If you could fix that he could be an absolute steal, but after the past few years I think a lot of Dees fans are nervous about taking any player who isn’t at least a competent kick…

It's not so much kicking as decision making. He has a nice enough punchy short left foot kick as well as the ability to roost it, but he makes bad choices by hand and doesn't see options by foot too. 

I certainly feel like it's time to sacrifice some athleticism and ball winning for quality decision makers.

Maybe not if he was Tracc/Oliver level contested beast. But he's not that either.

[spirit of norm smith 16,044]

3 hours ago, demoncat said:

He looks a gun in every part of his game except his kicking, which looks genuinely shocking at times 

If you could fix that he could be an absolute steal, but after the past few years I think a lot of Dees fans are nervous about taking any player who isn’t at least a competent kick…

 

18 minutes ago, Gawndog98 said:

I really like Allan which personally I rate him higher than Smilie and about the same as Langford. To me he’s a got an incredibly well rounded profile with a sky high ceiling, he tested top 5 for standing & running vertical jump and top 5 for agility, he ran a sub 3 seconds 20m sprint and a 6:20 2km time trial, all at 191cm and a strong frame. Most importantly all that athleticism shows up on field with his fierce competitiveness and appetite for the contest makes him really good defensively in the midfield or down back, certainly leaps and bounds better defensively than Smilie & Langford. He plays with more of a presence than those other 2 but they at this stage certainly have him beat for skills but I think there’s a lot of scope for him to also make that a strength as he’s got a huge leg can kick the ball probably almost 60m and has flashed good decision making lowering his eyes when he needs to it’s just more about executing those short kicks he needs to get better at. To me reminds me a lot of Elliot Yeo with his power and versatility, I’d be very happy if we got him at 9.

It wouldn’t surprise if we picked Bo Allan at 9.  He’s got lots of very good AFL qualities.  
It would certainly cause an outcry by the Eagles fans who all think they perfectly traded out “3” to get Baker and then steal Allan back at “12” . If he’s gone, there is no other home grown talent out of the West at this level.  

[Turner 1,504]

i think given the likelihood 5 is a mid, for mine langford i would be taking a different type at 9. so travaglia is my target and maybe a bid on lombard as they fit needs and are high quality players, targetting needs with late picks is good however theyre also less likely to succeed so taking a high end needs based player can fix a hole for a decade. hence travaglia. i believe he'd be playing regularly by the byes and would move ahead of quite a few similar types almost immediately. 

given the loss of ANB is somewhat covered by sharp whilst lombard bid will almost certainly be matched, if they surprised everyone and let him through i wouldnt be upset either. 

if we go tauru at 5 (i predict the roos at 6 for him) then bo allen would make sense at 9

[Young Blood 2,529]

On 23/10/2024 at 17:16, spirit of norm smith said:

What’s the DL senate view on drafting Bo Allan?
He looks a very strong midfielder with good strong contested footy in centre clearance and stoppages. Tackles extremely well.  Good long left foot kick.  Whilst didn’t always hit targets, he played above his years and under pressure.  His pace is good. His body size 190cms and shape is a plug and play in today’s AFL World.  Because MFCSS, only knock is the WA go home factor.  I’m still perhaps scarred by Jackson.  Thankful and hopeful that we can retain Kozzy, Riv, JVR, McVee & Kolt. JT shouldn’t be afraid of Allan’s WA origins.  

 

On 25/10/2024 at 09:45, demoncat said:

He looks a gun in every part of his game except his kicking, which looks genuinely shocking at times 

If you could fix that he could be an absolute steal, but after the past few years I think a lot of Dees fans are nervous about taking any player who isn’t at least a competent kick…

I wouldn't be at all opposed to taking him at pick 9. I imagine in the interviews we've already had with him during the combine that there would be a fair amount of querying his intentions as to whether he is open to living and playing on the other side of the country. Of course you might not get a definitive answer but if there were any doubts from him or he even mentioned wanting to play back home one day you would simply take him off the board. I know the Jackson history scares people but we've had some success as SONS mentions with Rivers, McVee, JVR etc signing on and looking like long term dees.

His kicking isn't as poor as what his main youtube highlights portray. In the heat of the WAFL finals he played in he definitely made some mistakes by foot. I would encourage other Demon landers not to judge on short highlight clips in this regard and look at draft profile reports as well. From all accounts of friends of mine in Perth who have seen him live at games, he is actually a good user with his kicking. Reports are mainly that he needs to work on his decision making which will come in time. 

He's going to be a gun. Start him down back and build him up over time with midfield bursts where he'll wreak havoc.

Edited Monday at 00:58 by Young Blood

[kurtneverdied 230]

The last few years we've tried trading up. For Watson last year (I think). Humphries year before.

Really wouldn't surprise if we go for Norths pick 2.

[spirit of norm smith 16,044]

15 minutes ago, kurtneverdied said:

The last few years we've tried trading up. For Watson last year (I think). Humphries year before.

Really wouldn't surprise if we go for Norths pick 2.

I’m comfortable sitting on 5 & 9 thanks very much. We will get two future “aces”