On 28/11/2025 at 21:34, adonski said:

Bit more Kodah

Really like the look at Jackson Phillips

Terrific athlete with great burst away from congestion

2nd video not as good as the first but still shows some glimpses

cc: @spirit of norm smith

Edited April 4Apr 4 by adonski

Just a question. Probably somewhere on another thread, but

When do Kalani’s brothers come up ?

1 hour ago, 640MD said:

Just a question. Probably somewhere on another thread, but

When do Kalani’s brothers come up ?

Right now they are in the under 15s junior level.

Both are tied to Gold Coast Suns junior academy.

Edited April 4Apr 4 by dazzledavey36

18 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Right now they are in the under 15s junior level.

Both are tied to Gold Coast Suns junior academy.

in

not tied

4 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

in

not tied

Yes they are both tied to the Suns academy similar to what Kalani was.

1 minute ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Yes they are both tied to the Suns academy similar to what Kalani was.

that's not 'tied' tho is it; it just means that they're 'in' the academy

ah mu and prasad are in ours, but not 'tied' to us

44 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

that's not 'tied' tho is it; it just means that they're 'in' the academy

ah mu and prasad are in ours, but not 'tied' to us

They are tied as both White boys will have the option of nominating Melbourne under father son or choosing the Suns through their academy.

Its similar to Cooper Hodge who is tied to both Hawthorn and Brisbane Lions academy.

Edited April 4Apr 4 by dazzledavey36

3 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

They are tied as both White boys will have the option of nominating Melbourne under father son or choosing the Suns through their academy.

Its similar to Cooper Hodge who is tied to both Hawthorn and Brisbane Lions academy.

yr take on what 'tied' means is different to mine i would guess

i'd say they're 'in' the nga for gc17 and the bears respectively, but 'eligible' to be selected by those sides or their father's team

last i heard hodge was leaning towards the bears - play with his mates, stay at home in brisbane, etc. etc.

i hate that the likes of he, white boys, and blakey at sin city are able to go to an academy when their development is decidedly not outside the normal pathways for sons-of-guns

5 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

yr take on what 'tied' means is different to mine i would guess

i'd say they're 'in' the nga for gc17 and the bears respectively, but 'eligible' to be selected by those sides or their father's team

last i heard hodge was leaning towards the bears - play with his mates, stay at home in brisbane, etc. etc.

i hate that the likes of he, white boys, and blakey at sin city are able to go to an academy when their development is decidedly not outside the normal pathways for sons-of-guns

5 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

yr take on what 'tied' means is different to mine i would guess

i'd say they're 'in' the nga for gc17 and the bears respectively, but 'eligible' to be selected by those sides or their father's team

last i heard hodge was leaning towards the bears - play with his mates, stay at home in brisbane, etc. etc.

i hate that the likes of he, white boys, and blakey at sin city are able to go to an academy when their development is decidedly not outside the normal pathways for sons-of-guns

Aussie Rules Rookie Me Central

Preseason Q&A: Kalani White (Suns Academy)

Tied to two AFL clubs, Kalani White has garnered advice from some of the league's top talent. We chatted to him during preseason.

TWO CLUBS, one gun prospect. Kalani White faces a difficult choice in his draft year, tied to a pair of clubs via father-son (Melbourne) and academy (Gold Coast) eligibility.

On 30/03/2026 at 17:05, old55 said:

Yeah maybe, but if you slip back from 5 (1795) to 7 (1543) that's 252 points which would give you pick 40 (238). I wouldn't be too happy with that - no-one is trading 5 for 7 + 40. Maybe the top 5 get an end of first round as planned, and so it doesn't falloff a cliff your scheme comes in from pick 6.

The AFL needs to bite the bullet and take over the Academy system with all players going into the draft. The kids after all are being given the chance at AFL and salaries will only increase.

You post highlights how much clubs were disadvantaged by the bidding system. Slipping back reduces clubs points value for trading purposes as well as taking key players out of the draft.

Giving the bottom 5 sides picks after the 1st round makes it tougher for teams finishing 13 to get quality players to make the 8.

43 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Aussie Rules Rookie Me Central

Preseason Q&A: Kalani White (Suns Academy)

Tied to two AFL clubs, Kalani White has garnered advice from some of the league's top talent. We chatted to him during preseason.

TWO CLUBS, one gun prospect. Kalani White faces a difficult choice in his draft year, tied to a pair of clubs via father-son (Melbourne) and academy (Gold Coast) eligibility.

still reckon it's the wrong word to use, although at least they said tied to two clubs, rather than one franchise

anyway, semantics...

one of the white twins is meant to be pretty good? with the miniscule discounts these days, it'll be interesting to see how either mfc or gc17 can claim both in the same draft if both end up being draft-worthy

Rory Wright starred for Tassie in their demolition job against Frankston in the “VFL”. Looked very comfortable at senior footy. I watched the second half and he hit two forwards lace out. Will again be on the recruitment list for 2026.

From the Zero Hanger team:-

Clancy Snell (great name) a 196cm athletic key defender option

North Melbourne Reserves comfortably beat an Australian Academy team today at Arden Street.

Young draft talent shines in Academy loss to VFL Roos

I've already begun profiling this years draft crop - and it looks pretty good. Lots of variety in player type and quality appearing almost every weekend.

I posted this B23 (with a lens towards building a young side up) in the 'Best Side' thread:

FF: B.Fritsch - J.van Rooyen - L.Pickett
HF: J.Melksham - B.Mihocek - K.Tholstrup
C: C.Jiath - K.Pickett - E.Langdon
R: J.Steele - M.Gawn - H.Langford
HB: T.Rivers - H.Petty - C.Salem
FB: J.Bowey - J.Lever - X.Taylor
I/C: T.Sparrow - C.Windsor - X.Lindsay - J.Culley - K.Chandler

If this is the current best side (Viney would be in if fit), then there's some obviously list needs going forward:

• Key forward to replace Mihocek in time

• Half forward / mid to replace Melksham/Chandler types

• Midfield quality to replace/upgrade Steele, Viney, Sparrow

• Key back to replace Lever

With two first round picks in a draft that looks pretty solid early, Melbourne can likely sort a couple of these out at the end of the year.

2 minutes ago, Tommy_Wolfe7 said:

I've already begun profiling this years draft crop - and it looks pretty good. Lots of variety in player type and quality appearing almost every weekend.

I posted this B23 (with a lens towards building a young side up) in the 'Best Side' thread:

FF: B.Fritsch - J.van Rooyen - L.Pickett
HF: J.Melksham - B.Mihocek - K.Tholstrup
C: C.Jiath - K.Pickett - E.Langdon
R: J.Steele - M.Gawn - H.Langford
HB: T.Rivers - H.Petty - C.Salem
FB: J.Bowey - J.Lever - X.Taylor
I/C: T.Sparrow - C.Windsor - X.Lindsay - J.Culley - K.Chandler

If this is the current best side (Viney would be in if fit), then there's some obviously list needs going forward:

• Key forward to replace Mihocek in time

• Half forward / mid to replace Melksham/Chandler types

• Midfield quality to replace/upgrade Steele, Viney, Sparrow

• Key back to replace Lever

With two first round picks in a draft that looks pretty solid early, Melbourne can likely sort a couple of these out at the end of the year.

no turner? he's the future of our key backs

tholstrup has shown limited ability to play half-forward; he needs a role - be it tagger in the midfield or half back

we don't need a replacement for melksham - we need someone who can provide pace and defensive workrate; chandler is the obvious one here

jiath doesn't play wing - like tholstrup, he needs a role - which is behind the ball; personally i think that if he's in our best 23 we're not a serious finals side

langford's lack of defensive accountability stops him playing inside mid at this point - they're trying to teach him to be a two-way runner but he needs to work a lot harder

who replace sparrow? he's one of few players we have in the 25-30 age group

we lack class across the park - our kids have promise, but nothing compared to our kids of the roos / goodwin era

10 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

we don't need a replacement for melksham - we need someone who can provide pace and defensive workrate; chandler is the obvious one here

I assumed we already signed the Melksham replacement in Cross. Hopefully kicks on post-injury

13 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

no turner? he's the future of our key backs

tholstrup has shown limited ability to play half-forward; he needs a role - be it tagger in the midfield or half back

we don't need a replacement for melksham - we need someone who can provide pace and defensive workrate; chandler is the obvious one here

jiath doesn't play wing - like tholstrup, he needs a role - which is behind the ball; personally i think that if he's in our best 23 we're not a serious finals side

langford's lack of defensive accountability stops him playing inside mid at this point - they're trying to teach him to be a two-way runner but he needs to work a lot harder

who replace sparrow? he's one of few players we have in the 25-30 age group

we lack class across the park - our kids have promise, but nothing compared to our kids of the roos / goodwin era

Turner I'm not sold on - 24 years old and certainly has attributes. But is perhaps a little undersized and loses a lot of 1v1s (44% this year, 34% over his career).

If it's Chandler to fill the Melksham role, then fine. But when you look at the best forward lines, those half forwards / ground level players need to be maximum damage. I'm not feeling that from Chandler (despite his obvious benefits when it comes to defensive intent and speed).

Tholstrup as an underager was best suited as a lead up half forward that could also get dangerous at ground level. Never had the tank to do any more than pinch hit through the middle. Has some x-factor about him inside 50 and can make things happen. I'd persist with him there - but that's just me.

I like Jiath's run and dare, and marking ability as a link player. This more so than as someone that has to be defensively accountable and part of a functioning defensive back six. I don't disagree that he's probably not in the best side when Melbourne are competing again.

Langford's big issue is his athleticism and running ability. He's certainly better than he was, but he's never going to be a speedster. I think best case for him is a Jordan Dawson type big midfielder (which is pretty good mind you). Defensive intent certainly needs to become more natural rather than delayed and reactive.

Sparrow is a solid role player for now - I'm just not sold on him being a serious best 23 player when playing deep in finals. A similar player with elevated attributes wouldobviously help to upgrade that position.

32 minutes ago, Tommy_Wolfe7 said:

Turner I'm not sold on - 24 years old and certainly has attributes. But is perhaps a little undersized and loses a lot of 1v1s (44% this year, 34% over his career).

If it's Chandler to fill the Melksham role, then fine. But when you look at the best forward lines, those half forwards / ground level players need to be maximum damage. I'm not feeling that from Chandler (despite his obvious benefits when it comes to defensive intent and speed).

Tholstrup as an underager was best suited as a lead up half forward that could also get dangerous at ground level. Never had the tank to do any more than pinch hit through the middle. Has some x-factor about him inside 50 and can make things happen. I'd persist with him there - but that's just me.

I like Jiath's run and dare, and marking ability as a link player. This more so than as someone that has to be defensively accountable and part of a functioning defensive back six. I don't disagree that he's probably not in the best side when Melbourne are competing again.

Langford's big issue is his athleticism and running ability. He's certainly better than he was, but he's never going to be a speedster. I think best case for him is a Jordan Dawson type big midfielder (which is pretty good mind you). Defensive intent certainly needs to become more natural rather than delayed and reactive.

Sparrow is a solid role player for now - I'm just not sold on him being a serious best 23 player when playing deep in finals. A similar player with elevated attributes wouldobviously help to upgrade that position.

Jiath is a turnover merchant and momentum killer. Leave him at Casey.

Get onboard the Ethan Drever train. Rebels midfielder who can play inside or outside role. Plays like a smart and tough footballer Good 188cms size who can win contest and tackles when beaten to the footy. Has kicked nice goals including a burst from the pack and banana kick v jets to win the game. Averages 28 possessions & 6 tackles so far this year.

Edited April 14Apr 14 by spirit of norm smith
.

Who is this 'Tied To' everyone is talking about, and can they hold down a key position spot?

But seriously...

It looks to me like this is a good draft to have two picks in the teens. All the talk is that the quality you'd need a top-10 pick in '25 to get will be there for the whole first round.

Couple of likely key defenders, another slightly undersized 'tall' defender, and an alleged unicorn 200cm utility. Definitely a good starting point for going shopping.

A proper 'all aspects' midfielder capable of doing everything well, even if they don't have a super standout feature, would be an appropriate target, too.

14 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Get onboard the Ethan Drever train. Rebels midfielder who can play inside or outside role. Plays like a smart and tough footballer Good 188cms size who can win contest and tackles when beaten to the footy. Has kicked nice goals including a burst from the pack and banana kick v jets to win the game. Averages 28 possessions & 6 tackles so far this year.

I'm a massive Drever fan. Love his multiple efforts in an around the contest - is manic defensively. Also wins it and has leg drive. Kicks with penetration too (although he can work on tidying his short to medium game).

first of these for the season

Prasad so highly ranked and no mention of us