15 minutes ago, The Taciturn Demon said:

Anyone in that range you really like the look of?

Who above that do you particularly like?

It's tough this year, because so many have as many questions about them as answers. Duursma looks the most bullet proof prospect and rightfully is favourite for pick one. Many of the others have a lot of good traits but really hard to project their respective ceilings.

I like Farrow and Cumming (really good chance that he doesn't get to us) in our range and see the appeal in Dovaston and Grjl. I also understand why others mightn't warm to each of those for one reason or another. I think there's a reason there's a lack of consensus outside the top 12 or so, so if JT picks someone from outside this group, I'm more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I can't remember another year where expert rankings mean as little going into the draft as this year.

My general take on our situation without having the knowledge of the draft to be player specific ...

We severely lack star power. We've only got Pickett and probably Langford in that category coming through. Yes you could make a case for Windsor and Lindsay, both injury affected this year too, but it's not a strong one. I do think we've got a heap of young soldiers and potential soldiers coming through.

We need more stars and we're not in a strong position to attract them via trade or FA, I do think we should continue a relentless pursuit of Humphrey since our hat is in that ring, but we're not getting Butters, Walsh, Bailey, King or the like.

We need to draft stars. I think we'll finish bottom 6 next year and we should hang on tight to our F1 because that's likely to be a good ticket to a star - while there are exceptions, they usually fall at the pointy end of the draft. I'm concerned that 7 & 8 this year are outside the top echelon of players - I don't think we derive a heap of benefit from two more young soldiers. I think we should try to trade up, providing JT thinks there's star quality there.

I'd be offering 7, 8 and GC F1 to WC for 2 & 13. Throw in 37 if it gets it across the line. I think it's questionable whether GC's F1 delivers us star quality next year, I expect them to finish top 6 and it will most likely be in the 20s. Hopefully pick 2 gets us into this year's "star" range. If the talk of Nairn or generally a long second echelon as @ChaserJ posted is correct then 13 isn't a significant downgrade.

If successful, 2025 pick 2 and 2026 F1 doubles our star quotient.

People are generally fearful of the impact on the draft of Tasmania's entry and rightfully so. They have the top end of the draft cornered for two years, and all the available established good talent will flowing to them via their FA concessions, pick trades and their sign-on bonuses. We're not attracting established players for the next 4-5 years at least.

There could be some opportunities for smart clubs there. Tasmania have to trade pick 5 in 2027 and 2028. They need to build out a list and will need young soldiers, if we can protect our stars with contracts across that period from poaching by them (all OOC players are FAs to them, maximum one per club), we might be able to trade one of our better soldiers for a pick 5 to them. A small possible silver lining to a very dark list management cloud.

The message is we really need to maximise our acquisition of quality in these next two drafts.

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by old55

7 minutes ago, old55 said:

My general take on our situation without having the knowledge of the draft to be player specific ...

We severely lack star power. We've only got Pickett and probably Langford in that category coming through. Yes you could make a case for Windsor and Lindsay, both injury affected this year too, but it's not a strong one. I do think we've got a heap of young soldiers and potential soldiers coming through.

We need more stars and we're not in a strong position to attract them via trade or FA, I do think we should continue a relentless pursuit of Humphrey since our hat is in that ring, but we're not getting Butters, Walsh, Bailey, King or the like.

We need to draft stars. I think we'll finish bottom 6 next year and we should hang on tight to our F1 because that's likely to be a good ticket to a star - while there are exceptions, they usually fall at the pointy end of the draft. I'm concerned that 7 & 8 this year are outside the top echelon of players - I don't think we derive a heap of benefit from two more young soldiers. I think we should try to trade up, providing JT thinks there's star quality there.

I'd be offering 7, 8 and GC F1 to WC for 2 & 13. Throw in 37 if it gets it across the line. I think it's questionable whether GC's F1 delivers us star quality next year, I expect them to finish top 6 and it will most likely be in the 20s. Hopefully pick 2 gets us into this year's "star" range. If the talk of Nairn or generally a long second echelon as @ChaserJ posted is correct then 13 isn't a significant downgrade.

If successful, 2025 pick 2 and 2026 F1 doubles our star quotient.

People are generally fearful of the impact on the draft of Tasmania's entry and rightfully so. They have the top end of the draft cornered for two years, and all the available established good talent will flowing to them via their FA concessions, pick trades and their sign-on bonuses. We're not attracting established players for the next 4-5 years at least.

There could be some opportunities for smart clubs there. Tasmania have to trade pick 5 in 2027 and 2028. They need to build out a list and will need young soldiers, if we can protect our stars with contracts across that period from poaching by them (all OOC players are FAs to them, maximum one per club), we might be able to trade one of our better soldiers for a pick 5 to them. A small possible silver lining to a very dark list management cloud.

The message is we really need to maximise our acquisition of quality in these next two drafts.

You make a compelling case but the only problem is for the same reason we want to trade up - I don't think WC will be willing to trade down (to our pics)

Seems like if we're just outside the top end talent zone then if WC were to trade down it would be with Essendon.

We still need a lot of foot soldiers and 7 + 8 can at least (we hope) provide 2 of them. GC's F1 next year could still prove valuable either in a trade up for that year or an outright slider.

23 minutes ago, old55 said:

My general take on our situation without having the knowledge of the draft to be player specific ...

We severely lack star power. We've only got Pickett and probably Langford in that category coming through. Yes you could make a case for Windsor and Lindsay, both injury affected this year too, but it's not a strong one. I do think we've got a heap of young soldiers and potential soldiers coming through.

We need more stars and we're not in a strong position to attract them via trade or FA, I do think we should continue a relentless pursuit of Humphrey since our hat is in that ring, but we're not getting Butters, Walsh, Bailey, King or the like.

We need to draft stars. I think we'll finish bottom 6 next year and we should hang on tight to our F1 because that's likely to be a good ticket to a star - while there are exceptions, they usually fall at the pointy end of the draft. I'm concerned that 7 & 8 this year are outside the top echelon of players - I don't think we derive a heap of benefit from two more young soldiers. I think we should try to trade up, providing JT thinks there's star quality there.

I'd be offering 7, 8 and GC F1 to WC for 2 & 13. Throw in 37 if it gets it across the line. I think it's questionable whether GC's F1 delivers us star quality next year, I expect them to finish top 6 and it will most likely be in the 20s. Hopefully pick 2 gets us into this year's "star" range. If the talk of Nairn or generally a long second echelon as @ChaserJ posted is correct then 13 isn't a significant downgrade.

If successful, 2025 pick 2 and 2026 F1 doubles our star quotient.

People are generally fearful of the impact on the draft of Tasmania's entry and rightfully so. They have the top end of the draft cornered for two years, and all the available established good talent will flowing to them via their FA concessions, pick trades and their sign-on bonuses. We're not attracting established players for the next 4-5 years at least.

There could be some opportunities for smart clubs there. Tasmania have to trade pick 5 in 2027 and 2028. They need to build out a list and will need young soldiers, if we can protect our stars with contracts across that period from poaching by them (all OOC players are FAs to them, maximum one per club), we might be able to trade one of our better soldiers for a pick 5 to them. A small possible silver lining to a very dark list management cloud.

The message is we really need to maximise our acquisition of quality in these next two drafts.

Robey is the one

And to add insult to injury it was us who first interviewed him before all the hype

I know we’ll get two solid players at 7 and 8 but it’s definitely an underwhelming crop right when we need more star power coming through

Possibly run through Eagles grab Duursma & CDT

Tigers grab Robey & X.Taylor

Bombers grab Sharp & Cumming.

Likely any combos of these 6.

Who’s left? Grlj …the speedster who takes the game on with excitement and dash. Josh Lindsay … the deadly accurate left footer with elite skills. Farrow or Dovaston as other potential options. Both are excellent youngsters. Theres the raw ruck/forward Schubert constantly spruiked to us in phantom drafts. Cam Nairn as the latest young gun mentioned. He was impressive in the carnival.

I’m still onboard with (if available) Grlj at 7 and then Lindsay at 8. We instantly improve our pace & run, and instantly improve our half back distribution. We can use speed on the ball or creativity to move it. I think they align with the King ball movement at speed philosophy.

2 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Possibly run through Eagles grab Duursma & CDT

Tigers grab Robey & X.Taylor

Bombers grab Sharp & Cumming.

Likely any combos of these 6.

Who’s left? Grlj …the speedster who takes the game on with excitement and dash. Josh Lindsay … the deadly accurate left footer with elite skills. Farrow or Dovaston as other potential options. Both are excellent youngsters. Theres the raw ruck/forward Schubert constantly spruiked to us in phantom drafts. Cam Nairn as the latest young gun mentioned. He was impressive in the carnival.

I’m still onboard with (if available) Grlj at 7 and then Lindsay at 8. We instantly improve our pace & run, and instantly improve our half back distribution. We can use speed on the ball or creativity to move it. I think they align with the King ball movement at speed philosophy.

Hopefully it plays out like this personally I see way more upside in Grlj than either Cumming or Sharp. If we are serious about trying to get speed on the ball, then it's a no brainer imho

8 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Possibly run through Eagles grab Duursma & CDT

Tigers grab Robey & X.Taylor

Bombers grab Sharp & Cumming.

Likely any combos of these 6.

Who’s left? Grlj …the speedster who takes the game on with excitement and dash. Josh Lindsay … the deadly accurate left footer with elite skills. Farrow or Dovaston as other potential options. Both are excellent youngsters. Theres the raw ruck/forward Schubert constantly spruiked to us in phantom drafts. Cam Nairn as the latest young gun mentioned. He was impressive in the carnival.

I’m still onboard with (if available) Grlj at 7 and then Lindsay at 8. We instantly improve our pace & run, and instantly improve our half back distribution. We can use speed on the ball or creativity to move it. I think they align with the King ball movement at speed philosophy.

I don’t think we rate Grij for some reason 🤷

King at a coterie lunch yesterday was asked what players we were looking to draft and he said we are targeting speed, good footy iq and ability to impact in the front half, not sure if that narrows down anything.

42 minutes ago, old55 said:

We severely lack star power.

It's a bloody fair point. I really like Windsor, but I doubt he'll become an outright star. I like Turner as well, and am very hopeful, but he's in the same category as Windsor for me.

43 minutes ago, old55 said:

I'd be offering 7, 8 and GC F1 to WC for 2 & 13.

Is there talk WC are considering trading Pick 2?

9 minutes ago, Garbo said:

King at a coterie lunch yesterday was asked what players we were looking to draft and he said we are targeting speed, good footy iq and ability to impact in the front half, not sure if that narrows down anything.

Sounds like a Dovaston or Latrelle sandwhich with Nairn bread

It also probably rules out Sharp

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by adonski

33 minutes ago, Garbo said:

King at a coterie lunch yesterday was asked what players we were looking to draft and he said we are targeting speed, good footy iq and ability to impact in the front half, not sure if that narrows down anything.

Immediately I think of Grlj, Dovaston and Pickett when I read this.

56 minutes ago, Mouseymoo said:

You make a compelling case but the only problem is for the same reason we want to trade up - I don't think WC will be willing to trade down (to our pics)

Seems like if we're just outside the top end talent zone then if WC were to trade down it would be with Essendon.

We still need a lot of foot soldiers and 7 + 8 can at least (we hope) provide 2 of them. GC's F1 next year could still prove valuable either in a trade up for that year or an outright slider.

21 minutes ago, The Taciturn Demon said:

It's a bloody fair point. I really like Windsor, but I doubt he'll become an outright star. I like Turner as well, and am very hopeful, but he's in the same category as Windsor for me.

Is there talk WC are considering trading Pick 2?

Yes there's talk that 2 and 13 are on the market for a compelling offer that involves a future pick. We're one of the few teams that can offer that because we hold GC's likely later F1. Essendon for example only hold their F1 and it's probably too valuable to involve in the trade.

7 would put WC in the frame for WA prospect Jacob Farrow, if they are interested. They might be able to trade 8 to say Adelaide for 16 and an F2 if Adelaide were interested in SA prospect Schubert or similar. That would still get them Duursma at 1, and give them Farrow, 16, GC F1 and Adelaide F2 for 2 and 13. A lot of "ifs" there.

3 hours ago, adonski said:

Kozzie Pickett draft prediction by AFL Draft central: DRAFT PROJECTION: 30-40

Need to take all these rankings with a grain of salt, they are just passion projects by amateurs or pure guess work to generate clicks by media outlets

That is true. But that to me seemed a needs-based pick after a season where our top goalscorer was Trac with 22. I don’t think we’re in a position to do that this year when we’ve got holes all over the field. If we were to just draft on ability I personally don’t think Nairn is as high as our pick. Just my view

1 hour ago, demoncat said:

I don’t think we rate Grij for some reason 🤷

We have Windsor. That’s one of the biggest reasons.

Grlj & Pickett.

1 hour ago, Garbo said:

we are targeting ... good footy iq

Can't come soon enough.

Nairn and Pickett. Funny part is we could likely trade 8 back and still get both of them. Anyway. In JT we trust.

5 minutes ago, BC_1718_DC said:

Nairn and Pickett. Funny part is we could likely trade 8 back and still get both of them. Anyway. In JT we trust.

With 7 and 8? Yikes 😬

Just now, demoncat said:

With 7 and 8? Yikes 😬

I'd prefer Dovaston + Pickett but you can't knock going for x factor forward 50 types.

It's the biggest hole we have on our list!

Blues (pick 11 should they be able to retain it) are desperate for small forwards

Giants (pick 12) love these types (also linked to Picket)

I don't know if we'd be able to risk trading back much

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by adonski

25 minutes ago, BC_1718_DC said:

We have Windsor. That’s one of the biggest reasons.

I can understand that to a degree but when you look past their speed I feel like they’re actually quite different players

Windsor while very quick is also is very straight line, whereas Grij has a lot more agility in and around the contest (more ducking and weaving than gaining a step like Windsor does)

I also think Grij is a better kick and has more defensive nous based on his time at half back

To me there’s enough difference there to justify taking him, and I think Grij’s potential ceiling is very high (although he needs to work on his ball winning ability, which I can understand might temper expectations)

2 minutes ago, adonski said:

I'd prefer Dovaston + Pickett but you can't knock going for x factor forward 50 types.

It's the biggest hole we have on our list!

Blues (pick 11 should they be able to retain it) are desperate for small forwards

Giants (pick 12) love these types (also linked to Picket)

I don't know if we'd be able to risk trading back much

It’s definitely a big hole, but we have a hole in our midfield too and it seems crazy to me not to pick a developing mid (or at least a player who can develop into a mid) with one of those picks - especially when Grij can do that while also adding the speed we need!

I have a feeling I will be melting with the rest of Demonland come draft night 🤣

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by demoncat

Just now, demoncat said:

It’s definitely a big hole, but we have a hole in our midfield too and it seems crazy to me not to pick a developing mid (or at least a player who can develop into a mid) with one of those picks - especially when Grij can do that while also adding the speed we need!

I have a feeling I will be melting with the rest of Demonland come draft night 🤣

I think it's as simple as the mids expected to be available at our picks are all average so why take a B grade mid when we can take guys with a better chance of being B+ or A grade forwards while also filling a deficiency

If Grlj gets past our picks there's clearly a lot of uncertainty whether he'll translate to AFL level

15 minutes ago, demoncat said:

I can understand that to a degree but when you look past their speed I feel like they’re actually quite different players

Windsor while very quick is also is very straight line, whereas Grij has a lot more agility in and around the contest (more ducking and weaving than gaining a step like Windsor does)

I also think Grij is a better kick and has more defensive nous based on his time at half back

To me there’s enough difference there to justify taking him, and I think Grij’s potential ceiling is very high (although he needs to work on his ball winning ability, which I can understand might temper expectations)

Couldn’t agree more think they are very different players as Windsor dosent possess grjls agility and ability to evade opponents

14 minutes ago, adonski said:

I'd prefer Dovaston + Pickett but you can't knock going for x factor forward 50 types.

It's the biggest hole we have on our list!

Blues (pick 11 should they be able to retain it) are desperate for small forwards

Giants (pick 12) love these types (also linked to Picket)

I don't know if we'd be able to risk trading back much

Also talk that Hawks want Pickett maybe not at pick 10 but are considering using their F1 and 22 to move up and grab him.

Please if we take 7 & 8 to the trade table can we rule out Pickett. He is speculative and a worthy pick post 30, but not for our top 2 picks