4 hours ago, demoncat said:

I’d be taking Sharp before Farrow or Nairn that’s for sure

Yes we’ve got Viney and Steele but he would compliment Langford, Lindsay, Windsor, Rivers, Kozzy etc beautifully long term

I think Essendon just take him at 5 or 6 anyway so it’s probably a moot point, but I also can’t understand people’s hesitation with him

Langford and Sharp are a poor fit. Hard to have more than 1 one pacer on ball these days.

24 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Langford and Sharp are a poor fit. Hard to have more than 1 one pacer on ball these days.

I don’t see a great deal of pace between W. Ashcroft, Neale, McLuggage and Dunkley?

Pace on ball is a myth. Pace on the outside is a reality.

1 hour ago, Dannyz said:

I don’t see a great deal of pace between W. Ashcroft, Neale, McLuggage and Dunkley?

Pace on ball is a myth. Pace on the outside is a reality.

Whilst they might not be express pace McCluggage and Ashcroft are 2 of the best at exploding out the front of stoppages. And Brisbane often add Bailey on ball or up at stoppages.

Neale and Dunkley I’ll give you but Brisbane maximise their value/minimise their disadvantages by Neale dominating in close and Dunkley locking down on the oppositions best mid.

If we do draft Sharp I’d try to utilise him just as the Lions do Dunkley. As a defensive mid at stoppages and stretching opponents in space with good work rate and overhead marking.

1 hour ago, DeeSpencer said:

Langford and Sharp are a poor fit. Hard to have more than 1 one pacer on ball these days.

They'll play different roles at AFL level. Sharp will likely be a dedicated inside ball winner who rests forward ala Cripps. Langford is a balanced midfielder who can play wing, half forward, deep forward or where ever he's needed. I view him as a Bont type. When they're flanked by guys like Kozzie, Windsor, Rivers, Lindsey etc I don't think it's an issue, but more a strength. Imagine Sharp feeding guys like Kozzie and Windsor bursting away from stoppages or feeding out to Langford and Lindsey to use their kicking skills. It's enticing.

The whole "modern game" thing is overdone by the media too. Finals and premierships come down to clearances and contested ball. Fact. Look at the most recent grand final as an example. The Cats actually won the turnover game. Disposal efficiency was even. inside 50s were close. The key stat that determined the game was Brisbane spanking them in clearances. Clearances just determined a premiership, yet people go on about the "modern game" and speed and inside ball winners not being relevant anymore. Look at the Brownlow winners for the last years:
Rowell
Cripps
Neale
Cripps
Wines
Neale

What do they all have in common? They're all inside ball winners, and they're all impacting matches more than others.

Sharp has leadership capabilities too. He's a safe a bet to be a good AFL player as there is in this draft, and as much potential as any other draftee to be elite.

1 hour ago, Dannyz said:

I don’t see a great deal of pace between W. Ashcroft, Neale, McLuggage and Dunkley?

Pace on ball is a myth. Pace on the outside is a reality.

100%.

5 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Neale and Dunkley I’ll give you but Brisbane maximise their value/minimise their disadvantages by Neale dominating in close and Dunkley locking down on the oppositions best mid.

Someone recently - maybe even a Melbourne player after the Gabba win - described Neale as having the fastest feet in the game. He may not be quick, but he's no plodder.

16 minutes ago, Lord Travis said:

They'll play different roles at AFL level. Sharp will likely be a dedicated inside ball winner who rests forward ala Cripps. Langford is a balanced midfielder who can play wing, half forward, deep forward or where ever he's needed. I view him as a Bont type. When they're flanked by guys like Kozzie, Windsor, Rivers, Lindsey etc I don't think it's an issue, but more a strength. Imagine Sharp feeding guys like Kozzie and Windsor bursting away from stoppages or feeding out to Langford and Lindsey to use their kicking skills. It's enticing.

The whole "modern game" thing is overdone by the media too. Finals and premierships come down to clearances and contested ball. Fact. Look at the most recent grand final as an example. The Cats actually won the turnover game. Disposal efficiency was even. inside 50s were close. The key stat that determined the game was Brisbane spanking them in clearances. Clearances just determined a premiership, yet people go on about the "modern game" and speed and inside ball winners not being relevant anymore. Look at the Brownlow winners for the last years:
Rowell
Cripps
Neale
Cripps
Wines
Neale

What do they all have in common? They're all inside ball winners, and they're all impacting matches more than others.

Sharp has leadership capabilities too. He's a safe a bet to be a good AFL player as there is in this draft, and as much potential as any other draftee to be elite.

100%.

100% agree

But I would also say that you need your inside ball winners to be at least decent kicks

Neale and Dunkley won’t be hitting lace out passes but they’re both able to kick to advantage and are good decision makers

Neale especially is so good with his hand balling in close to set up the outside runners that he doesn’t need to be the one delivering inside 50 all the time

Contrast that to Trac, Clarry and Viney over the past few years who consistently missed kicks and caused turnovers going inside 50

I think unfortunately we had clearance dominant mids who just couldn’t hit the side of a barn which massively impacted our scoring potential

And FWIW I don’t think Sharp fits into this category - in fact his kicking seems pretty solid for his role

Edited 47 minutes ago47 min by demoncat

37 minutes ago, Lord Travis said:

They'll play different roles at AFL level. Sharp will likely be a dedicated inside ball winner

My issue is this, I don’t see Sharp as a Rowell, Neale, Libba, Viney, Serong level inside presence.

Obviously he’ll be good inside. But I think his rugged look makes him appear like a gun inside player but he’s actually more similar to a Langford.

44 minutes ago, demoncat said:

100% agree

But I would also say that you need your inside ball winners to be at least decent kicks

Neale and Dunkley won’t be hitting lace out passes but they’re both able to kick to advantage and are good decision makers

Neale especially is so good with his hand balling in close to set up the outside runners that he doesn’t need to be the one delivering inside 50 all the time

Contrast that to Trac, Clarry and Viney over the past few years who consistently missed kicks and caused turnovers going inside 50

I think unfortunately we had clearance dominant mids who just couldn’t hit the side of a barn which massively impacted our scoring potential

And FWIW I don’t think Sharp fits into this category - in fact his kicking seems pretty solid for his role

Agreed. On your bolded points, Sharps hand balling in close is good and sets up team mates too. He is the best inside ball winner in this draft and made a lot of the other draftees look soft and hopeless. He's also a decent kick like the others you noted above. He always moves the ball on quickly and usually kicks to a lead or space rather than blindly bombing long. It's why I'm so hopeful he'll slide to our pick, as other than not being blessed with foot speed, he's a well rounded as you can get for this type of midfielder that will never go out of style.