Lachie Henderson-196cm, 90kg-Geelong Falcons.(Fwd). Hard to line up this year because he has been injured and missed a lot of the season. Played some good footy last year and he was good around the ground and a good mark. Played pretty well in last years TAC Cup finals which pretty much has to be the guide as he has only played two games this year for the Falcons and I have only seen one of them. He has played in the ruck a bit so far but I don’t think he has the height or leap to be an AFL ruckman. His kicking is good for a big bloke. I am not really sure where he will go in the draft.

Dave Gourdis-193cm, 88kg-Subiaco. (CHF) Impressed for WA at CHF during the champs. Good sized kid who was very mobile and a good shot at gaol. Kicking skills are pretty good and he was prepared to work hard to present as a target. Seemed to read the play very well and knew where to lead so he could get himself in the game.

Brad Ebert – 187cm, 86kg- Port Adelaide SANFL. Captain of SA and a bottom age player but he has already played senior SANFL footy for Port. Is a very good sized kid who was tagged well during the Champs but still did well. He is an excellent inside or outside player with good skills and pace and is a good contested mark of the footy. Extremely courageous in his attack on the ball and lead the SA side well.

Top 20 pick.

1. Cotchin

2. Palmer

3. Masten

I'm too lazy to go and retrieve their little synopsi from Fergburger's post :D

When you possess a top 5 pick you MUST draft the best player available

Simple as that

A lot of people want us to take Hendersen at pick 4. But from what I can gather he is not close to the best available at pick 4.

This club hasnt had a superstar since Robbie Flower. Pick 4 must yield us either Cotchin, Palmer or Ebert.

I would go so far as to say that big men should ALMOST NEVER be taken top 5. There are of course exceptions, such as when a unit like the Tomohawk, who has plenty of size and ability, and is already well built, comes along, or when a super-athletic tall like Kruezer comes along, but big players are a total gamble. Not only that, but they typically take 3-4 years before you really start to see the benefits. So you've invested in a 3-4 year project with a very uncertain payoff. It's not good business, and it's not good drafting.

Lachie Henderson-196cm, 90kg-Geelong Falcons.(Fwd).

We should steer CLEAR of any Geelong Falcons Forward since we've got a disastrous record with them. :angry:

U MUST pick the best talent. I still like the sound of Ebert and Palmer.

Ebert and Masten have OP - we shouldn't go anywhere near them.

And I don't think our previous record with Falcons forwards should have any impact on the decision. He hasn't played much for them anyway - he's an APS boy.

But we should definately go for best available - meaning who we think will be the best player in the long run (not right now).

When you possess a top 5 pick you MUST draft the best player available

Simple as that

A lot of people want us to take Hendersen at pick 4. But from what I can gather he is not close to the best available at pick 4.

This club hasnt had a superstar since Robbie Flower. Pick 4 must yield us either Cotchin, Palmer or Ebert.

I agree with this Yze :-

"When you possess a top 5 pick you MUST draft the best player available".

The 3 I've mentioned are players I'm interested in. I believe we need a Big KPP but if they're not rated till 15 - 25 you'ld take the appropriate player with pick 4.

If Henderson/Gourdis or some other Key' player were valued up their with Palmer/Ebert/Cotchin/etc I hope we grab the tall, if not take the best of the rest. I also like the reports & size of Arrowsmith, which may go 2nd or 3rd round.

We can pick a young ruck late or rookie as we will trade for 1 or 2 rucks poss'.

Players I'm interested in:

Palmer, Morton, Myers, Gourdis, Dangerfield, McGinnity, Rioli, Cotchin, Rance.

Players I'm interested in:

Palmer, Morton, Myers, Gourdis, Dangerfield, McGinnity, Rioli, Cotchin, Rance.

I'm not singling you out or having a dig, leucopogon, but can anybody explain to me what the appeal of Cale Morton is?

tall, raking kick of the football, best beep test in draft camp, just for starters.

tall, raking kick of the football, best beep test in draft camp, just for starters.

To be perfectly honest he sounds like a taller Travis Johnstone to me. From what I've read he next to never wins his own footy. Then again, if I could have TJ all over again starting today, under Dean Bailey, I would probably be pretty happy. Lets just hope that, if we pick him up, Morton shows ALOT more application than Trav.

Players I'm interested in:

Palmer, Morton, Myers, Gourdis, Dangerfield, McGinnity, Rioli, Cotchin, Rance.

That's a good list, only one Key forward & he's small to average.

Answering Diablo:

probably much of a muchness really, as it looks like the Tiges might be picking him with pick 2. I dunno, its a tough call since nearly all the top talent is from outside victoria. CAC will have his hands full cross examining these young guys to make sure he doesn't get bitten in the bum again like with Scott Thompson.

Answering deeluded:

not so concerned about key forwards, hopefully Newton can take over from Neita soon. Bate looks a likely CHF if he can muscle up a little bit more. Gourdis's agility, leap and speed look to be outstanding. I doubt he'll slip through to our second pick. No doubt we're going with a midfielder with our top pick, always seems to happen. David myers sounds a really good prospect as does Rance of course, tall defenders that can offer some run out of the back half is just what our team is crying out for I think.

probably much of a muchness really, as it looks like the Tiges might be picking him with pick 2. I dunno, its a tough call since nearly all the top talent is from outside victoria. CAC will have his hands full cross examining these young guys to make sure he doesn't get bitten in the bum again like with Scott Thompson.

Indeedy, though in hindsight, he didn't shaft us nearly as much as Juda$ could well shaft West Coast, and he was more than happy to go to Adelaide, though his preferred destination was Port.

In all honesty I can't think of too many players that have gone home FROM Victoria over the journey. But yes, it would be negligent of CAC to ignore that fact. Let's just pray that Cotchin slips through and we don't have to confront this dilemma.

Answering Diablo:

probably much of a muchness really, as it looks like the Tiges might be picking him with pick 2. I dunno, its a tough call since nearly all the top talent is from outside victoria. CAC will have his hands full cross examining these young guys to make sure he doesn't get bitten in the bum again like with Scott Thompson.

Answering deeluded:

not so concerned about key forwards, hopefully Newton can take over from Neita soon. Bate looks a likely CHF if he can muscle up a little bit more. Gourdis's agility, leap and speed look to be outstanding. I doubt he'll slip through to our second pick. No doubt we're going with a midfielder with our top pick, always seems to happen. David myers sounds a really good prospect as does Rance of course, tall defenders that can offer some run out of the back half is just what our team is crying out for I think.

We need 3 or 4 tall forwards on our LIST, not 1. We have numerous defenders, (tallish) & numerous mid sized players, any of whom could do anything, good or bad, but Dunn & Bate are not Key forward builds.

We need 3 or 4 tall forwards on our LIST, not 1. We have numerous defenders, (tallish) & numerous mid sized players, any of whom could do anything, good or bad, but Dunn & Bate are not Key forward builds.

Yes, we do. But we should not be WASTING high picks on blokes who could be anything. With pick 21 I absolutely think we should snare a tall, but pick 4 is not something that we are going to have every year (we hope), so we should use it on a kid who has already started to realise some of his potential. At this age, that is just about always midfielders, though there are exceptions.

I know this draft very well. I'm a little scared too that the fact that Masten and Ebert have OP. But aside, here are my top 3

1. Cotchin- distinguished attribute: Can keep extremely well off both feet

2. Morton- distinguished attribute: endurance and long kick.

3. Palmer- distinguished attribute: his form at the u18 carnival was better than any other draftee despite what anyone else thinks

I don't think we will get 1 or 2 though.

I know this draft very well. I'm a little scared too that the fact that Masten and Ebert have OP. But aside, here are my top 3

1. Cotchin- distinguished attribute: Can keep extremely well of both feet

2. Morton- distinguished attribute: endurance and long kick.

3. Palmer- distinguished attribute: his form at the u18 carnival was better than any other draftee despite what anyone else thinks

I don't think we will get 1 or 2 though.

Good work Freak. I think it's important that a high draftee has an 'X-Factor'... something that he excels at that distinguishes him from the run-of-the-mill player.

I would go so far as to say that big men should ALMOST NEVER be taken top 5. There are of course exceptions, such as when a unit like the Tomohawk, who has plenty of size and ability, and is already well built, comes along, or when a super-athletic tall like Kruezer comes along, but big players are a total gamble. Not only that, but they typically take 3-4 years before you really start to see the benefits. So you've invested in a 3-4 year project with a very uncertain payoff. It's not good business, and it's not good drafting.

Diablo, there is a job for you in the recruiting team @ Richmond. Terry and Greg love the skinny flankers. I am not quite sure, however, if Hawthorn would ascribe to your philosophy. And i know whose list I would rather have.

Biffinator.

Diablo, there is a job for you in the recruiting team @ Richmond. Terry and Greg love the skinny flankers. I am not quite sure, however, if Hawthorn would ascribe to your philosophy. And i know whose list I would rather have.

Biffinator.

I said almost never you cheeky bugger. There are naturally times when this is not true. Franklin is one. Roughnut is probably not one, though he would definitely be a top 10-15 pick in retrospect. Hawkins would have been another, if he were not a father son selection.

By the way, I would love a job down at Richmond's recruiting. It seems that you have job security, no matter how much you stuff up. You can't buy that these days, Biffinator.

I said almost never you cheeky bugger. There are naturally times when this is not true. Franklin is one. Roughnut is probably not one, though he would definitely be a top 10-15 pick in retrospect. Hawkins would have been another, if he were not a father son selection.

By the way, I would love a job down at Richmond's recruiting. It seems that you have job security, no matter how much you stuff up. You can't buy that these days, Biffinator.

Diablo, a very good response. Looking back to the 97 Draft, I wished at the time that we had taken Ottens rather than TJ, on the premise that it is better to take a talented big man than an equivalent midfielder. Would it have changed the result in 98 or 00? I don't know.

Biffinator

Hopefully one of Rance, Henderson or Gourdis slip to our second pick (21 at this stage, but a Travis Johnstone trade could find us with another first round pick, possibly 11 or 14 at this stage)

Tate Pears-192cm, 90kg-East Perth-(CHB/HBF). Played at CHB for WA in the champs and played well. Like Collier is probably a bit short of the prototype CHB but he simply gets the job done. Plays tight but knows when to run off. Like his team mates he gave WA great run from defence. He has shown he can spoil well and has played forward at times with East Perth colts and kicked a goal.

Pick 15 to 40.

Cale Morton – 192cm , 75kg – Claremont . Tallish wingman/halfback with superb skills and a lovely long kick of the footy . Is very much an outside player who tends to be the playmaker or handball receiver but he doesn’t miss too many targets. He links in well in this role and can kick a goal from outside 50. Needs to build up a bit body wise. Has good endurance and his pace is ok. He knows how to find space and is a one touch player. If he isn’t receiving a handball he is running to space and getting a mark. Great talent.

Top 15 pick

Lachie Henderson-196cm, 90kg-Geelong Falcons.(Fwd). Hard to line up this year because he has been injured and missed a lot of the season. Played some good footy last year and he was good around the ground and a good mark. Played pretty well in last years TAC Cup finals which pretty much has to be the guide as he has only played two games this year for the Falcons and I have only seen one of them. He has played in the ruck a bit so far but I don’t think he has the height or leap to be an AFL ruckman. His kicking is good for a big bloke. I am not really sure where he will go in the draft.

Pick 15 to 40

Alex Rance-194cm, 87kg-Swan Districts. ( CHB/FB). The star defender of the National champs. His run out of defence was great. His defensive work was excellent. Has good pace and skills for a big bloke. He worked in well with Browne and Meyers to give WA the killer dash from defence. His handballing was creative and he hits targets by foot. He is simply a defender that every club will rate.

Top 15 pick.

champion pickups they are

Just wondering if anyone knows aything about this kid.

Trent Zomer-194cm, 94kg-Eastern Rangers. (Fwd) Spends a bit of time rucking but will never be an AFL ruckman. It has been up forward he has sown his best form in recent times. Very good sized body. Leads up well and has strong hands. He is a good shot at goal.

Pick 50 plus.

I haven't seen him play and he is expected to go late, but he sounded alright from this write up. Could be a reasonable pick up with our fourth round pick (53?).

Just wondering if anyone had an opinion of him or any other possible late round draftees.

When you possess a top 5 pick you MUST draft the best player available

Simple as that

A lot of people want us to take Hendersen at pick 4. But from what I can gather he is not close to the best available at pick 4.

This club hasnt had a superstar since Robbie Flower. Pick 4 must yield us either Cotchin, Palmer or Ebert.

i think i remember dean bailey saying something like that, how he would try to get the best draft picks available, not accounting for position