See todays Melb Herald Sun.

"We would consider Cale Morton if he was there, but Rhys Palmer is a very good player too."

There is a feeling that Morton will slip to 4 - so the paper says.

CAC says we will take best available as we have been caught out picking certain types before.

See todays Melb Herald Sun.

"We would consider Cale Morton if he was there, but Rhys Palmer is a very good player too."

There is a feeling that Morton will slip to 4 - so the paper says.

CAC says we will take best available as we have been caught out picking certain types before.

Personally, I hope we go for a legitimite midfielder in Palmer/Masten ahead of a utility in Morton/Myers.

With the exception of Goodes and C. Cornes, who played their junior football as key forwards, I struggle to think of many outstanding 190cm+ utility players. Morton reminds me of an Andrew Walker, originally an outside midfielder who has yet to find his true position in AFL footy.

a big difference between Morton and Walker is that Morton is arguably the best kick of his draft and Walker was arguably the worst.

a big difference between Morton and Walker is that Morton is arguably the best kick of his draft and Walker was arguably the worst.

True, but like Walker, what position do you see Morton as being best suited to in AFL?

wingman orrunning of the half back ala Grant Birchell

Personally, I hope we go for a legitimite midfielder in Palmer/Masten ahead of a utility in Morton/Myers.

With the exception of Goodes and C. Cornes, who played their junior football as key forwards, I struggle to think of many outstanding 190cm+ utility players. Morton reminds me of an Andrew Walker, originally an outside midfielder who has yet to find his true position in AFL footy.

I feel the same way.

We have a plethora of that type of player (the so called 'tall midfielder/utility) , some of which have shown they will make it but still haven't found a permanent spot. I speak of Bruce, CJ, Wheatley, Bate, Dunn, Newton, Garland, Rivers, Buckley. From this group I believe we have the running flanker and 'third' tall positions at both ends of the ground all covered.

CAC's comments seem to rule out the talls might be considered good early picks as well given his past history in this area. Reading between the lines then I think it is a safe bet to say we will take genuine midfielders with at least our first two picks. The only question mark is over whether we go for pace or endurance first up or with both picks. It seems the (from what I have read) that the slower players have the better endurance and vice versa.

I think we should steer away from those considered 'outside' midfielders; we don't need ball magnets but so long as they can deliver well with both feet I would prefer the inside type of the outside type every day of the weak.

GO Dees - Draft up a storm.

All we are certain of is that pick 4 will be out of Cotchin, Masten, Palmer, Morton, Myers and Henderson but is more likely to be one of the first four and either of them will be good AFL players, will they be superstars only time will tell.

The difference Morton has from the guys mentioned that we have like him is that he is highly skillful quick and has more upside than Wheatley, Bruce(we know what we have and is good but won't get better than he already is), CJ, Buckley, Dunn. Garland, Rivers, Newton are more set position players that hopefully can hold down CHF,CHB, FF.

Morton sounds like a Goddard with speed. Sounds good to me.

a big difference between Morton and Walker is that Morton is arguably the best kick of his draft and Walker was arguably the worst.

Exactly

Except I would go further and say he is nothing like Walker

Mortin has exquisite skill, and a great footy brain. He will also be able to play on the ball, off a back flank or up forward where he can use his crestivity around goal

Walker is dumb and one of the worst kicks in the comp. All he can do is pick up cheap stats off the back flank. And when he does he turns it over

Except I would go further and say he is nothing like Walker

Mortin has exquisite skill, and a great footy brain. He will also be able to play on the ball, off a back flank or up forward where he can use his crestivity around goal

Morton is a bit bigger than Walker, though he's pretty lean at the moment. There are some highlights of him here. He's a superb athlete, as well as having some sublime skills. If he fills out a bit he will be a terrific player. I would personally like to see him as a wingman, rather than a half-back flanker, so he could push forward and be a goal-threat with a little more impunity, as well as being a link-man with the ability to hit a target 50m away with a lace-out pass.

Morton is a bit bigger than Walker, though he's pretty lean at the moment. There are some highlights of him here. He's a superb athlete, as well as having some sublime skills. If he fills out a bit he will be a terrific player. I would personally like to see him as a wingman, rather than a half-back flanker, so he could push forward and be a goal-threat with a little more impunity, as well as being a link-man with the ability to hit a target 50m away with a lace-out pass.

You still haven't sold me on taking him with pick 4. As previously stated, i'd prefer a genuine midfielder than a flanker who could do a bit of this or that.

i dont think there is a genuine midfielder at pick 4 though

morton is chance to get class, pace and size into our midfield, think of cam bruce who can kick!

let him play hbf/wing for the first little while, but will develop into a true ruck rover, who can go forward and create a mismatch too

You still haven't sold me on taking him with pick 4. As previously stated, i'd prefer a genuine midfielder than a flanker who could do a bit of this or that.

I think we have enough in-the-guts players to justify taking a very skillful outside player at 4. As I said, I think Morton will make a fine wingman/genuine outside midfielder in the future, with the bonus of being tall enough to pinch-hit forward and back when necessary (as many good modern midfielders are able to). He has the tank of a running midfielder, and he is certainly not slow. If somebody was available who could win his own footy and also had the skills to use it well, then of course you would take him in a heartbeat. Cotchin is about the only stand-out player this year who fits that bill. Palmer can win his own ball sometimes, but it is not his meat and drink (like Masten, for example). His disposal is good on his left foot, but it is not nearly as good as Morton's (whose right foot is a long-ranged laser). Palmer is a GOOD outside player with some ball-winning ability. Morton is an OUTSTANDING outside player who needs to be fed the ball.

I think that the only reason people look at Morton as a 'utility' is his height.

If Morton is available he'll be the supposed best pick at 4. Why am I worried about this ? I know that it's silly to be concerned by pick 4's notorious dubious past, save Pavlich, but I am. Masten will be a meat and potatoes 200 game midfielder and whilst I've concerns about Palmer I suspect he'll be good, if not quite a 'star'.

Morton ticks many boxes and has huge upside, but I sense risk with his 'type'.

Morton will be the obvious choice and no doubt "best available". Let's hope he lives up to the billing if he slips through.

out of that footage diablo, i think that palmer is the most impressive. as u said, we have a good range of in and under tough players ala sylvia, mclean and the mini chief...that is why i think that palmer could be so good sprinting through the corridor and feeding it to the juiceinator on the lead

out of that footage diablo, i think that palmer is the most impressive. as u said, we have a good range of in and under tough players ala sylvia, mclean and the mini chief...that is why i think that palmer could be so good sprinting through the corridor and feeding it to the juiceinator on the lead

The thing is Nugget, that whilst you can't deny he is impressive, his kicking is not so great. Don't get me wrong, this guy is no Daniel Cross. His left foot is neat and his right is... useable (unlike many left-footers). It's hard to really gauge it on the NAB championships, since WA had clear winners everywhere, including marking players up forward, but I can't recall him ever delivering the ball lace-out to leading players. I can't recall too many situations where he had to (or chose to) think about where he was delivering the ball. More often than not he seems to have the blinkers on. He is a 'straight ahead' sort of unit.

Morton for me demonstrates more thought and awareness when he uses the football. He is willing to switch the play when necessary, and he has the skills to execute the switch brilliantly. His right foot is brilliant. Beautiful raking 50m drop punts with excellent accuracy. He doesn't have the balance of Cotchin, but on the U18s showing (where Cotchin was admittedly down on form) Morton has more penetration in his right boot.

I'd take Morton over Palmer if he was available. It's much more likely that Morton's skills will lead to success at AFL level, than that Palmer's running will bring him success in the faster, tougher AFL.

If Morton slips through to pick 4 (which Jon Ralph suggests- Sun Hun), does that mean the Eagles will take Palmer at pick 3?

it will be masten more likely i think BBP

it will be masten more likely i think BBP

assuming cotchin is taken at 2 and masten at 3 i think we should go for palmer. you can't beat a bloke that averages 42 posessions a game - i think we're in desparate need of another ball magnet

assuming cotchin is taken at 2 and masten at 3 i think we should go for palmer. you can't beat a bloke that averages 42 posessions a game - i think we're in desparate need of another ball magnet

He averages 42 now ?

This guy is amazing. His possession rate goes up by the day.

The thing is Nugget, that whilst you can't deny he is impressive, his kicking is not so great. Don't get me wrong, this guy is no Daniel Cross. His left foot is neat and his right is... useable (unlike many left-footers). It's hard to really gauge it on the NAB championships, since WA had clear winners everywhere, including marking players up forward, but I can't recall him ever delivering the ball lace-out to leading players. I can't recall too many situations where he had to (or chose to) think about where he was delivering the ball. More often than not he seems to have the blinkers on. He is a 'straight ahead' sort of unit.

Morton for me demonstrates more thought and awareness when he uses the football. He is willing to switch the play when necessary, and he has the skills to execute the switch brilliantly. His right foot is brilliant. Beautiful raking 50m drop punts with excellent accuracy. He doesn't have the balance of Cotchin, but on the U18s showing (where Cotchin was admittedly down on form) Morton has more penetration in his right boot.

I'd take Morton over Palmer if he was available. It's much more likely that Morton's skills will lead to success at AFL level, than that Palmer's running will bring him success in the faster, tougher AFL.

im too easily persuaded...i do see your point

assuming cotchin is taken at 2 and masten at 3 i think we should go for palmer. you can't beat a bloke that averages 42 posessions a game - i think we're in desparate need of another ball magnet

since when did he average 42 posessions a game? pull that one outter ya ass paddo... lol

If Morton is available he'll be the supposed best pick at 4. Why am I worried about this ? I know that it's silly to be concerned by pick 4's notorious dubious past, save Pavlich, but I am. Masten will be a meat and potatoes 200 game midfielder and whilst I've concerns about Palmer I suspect he'll be good, if not quite a 'star'.

Morton ticks many boxes and has huge upside, but I sense risk with his 'type'.

Morton will be the obvious choice and no doubt "best available". Let's hope he lives up to the billing if he slips through.

Totally agree Hannabal. What excites me about Palmer is his record at senior footy in the WAFL:

http://www.sportingpulse.com/nf/team_info....0-49803-4320172

Do we draft Morton on his 'up-side' or take Palmer on his record at junior and senior level?

since when did he average 42 posessions a game? pull that one outter ya ass paddo... lol

sorry dazzle, i meant to say 32 - still pretty handy though

Totally agree Hannabal. What excites me about Palmer is his record at senior footy in the WAFL:

http://www.sportingpulse.com/nf/team_info....0-49803-4320172

Do we draft Morton on his 'up-side' or take Palmer on his record at junior and senior level?

You need to remember that there is a signficant step up from WAFL to AFL. It's certainly encouraging (and a really good find; well done mo) to see a record like that, particularly that 5 goal game, but he wouldn't be the first bloke to be dynamite in the 2nd tier comp and not make it with the really big boys.

Also, I suppose you could use this on both the for or against argument, but Palmer actually nominated for the draft last year, and was overlooked completely. In hindsight, it makes you go . How could a bloke be overlooked one year, and then be touted as a possible top 5, and almost certain top 10, pick the next year? No doubt he has improved massively in the last year. But it also makes you question whether his current form is just that. And you know what they say 'Form is temporary; class is permanent'. I'm worried that Palmer might turn out to be a goer, and nothing more, at AFL level.

Morton, on the other hand, has class to burn. He moves smoothly (especially for somebody at 192cms), and as I keep saying, his right foot is a satelite-guided cruise-missile launcher. The one query I have about Morton is his attitude. By all reports (older brother) Mitch has a bit of FIGJAM in him, and I've heard Cale is also a bit too conscious of his fine ability. Confidence is definitely a good thing, but arrogance is a different beast. Nonetheless you can drum that out of him, if indeed he is a bit holier than thou.

To be honest I think this is a bit of a non-debate really. I have pretty much 0 doubt that if Cale is there at 4, he will be wearing a Melbourne jumper next season.