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Wholeheartedly disagree. Haven't heard his programme but some of his written work is hilarious. Definitely one of the sharper wits in footy.

As much as people loathed Neeld as a coach, he did recognized those player traits when he took over. He can be blamed for a lot of things but he can't be accused for continuing that culture. He tried to change it and change it quick by moving on Maloney, Morton and co. You can imagine the bitching and sniping that would have gone on during his time. Would have been a horrible place to be in.

Max Gawn spewing up on Tom Scully bed takes the cake for me.

Beg to differ and in fact am happy to know that Melbourne's recruiters won't be deciding who to select at the national draft on the basis of highlights packages and you tube videos which are in essence one or two minute grabs designed to highlight the good aspects of a player, most often when he has the ball in hand and/or disposing of it. Therefore, you generally see the spectacular stuff but don't learn much about the player himself.Things like what he's doing when he doesn't have the footy, whether he's inclined to chase and put pressure on his opponent. And I bet you won't see a player's weaknesses. You won't see the dropped marks, fumbles or when he doesn't (or can't) chase an opponent. You don't necessarily tell whether a player's fit or lazy. All you see is highlights. Which means you can't tell whether a player is consistent and, without detracting from Francis who I like for his versatility, my viewing of games of Under 18 championships and other games in full tells me that he has nothing like the consistency in performance of a Darcy Parish. From what I've seen of the latter, he consistently produces high quality performances even when his team is being badly beaten. He's all class in the midfield, solid on both left and right sides and a quick thinker. My reviewing of a couple of Vic Country matches also convinces me that Rhys Mathieson would be a value pick if available at 7. The knock on him from some of those who must be working off highlight reels is that his decision making and disposal are supposed to be poor. I disagree and if you care to check out the game between Vic Country and SA played 26/6/15 at Simonds Stadium and televised live on Foxtel you will see why Weitering, Schache and Parish are strong favourites to take off the draft trifecta and why Mathieson will be a top 10 draft pick. You can also check out Francis playing for SA. He had a bad day and very few highlights.

What I do know (besides the speculative nature of drafting) is that many are basing opinions on youtube and other footage. All the early "experts" to a man have Parish going before Francis. I would ask you then to look at the video's of both Francis and Parish and I don't think any judge of football would put Parish in front of Francis based on the footage I've seen. What it tells me is not that Francis is a better proposition than Parish but rather to take the clips of these players with a grain of salt - fun viewing but hardly something to formulate a concrete opinion on draft choices.

Entitled to your opinion, though I think picking 18 year old prospects is a speculative business by definition. There's only so much reliable data that you can have at this stage anyway, and that can be greatly reduced when a prospect misses time with injury. A lot of what recruiters look for is how good will they be, not how good are they right now. Theres a number of them that think Curnow could be the best of the crop. Very few would have picked guys like Fyfe and Bontempelli to shine brightest in their draft crop. Purely on what theyd produced at under 18s level, there was little to suggest they would develop into anything approaching the players theyve become. You have to look beyond figures (not saying they arent helpful) sometimes and work out what sort of player they'll be in three or four years time. That's not particularly easy. I've seen Curnow play a few times and seen him play some good games and some bad. There aren't many kids who I would call 'can't miss' prospects this year (the high end academy kids and Weitering maybe) and there is an element of risk with Curnow. I will say there are parts of his game up forward that remind me of Paddy McCartin (who is at last check the same height), and I think he can perform similarly up forward. Ultimately I think he has greater scope for development than Paddy, who went number 1 last year ahead of Brayshaw and Petracca. That's pretty appealing in my eyes, and I can see why he's in the mix with Parish.

Just a note to Mr Macguire. Even Christmas. ..has Christmas EVE !!! You just stick to playing drug cheats mate. Let us set the occasion with proper respect and solemnity.

From other threads I see we may be having a look at Collins, just checked back on the U/18 National Champs thread and cut and pasted from my observations from the WA vs Vic Country match below. Have bolded some of the players who may come into consideration WA vs Vic Country Well sorry for the delay in getting this out but have between busy afternoon and computer problems only getting onto it now. Schache was outstanding from the very outset, loved his strength in contested marking situations and his awareness to lead hard when the opportunity arose, delivery to space from Matheson, Sympkin, Ainsworth, Holmes, Tucker left the defender with no chance. Schache showed some arrogance at times which I think is a good quality in a young forward. Ah Chee up forward for WA had limited opportunity but he is a gun and will be sought after due to his ability to turn a game from limited opportunities. Really liked teh defensive work of Collins who is a big boy and was surprisingly very clean below his knees and made good decisions by foot. WA had solid contributions from Jimmy Harrold and Hinchcliffe all day long but the WA boys lacked depth through the middle and it is no surprise their best period in the game came in the third when Pepper-Powell, Clark and Hinchcliffe were all winning the clearances with Goddard being the better ruckman on the ground as he was for the day. Some notes of interest First Quarter: Schache shows strength holding front position with a high floating ball delivered in quickly but not effectively, Schache positioned his body well enough to hold off defender and take a strong mark above his head. Unfortunately put the ball to the wrong side, although I do like his smooth kicking action 2 very solid pressure efforts inside forward 50m from Eades resulted in turnover and goal WA turnover ball forward of centre wing and ball ends up in hands of Sympkin who after short run sees strong lead from Schache who starts lead as soon as he sees turnover. Sympkins perfect pass lands on chest of Schache with defender trailing behind him Another WA turnover ends up in hands of Darcy Tucker who after quick 1-2 gathers with great run and delivers a long pass over defenders to top of square where Schache who is moving backwards and has presence of mind to use body to hold off full back and bring ball to ground for crumbing forward to goal. Not certain but think the goal was by Number 28 very brave effort by Harrold takes strong contested mark backing in at half back and takes off to deliver a quality 35/40m pass to chest of leading HF strong effort inside forward 50 by Sympkin, gathers loose ball with pace and makes early decision to kick a goal from 40m out on the boundary. Great skill, confidence and poise shown with this effort and approx 10 secs before it was Sympkins hard effort at half forward which caused the spillage when WA were breaking away from defence really strong tackle and turnover by Costigan was a great effort which was not backed up by a poor turnover when going into corridor with other available options on win Good mark by Vic forward Skinner with strong hands and body strength getting front position although IMO WA defender Mirco should have done better, tried to contest the mark from behind when the obvious option was to punch Hinchliffe shows coolness under pressure in heavy traffic inside defensive 50 before delivering a quality 35m pass to teammate to relieve pressure Tucker again runs off half back to wing and at pace delivers perfectly weighted and depth pass to leading Schache Hinchliffe again good in traffic with poise and hard run in own defensive 50 before clearing down the boundary to advantage of leading HF Best 1st quarter Vic Country - Schache, Sympkin, Tucker, Holmes WA - Hinchcliffe, Harrold, Goddard 2nd Quarter Goddard continues to get better of ruck and is also backing up with some good second efforts around the clearances Matheson and Holmes dominating from centre despite Goddard winning hitouts Harrold backs into contest and takes a quality mark in front of Schache in defensive 50m before giving off pass and continuing with run and providing outlet option Ah Chee takes a good mark at full forward uses smarts to leap early and get advantage over much taller opponent Watson shows a lot with several second efforts, backing into packs without questions Collins big half back who shows good clean hands below knees, on one occasion with WA breaking and wide open forward 50 behind him, Collins is decisive in trapping low delivery to leading forward forward before gathering and disposing with neat kick into corridor, Collins continues with momentum receives handball which he handballs to HFF resulting in inside 50 to contest at top of square. Schache again takes mark with strong lead early to lose defender into forward pocket, realises quickly better option and delivers pinpoint pass to team mate who goals Ridley and Clark getting involved and starting to deliver some good isnide 50's for WA but Vic defenders Collins and Wietering either marking or knocking to advantage Tucker and Matheison exceptional at ground level to clear and set up attacks Watson great second efforts after strong defensive spoil falls to Vic advantage, 2nd effort results in turnover and WA relieving pressure Hinchcliffe again brave floating across bigpack at halfback to take relieving mark Ainsworth outmarks taller opponent with good judgement and positioning sense Ainsworth busy and applying forward pressure gathers lose ball and delivers perfect pass to Schache who snaps goal Schache relieving on ball and maintaining role floating kick behind play, gathering possessions as link option in corridor, also delivers quality inside 50 to leading Ainsworth WA under pressure in defensive 50m Hinchcliffe runs hard to get to contest gathers ball before delivering inch perfect 50m pass to leading HF Best Vic - Schache, Ainsworth, Collins, Matheson WA - Hinchliffe, Harrold, Watson, Clark 3rd quarter WA gain some advantage through Goddards taps, Clark strong body and Shaw getting busy forward 50 entries cut off by Collins Harrold showing defnsive poise and dash, decision making is top level Ainsworth strong lead gathers before turning quality pass to leading Eades Schache leads well to Holmes who has run off HB and delivers pass which is a bit high, Aisnworth comes up as 3rd man and brings ball to ground, very good effort by small/mid size forward WA now having best period of game, Clark, Hinchcliffe strong through the middle with assistance from Pepper-Powell and Ridley who is getting involved again. Rotham standing up in defensive 50 and when pushing up ground to spoil at every opportunity Pepper-Powell very impressive decision making is sound, delivery by foot is good and he has a physical presence for a midfielder Petrovksi-Seton been quite most of the day but running hard trying to get himself into the game, impressive second and third efforts after shocking turnover by him inside defensive 50 turns the ball over, puts body on line to spoil forward pass follows up with bone jarring tackle and WA move ball to forward 50 at pace Sympkin goes hard in 3 on 1 to beat all opponents in forward pocket kicks % option to top of square Rotham spoils Petrovski-Seton shows one for the highlight reel, runs of back of square at centre bounce meets ball at speed which he gathers and delivers inside 50 from centre square at speed, after after some solid work by Jones WA lock ball in and Clark using big body at clearance goals Best Vic - Sympkin, Holmes, Schache, Ainsworth, Collins WA- Rotham, Pepper-Powell, Clark, Harrold 4th Quarter Ah Chee holds up well in strong tackle to get his kick off to goal Clark continues off from 3rd quarter with some good strong clearance work Collins continues to impress by beating direct opponent and also rolling off to spoil, however he chooses this option well also has a knack of backing team mate and rolling off to provide outlet option or gather loose ball, lot to like about this kid Pepper-Powell shows extra tools by resting across HFF and bringing ball to ground in a couple of contest Schache moves to behind ball and starts to show quality delivery and poise for such a big man, duel option down the track as forward or defender going to push him right to top of draft. Once sting is out of the game he goes back to forward 50 where he continues to dominate. His set shot is fluid and looks effortless Ah Chee ignores Pepper-Powell who is free in space around 40 m out and blazes away from 45m out close to boundary So basically a dominant display by Vic Country who just had far more contributors across the ground and overall had the much bigger bodies at the contest, better structures setting up from HB and through the corridor and with the smart powerful leading Schache they are a good strong side. For drafting Schache - Top 5 easily and on this effort Carlton/Suns/Saints will take him with Pick 1. not just a forward, but why wouldn't you play him there. Shows a lot of Hogan's hard working attitude and some swagger. Direct opponent was undersized but could not have asked for a better display from your key forward who imposed himslef on the game Collins - not as highly touted as Weitering but the best defender on the ground, showed great anticipation and decision making matched with good ball use and also provided options going forward. Tucker - not overly busy but everything he did he did well. His disposal was excellent as was his decision making. Good runner and will also be able to run on ball Ainsworth - size will go against him but very good by foot and a busy forward who shows enough to suggest he could rotate through the middle. A lot of Jack Lonie about this kid Holmes - rated him above Matheson over the 4 quarters because he was harder at it throughout and was busy when Vic Country got on top early. Not a big mid but has some good aggression and did not shirk any contests WA Clark - not exceptional but just makes the right decisions, I think he will go second round because he wont have one of those impressive highlight reels but may surprise recruiters, especially if he gets into a strong midfield Hinchliffe - not a big mid but brave and a very good user of the footy by hand and foot. Will go late or rookie but I like kids who stand up in a team under the pump and that is what he did Harrold - as above stood up for the entire game in a defence that was getting no let up. Showed plenty of poise in traffic and used the footy well Ah Chee - showed enough with his limited opportunities to why he is highly rated, like all quality small forwards makes the most of limited opportunities

PJ has been our best recruit of the last 10 years... http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-fixture-2016-melbourne-and-richmond-to-play-anzac-eve-20151026-gkj0vq.html

Why Collingwood don't deserve to play ANZAC day. https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CBwQFjAAahUKEwiFkpfc_ODIAhWGGKYKHcvsAoI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthenewdaily.com.au%2Fsport%2F2014%2F04%2F22%2Fmagpies-deserve-play-anzac-day%2F&usg=AFQjCNF7-HH-36wZ6kL5kwpckl3C9BeKKw

Parish has a few little highlights here (about 5 mins in): http://www.afl.com.au/video/2015-06-17/u18s-sos-jnrs-big-day-out A few here (5:30): https://www.facebook.com/FutureStarsTV/videos/vb.130437356973525/1180023382014912/?type=2&theater Plus there's a full replay of Vic Metro vs Vic Country on afl.com.au (his first game back) http://www.afl.com.au/video/2015-06-07/under-18s-vicc-v-vicm-q1 http://www.afl.com.au/video/2015-06-07/under-18s-vicc-v-vicm-q2 http://www.afl.com.au/video/2015-06-07/under-18s-vicc-v-vicm-q3 http://www.afl.com.au/video/2015-06-07/under-18s-vicc-v-vicm-q4

"In a move which is expected to irritate Collingwood..." Sounds good to me.

For a start I don't know why people want to keep living our dreadful past, but when Roos came on board the players had two years under Dave Misson, if he's so good I doubt they would have been all that unfit.

Also looks like he ate Lance Whitnall.

As has been mentioned previously, Parish's "highlights": video comes from one bloody game.

Just watching the Country v Metro match, the thing to note with Parish, his 'point of difference' or whatever you want to call it, is that he makes good decisions incredibly quickly and he just doesn't fumble. One of the reasons why Toumpas struggled is that he struggled to find space with the extra pace of AFL and got stuck with the footy. Parish, on the other hand, is just so quick with his decisions that he gets the ball and finds a great option before anyone has time to tackle him. It's an underrated skill, but is very important at AFL level, especially when he can also be very creative at that speed. A bit like a rich man's AN-B.

They are OK highlights. They show that he has a good sized, mature body and is much more powerful than 17 year old kids. I'm not sure it tells me a lot else. But, if you want to treat yourself, these are real highlights: Real Draft Highlights

I went last year it was a real buz to walk out a winner on a Friday night especially when year after year all you do is watch other teams in that time slot , we as fans need to take advantage of this and turn up.

No.

Dawes can't play in the 22 anymore. He is a big reason for our scoring constipation. We average 66 points per game with him in the team and 80+ without him in 2015. And... he missed both miserly Freo games which flattered his stat, it's more like 90+ without tightass Freo games included. In an increasingly difficult comp to score in, forwards need to be more deft and brilliant than ever, not dour and poorly skilled (marking). It saps team morale very quickly when good play repeatedly goes unrewarded. Seems like a great bloke though and I'm sure he will be a very successful man in whatever he turns to next.

There's a reason Malthouse isn't coaching anymore. All kids look good at junior level because they are playing against other kids. Some kids will stand up in AFL level and some won't irrespective of how well they are developed.

Eddie complains, nothing new. Says it is like having two Christmas's. Compelling argument Eddie, everyone would hate that too. Go Dees!

I hope the club gets the hardest, strongest, competitive beast at pick 7 ala Joel Selwood and Ollie Wines (who were both picked at 7). No project player stuff. Just a percentage play on the non negotiables.

Haven't read it but just seems like they have been terribly advised from day 1. They have taken little ownership of this themselves.

Cheers man , appreciate it

I'm sure he was just as excited like the rest of us were about the NAB Challenge fixture being announced.

Honestly, what a crap post

*claps*

For anyone that's not bothered to open and read this article yet, do yourselves a favour and make the time to do so. Thanks Fork.

Wasn't satire. Missed a lot of these stories coz I'm new, only a "Rookie Demon". Senior DLer's like yourself should be filling me in and not doing the digital equivalent of eating McDonald's/getting drunk before game day.

A few journo's have mentioned that Parish isn't a lock and Curnow and Weideman are in the mix (IMO Weideman behind the other two), so think there's a little bit in that information. Have heard from elsewhere that Collins is in the mix, so think Brett has some reasonable mail there too. I think we'd love to get a quick, classy mid, but the priority is key forward, and there's a feeling that we need to nab a key back too. Oscar Mc and Frost may make it, but I've no doubt that Collins offers far more in terms of contested ability and rebound out of defence. He's a good decision maker and hits targets coming out of defence. Haven't seen so much of that from Frost at this stage. in number terms, our midfield actually doesn't look too bad now: Starting mids Nathan Jones Dom Tyson Bernie Vince Jack Viney Relievers Angus Brayshaw Christian Salem Aaron vandenBerg Christian Petracca Jack Trengove Ben Newton Jake Melksham Ben Kennedy Billy Stretch Alex Neal-Bullen Tom Bugg Viv Michie Matt Jones Potentially: Kennedy-Harris Kent

Isn't it time to ban this ^^ [censored] ?

Parish, Curnow, whoever. The first time in a long time I'm completely at ease with who we take.

Latest from Brett Anderson: Parish no lock at 3. Thinks we are looking heavily at Curnow 7 apparently we are looking at Collins (Curnow - Collins double) Francis might make it to Adelaide at pick 9 as Essendon arent too keen on taking him. Thinking that Parish makes it to them and they pick up one of Curnow or Weiderman. Balic wont be taken at 7 I just dont see why we need Collins. He is great, but that means we are thinking that one of Frost, McDonald or McDonald will be a key forward.

46 and 50 (well 39 and 42?) There are a few names I like here: Greg Clark, Nick O'Kearney, Sam Skinner, Nash Holmes and Hisham Kerbatieh. Clark had a shocking year compared to his 2014. I dont know if it was the Bont comparisons, being captain in a weak WA side, or just wasnt ready for top age, he went from being a top 10 bolter to a mid 50's pick. He has the talent and the leadership. At pick 39-46 it is low risk high reward. O'Kearney is so unlucky. He is an absolute possession jet but being in a weak Metro side exposed his disposal. Again, he looked like a first round pick and has now seen him slide right down to the bottom of the second round. I'd like to think he doesn't get to us, but if he is there he is another ANB ready to take. Skinner - Promising KPP who really didnt play this year due to injury. These ones tend to see their way to the Rookie draft but in a weak draft he might find himself taken on talent and character alone. Worth the late pick if we dont get a tall in the first 7. Homes - big love for this guy. The grunt of the VC team and I loved his work with Parish, Tucker and Matheson. If he played for Metro I think there would be more love on draft boards and he would have had more of the ball and more time in the centre square. Good for a depth midfielder. Kerbatieh - remember before we were obsessed with Daniel Rioli we loved this guy. He is still around and had a good, solid season. Needs work but he is a game changer and could be a 10 year small forward. low risk high reward. All in all if I had a choice of 2 I'd want Clark and O'Kearney, but in terms of needs (and most likely to be there) I'd say Skinner and Kerbatieh. Gregory Clark (WA – MID) Height: 193cm, Weight: 82kg, DOB: 24/05/1997 Recruited from: Subiaco Profile: Promising tall running midfielder. Nicholas O’Kearney (VIC – MID) Height: 180cm, Weight: 71kg, DOB: 13/02/1997 Recruited from: Calder Cannons Profile: High production midfielder. Sam Skinner (VIC – KPP) Height: 197cm, Weight: 96kg, DOB: 29/06/1997 Recruited from: Gippsland Power Profile: Promising key position player who missed much of this season hurt. Nash Holmes - VC (180.0 cm, 74.0 kg - Inside Midfielder) Hisham Kerbatieh (VIC – FWD) Height: 177cm, Weight: 77kg, DOB: 16/05/1997 Recruited from: Calder Cannons Profile: Talented small forward with a long kick.

You shouldn't confuse the selections with their outcomes. At best there are in my view, about three possibilities for serious consideration at #3 and not that many more when you get to #7. A recruiter's mettle is determined by who they select with the lower picks. Of course you can fail with your selections but at the time Morton was picked, he was universally considered as a potential gun footballer. I recently saw vision of Nat Fyfe in his first game and there was a physical resemblance. Fyfe's body matured, his game developed and he turned into a champion. Morton did not. I was one of those who was thrilled that we got Toumpas and that was based not on his highlights reel but on seeing him play for SA Under 18's. I don't think he ever recovered from the two lots of hip surgery he had after those championships. On the other hand, Chris Judd had dodgy shoulders and Joel Sellwood had a bad knee. It didn't stop them. The fact is that no one can definitely predict the outcome of any particular draft selection at the time it's made.

Who will it be next week...it was Mathieson last week, Oliver this week. I can't wait until the next batch of AFL videos come out so you can tell us who the next mistake of the decade will be.

I don't understand the sudden interest in Weideman. He was injured for most of the season and even now isn't highly rated in the latest phantom drafts. He was pick #14 in the TAC Cup Future Stars top 20 and #16 in the Bound for Glory Phantom Draft released this week (comparison: Levi Casboult). Really? We have the opportunity to nail the best two genuine mids in the draft in Parish and Mathieson to add to the young mids we already have and this could possibly give us the best young midfield in the competition in two year's time. We need to stay the course and go mids ... mids.

The draft is called shallow because only the top few are worth it according to the 'experts.' So Pick 3 this year is better than Pick 9 next year. Because we don't want to finish in the bottom 4 again, yeah? But [censored] on everything for no reason if you want to.

Brilliant to hear. Our best performance of the 2015 season after the Geelong game for mine. Looking forward to watching Hogan tear Rance a new one once again!

Also critised ASADA for taking so long.Conveniently forgets Essendrug strung out the process at every turn. Hird added a year himself. It is always someone else's fault.

Tipping comp leaderboard 4 - JV7 3 - Gorgoroth cowboy_from_ hell Georgiou R.R. Martin 1 - titan_uranus Macca 0 - Everyone else A few observations ... There are 5 teams with a 6 & 0 record (Cinci, Packers, Pats, Panthers & Broncos) The AFC South is currently 8 & 19 Dallas will need to win a game soon, otherwise ... The Vikes & Rams are definite wild-card threats Detroit have gone backwards The Jets might be a wild-card chance as well The NFC East remains the hardest division to pick The Saints might get on a roll - next 4 ... vs Giants, vs Titans, @ Washington, @ Houston Has the League figured out Andrew Luck? Is Cam Newton a top 10 QB right now? The Raiders might be half decent We need to stop picking the Bills in road games .

I love how [censored] off eddie is. Suck a fat one eddie

Right. Not a bad effort. Two guesses. Both of which will prove incorrect. A draft sevant

Lets hope we get a bye after the Darwin game so we have time to freshen up because usually the bye is before Darwin...crazy stuff!

You said the exact same thing with Mathieson..

I really wish people would stop rubbishing poor Luke Molan. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the decision to take him. His career was destroyed by terrible luck and perhaps a lack of self-preservation. He never lacked for talent, application or aggression. Nobody could have predicted the succession of impact injuries he suffered. On Weideman, I'd be thrilled to land either he or Curnow at 7. I think either one of them would be a great get for the club. A big, reasonably athletic forward with some mongrel and aggro is just what we need.

Looking at our current mix of mids I think Parish would complement them well.

Shaun Smith looked 40 when he was 25, but he hasn't aged a day since. Good luck to Joel.