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Geez Josh Kelly is a bit of a myth isn't he

Will train with Carlton in the hope of getting picked up

I think with our top 2 picks we will take a outside midfielder/running defender with one and a small forward with the other. I'm not sure what we do with other 2 picks, I've compiled a list of 9 players in order of preference that would be well suited to our needs, a few of them could potentially slip to our pick 28 as well (Laurie, Bowey, Poulter). I think worst case we end up with 2 of of Poulter, Laurie, and Bowey (could potentially snag all 3) which I'd still be happy with but hopefully Carroll is on the board at our first pick. I'd like to pick up one key position player which I think it's actually more likely now that Baldwin could still be on the board at our 3rd round pick. I didn't include Macrae because I think the chances of him getting to our pick is extremely slim but he would be number 1 if he was available. Outside midfielder/running defender 1. Jack Carroll (WA) – 188cm, 76kg, plays like: Hugh McCluggage Carroll is one of the classiest players in the draft pool, he combines elite decision making and disposal efficiency to break open games either at half back, on a wing, or as an inside mid. He has a penetrating left foot and his decision making makes him deadly with ball in hand. Carroll is just as classy as he is tough, he successfully proved himself as a midfielder this season where he displayed his courage around the ball by throwing himself at packs, he averaged 15 contested disposals per game this season in the WAFL Colts which led the league. He never shirks a contest and is prepared to go back with the flight of the ball where his overhead marking is another strength of his. Carroll also has a range of weapons athletically, he stands at 188cm, ran a 3.018 seconds 20m sprint, a 8.67 seconds agility test, and possesses a 88cm running vertical leap, add onto that he is one of the youngest players in the pool which indicates a lot more room for growth. Jack has tremendous upside and will take a few years to build his endurance to a level where he can play on a wing or inside midfield, but he can definitely have a big influence early on as a running defender. In my opinion Carroll is the missing piece to our midfield or defence, he is exactly what we are looking for and already has connections with Riv and Jacko where he played a lot of footy with them last year at East Fremantle. 2. Nathan O’Driscoll (WA) – 187cm, 76kg, plays like: Cam Guthrie In my opinion O’Driscoll is one of the most underrated players in the pool due to his ability to play just about any position/role for the team. O’Driscoll can: lockdown the oppositions best midfielder, lock down the best small/medium forward, or collect 25+ touches at half back, on a wing, or as an inside mid. O’Driscoll might just be the hardest working player in the pool where he works up and down the ground really hard on offence and defence. He is a highly competitive and courageous player who is a strong overhead mark and sticks to his man like glue if required to. His kicking isn’t as bad as some people make it out to be, he hits easy targets and plays within his limitations most of the time, if he was able to improve his kicking to hit more difficult kicks he could become a seriously good player. O’Driscoll shines athletically where he stands at 187cm, ran a 2.931 seconds 20m sprint, a 8.12 seconds agility test, and 6:23 minutes 2km time trial, which his size, athleticism, and competitiveness give him the versatility to play on taller and smaller players. O’Driscoll is also a great character, he’s very easy going, is well liked by all his teammates, is a natural leader, he’s just someone you’d want to have around your club. The key benefit of drafting Nathan is his versatility, he could fill Nev’s role as a lockdown defender, he could play on the opposite wing to Langdon where he runs all day, or he could provide rebound off a half back flank, he’s someone who is very high on my list of wants. 3. Brayden Cook (SA) – 189cm, 82kg, plays like: Jaidyn Stephenson This years bolter Brayden Cook has shown the ability to turn games on their heads this year where he has kicked big bags of goals as a wingman or medium forward. He has the build of a prototypical modern footballer where has grown to 189cm and possesses a handy 74cm running vertical leap, which allows for his point of difference, his overhead marking ability. He is a terrific one-on-one mark, and is also capable of taking a pack mark. He is incredibly clean on ground level, knows where the goals are, and has a nice bag of tricks. Whilst not being an elite kick, his kicking is good and is well complimented by his excellent decision making and vision. He doesn’t have elite speed either but is nimble where he ran a 8.45 seconds agility test, and has a nice tank which he ran a 6:48 minutes 2km time trial. Cook is a quintessential link up player who can either impact at the start, middle, or finish of a scoring chain and is a very versatile player. Likely starts his career as a medium forward but I suspect he could even play off a half back flank with his overhead marking ability, and can eventually move to a wing once he improved his strength and fitness. 4. Caleb Poulter (SA) – 192cm, 79kg, plays like: Bailey Smith Poulter is a modern day tall midfielder who hurts the opposition on the inside and outside. Poulter’s upside is enormous where he has the class, athleticism, and point of difference to one day be an absolute star of the competition. Poulter is a classy, penetrating left foot kick and is an excellent decision maker where he regularly lowers his eyes going inside 50. His point of difference is his 192cm frame which he uses around the ground as a marking option where he has a clean set of hands. He also uses his large frame around the ball to win clearances and is a keen tackler which he can be intimidating around the ball at times. He also has really clean hands and can effectively execute long handballs which release teammates into space. To go with all that Poulter ran a 3.058 seconds 20m sprint (very impressive for his size), has a 81cm running vertical jump, and also ran a 6:38 minutes 2km time trial. Poulter can be utilised as either as an outside or inside midfielder due to his tank and class, where he often gets involved in offensive chains where he doesn’t stop running. Poulter just needs to work on his four quarter consistency and if he can add size to his frame he will be a force to be reckoned with. He probably plays his best footy as an inside midfielder but also very capable as an outside midfielder, or potentially at half back due to his overhead marking. If he kept growing he could become a key position player size whilst at the moment he can also effectively play as a medium forward. Potentially could be a flight risk, but he presents enormous upside and might be too hard to pass up on if the players above are already taken. Would also be impossible not to talk about Poulter without giving a shoutout to his incredible mullet, which he will stand out as a future cult hero. 5. Jake Bowey (VIC) – 175cm, 67kg, plays like: Shai Bolton Bowey might just be the most skillful player in the draft and is extremely versatile which he can play as outside mid, small forward, or a rebounding defender. Bowey’s best asset is his elite kick, and he is a sound decision maker, he might be the best player with ball in hand in this years draft. He can rack up disposals where every one of them hurts the opposition on a wing or at half back, and has shown he can regularly hit the scoreboard as a small forward. Bowey’s obvious drawback is his size which is why he will be overlooked early which he is no doubt a first round pick with his skillset. However he makes up for his lack of size with terrific athletic traits, he ran a 2.95 seconds 20m sprint, a 8.07 seconds agility test, and possesses a 88cm running vertical leap which he showed in the futures game on Grand Final day in 2019 he can get up for a hanger. Bowey also shows a lot of toughness and courage for his size where he’s a keen tackler who will look to bring down any player despite his size. Bowey just has to work on the contested side of his game and add some size so he doesn’t get knocked off the ball as regularly. Jake would be a great pick up and his skillset is exactly what the dees are looking for, which he could be utilised most likely as a small forward at the start of his career and then potentially push up the ground as he builds his endurance base. Small forward 1. Blake Coleman (QL) – 181cm, 79kg, plays like: Liam Ryan Coleman is tied to Brisbane’s NGA Academy, however they could potentially pass if a bid came earlier than expected at one of our first rounders where the Lions have a pick shortly after and have other academy prospects to bring in. Nevertheless, It is unlikely the Lions pass on a bid for Coleman, but he has a lot of exciting attributes as a small forward where he could form a damaging partnership with Kozzy. Coleman is deadly at ground level, he appears a lot quicker than his 3.072 seconds 20m sprint, he is an incredibly smart crumber and is capable of kicking those incredible goals. He also has incredible agility, is a great kick with ball in hand and a great decision maker where he also has the long handball skills to open teammates into space. Coleman’s point of difference is he’s just as damaging in the air as he is on ground level, he is a really strong 1v1 and even contested mark, and is clever at deciding whether to go fly for a mark or stay down for the crumb. Coleman also applies relentless forward pressure where he uses his speed at ground level. Coleman just has to work on his endurance and four quarter consistency but he has all the tools to be a really dangerous small forward. Coleman is best utilised close to goal and would be the perfect small forward to partner Kozzy if the Lions didn’t match a bid. 2. Bailey Laurie (VIC) – 179cm, 78kg, plays like: Zak Butters Laurie is a classy small forward/midfielder who plays his best footy in that high half forward role. Laurie is a high impact per possession player where he uses his lethal kicking and decision making going inside 50 creating scores for his teammates and himself. He is incredibly crafty and hard to tackle which is aided by 7.97 seconds agility test where he in games he really uses that agility to weave in and out of tacklers. Laurie does great work around stoppages, his poise and footy IQ really stands out where he consistently makes good decisions under heavy pressure. Laurie is a natural crumber up forward and whilst he’s not a dominant overhead mark he has a knack of knowing where to run to get on the end of a chain. The defensive side of Laurie’s game is also good, he’s a good pressure player where he uses his strong endurance base (6:24 minutes 2km time trial) to keep chasing defenders. Laurie’s only downfall is that he doesn’t have elite small forward speed, he ran a 3.06 20m sprint so he still has some toe but he makes up for a lack of speed with his high footy IQ and nimbleness. Laurie’s a very versatile player who could partner Kozzy up forward, play Melksham’s role as that high half forward, or I suspect he could even play on a wing with his strong endurance base and kicking skills. In the future Laurie could also run through the midfield where he has that high impact per possession skills that not many of our mids have. 3. Jake Bowey (VIC) – 175cm, 67kg, plays like: Shai Bolton See above 4. Errol Gulden (NSW) – 175cm, 75kg, plays like: Karl Amon Gulden is tied to Sydney’s NGA academy but there is a slight chance they may not match a bid if a bid came earlier than expected due to them having a few similar players and the Swans were to go into draft points deficit next year which would affect their first round pick. Gulden can be utilised either as a small forward or outside midfielder. Whilst his 3.10 seconds 20m sprint and 8.55 seconds agility test may not indicate that he’s super quick, on the field he shows lightning pace which he uses to cause chaos for the opposition. Gulden possesses high footy IQ and is a very classy player, he also knows how to rack up a lot of disposals as a midfielder. Gulden plays with a hard edge where he is a relentless tackler up forward and operates well at the feet of the tall forwards. Whilst he often hurts teams with his penetrating kicks, his decision making can be a bit scratchy sometimes where he tries to bite off too much. Gulden is a highly versatile player and whilst he probably ends up at Sydney he’d be a suitable small forward partner for Kozzy or could play on a wing or half back.

Lockhart’s close to a regular player compared with JJ who hasn’t played. Isn’t that enough?

Best post ever

Sam Fisher (Swan Districts) has spoken to the MFC Recruitment team.

Don't like it on so many levels

That is the sad reality. There has been a tendency here to forgive for the Cairns debacle and put it down to travel etc but really it was just another failure to motivate and manage the team. The second loss in Cairns had no excuse. A season where the highlight was a close win against the Saints and a big win over an injury riddled Collingwood doesn't bode well.

A contract is an agreement between 2(or more) parties - one party does not "own" the other. Once that contract period ends, each party is free to do whatever they please. Frawley has left 2 clubs now after finishing contracts. He has done nothing wrong - nor should he be criticized for making the very same career choices that all of us do. To argue differently is just utterly ridiculous and simply portrays a disgruntled fan who cannot distinguish the difference between career advancement (for the player) and blind team loyalty (from the supporter). Frawley left the MFC 6 years ago - get over it!

cal twomey and shifter sheehan have done a mock draft and have us selection jack carroll and conor stone with our two picks

I thought it was reported we were going for Billing’s if we kept the pick (in which case we definitely made the right choice)

36 main list and 6 rookie list is the only reasonable way to compose the list. 37-5 would waste 80k of salary cap space for no good reason. 38-4 would waste 160k. Every team has a super tight salary cap as they negotiate the cap decrease and player contracts. So it makes sense that JJ would be given the rookie designation. For that reason 3 draft picks and 1 rookie (pick or train on player) remains the overwhelming favourite unless we have a way to drop another player back, which I assume we don't.

Salem and Ben Brown is a quite good return

If we can package up some picks to get North's pick 11 (North just looking to add more young talent) that will be high enough to get Macrae who's the best wingman in the draft. I'm quite happy with where we are at the moment though, there's every chance Carroll, Cook, or O'Driscoll could get through, and if not guys like Poulter, Laurie, and Bowey are still really good prospects who suit our needs and could even step into the team round 1 next year. The difference between 19 and 28 will only be about 4-5 picks come draft night due to teams between those picks, losing their picks due to academy bids, so I would've thought something like 19+28 should get us pick 11.

Draft Central have put together a very comprehensive list of prospects in the pool with quite detailed player profiles. Reminds me a bit of the old Inside Footy draft specials (I miss Brett Anderson's draft coverage). Also has a section on next years draft prospects, worth a look (guide is in .pdf, a free download): https://afl.draftcentral.com.au/2020-afl-draft-guide/?fbclid=IwAR0_gA9eRDNPlvYUfAhgSbLkqHEw-feIc0Pop4Iw72lISajA0J_nBshMCBI Fox Sports AFL also have a bit more on some of the potential steals in the draft (many of whom have been discussed at length on threads on Land): https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-draft-2020-draft-prospects-bargains-sliders-bolters-steals-afl-draft-order/news-story/54b9e4f23bc30181bef3abea090ffcae

I have heard he is speaking to 3 clubs.He definitely is worthwhile and don’t forget we kept him over Frost last year.

The one regret I have about Oscar is he never got a consistent stretch at Casey with a mature body to show he can dominate VFL games. Could he have played like Steve May does for the AFL side down at Casey - 20 touches, 10 marks, shut down an opponent? And what would that have done for his confidence at AFL level? I doubt it would’ve mattered but he became a regular in the AFL side at a young age on the back of a few decent Casey games. And any time he was dropped over the last two years he didn’t get that chance to really re-establish his credentials. Last year they sent him for a mini preseason, this year it was the hubs and scratch matches. Im at least mildly interested to see how he goes if given a long stretch in the VFL. Does he become an intercept marker and more aggressive participant in games?

Thanks to both Gawndog98 and Goodoil for your bravery in committing to a phantom draft. I like Goodoil’s lateral thinking on the potential pick trades. The one for Collingwood is particularly interesting - I think the way the Reef McInnes pick plays out is going to be an interesting aspect of the draft. The Pies need a lifter and getting Elijah Hollands along with McInnes could be an important boost to their stocks and morale at the moment. I have a bit of a tradition of my own at this time in the lead up to the draft where I pick a player of interest* and I’m going for Jake Bowey at pick 18 or 19. In some respects, I’m going against my grain because I think we have enough undersize players at the club already (nothing against Kozzy or Charlie but I have a view that there’s a limit to the number of smalls you can have on a list and I think we’re about there). I usually try to get to a few NAB Cup games and like to make it for the finals. I have an association with the Sandy Dragons going back to the start of the competition and saw one or two of their games from last year. I’ve also seen plenty of vision of Bowey as an underager and I think he would be one of the draft’s bargains if we can secure him at 18/19. Despite his 175cm stature, he ticks all of the boxes you need for a small forward. Persistent attack on the footy, excellent disposal and consistency. He could just about be right to go from the start and can see him hitting Ben Brown on the chest. With Kozzy and Bowey at the big forward’s feet, the pressure on opposition defenders is going to be enormous. I think the comparison with Shai Bolton is not out of order and Bowey might also find himself playing in the midfield. * the first time I tried this exercise at draft time, I picked out Nathan Jones and a year later I went for Chip Frawley but I haven’t picked a Demon since.

Pretty tough ask as we are still two weeks out from the draft and given the year we've had. We're likely to hear a lot more whispers in the days leading up to the draft. I'm no draft expert and haven't watched any of these kids play live so I'll put that caveat out there but I'll put my two-cents in from what I've read and gleaned from various phantom drafts and so called experts. Club rankings are likely to vary widely more so this year due to the lack of exposure so it wouldn't surprise me to see someone ranked in the top 15 slide out to our picks or have a name or two that most aren't familiar with pop up in the first and second round. Kids Unavailable to us ranked in the first or second round Jamarra Ugle-Hagen - Western Bulldogs NGA - tipped to go between 1-3 Braeden Campbell - Sydney Academy - tipped to go between 5 - 10 Lachie Jones - Port Adelaide NGA - tipped to go between 8 - 15 Reef McInnes - Collingwood NGA - tipped late 1st to early 2nd round, Cal Twomey has suggested he is being considered to be "bid on" by Essendon at one of their picks Conner Downie - Hawthorn NGA - tipped to go 2nd round Errol Gulden - Sydney NGA - tipped to go 2nd round I expect all clubs to match bids for these players. There was some suggestion that swans could pass on Guldon depending on where a bid lay but with a change in the draft rules and Sydney now stockpiling late picks I expect they will pick him up. Gold Coast pre-listed players ranked in the first and second round Alex Davies Joel Jeffrey The players that I expect to be gone before our picks. Logan McDonald Riley Thilthorpe Elijah Hollands Denver Grainger-Barrass Will Phillips Archie Perkins Heath Chapman Nik Cox Finlay Macrae Zach Reid Tanner Bruhn Oliver Henry The next group that could be in the mix for our selections Tom Powell Brayden Cook Nathan O'Driscoll Jack Carroll Zane Trew Zavier Maher Bailey Laurie Caleb Poulter Zac Dumesney Conor Stone Sam Berry Eddie Ford Corey Durdin Jake Bowey Matt Allison* Kaine Baldwin* *I could see us taking a tall and have included the next best ranked talls I could see. Sorry, its probably not exactly what you were after but it's the best I can do at this point. Perhaps someone with good mail might be able to give more insight into our possible draft selections @Yokozuna

I was intrigued by this myself the other day and went through a fair few phantom drafts to determine where players would be bid on, the points that would be required and the picks that would be eaten up to equal the bid. Unfortunately, by my calculations it wasn't as favorable as i thought it would be for our later picks. You mention that the doggies will have to use pick 26 on JUH which will bring in our picks 28 and 50. However, I don't think you have taken into account that the doggies will essentially just move their pick 26 up to pick 1-3. Meaning, that our pick 28 would stay where it is based on that factor alone as all the other picks from the bid on wards would be shunted back a position until 27 which would remain the same. The good part (that you mentioned already) is that the Doggies later picks in this bid would also be used up, meaning that 31, 41 and 42 would likely get used up too. The sad part is that there are a large amount of academy kids who are predicted to be taken in the 2nd and 3rd rounds too... The gains that we make up from the Doggies picks etc are not as good as once again our late pick gets pushed back. I was going to type up my notes, but its not 100% accurate with the trades that have gone on since trade week, but essentially I had worked out our picks to likely fall this way 18+4=22 19+4=23 28+6-1=33 (realistically it will be 34 now that the doggies have traded pick 26) 50+11-16=45 So really we lose out except for pick 50 which comes in 5 places :(

Next Monday

Disgusting by the footy club.

not to mention will have oliver as a teammate in 2022 and beyond!

The GWS GIANTS trade its Rd 2 (29) and Rd 3 (52) selections to the Western Bulldogs for its Rd 2 (26) selection.

Agree we will trade up with a combo of picks like that. We did well to get two end of first rounders, however we’ve been snookered by other clubs (Ess, GWS) having more first rounders than expected. We need to trade up to get our hands on Macrae, Perkins, Cook or Carrol IMO.

Ex Essendon ? There is a slightly foul taste in my mouth. Lets hope he is good.

We disagree on what we're seeing in the vid and I'm certainly no expert but on the bolded above, I wholeheartedly agree. There is a small part of me that was happy with him staying on our list because I see him as a guy who's determined and has always played as if he's an outsider with something to prove. He believes in himself, so if getting back is possible, he'll get there. If not, he's been an asset to the club as a late draft pick. Let's hope he makes it back.

Really I thought he moved better than lever and on par maybe a tad under weid. Anb obviously the best movement. Certainly looked trimmed and moving better than anything I saw this year. I'm behind the big fella loves the club ,his bro got delisted and must hurt being shopped around. Credit to him for not dropping his bundle.

As bad as this is from the Bombers (and it’s bloody unprofessional from them or any organisation) it’s also been born out of the AFL taking its sweet time to finalise list sizes and salary caps. I get that there must have been things to work out but it should’ve been finished soon after the Grand Final and certainly before the trade/FA period. Still, gotta love Essendon continuing their slide as an organisation. Could well imagine seeing another exodus next year if they keep treating their players this way.

Can't access the article, but it's hard to see how it (romance aside) works. Hobart, with a population of 206,000 and Launceston with 106,000 is going to struggle to attract enough members. Then, you have them being 2.5 hours apart, so it's a matter of picking one or the other. Tasmania has the lowest population and smallest economy of any Australian state. I'm pushing 40; I'd love to live in Tasmania. It's quiet, there's plenty of good food, cheese, wine and scenery. It'd be a much tougher sell to convince 23 year olds earning hundreds of thousands to live there.

I have, he'll be rookie at best

Yes I agree and that alone makes fir some Confidence building news. The two single points D/L have made about Tommy and Jacko over this season are to me : 1. Tommy is on the scrap ( s "crap") heap and should be consigned to the Twos and won't play a senior game, nor should he be considered!!! Some IMO quite disgraceful posts about him which ignore Toms battle with something I don't feel we know much about and even Burgo or Tommy have responsibility for. Ie who if anyone approved his sudden gain of weight and if so why wasn't it rectified like it is being done now or is it His foot or toe injury related Starting back to early 2018 when he missed the first few games and returned vs Bombers at Marvel Stadium. 2. Jacko is a work in progress. Please dont overload His work and he will be a good player "in a few years"!!! Now there are much better judges Than me on D/L and within the Club but please don't tell me that Jacko is like Weid !!! What he does on the footy field comes naturally and fortunately From his extraordinary competitive nature as highlighted by his follow ups from the ruck which make him an extra mid ( think he is both inside and outside) as he just sees ball and gets ball then looks to dispose or peel off a generally good quality handball to our benefit. No one will teach him that and I well bet that 75/80% of his game is based on that and he will continue to marvel us just the same way as Nic Nat has the WC fans. What he needs will be ruck training and practice and high marking similarly. These skills will continually improve each year BUT Jacko will be one of our top ten players already from this year on. IF both players contribute Tom getting back 2018 form no matter where he will play and Jackos natural development Continues we will be a 3/4 goal better side automatically. I can not therefore understand the doomsayers saying we will struggle ( serious multiple injuries not withstanding) When BBB and his effect on the forward line Frittas development and accuracy plus Kossie and Rivs development and we hope a much better game plan with dome input fir our mids from Ooze to ensure they play as a team not individuals all mistakenly chasing kicks and Some the plaudits. Yhe major areas are Forward and On ball and if we get those right then it is a no brainer the improvement in 2021 will be walked and not just talked.

It's finally been confirmed that Trump will leave the White House with Grace and Dignity. Just as soon as Grace finds her shoes, Dignity gets dressed and they both get paid.

It will be a Spargo led re-emergence

I absolutely agree with this. I just listened to Oscar on the radio & he spoke so well about the club & the handling of his delisting. I just hope he never read the vitriol spouted about him ...I shudder to think who will be the next unfortunate player who gets “dumped” on now he had gone. I sometimes think we forget that the players are just young men who play to the best of their ability but unfortunately we expect them to play to our expectations & they often don’t marry up !

Another kid who would be perfect for us but will instead go to a top 4 team under the ridiculous academy rules. The AFL draft - the worst draft in world sports.

Grow the game... grow the game... grow the game... [censored] growing the game. How about giving it back to the people that love it before they get bored and wander off, rather than spend millions on teams that bore us real footy fans and bore those that are meant to join in?

Dr D. Settle down. It’s a supporters thread. Neither would @gawndogor @goodoil . Has Herald Sun journalist sat through the recruiter meetings or psych tests. Really. No poster here is. I based my opinion on watching 2019 under 18s games. Bendigo pioneers. From what saw, I’d take Jack Ginnivan who showed a lot more class and footy IQ in the 3 games I saw. It’s an opinion. FFS. Shutdown all opinion based on your view. Shutdown all views on our games given we don’t sit in match committee or watch 100 hours of tapes a week. We have our opinion. I think recruiters may go for more SA, WA, QLD kids this year based on what they have seen. Unfortunately many Vic metro and country kids may not be given the best possible chance and many are likely to slip through to the rookie draft spots. That’s an opinion.

Direct quote: “There’s a few things we’ve got to make sure we gel, and a strong pre-season should be able to do that for us,” he said. Yep. We're just one good preseason away.

His old man was a tough bastard. If that carried through the genes I'd take him for his mongrel value.

I just like the idea of us beating Collingwood on the Queen's Birthday by a point through a goal kicked by WEIDEMAN after the siren!

I quite like the thought as I know how much his family would despise seeing him in the red and blue