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Professional scouting is no where near as good as you suggest. Take a look at the current top 50 players in the AFL (https://www.statsinsider.com.au/sport-hub/afl/player-ratings) and where they were drafted. The draft will always be very inefficient because we select players when their bodies are not yet mature and junior footy is so much inferior to AFL. Rank Player Draft Pick 3 Lachie Neale 58 4 Zach Merrett 26 5 Zak Butters 12 7 Jordan Dawson 56 8 James Sicily 56 9 Toby Greene 11 10 Charlie Curnow 12 12 Jack Sinclair Rookie 18 Patrick Cripps 13 19 Jai Newcombe Mid Season 22 Shai Bolton 29 23 Dan Houston Rookie 25 Tom Stewart 40 26 Max Gawn 34 28 Tim English 19 29 Rowan Marshall Rookie 31 Chad Warner 39 32 Sam Taylor 28 37 Touk Miller 29 38 Rory Laird Rookie 40 Bailey Dale 45 41 Luke Parker 40 43 Jarrod Witts 67 45 Charlie Cameron Rookie 50 Zac Bailey 15

He's not desperate to move home. If he was, he would of requested a trade and pushed harder for it. I've said it quite a few times - He listened to their offer, his head was turned by an extra 200K per season, he spoke to Goody & Lamb who said his commitment was required for 2024 in any circumstance. He loves his teammates and he's a good club man. He was happy to return. We know we have a job on our hands to keep him. He's been told if he can have a break out season as a forward, he will probably become a $1M per season player for the MFC.

I’m happy to burn picks if it lands Reid, not so convinced if it’s for Zane D. Reid can play and would impact from Round 1, Zane won’t. Would much prefer 6 & 11 if this scenario plays out

Absolute garbage. I know for a fact this is not the case. He is more than happy in Melbourne. Adelaide were absolutely desperate to get him, that's the extent of it....for now.

I heard from a relative of Oscars that he has been offered a two year contract with Freo and he currently making plans to pack up and move over there as we speak. I wish him all the best. Apparently he has been working his guts out at VFL level and has been rewarded.

What a horrible mean spirited post. You don't rate him, fine, but why post this tripe? It casts you in such a poor light which sadly, for someone who has a bit to offer, happens far too regularly.

Very good source told me WC are trying to turn pick 1 into 3 top 10 picks. Also told me that the stories about WC are wanting the WA tall are a tad embellished. The stumbling block is North Melbourne. they want Pick 1 and to keep 2 or 3 so they get either the better Tassie mid or Duursma. My guess is that it could look something like below…. Which is 3 inside top 11. There would be some additional bits and pieces thrown in to balance it out. WC 3, 8 + 11 North 1 MFC 2 Geelong 6 Personally if that were to eventuate or something similar I would be ok with it.

It’s not that it’s 10 players deep it’s that the first round isn’t as deep as previous drafts and those after around 15 are a similar standard to what has gone in the second round of previous drafts. There is a consensus that the second round spread goes quite deep with potential. Would not be at all surprised if there were a few who go in the 30-40 range who surprise in their careers

Just rang the Club to see why I had been charged $289 for my Interstate membership (supposed to be $165). Found out the $289 includes my 2024 interstate membership, 2024 AFLW membership AND Kayo for next year as well. Basically it’s a bargain.

North would be laughing if that's all it cost them in my view.

A couple of telling things, though: In Round 1 our game against Collingwood was 8412, the highest crowd of any event held at IKON in 2023, as well as the second largest AFLW crowd this season. Conversely, the Round 6 match between Carlton and Collingwood, two clubs with far higher memberships than Melbourne, attracted just 3111, and they didn't have AFL finals to compete with. I know the crowd of 2704 last week is disappointing, but let's not forget it was the second highest crowd of the round. I don't think the problem of low attendances is exclusive to Melbourne.

That's awesome for omac. Great reward for super hard work. By all accounts his back injury was pretty bad, which makes getting back on an AFL list all the more meritorious given the rehab he would have had to push through - made tougher by not being in the AFL system with all the resources and support at club land. A super smart fella who works hard and is the very definition of a solid citizen. Great pick up for freo. Good on freo for offering him a two year contract. Uprooting your life and moving to the other side of the country is no small thing. 14 more games and he gets to 100 games and AFL life membership. Good onya Omac.

Cane Cornes will be telling us all he desperately wants to go home asap. Oh, wait, he isn’t from Adelaide so he probably hasn’t heard of him.

I am hoping he and Dees nominate him as a father-son selection. He definitely is a goer with a huge engine. I think if any other club picks him in the draft, then we can match it but we have to allocate points. If he’s not picked in the draft, then Dees can just add automatically as a rookie without waiting until the formal rookie draft.

This is a confusing and vaguely sexist post. I don't believe the AFL introduced AFLW to specifically grow female and family supporter numbers, they introduced it because there was a readiness in the game and to grow the entire support base. AFL has always been well supported by women, men and families. I can't agree with your assertion that "Women need to talk of the women players around the water coolers and bbqs not the men players, steer the conversations about the game to women involvement, etc. In short a cultural change that needs support by women." The game will be talked about by everyone and it's not women's obligation to focus entirely on AFLW. They can freely talk about both men's and women's football. In my family we talk about the exploits of Petracca, Hanks, Kossie, Hore, Gawn and Bannan. It helps that we've got great teams in both competitions.

Adelaide and St Kilda have interest in Joe Fonti, seriously fast player with unbelievable lateral movement. Biggest problem I have seen with him is defensive accountability and just trying to do everything at 100mph. Plays a lot like Jayden Hunt, in terms of his run, probably nowhere near as good as Jayden defensively. Can take a decent contested grab

Kynan Brown’s debut as the work experience kid at Casey this season gone was nearing auspiciousness. After kicking one goal, fluffed his lines on a second certainty, kicking to the left side of the goal post. Virtually on the goal line under perceived pressure rather than an opponent breathing down his neck. Suggesting an ‘excitable nervousness’ got the better of him. Dad Doggie was not the most polished player going round but never took a backward step. Young Kynan did not appear overawed on his Casey appearance and seemed to be a deceptively solid build for his age and inherited physique. More tyro Weimaraner than Whippet.

Hopefully we pick him up as a father son either late or rookie. Though he's slight, he's a real goer and was actually one of Vic Metros best players! With a bit of work to build his body strength up he could definitely forge an afl career. Fingers crossed he makes it in red and blue.

If he doesn’t make it, it won’t be for lack of trying nor will it have anything to do with supporter sentiment. He’s a goer and would be an extremely popular father-son pick. I hope he makes it. His old man used to do my head in a bit as a player but is one of the nicest blokes you’ll ever meet.

Rough early walk through in 1st round (have no inside intel like Cal or Riley); just where likely types are best available. 1- WCE. Harley Reid 2-*GCS Jed Walter gcs academy gift 3- NM Coby Mckercher 4- NM Zane Duursma afl gift 5- HAW Dan Curtin 6- WB Nick Watson 7- MELB Ryley Sanders 8- *GCS Ethan Read gcs academy gift 9- GWS Nate Caddy 10- GEE Connor O’Sullivan 11- *GCS Jake Rogers gcs academy gift 12- ESS Darcy Wilson 13- ADEL James Leake 14- MELB Caleb Windsor 15- Syd. Koltyn Tholstrup. 16- Stk Ollie Murphy 17- ADEL Riley Hardeman 18- NM Arie Schoenmaker 19- *WB Jordan Croft father son 20- GWS Clay Hall 21- NM Will Green 22- NM Archer Reid 23- *Haw Will McCabe 24- Coll. Harry DeMattia 25- ADEL Mitchell Edwards 26- STK. Archie Roberts 27- *GCS Will Graham gcs academy gift 28- Carl. Charlie Edwards 2nd round With assumption that GCS picks now all gone. Slight update with WCE likely grabbing Zane Zakostelsky. 29- WCE Lance Collard 30- GEE George Stevens 31- Carl Logan Morris 32- Rich. Luamon Luai 33- BRIS Joel Freijah 34- Ess. Tew Jiath 35- Coll. Angus Hastie 36- Freo. Koen Sanchez 37- ESS. Billy Wilson 38- WCE Zane Zakostelsky 39- Bris. Will Dawson 40- Stk. Cooper Simpson 41- Rich. Nathan Philactides 42- MELB. Taylor Goad 43- GWS. Harvey Johnston 3rd round as clubs may start to “Pass” in picks ti save for rookie or preseason additions, or pickup some smokies or add in mature bodied state league players. Some roughies from here that could be drafted, rookied or miss out. Assumed Hawks and Bulldogs picks lost or pushed back due to added father son picks. I think Kynan Brown gets through and Dees can immediately add him as a rookie. 44- Syd. Ashton Moir 45- NM Shaun Mannagh 46- Freo Aiden O’Driscoll 47- BRIS. Jack Delean 48- BRIS Will Brown 49- Haw. Tarkyn O’Leary 50- *GWS Harvey Thomas. academy 51-*Syd . Caiden Cleary. academy 52- WB Kane McAuliffe 53- NM Sam Clohesy 54- WCE. Luke Lloyd 55-Haw. Ry Cantwell 56- *BRIS. Patrick Snell. academy 57- GWS Phoenix Gothard 58- Freo Kade De La Rue 59- ESS Tyson Sruk 60- Haw Lachie Hosie

Talking about Rankine? He certainly surprised me this year. I thought his career was heading down the same pathway as Richard Tambling but he really surprised me this year. Slowly becoming one of my favourite players in the competition

St Kilda are keen on him, think they may jump before Richmond. Upside is huge, didn’t make Claremont Colts squad in 2022 and certainly worked hard, grew and just improved through the year. Caught the attention of WA talent and earned a spot in the 18s a couple of games in playing as KPD. I saw him play an Ammo’s Colts scratch match North Beach vs Trinity Aquinas at the start of the year and whilst the athleticism was there there were quite a few basics needing work. To see where he ended up by the end of the season is a credit to him and could be just the beginning of a path of development which could lead to a decent return for the club who takes the chance

I’d prefer to keep 6&11 thx

Swans did well.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/west-coast-eagles/afl-draft-2023-pick-1-trade-options-analysis-harley-reid-what-is-pick-1-worth-in-a-deal-west-coast-eagles-north-melbourne-melbourne-offers/news-story/a0a86d51358c9e10f834b850bfa50506

It's very subjective. Others have posted some lists already showing that you can find quality all throughout a draft. How much of it comes down to development by club or the individual themselves can't really be measured. The absolute top players and leaders are generally first round picks though. Having a look at some current stars draft pick Bont pick 4 Petracca 2 Daicos 4 Oliver 5 Toby Greene 11 DeGoey 5 Butters 12 Rozee 5 Curnow 12 Darcy Moore 9 If you go back a generation you get the Buddy, Judd, Hodge, Dusty, Reiwoldt, Dangerfield, Selwood, Pendlebury, Roughhead, Pavlich etc all top 10 picks. Going through the best players, it seems the best midfielders are often first rounders, but tall quality is more spread across the draft, especially tall defenders Tall forwards used to be the cream first round but have actually become less reliable recently. I'd be drafting a midfielder with our first pick and that's likely Sanders if we don't trade up.

I'd also say it was one of Jack Watt's greatest moments too. What a wasted talent. In an alternate universe Jack would have been a MFC premership player in 2021. Asides from his elite goal kicking accuracy, he was also great at hitting target inside 50 - gee we could have done with that in the back end of 2023. Fun fact Jack Watt's middle name is Redvers.

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Caleb Windsor reminds me more of a Max Holmes type. Quick. Loves to run. Good tackler. Likes to get inside 50 and snag a goal.

Windsor moves well. Paul Wheatley vibes. If provided the opportunity I think we’d opt for Leake first, but he’s more likely to be gone by then IMO.

Pick 56 Jordan Dawson, James Sicily, Dougall Howard, Ryan OKeefe Pick 43 Adam Goodes Pick 42 Bacher houli, Jack Steven, Martin Pike, Pick 40 Michael O'loughlin, Luke Parker, Tom Stewart, ANB, Jask Kennedy, Gary Ablett. Pick 58 lachie Neale Pick 60 Brad Scott, Derek Kickett Pick 79 James Hird Pick 58 Dane Swan Pick 71 Brian Lake There is always value if you get it right,...

Spot on with this comparison. I think I’m in the minority of people who doesn’t mind listening to Kane Cornes. But you have to do it through the lens of him being a ‘conversation starter’. He is paid to dial things up and get a reaction. Petty is open to a return to Adelaide. That’s fine, so would I for 900k. He is contracted to Melbourne and we have so far had no right of reply in regards to a contract renewal. Let this play out.

I once did that in an empty lift on the ground floor, pressed every button then got out. It was wrong on so many different levels.

Can’t wait for the draft to be over, so we call in the builders, to repair all the houses that we will be training down in the pre season.

I know that, but he wont shut up. You wouldnt want to get into an elevator with him . He'd let go an enormous fart.

Probably be better to not take any notice of what Cornes is saying.

I feel exactly the same way, and I ask the very same questions. It’s baffling. Membership is only $60pa and that’s entry to every game (incl. interstate), or single tickets are $10. Sure, there’s times we play in places like Frankston and of course Casey Fields, and while that’s not convenient for many, the quality of footy on display is well worth the effort to get there. I get it that many found it unwatchable in the early seasons, but the skill level across the board has risen exponentially. This is some great footy we’re seeing now. In particular, our very own team who are red-hot. We love to boast about our 70,000 members yet only a couple of thousand of us turned up at Ikon on a clement Saturday night. Shameful. And there’s the whole GameDay thing too. Our home matches are so kid-friendly… bouncy castles, face-painting, table-tennis, and heaps of freebies… posters, flags, badges (the kids actually make their own badges - so much fun even for big kids like me 🤭). And if anyone wants their kids to be part of the Guard of Honour, hit up the DA or even just let me know and it’s done. And they get to keep the flag they’re waving. The player engagement aspect is unbelievable. The girls spend so long at the boundary post match and they actually really love doing it. *Huge sigh* Anyways, I’m probs either preaching to the converted or flogging a dead horse. Or both. PS I’m not above begging. 😁

katrina, i understand your points and frustrations. ignore those who complain of the standard of skills and comparisons to the men. these are just trolls personally i think the development has been rapid and impressive. i know it's somewhat hackneyed but it's going to take time to get all the pieces in sync and follow a development process, but a process must be followed to be resilient and not fall flat in its face. There is SO much to do and money IS a big part of it and i don't just mean salaries. enjoy the ride (i am 😃) ... and keep pushing

Pies don’t get more than 2/3,000 at Vic Park and 2,700 Tigers vs Dons attended the Dreamtime game last round. We are not any different to most Clubs ( although we have a very watchable and high class team) for fans. It is a AFLW problem and KPI’s for games development are not being met nor are TV audiences. Until the AFL ramp up it’s considerable might and settle on a program of 17 rounds it will be considered as a minor diversion to the men’s no matter how good the standard.

Yeah Mine wasn't exhaustive. Just picked a few random numbers and saw what came up..:)

Sanders and Windsor would be a great result for us.

If it hasn't been said already, Corn was saying this exact thing with Kozzie, slightly different circumstances but look at what happened there. The guy is full of manure.

I’ll be out at Casey on Saturday to cheer on the girls WCW. Love watching the women, and ours are the best in the competition in terms of ball movement. Not looking forward to the drive to Casey though, and understand why others wouldn’t want to go. It is a wasteland that is too far away. I will spend more time driving there and back than watching the match.

Good grief! I forecast months of cringeworthy Cornes substituting Petty for Kozzie in his next made-up story.

And that might be his best contribution to football journalism.

Fremantle will be full of state level footballers soon just to maintain a full list. And it will be glorious.

omac's greatest moment

He's not quite dead yet! https://www.afl.com.au/news/1057306/former-melbourne-demons-and-carlton-blues-defender-oscar-mcdonald-set-to-head-west-to-fremantle-dockers-after-strong-vfl-season

Punishing Petty for Jackson's attitude. Mm-hmm.

I forgot that to finish second on the ladder you must win at the NT. I couldn't have been the 4 point loss to Port? The loss to Essendon in Adelaide? 7 points to Freo at the G? 2 goals to the Cats? 4 points to the Blues? Nope. It was specifically the NT game. We'll ignore the fact that we won 5 on the trot following it. It's the NT game and the travel. I for one quite like the game and what the club does around it. I'd be disappointed if they stopped.