Deespicable

Draft is live on Kayo from 7pm - both nights. It's been really interesting to see how much variance pre-draft prognostications have this year and clearly clubs are busy handing out misinformation to AFL journos because it may assist their chances of getting the player they want. To me it's pretty clear that there are seven elite midfielders and one exciting tall - who are the so-called cream of the draft - although there are plenty more players who may end up being bargain buys after that. Of the seven mids - that figure includes Ashcroft (Brissy) and Lombard (Suns), wile Tauru is clearly an excitement machine - albeit a flawed one at this stage with his kicking skills. Of the five available mids all have potential flaws - Langford (pace), O'Sullivan (poor 2024 output), Smith (size and scoring ability), Draper (kicking skills) and Lalor (injury prone). But I reckon given North is clearly into Tauru (the fact that they are willing to consider a fall to pick 4 with Adelaide tells you that), then we have an interesting decision to make on our pick 5, as there will be two gun mids left and Richmond will want whoever is left at pick 6. As I said in my original rant, I still think the Tigers are mega keen on Jagga Smith - I suspect they have been playing the game of seeing whether other clubs are deadset keen on him to determine if they can get him at pick 6 or not. And i still believe that if we are keen on him then we should take him at pick 5 - obviously if North didn't go Tauru, then I'd take hime before Smith - as I reckon we need excitement and unpredictability that he provides in the air, more than anything else. But in the most likely scenario we get a choice of Langford or Smith and hopefully Armstrong with pick 9. I've watched enough of Armstrong's video and he clearly is an elite kick and his agility rating is high, which means that we will just have to drill him hard on tackling and pressure. If we do get a choice of Langford or Smith, then I'd hope our interest in Smith is such that we can illicit Richmond to offer us picks 6 and 23 for 5 (ie Smith) - thereby giving us Langford, Armstrong and another slider - or should the Saints throw a spanner in the works and take Armstrong, give us Langford, Allan or Travaglia and the best tall slider - I still really like what I saw of Jonty Faull. Langford will not provide us with pace, but he still looks almost a complete player - a great mark, a lovely clever kick and courage. He has a huge tank, so as long as we have pace around him, he will do fine. As stated earlier, I suspect Carlton has just given out the misinformation of being interested in Draper to reduce O'Sullivan interest and ensure he gets to pick 3. The Crows in return are mooting moving to pick 2 in return and going for O'Sullivan - but I suspect that's just a tite-for-tatt play - they are both comfortable with O'Sulllvan (Carlton) and Draper (Adelaide) I reckon because they are both exciting players based on what they've shown thus far. The biggest unforeseen spanner in the works now would be if the Tigers took Jagga at No.1, leaving Lalor to fall. I hope we have done our homework on him as well just in case of this eventuality as he could also fall to 5. He looks a ripper, but once clubs have a fixation on a certain player, it's hard to get them to reconsider their pre-draft night rationale.

Huge chance he gets through to No.5 if Richmond uses its No.1 pick on Sam Lalor as many are now predicting. If they do, North will go Tauru as they don’t want Smith because they already have enough quality small mids. The Blues are committed to O’Sullivan and the Crows want Draper which leaves us deciding between Smith, Langford and Armstrong. In that scenario, if we want Smith then the Tigers will offer us either picks 6 and 23 to get Smith or picks 10 and 11 and to be honest I think I’d make the trade. But I would also be happy with just taking Smith - there is no doubt he can play.

Thanks for this and yes I agree it's not a great advertisement for him - but it's worth looking at other videos of him as well as my understanding is that he got injured early in the GF and that may have affected his poise under pressure and increased his quick panic releases. As I said in my opener, if Smith fell to pick 5, then it would be hard not to go him, unless we really loved the counter offer from the Tigers. Smith and Tauru would be the dream draft, but I can't see it happening.

How it may work out – the top 15 picks and the potential phone call that will rock Tim Lamb Dees stance on draft night Having agreed to give up next year’s top pick, there’s no doubt in my mind (and I’d say any sane person’s mind) that the directive from Tim Lamb to JT will be to draft both the best tall and the best mid/small fwd with picks 5 and 9. I mean last year we chose a pacey mid (Caleb Windsor) at the expense of the best mobile forward (Nate Caddy) and we backed that up with another promising mid/small forward in Koltyn Tholstrop. We’ve also already given priority to a every-ready back-up mid (Harry Sharp) over a classy but untried back-up tall (Wade Derksen). And we’ve offloaded talls Adam Tomlinson and Josh Schache, so there’s clearly room on the list now for another tall. Based on videos I’ve seen, it’s hard not to be excited by the exploits of the Striking Viking Alix Tauru – who has an incredible leap and is only just getting used to playing as a forward after spending his early days as an intercept defender. And dare I say it, but his Nic Nat leaping style is something we need more than anything to spark the lads up at training. There’s nothing quite like an exciting teenager to take your mind off the club’s problems. As to our other get, it will be interesting to see whether the rise of HokBall means we will want the quickest livewire mid/small to go with the big. I have no doubt JT was planning to take Murphy Reid, although his fear at missing out on Tauru probably means we will most likely miss out on Reid and have to look for the next best player left – and from what I’ve seen so far, on video, I’m actually tipping that JT’s love of the west means he will take Bo Allan with that pick. Here’s how I see it unfolding and some of the big dilemmas facing clubs, primarily Richmond. 1 Jagga Smith (Rich) There’s been a lot of talk lately that the Tigers are more interested in Sam Lalor with pick 1, but that option defies belief. Smith is a livewire, small clever mid – an even better version of the clever Murphy Reid you might say – and he starred in the Tigers VFL side in two of his three games that he played this year. He’s trained with them and they love him. To risk losing him would be a big, big call, but it’s possible given North, Carlton and Adelaide won’t take him (they have other priorities), leaving us as the only potential spoilers at pick 5 before the Tigers pick 6. If North don’t take Tauru at 2, then JT would face a tricky decision on whether to pass on Smith as well if he fell that far and get Tauru at 5, but if they do take Tauru, then my tip is that we will go with Smith and add Armstrong, Shanahan or Jonty Faull. Whilst in a more logical world, I have Tigers taking Smith at 1 and North taking Lalor at pick 2, if the Tigers decide they want to be risktakers and try and get both Lalor and Smith and go Lalor with pick 1, then I reckon North then goes Tauru and we will have to decide if we take Smith or Reid at five, which we should until … the phone rings on draft night. Tim Lamb then advises his team that the Tigers are willing to offer us picks 10 and 11 for pick 5. They may also offer up pick 11 and their first rounder for 2025 – which is a likely top three pick, which would be even more tempting. Lamb would have an interesting call to make in that eventuality. But I’m tipping the Tiges will go the more orthodox route and make Jagga their No.1. And if they do, then the phone call remains a figment of my imagination. 2 Sam Lalor (NM) Unlike Smith, Lalor has a bit of size about him at 188cm (6ft1in) and he’s shown he can be both the tough mid and the clever leading forward (that crunching pack mark for Vic Country that is on almost every video of him was a super highlight). He also has more goal sense than most of the other mids – he kicked seven on return from injury at APS level. He’s been compared to Dusty (hence why Tiger fans rate him) but I reckon he’s more in the Matthew Larkin in his prime mould – similar vision and awareness, although he’s a better mark than Larkin ever was. Being a bigger mid/fwd, it means the Roos will like him because Wardlaw, McKercher and Sheezel aren’t big-bodied like him. The Roos should also be considering Harvey Langford, for exactly the same reason – he has size (190cm) and a thumping left foot kick which is a point of difference for their mids, but his lack of raw pace may see him slide a bit. As stated earlier, if the Tigers take Lalor then the Roos may decide to take the big gamble and go with Tauru at pick 2 – a player they apparently like the look of as well, but two months ago he was rated a likely second-rounder at best, so the risk factor is there. The other possibility is that the Tigers offer up picks 10 and 11 for pick 2 – meaning they are guaranteed Lalor and Smith. Would the Roos take it, given they could then go two quality talls or a mid/tall combo. I reckon they should, but most clubs don’t as they are inherently conservative for fear of ramifications. 3 Levi Ashcroft (Bris) The Tigers won’t bid on him at No.1 because they need the marketing power of keeping the No.1 label, so it’s then up to North or the Blues to hold the premiers accountable. The Roos did bid on Will Ashcroft back in 2022 and Jed Walter in 2023, so I reckon the Kangas might pass on him this time as he isn’t what they require position wise. And if that’s the case, the Blues will definitely bid on him to keep the Lions honest – especially given they are also in the same window. 4 Finn O’Sullivan (Carl) The Blues have already given up picks 12 and 14 to get this pick and it’s no secret they want him – Carlton always goes with the footy bloodlines and being Sam Walsh’s cousin will have Lygon St salivating. They will be a little scared that the Tigers will snare him at pick 1, but his VFL form for them, aside from two neat goals, wasn’t exactly exceptional. He did however stand out at testing, so everyone is aware he has upside and he will start as a classy, quick half forward for them, which is what they crave right now. 5 Sid Draper (Adel) Have a look at his highlights video and you know the guy is quick, smart and strong, although he still needs to work on his kicking prowess – he has a bit of the Clayton Oliver’s about him with his preference to handball. But as SA skipper, he seemed more aware of the importance of using his line-breaking ability at the carnival and his pace is top tier. The Crows will consider the best midfield bull in Harvey Langford, but I’m tipping they go local – big ramifications if they don’t and he turns out a gun. 6 Alix Tauru (Melb) As stated above, JT will be told to take a big as a priority and if Tauru is still around because North overlook him, then I reckon we have to take him here. The Saints will surely take him as one of their two picks if we don’t. He still looks a bit like a dear in headlights with his goalkicking routine, but I’m sure with good training from Chocco and our new forwards coach, he will get into good habits. And if he can’t find the goals, he’s a walkup start as an intercept defender in the James Sicily mould down the track (May and T-mac are not exactly young). And the best thing, for those of you fearful of another Jack Watts or even Matt Jefferson is that he loves tackling. I suspect JT had been thinking of using this pick for Murphy Reid, but solving our tall problem should be the priority. The proviso on this is what happens if Jagga Smith is still on the table or North gambles on the striking viking at pick 2. If North does go Tauru, one of Lalor or Smith will also still be around, and if it’s Smith I reckon that phone call from the Tigers may be made to us. And Tim Lamb better be ready. 7 Harvey Langford (Rich) With Lalor and O’Sullivan gone, the Tigers will turn to their attention to a player who they have trialled in the VFL and one who finished the season for Dandenong Stingrays like he was Marcus Bontempelli. He’s a powerful extractor with a booming left-foot and being bid-bodied will compliment Jagga Smith, who is the exact opposite. He’s also got a huge tank, but the only doubt about him in this modern HokBall world is that he lacks pace. But Patty Cripps doesn’t have pace either and he’s the best in the game. 8 Isaac Kako (Ess) You have to assume Essendon had inside word that the Saints would bid on him, otherwise their decision to give up pick 9 to us is bizarre. I doubt he is better than Murphy Reid, but he certainly has pace and leads up well. He also has that dynamic Kozzie-type aggressive style, so he should make an impact in a couple of seasons. 9 Murphy Reid (StK) I reckon the Saints will be jumping to get their local Sandy lad who has that touch of Gryan Miers about him. That’s a shame because we would definitely take him if he fell to our pick 9 (which will most likely slide to pick 11 or even 12). If JT’s intel is that the Saints aren’t into Tauru then I reckon we will flip and take Reid at pick 6. 10 Harry Armstrong (StK) With Jack Steele 29 next month and more of a lockdown player, the Saints will consider Josh Smylie, but I suspect a few clubs are wary of his low-tackle count and Ross and Smylie would clash big time I reckon. And Matteas Phillipou showed good signs late in the year and is a player earmarked for the guts, so another tall option up forward for the Saints would be smart. Armstrong’s high agility rating also would help their confidence as that was Nate Caddy’s strength as well last season. Armstrong looks a classy kick, but I didn’t see too many hangers in his highlights. But he’s quick on the lead, so that’s not crucial anyway. Being another Sandy kid helps the Sainters community appeal as well! 11 Leo Lombardo (GC) This guy is freakishly quick and agile and has high skills, but he’s a tad small – a bit like Caleb Daniel in his heyday. He looks to me like a cash cow for your SuperCoach teams next year and will play round 1 for the Suns barring injury. The Saints should have bidded on him to ensure the Suns lose their two second rounders before their third rounder. But I suspect if they bid on Kako they may not want to go again for a player they don’t get, so I reckon it will be left up to bid on him with our next pick. JT loves smalls like him anyway, although the Suns will match our bid in a flash. 12 Bo Allan (Melb) One of Reid, Smith or Lombard would have been the perfect player to combine with Tauru and solve most of our shortages and help counter Hokball. But alas, I doubt that will happen. Allan is the last of the players who I reckon are certainties to be high-quality impact players and being from WA, it’s a happy recruiting ground for JT. He’s a tall left-foot mid who moves really well and is a decent kick and he’s tough enough to play in the middle as well as off half-back where he will play for us for at least a couple of seasons until he’s ready to go inside. He reminds me a lot of Adelaide’s Jordan Dawson. He’s already had a taste of big games having been handy in the WAFL grand final and as captain of WA ticks all the boxes. In fact he’s so good a prospect, that if the Tigers did come knocking for our pick 5 in exchange for picks 10 and 11, I think I’d have to say yes because we still would get him. 13 Luke Trainor (Rich) Having set up their midfield with Smith and Langford, the Tigers surely will look at long-term bigs and Trainor is regarded as the best tall defender. You’d have to think West Coast at pick 15 would want a replacement for Barrass at their pick if the Tigers don’t pounce here. 14 Jobe Shanahan (Rich) He’s got a bit of the Michael Roach’s about him and is a very accurate kick. Given his size, I reckon the Dees would also be considering him, but Tauru is more exciting. I really like the look of Jonty Faull as well, but Shanahan’s games at VFL for Essendon won me over. As a footnote, if we did accept Richmond’s pick 5 trade offer in my imaginary world, then we’d take Allan, Shanahan and have a decision to make on Travaglia or Hannaford. 15 Xavier Lindsay (WC) I reckon West Coast would be a little [censored] that we took Bo Allan and Trainor would have been the right fix for their post-Barrass defence. I can’t see them going Faull or Hannaford, and McQualter will want clever ball movers and Lindsay is a bit of a Christian Salem freak with his precise kicking and will most likely start on the wing or half-back for them.

I suspect JT felt the draft top end extended to about pick 15 (including Ashcroft and Kako) and as a result we were heavily into getting pick 13 from the Suns, but they were considering a few options. When Tim Lamb realised Essendon would be willing to part with pick 9 - thereby negating any Kako early bid worries, they were willing to offload provided a club could stump up enough points - which we did via getting Adelaide's third rounder in exchange for our future one. The Crows were very generous and helpful this draft period - probably felt guilty for the McAdam deal! As to why we needed pick 9 - it gives us the chance to draft both the best mid/fwd still available (O'Sullivan, Lalor or Reid) and also the best tall options (Striking Viking or Harry Armstrong). And that in turn with Windsor and Tholstrop should help secure our future beyond this current down cycle. Yes it means both the Sharp and Derksen deals may not go ahead - although we still have pick 49 so at least one of them will get done.

I'm a bit tired of reading about Zak Butters on this year's draft thread - not sure why some threaders feel compelled to go off-track. But I certainly would be interested in what Demonlanders think we, or rather Jason Taylor, should do with pick 5 this year and I'll open it up by giving my 50 cents worth. Last year I was somewhat bullish about Nate Caddy and I have a player in mind this year that I know will be howled down by some of you. Before I get to him, let's make a few things clear, so you know the off-track spoilers when you appear. The following three players - Jagga Smith, Harvey Langford and Sid Draper - will be gone by our pick and Levi Ashcroft is a Brisbane bound father-son. At present it is unclear whom North will take with pick 2, they'd like to offload for two top 10 picks but Saints aren't interested, but I suspect they will be forced to consider upgrading tall forward Harry Armstrong or taking Finn O'Sullivan, both of whom impressed at the Combine. I have six players in the mix for us, so please let me know which one you think we should or will take. The six are: Finn O'Sullivan - Injured a lot this season, he's a clever 182cm midfielder who is classy enough to play forward and, as was shown at draft combine, has huge leap potential, is quick and has a tank. He played a couple of games for Richmond VFL and didn't dominate like Jagga, but he was pretty handy. My view: He's got great athletic ability and he could be a Harry Sheezel type, but I'm not sure he's who we want. Harry Armstrong - Injured early in the year, he's a genuine key forward (195cm). He came back and kicked plenty of goals for Sandy, including four in the grand final and five in the U18 game against Vic Country. He's a thumping left-foot kick. My view: He's the best credentialled big forward, but I am not sure he's an aggressive enough pack mark. His did well in agility test, the same test that Nate Caddy fared well at last year, so he's worth considering. Sam Lalor - A midfielder./forward with a touch of Dusty about him at 187cm, he's precise with his kicking and can mark well in packs - he kicked seven for Geelong Grammar one game. Got injured again late in year, but his highlights are mighty impressive. My view: As with O'Sullivan, he could be a superstar, but with no combine testing, I reckon he's a risk at such a high pick. But I'd take him in a flash if he fell to pick 13, assuming we get that pick. Josh Smillie - Rated the likely No.1 pick early this season, he racked up big numbers in the midfield for Eastern and at times has a touch of Jason Horne-Francis about him, but he was unable to cope with the extra quality around him in the Vic Metro games. My view: He's 194cm and I can't help but think he's an early developer who has beaten up the little boys, but is now struggling a little at the higher level and I suspect he may lack a bit of pace. He didn't make the top 10 in any of the combine lists, so any info here on his actual athleticism would help me. I did like the way he looked as a long-kicking defender in one Vic Metro game - so he may still make it, but for me i wouldn't risk him at pick 5. Murphy Reid - Only 180cm, but as with Gryan Miers, he makes up for his lack of size with smarts and a clever mix of chip kicks and overhead handballs. Missed the combine testing with an ankle injury, but I suspect he would have rated highly on athleticism. My view: If you like Hokball, then you have to rate this guy highly and I reckon JT will pull his name out at pick 6 (Ashcroft should go at pick 2). And as with Caleb Windsor over Nate Caddy, he'd be a very good choice, but not my choice I'm afraid. Alix Tauru - The striking viking with Swedish background wasn't on anyone's lists until recently, so I decided to have a look at his tapes and see whether he was worthy. He is 193cm with the biggest leap in the draft and had impressed as an intercept defender until Gippsland Power's coach decided to try him forward. His kicking isn't AFL level yet, but there's nothing wrong with it - he just looks like a shocked defender in front of goals at the moment. But he leads well (I suspect he's fairly quick) and he flies like Isaac Heeney. He also likes to tackle - which separates him from any Jack Watts comparisons. My view: He's the most exciting player in the draft and he fits our main requirements - being a tall who can assist JVR. And if he can't understand forward craft, then he's a sure thing down back as a long-term replacement for May or Lever. He may not be as impactful as Erling Harlaand, but if JT thinks his personality is OK, then he's the one I'd take at No.5 and he will bring the excitement we need. Let me know your view - I know some DLers actually go to the CL games - and here's hoping we snaffle pick 13 as well to give JT more chances.

Hard to believe that the boy who wore spectacles in games as a 16yo and then worked at Thorold Merrett sports store in the city has been gone for 10 years now. He just was poetry out on his wing and I still think he should have made the Team of last Century on a wing with Doug Hawkins his only real rival - Keith Greig won two Brownlow's but was never as good.

I reckon the most interesting draft trade (outside of what we do) is North Melbourne with pick 2. Given they have spent all their high picks in past three years on mids - Phillips, Wardlaw, Sheezel, McKercher and Duursma, they now find themselves staring down taking another one, unless they can somehow trade with the Saints (picks 7 and 8 - Battle) or Freo (picks 10 and 11) and get two picks of slightly less value. Last year the deal would be done easily, but this year with very little between the likely top 10, both St Kilda and Freo would be reluctant to give up two picks - the Dockers will have to give one away anyway for Bolton. So North, who would love to get two talls rated in the 6-15 category (eg: Armstrong and Trainor) in exchange for pick 2 - are stuck with deciding whether they take Langford (tall left foot mid) or O'Sullivan (classy mid/fwd Sheezel style) unless a club makes a nice but somewhat bizarre deal with them.

Whilst I was initially surprised we are even thing of bringing in a soon to be 33-year-old three-club ruckman in Tom Campbell, I have tempered my feelings somewhat after checking his file. Firstly he is regarded as a great clubman - won Saints award in 2023 - and we need that sort of person. Secondly he had a super final two months in VFL once he returned from injury - on stats by far the best VFL ruckman during that period torching Southport's mature age prospect Brayden Crossley and Willy's Tom Downie and pretty much breaking even with Essendon's Nick Bryan. As I've stated elsewhere, we need a high-quality mature-age VFL standard tapman to be our back-up for a Gawny injury whilst we wait and see if Will Verrall develops into an AFL quality ruck. At the end of 2025 season we should know if Will is going to step up to that level - he's nowhere near yet but another big pre-season may make all the difference. Aside from Campbell I would have said the other options via the rookie draft were Crossley, Norwood's Margarey Medal winner Harry Boyd or even Coburg's Cooper Keogh - the latter of whom rarely takes a mark, but can tap. As a result Campbell is probably a better option for the one-season back-up quick fix.

Like others I haven't ever seen him play, so thanks for videos from his pre-GWS days and he does look the goods - but so do many that have junior video highlights. But a quick look at his numbers in the VFL for the Giants tells me that he is a moneyball pick of the highest order - potentially a pick that will save Tim Lamb's job. How many forwards take 12 marks and have 25 disposals - as he did in a loss to Willy. The week before he was quieter in a 50-point loss but still kicked a couple. The week before it was 17 disposals and two goals in a one-point loss, although he did have a shot at a matchwinner. He was prominent against us the week before - 19 disposals, five marks, three tackles. That's a lot of disposals for a tall. His height is somewhere between 194cm and 197cm - that's tall and he can play back-up ruck - tick. He can kick it a long way based on the videos and with both feet - tick. He is still only 23 - that's way better than drafting/trading in players who are at end of career such as Membrey or Taberner and given that he has been in the system for two years is ready to play AFL - tick. He can play both down back and up forward, which means if jnjuries happen to our ageing tall defenders, he can be sent there or Petty can. He is from a club that boasts the best talls - Taylor, Buckley, Cadman and Hogan - tick - which explains why he didn't get an AFL gig. He has at least one mate at club already - AMW - and apparently has family in Melbourne - tick. If anyone has any major doubts then let us know - he may not have high tackle numbers but nor do many talls. So what do we give up for him? I'd say we'd have to give up our second rounder or the pick we receive from Adelaide for ANB - any deal involving our pick 5 should be immediately shut down. And given that he looks ready to play, the length of his contract should be three years, just in case he struggles with the extra expectations of playing AFL. I'd imagine he is on somewhere between 200-250K at present, so his deal should come with a new $400-$450K salary. To me, it's the first good trade news we've had since Ed and Ben.

What gets me with Tim Lamb is that he doesn't seem to be across things and has made some major howlers since 2021 when he was feted as our guru along with JT? In June 2022 he agrees to a seven-year extension for Oliver. Yes he was worth big money based on four B&Fs and being one of the games greats and I am sure his manager wanted that length of deal, but we have since read that Oliver had infuriated teammates by that stage already - Gawn and Goody have alluded to this with comments about him becoming a better person this year in the wake of his public shaming. I don't expect Lamb to know all of Oliver's personal life, but I am sure the players knew he was having issues. I get that long deals are all the rage, but at what point is a list manager expected to read the tealeaves and offer just a five-year extension - that is also a very long period of time and doesn't have the same potential to cripple a club for so long? We only recently found out Lachie Hunter was actually given a three-year deal when he signed in Nov 2022 - yes we got him for a pittance and yes he gave us a left-foot wingman that we needed but yes he had some significant personal issues that should have raised red herrings when it came to length of deal. Would his manager have said no to a two-year deal - highly unlikely given we were one of the few clubs willing to take him and his salary on. In the same draft year of 2022 he added a bargain - Josh Schache - who the Dogs were happy to offload for all his talent after realising that he was a nice bloke, but not quite tough enough for the current high-pressure game. The move was somewhat understandable given we'd just lost Jackson and decided we couldn't afford paying the Weid big money anymore with Grundy coming in, but it showed a lack of awareness about where the game was heading. I don't have any major problem with us signing Jack Billings for two years. Yes Billings was a risk because the game's intensity may have moved past him. But his skill level and the fact that he cost us nothing, but his money outlay, meant it was worth a risk. Collingwood wanted him too. Billings may well have been more of JT's call anyway, given he liked him as a junior, but Lamb would have had the final say. But last year Lamb added two more years to the contracts of both Jefferson and Adams. I can sort of understand Jefferson because we are locked in on his potential, even it fails to materierlise, but two more for Adams? What has he shown so far to warrant it and which club is keen on luring him. If he doesn't make major inroads next year, we will be looking to delist him early. On top of that there are now nine former Demons - Jackson, Hogan, Bedford, Harmes, Howe, Baker, Jordon, Wagner, Grundy - playing seniors for other clubs with ANB about to join them. That's a lot of exodus without nailing much in return via the list manager - so far only Langdon and Ben Brown (before injury got him again in 2022) have been good additions. It is for that reason myself and others here are very wary with what Tim Lamb does and my series on our draft/trade periods highlighted that while JT has shown himself to be an astute judge, sadly the same cannot be said of Lamb. We enter another trade period hopeful of wise calls - but names will come up and I am wary of Lamb's decision making. Tim Membrey's name has been mentioned and yes the 30-year-old is coming to the end of his career and the Saints will be happy to move him on. He is a lovely kick, but he is only 188cm tall and has always struggled to be that target down the line. He is a third tall and leads well - the same role that Turner is playing and Fritter can play if needed. If we are so desperate to add an out-of-contract tall forward, wouldn't we be better to look at someone like Freo's Matt Taberner who is of a similar age (31) but is actually 197cm tall and whilst he might end up injured a lot of the time like Brown, he at least he can play the down the line role when fit. He kicked five in the WAFL prelim final. Matt Kennedy and Matt Owies name's are being mentioned here now as well. But both are being allowed to go because they are not quite quick enough for the modern hokball era. I'd be happy with either providing us more depth, but the Blues will want a second rounder for them and I'd rather we use that on a kid as JT is more likely to get it right. Clancy Dennis will be around that pick, not to mention possibly Ollie Hannaford. Young is one we should consider given his height, but I think he, like Schache, is regarded as being too nice to make it.

Ok, that's 38 plus the three as yet unsigned players on our list that will lose ANB. I have a minimum six must have picks via this year's drafts/UFA scenarios and ideally seven or eight and I am sure that JT would have similar aspirations to add that many. I just hope Lamb hasn't stuffed up the numbers again.

Thanks for Hannaford video Chaser J and yes based on that game he will definitely be drafted. And given the rise of HokBall - he should be very much in JT's thinking. He was a lot quieter today in the PF, but will be well worth a watch next week along with Jonty Faull in the GF.

I have stated before that Caleb Daniels had the best highlights package of any U18 player I have seen and he has shown he can have an impact with his clever kicking at the heart of his skillset. But he is now 28 and lost some of his zip and there is now way he can play like a Nick Watson and nor does he have his passion for tackling. Essentially he is another pick up like Jack Billings, someone who has great skills and smarts but no longer has the intensity required for the current game. If Tim Lamb thinks he is worthy, then we know he's not. Enough said.

In terms of sides for 2025, I will stick with my view that we need someone to provide drive and pace from down back - and the only player in the Jordan Clark/Nick Blakey mould on our list is Caleb Windsor. The loss of Kozzie for the first three weeks means that we can also trial Bowey forward. My other switch is that I'd give Kynan Brown a decent go at making the grade and start him on the left-side wing. Other than that, I have no surprises, although Oliver has been left out at this stage because he has to show he can still lay a tackle before playing. B: McVee May T.Mac HB: Windsor Lever Salem C: Langdon Rivers K.Brown HF: Petracca Petty Chandler F: Bowey Fritsch JVR Ru: Gawn Sparrow Viney Int: Turner (fwd), Tholstrup (fwd/mid), Moniz- Wakefield (def), No.5 pick (mid), Woewodin (sub) Emerg: Howes, Laurie, Sestan

Thanks Ted Lasso for your early draft prognostications. I still don't quite understand why we wouldn't do a deal with Brisbane for their current pick 14 - worth 1161 points. Given they will lose it for Ashcroft, I just assumed they will look for a better points deal and we can offer them picks 38, 42 (ANB deal), 45 and 51 - a points total of 1466. Have the rules changed in that regard? To me that's the only way we can get access to a tall forward such as Whitlock or Davis to go with a quality midfielder at pick 5. Secondly, I hope you have not got caught up in the Jon Ralph Tiger trade hype value. He is a Richmond supporter after all. Yes I agree they will likely get Gold Coast's pick 6 as part of the Rioli deal with something going back to the Suns - most likely pick 29. Then Fremantle may be willing to part with pick 10 for Shai Bolton, but two first rounders for a soon to be 26yo small forward coming off a poor year is fanciful. And as for West Coast offering a first rounder (as Ralphy suggests) for a 26yo small defender/forward in Baker - please give us a break. The best the Eagles will stump up is pick 23 and some would say that is overs.

Sadly I am starting to feel the Trac to Carlton move is inevitable - I mean once the Blue mafia gets hold it's a really hard thing to counteract and with him being an Italian boy, the passion and under the table dealing would be in overdrive. Just look at almost all the big deals in recent years, from Jack Martin to Mitch McGovern to Zac Williams to Adam Cerra and the Blues have five of the highest-paid internals already - Cripps, Curnow, Walsh, Weitering and Harry, not to mention how much they had to fork out on TDK's deal. Luke Sayers is the master of legal deals apparently. And they have a home base and it's just 30 minutes from Armadale. I know it's unpalatable, but maybe we have to start building young stock before the draft is totally compromised again with Tassie. The Blues have pick 11. I know that and their future first rounder sounds cheap for a Norm Smith Medallist, but maybe we have to retool again to challenge.

Nibbler is a great team man and I'm sure Adelaide will be rapt to get him and surprised how hard he works when they actually get him down to training. It's a big loss to us and further erodes our culture of good, hardworking upstanding citizens after losing Brayshaw as well this year. But as to getting a late first rounder or an early second rounder in compensation, give us a break - he's 29 in January. The best we can hope for is getting back our pick 26, which we gave them for McAdam, and most likely give them back our second rounder which we got for Grundy (pick 38). And if they don't want to lose pick 26, then I'd demand their third rounder (pick 42) for him. Then we can package all our second and third round picks up for Brisbane's pick 14 - they need the points to cover for Ashcroft. And Taylor gets two good shots at drafting on top of last year's haul.

Down on his best - Nick Daicos and Sam Walsh say Hi

When I started this series I had a bit of an ulterior motive in that I often think that Geelong draft guru Stephen Wells is overrated because of his success during the early naughties when he plucked out players such as Harry Taylor and Steve Johnson. I mean under his guidance the Cats have also had their share of blunders – Billy Smedts (pick 15, 2010), Darcy Lang (pick 16, 2013) and Nakia Cockatoo-Collins (pick 10, 2014) to name a few that didn’t come off. And I thought that maybe Jason Taylor had become someone who we all give a tick of approval too, based on his success in 2014 and 2019, without thinking of his misses – primarily his failure to find a key forward until JVR and his failed stabs at finding a decent back up ruckman. But as many of you have summised in your comments, Taylor has an incredible strike rate, plus a really good awareness of what to look for, not to mention his affinity with the WA kids - Van Rooyen, McVee, Rivers and Jackson are all quality choices. Indeed you could justly argue that if we hadn’t kept trading away Taylor’s draft picks to either upgrade or bring in second-rate players at the expense of second and third rounders, we’d be a lot better off. As a result of this year's failing, the spotlight will be on Tim Lamb when Melbourne enters the trade/draft period this season – and rightfully so. The role of list manager means you are the subject of criticism and most likely inaccuracies from bloggers like me, but after a bad season like this one, there’s a big queue that want Lamb out of the place and I’m inclined to think they have a point. Three years ago, he, and we, were feted in the media. Back then we had the best list and it was full of youngsters. A dynasty was expected after claiming the 2021 flag. Compare that to now. Since 2022 we have lost five premiership players – Jackson, Hibberd, Brayshaw, Harmes and Jordon – on top of losing three important fringe players – Hunt, Bedford and Baker. Our Jackson replacement Brodie Grundy has come and gone. Ben Brown will join the list of departures post-season as injuries have crippled him for the past three years. He’s now 32. Charlie Spargo must be thinking about it to after falling victim to a persistent achilles problems. T-Mac will probably want to play on and after a solid season down back, few would deny him that right, even at 32. Same goes for Melky, now turning 33. The worrying thing for Lamb is that virtually none of his moves to improve the list have paid big dividends – Ed Langdon being the one exception in 2019. Surprisingly Grundy, the most publicised pick-up, didn’t pay off. That’s not entirely Lamb’s fault, in fact I’d argue his recruitment was a clever and cheap recalibration once Jackson left with the Pies paying $250K of his salary and his asking price a mere second rounder in a dud draft year. Goodwin’s failure to adapt and use Gawny as the more permanent forward, rather than Grundy, arguably cost us the 2023 flag. But in the past three years aside from Grundy, Lamb’s brought in Dunstan, Hunter, Schache, McAdam, Fullarton and Billings from other clubs – that’s hardly a sign that he’s a judge of players and then on top of that he’s regularly offloaded our future first rounders – in 2020 it was done so that we could acquire Bailey Laurie and then last year he gave away three pretty good picks to progress up the order by two spots for a player – Tholstrop – who almost certainly would have been available at our original pick. Thankfully last year he didn’t offload our future first rounder, because it now shapes up as being around pick 7 or 8. He did though get rid of our second rounder (currently pick 27) to Adelaide for McAdam. Lamb’s record is a little why I’m wary of our mooted Dan Houston deal. Houston, if we get him and it seems like we are indeed a chance, is a quality player and will provide us with a clever, taller long-kicking defender – something we are clearly lacking. He will be our best pick up since Langdon. But Houston turns 28 in May and talk of us offering two first rounders for him is hopefully well off the mark. Lever was 21 when he came to us for two first rounders. Our options are to throw Sparrow or Salem, if they wanted to go, into their deal and see if they’d accept our second rounder (linked to Sydney) and third rounder (linked to St Kilda). But most likely Houston will require our first rounder and, in this case, I’d offer them our future one instead of this year’s one, as I reckon our bounce back chances are high next year and giving Taylor pick 7 or 8 this year should net us a pretty handy kid as well. If Power plays hard ball for this year’s pick 7 or 8 as part of the swap, then I’d request their second rounder back in return so Taylor can at least try and work some magic. Aside from finding a mid-sized long-kicking running defender, we also have to ensure that we get some mature back-up bigs for Gawny. We don’t and won’t be able to secure a genuine top liner so we should be trying to find a mature delisted back-up ruckman like Braydon Preuss or a standout tapman at VFL level like Coburg’s Cooper Keogh. We can’t solely rely on Will Verrall developing quickly. And if the VFL’s best defender Adam Tomlinson leaves for a club willing to give him more opportunities, then I’d be keen on us bringing in an experienced back-up tall to replace him and if Sam Weideman was happy to come back I’d take him as a UFA as he can provide cover at both ends of the field – we will be losing Schache and Ben Brown after all. We also will pick up Noah Yze, Adem’s son, who is rated well outside any top 25 kids lists and I imagine he’ll be a rookie choice a la Kynan Brown last year. But ultimately our philosophy should be to make sure to give Taylor as many kid picks as we can. Aside from Ben Brown and Schache, Lachie Hunter will depart and I expect Tomlinson will move as well to a club that needs him. Joel Smith will surely be delisted as well. I’d certainly hold off on re-signing Melky, instead I’d make him one of our assistants if he’s willing to fill such a role. I suspect Billings, who is contracted, may want to retire instead of going around again and as stated, Spargo’s achilles may also see him finish up a year early. But the other big list changes in the off-season should be to our ageing management and coaches. Tim Lamb is the likely first scapegoat given it’s his area that we have underachieved. CEO Gary Pert and Footy GM Alan Richardson are both 59 and it’s time that at least one of them moves on – Hawthorn youthful management environment has worked wonders this year and we need to start a phase out with one leaving this year and the other going next. I love what Mark Williams does – he’s a born coach, given his constant communication to players on fundamentals. But I do worry that his message is lost a little with a lack of respect stemming from the age gap – he’s about to turn 66 after all. And just as Lamb’s exit papers should have been stamped, so to should our forward coach Greg Stafford. He may be a great bloke, but at 50, it’s time for us to refresh our feel around Goody. McQualter and Chappy are still just 38, so they are in the prime of their tuition years. I know some here have also suggested it’s time to move on fitness coach Selwyn Griffith and they may have a case as well given our last quarter fadeouts mid-season, but I certainly don’t feel qualified enough to assess that area. Whatever happens, I think we are in for an intriguing blood-spilling off-season. But my hope is that we give Jason Taylor enough line to hook a few gems.

2023 Draft: 7/10 Trades: 2/10 Pick swaps: 2/10 When you are only one year in, it’s hard to be categorical about players but in round 10 in Perth it is was categorical. We needed to offer West Coast more than the kitchen sink for pick 1 – Harley Reid was that good! Our pre-season had largely been dominated with our offers for Harley with both our first rounders (Freo’d pick had fallen to No.6) and our 2024 one in the mix. At the time I thought we were being way too generous, but once he lined up for the Eagles you could see why – stars don’t fall in your backyard everyday. Behind the scenes Tim Lamb had made some plays – lining up Tom Fullarton and Shane McAdam to help our forward line. While the Clayton Oliver hospital night was all the rage, Lamb was also discussing with Goody on whether to keep our new forward project Harrison Petty with the Crows apparently talking two first rounders for him. On the basis of six goals in 17 games so far as a forward this season, you’d have to say we should have sold. The Crows were also into Tom Sparrow, while I think Charlie Spargo was also courted for a bit by the Roos before both decided to stay. But Lamb’s clearout did continue. Brodie Grundy was offloaded to Sydney for pick 46 and a future second rounder – that wasn’t far off what the Pies got from us. But lafter failing to re-sign premiership sub James Jordon, losing him to Sydney for nothing (he was a UFA because he was demoted to our rookie list three years earlier) was another blow to our midfield reserves which were also hit by popular team man James Harmes going to the Dogs for a future third rounder. Lamb also cleared out our draft picks 14, 27 and 35 to the Suns for minimal gain – we moved up three spots to No.11, which became 13 after the Academy kids. The Saints ended up getting Darcy Wilson with the pick, but I suspect we would have been able to secure Tholstrup anyway with it. We ended up giving a future second rounder to the Crows for McAdam and pick 47 to the Lions for Fullarton. Based on AFL output this year, we lost both deals and given the reluctance of Goody to play Fullarton in the AFL even with Gawny out, you have to wonder whether the coach was fully consulted on this move beforehand. Then late in the trade period it became clear Jack Billings was out-of-favour with Ross Lyon and the Pies had the inside running on him until we made a late bid for his services. Jason Taylor did really like him back in 2014 and Goody was worried Lachie Hunter’s left-side wing spot might become available. So we snared him with our future third rounder. Billings is classy, but like Schache, the physical nature of today’s game has gone past him. With the Eagles ignoring us on Harley, the spotlight was on Taylor with his first two picks – 6 and 11. It’s too early to tell if Taylor was on the money, but I was surprised that we didn’t go Nate Caddy – given his lateral movement in testing and our forward failings. Windsor is a clear talent though, but so far Caddy is shaping up as the next Charlie Curnow and after Harley, the best pick in the 2023 draft – apologies in advance to the classy top 10 who all look the part with the Crows Daniel Curtin (pick 8) the only exception. 7 Caleb Windsor – He has pace and a touch of Robbie about him. Whether he develops into an elite midfielder will be decided in a couple of years when he graduates to our onball division. He does read it well and his height means he’s good defensively in the air. I’d actually play him off half-back next season, especially if we don’t get Houston, as we need that Jordan Clark style dash off half-back and unlike our other small defenders, he can aerially cope with a three-quarter tall. 13 Koltyn Tholstrup – Taylor jumped him up the order after visiting him in WA and he does have that brashness that we needed. He’s also got the hardness and a thumping kick, but whether he has the pace to replace Clayton as our inside mid hard-ball getter is unclear and it’s hard to see Goody moving him in there until 2026 anyway. We apparently were also interested in Tassie’s James Leake (pick 17), who is yet to play for the Giants, but probably will make their team come finals. So Lamb’s late pick swap didn’t help as we could have had either Tholstrup or Leake plus Brisbane forward Logan Morris if we’d been smarter. Father/son Kynan Brown – with no-one bidding on him during the main draft, we automatically were able to take Nathan’s son who had a ripper season with Oakleigh and Vic Metro but probably didn’t tick the great prospect boxes needed to be taken early. That’s a blessing for us as he certainly has a great work rate, seems to have a great character, plenty of smarts and tackles with passion – he logged an amazing 24 tackles on a wet day in a VFL game against Frankston recently and he will never forget his Nick Larkey tackle which saved the game for us in his AFL debut. He certainly deserves more AFL game time and don’t be surprised if, after another season of weights, he lines up for us in AFL rd 1. With Hunter and Billings on the way out, I’d be preparing him to play left side wing next year as he kicks well on both sides and has his dad’s determination. We also reinstated Jake Melksham via the rookie draft and went back to Marty Hore after he dominated for Williamstown. Both safe moves, but not requiring the use of Taylor’s skills. As a footnote, when you watch videos of players you often don’t get the full picture. But aside from the videos of the kids who go in the top two or three, there has been two that have stood out to me as amazing over the years. The first was Caleb Daniel’s highlights from the U18 carnival in 2014 – what a player. The second was Arie Schoenmaker last year – wow what a left foot – think Paul Wheatley and add some. Daniel was deemed too small and fell to pick 46, while Schoenmaker’s attitude cost him and only Ross Lyon and the Saints were willing to give him a go at pick 62. I reckon the Saints like the Dogs with Caleb are on a winner. Friday: The conclusion of the series and the coming draft

2022 Draft: 2/10 Trades: 2/10 Pick swaps: 3/10 For the first 10 weeks of 2022 we seemed bullet proof, but Freo came with kryptonite in rd 11 and by finals Joel Selwood and his men were on a mission. Shock losses to Sydney and Brisbane saw us exit September early and with Gawny and Ben Brown along with Trac and a few other all looking tired and injured, the recriminations and the upheaval of our list began. Among those happy to jump ship was our fastest player Jayden Hunt, who must have really enjoyed the surf and golf in Perth while in lockdown a year earlier. Sam Weideman also saw the writing on the wall and headed to Essendon, while the unthinkable happened – Luke Jackson wanted to head home - admittedly coming off a season where he had underachieved in comparison to his amazing grand final display. Jackson was still only 21 and his versatility and speed made him irreplaceable as we have all come to realise. What’s worse was that Freo only had to give us two mid-table first rounders (one a future one) for Jacko and a few late pick swaps saw us lose valuable back-up small Toby Bedford to the Giants for effectively pick 44 which we sent off to the Dockers We also delisted Oskar Baker who was picked up as a PSS by the Dogs, meaning that five of our players would play AFL at other clubs in 2023 – that’s a big one-year exodus in my view. Of course it wasn’t all one way traffic and on one hand I think we should give some credit to Tim Lamb for realising that we now had shortages and we needed to get something back. Being a popular destination club (we may have lost that tag this year though) Collingwood’s Brodie Grundy was willing to walk across the Yarra Park precinct to Gosch’s Paddock and take on Max at training. Thankfully the Pies were willing to pay a chunk of his salary and all we had to give them was pick 27 which they used to claim Jakob Ryan. Grundy was mega popular when Gawn hurt his knee early in the season, but late in the season it became apparent that Brodie didn’t have the speed to play as a lead-up forward and we axed him. Why we didn’t send Gawny forward and use Brodie as our ruck instead is beyond me as the skipper is more capable of being a target. Either way the whole thing became a negative talking point and led to us having the smallest first semi-final forward line in the history of the game (or at least since the 1981/82 Carlton mosquito fleet). The fact that Grundy has had a super year at the Swans in 2024 just highlights that as a club we didn’t get that right. Lamb, doubtless with Goody’s support, also signed our first decent left-foot winger Lachie Hunter, albeit late in his career and with considerable baggage. Given his indiscretions at the Dogs, all they wanted was our future third rounder. The Dogs also sent us Josh Schache for a fourth rounder. He had also played against us in the 2021 granny, but was clearly out of favour. We wanted him as a replacement for Weid and to be fair, Schache’s done a pretty good job for Casey and has rarely been injured. But with the physical way the game is now played, he ain’t quite AFL level. Nor mind you it appears are our two draft picks from 2022 – it seems that even Jason Taylor couldn’t weave his magic this time. It’s still too early to cast major judgments on the year, but on paper it’s not a flattering draft yet with Essendon’s Elijah Tsatas (pick 5) and Geelong’s Jhye Clark (pick 8) still struggling to make headway among the top 10. Outside of high picks Sheezel, Wardlaw and Humphrey, Hawk Josh Weddle (pick 18) appears to be the wonder boy of the ’22 draft with his amazing athleticism, while later picks Darcy Jones, Lachie Cowan and Noah Long have been racking up the games. The rookie draft was also a bit of a bust that year with most newbies, including our two, yet to play a game, but I really like a couple of PSS picks – the Blues took Alex Cincotta, while the Saints unearthed a project forward Anthony Caminiti, who is starting to pick up the pace and would have been a godsend for us. But ultimately 2022 is a draft you wanted to miss, so thankfully we didn’t buy in by giving up a future first rounder like we had the previous three seasons. 15 Matt Jefferson – with our failings up forward re-emerging, Jason Taylor decided to use his top pick on the Oakleigh leaper who had kicked seven for Vic Metro against WA, but had struggled at times with his accuracy and consistency. A lot of us had hoped to see him play AFL by now but unfortunately he now looks likely to go the way of Lucas Cook (pick 12, 2010) or Nick Smith (15, 2002). Some of our Casey watchers have seen some green shoots this year but his lack of physicality is a concern and is why he was pulled aside early this season and given more one-on-one tuition on tackling. He’s clearly not ready to play AFL yet, but personally I’d give him a game or two in the next few weeks, just so he can see firsthand what’s required and can feel more a part of it – it is hard being continuously outside the main group at training. As to draft night, the next live pick was his Oakleigh teammate Josh Weddle, who must have been part of Taylor’s discussions given his amazing athleticism. He was the AA U18 full-back, so maybe we were less interested than we should have been. Ed Allan (pick 19) also had amazing athleticism, yet he’s struggled at the Pies so far. 38 Jed Adams – his highlights reel back in 2022 was hardly flattering, so I do wonder a little how we plucked him out – Taylor has a good record in WA though. He’s a big strong lump of a lad and his kicking has really improved under our tutelage but he just doesn’t seem to be able to get it enough at Casey to warrant selection. He certainly has some good role models with Tomlinson and Marty Hore. He’s got two years to run on his contract (I am not sure why we needed to sign him that long so early), but he certainly needs to get a wriggle on and show more than he has so far. Pick 12 rookie draft – Will Verrall – Taylor went back to taking a stab at Gawnie’s successor and decided on the second South Australian ruckman (Harry Barnett had gone to the Eagles at pick 22 of the main draft). He’d missed a bit of his top-age year overcoming a few groin and hip injuries and he spent a fair bit of 2023 rehabbing with us. But he’s shown a bit and seems to have a few forward smarts as well. Next year is the key year for him if he’s going to make it. We also took former basketballer Kyah Farris-White, who is 206cm tall, but his lack of mobility and feel for the game has been telling when he lines up for Casey, so we will have room for a Category B rookie next season. Pick 22 rookie draft – Oliver Sestan – This was definitely an out there pick by Taylor with the Mansfield man taken after an impressive scratch match with fellow juniors. He’s got thickset Brian Wilson hips, so can baulk out of tackles and he’s pretty clever with his kicks and can bomb a long ball like Trac. I reckon we should give him a taste in our final couple of games as he’s certainly showing enough signs at Casey to warrant it. We also added classy looking Old Haileybury defender Kye Turner to our list pre-season, but unfortunately, he got injured after six games for Casey and probably just lacked that physical presence needed down back to warrant keeping.

6 Gawn - I was a bit worried that his calf injury would render him insipid and when he didn't even jump for the first ball-up my fears seemed reality. But to Maxy's credit he lifted and got on top of English in the centre bounces and he also moved fairly swiftly around the ground and took a beauty and goaled in the second term. Definitely in the best six on ground and definitely still in mix for AA. 5 Bowey - Like many here, I've been really disappointed with Bowzer after a super pre-season. This was the first game that he actually provided run and his confident play up middle in third was our best passage for night. Gees I hope we try him in the middle one day. 4 Rivers - He's still not delivering with his disposal but he really looks the part as a tall midfielder. 3 Langdon - the running man has had a great few weeks since being allowed to go back to his favoured wing. 2 Van Rooyen - I think it was the second term when May realised JVR was way out on the opposite wing by himself against a smaller opponent and it was just so good to see our man just be so strong in the contest. He's really come a long way this season and is one reason why we don't have to keep looking for the full-forward any more. 1 Sparrow - After being dropped last week he came back and really applied himself with more confidence. Was sent to Bont in the second and worked hard on him but the Bont is the Bont.

2021 Draft: 8/10 Trades: N/A Pick swaps: 6/10 Another tricky year for recruiters with many games cancelled or made off limits and the new world of Zoom meetings altering how things were done in October. What was clear though was that Jason Horne-Francis was the best live pick after a stunning SANFL finals display for South Adelaide and that Nick Daicos and Sam Darcy were huge father-son choices – part of what is shaping as a super draft year. While we were caught up in an amazing season, a rule change on academy picks resulting from Jamarra Ugle-Hagan being gifted to the Dogs, meant our athletic Academy talent Mac Andrew was no longer guaranteed to be taken by us if he fell in the first 20 picks. A few strong showings for Dandenong and some impressive combine stats, meant that Andrew ended up going pick 5 and if you’ve seen him play this year, you will know why and what we were robbed of. All that didn’t seem to matter once we won the flag with an incredibly youthful list, but Andrew’s height would be a huge bonus now. Nor did we get involved in player trades. We were not alone in this regard, presumably getting players and their agents to talk in the COVID was tricky as well. But we did engage in a key pick swap. Having given away our top pick for ostensibly Bailey Laurie in 2020, Tim Lamb again decided to offload our top pick of 2022 to Sydney via Adelaide and in so doing received back pick 17 belonging to the Bulldogs. This time however it worked a treat with the player we had earmarked staying around that level, although at one point, fearing JVR would go, we did ask about swapping it for the Giants pick 15. Only 65 kids were taken at the draft and less than a dozen untried kids at the rookie draft as clubs struggled with the new dynamics, but thanks to rookie magic with Judd McVee it will actually go down as one of Jason Taylor’s best efforts, even if we are only just three seasons in with these players. The Cats would also be toasting plucking Oliver Dempsey via the rookie draft, while Essendon struck gold in the pre-season supplemental picks snaring Claremont quick Nic Martin. The Gold Coast Academy would also bear fruit with Broadbeach local Bodhi Uwland taken as a rookie by the Suns. And it now appears we may have nailed one via the NGA system with Andy Moniz-Wakefield starting to look the part after being nabbed from Nightcliff in Darwin. And earlier in the year, Taylor had already plucked a bit of a gem from the mid-year draft, which proved to be quite fruitful for several clubs. The Hawks were able to tie up Box Hill star Jai Newcomb, Gold Coast got a good ruck back-up with Ned Moyle, Essendon got a warrior with Sam Durham. We snared a young defender in Daniel Turner who has become a handy forward this season. 19 Jacob van Rooyen Who do you add to a list that is regarded at the time as the best in the comp? The best available. The Zimbabwe-born Roo had impressed enough for Claremont Colts to train with Fremantle mid-season where he was a little starstruck with idol Nat Fyfe. The question was would Freo take him and thankfully they used their first pick (8) on East Perth forward prospect Jye Amiss star. They also liked another Subiaco prospect Matthew Johnson who they took at pick 21. But Sydney did call a Claremont kid with pick 18 – Angus Sheldrick. JVR has been developing nicely and has the key element of physicality that I reckon makes him a better long-term bet than Amiss and certainly one that can cope with the ruckwork buffeting. Almost played finals in 2022 and his absence via suspension from our second final last year was mega costly. 39 Blake Howes We are starting to see just how deep the 2021 draft was with guys like Sydney’s Matt Roberts (pick 34) and Crow Jake Soligo (36) now stepping up, not to mention Marcus Windhager (47). Howes showed a bit as a half-forward with Vic Metro and Sandringham and was expected to go mid to late twenties but slipped through to 39. He had a stressie in his foot in 2022, but showed enough on the wing at Casey in 2023 for Goody to trial him as a defender this season. He wasn’t overawed in round 1 up in Sydney, but still needs to work on his body-strength to play on the bigs, which he will have to be given since we are keen on playing up to four smalls down back and at 191cm he’s a giant by comparison to Bowey, McVee, Moniz and Salem. 65 Taj Woewodin Another West Australian, but this pick was a no-brainer for Taylor given his dad Shane was a Demon great with a Charlie and we got him automatically at the end of the draft. He’s got good foot skills and enough size to graduate into our midfield like his Dad did after starting as a defender. But whether he has the determination to make it there is questionable, given he hasn’t got amazing pace. Will be an interesting watch to see how he goes in next two seasons. Pick 16 rookie draft Judd McVee Most clubs baulked at taking kids in this draft, but Taylor’s love affair with the west meant he liked the looks of another East Fremantle prospect – McVee being a teammate of Woewodin’s. He spent a year muscling up and learning his trade in the VFL and a few eyes were raised when he played round one in 2023, but he’s become a key down back, often minding the quickest and most dangerous forward. What’s impressed most onlookers is the cleanness of his ball movement – it’s a little like late 80’s/early 90s back pocket Alan Johnson – just so deft and precise. Unearthing great rookies hadn’t been Taylor’s forte. But it was this year. NGA Andy Moniz-Wakefield We haven’t had much luck via this method until now. M-W had impressed with his dash as a high half-forward for NT Thunder in his draft year and we had listed him as an Academy kid, presumably spotted via one of our last Darwin trips before Gold Coast took over that region. He was only 18 when we took him and many felt he couldn’t kick far enough to make it in his first few games at Casey. But this year he has developed as a running defender and eventually his weight of big possession numbers forced Goody to elevate him. And he’s been a great find in just four games so far, providing defensive spark and looking for all the world like a Matty Whelan 2.0.

2020 Draft: 6/10 Trades: 6/10 Pick swaps: 2/10 The world changed in 2020 and young schoolboys spent the year wishing they could play, after being told by Dan that COVID could be passed around easily outside. The result was that you’d have to be Nostradamus to predict which kids were going to make headway and the disruption meant many lost their way in life. It impacted the draft big time. Of the top 20 that season, only two are standouts – the top pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan who has taken a while to develop and pick 20 Max Holmes. Holmes came from an athletic background and had played only a handful of school games at Melbourne Grammar where he was better known as an APS sprinter. To Taylor’s credit, he was apparently keen on him as well and I think we were planning to take him at pick 21 or 22 until the Cats swooped, gifting Richmond their 2021 first rounder for pick 20. With Josh Mahoney out the door, Tim Lamb was now ensconced in the role of list manager, and made some very intricate moves, most of which were designed to get us a full-forward. North’s Ben Brown had been a prolific goalscorer until knee injury in 2020, so the Roos were willing to offload him provided we offered enough. Eventually the Kangas agreed to offload the soon-to-be 28-year-old for our picks 26 and 33 with us getting pick 28 back in the deal. The pick 26 had come via a pick swap with the Swans for 31 and 43, but as I said, losing picks was not a loss that draft. Lamb had received pick 31 by offloading Braydon Preuss to the Giants and we got the Dogs third rounder for 2021 in the Mitch Hannan deal. Offloading our No.1 pick of 2021 and pick 25 for the Lions pick 18 and 19 was not as bad as it looked at the time because by virtue of us winning the flag in 2021, the Lions only got pick 18 back which became pick 20 and Kai Lohmann. But imagine if we had bombed in 2021. The 2020 draft, in general, has been a bust. Bowey and Beau McCreery (44) are the only two role players to play in premierships, while Errol Gulden (32) is the big star of that year, along with Jamarra, and both were academy picks. Plenty of clubs were burnt. Essendon’s Adrian Dodoro tried to play hardball on Josh Dunkley’s deal and ended up losing him. Instead he got to keep picks 8 & 9 to go with 10 – Cox, Perkins and Zach Reid - three strikes and you are out they say. The Crows are still hopeful that Thilthorpe emerges, they’ve almost given up on Luke Pedlar (pick 11), North now know that they erred by not taking Logan McDonald with pick 4, instead opting for Will Phillips (pick 3), while the Giants had three picks before us and are yet to get 25 games out of any of them, albeit Tanner Bruhn (pick 12) left and looks better at Geelong. 21 Jake Bowey – He’s only small but he was just so polished when we finally gave him a game late in 2021. Ironically Jayden Hunt got injured which meant that Bowey stayed in the side and by the time Jayden was fit to return, it was too late to make a change – we were in the prelim and Bowey was our classy little defender. Since then he hasn’t really kicked on. He had a ripper pre-season this year but then got hammered into by a Swan in round 1 and broke his collarbone. Now that he’s fit I’d actually like to see him given a chance in middle where his smarts may come to the fore. I’d hate for him to be branded as just a defender because I think he’s got more to offer and so far Goody hasn’t got any more out of him than what we saw in season one. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. 22 Bailey Laurie – OK, so we just took a 175cm mid in Bowey who we turned into a defender. The very next pick Taylor takes a 179cm (5ft 11in) midfielder who has exquisite skills but lacks pace. This for a list that already has six other sub-6 footers – Kozzie, Spargo, Chandler, Viney, Neal-Bullen and Bedford. I’m sorry I just don’t see how that’s smart list management. I’m also not sure why giving up our first rounder to the Lions in 2021 to get Laurie was necessary. Wreaks blunder to me. Laurie is running out of time to show he’s AFL level. Invariably he’s the sub for us, so he never gets a chance to show what he can do either. 34 Fraser Rodman – a good athlete from Wesley, whom I suspect Taylor hoped may become the left-side wingman that we have desperately needed since Brian Dixon retired! He had height and pace but he didn’t really have a penetrating kick and after two seasons a decision was made to let him go. Thankfully we didn’t miss out on any stars soon after him. Barely anyone bothered with the rookie draft that year given most VFL and TAC sides hadn’t been playing. We did trial a few players over summer and Deakyn Smith, a classy small defender impressed enough to become a supplemental player. He wasn’t really quite big enough to make it. The loss of Preuss meant we were on the hunt for a ruck back-up for Gawn and Jackson and we added Majak Daw, who at close to 30, had been released by North. Daw almost got a game for us but Gawn and Jackson were remarkably durable in 2021, as were most of our players, so Daw spent much of the season rucking in the VFL practice games. The big gamble for us in 2021 was Ben Brown, who had only played nine games and kicked eight goals in 2020 as his knees became unmanageable. He spent much of pre-season riding a stationary bike after his first knee clean-up surgery and we had to wait until round 7 for his debut against North. He had some good moments against Sydney the following week but was back in the medical room after round 9 with another clean-up required. He missed the next seven weeks and it looked like he’d miss the flag boat, but returned for the Port game as Goody trialled his new 'three-bigs' forward line with T-Mac and Jacko. By finals he was impressing with his lead-up work, often winning frees as teams chopped his arms to cope with his height. He didn’t kick any big bags but we all got used to his 50m run up to a shot on goal and he was prominent on grand final day, so his arrival gets a big tick. He was pretty useful in 2022 as well, although come finals he was sore and unable to move as freely and that’s been his problem since with four goals in a game his best return in 45 matches for us. His contract ends this season and he’ll most likely become even more involved with coaching the women’s team. Whether he transfers that to helping out our forwards in the off-season I am not sure, but he’s a very decent bloke and behind his natural mirth, he always seems quite knowledgeable.