Machsy

They're nothing alike. It's almost as confusing as the Beau Waters/ Sam Mayes comparison. Might as well say the kid is a combination of Matthew Scarlett and Darren Kowal.

If Roos is good enough, he's a possible father-son to the lions anyway... But yes, massive conflict of interest I think Roos would prefer avoid.

You're right, I forgot about that. He did limp off. Was a willing combatant, but I still didn't see any of the Cyril-Rioli-like magic that he'd need to get a top 5 guernsey. Was a bottom-aged however. I do recall at that stage having heard of Clem Smith and was looking out for him on the day, but I think I noticed Pickett more, as a small speedy indigenous type.

Not sure about Pickett. Pretty small and thin. I don't think you use up a top 5 pick on his type. Saw him at Simonds Stadium last year almost get killed in a tackle by Matt Crouch. Heard it from 100m away. Pickett got up, but was very groggy and went off. Saw some promising play before that, but nothing indicating he'd be worth going this early. I'm happy to trade out of this draft.

Like us last year, they'd likely be deemed to have a lot of talented youth that just needs time, not more picks. I'd say that if they did, we'd be pretty annoyed. And come on, with the Fevola trade, sacking Voss and not looking after the kids... They brought it on themselves. (Intentionally ironic)

Palmer and Sheppard have given weak returns too.

Heeney catches the eye immediately, looks a great prospect, but at least the F/S bidding system applies with this kid and they won't just get him as a rookie.

I forgot about that. Should give us some great insight.

Brayshaw is an interesting case. He doesn't seem to me to be a clear cut top choice. Although his name is often put forward as the best midfielder in this crop, I'm not sure how he'd compare with last year's mids, for instance. I also wonder about how much influence comes from the privileges he has being a Brayshaw. Obviously in the AIS/AFL squad they all spend time at an AFL club, but few would have his dad's mate (premiership coach Clarkson) writing up a program for him before preseason to prepare him for AFL footy. I'd say he has some distinct advantages over other kids his age. How might their form benefit from having the same such opportunities? Will it limit his scope for improvement when immersed in the AFL environment compared to others? Or is it an early indication that he will respond positively to being in the AFL environment (when others might not) and has the right attitude to see him succeed? I've got no bloody idea. Just some things to ponder.

Agreed. It doesn't really concern me at all, especially if we manage to snag another kid like Salem. I was just being flippant.

Mind you, I can't wait for the kid to get a game and perform big on the big stage. I can see the headline now... IN HARMES' WAY

If we keep this up, we may not even have a top 5 draft pick...

I think it's because we needed more big-bodied mids, not a small runner with questionable attitude.

I really like the idea of Tom Lamb or Hugh Goddard. Could both play as tall mids as Roosy seems to like.

And Roos likes to have an army of HBF/wingman. At Sydney he had Kennelly, Mattner, Shaw, Malceski and others. We can already see by the VFL player summaries that half the MFC players at Casey have been rotated through there.

I see what you're saying, but I also think we need to consider type. Templeton - run all day vanilla mid. Honeychurch - bog standard hard contested ball winning mid. Hunt - rangy, speedy, athletic HBF/wingman with nice kick, not much exposure to high levels of the game/coaching. I suspect the coaching dept think he has more improvement in him than most, having not been exposed to the TAC cup system, once they put him into the AFL system. Also, I think they'll back themselves to turn him into a player, as Roos has a bloody good record with developing players from big ordinary into at least role players, especially foreign types like Kennelly and Pyke.

That's not what I call a project player. Michael Luxford, a basketballer who has never played footy, being taken as a rookie at Geelong, is a project player. Even a steeplechaser in Blicavs. It's not unreasonable to expect a kid requires 2-3 years of development before playing AFL, and that does not make them a project. Not in my eyes.

I think you might be thinking Fitxpatrick & Gawn. We selected Gawn out of the 2 at pick 34, thinking Fitzy would go soon after, but then Fitz was still available at 50.

My point is that even if half the teams thought Hunt was taken too early, that doesn't mean that the other half didn't. Let alone 1 recruiter. Especially when you're comparing to Templeton, who was in the same boat (some obviously rate him, some didnt). And Fyfe was rated, but I recall him having an unorthodox path to the draft, and was seen as a smoky by some teams. Even Freo were shocked at his ability to play midfield and rapid development. It's well documented the recruiter had to put his aggets on the line, against the wishes of the coaching staff.

I don't think that necessarily means attitude as in having a bad temper, or likes to bully the opposition, or is arrogant. Maybe he drops his bundle when things don't go his way? Maybe he doesn't follow coaches instructions when he disagrees? Maybe he has issues with his work ethic? It could mean anything. Having said that, I'm bloody glad we don't have Dustin Martin. We don't need to be babysitting anyone. He'll be an impediment to any progress Richmond might make. Darling had a lot of bad press, but not much more. A lot of clubs got spooked, and probably feel very stupid about it now.

NB. Fyfe was a smoky, in a similar vein.

Says who? Hunt may not have been on your list, but by the sounds of it a few clubs had monitored him. You're not to know where another team may have picked him, or that no other team was interested. Just because it wasn't all over the AFL website, doesn't mean he must a longshot project. And you're going very early on him. In regards to Templeton, I heard a number of clubs put a line through him due to attitude.

He might develop into exactly what we hope for with Watts.

Considering there are so many highly rated talls available, and look to go early in the draft, coupled with few comparable quality mids, what would you choose then? I'm leaning towards Goddard personally. Versatile, professional, same mentality as his cousin.

I think it just shows, that there is often little separating players in the draft, especially at the early stages. The deigned "number 1" pick may only be 2% better than pick 3, if you have some magical "talent worth counter". Sometimes you might have 5% difference between picks 1 & 10, or picks 5 & 20. In the end it's a raffle, and all the kids drafted early should have what it takes. But you never really know until you get them in the system and see how they flourish. But, as rpfc pointed out, you're talking about priority picks still. And I'd be all for a priority pick at the end of the 1st round. It's odds-on to provide as much value as a top 5 pick, and it's about getting that 2nd bite at the cherry. Roos understood that, and it's why he traded pick 2 for Tyson & Salem. I believe Luke Shuey was an end-of-1st-round priority pick. Just gotta use it well.