Machsy

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.

Bingo.

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.

He did and continues to skirt packs and avoid contact though.

Wow. WOW. Having a few arguments with myself on this thread, if some are to be believed. There are some good early insights in there. And some bloody terrible misguided and offensive ones. I'd say you nailed it though, Jabber.

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.

No. It's more open than recent years.

You should have kept the Vin Diesel avatar. It was apt.

"Bottom feeder" is the term I'd probably reserve for someone that makes posts like this.

Oakleigh? I wouldn't be worried.

Incredibly obvious that he will be extended at some stage considering his performances, so this is a laughably transparent attempt to gain some credibility for your trolling purposes. See, I can do the same: Dom Tyson to have contract extended in near future, after impressing the club. Christian Salem likely to be given his first game soon after my inside sources tell me Roos was very impressed with Salem's VFL match. Ad nauseum...

Really will depend on who holds the picks. I think Goddard is a very good chance for top 3. Wright, McCartin, Durdin... Goddard, Lever, Brayshaw, Smith... Petracca, Pickett, Weller, Lamb... Father-son picks in Moore & Waterman. And Heeney stood out to me as a "who the hell is that kid?!" type. It's a shame he's zoned to the Swans.

I don't need to. I know it is "judgment" as do many others. Maintain your ignorance if need be.

*judgment Look it up.

I've been told we will retain him, on good money, and the club will use it as a bit of a public fillip later in the season. Good source, but I'm not silly enough to believe it blindly. But I really do think retaining Frawley is a definite possibility, and is of vital importance. Hard to attract new talent through trade when we are this bad and a player like that is walking out the door. An extra early draft pick won't do as much to rebuild this club as retaining chip.

I still can't believe there are people like you around that are so blind to his ability. I mean, I don't really rate your football judgment anyhow, but when it's so painfully obvious, I thought you'd still get it. My mistake.

& we'd need to retain a gun KPD like Frawley. Losing him would make us even less enticing.

Agree. To poach any players approaching the level, we'd need to have others already stitched up as an enticement. They wouldn't come here to scrape us off the bottom on their own. Chicken & egg scenario.

Problem is, you're listing quite a few players, that if a team had a top 3 pick, just about the best they could hope for is that they'd turn out exactly the same quality. Why would you trade, when there's a high risk you'll get a worse player, but then you'll have to develop them for another 2-3 years to get to the same stage? Shiel maybe, because he's getting squeezed out of the side. Plowman, because he hasn't played much, but I think he'll play a lot in Davis' absence and secure his spot. In a draft loaded with quality talls, the expansion teams have a pretty good back-supply of them.