mo64

Spot on in regards to Billings. He was good in both lead-up games, and gets the vest. Spargo walks straight in after missing both games, and does what he usually does which is SFA. Two of our better players were unheralded draftees in Howes and McVee. We decide to give up our draft capital to GC to move up a couple of places to get Tholstrup. No issue with Tholstrup, but instead of drafting some more kids, we've used list spots on Hore and Billings. Goodwin clearly doesn't rate either. Our list management has been pathetic since we won the flag.

I don't live near Caulfield, but I couldn't care less how inconvenient Caulfield is for some supporters. Players will never outwardly complain about driving 1-2 hours to Casey to train, but inwardly most would hate it. By choice, I've spent the past 20 years working within a 30 minute walk from home. And I've prepared to sacrifice money to do so. Having a home base within a short distance of the CBD will be a great selling point when trying to attract players, or even player retention. Get it done.

Gold Coast and GWS don't have access to Father/Son picks like every other club. Given the number of players that these clubs seem to lose due to the "go home" factor, I have no issue with the academy picks.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but we traded out pick 42 which was a live pick. Maybe someone is getting upgraded from our rookie list.

It would be hard to compare with so many AFL affiliated clubs in the VFL, and only 2 in the WAFL. The AFL affiliated clubs in the WAFL don't dominate, and the Eagles 2s didn't win a game this year. At VFL level, non-affiliated clubs like Werribee and Williamstown performed well this year.

The same thing was said about Grundy. Every list spot is valuable, and we already have a bunch of experienced players who'll struggle to be best 22. Billings hasn't played well for 2 years. What makes you think he'll return to his best?

Thought exactly the same thing. Both hold the ball well in front of them when handballing with their left. And both seem to glide across the ground.

McAdam is a legitimate goal kicker with X factor. Billings recruitment is a headscratcher. Both are 28yo, so we still need to look to the future.

Got an opinion from a mate involved with West Perth coaching dept. Said he's a very good player and compares him to Daniel Rich.

Jack Steele was a GWS academy pick.

Didn't make the trip to Melbourne for the draft because he wanted to spend it with his family. Flight risk. 😁

How do we get WCE's future 1st?

Only heard a snippet on Twitter in respect of visit to WA to meet Tholstrup. JT said that he's got 15 potential players at pick 11, and Tholstrup was the only one whose parents he hadn't met. He said it's important to meet at least one of the parents of potential draftees, and it was just circumstances that his visit to meet Tholstrup's parents was so recent. My take is that Tholstrup is not a lock to be taken if available at pick 11.

Jimmy Toumpas?

Hopefully Harry Petty bucks that trend. With the Dees and not the Crows of course.

That's fine. Then use the list spot on addressing a need, such as a mature aged ruckman.

Sorry, you have no idea of the quality of the draft. We hear the same thing every year, and good players emerge from late picks and rookie picks.

Hunter didn't finish in the top 10 of the BnF despite only missing 1 game. He was average. And neither did Grundy or Schache.

We traded picks 14, 27, and 35 for pick 11, because we assumed that we wouldn't be using all the picks. Plenty of good midfielders have been drafted in the 27-35 region.

I'm not sure why we're interested in Curtin. He doesn't seem to suit our game style. - Curtin takes the game on from the backline, rather than stop and kick it long down the line. - Curtin seems to hit a target when under pressure. I'm sure we'll knock these traits out of him if we draft him.

Our list management has been bewildering in the past 2 years.

Yes, why not add another ageing key forward to either Casey or the rehab group? 😒

I've got no issue with McAdam and Fullarton because they address a need. My feelings on Billings is the same as I had for Hunter. Both are extremely talented at their peak, but both players were discarded by their former clubs for a reason.

I've got nothing against Marty Hore, but we rookie listed an unsung Judd McVee 2 years ago, and now he's best 22. It makes no sense bringing back a 28yo to bolster our Casey team. Why aren't we trying to unearth the next Judd McVee, are even better, Mitch Lewis or Nick Larkey, who were both drafted very late? So far we've traded for McAdam (28), Billings (27) and Fullarton (24). We don't need depth players like Hore in that age bracket. Where's the next crop of young talent coming from? The age profile of our list has gone from near perfect in 2021, to totally imbalanced in 2024. And that's on the List Management, with our constant topping up of NQR mature aged players over the past 2 years.

If he's taken as a rookie, it would add to the list of ridiculous recent acquisitions of mature aged players. Dunstan, Schache and maybe Hore. Dunstan and Schache were acquired as depth, but were never played when we had injuries. I thought we traded picks 14, 27, 35 for pick 11, because we didn't intend to use the latter picks. Surely there's top 40 youngsters with a higher ceiling than a 28yo Marty Hore. As DD said, if it was a mature aged ruck, I'd understand. But we are not lacking in mid sized backmen.