mo64

Well said Jarka. Just as a matter of interest to some, a mad keen Richmond supporter I know, who regularly attends TAC cup games, had this to say about Rance on PRE, based on the under 18 carnival: "Ok. At the risk of starting a 20 page thread out of nothing, here goes. (Geez, here comes the serious Redford. How boring.) These blokes have been studied for 3+ years. They don’t slide in the draft for no reason. And Rance slid a long way. And I mean a long way. Here’s why. Firstly, without wishing to sound like a killjoy or endure the roth of the ‘on the fringes’ Brightsiders who hardly get to a game or to any clubs outside of Richmond and whose love of Richmond doesn’t allow them to at least even contemplate reality of most things football visa Richmond, or what the outside universe may think, the fact is that rightly or wrongly, a lot of clubs viewed Rance as lacking composure and execution. Anyone watching game 2 of the National Carnival would have seen this. Rance turned the ball over time and time again coming out of the backline. He has an awkward guiding of the ball in his kicking action just like his old man Murray. (Anyone who hasn’t seen Murray, go and watch some footage of his ball drop.) Rance likes to rebound and run hard off the backline. And I mean hard. That’s good and things go well when there’s no pressure, but when there’s traffic and/or decision making involved, he can sometimes drop away. The upside for Richmond is that he is a strong and big defensive player – which we desperately need. He is also very hard at the ball which we also need. I liken him a lot to Adam Hunter - albeit Rance being 2cm taller than Hunter and Hunter starting initially as a forward. Hunter, despite showing promise in his early years made mistake after mistake. He would run that big body of his in straight lines and always attempt to do the right thing, but he made a lot of mistakes. Eventually, he worked the WCE system out and became one of their most valuable players. I’m hoping Rance can become the same player for us. Question is, does Richmond have the same structure and discipline in place to allow him to grow into a similar player. Dunno. He could be great. He could struggle. Who knows. I'll wait and see. Regardless, I think it is crazy the expections some people have on what is, after all, a pick 18 player."

It's fair to say that we would have had to give up picks 4, 14(TJ) and 21 for Chris Judd, given that Carlton gave up 3, Kennedy and 22. We now know that Cale Morton, Jack Grimes and Addam Maric were the price that we would have paid for Judd, and only time will tell how good they will be. Of course there are immediate financial benefits of picking up Judd, but the downside is salary cap pressure over the years of his contract. But purely from a list perspective, i'm not unhappy that we didn't get Judd.

I'm pretty sure Phil Partington played under '19s for us, but never played a senior game. I think he ended up playing for Dandenong in the VFA.

Player managers Paul Connors and Dan Richardson were on SEN for an hour discussing the draft, club by club. Paul Connors reaction to Melbourne's picks was "We brained em". Both were very upbeat about our selections. Connors suggested that had Morton gone to WC at pick 3, we would have picked up Grimes at 4.

Good point Chaser J. I think we've learnt our lesson about drafting key position players out of perceived necessity.

Ok, i'll be more positive. We've got less deadwood than last year!

There's still some deadwood that needs to be culled!

We've picked footballers first and foremost, rather than speculative athletes. Can someone confirm how many rookie selections we have?

By the sound of his bio, he seems like a Jared Rivers type.

It was John Merrick, but I hope Maric is a FREAK!!!!

Not necessarily Jack. If Sampi's fit enough, I wouldn't mind seeing him play as an attacking back pocket, a la Johncock, Wocjinski, or Chris Johnson.

It's Addam. I'm rapt with this pick. The common thread so far has been that all 3 picks have good kicking skills. Good to see!!!

Scott Selwood

Palmer

It makes absolutely no sense for us to draft a ruckman with a 1st round pick. We could have just traded Johnstone for Wood, and saved our 3rd round pick.

I concur with these sentiments. I'd much rather Veszpremi and Marric at 14 and 21, as they have an X factor, than Dangerfield and Taylor. I'd also prefer to take a low risk, guaranteed return player at pick 4, hence i'd take Palmer or Masten over Morton, and leave the X factor selections to picks 14 and 21.

Drew Banfield, who's an assistant coach of the WA under '18s, was just interviewed on SEN. When asked about the draft prospects, he mentioned Palmer, Masten, Rance, Myers and Morton as potential top 10. He then went on to say that Palmer and Masten were the standouts, based on what they'd already achieved at senior level. Care to reconsider your view on Palmer Deemissioner?

Diablo, who do you rate higher Morton or Masten?

Totally agree Hannabal. What excites me about Palmer is his record at senior footy in the WAFL: http://www.sportingpulse.com/nf/team_info....0-49803-4320172 Do we draft Morton on his 'up-side' or take Palmer on his record at junior and senior level?

You still haven't sold me on taking him with pick 4. As previously stated, i'd prefer a genuine midfielder than a flanker who could do a bit of this or that.

True, but like Walker, what position do you see Morton as being best suited to in AFL?

Personally, I hope we go for a legitimite midfielder in Palmer/Masten ahead of a utility in Morton/Myers. With the exception of Goodes and C. Cornes, who played their junior football as key forwards, I struggle to think of many outstanding 190cm+ utility players. Morton reminds me of an Andrew Walker, originally an outside midfielder who has yet to find his true position in AFL footy.

Scott Welsh has been officially delisted by Crows, after being unable to reach a contractual agreement, and he'll nominate for the PSD. It's fair to assume that the Bulldogs have offered him a 2 year deal, however it would not surprise me if Melbourne expressed some interest in him before Robbo was re-signed. Theoretically, we could have traded Robbo to the Bulldogs for pick 22, and picked up a similar player in Welsh for nothing in the PSD.

Thick As A Brick - Jethro Tull. A reflection of whoever devised our new game plan.

Good summation of Al Neville NJH. Sam Mitchell was another who dominated at TAC Cup level, but was initially overlooked in the draft due to his perceived lack of pace. BTW DD36, being an ex Coburg supporter who lives near the City Oval, i've seen Neville play many times. I rate him and Valenti extremely highly.