DubDee

Jon Brown was a father son from a Fitzroy player.

There is a need to define a pathway to locals into the local system and the better ones have a chance to stay locally.

The next Ablett that comes out of West Sydney just has to be playing for GWS - this is what they are trying to ensure.

I don't have a problem with it anymore - once that Ablett gets taken in the draft with the weighting, the won't have another pick in the draft - they will pay their price.

I see a need for an uncompromised draft - at least as much as possible. If that means a few QLD/NSW guns playing interstate well its not ideal but its worth it for a fairer drafting system. If sydney keep getting guys like Heeney (stand out No 1 picks) that will never be out of finals. even though they would have to give us 2 and 3rd rounders. i know what id prefer. The gun number one draft pick

I dont see why the AFL complicates things so much

but we clearly have different view points so maybe we'll just leave it at that

I started supporting the dees when I boarded a plane from Dublin in 88. I was reading a magazine, something like 'so you're immigrating to Australia' and there was actually an article on the dees. Talking about Wight and jimmy being Irish. I figured we were moving to Melbourne so who else would you support? And the Irish connection was a bonus.

Highlights were the day farmer and yze debuted. We had some good seasons in the 90s

Lowest point was when port smashed us in round one a few years back

you don't need to scrap the academies. they are vital in developing a new market in rugby (league and union) territory

you could just make them run and financed by the afl, then available to all

yeah, agree. didnt mean scrap them completely

Yes, the best scenario - they want to showcase the local kids that come through their system to attract locals to watch and attend and get involved in junior footy to start that process all over again. It is a necessity in these growing markets.

And they are paying a price for these talents that is finally commensurate with the price any other club would pay.

Sydney will get Mills, maybe Dunkley if he nominates them (not a fait accompli apparently, he has 4 days to decide) and fill their list with picks past our 4th pick in the 60s...

I don't see a fairer scenario really - they are given an albeit arbitrary value and they must pay that value or relinquish rights to the player.

And if three Judds come out of the Harbour next year - they will have to trade away a few players to fit those kids into the team or lose one.

I dont see it as a necessity to have academies. Sure it would be great to have local lads playing for your team, but its a national comp. I reckon the QLDer's didnt mind cheering on Jonathon Brown

I think the fairest option is to scrap the academies and give each team a crack at the years best talent

Viney and T Mac to be our first AA's for 6 years.

If Viney plays 22+ games, watch out AFL. he was our best player in the last month of two of this season

smokey: Newton to work on his tank and defensive game and become a regular in the 22.

Hipwood will be a Lion.

And don't get angry if you don't understand; the Northern Clubs will now be playing under the paradigm that if they have one or two excellent or very good academy players they will only be able to draft them and have picks in the 60s and 70s to fill their list.

It is really the best scenario - they get local kids to grow the game in their area and the game doesn't allow them to continue to profit to the degree they did.

the best scenario? how about no academies and everyone on a level playing field?

im tired of the extra assistance the northern clubs get, especially when they have been dominant, successful in recent times (eg brisbane, sydney). and i get the new system but gun players are rare (~number 1 draft picks) the difference between pick 35 and 55 compared with picking up one of the 2-3 gun players of the year is significant

So you consider her a greater authority than our recruiting panel ?

of course not. I just take her opinion into account

i have to admit it is concerning that EQ think Parish is the 14th best talent (best available) in this draft and we may take him with 3.

I have no clue about how good these kids are but the one thing I have noticed is that Parish is not often referred to as hard/tough or massively competitive like a lot of the others in the top 14. also his slight frame has been highlighted. I know we cant have a team of Vineys but these outisde players seem riskier than the Brayshaws of the world.

tough choice! it would be fascinating to know if the Dees already knew who we would take at 3 when we traded for it or the plan was just to have 2 top picks

Who's this Hipwood chap at 6? Another nsw academy kid?

So 3 and 7 in reality is pick 7 and 11. Going by Emma Q.

These academies are getting out of hand! Seems completely unfair that Sydney would keep getting top 5 picks when have won two flags in last 10 years and are generally in the top 4.

Capt Jones. LG = Dunn, Viney, T Mac

Not sure I agree with the many that want Vince in the LG. he has never been a natural leader - despite being a very good professional for us and playing very well. guess is says more about our lack of senior leaders

Adding T Mac and Viney is a great way to start transitioning to the new generation and for the young group to feel represented. those two are so driven they would not let us know

no one else comes to mind. they are either too young or not performing on the pitch. so i would add the next highest rated by the players and leave it at 5.

I found that phantom a bit ordinary.

No one would draft Weideman at all yet alone top 10 if they thought he was the next Levi Casboult.

It only takes a few highlight videos to see Curnow is vastly different to Stringer.

Aaron Francis doesn't remind me of Goodes at all.

And not just the player comparisons but the explanations aren't spectacular either.

i wouldnt worry too much about the comparisons. Knightmare lived up to his name when he compared Toumpas to Luke Hodge

Great to hear JKH in the A group and doing well. Had no idea he was that good a runner.

Hoping for a big year from him

Towards the end of his first season, I told my mates Cale Morton would win a brownlow one day.

Beat that!!

needless to say i had to find new mates

I also keep believing the many re-builds we have had will work

also, im still cut about Scully leaving even though he is an average player

man, its good to get all that off my chest!

only 4 and 1/2 months til our first game!

guess we should be fit by then

maybe they could play the VFL GF at the G that week?

or as the womens league grows they could play a game to get exposure?

a game to celebrate narrowly missing the finals? would mean nothing to me and I would guess the players

I reckon our double ups aren't bad outside of Hawthorn. Collingwood and Saints won't be that good (though playing Saints twice at Docklands hurts - although we did play better against them there than at the G this year...), we usually match up well against Port and Gold Coast will only be thereabouts. At least we don't play Freo or West Coast twice and I'd rather Collingwood than Geelong or the Dogs I think.

guess we wait and see but I reckon Pies are locks for the 8 after their recruiting. and port are due for a big year

if he is cleared I reckon he would be a punt. could be one of those that comes good later in his career

word is, north will rookie him so we'd have to offer a spot on the snr list

I used to console myself with the dodgy fixture when at least it gave us a plying advantage. but 2 games against garenteed top 8 sides and GC is not good. we will have to improve a bit to win the same number of games as last year and improve a lot to win more

and the fact that not all teams have played each other by round 18 makes the AFL a friggen laughing stock

Hopefully we get to play both of the Queensland teams twice, which should equal four wins and two easily accessible games for you.

getting a little ahead of yourself i reckon. both teams absolutely shafted with injuries last year,

GC if fit should finish higher than us and push for finals. we should beat the bears though

we should go through the 6-7 possibles to draft and filter them by:

• manic competitiveness
• strong mentally
• willingness to work hard

only the ones who tick all the boxes should be looked at further for their skill/talent.

I think we can all say Watts/Toumpas/Silvia etc would not make it through this checklist. Talent only gets you so far, it is the driven players like Selwood, Fyfe who become stars. I doubt their draft camp stats were off the charts

im expecting the same as the last few years. very easy draw football wise but poor financially.

start off with a lot of saturday games at the G. second half of the season is all sundays

another friday night would be nice.

What if they have traded away their first rounder, second rounder and a player to get those third rounders?

Because that is what the Swans did.

But, yeah, who cares. Why let facts get in the way of a preconceived notion?

If you trade away your first rounder and someone bid in the first round you should lose the player. That would be fair.

And I could do without the condescension

As opposed to the old system where they get that same player for just their next pick? e.g. Heeney.

The system has a couple of flaws, but is a lot fairer.

I think it fairer for a team to have to use their first rounder rather than several third rounders.

Essentially, they can get a top 3 player by using multiple third rounders. A bit like if we were able to get Brayshaw by using picks 45, 47 & 49 (hypothetically).

Like it or not, that's the new system. It's up to you whether it's an improvement on last year's situation: drafting the best midfielder with pick 17 alone.

The system seems like madness. Getting one of top 3 players of the year for some third rounders?

The majority of third round picks come to nothing.

Sydney won't be out of top 8 for the next decade at this rate