TeamPlayedFine39

FWIW... Head says Parish Heart says Curnow Both have been known to be spectacularly wrong in the past.

Very true. They released a lacklustre highlights reel for Brayshaw which had people on DL very nervous about his kicking. Week of the draft, they released the 'real thing' and DL rejoiced. Highlight packages are a bit of fun, but you can't take too much away from them.

Welcome to the MFC. He's one of us now and I will back him in. Bring on 2016!

Vince agreed to be traded to Melbourne after being told he wouldn't be offered another contract at adelaide after 2014.

Butcher would be dirt cheap, if not free. Big bodied, key position forward who regularly takes contested mark and is good in the lead. Yes, he kicks like a mule- but with all those other attributes, I think the kicking can be worked on; never to be perfected, but perhaps improved. IMHO.

Whatever the offer is, add %10. Needs to be too good to refuse.Our first pick and Howe... And fingers crossed.

If only we'd taken Brad Johnson instead of Trent Ormond Allen!

I would take Aish in an instant. Last year's form is a better reflection of his ability as a footballer; and that form was very, very promising.

I love my job - but I'm not going to sign a 10 year deal to stay here. I'm still going to work hard, enjoy it, perform well, and who knows, maybe I will stay here ten years! But I'm happy to just keep working like I'm working, and talk contracts when its time to talk contracts. He's already extended his contract once, let him play football for a while.

Every word of this is true... but no fun at all!

Hogan was hardly modelling good posture during that interview. Was slouching and swaying all over the place. Richo, like all former player/commentators was standing bolt-upright and sucking it in.

I suppose it comes down to perception and perspective. I remember at the time being really disappointed that it looked like we'd be spending pick 4 on someone who didn't appear to have any weapons other than a big body when playing against 17 year olds. Whitfield and Toumpas were the classy selections of the draft, players with real X Factor who could cut up an opposition zone with speed and precision. O'Meara and Crouch were taken from the pool, Viney would most likely be coming with a second round, which left us with a guy that most seemed to rate as going between 7 and 12. I liked the idea of more grunt in the midfield but was disappointed that that was all that we were going to get for our top pick. I was wrong. Wines, so far, is the pick of his age bracket. Most were wrong. Even those who thought we should have drafted Wines, would not have believed he was the best player in the draft.

The keen interest from StKilda and Hawthorn again indicates where recruiters saw Wines at the time. Leading into the Carnival, he was not considered a top ten pick. Even with an awesome Carnival he only went at 7. Look at the two players taken before Toumpas in that draft - O'Rourke and Plowman, those two are even further off the pace of AFL than Jimmy. Recruiters go off the information, and the player, that they have at the time - it is ridiculously easy to draft three years later.

But what's the outcome here? How does this thread end? I wish we had of drafted James Hird, Chris Grant, Shane Crawford and made a play for Tony Lockett and Alistair Lynch. Why didn't we do more to lure Kernahan and Bradley over from SA? If we had of snared Ablett snr, we could have also got Jr!! What's there to 'forgive'? Did Viney stuff up pick four on purpose? Is Toumpas under-performing on purpose?

Too quick for me!

With that said, Jack Viney said on SEN that the pick of the bunch was Toumpas.

Yes, but the 'inside information' that we had suggested that Toumpas was still the better pic. If anyone had an inkling of what Wines would be playing like now - he would have gone number one. On an open market he was valued as the 7th most promising youngster available. Drafting is an imprecise science - even Hawthorn and Geelong, who have drafted impeccably, have made some howlers in the first round. The player who was rated as a top three talent all year - or an inside, one paced, man-child who bullied his way through the under 18 carnival against schoolboys. It looked obvious to the overwhelming majority of people at the time... now it makes us all shudder.

He's already a very good player and an excellent prospect to develop into a top defender. He is driven to improve, wants to play on the best opposition forwards and after playing for Melbourne through three of our worst years ever, was not broken by the experience. He has courage and an iron will. Tom McDonald would be picked up by every team in the league if we discarded him. In fact, he'd make the current back six of practically every team in the league. 21 years old. GUN.