Gator

Bontempelli was drafted at 192cm, but was a November birth and played his entire year at 18, so had more time to grow than Langford, who plays all of 2025 at 19. Bontempelli is only 6 weeks older than Petracca, but seems to have been on the scene a lot longer (2014 debut year compared to 2016).

OK, so you've got a bench that probably looks like Bowey, Rivers, Langford and McDonald. We only differ in that I selected a running small/ball user in Lindsay and you've opted for the versatility of McDonald, who can play either end.

Interesting. I have 5 plus Gawn in the 22 I posted. I wouldn't be averse to 6 + in the 23 with perhaps a tall as the sub. What's your 22 ? Apologies if I've missed it. Btw, I reckon we played on average the shortest team in the competition in 2024. I don't mind being a bit taller !

As a half-back he has to mind small to medium size forwards. He'll be torched on ground balls. Notwithstanding your opinion, the balance just looks terrible to me. He can either get picked as a tall, or he can't. Up to him.

I wouldn't be worried by Sparrow's kicking. He just doesn't do enough of anything. Disposals, goals, etc.

The only other comment was that if they didn't get Houston they would have tried to facilitate a move up the draft for Lindsay. It's just how they rated him in this draft.

B: McVee, May, Lever HB: Windsor, Petty, Salem C: Langdon, Oliver, Sharp HF: Chandler, van Rooyen, Langford F: Fritsch, Turner, Pickett FOLL: Gawn, Petracca, Viney IC: Rivers, Bowey, Lindsay, Tholstrup Melksham/McDonald/Sparrow/Johnson/Brown/Howes/Moniz-Wakefield/Woewodin/Hore all thereabouts. Obviously not a round one team with the Pickett inclusion, just a preference for best. A 5th interchange would have been ideal to include a second ruck like Johnson as a chopout for Gawn. I'm OK with van Rooyen having short bursts, as he's good at it. With others such as McAdam, Spargo, Campbell and Sestan we have more depth this year (subject to injury). Casey should be a lot stronger. I'm hoping van Rooyen, soon to be 22, can have a break out in his 4th year on the list. It's the same year a 21 year old Jack Riewoldt showed what he'd become. I hope Langford and Lindsay show they're worthy of a round 1 berth. And at 22 Sharp should be ready to become a permanent AFL player. It's the same age Ed Langdon broke through at Freo. As a side note, a mate of my Brother is friends with the outgoing Collingwood recruiter Derek Hine. Hine considered Lindsay the slider of the draft. They rated him very highly and had him as a top 5 pick on their rankings. As a second side note, there are 7 left footers in the above team, which I very much like.

Harvey Langford will be a very good player in 2025. He plays the entire year as a 19 year old. Just as a comparison, Bontempelli played his entire first year as an 18 year old. With some of the positional changes, such as Windsor and Pickett, it's hard not to be excited for the season ahead. Thanks for the observations.

Yep, 6 premierships from 7 grand finals is a sound record when it matters most.

''Haters'' ? I doubt anyone hates another poster on this site. I don't personally warm to the style of said posts, or the content, or the banter, or the drama, or the excessive emotion. C'est la vie. You roll your eyes and move on. There's one thing though I'm certain of. Goodwin isn't picking, or guaranteeing, the round one team in December.

I'm not into nicknames and never use them, but that's very good. Probably shortened to Banger.

At AFL level you don't get silver service against the good teams. Forwards have to be able to win their own footy when the ball isn't to their advantage. That's what makes you a quality key forward. It's not easy to do. Good ball movement certainly helps, but you need many more strings to your bow than relying on a game-plan. You need smarts, athleticism, aggression and courage to become a gun key forward. And you need to become a gun to carve out a successful career. van Rooyen will get better and better with experience, because he has the traits to make it. I'd back him to become elite or close to it. Jefferson ? It's an important year to see what's in his makeup. He's coming from a long way back.

You've got something in common with jellyfish. The journalist is simply basing his reports on the radio interview, which I also happened to hear. White said Kalani is now 6'7'' to wit Sam Edmund then said that 6'7'' is actually 204cm. The journalist then reports White saying he's grown beyond 200cm, because the journalist is assuming Edmund's conversion of 6'7'' is correct. White never uttered the words that ''Kalani has grown beyond 200cm''. All he ever said was that Kalani was now 6'7''. Enter Sam Edmund's incorrect interpretation of that height and here we are. Incredible that you don't get it.

Your assertion is incorrect. The author of the Herald Sun article you're referencing is simply regurgitating the miscalculation done by SEN's Sam Edmund from the said radio interview. Barnes writes, ''Jeff White said Kalani had grown beyond 200cm and recently cleared that height in a high jump competition.'' Then Barnes writes, “He has just evolved and he has got taller, he is 6ft7 (204cm) now,” Jeff White told SEN. Jeff never said, ''Kalani has grown beyond 200cm'', as stated by Barnes. It's the journalists interpreation that Jeff said that, because he's assuming 6'7'' is 204cm. All of this is based on the incorrect premise that 6'7'' is 204cm, which it isn't.

A better emoji would be a thumbs down. Right now there's no quick way to show you disagree with a comment. You can wow, angry, cry or vomit, which is puerile, but you can't simply and quickly disagree. There are 9 emojis and only about 3 most people would ever use.

I'm not privvy to all club's B&F voting systems, but if there's one worse than Melbourne's I'd be surprised. It heavily favours games played and Neale-Bullen was one of 6 players to play every game. He could have won the thing and it wouldn't change my opinion of him. But yeah, he had a good year and since 2021 has been adequate. Is he a good ordinary player in Jack Dyer parlance ? Debatable. I'm not sure Jack would have been that bullish on the bloke. As for his trade value ? I thought he was a high 30s pick. But I agree he's worth what someone will pay. It can change from year to year and will depend on needs and circumstances. Caleb Daniel, who was barely best 23 at the Dogs, was traded for pick 25. I store little weight in that argument. I'm happy to end the discussion as I'm no longer interested in writing reams, especially for players of Neale-Bullen's calibre.

There's nothing there I haven't read. You mentioned ''scouts'' and ''our eyes watching the under 17 game'', so I expected you'd have information we hadn't seen, instead you've provided generic information available to all. Btw, who the poster supports is utterly irrelevant. We all want White to be a top notch prospect. I have zero idea whether he's anything more than promising. Making the under 16 AA team in 2023 is at least grounds for optimism.

Can you post all of this information ? Thanks. Btw, don't sound so emotional. It's not personal.

This is a post from a St Kilda supporter on another forum re Kalani: ''Had a bit do to with them down on the coast and I'm 99% certain if there was a choice to be made, he would be off to the D's. However, I would be surprised if either club made a play for him. He is not particularly good, and the continued selection in various elite programs does nothing to dispel the claims of nepotism for kids involved in northern academies who have fathers from southern clubs. Talls can develop at different rates though, and there is definitely something there - but he is miles off it currently. Barely got a kick in local u19s this year.'' It's just one person's opinion, but it's good to hear a view from someone with no skin in the game. Let's hope he keeps improving.

Picket, you should give yourself an uppercut, but you'd miss.

He's presently at best 200cm. How on earth is he going to get to 213cm ?

There have always been players that don't use their pace on a footy field. Woewodin has never struck me as being one. Pace certainly wouldn't be his issue in any Neale-Bullen type role. And on checking I see Brayshaw was linked to that time but I find it hard to believe, especially as he was trying to improve his speed according to the same article you've referenced. He never tested at DC and 2.81 was first that year. Brayshaw was never a speedster. Neale-Bullen is a fumbler and a pretty ordinary player. Yes, he improved after we told him to look for a new home at the end of 2020, but he's now being elevated far beyond his station, especially on this platform. Just a player that will be easily covered. Disciplined and committed and a valuable leader, but let's not get carried away by his Craig Lambert type role. My last paragraph is obviously not directed at you.

I never said Woewodin was a good option.

Woewodin was second at his draft combine with a blistering 2.84 seconds. Ability may be his issue, but not pace. Neale-Bullen's spot will be easily filled.

A peculiar selection. Seems a waste of a pick. I'll be mildly shocked if he plays ten AFL games.