Gator

If you don't rate Curtin you've got glass eyes. Or you're trying to find flaws, i.e. the old Simon Black syndrome.

4

Then they won't trade pick one. But there's a view that they need more than pick one plus their second pick of 23 considering the state of their list. And that they're concerned Reid might fly the coup after 3 years, but that's just supposition. Some West Coast fans think that if they were able to manufacture pick 2 plus our pick 6 that they'd take McKercher with pick 2 and Curtin at pick 6 who's likely to be available at that pick. It's all guess work...

I suspect they'd be keen on the best player in WA. Hardly a wild guess.

I agree. It's not often a top 4 team has the leverage we have in this draft. Six and 11 are very good picks, but Reid, Duursma and McKercher are standout footballers. I'd be doing my utmost to get into the top 3 of this draft.

You got to be kidding ?

Yes and I don't concur with those who think he's athletic. He's a lumberer with poor pace, i.e. slow.

I take it back about Caddy. His first 60 seconds are particularly special.

I don't think I could agree less. Duursma has that rare knack of making footy look easy. A bit like Mark Waugh with cricket and Federer with tennis. Duursma reeks of class with his movement, kicking and marking. He didn't ''star'' for Casey in 2 games as a 17 year old, but even then his talent was evident. When he develops the size of an AFL player he's going to be an elite footballer. If possible I'd move up to pick 3 to make sure of him.

This short video sums up Caddy to me. I see an aggressive competitor, which I like, but a distinct lack of class. If he's considered a top 10 draft pick it really is a shallow draft.

It depends on the pick. And I believe we'll only be using two (plus I assume Brown). If we got our hands on pick 3 it's definitely best available. And for me that's Duursma. If we keep pick 6, which will become pick 7 or 8, I'd also take best available, which I suspect would be one of Sanders or Curtin. There's a consensus top 7 in this draft, i.e. Reid, Walter, Duursma, McKercher, Watson, Sanders, and Curtin, and I'd be taking the one left over out of those first 7 - although O'Sullivan also looks very good. In a broader sense, I think we have room on the list for another class midfielder, key forward, and key defender. I think May has still got 3 good seasons ahead of him for one main reason, he still has good speed. Even after those 3 seasons he'd still be younger than Hawkins is now. I know there are not many Hawkins running around but while May still has speed and a desire to compete he should have a few years left. Petty is the worry. If we keep him long-term it will be huge due to his versatility. If not we could potentially quickly have a hole at either end. But while we're a genuine flag chance I'm chips all in on winning another. If that means not addressing a specific need, and I don't think we have many, then I'm going best available early in the draft.

Picks 1-5 is the sweet spot. It's also usually where stars of the game come from. Not always, but usually. If I've got picks 6 and 11 I'm trying to leverage those picks into a top 3 pick. Ideally, I'll get back a late teen or early 20s pick with the trade and hopefully get another good player. But the best chance of ''great'' is top 5 and even better top 3. Draft Pick Range Players Picked Age Average Career Games Average Club Games Average Brownlow Votes Average Average Years to Play a 20 Game Season Average Years to Get Past 50 Games Picks Needed to Get a 50 Gamer Picks Needed to Get a 100 Gamer Picks Needed to Get a 200 Gamer Picks Needed to Get an All-Australian Picks Needed to Get a Sub-10 Gamer Picks Needed to Get a Zero Gamer National Pick 1 20 17.9 228.0 171.5 57.5 2.7 3.6 1.0 1.1 1.5 2.0 - - National Pick 2 20 18.0 190.9 154.0 40.4 3.5 4.3 1.1 1.3 1.5 2.2 - - National Picks 3 to 5 60 18.2 165.0 117.9 38.2 4.4 5.5 1.2 1.4 2.7 3.3 15.0 - National Picks 6 to 10 100 18.2 133.1 98.4 20.5 6.5 6.6 1.4 1.6 3.1 4.8 7.7 33.3 National Picks 11 to 20 200 18.1 118.7 91.6 16.6 7.4 7.2 1.6 2.2 3.8 5.7 6.3 16.7 National Picks 21 to 30 199 18.5 85.9 63.8 9.3 8.0 8.1 1.9 2.8 7.7 14.2 4.3 14.2 National Picks 31 to 50 396 18.9 78.3 61.0 10.2 8.4 8.4 2.2 3.1 7.2 10.7 3.3 6.3 National Picks 51 to 70 338 19.5 47.4 38.0 4.3 9.2 9.4 3.8 5.5 12.5 28.2 2.1 4.3 National Later Picks 168 19.9 40.5 33.9 2.9 9.0 9.1 3.7 5.8 33.6 56.0 1.9 2.8 Rookie Picks 1 to 10 154 19.7 45.3 32.6 3.9 9.6 9.9 3.3 5.1 19.3 38.5 1.8 2.6 Rookie Picks 11 to 30 292 19.7 38.0 29.2 2.7 10.4 10.2 4.4 6.0 17.2 32.4 1.6 2.1 Rookie Picks 31 to 50 229 19.9 35.0 26.9 3.4 10.1 10.4 4.8 6.7 17.6 32.7 1.5 1.9 Rookie Later Picks 213 19.6 23.3 16.6 1.4 10.9 11.0 7.3 10.1 30.4 71.0 1.4 1.7

Supposedly West Coast love McKercher, so, if true, your scenario of McKercher and Curtin would be of interest to them.

Caddy is aggressive, which I like, but he's also a fumbler and two grabber, which I don't. For me he lacks class. I'll be shocked if we take him at 6. I wouldn't take him with 11.

My views are different to many but I reckon Duursma has every chance of being as good as Reid, or close to it. So pick 3 would do me. If we retain pick 6 I'd be taking Curtin, if he was there. EDIT: I really like Tarkyn O'Leary for a rookie spot, but I suspect he'll be drafted late.

North keep pick 3 ? I doubt West Coast are doing that trade. They'll want one of North's picks 2 or 3.

Draft guru Mick Ablett said on SEN this morning that he thinks three clubs will be involved with the pick one move, i.e. West Coast, North and us. If we can't get Reid I'd love to get Duursma by getting involved and somehow securing pick 3.

My Brother thinks he's a list clogger. I don't share his perturbation. But there will be others with a similar view. Good bit of business by the Dees.

If you got his best every week he'd be a staple in the best 22 and a valuable player on your list. Right age, experience, skills, etc. Up to him.

Hardly.

His Sister lives in Adelaide, but his parents are a 6 hour plus drive, nonetheless, there's obviously a strong lure to Adelaide. But I wouldn't cave, because he can help us win a flag next year. And a lot can change in 12 months. I don't buy into the narrative that his head won't be in the game in 2024. Pride of performance and the right environment ensures that. As for Harley Reid ? I think we're still a real chance with the hand we hold. There are growing views that Curtin will be available at pick 6. North love McKercher and are also said to be keen on Duursma and I think they're the most likely to take Curtin. If WC are convinced Curtin will be available at pick 6, and if they rate him close to Reid as a potential pick 1, they may well be prepared to trade pick one to get another WA player like Hardeman (or whoever) with pick 11 (plus our F1). If they keep pick one their next pick will be close to 30. As good as Reid is they'll worry about the flight risk and one gun kid isn't a lot for finishing last. Worst case we pick Curtin with 6 (or maybe Sanders), as he looks like he's going to be a gun.

In the last 6 quarters Petty and van Rooyen played togather Melbourne scored 182 points and the two combined for 14 goals. It's a small sample size, but encouraging nonetheless. When they were mising as a pairing for the last 20 quarters of the season the team's score was a little more than half as good per quarter.

I think he's referring to Kennedy being pivotal in 2018.

Yes and he only extended this year until the end of 2027.

I disagree. I agree that they'd only take 6 if they were sure they'd get Curtin, but they will think that this pick one is one of the most valuable picks ever and that they'd only trade it to cash in in a super strong way. Curtin for Reid with just Rivers as the sweetener ? No way would they consider that, imo.