Gator

Salem doesn't have speed. I'd like a gut-running speedster who delivers well. Kelly would be perfect.

Isaac Smith, Josh Kelly, or dare I say it, even the gut-running Rodent, is the type of player that would round out our midfield.

He left in January 2012 and had no part in recruiting Hogan. Todd Viney can lay claim to Hogan. And me, of course. *Hanged*

I don't think it's fair on the true wingers from those days to be compared to the mids from those days or the mids from today. Their possession numbers won't be (aren't) as high and they'll be marked down when they shouldn't. Mids spent most of their time following the ball all over the ground and when they didn't they rested forward and kicked tonnes of goals. You can please yourself, of course, but when I judge today's mids I don't include Flower in those comparisons, because in my view it's not fair on him. He is though, in my view, the greatest wingman whoever lived.

I haven't just joined.

Greg Wells imo is the best mid we've had since Barassi and better than Todd Viney, etc. And as I mentioned earlier, I don't consider Flower a mid in the true sense of the word, as wingers weren't really mids in those days.

I'm going to make a massive call - Clayton Oliver will be our best midfielder since Ron Barassi (note Flower was a wingman in a very different era, so he's not included in my deliberations). When you work through it it's actually not such a big call, it's a logical call to anyone who's seen him play and is familiar with our lack of stars over the last 50 years. He's unquestionably Jason Taylor's best pick. To be pick 4 when you fail to make your U18 state team in the year you're drafted is incredible intuition and judgement by those that recruited you. The deal done to orchestrate two picks in the top 10 and make certain of the selection was just as brilliant, as it was the first time a deal of that nature had been done. We set the standard for other clubs to follow under the new points system. I'd say Hunt was his next stroke of genius in a long line of really solid or great decisions. And while there was a time I wanted to hunt Prendergast down he's done what virtually no other recruiter before him had, he recruited Gawn, who is a star of the game and should end his career as one of this club's greats.

Which is not what you said.

That's not my recollection.

The last product they sold us took a year to fix. They can wait a year this time.

I don't know enough about Smith, other than his impressive game yesterday, but I'd love him to develop into an Isaac Smith type wingman. Isaac Smith has incredible endurance and I have no idea how Joel goes in the endurance stakes, but Smith and Hunt running the lines is an exciting prospect. I actually want to leave Hunt in his current role, as I suspect he finds it easier playing behind the ball, so would be interested to know if a tall wing role would suit Joel.

Hibberd and Barlow came from the VFL, so it's certainly a reasonable pathway, but I think it's definitely harder for key position players. Keilty has a better chance than McInerney, but I wouldn't back on either making it.

Agreed. McInerney did nothing for me and I don't see an AFL quality kpp with Keilty. Liam McBean looked great at VFL level, but his AFL form exposed the gulf between senior and seconds football. Mitch Brown is a terrific VFL footballer and while he's shown a bit at the higher standard I don't project regular games at Essendon. He may get rookied, but I see little more than a depth player.

The great Dale Carnegie explained back in the 1930s that it's impossible to 'win' an argument. It is especially so when the other person is deranged.

Unlike some, including debates I've had with my Brother, I really do think we let down some previous draft picks with poor development. I suspect most were just bad selections, but development and a club's culture is ultra-important. I still believe that you can't make chicken salad out of chicken ***, but there's always that balance.

Not semantics, just a mistake. This business of people being "taken around" Hunt is an utter nonsense. Taylor only had access to players available at pick 57, not those taken before. Name ONE pick after Hunt that is any good. I'll disagree on Salem. He's a young player with tremendous class that is miles off his best. Let's talk when he's played 60-80 games. As for Kennedy-Harris and Neal-Bullen, neither does much for me either, but I don't expect him to nail every 40+ pick. Do you ? Steven Wells has plenty of failures. Taylor's record looks superb to me any way I want to slice it or dice it.

You do realise that none of those players were available to the MFC in the 2013 draft ? They were all rookie upgrades and selected in drafts prior to 2013 - Hunt's draft.

So it's not a myth then ? A myth is a false belief, but now you're saying the jury is out ? Btw, I don't agree with your evaluations and some of your judgments are either too early or wrong. Who was taken after Hunt that makes this selection anything other than stunning ? We were desperate to improve our midfield, so I can't see any logical supporter questioning the Brayshaw decision. He'll be a star in my view. Your concerns on Weideman at such an early stage seem very premature, but fair enough, your opinion. Oscar and vandebBerg are very good picks after 50 of the ND - "limitations" or no limitations. Oliver may go down as one of the best picks by a recruiter since the inception of the draft (1986). And no, it's far too early to call Salem a "disappointment" on the back of an injury plagued third year. He's already shown his class in his first two. I find your assessments strange. You'd have to go out of your way to take the negative position you seem to have.

I think you'll find that the Dogs just pipped us for least experienced with 60 games.

You're reading far too much into things. You're looking for smoke and mirrors. Before the season is over clubs virtually never concede anything in the media, He'll be a Dee.

It would have been nice and in no way do I think Roos thought he was compromising a win, but for me it would have been small fry in the bigger picture.

I know it's part of an apprenticeship, but I think you're overly excited about playing finals and just making up the numbers. Half the competition play finals. Ordinary sides play finals. How have those 3 straight years of finals helped Richmond ? I think it's a blessing in disguise to not play finals this year. There will be a drive over summer that will hold this group in good stead for 2017.

I'll be looking at Weideman as the equivalent of this year's first rounder. But with a year already in the system.

I reckon a club would do well to rookie him. He's worth a punt imo (assuming he's delisted subject to contract status).

Perhaps if you revisit the post you responded to you'll see I simply said that I'm still underwhelmed by them as players. And that they'll probably not run out on GF day when we get there. For some reason you then felt the need to state the bleeding obvious. We all know that role players get a medal sound their neck. It's my view that these two probably won't get that opportunity. Let's hope that you, me and fanboy above find out.