Gator

As others have pointed out, Nathan Jones has actually taken another step. The likes of Oliver have taken the heat off Jones and freed him up to be more damaging on the outside. He must be loving footy in 2017.

I reckon Dustin Martin is a reasonable comparison. They're different players, but at the same time have similar traits. Martin would now be considered in the top 5 players in the game along with Dangerfield, Fyfe, Franklin and Bontempelli. Martin was highly rated very quickly in his AFL journey, but it was his 4th season before he really broke out and elevated his game to a higher plane. He's continued on and taken his game to new levels, particularly this year (season 8). In his third year he averaged 22.4 disposals (Petracca is averaging 21.7 this year), marks 3.2 (Petracca 7), tackles 3 (1), kicked 23 goals at an average of 1.2 (1.3), and had 85 ranking points (Petracca 90). I think by year's end Petracca's second year will be very similar to Martin's third and by then people were criticising Melbourne for not even interviewing Martin let alone drafting him. It's reasonable to compare Petracca's second year to Martin's third as Petracca is still a few months older than Martin was the corresponding year, although Martin hadn't had interrupted preseasons. Petracca is tracking fine.

Trust your eyes. While not express, he's powerful and far from slow.

He's averaging 21 disposals, 7 marks, 1.3 goals (30 goal season), top 30 in league for goal assists, and 90 ranking points (last year 67). He's yet to have a breakout game, but he's a very important player, who's performing his role well and bringing his teammates into the game with some clever decision making. McCartin on the other hand ...

Not asking about Brayshaw because not a person on this site would want him "delisted", but plenty thought Hunt's time was up. If you'd just said, "No, I was happy retaining Hunt", no further questions would have been asked. I can't be bothered searching the archives to make sure.

Did you "call" for Hunt's delisting ?

He didn't answer the question, Your Honour.

You have a very good memory.

I agree entirely. Where he gets the footy there will always be the odd mistake, but his smarts and clean hands are almost unparalleled. He had 4 clangers yesterday, Dangerfield had 6, Wines 5, Pendlebury 5, and O'Meara 9. I'm not fond of the DE% stat, but he went at 80, while some others with similar numbers were well below. Tom Mitchell 63, Dangerfield 62, Tyson 62, Treloar 65, Gaff 63, Pendlebury 72. There were a few close to his mark. After 15 games he still has a lot to learn, but we have an incredible ball magnet and young bull on our hands.

Petracca is yet to have a break out game, but you just feel it's around the corner.

Special ? Hogan is special. McCartin might be solid, or even very good, I don't see "special".

When people reference Petracca's "attitude" I believe it was more maturity than any arrogance. And supposedly he made great gains in this regard in his final year of the TAC, during which time he played a lot more in the midfield. He may not have done well in the psyche test, but from all reports he's loved by his teammates and probably continued to mature. We have some potential superstars on our list. The type of talent that plays in premierships. I've seen enough to be confident it's not a false dawn.

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.

People have a propensity to get nose bleeds at high altitude. In others words, he'd get a nose bleed for being taken so high.

"one talent spotter suggested Oliver “would get nose bleeds” if he went as high as the first round of the draft"

George was going nuts giving me warning points, so hopefully I'll stay low for a while.

Might have to change it back.

C. Judd

Possibly. I hope Oliver develops his outside game so that he stays around the 50% CP mark, but gets more of it.