Gator

FMD, we can all see that JW isn't good enough. So be it. He tried his best and failed. It's not his fault. As they say, build a bridge and do us all a favour and jump off it. I feel sorry for JW. I can't believe a kid that young can cop that kind of criticism and walk out the other side a better person. He's worth 1,000 of you. Btw, what criticism are you referring to ? Just a couple of quotes will suffice, so I know what not to say next time. I respect the fact you're so invested in my opinion.

Jack Watts

You know, when anyone ever stands up to me re Watts the only thing they ever say is that "he's a beautiful finisher". And I mean the "only". Here we are drafting a 196 cm tall to partner Hogan and we drafted one in 2008. He can't even be our Jack Gunston and kick at least 35 goals. No, this beautiful "finisher" finished with 10. It's beyond a joke.

Every person in the club from the President to the water boy knows Watts isn't a competitor. The fact that Roos keeps using the term just reinforces why Tiptoes will hardly get a game next year.

Right clink on the link and select copy. Then google the link in a new tab. Click first drop down suggestion and the article should open. It has for me.

Yes, he went from 90 skinfolds to 59 quite quickly and then ran 10.45 for the 3km. How quickly can he get down to sub 10 ? It shows up in his third placing in the agility test at DC. He knows how to play to his strengths with that dance/sidestep. He's got strings to his bow, such as good speed and contested marking that are atypical for many inside mids.

I don't wish to seem unkind, but some of us are truly (truely is another one) staggered that so many younger people use "his" instead of "he's". It's embarrassing.

B&F's in crap teams. Never made the AA squad of 40. Only really got going at the age of 25 and has had just one A-grade year. Pick 12 versus pick 5 (Parish) Clearly it's speculation, but I'll be surprised if Parish doesn't become a better player than Nathan Jones.

Yep, I'll be surprised if Parish doesn't become a better footballer than Jones.

I'm not sure why you felt the need to direct that comment to me.

Parish will be a gun. He's got everything (except size) and unlike Toumpas, he has a high level of contested possessions.

Agreed. Tyson reads the ball beautifully and he's just one of those players that the ball bounces for. He'll whip his left arm out and it will just fall perfectly in place. Viney and Tyson complement each other.

There was one early warning sign about Toumpas that proved telling. He had one of the lowest contested possession percentages going around. From memory it was in the 20's. Conversely, Oliver is nigh on 60%.Even in Quigley's 2012 write up of Toumpas he touched on his poor contested work.

I was about to post the same. Jason Taylor says on the club's website video that when he played in the VFL for Richmond he stood out as the class player on the ground. He turned 18 the week before that first game.

He was just being self effacing.

Clearly we haven't overreached, because Worsfold has stated post draft that they would have taken whoever was left out of Oliver or Parish.

The first thing he needs to do is start calling himself Clay. It's much better than Clayton. We have another competitor. What I really like is that he makes good decisions under pressure and seems composed. Also, he's a true inside mid, but has speed and agility. 2.99 seconds is very good for an i.m, so is 8.11 in the agility test, which ranked him third. He doesn't look like he's an elite kick, but his hands are fantastic and 70% disposal efficiency for an i.m is terrific. An average of 24 disposals, 6 clearances, 6 tackles and 59% contested possessions ratio rounds out the picture. Best of all, he's a goal kicking inside mid - 20 goals from 16 games. Everything stacks up with this guy. He's the real deal.

Some other views from regular mock draft contributors... Snoop Dog: Melbourne - Sam Weideman (Eastern Ranges / 196cm / 91kg) Terrific young prospect who we just didn't get to see enough of this year but the little we did was super impressive. He did show us a fair bit last year as a bottom ager and suspect had Gary Pert trying to get grandsons included in the F/S rules. Presents as the best tall forward in this draft albeit Harry McKay pretty close for mine. Sam is a natural forward unlike guys like Boyd etc who have been drafted high in previous years. I think coaches really value key forwards that haven't got their success camped in the goal square clunking marks but rather kids who understand how, when and where to lead. He has real speed and many will find it hard to close space on him once he is ahead of them. Once he has the space ahead of him he will use his long arms and good hands to clunk them and his finishing is generally pretty good albeit has scope for some improvement. The knock I have on him is his consistency but that happens a lot with young talls and his kicking at times is a bit erratic. Loads of potential for mine. Why: I think Melbourne would be very keen to get a partner for Hogan and this kid is made to play CHF. 3-4 years time could be a terrific pairing and having blokes like Brayshaw, Petracca, Salem, Tyson, Stretch etc feeding them. Chris25: Sam Weideman (196cm, 91kg forward from Eastern Ranges) Few players are dividing opinion as much as Weideman it seems. I think it would be different had he not been injured so often, I don't think it's out of the question that he would have performed better than Schache at the Championships. I think he's a smarter player and a better kick. I don't understand those saying he gets by on strength alone. That's so far from the truth. Bishop: Melbourne- Sam Weideman Club: Eastern Ranges (Vic Metro) Position: Key position forward Height: 196cm Weight: 94kg Key Stats: Kicked 28 goals in 20 TAC Cup games in the last two seasons Sam Weideman is a developing tall forward and will be the perfect partner for Jesse Hogan at the Demons. Weideman’s main strength is his marking, a skill that he has developed thanks to his great reading of the ball in the air. Weideman took seven marks in the NAB AFL Academy’s match against Northern Blues, indicating his ability to match it against AFL listed opponents. Unfortunately for Weideman, he’s spent a large chunk of the last two seasons on the sidelines with ankle issues. An ankle injury this year, set him out for five months. Last week Weideman did a testing session, where he didn’t perform as well as he would have liked. However, Weideman is on the road to recovery with his ankle and the Demons need a tall forward. And the not so complimentary Skippos (Quigley isn't a fan of Weideman either): Melbourne: Sam Weideman – KPF (196 cm, 94 kg, Eastern Ranges) Sam Weideman is someone I think is overvalued by virtue of the fetishisation of key forwards. Especially ones who can mark. Which Weideman, to his credit, can. Unfortunately, that's about it. He's a poor kick and athletically leaves a lot to be desired. He also hasn't played much so the sample size to mark him down as a gun is small. But hey, if you want someone to clunk them for you, he's your man.

Courage in the air. It's all I need to know.

That's a long username.

Oliver shone in the strong GVFL senior competition in 2014 as a 16/17 year old. He played 11 games in the midfield, kicked 9 goals and was named in the best on 6 occasions. He played 6 of the 11 games as a 16 year old - against men. He's from Echuca, where his Father also played football and his Mother netball. Todd Viney lived in Echuca for years and I suspect he knows a great deal about Oliver and his pedigree. Maybe he doesn't want to let another Ollie slip. And he seems to play in a very similar fashion, although he has better pace and sideways movement.

It certainly wouldn't have been Taylor. It may have been Derek Hine, or the one before Hine.

Some more info from a Richmond supporter who knows a fair bit about him: He didn't test well at the start of the year because it was his first true year in the TAC system and came off zero pre season and I mean zero . He has always had a elite football ability however has had to learn to be more than just a turn up Thursday night play Saturday player which he has done admirably . His ability to perform against men has been the key for me . Played in the midfield in the strong GVFL comp as a 17 year old and was getting BOG's . Likewise stood up and got plenty of it in the VFL when playing as 23rd man for us this year . If he is available we take him and he becomes a instant best 22 inside mid . Wouldn't be surprised if he went past the likes of redden in his first year . Been on him for a while and ain't jumping off. he has been on some peoples radars for 5-6 years it was put to him at the start of the year he needed to play like Rockcliffe who was also a bushranger and then later in the season like Cripps . Oliver has been on the radar for almost 10 years he was encouraged by his fav club to play like that and this comes from being directly privy to some of these events or conversations with his father , Steve . I don't h believe that a 17 / 18 year olds career is moulded in 8-9 months .

Yeah, poor buggers.

OK, so I looked at Oliver again on youtube and he does look a pretty exciting prospect. When I first watched him I didn't want to like him and was overly critical - cognitive bias and all that. I really like Parish and reckon he's exactly what we need, however, Oliver has some exciting AFL quality traits. Looking forward to Tuesday night.