fr_ap

I'm not sure we're into him as we're fairly well stocked for small half forwards with Laurie Chandler ANB etc Tbh, I think we've got Keeler in our sights having failed to get Barnett. Would explain why we haven't traded up for any of these obvious talents

Man this trade period has really not gone the way we wanted

Very well put

It's no secret that our team & gamestyle is built around competitors & toughness - players who will win 1v1s, punch above their weight (so to speak), and bring 2nd/3rd efforts. We're not a beautifully skilled team, our gameplan isnt attractive or free flowing. We're down & dirty. We win contests. This is why we wanted to trade up for Humphrey & had George in mind - brutes who play with authority & power. These are typical JT picks - Sparrow, Jordan, Bedford, etc. - none were the most polished or skilled players but they never die wondering. This is his MO & is his philosophy on how AFL footy should be played. From what we know Jefferson goes a little against the grain in this regard. HIs 'contested' marks (at least via highlights) aren't truly contested in a body sense - they're run & jump, outreach. He appears nice and agile & I like the groundball stuff I see in the videos, but apparently those moments are few & far between. Seems a nice kid without too many hard edges. There are some obvious parallels to Weideman across all these attributes...long reach, nice kick, nice skills, good athlete, nice guy. We waited years for Sam to add to his frame thinking this would improve his physicality but ultimately, he just couldn't take contested marks when he was bodied early. He doesn't play with any authority. KPFs in AFL without authority don't make the grade. Jefferson looks like a nice player, but his style would typically work well in a team that moves the ball quickly and kick to his advantage or an isolated/space situation where he has freedom to run at the footy. Weideman would do well in this type of team as well, and I expect he will be improved at the Bombers for this reason (+, nothing like a club change to pull your head out), noting their style under B Scott is TBD & their inability to win contest is why they've not recently been as good a team as us. I just think it doesn't feel like a Melbourne pick. A part of me thinks JT doesn't quite know how to pick KPFs - his preferred attributes (toughness, competitiveness, heart) are rarely seen in underage key forwards because Height, not power, is why kids are told to play forward in junior footy. Its why key position players are such a crapshoot at the draft In any case, all the players I preferred (maybe other than George, who's speculative in his own right) were off the board by the time we picked, so I have no issue with it. We've filled a need, he's a great height, and its all in front of him as to where he can go. I'm behind him 100%.

Yes, you probably could. Both King brothers arguably stronger in the air at this age and have a few extra cm's as well. Vs Weideman Jefferson looks to be a bit more agile and ground level capable, so hopefully that serves him well. I like the Jarrad Waite comparison. I think the Charlie Curnow comparison is a long way off. Not writing him off, just sharing my immediate reaction.

Somewhat disappointed as I think he's a very 'un JT/Melbourne' player in terms of competitiveness and physicality. JTs KPF drafting has been his weak spot and all else being equal, this is a very similar pick to Weideman albeit without the spectre of the McKay or Curnow misses. Like with Weideman, my concern is you can't teach physicality. It's innate in some, lacking in others. Jesse had it from day dot, JVR has it. Weid looked a million bucks with a run and jump (which if you recall, was his touted draft strength) but at AFL level you just rarely get the opportunity to attack an aerial ball unbuffeted. Hopefully Jefferson has a few more strings to his bow. I really do hate to be critical of an 18 year old kid who hasn't played a game and presents well. But it feels like a story we've watched to the end before. Having said all of that - I'll be right behind him, hope I'm so far wrong and he's Josh Kennedy reincarnated.

Am I the only one that sees a little bit of Dusty here? The power, lateral movement, 1v1s and the general creativity is similiar. Dusty was also a pretty loose kick when he started...

She got a boot to it!! Wtf mate! In a sport where 1 or 2 goals can make the difference, just criminal

Cowan will be better - no doubt in my mind. Most logical Hibberd replacement in this draft. But 13 is too early and 37 is too late for him.... Will be a gun & will play next year (Cowan)

Whilst I agree with the sentiment, I can't agree. It will be utterly devastating when he leaves. The most raw talented player we've had at the club since Jurrah - and he has the work ethic, defense first, team ethos, star power, looks and aggression to boot. Not to mention an extremely rare combination of endurance and speed. Higher output than any small forward in the game and still underrated outside Melbourne fans. Despite all that, you'd be looking at Rankine's trade as the absolute ceiling of what we could get - but we won't. Personally I wouldn't trade him for 2 firsts. Anyway back on topic - believe the player will be Ginbey. Oliver mk2.

Have been watching more and more of this on telly and decided to go to my first aflw game today - great fun. The standard is terrific, particularly in terms of toughness and intensity. Took the 2 yo for his first real AFL outing. Wish he had some of the girls toughness gee whiz

No small amount of Andy Brayshaw in this kid

Surely couldn't get him ...will be gone by 10 let alone 13

Thinking about it makes me very sad Worst part is we wouldn't get more than a mid to late first rounder - he's criminally underrated outside of Melbourne fans given his output at his age attitude and star factor Oh it's so sad to think about

Nope. Won't be the best player from this draft

Yep, he, Ginbey and Sheezel will be the best players from this draft. Bookmark it.

I've said before on here that Knightmare is a horrible judge of talent and lacks any real feel or understanding for the game. He gets very little correct and when he does, it's because he covered every eventuality. He's very dedicated but for a guy who puts in as much time as he does, the fact he doesn't have either a) a permanent reporting gig (ESPN just pay him per column) nor b) a role in AFL land, speaks for itself Pay his semi literature rambling musings no mind

None of them rangy at all in their youth

I might be alone but I have doubts on Phillippou. I don't trust rangy draft picks and have seen plenty fail to make the step up. Similiar to key forwards who are drafted in the top 10, it's hard to tell whether their height/reach physical development is their advantage over their peers (Weideman, Schache, many others), or whether it's actually football ability. Bontempelli the most obvious outlier that I can remember - it wasn't until he was in the system that he turned into an absolute unit and competitive beast. I think we're a young dynamic mid short from a list perspective and would be looking at Hollands / Brayden George etc instead Seems common knowledge that Pickett is basically gone for 2024 already, which is incredibly depressing

To be fair, Weid has had days like that in the VFL probably on >5 occasions. Often against better opposition - including his memorable day out at Box Hill against the Hawks. These highlights were against Coburg Lions. They went 4-14 for the season and havent finished outside the bottom 4 since 2014 after losing their AFL affiliated team. A couple of nice marks at the end but the majority were relatively uncontested - his off the ground one in the square bizarrely rewarded his famous lack of intensity. This guy has already changed clubs and the fresh voice didn't do anything. Weid gets the benefit of the doubt there. Doesn't excite me - but I'll get behind him if he joins

It literally says it is in the article

Hardly.... So we can't get what we want (2x F1 1x F2) from Freo in exchange for losing Jackson. Keeping in mind our original ask was two early 1st rounders, so we've already begun to bend over and soften our stance despite claiming we wouldn't. Now, we find out they will add an F2 if we can find an F3. To get said F3, we need to offload a 25yo KPF/Ruck who whilst limited, can be relied upon to fill a role when our ageing rucks and forwards get injured - which in case you haven't noticed, happens a fair bit. Seasoned Ruck and KPF depth that costs sub $450k pa is not easy to find. So not only have we already softened on our original ask - we've are now softening again - not on unproven draft picks, but on senior depth players who was a guarantee of playing 5-15 games next year. We're losing more than we wanted to gain less than we wanted. Overall it makes us weaker. Our recruiting team were the boldest in the land when they took Jackson at no.3. Very few recruiting teams would have taken that ruck with the AA ruckman already playing that role. The guy went on to play in a flag, win a rising star, and now we're having to bed over backwards and jettison senior players to get our 3rd order preference of 'what we want'. Not many ways to sugarcoat it.

Yes - it doesn't make a lot of sense. We can't get what we want, so instead we lose an important depth player? Surely then we're still short on 'what we want?' If Freo have set out to make a rival weaker, they will have succeeded if this is how it goes down.

Can I just get in front of something...there is every chance Weideman makes a good fist out of a stint at a second club. This does not mean we could have gotten the best out of him - it means he needed the wake up call

Why would Jackson care what his trade collateral is? He knows how Freo value him in the most tangible way possible - the $$ they have promised He could be traded for a new Laptop and a bag of redskins & I'm betting he'd still be happy with the $$ he's taking away to play footy from home This idea that he's going to shutter his future earnings just to repay us morally for having drafted & developed him is just nonsense.