dazzledavey36

I have always been a big believer of this as well.

Not necessarily. Some improve, some don't and end up being delisted. All kids are drafted based on potential and talent. There are no guarantees with any draftees once they hit the system. All comes down to the individual themselves and how hard they want to work for it.

I've watched him in the flesh at the under 15's stats national carnival when he represented QLD. He's an athlete for sure but was pretty raw at the same time as most tall players that age. You could see those athletic traits indeed but at the time watching his performance, he didn't do much that got me overly excited, but that level isn't about who's going to be the next AFL star. So much water to go under the bridge. The thing with Sam Darcy is that it was his last year of top age that really put him at the top end of draft calculations. Had a number of big games early on the 2021 season with Oakleigh Chargers and School Footy that really got recruiters talking. Just remember with Sam Darcy, he missed out on under 16 selection for Vic Metro where as Kalani White was an All Australian defender at that level. So just goes to show why you can't exactly determine a young players full talent at minor junior level.

I'm guessing this is aimed at my post? I never said that depth is filling talent for talent. You're never going to replace guys like Gawn and Petracca but you can fill them soldiers that can come in and still impact fairly well at AFL. Unfortunately we didn't even have those. We got rid of those soldiers in Harmes, Jordon and Dunstan and replaced them with no one. If you look at Brisbane as an example they did that with Kiddy Coleman and Linc McCarthy as soon as they went down with ACL injuries and then with their number one ruckman in Big O when he went down. Darcy Fort was able to come in and not only compete but nullify Grundys influence The timing of Luke Dunstans career was unfortunate. Felt like he would have actually been handy depth this year in the midfield. Someone that could have provided solid experience, bigger body and able to win you 20-25 touches of the footy and take a load off Oliver and Viney. Timing is everything.

Thought Harry Boyd was incredibly stiff not to get drafted. I think with our recruitment of Campbell, we probably didn't need another mature age ruck but I hope he gets his chance. Has been invited down to St Kilda for a SPP trial which is a good step forward.

I'm confused by this response @rpfc? If you want me to break it down further then I will, only because that what you were elaborating too. When i say its a big year for our whole playing list, i say that to include the regular depth players at Casey. I'm not someone that sees those guys as simply filling in the numbers. Now days depth is just as important then ever before. For our team to take the next step further into finals, we need everyone playing at their optimum level week in week out. Now i know this is difficult on the more younger players so you alter your expectationonnthose guys. But pressure for spots could not be more crucial for 2025 then we've seen over the last couple of years. We saw the complete lack of depth when we were hit with injuries this year and guys like Fullarton, McAdam, Laurie simply failed to step up when we needed them too. When Gawn went down with injury the fact we had to use a makeshift ruckman in Petty/JVR ahead of both Verrall and Fullarton just shows that if you're not in form at VFL level that it has a huge ripple effect on our senior team. Clearly they have identified this as a need and went got Tommy Campbell. Guys going into their last year of their contracts such as Billings, Spargo, Fullarton, Woewodin, McDonald, Melksham, Hore, Sestan, Verrall are fighting for their careers and I would hope this gives them the extra motivation to really push themselves. If they're putting pressure on our senior AFL players through their own form at VFL level then that's a healthy place to be in. In terms of our main AFL regulars. Majority of those guys simply need to stand up and perform next year if we are aiming to get back into finals. Guys like Salem, Oliver Sparrow, Lever, Bowey, Petty all simply had a poor year through combination of injury and inconsistency of form. Realistically majority of the names listed haven't performed at their best since the 2021 season so I think the microscope is going to come hard on them if they dish another poor year. We need another spike of incline for guys like JVR, Windsor, Rivers, Pickett, McVee, Tholstrup, Turner and I'll even add Matt Jefferson because we saw a huge improvement this year in his Casey performance compared to year one, so he's definitely on the track track. These guys could play a crucial role in taking that next step. I could easily see JVR kicking over 40 goals next year. Another year where's he's gain valuable experience and more maturity in his body. He wants to be the top dog and he's certainly got all the attributes to be. Then it's guys like Gawn, Petracca, May and Viney. We just need them to be doing their thing once again. They've carried and performed on such a consistent level for a number of years now that you just become accustomed to the level of expectations. If all four can stay fit and healthy throughout the year then it will go a long way to determine if we can play finals.

Well it's true.

The whole playing list.

It's been like that since the poor kid was 12...

It's starting to click on... @Adam The God 👀

Bugger.. had I known it was at Myrtleford today I would have called in a sickie and made the trek down the highway with my young fella.

Says it all.

Kyle Hartigan, his manager.

Still pinching myself that he's ours. Just listening to him in some of the last few interviews he's done, he's got captain material written all over him. Level headed and speaks with maturity beyond his year.

Exactly how player highlights should be.

Isn't Shane McAdam contemplating his career?

That's a huge accusation to make Kat. I hope youve got the evidence to prove this on hand? I may have strong opinions at times but 98% of the time I try to be as respectful as possible. I have disagreed with many on here and many the same against me, that's fine, I loved being challenged as long as it's healthy and you've got the rightful information to back that up. Funny enough, unlike some of you I don't hold personal grudges against anyone on here. To this day I have NEVER put anyone on ignore because I would like to think I can still have a footy related discussion with that person in another thread.

Then don't complain

Nah they don't. Go find me 90% of those posts from the last month and I might agree with you. I'll wait.

This would be a fantastic get if we could pull this off.

Nah. The mods knew what they were doing and did a fine job. You can actually have an opinion on here now without being constantly attacked for or put down because it didn't suit that particular person's narrative. Happy days.

We don't need a replacement nor do we need a specific type of player to do the role. Our issues is our players have been programmed to be too defensive minded sucking the absolute flair and offence from the players themselves. Let our smalls just do their thing.

Haha 100%..

No, they do print on the spot the moment their names are dropped. I've seen first hand the machine they work with. It's a pretty easy and quick process.which doesn't take them that long to get their names a pick on these.