Mach5

Petracca will continue his natural progression and be dominant more often. Salem for mine, as one who will surprise spectators in general with how damaging he is. O-Mac will benefit greatly from Lever's presence in the backline, in terms of both leadership and support.

All supposition, but I see this as a cumulative miscalculation or error of judgement on behalf of both parties. If AFLPA involvement was "seriously considered" after the resulting effects of the previous bootcamp, were the coaching dept made aware? Can't imagine anyone casually letting their superiors know that they considered taking formal action in regards to an incident, but then erred on the side of caution. It's an invitation to be shown the exit. However, Goodwin & co did not seem acutely aware of the general sentiment within the playing group towards the camp, and further consultation may have been sought if they had known. Or even more notice given, and greater depth of detail provided regarding the contents & intended benefits of the camp. I expect fewer "nasty surprises" for the playing group going forward. I also think the AFLPA propaganda will have played a part here, not that they're necessarily to blame. I'm certain the AFLPA line they feed to all players in the league is that if you find yourself in a situation like this, bring it to us & we will make sure you are protected and can maintain some anonymity (albeit thinly veiled). And it has some merit, when coming from a player's perspective. You don't want to be branded a trouble maker, but what do you do when you truly believe you're being put in a dangerous situation & don't feel like your concerns will be seriously considered, and could even place your position on the list in jeopardy? The AFLPA will be doing what they can to protect players, but also to be involved where not necessary, to increase their prevalence and influence. Maybe the AFLPA could have been excluded from the equation & this would have been sorted out more privately. But what this actually may also be indicative of, is a failure by the leadership group to properly represent, communicate or understand the feelings of the lower profiles within the playing group. Ultimately, I can understand the feeling of players who have prepared their bodies in mint condition for a successful season, not wanting to recklessly expose themselves to risks beyond their control. Yes, there are inherent risks on the training track, but a bootcamp (especially a poorly run or resourced one) that has previously resulted in avoidable serious injuries, is different. Momentum is everything, and I can sympathise with not wanting to ruin months of hard work building it, through a poorly considered camp that appears to contribute very little to overall performance.

Sage wisdom as always Wayno.

GWS choked, Adelaide were a cusp-of-the-top-4 team in any other year, and Geelong never scared anyone and were flattered by where they ended up. Good on Richmond for timing their run so well, but that flag was anyone's and they were an average side with a good system.

Ignores the fact Richmond did a Bradbury

What exactly is dragging on..? It's done and will go no further.

I'm happy to offer the opinion that AFL clubs will be scrambling for sponsors in 10-15 years as no car companies are willing to sponsor footy clubs.

Gotta be honest here... who actually uses twitter? People with way too much time on their hands, those in IT, those in media, and those who are interested in self-promotion. That's pretty much it.

To answer the OP's question, I would assume we were looking for a small forward type, with Giro an option if we didn't get other preferred players, but since we landed Spargo & Fritsch we weren't interested. Can't take them all.

Not just that... check out these gun top 30 selections from the 2001 "super" draft: 4 - Graham Polak 5 - Xavier Clarke 6 - Ashley Sampi 7 - David Hale 9 - Luke Molan 10 - Sam Power 11 - Richard Cole 14 - Ashley Watson 15 - Barry Brooks 16 - Rick Ladson 18 - Shane Harvey 20 - Daniel Elstone 22 - Mark Seaby 23 - Charlie Gardiner 25 - Steven Armstrong 26 - Aaron Rogers 27 - Tom Davidson 28 - Mark Powell 30 - Rod Crowe Point in case, those pulling their hair out about trading out of the 1st round of next year's draft, should really take a step back. We acquired a set-in-stone star intercept defender, our greatest deficiency at the time. And if you look at 2001, picks 1,2,3,8,13,24,36,37,40,58 resulted in stars, having 1st rounders was not a requirement to get one. In fact a real bunch rookies coming on out of nowhere really helped the reputation of this draft, with Carazzo (5), Jamar (6), Quinten Lynch (19), Matthew Boyd (23), Nathan Bock (25), Sandilands (33), Ben Rutten (40) and Marty Mattner (51) all taken as rookies, who went on to long careers. Recruiting is more of a refined science these days, but you still get the odd Jonathon O'Rourke, Jimmy Toumpas, Blaine Boekhorst, Nathan Freeman or Ben Lennon.

I saw tulip too, however faint.

Some BF profiles of Chugga... https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/snoop-dog-2018-phantom-draft-incl-rookie.1182255/ https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/knightmares-2017-draft-almanac.1161261/ https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/2017-official-big-footy-phantom-draft.1181789/ https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/young-talent-time-2017.1161935/

Some BF profiles... https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/2017-official-big-footy-phantom-draft.1181789/ 33 Sydney - Harrison Petty Height, Weight: 194cm, 81kgPetty was a stand out for the SA side in the Nationals. Has a great intercept marking game. Whilst I am not saying he will become the next Rance he has the ability to become a very valuable player for the Swans. He can swing forward as well. the Swans could do with a reinforced back half as they have an ageing Grundy and some dash and run from Rampe. With Rohan on the decline the Swans need a steadying influence who can mark, intercept and run out of the backline. If you read the below passage from the AFL website it clearly explains why the Swans cant let him slip through the net.Some clubs rate Petty as one of the best tall defenders available at the draft, with his strong overhead presence and good rebound making him a contender to break into the latter stages of the first round or early in the second round when names are called.Part of Petty's appeal is the view from various recruiters that he is relatively untapped, with this season his first in the elite talent pathway after coming from a regional background. The 17-year-old averaged 12 disposals and four marks at the national carnival but did not complete any of the athletic testing at the national NAB AFL Draft Combine after rolling his ankle in the kicking and goalkicking trials on the opening night.Some Swans supporters may be critical of this selection but a good defender can make or break you when coming up against the 'Gorillas' of the competition. https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/knightmares-2017-draft-almanac.1161261/ https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/snoop-dog-2018-phantom-draft-incl-rookie.1182255/

Do we need one? Mitch King & Filipovic are developing true ruckmen. Frost & T-Mac are capable of giving brief periods of in-game relief. I'd expect O-Mac & Weideman to be developed to be capable of this also.

He has a tank the size of a tesla.

Sometimes if the talent is still on the board and is that much better than the "needs picks" available, you go for the talent. "Draft for talent, trade for needs" I'm very comfortable with this pick at 36, especially if he comes on but we have no room for him, and we trade him for higher commodities in a few years, a la Adelaide & Lever (although they had no choice in that equation).

Watching his highlights against Vic Metro you can understand why he was SA's MVP.

Those mentioning Frost as a KPD... I think Frost has now transitioned into primary backup ruckman / wing role (or he should do). Clubs will evolve to carry less ruckman and use more versatile backups, if they haven't already.

Some odd arguments going on in this thread... Anyway, very pleased with Spargo at this pick. I feel his exact type was missing from our list profile as Jeffy ages - smart, speedy, skilful small forward. He may push into the midfield at times, but all good ones do. He was the one I wanted to snare while the others are projects I feel. We'll see.

Fox footy's predictions are a bloody decent return for us. Spargo, Houlahan, Garner, Fritsch. I think we have a very good hand to play here.

You reckon?

It's a good point. Without a development league, clubs will likely carry less developing ruckmen, as you can't really develop them if they aren't playing. We might find it reaches a stage where clubs have only one developing & pick up ready-mades out of VFL/SANFL/WAFL when needed. 1 on, 1 off. Might get a bit more cutthroat and the ruck craft may suffer. Good for us, because it may aide Gawn's dominance.

I get wary of players whose main pros are tall and flexible. I could be completely wrong, but I worry that translates to "pretty good for a bloke that size" (rather than just good anyway), and "not particularly amazing at any one role, so they move him around" Could be a classic tweener.

Surely @rpfc would have an opinion on this kid..?

Instead of T-Rex they had Rex Hunt. Pete Smith (from Sale of the Century) instead of AeroSmith. Ron Barassi instead of Shirley Bassey. Joan Kirner instead of Joan Jett. Jimmy Hannan instead of Jimmy Barnes. So many more. A few tenuous links to the dees there. Probably not a surprise since Rob Sitch is apparently a demon.