The Oracle

The thread has been updated with a second part which now includes the delistings and Charlie Spargo’s free agency departure. I’ve put our two inactive players back in their respective positions on the lists and included Category B signing Oscar Berry. There are more changes to come. Stay tuned.

Not a particularly strong draft hand is it?

The question is whether this is fair dinkum or a ploy by a Saints fan who is also in the media trying to force the club to salvage a situation whereby they stand to lose a player valued by the fans?

Obviously a lot of water to flow under the bridge but this year’s trade week is going to be pivotal for us as we scramble for draft selections to enable us to get the points needed to draft Kalani White as a f/s selection (hoping he nominates us) and our NGA Toby SInnema. If we trade well then we might also be able to snare a pick good enough to get a player with ability who flies under the radar like Murphy Reid who Freo got as a bargain last year with national draft pick 17.

I’ve been impressed by what young Yze’s done at various levels so far this year and I’m hoping that Casey perseveres with him and he gets his chance to play AFL like his father who was one of my favourites. Is anyone across the father/son rules that knows if he’s still eligible for drafting as a f/s selection at the end of the year?

I’m sure that was what Bucks meant but I couldn’t resist quoting him verbatim.

Like Harvey Langford before him, this kid trained with Melbourne during the preseason. Star Turn: Hibbins-Hargreaves' hurt factor highlighted

One of my wishes for the Demons for season 2025, apart from the usual pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (ie the premiership flag) , is that we rub Collingwood’s noses in the dirt. Even though we’ve been an improved outfit in recent years, they’ve still managed to have the wood on us. They’ve beaten us in 10 of the last 12 outings including keeping us out of the final eight in 2017, beating us in our only meeting in our premiership year, knocking the stuffing out us (and ending Gus’ career) in their flag season and humiliating us twice this year. On Kings Birthday they fixed up Tracc and in Round 25 we capitulated and lost Kozzy for next year’s opening three matches. Overall, we’ve beaten them 85 times and lost 156 games to them with 5 drawn. We owe them more than one. Both teams missed the finals in 2024 after finishing in the top four in the regular season, so both need to lift their performance in 2025. The way I’m reading it, Collingwood is going for age and experience with an old list, their key recruit being a class player in Dan Houston but he’s in his late 20s. The Pies have the oldest list in the business and they had slim pickings in the draft. Melbourne went more for youth and will go into 2025 with four solid first round picks from the past two years and a good sized cohort of Under 22 talent who were exposed to senior footy this year. The question is whether their aging squad is better than our youngish group and can we bridge the gap we’ve seen and overtake them next year!

Good question for the lawyers in our Devils Advocates group. If the player has launched legal action, wouldn’t it be a matter of public record?

There's no doubt that he had a horrible injury and equally, there's no doubt that the last thing he needs for his health and his welfare is the circus being played out in the media at the moment. If those around him, truly cared for his well-being they would declare a halt to these goings on and stay away from the media until such time as he's in a good headspace and is able to make considered rational decisions about his past, present and future. Enough of this!

If we can somehow manage to get to a point where we have two picks in the first 15, it would be very handy.

No doubt there are a few others who would be nervous about their positions on our list and those of a few others.

I think you are completely missing the point. People are pointing to players no longer there to demonstrate the difference in the quality of the team’s midfield strength this year compared to last and not because of regrets about their leaving. What disappointed me was that there are some development players on the Casey list who were close to being drafted in the past year or two but not selected. I refer to the likes of Brayden Laplanche, Kobe Shipp, Ziggy Toledo, Oscar Van Dam and Kai Windsor. The club might be better served giving games to players of this ilk than to a few on the fringe who struggled to get a touch yesterday.

In relation to the club lists, I have included Kynan Brown as a Category B rookie which leaves the club with 36 primary list and 5 Category A rookie list players. This leaves 3 Category B rookies. However, I am still looking for confirmation that this is the correct way to classify the list.

Close. According to the team list issued by the club, he’s wearing #46.