stevethemanjordan

All I know is that the more players of serious quality we have in the same team, the higher our chances are of reaching the ultimate. Even if that means one of our young stars seek a trade for big dollars elsewhere down the line. I would rather watch our club win a premiership over keeping a bunch of young players for 10 years. Times are changing, plan for the now with an eye to the future.

Seriously. I still can't look at that photo without being weirded out. It's like someone photoshopped Fyfe to be small.

I've seen him live a couple of times too Spirit. Will definitely be a player, hard to know if he'll reach Lever's heights. He actually reminds me of Rance a bit, similar athletically and attribute-wise.

Thoughts on O Mac Binman? ... ........

At 22, some of his defensive plays are insane. Some of his spoils last night went as far as 30 metres. And his composure with ball in hand is super impressive. I don't care what we give up, he is going to be the best defender in the comp within a few years.

Danger going at pick 10 still makes me slightly ill. And the bloke we picked at number 4 in the same year makes me even more ill.

And so they should. Lever was a pick 14 and I think posters should remember that he slipped in the draft having missed his full last U/18's year of footy. He's now considered the best young defender in the competition. Combine that with the years of development that Adelaide have put in to him and objectively one would agree that the crows actually do deserve more than pick 10 only. I know that if I were a crows supporter I'd be wanting more than pick 10.

Yeh have heard some good things too, will be interesting to see where he goes and whether or not his body holds up once on a list.

Oath ^ I'm not sure why some believe that we're out of the race for Lever now that we've re-signed Frost. Here's a quick profile of what key defence depth looks like: West Coast - Mackenzie, McGovern, Schofield and Barrass. This year they went with only three of the four and they had McInnes come in earlier in the year as a swing man whilst they had injuries. McGovern similarly went forward whilst Kennedy was injured. And they have an abundance of tall ruck/forwards who were really effective and helped carry the load. Really, we should be aiming to play Tom and one of Oscar or Frost with Lever as our intercept mark/spoiler ala McGovern for West Coast. Ideally, I'd love a mature-aged big body with an older head who could start ahead of Oscar and Frost also whilst they continue to work on their games at VFL level. Either that or as I said, we could make a radical move and play Hogan at full back. Whichever way it goes, I can't at all see how the signing of Frost will have any bearing on the Lever approach.

Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to see the Stingrays this year sorry Chaser.

Attribute diversity is the glaring weakness through our midfield. I would consider Viney and Oliver A-grade contested ball winners with Jones not far behind. Petracca and Brayshaw were A-grade contested ball winners in their draft year so you'd expect them to develop into A-grade AFL ball winners too. We have one of the best contested ball winning midfields within the comp when everyone is on the park. The problem is that so many of them share the same weaknesses. Running ability (including both power and speed), decision making and footskills. That spells disaster if your midfield group are having a particularly bad kicking day. The opposition mauls us on the rebound when we either directly turn the ball over or even kick to a 50/50 at times. The first quarter against Collingwood was indicative of this and was symbolic of the way we'd been playing for the last month. That's one issue. Another is the fact that we were playing Brayshaw and Tyson out of position and had one too many of Harmes and ANB playing in positions thaT need to be filled by specialist types. Again, ANB, Tyson and Brayshaw were all prolific under-aged contested ball winners who were centre square starters and they similarly all share similar strengths and weaknesses. Tyson is not a wingman. ANB is not a small forward. Brayshaw is not a half-back. I believe those three playing those positions were a great hindrance to the way the modern game needs to be played. And then there's our defence. Which is something I've said my piece on. But let's just put it this way; regardless of how many turnovers we make further up the ground or how fast the ball is coming into our defensive 50 etc, there will always be players who can defend much better than others. Hibberd and Jetta are proof of that. They rarely lose contests and they generally always kill the ball. The more defenders both tall and small you have that display these traits, the better your defensive group will be no matter what's happening further up the field. And the fact is, we leak too many oppo scoring opportunities through our key defenders' lack of ability to defend well. Fact.

How are you unable to see real talent when it smacks you in the face?

I'm tempted to make a long-winded post in regards to all points, but I genuinely can't be farked so I'll say the following. Your general reductionist view of 'the third tall' means you're unable to see what makes Lever such a truly special player. Given the way the game is now played with zone defences, the need for versatility, agility, marking and spoiling skills are more important than ever when it comes to key defenders. Lever is the number one intercept mark in the AFL at age 22. The same age as Oscar and similar games experience. You grossly underestimate this rare skill he possesses. Knowing when and where to run to make an intercept mark or spoil. He is elite in this area. Better than Hibberd. I'm going to again post a video of a highlights package from his second year. None of our key defenders even come close to impacting the marking contests that Lever wills himself to. Oscar simply doesn't have the speed nor intensity, Frost doesn't have the game understanding or awareness and Tom is similarly hit and miss with contests. Lever is a [censored] amazing footballer at 22 years of age and the reason club's are offering the money is because of how good an intercept player he is. He is the prototype key defender.

$850 would indeed be a steal.

Cool, I take it you don't watch much of him. Perhaps you watched the game against West Coast and made up your mind?

Leads the AFL for intercept marks at 22. Overrated lol.

I find it hard to see how he is 'overrated' given what he is managing at this age. I'm pretty sure he was named in the AA extended squad. It would be like saying Oliver is overrated. But somehow I don't think you'd believe that given your bias. Some supporters have NFI about talent from other clubs. Those who suggest Lever is overrated usually fit that bracket.

Hahaha. Good one. Mate if he was a Melbourne player, he'd be treated like Jesus' second coming.

Good point, didn't think of that.

Am I reading too much into the fact that Frost is listed as an 'out' in the teams listed for Casey's first final? Is he injured? Or has he been told we won't be offering him a contract for next year and he'll be traded..

^ Tune.

Lever is 22 and already plays at an incredibly high standard throughout games. Which is why a fluffed kick here and there is not put under the microscope. The same can be said for Hibberd. He was missing a lot of kicks on the weekend that he usually hits but it everything else he does is at such a high level. The same can't be said for many other players. Tyson, Tom McDonald, Oscar. The list goes on.

Lever is a much more reliable kick than any of our key defenders and his decision making is what sets him apart. Yeh, I saw the turnover he made in the dying stages of the game against West Coast but that was an anomaly. Generally, he is a very composed player with ball in hand and gives to the right option either by hand or by foot. His decision making, awareness and general footballing smarts are way above Frost and both McDonalds. It's part of the reason he went so high in the draft. And part of the reason both McDonald's and Frost went so low in the draft is because they have major flaws in their game. And all of those flaws are to do with decision making and ball use. Oscar is the only one who actually possesses a decent kicking action and execution. But other areas of his game are truly below AFL standard. We need high end talent in our key defensive stocks.

Of course he can. Think Mitch Clarke freo/us. He probably has. Farken.

If people want more of what you saw in the first quarter against Collingwood as well as numerous other games this year then sure, let's draft him. Foot-skills and pace are not his strong points. Forget the romanticism, we wouldn't go near him with pick 10.