stevethemanjordan

All the best Jack.

As would I. I think those four will go fairly early in the second round. Domic impressed me in all the games I saw of him. (Think it was three). He was heavily involved in all of them and there was one game in particular against Murray at Ikon park where he kicked a handful playing mid. He doesn't look particularly flashy but consistently finds the ball and does everything 'well'. Hard to see any glaringly obvious weaknesses. Farrell I saw twice and whilst he didn't have a huge impact, there were definitely glimpses of quality and high level attributes. He was quick, possessed great agility and a nice left-foot. Probably wasn't involved enough in the games I saw, but was also moved around a lot positionally which I could see made it difficult. Had some nice moments, just wasn't dominant. Of the two, I imagine Domic will be snapped up before Farrell. Just my guess. Hard to say. As I've said, some of those names are more highly rated than others. I just gave that list because I was asked under instruction to report on a few of those names which indicates the club was/is interested. It depends on what we're after player-wise. For our pick 29 - If we land any of Ling, Floyd, Miers, Garner, Mclean or Domic I'd be happy. Ling and Garner are highly rated half-backs. Personally I'd love Ling as I think he has the capacity to play wing and possesses what our side needs. Speed and foot-skills. For a player of his size and slight build, he showed great competitiveness and aggression at the ball and man which was a big + given he looks typically outside. If we landed Ling at 29 I'd be stoked but I reckon he'll be gone by then. Miers is a small forward from Geelong who kicked a bag in the granny and was always dangerous in the games I saw of him. Floyd is a wingman who was prolific for Geelong this year but I'd prefer Ling for his versatility. Mclean a big forward/ruckman for Sandy who would be a decent second-round choice for a back-up forward/ruck. Had one big game that I saw of him but drifted out of some games also. Domic a reliable midfielder that we may target for depth. Does everything well without having a super standout quality. Just a smart player though. Impacted in most games I watched of him, great tank and had an amazing game against Murray when GWV came back from a 40+ point deficit at three-quarter time to win the game. Domic kicked the first three of the last quarter and played midfield all day. Carried his side. Pick 31 and and 36 - I'd have a crack at Jack Petrucelle if he was still there at either pick. Jack Petrucelle was definitely the most eye-catching of that group and has infinite potential but also poses a risk given how raw he is at this level. X-factor player who played both deep forward and through the midfield for the Knights. I saw him feature against SA in one of the state games where he was fairly quiet, I don't think he played any others although I may be wrong. But on a few occasions at TAC cup level I saw some amazing moments from him. Some incredible pack parks and some amazing blistering runs that resulted in goals. He frequently drifted in and out of games however, but there's a lot to like and I'll keep a keen eye on him wherever he ends up. Farrell, Stoddart, Federico or Murphy are the others I'd be happy with. I think we need to keep targeting players with foot-skills and running ability but who also possess the right competitive mind. Farrell, Stoddart and Federico are similar players. Half-back/midfielders who can run and kick really well. Stoddart probably less physical than the other two. Murphy is the cricketer/natural sportsman who's a versatile tall that we may opt for. 47 - For two smokies who didn't feature much/at all at state level would be Mynott and Porter. Both impressed me at Tac cup level and I reckon both have great potential and were unfortunate not to feature heavily at state level. And just on that, I can see now how difficult it is for recruiters. Oliver similarly was overlooked for Vic country but look at what he's been able to do at AFL level. I'm not comparing Mynott and Porter to Oliver, but it's clear that some boys are incredibly unlucky if they don't play well either at the state trials or in their first games at state level. Mynott is a class player and I reckon he'll do well in an AFL environment. My two bob.

Nah but srsly how’s this weather?!

Beautiful day outside.

Solid thread.

You can, but I'm giggling at it.

Only saw him twice so can't give a super in-depth report but he definitely looks like he can play. Was a defender in both games I watched, didn't dominate but you can see he's a smart, natural footballer. Glides across the ground, nice penetrating kick and I thought his defensive work was strong in his willingness to kill contests. Especially for his build. Heard he played mainly forward for Brighton Grammar this year and kicked bags on a few occasions so it sounds as if he's fairly versatile. Around the 188cm mark but still pretty skinny and raw. Definitely liked the look of him though.

No you're not, don't lie.

I had the opportunity to do a bit of scouting this year and there are a host of names who impressed me at TAC cup level but either didn't play regular state carnival or didn't dominate. If we manage to get a second-rounder for Watts and hit the draft with picks 27, (Watts pick), 35 and 45, look out for the following names: Northern - Jack Petrucelle, Marcus Lentini, Alexander Federico Sandringham - Will Walker, Hayden Mclean, Nathan Murphy Eastern - Trent Mynott, Joel Garner, Ryley Stoddart, Thomas North and Tyler Brown Oakleigh - Ed Richards, Matthew Day Gippsland - Callum Porter, Will Stephenson, Jack Hudson Murray - Doulton Langlands, Daniel Johnston Bendigo - Kane Farrell, Darby Henderson GWV Rebels - Aiden Domic, Jordan Johnston Geelong - Matthew Ling, Gryan Mies, James Worpel, Ethan Floyd Unfortunately I didn't see Dandenong, Calder or Western play so can't comment on those players. But I saw the above players on a few occasions, many of whom I took notes for under instruction. Happy to answer questions on any. I reckon most of those names mentioned will be between second and fourth round picks.

"Do an Oliver in your first season or you're nothing" seems to be the mantra around here for some. Perhaps due to our past, supporters just expect first year players to come in and play most of the year, when really, at most other clubs with well established depth, first year players will generally play the entire year at VFL level. (Unless they're a 'ready-to-go' high end talent). That's not to say Dion will be a player because I certainly don't know enough. But to write anyone off after a season, especially a small forward whose position is already hotly contested at senior level, would be very silly. Weideman is in the same category but was even further behind the eight-ball from a development/conditioning perspective. Next year is the year we should see some genuine inroads from Sam. My boy Oscar McDonald is about the only underdeveloped and underperforming youngster we've played so regularly as of recent due to having such poor depth in that area of the ground. He battled his way through this year as a key backman but played the majority of the season. If we were to go back to the days where we struggled for key forward depth, I could almost be certain that Sam Weideman would have been persisted with for most of the year in the seniors. But thanks to the luxury of depth, we've been able to protect and develop him further at VFL level. As the great Vince Noir once said; "It's all about context".

A reminder that we now have picks 27, 35 and 45 heading into this draft. Given certain club's needs to obtain multiple draft picks for points for father/son or academy zone players, it's not out of the question that we won't once again make a play to get back into the first round. So again, [censored] relax.

It's absolutely relevant given they were one win away from winning a GF. Is it not? I'll repeat that: They made a Grand Final with a list that was devoid of top-end talent. We have plenty already. I don't understand the annoyance. It makes no sense to me whatsoever.

I wish posters would seriously stfu about what we'll be giving up vs getting in return for the Lever trade. Adelaide made a [censored] Grand Final with zero top 10 picks in their side and a host of players who were either picked up late in the National Draft, traded in for later picks or picked up in the Rookie Draft. Sloane was pick 44 and Walker pick 75. Jacobs was brought in for picks 34 and 67, they gave pick 37 to St Kilda for Lynch. Knight was pick 46 and Atkins 81. Need I go on? I will. Rookie drafts nabbed them Hartigan, Laird, Cameron and Kelly. That's almost half of their best 22 and more importantly, some of their most influential and important players feature in that group. Compare that to the MFC who have a plethora of high-end talent, arguably the second-most in the AFL behind GWS. If history to date suggests anything, it's that the culture and environment of a club is of most importance to any sort of talent reaching its potential. GWS continue to stumble despite being the most talented group within the league. We're at a stage where we need to harbour, nurture and develop the group we have and we should be jumping for joy that Lever, (a once touted top 3 draft pick and the best young defender in the game at age 21) has nominated us as the club he wishes to play for. We're on to the next chapter of our growth as a club which is developing what we've got for an assault over the next five to seven years. Shut up about the rest.

Agree. Especially given that Lever would go top 5 easily if we were to revise the 2014 draft. Something that posters quite clearly forget.

Would prefer Zac Clarke as a DFA.

People should also remember that 2006 was supposedly a "superdraft" year. Gumbleton and Hanson went 2 and 3. Leuenberger and Mitch Thorp at 4 and 6. There are a host of others who went inside the top 20 who are far from household names. Lever is proven quality already and is only going to get better. Why do posters care so much about draft picks? If we give away two first-rounders and receive either 18 or 19 from Adelaide (on-traded from Brisbane) + an exchange of later picks, we'll be dancing.

Talk about going out on a limb..

I am genuinely interested in what @Satyriconhome has to say about the entire Watts fiasco. Fire away scooter-mcGee.

I feel sorry for anyone who listens to that Trade Radio. They've been going from 7am to 6pm every day since Monday and not one trade has happened. What the fark would they have to talk about by today?

What, like Oscar?

No offence but it's a stupid question given their difference in age and games experience. As another poster has already indicated, Lever is tracking slightly ahead if not on par with Rance at the same age. They have a slightly different skill set but defensively speaking, they both possess amazing intercept ability, ball killing/spoiling ability and are extremely aggressive in the air. Those three attributes are the most important for defenders imo. Lever will be one of the best KP defenders in the league within a few years.

This is a Neeld-era thread. Stop it now.

@binman What was that wager you had going about O-Mac featuring inside the top 10? Finished 18th. I’ll pm my bank details.

Watching the live-stream. Just watched Trengove's speech. Didn't cry or anything.. I'm all good.

Can't wait to hear the defenders come at you for stating such a thing.