Goodvibes

All I was saying is that Quayle, Twoney and Anderson all sound like they're making educated guesses. This is what Landsberger said on the morning of the 2012 draft: After SuperFooty revealed this week GWS would pass on SA gun Jimmy Toumpas with its first three picks, the Dogs suddenly had the option of taking Bendigo Pioneers captain Ollie Wines. But it seems Wines, touted as possibly the second-best player in the draft pool, could slip as low as pick seven - and even then he creates a headache for Port Adelaide, which is also keen on home-grown talent Sam Mayes. And Jay Clark said this last year: ST KILDA will crown Paddy McCartin the No.1 draft pick, believing the full-forward is the man to lead its list rebuild. The Herald Sun understands the Saints have settled on the 194cm goalkicker, who has been likened to Hawthorn spearhead Jarryd Roughead. See how the language is far more definitive. That's what I mean by making their picks with 'authority'. They happily suggested they had the inside word and they did. Not so this year.

When St Kilda overlooked Petracca and GWS took Plowman instead of Toumpas there was strong word in the last 48 hours before the draft that a change in thinking had occurred. This year it feels different. Not one journalist has listed Oliver as our first pick and done so with any authority. I wouldn't be surprised if they were using the meeting mentioned in the article above as the basis for their selection of Oliver. I still think we'll pick Parish.

I love Demonland. We all can't wait for draft day so Demonland helps us out by speeding things up and enters Tuesday a little early. Thanks Demonland!

Shots of him at the Combine suggest he's already toned down and well on the way to developing an AFL-ready body.

He seems like a highly intelligent, natural footballer. And those types tend to adapt well but I can't shake a nagging doubt I have about his size/speed package. A well rounded midfielder (like I expect ANB to become) still has a place in the game but rarely do the elite mids that you hope emerge from the top of the draft succeed without size or pace. Mitchell might be an exception but he has amazing awareness and vision and is strong through the core.

Agree with your thoughts regarding the importance of speed of mind. Parish seems to be elite in this area. My comparison to Viney only involved his pace and in particular his ability to accelerate out of congestion. Viney does this through sheer determination and Parish seems to read the situation and know when to back himself. Both seem pretty quick in their first 6 or 7 steps. But I've never seen Parish live, hence my question.

I'm seeing Parish's pace being listed by many as a much needed strength despite his combine testing only being average. Based purely on the footage he appears more in the Jack Viney mould in that his outside run and carry speed is only fair but he has pretty good acceleration and his first 6 or 7 steps breaking away from stoppages is pretty handy. Can those who've seen him in the flesh comment on his speed?

I keep coming back to Mahoney's comment at the end of trade week. He suggested two mids or a mid and a tall. It felt like pick 3 was earmarked for a mid and pick 7 would require a little more thought. I'm in the Parish is a lock camp.

Most on here needed the overnight online equivalent of a Harvard degree when they heard we were giving up pick 25 for Melksham. It was meltdown central.

The more I read the more confident I'm becoming that Parish will make it. Call it the 'reverse mozz'.

Just to be clear I used Watts and Johnstone as examples of players who were good kicks (like Melksham) who often turned the ball over because they attempted to executive more difficult kicks. I've watched a fair bit of Melksham and think he's a good kick who makes some bad decisions and attempts to thread the eye of the needle too often. Matt Jones, Riley, Bail and McKenzie are simply bad kicks. Melksham will hit easy targets but needs to stick to his limitations. I don't think he's as quick as some here are making out but he does have burst speed in a Jack Viney kind of way. He will run hard all day. When he was playing at his best (2013) he publicly acknowledge the positive influence of Goodwin. We'll probably give up our second rounder but like everyone, would hope we use our third.

I seem to remember most Geelong fans were a little over Clint Bizzell and his inconsistency by the end of his time there. Let's hope Melksham can resurrect his career in a similar fashion. Looks like it's happening now Clint. Time to get on board!

And then I'd point to disposal efficiency. They're within a percent of each other. Good thing I'm not a stats man. My first instinct when I heard of the possible trade was like most here. The whelm factor was low. It's a big statement Goodwin is making. If nothing else, it shows he's prepared to back himself even in the face of supporter backlash and it also shows that the club is backing his opinion 12 months out from taking over the senior coaching gig.

I think I broke that rule hence my self-imposed sanction. Is 12 months a sufficient suspension or am I a lifer?

There's definitely a question mark over his decision making. Like Jack Watts and Travis Johnstone before him, he backs his kicking skills and often bites off more than he can chew. I'm always a little suspicious of disposal efficiency and clanger stats. Our club champion noted for his foot skills averages almost as many clangers as Melksham with 3.0 a game.

We rate Goodwin. Goodwin rates Melksham. Melksham wants to be here. Let's hope the form of 2013 prior to the investigation is a more appropriate gauge of his abilities. Like Bugg, he's competitive, hard running and can hit targets.

So, I haven't ventured onto this thread in 12 months, 1 week and 6 days. What are the rules again?

Thread needs more riddles.

A lot of focus has been rightly placed on Jack's hardness, tackling and work ethic but I've been equally impressed with his clean hands around the contest and his clearance work.

Let's get serious Demonland. It's time for a stand alone Dion Prestia megathread.

I like this thread. I like the fact that I'm confident it will be bumped (like Viney's hapless opponents) many times over the next 8 - 10 years.

I wouldn't be surprised if one of Riley or Michie gets the chop. Roos will have had two years to assess these guys and along with Newton we have three similarly one-paced players. I think Michie might be in trouble.

Please tell me they were taking the [censored] with their top buttons up?

Awesome, looks like we're picking up Dangerfield and Sam Mitchell. Handy draft.

Football Porn analogies have been made around here in the past. This post smashes all classification laws.