Drunkn167

Now that's a great photo

http://afl.com.au/news/2017-11-24/2017-afl-draft-who-did-the-demons-pick-up Ive already talked Fritsch up a lot but I'll let his footy do the talking from now on. So happy we grabbed him 1 pick before WCE could. Literally yelled when we saw he was picked up by the MFC. Can't wait to see Bull, Keilty and Fritsch all playing in the Seniors together next year

Yeah for sure a couple years in the system and he should bulk up well Bull, Dec and now Fritta, 3 Casey boys, Dec is over the moon

I was close

Insider whispers say he may go top 30, pretty insane for a mature age VFL pick

Let's hope we nab him early but its looking more and more unlikely

I'd expect him to last until the 40 or 50s like Hannah or Luke Ryan did

But he is? He just lost some form towards the end of the season

Very true, I do have a soft spot for the Casey boys, and I have watched a lot of VFL footy over the last 3 years. But so far my track record is pretty good. I said Bull would be playing AFL in his first season, I'd written off Hulett as going nowhere before anyone else, I said Neal-Bullen will become a good player after most had given up on him after his first season. Numerous times, most of my posts and predictions have been correct. I've spoken to coaches, players, staff, scouts, Media and basically anyone who knows anything about football. Watching Fritsch, after only 1 pre season and still with a huge amount of body and footy development in him, play the way he did this season, and easily out mark experienced AFL level players, I can pretty confidentially say this kid will be a star. But I might be wrong, and maybe I don't know as much as I think I do, only time will tell but I honestly believe this bloke has got what it takes.

So for those who don't know, he had a significant back injury which put him out of the game for a long time. The good news is, the surgery he had went very well and I'm pretty sure he may even have some kind of plating in his back, making the chances of another break basically 0, unlike say a dodgy leg or foot or shoulder which can keep being re-injured time and time again. This season was really the only year he was able to fully show his talents, as he didn't come through the TAC cup system. For those that saw some of his best on games, it was honestly hard to believe the skill he has. Put him into an AFL training system where he can bulk up and get some great coaching, I am telling you, this kid will be a superstar.

I'd love to see him as a deep forward, but he doesn't really have the height or weight for it. His small stature might even be an advantage though, because clubs and oppo players will definitely underestimate just how good his aerial abilities and booming left foot are. But its hard to say, because I've seen him play high-half forward, wing, back flanker and on the ball, and dominate in those positions. Maybe a Tom Lynch (Ade) kind of role, as that hit up half-forward before going into deep fifty, like Watts' old job.

Because it'd be crazy not to The kids ceiling is huge and could quite possibly be an absolute steal for whoever gets him

It's not that particular payers believe they're worth more per se. Lemme try and explain this without getting too much hate haha So all year, the younger playing group as a whole has been told that the club is moving in a different direction, they are changing things up and bringing in a lot of coaches/new players etc The players have been drilled into their heads all season that certain things need to change to achieve the ultimate success, they need to be team first and other things. One part of that is that even though they may receive great offers from other places, if you wanna stay at Melbourne and help them achieve a flag you may need to take less money for the meantime. This includes all current and future players. Now imagine that the club is going over and beyond for a 21 year old, 50 gamer, and are willing to pay him more then most if not all of the current players, that kinda contradicts everything they've been told. Thats what's gonna annoy them. Theyd love to have Lever alongside them, but not at that cost. I hope it's more like he's on $700k a year with bonuses built in or something, not a million a year. That would be much better.

I'd hope so

Coz I can tell you for a fact that the players would definitely be pretty angry about.

You're missing the point dude. There are a number of players currently on the list who are better then Lever on a helluva of a lot of less money, that's what would create animosity within the group. Don't get me wrong all, Lever would be a great catch for Melbourne no doubt, and it'd be awesome to see him dominate in our backline.

$4 million over 4 years seems way too high for him. Didn't Lewis give a speech earlier in the year that the players should be willing to play for less money to get more, best 22 players in, in order to win a flag? If the MFC have offered Lever that much, doesn't that pretty much throw all of that out the window? Thats gonna p*** off a lot of the playing group

Don't know where else to put this, but just heard news of another delisting (can't say who until the official announcement)

He may not be a starting mid, but he has rotated onto the wing and even on the ball a few times this year, adding more strings to his bow.

Link to article- http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/localfooty/casey-demons-forward-bayley-fritsch-named-fothergillround-medal-winner/news-story/89337747bd3fc2fd472a94ad56f24279

He just won the VFL's "Best Up and Coming Young Player" Something like the last 14 years, every player to win this award has been drafted.

The kid can play, gets some amazing hang time and for a smaller bloke is a great contested mark. For those saying he isn't good enough, you obviously did not watch a lot of VFL games this year because he is insanely talented. Put a couple of AFL pre seasons into him and when he fills out and puts on some weight he'll be a beast. Plus there's one thing about being drafted to the MFC that a lot might not realise, is that the club primarily go for 2 apsects in a bloke (apart from footy skills) This isn't speculation, I heard this come directly from Goodwin at the start of the season: 1) They must have a huge want to play AFL and 2) have a great, friendly, likeable personality. Look at guys like Hannan, T.Smith and Keilty, came from tough pathways to get onto an AFL list (having to play VFL whilst working full time jobs) and have great personalities. Fritsch fits those aspects perfectly. Get him in.

Thank you for this. I don't think people her realise the blood, sweat and tears that goes into not only making it into an AFL list, but what it takes to stay there. Ive seen it first hand and it isn't pretty

A bit hard to delist Lumumba when he's not even on the list anymore....

What!?!?! This is news to me! He's still at work so I haven't spoken to him yet. I wonder why they've done this, if he was getting a debut I assume he would've been told by now, and he hasn't rang me to tell me so. So maybe they just want to use him as an emergency, or possibly a backup for finals?