ChaserJ

Emma Quayle tweeting that GC will NOT bid on Jack.

Michaelangelo Rucci's tweeting that Gorringe is doing a medical at Adelaide. Would think that it's tied into a potential Tippett to GC deal.

Thanks Nudge, it's always an interesting time of year. Have read that Giles and GWS are in disagreement over the length of the contract. 3 yrs on offer, Giles wants 4. Would have thought there'd be a few suitors for him if he became available.

Was reported that we were heavily into him in his draft year and were really hoping he'd be available at 51. We worried Geelong might take him at 49, but Pies jumped earlier. Jetta ended up being picked at 51 (looked at Michael Walters here too).

yeah, fair enough...let me just back the truck up.

From the Casey local paper: Lovett was unsure of the make-up of the Scorpions' line-up. But he did confirm highly rated youngster Jack Viney will return after serving a one-week suspension. "The finals exposure will give him some experience for next year."

Yep, he's one of my favourites from this pool. He's probably widely rated as a late first round to second round player at this stage, but if we picked him at 13 I wouldn't be displeased. He just reminds me of what Rendell said he saw in Dangerfield. A halfback who can play midfield, brings pace and power, attacks the ball and brings a high work rate. Was injured earlier in the year, and was a late call up to the Academy after Garlett was sent home. Has figured in the bests for Dandenong on a regular basis since the Champs. Can see him started in a small/medium defenders role (a position of need) before being able to run through the middle. Look forward to seeing how he goes at Visy Park this weekend.

My feeling is that Gumby will want to repay Essendon's faith in him, but I'd flip Moloney their way for Gumbleton. They need a mid, Moloney is very borderline to stay (eligible to be traded as an RFA), and Gumby finally had the cause of his injury woes rectified earlier in the year. Could offer some value, but I'd be reluctant to part with any picks for him.

Correct. Bit of chatter about that Collingwood are now into him.

Yeah, I wouldn't have minded Henderson either. I believe if we didn't draft Cale at 4, it would have been Jarrad Grant or Rhys Palmer at that pick. Grimes was the other real possibility at 4. Jacks the best of the four, so at least we ended up getting him in the end. In review, 2007 was a tough draft to call. There weren't many out and out blue chippers, and lots of NQR's. Also, worth noting that Kyle Cheney (pick 53) eventually was traded for the pick that netted us Tom McDonald (pick 53, 2010 draft).

Not sure about the BF reports, but ‘The Draft’ covers that draft class in particular. From what Emma Quayle covered, I think even if we had passed on Cale, I don’t think we would have selected players we (as supporters) would have been overly happy with looking back. We can be thankful that we got Grimes (courtesy of the Lions taking TJ), but the rest of our selections that year (and the year in general) are looking pretty sad in hindsight.

Nice. At least the Dodgers are going a bit better these days. You'd be getting a bit of joy watching Kemp play. Superstar.

That's fantastic AD, great to have you on board. Which MLB team do you like by the way?

We'll get pick 12, but we'll have the chance to 11th 'live' pick, as Daniher will have been pre selected by Essendon. Yes, Essendon's free fall down the ladder works very well for us on so many levels!

This article suggested we were into Quentin Lynch. Not sure whether talks have stalled or not, but in the event that we secure Hogan, Q would be a good rental for a year or two. I certainly think we need at least one more team orientated big man up forward to support Mitch. http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/141723/default.aspx

I REALLY like Martin and have him as my first preference, but Hogan's probably a better structural fit for us down the line. The better functioning forward lines in the comp have three legitimate tall targets, so Hogan alongside Clark and maybe Watts as tall no.3 would really give us some strength up forward. The obvious bonus of the deal mooted in the Herald Sun is Viney getting to our second round pick. Hopefully we end up keeping pick 12, I can see us getting that 'point of difference' player with pace at this pick. Garlett, Kennedy or Simpson would be good here.

Mini draft was originally intended for GWS to obtain established stars in exchange for the MD picks. Naturally, high draft picks have trumped any players on offer and GC have had a natural advantage in both years, which goes against the grain of why this was introduced in the first place. GC will have effectively gotten themselves two extra number 1 quality players with picks 4 & 2. Can't blame clubs for exploiting the system, but ultimately I don't think it's achieved what was really meant to.

What I really want is for GWS to overspend & sign Cloke, and leave them with less money to retain their talented young Victorian KPF's. Fancy coming back to Victoria Jeremy?

Very pleased Blease re-signed with the Dee's. I need to catch some z's...

Reid & Fasolo re-signed, even less money available for Cloke: http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/145290/default.aspx

I'd be surprised if we had all of them on the list next year. Four maybe, not all. I think MacDonald has worked himself into a new contract and good on him for doing so. I still wince when I think of Joel Mac, under no pressure, missing a stationary target by 20 metres against Brisbane. I thought he was finished as an AFL player. Neeld more or less put the challenge up to the fringe players in the second half of the year and he & Dunn have responded. The spot is his until one of the young blokes makes it his own.

I reckon his volleyball background helps in this area. Really impressed with the way his spoils are often directed toward a teammate. I noted this a couple of times in the Collingwood game. His control of the spoil almost made it an effective disposal. My feeling with Sellar is that this is the first time that real faith is being shown in him. In his 5 or 6 years in the league, he has never played more games in a season than he has this year. The faith should build genuine confidence, and I think we will see James grow as a player if we continue to give him the time.

That's the minefield of recruiting isn't it? We know what players are capable of producing now, against their peers, but surely a recruiters job is predicting who will be the best when your team is contending against the elite. HIstory shows that the best rated player on draft day doesn't often end up the best player (or best performed player) in their draft class. Recruiting has come a long way since the draft was introduced, but it's still such a speculative industry. Whitfield being way in front of everyone else is certainly the popular opinion, but so was Scully ahead of Trengove ahead of Martin. Virtually no contest. People love getting into Cale Morton, and the recruiters for picking him ahead of Dangerfield & Rioli. Popular opinion had Cale top 3, some even rated him above Kreuzer and Cotchin. If Cale was off the board, we probably would have gone with either Jarrad Grant or Grimes at 4. FWIW, when I saw Cale play for WA against Vic Metro, I thought he would be a star, and was ecstatic when we got him. He lasered passes and took contested marks and looked every bit the genuine article. Cotchin got tagged out of that game completely & Grimes tried everything to inspire his losing team (at least something stayed constant). So whilst Lachie Whitfield is currently consensus number 1, I don't believe he is as far ahead of the rest of the pack as he's made out to be, and there may be players who end up being more effective in the AFL I guarantee that each club rates each player differently. Some rate young Jack as top 5, others have stated they rate him as a late first rounder. I guarantee that no other club will have a better idea of what Jack's value is than Melbourne. If we pick him at 3, it may well be because that is where our club ranks him. That really should be all that counts.

Father son nominations occur prior to trade window, mini draft happens pretty much straight after the trade period concludes.

Inclined to agree that one must go, although I reckon clubs might place greater value on Stef Martin because he has more upside & scope for improvement. I think if Martin builds his endurance base further he has the potential to be an above average – to high level follower. We appear to have backed Jamar in as first ruck, meaning we probably won’t get the best value out of him as a player if Jamar is fit. Spencer is doing well as the backup, but has little to no currency and probably lower potential. Gawn has the potential to be the best of the lot, but needs time, development, and a bit of luck on the injury front. Fitzpatrick also can be developed into a forward/ruck option and has shown a bit for Casey.