ChaserJ

The presumption is that a high pick in the mini draft gets you an elite player. Next years draft is tipped to be strong largely because the top end is very talented AND draft selections aren't swallowed up by an expansionteam for the first time in two years. The first six are projecting to be elite level, but I don't know enough about the players outside of Whitfield and the unselected mini draft nominees. We might be having to decide between going for two very good players or trading for a single elite player. Not sure where our picks would end up being once you factor in priority picks and other clubs compenstion picks. Lots to happen between now and then of course.

Jack Martin's the one that's been talked about most at this stage. http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/-/afl/9123659/gnfl-throws-up-another-afl-possibility/ And some video from the U16 Champs this year (Shifter Sheehan doing the VO work). http://www.afl.com.au/Video/tabid/76/contentid/374273/invoke/Default.aspx

I'd take that! Congratulations to Harrington and the team, fantastic work.

I might be missing something, but wouldn’t that be the same as Adelaide getting pick 14 in return? How did we get ‘trumped’? Adelaide’s offer doesn’t seem to be significantly greater than ours, less so if they want an uncontracted player as part of the deal as well. Doesn’t quite add up to me.

How do Murphy form Oakleigh and Coleman from the Dragons look? SOunds like they've been pretty good marking targets today.

Some video of Jim and Don McLardy at the B&F: http://www.heraldsun...f-1226144923785

St Kilda mate of mine was very effusive in his praise of Misson a while ago. As soon as I read that he was leaving St Kilda I thought 'gee he'd be a good get'. 10 minutes later the article was amended and lo and behold! Go Dee's!

Only one player talked about so far who's eligible for the 2012 mini draft and that's Jack Martin from WA. Sounds like a terrific prospect who can play key forward and on ball. Apparently had a good carnival at the U/16 National Champs. A couple of articles on him here: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/-/afl/9123659/gnfl-throws-up-another-afl-possibility/ http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/regional/gascoyne/a/-/sport/9354846/jack-the-lad-to-watch-at-towns/

Fair enough, thanks for clarifying. I do note now that the AFL release does specify the pick after Melbourne's in the first round. Darn, would have been the ultimate sweetener.

What if we trade the pick this year and they use it 2014? Does the picks value depreciate if we finish 5th that year?

As I mentioned in the compensation thread, our pick which follows the club's first round selection in the draft, is worth far more to a team projected to be at the bottom of the table (GWS, GC) than it might be to us at face value. I believe we are right in the discussion to sign O’Meara, and we may not have to trade both Tompensation picks to get him.

Not sure if anyone’s pointed this out yet, but the compensation pick to be taken after the club’s first pick is potential deal breaker. It may not mean as much to a team that finishes high or mid table, but if you’re a team in the bottom 4 it could be absolute gold in a strong draft. Have we been underestimating how valuable this pick could be on the trade table? Surely GWS aren’t expecting to finish above the bottom two spots on the table next year. If they finish last, our pick could guarantee them the first two picks in 2012, meaning we potentially beat out GC’s offer of pick 4 in this year’s draft. I hate to think that we could be party to giving them such a leg up, but it’s a massive opportunity to secure a top 5 rated player, which (short of a absolutely horrible season next year) we wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

How do we get pick 13 and pick 18 in this years draft? AFL ruling re:Tompensation: Should Melbourne wish to activate the selection in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft, during the expansion-period Drafts, the selection would be placed at the end of Round One.

Turns out that the priority pick was actually an insurance pick. At least we got another bite of the cherry with Trengove. Given we fleeced Carlton with the McLean deal, we’ve gone from winning to maybe breaking even out of that draft. Depending on what we do with compensation picks, it could still end up being a win.

It's one thing ‘having’ to lie to all and sundry for the better part of a season, but to break up with the club over the phone is just one further insult. No matter how much spin you put on it Tom, this does not reflect well on you young man.

That’s correct. The assist stats that were attributed to Watt’s were his scoring involvements, so his direct influence in a play that resulted in any score, not just goal scored. A nice way of keeping tabs on whose having an influence forward of the ball. Doesn’t ignore good work leading to a score even if the player shooting for goal butchers it, which happened a fair bit in the third quarter. You think Wattsy just got sick of setting his teammates up (only for them to squander), and decided to just do it himself at the end of the third?

I don't think you're suggesting anything contrary to the points above. Filling a specific need when you need an immediate contributer might be an aim(bearing in mind new draftees generally take time to settle and contribute regularly to the team), but doesn't necessarily represent a shift in overall strategy from drafting to trading. They're not mutually exclusive.

I agree. Teams that build through the draft try to fill as many holes through draft selections. I remember BP said when building from scratch, you start with KP players (or the spine) and then players with genuine pace, because quality players with these attributes are harder to pick up with later selections in the draft. Not all of your draft selections pan out. When the group evolves to the point of contention, list managers will then look at which players panned out, and recruit to cover the areas where players didn’t pan out. Interesting to note how many recent grand finalists needed to top up with good ruckman. As mentioned here, Ottens at Geelong, Gardiner and King at St Kilda and Jolly were all targeted to fill a specific need for contenders (Hawthorn are still trying to plug the gap). Obviously the Dee’s are in development stage and finding which draftees will work out long term (and in what position) and who won’t. Once players are established, then list management will have a serious look at trading in to fill holes that are preventing us from winning a premiership. Of course we had a crack at David Hale to fill an immediate need last season. I’m happy that didn’t pan out, as we may not have had the chance to see Stef Martin step up, or see Max Gawn get a few early games in.

Ablett like compo for Scully a possibility: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/dees-could-get-ablettlike-compo-for-scully-20110616-1g61f.html

I think they have something like 8 players from the 05 & 06 Grand Finals still representing, and they have grossly underperformed over the last 3 years. Fruits of those labours are coming to bear this year producing a nice blend of high draft & priority picks and premiership players and a couple of All-Australians. Pretty good recipe for a rebuild. They have a very high football department spend as well (second only to the Pies) and were an anomaly in terms of FD spend and win/loss ratio. We don't have anything like the senior core onfield and resources off field right now. I still believe our young talent should edge theirs over time. We just need to be patient.

Darling played two seasons (one and a bit really) for West Perth in the WAFL. Caught the eye in his first few games in 2009, just went in 2010, which is one of the reasons he slid down the draft order. The others have been well publicised.

I'd say long term Tappy will play the fwd/midfield role. I can see him becoming our Chapman. Strong bodied, straight line player who's strong overhead and can kick a long goal. He's built for finals footy. I'd say his current position in the backline has everything to do with his elite kicking skills and our desperate need for clean disposal out of defence. Strauss was meant to be this player, but he hasn't come on (yet). An elite kicking 'quarterback' is a must with modern forward zones.

Had a quick chat with Jeremy Howe after the Dee’s/Swans game. He has a sore ankle, probably out for another couple of weeks.