ChaserJ

Thought Dan Nicholson's name rung a bell: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-clubs-cast-net-far-and-wide-in-search-of-that-special-talent-20100608-xtnr.html

More Italian. The Serie A clubs have stars on their jumpers which represent the number of Scudetti they have won...although you only get 1 star for every 10 championships. Only 3 clubs have stars and only one has multiple stars (Juventus). I'd suggest this is where the idea came from.

And Tom McDonald:

Troy Davis:

Here's the footage of Lucas Cook from the AFL website:

Perhaps I am too...

Darling also has a wish to move into the midfield in the future, which really doesn’t fit in with what need. The Cook over Darling selection makes a lot of sense and BP clearly rated Cook a better fit ahead of guys like Watson and Luke Mitchell (who I liked). Anyone else think he plays a bit like Pavlich?

Of course, I should have realised. If no one beats me to it, I can upload those when I get home from work tonight.

You can download the ‘download helper’ add-on for firefox and get the Bigpond clips that way. http://www.downloadhelper.net/

Jeremy Howe:

Emma and Jay Clark seem to have heard the same information from sources tonight. Bit of banter between the two on twitter at an AFL industry night. Their phantom drafts are very similar. Prior to the last few days no one had Prestia in the top 20 because of his height, now no-one has him below 11! Seems Essendon are split on Atley and Prestia. We could actually have to choose between Heppell, Atley and Darling (never mind Jacobs) at pick 12. That's ludicrous.

Clarky has us as drafting either Lynch or Gorringe now: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/brisbane-lions-to-snatch-richmond-target-jared-polec/story-e6frf9jf-1225954635956

Emma Quayle on Darling: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/jacks-not-every-clubs-darling-20101116-17vwe.html

Billy Smedts, Cameron Guthrie and Blayne Wilson come to mind.

A few excerpts of interest re: pick 12 from Emma’s draft blog this afternoon (Q&A format from the Age website): Hi Emma, What's your tip on where Darling will go? Greg Hi Greg. Melbourne at 12 is a big chance. Hard to see Carlton letting him past them and same with Freo. He's very hard to pick as clubs are very split on him. AT the moment I have him at 12. Greg - November 15, 2010, 12:34PM Hi Emma, Just after the latest for the dees at pick 12. In your article you listed Lynch, Darling, Gorringe, Lycett, Jacobs, Brodie Smith and a few more all linked to the dees. Has the puzzle got any clearer. Thanks Hi, it's still kinda blurry! Depends entirely on what the Gold Coast does. I think at this stage that GC will take Lynch and Gorringe that it will come out of Darling, Dion Prestia and Jacobs. - Emma. mightydees11 - November 15, 2010, 12:28PM Hello Emma, Just in reply to your top 25 rankings you had Ben Jacobs at 24, do you think he would be undeserving of Melbourne taking him at 12. Also in regards to Ben which position do you believe he is best suited to as he has the ability to play back, mid or forward. Thankyou Pete Hi Pete. I think Ben is a great talent and would not be surprised if the Dees love him. I could see him starting on a back flank, maybe sending Grimes into the middle, and ending up a midfielder. At this stage you'd say there are some more genuine midfield prospects ahead of him but Ben is a very good player and his attitude is one of the best around, people speak very highly of him. - Emma Pete | Black rock - November 15, 2010, 1:04PM Hi Emma, Who will Melb target at pick 12? What about Darling from WA? Would he fit in with the D's culture and set up? Hi Ed. I would love to see them pick Darling. I think that together, Watts, Darling and Jurrah would give their fwd line three very different marking options. Some clubs are concerned about his off field behaviour as he's got himself into a bit of trouble here or there, but he is a very likeable person and he takes his footy seriously. He wants to be good and he's very competitive. Melbourne's youngsters are very impressive people. You'd like to think he'd knuckle down once he got there.

Emma Quayle's yearly top 25 is up on The Age website: The Golden Boys

He had a great junior carnival for NSW, but has been plagued by serious hamstring (at least I think it was hamstring)injuries ever since he was rookied. Don't know if he even got on the ground at all for Geelong's VFL affiliate. Poor guy. And I was so looking forward to Ranga line up next to Ling.

Better late than never, thanks mate. Very grateful for the opportunity to see LJ take a couple of big marks and win the game at the end. Was it me or was the timekeeping a little dodgy?

That was just a suggestion texted in from a listener, Maher prefaced the mooted trade by saying it was unsubstantiated and not grounded in any fact, but would make sense for both teams. Was a driver for suggestions for ‘win/win’ trades from listeners.

I’m torn between strong forward and elite kicking halfback. Really like the look of Dyson Heppell, so would be stoked if we got him. Brodie Smith and Billie Smedts are the other half backs I like. If we do go with a HBF at 12, then perhaps someone like Luke Mitchell may slip to our second rounder. Would be a KPP steal if we could pick him up there. If we go for a forward at 12, Tom Lynch is the one I like. Possible that none of these get through to 12, but I’m confident that we’ll get a very good player at this pick.

In all fairness, those guys were the players who probably represented Casey most often this year and deserve a crack at the finals (Bell, Cheney, Miller, etc.). Plus I'm still happy to have Maric, Fitzpatrick, Strauss and Aussie getting extra chances to play some finals footy. Thought Tapscott might have had a sore shoulder after last weekends game. Wouldn't be surprised if the club decided to shelve Blease, Tapscott and Healy (after all had long term injuries) and made the call to get them ready for big preseasons. Bail qualified to play finals, but now considered a Melbourne first teamer, so gets the break at end of season.

Here's a link. Written by Emma Quayle (not 'Quayke'). Far and away my favourite sports journo. http://www.theage.com.au/news/clubs/melbourne/taming-the-demon/2009/06/06/1244234424043.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2

On that logic, there will be at least one, possibly two teams to be falsely rewarded. If they're good enough, they'll have won enough games (and hopefully learned from the four close games we perhaps could/should have won) to warrant being there. If they make it, it's because they won enough games to be there. If they aren't good enough, they wont make it, then so be it. However, I want my team to be good enough, and hope they can show they are.

The best thing for the team is developing the habit of winning. This incorporates getting team structures in place and consistency within the playing group. Over the last few years we've seen the defensive structure come together, and this season has seen the core midfield group playing together and improving, and I believe the last six weeks have been significant with our key forward prospects playing together continuously as a group for the first time. Winning is a habit, and learning to win is key. Whether we make the finals or not isn't going to effect what the Bailey is trying to build and how next year will be approached within the club. External expectation can't be managed, but we've seen how the measured club has been in building and managing the list. It's been very deliberate, and the improvement is obvious this year. The group needs to keep doing the right things, and if they do, they will be rewarded. If it's finals, so be it, but every game is an opportunity to learn how to win, and that experience is invaluable and must be taken when presented. Have faith, and enjoy the journey.