ChaserJ

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.

In Monday's HUN Mike Sheahan wrote that 'the nucleus of the next AFL power was on show', and on 'ON the Couch' he went on to say that the Dee's should be aiming for a top six spot next season. There is a lot of positivity in the media surrounding the team at the moment, and I'm feeling right proud of my team at the moment. Here's the article from Monday's Herald Sun: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/out-with-the-old/story-e6frf9jf-1225896782914

Don't be messing with me boy...

Yep, that was my first game, and was hooked on the Dees after that. We were down by 4 goals to the reigning premiers, then Jako went nuts, kicked them from everywhere and we ran over the top of the Weagles. Try as I might, I've never been able to find a copy of that game.

Get voting to see Greeny roll Carlton in the 2000 QF. A great day for the Dee's. http://signup.foxsports.com.au/competition/AFLChoosedayNight "Melbourne Demons v Carlton, qualifying final, 2000 The lethal left boot of one-time Manchester United target Green has been in hot form this season. It's a decade since the Tasmanian burst onto the scene in an incredible year for the red and blue boys. In a barnstorming finish in the qualifying final, Green kicked four goals as the Dees lit up the MCG and Melbourne rolled Carlton."

Dee's playing some sexy football. Tipped us to win, but didnt's see THIS coming! Loving it. C'mon Dee's, 100+!

Wasn't he BOG last week? Dislocated shoulder would seem serious enough. IIRC he missed a substantial amount of his first season due to a shoulder injury/op as well. Pretty sure he has only completed the one pre-season for Melbourne, and that was this year. Showed great ability at under 18 level, hope he can finally start to transfer that to the AFL.

Gorringe's tap work is as good as anyone that's come through the under 18's in recent years. Haven't seen anyone consistently tap to advantage, and show such great rucking IQ at this stage of his career. Probably where Johnson falls a bit short in comparison. He looked terrific below his knees and has a good leap and finished well near goals. Didn't see too much overhead marking, but conditions didn't suit against Vic Country, and plenty of reports to say he is quite a good mark. Based on what I've seen, he looks very good, probably wont crack GC in the top 3 selections (which seem set), but I'd say he wont be too far behind. Lycett seems interesting. He could go anywhere in the top ten. Didn't seem as skillful as Gorringe in the ruck (will win plenty of hitouts, but his work didn't have the subtlety of Gorringe). Can clunk a mark, played plenty of footy up forward in junior footy, and a bit for the seniors as well, but needs to improve his kicking. I understand that he had to play out the last game under a fair bit of stress after a good mate passed away in a car accident back home. Apparently he flew back for the funeral (might even have spoken at the service) and then flew back to Vic to play the last game of the champs. Played OK without standing out (in my opinion), but a massive effort and speaks volumes to me about his character. Have to agree with the above post, don't think either will be around when we pick, but I'll keep an eye on them wherever they end up. I like Cook as well. Did a few really nice team oriented things against SA, and seems to have good vision. Sets up scoring opportunities and liked seeing him chase and tackle. Don't know how dominant a forward he'll end up being (did play well at both ends for Vic Country duting the champs), but I like that he does the team things and can bring others into play and his skills impressed. Darling's fascinating. Haven't watched the Vic Metro v WA game yet, but I did see him in the flesh last year at Etihad, and I really enjoyed watching him. Height was always an issue, even then, but I reckon he makes up for it with his sheer bloody minded aggression at the ball, allied with his strength and obvious ability. Even if he doesn't play key forward, he could still create a mismatch to advantage in the forward line, and his marking and forward line pressure are strengths that would definitely help the Dee's up front. I do wonder whether his game, which takes advantage of his powerful frame (which is such an obvious advantage at junior level), might be exposed at senior level. His stock seems to have plummeted this year, and doubts seem to continually circulate around his ability to play key forward in the AFL and ability to play in alternate positions. Also maturity and character have been called into question by some, but I don't really think those are issues with Darling long term. I find it hard to believe that he wont be a successful AFL player given his traits and demonstrated ability, but where he goes is not certain. He could go top ten, or he could drift out to the second round, but he's definitely not the dead set top 3 pick he was this time last year. I'd be happy if we got him, but would understand if the club had reservations and looked elsewhere. FWIW I like Tom Lynch and is most likely to be the best available KPP at our pick, and wouldn't mind us taking a long look at Luke Mitchell. He could be a very good value pick for a club at the draft.

I just watched the SA v Vic Metro game in full on the weekend. Day looks a far more complete a footballer than Naitanui at the same stage. Better game sense and skills. A lovely mark (great hands), good, solid kick. Naitanui's marking game was nowhere near as impressive at under Under 18's. Took the odd hanger, but would finish with 2 marks for the game, and never saw him take many of the lead to space variety. Would win possession if he followed up after a ruck contest, but would disappear when out of the contest. He looked a very raw prospect, with lots of intangible potential, and the biggest knock on him was a lack of IQ. Day has Naitanui covered in the 'conventional'(read tangible) skills bracket, but didn't see the quite the same acceleration and competitiveness (Naitanui's chasedowns are a thing of beauty), and Day failed to put in a four quarter performance in during the Championships. Once he can maintain performance across a whole game, he will be a ripper.

If we stay in 11th spot, we get pick 14. It's a good draft depthwise, I think we'll get a good player.