Gawndog98

I don’t think there’s one simple fix, I think it needs to be a blend of our gameplay needs to adapt with more attacking flair, as a team they need cover defensively to make up for ANB, and obviously ANB has left the club someone does need to step into the defensive mid role (I consider the role a defensive mid as that what it was rolling into the midfield when trac rolling forward). I do think Riv is a permanent mid will help cover as he is defensively sound, he can be accountable defensively and provide that attacking flair at the same time, you could make an argument he takes ANB spot where he starts at half forward but then plays as a permanent extra mid, a modified version of ANB role where we always have an extra mid around stoppages. I think Riv though takes Gus’ old role that 4th mid who does everything (defence & offence, inside & outside) which I actually think having Trac, Clarry, Viney there with him will be great for his development as a mid as he gets to be more of a supportive role rather than needing to do everything himself which is when it felt like he tailed off as a mid end of last year. ANB’s role needs to be taken by someone who can play as a mid as it’s a lot of important work around stoppages. I think Kolt is being groomed to take ANB’s spot as he has that sacrifice for the team mentality and ability required to fulfill it. Whilst he won’t have the same running capacity next year as ANB, he does have more x-factor which allows for that attacking flair. Sparrow is the other one I think who could do it but I don’t see him being in the best 22 if Langford (and Kolt) are going to play. I don’t think all 3 of Kolt, Langford, and Sparrow can all play in the same forward line, for me sparrow will be a clear 3rd choice out of those 3. My midfield and hf mix would be: C: Langdon, Clarry, Windsor R: Max, Trac, Viney HF: Kolt (defensive HFF), JVR, Langford (attacking HFF) I: Riv (4th mid)

For me the player he actually reminds me the most of is Salo (prime Salo) with maybe a bit more penetration in his kicking which would still be a great get. Think he can have a pretty decent impact next year off half back which was great to see us take 2 ready made players.

Sorry do you mean they are looking to move one of their later picks down so they can move 10/11 up ahead of us to get Allan? Like for example they trade 10/11 & 20/23/24 to Saints for 8 & 32? Feels like a win for both teams as Tiges get their guy with Allan and still maintain 8 picks inside the first 2 rounds, Saints will still get their guy might’ve been picking anyway in Lindsay or Berry and move up to put themselves in the range to grab a mid like Hynes or a tall like Trainor who is similar to Tauru.

My biggest takeaway from Marc (the age) is that there seems to be more momentum building on Adelaide going Draper over Langford, he said it would be a surprise if it went the other way. He also is under the impression Allan won’t get past our second pick which is quite interesting comparing it to Twomey saying Allan and Lindsay is a 50/50. My gut feel is someone is going to trade for saints pick 8 to take Allan whether that be Freo or Tiges to jump ahead of us which would leave us with Tauru at 9.

If Jagga is available he won’t get past our pick but he’s not going to be available because he won’t get past Adelaide. Which means what it comes down to is if Langford is available he will be a Dee, if Adelaide take him over Draper Tauru will be a Dee. As long as Draper is picked before our pick we will get Langford, if not it will be Tauru.

Cal would’ve linked us to Smilie with either pick if we were interested in him, I think it’s pretty safe to say we aren’t going to pick him hence why Richmond is thinking about locking in Allan with 6 knowing Smilie just has to get past the Saints. Which I am happy we’ve got no interest in Smilie he screams bust potential to me, he just doesn’t do the team things and tries to play hero ball way too much, for me I like Allan much more than Smilie.

Would be super happy with Langford & Allan, if we somehow landed Langford & Tauru (might need someone to trade up for Allan at 8 or saints take another mid like Lindsay) we will have won the draft by a landslide IMO. Doomsday scenario for me would be if Adelaide take Langford meaning we would take Tauru and then Tiges play funny buggers and take Allan with 6 betting on Smilie making it to 10 (we aren’t going to touch him) would result in us likely ending up with Lindsay who I don’t love because I don’t think he has the capacity to be in an inside mid meaning we leave the draft without a future inside mid. Langford & Lindsay is he fine with because that’s a nice inside/outside balance.

Went very under the radar because he ran a great 2k time trial. I think because of his competitiveness he doesn’t look slow on the field but yep doesn’t have lightning speed.

Cal doesn’t seem to think we have much interest in Draper. Says will likely pick which one of Langford or Tauru is available.

I’d be super happy with an outcome of Tauru & Allan. Tauru has absolute A+ potential, his rate of development in the back half of the year has been rapid and there’s nothing he can’t do athletically, personally I think he can actually be a 50+ goal a year forward and would perfectly compliment our other forwards. Happy to overlook Draper at 5 for him, I don’t think Draper’s cieling is an A-grade mid due to his scrappy skills, he’s definitely more of a sure thing but cieling doesn’t compare to Tauru. Allan is actually a pretty similar player to Draper except he’s 10 cms taller and can play half back very well. Both Allan & Tauru could easily play R1 next year with their athleticism & competitiveness two of their strongest strengths.

It’s interesting comparing Travaglia to Hunt because Travaglia doesn’t have Hunt’s top end speed either. He ran a 3:19 20m sprint compared to Langford 3:24 which everyone freaked out about him being slow.

Prior to his official phantom draft he posts a few days before the draft, he usually posts a November form guide a week or two before the draft which is his rankings but includes a “where they could go” section for each player which the club links are usually pretty spot on. Would assume it would be coming out tomorrow or Wednesday in line with his weekly gettable show.

I really like the idea of a combo of a tall and small mid with the 2 picks with both also offering flexibility to play other positions well until their time comes to play full time inside mid. My preference would be Langford at 5, Reid at 9 which I think perfectly compliment each other. Langford might have the highest cieling out of any player and floor projects as a solid big body inside mid. Reid has probably the best skills and footy IQ out of any player in the draft and knows how to find it in dangerous spaces, I think he starts at half back before working his way into the middle. id also be very happy with Jagga & Allan combo.

I would throw in Murphy Reid to that bucket too, I think that rounds out top 3 kicks in the draft. Jagga & Reid are both fantastic users just the only thing is they struggle to kick the ball over 40-45 metres at this stage so their kicking lacks a bit of penetration. Both make up for it though with elite decision making always looking to lower their eyes hitting that target 30-40 out from goal rather than bombing it to the square.

IMO Armstrong is actually a pretty good key forward prospect, the issue is more so that he’s a very similar style of prospect and player to MJ (and JVR) for that matter. He also doesn’t help us contend for the next year or 2 which might play a factor to try keep the group together and maximise the time left for the vets. Armstrong’s one wood is his set shot accuracy, he just doesn’t waste any chances which never looks flashy on a highlights reel but is obviously one of the most important traits for a key forward. In that way he reminds me a lot of Larkey as a player and in the way he plays as a low possession high scoreboard impact player.

From what I’ve seen he’s an elite ball user when he has time and space. However when under pressure his decision making is quite panicky and doesn’t deal with physicality well. Just in my opinion is why I like Reid more than Lindsay because he deals with pressure much better and his disposal is just as elite. Lindsay is quicker than Reid but I still wouldn’t say Lindsay is “quick”.

Would personally be really happy with this outcome, one of the best outcomes for us IMO. 2 players with elite footy IQ, skills, and flexibility to play all over the ground. I’m a massive fan of Reid, he still has tackle breaking and evasive ability at his size to offset his lack of leg speed and think he will best suited to set the game up off half back. I’d be happy with Allan at 9 as well but Lindsay I’m not a massive fan of.

I think can probably take away that from the group of 6 certainties combined with links saying we are likely to use pick 5 on a mid we are going to take the player that is left out of that group with pick 5. Realistically it looks like it’s between Langford and Jagga for pick 5 which will be dependant on which one Carlton take at 3, or if Norf take Tauru at 2 it pushes them all down 1 so would have the choice between the 2 of them.

I really like Allan which personally I rate him higher than Smilie and about the same as Langford. To me he’s a got an incredibly well rounded profile with a sky high ceiling, he tested top 5 for standing & running vertical jump and top 5 for agility, he ran a sub 3 seconds 20m sprint and a 6:20 2km time trial, all at 191cm and a strong frame. Most importantly all that athleticism shows up on field with his fierce competitiveness and appetite for the contest makes him really good defensively in the midfield or down back, certainly leaps and bounds better defensively than Smilie & Langford. He plays with more of a presence than those other 2 but they at this stage certainly have him beat for skills but I think there’s a lot of scope for him to also make that a strength as he’s got a huge leg can kick the ball probably almost 60m and has flashed good decision making lowering his eyes when he needs to it’s just more about executing those short kicks he needs to get better at. To me reminds me a lot of Elliot Yeo with his power and versatility, I’d be very happy if we got him at 9.

Not sure if anyone posted this one but this would be my dream result for us: https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/41946825/afl-first-round-phantom-draft-2024-every-club-pick-richmond-sam-lalor-jagga-smith-finn-osullivan-bolters-sliders-more

Defensively is very sound, his competitiveness would be one of his best attributes combined with his athleticism and intercepting I actually see him as more of a defensive half back than an attacking half back, in a similar mould to Maynard. His ball use is decent but not elite at the moment, he needs to improve in that area to be an elite attacking weapon off half back or in the midfield.

Fair point, more so meant someone who has been that guy consistently year over year which with injuries and form salo has struggled to get back to that player since. I certainly wouldn’t complain having 2 2021 salo’s off half back though

On Murphy Reid I know he’s played all year as a mid but to me he has all the makings of at least starting his career as a gun half back playing in a similar style to Zorko. Agree his size and pace limitations may limit his potential in the midfield which is where I think he can get away with it more at half back to use his best attributes footy IQ, vision, disposal to set up the game which we’ve never really ever had that kind of player. Pick 5 may feel a bit of a reach but to me I’d be all over him at 9. I’m hoping with pick 9 we grab a half back to step in with riv going into the midfield. Forward/mid with pick 5, defender/mid with pick 9 would be ideal imo.

I would be more than happy to cough up a top 10 pick and petty or 2 mid-late firsts for Houston, we are talking about THE best kick in the league which elite kicking is our biggest weakness IMO it's an absolute no brainer. His ability to kick 60m accurate bullets is incredible and the pure goalkicking threat outside 50 is so valuable he kicked 3 of them in the same game against Hawks this year. We should still get 5 years of his best for what will be a back-to-back all australian at the end of the year, we should be doing everything we can to get this over the line to contend whilst Max & May are still at their best.

Pretty clear we will be focusing key position players with both picks, probably what we can expect. To clarify as well Jefferson, Allan, George, and Barnett linked to our first pick, Gruzewski linked to our second. Sounds like all those linked to our first pick will go first round as other clubs in the first like them too.