demoncat

Me when we leave Smith and Langford on the board at 5 only to take Armstrong

Need to put pressure on some of our mid and half forward/back players like Sparrow and Bowey too Bringing in two top end mids - particular a big body player and a more outside player - will put pressure on some of these guys who have underperformed the past couple of years (given they might start on the half forward or half back lines)

Love a Werribee boy Would love to get him or Riley Bice onto the list

Not at 5 pls

I could see him coming in and having a Daicos, Sheezel or Ashcroft type effect on our midfield Not necessarily saying that he’ll be at their level, but each of them has been able to come in and immediately compliment their teams more experienced players

Langford at 5 and Lindsay at 9

I’d personally rather keep pick 5 in that situation While it’s an even draft there still seems to be a relatively stable top 5 or 6 players and with pick 5 we’d be guaranteed to land whoever falls out of that group (my guess is Langford at this stage but still a lot to play out) Having said that pick 9 for say GWS 15 and 16 is something I’d consider

I wonder what this will do for Brand Smillie

I’ve come around to his upside but still have the current top 5 or 6 ahead of him on exposed form He’d be a player you’d love to slip to pick 9

Would be very curious to see who we took out of Smith or Langford should both be there at 5(6) 1. Lalor (Rich) 2. Ashcroft (Bris) 3. Smilie (North) 4. O’Sullivan (Carl) 5. Draper (Adel) 6. Smith or Langford? (Melb) Langford and Lalor both strike me as the type of player JT would look to draft with a high pick, but there’s no denying Smith’s skill and ball winning ability Maybe he’s too good to pass up should he fall that far?

Same here He’s clearly the wild card of the top rated players, and if JT rated him enough to take him at 5 I’d have high hopes that he could be looked back on as the steal of the first round considering where he was rated at the start of the year

Smith is probably bottom of my list in the top range for pick 5 (although he still looks a gun), and Armstrong I’m hoping we’re not looking at at all for pick 9, so personally hoping your info is wrong or we change tack closer to the night Thanks for the info though

Agreed Jackson is a gun and maybe we don’t win the flag if we don’t draft him, but I think you can argue that his impact in the 3rd qtr has been overstated somewhat And how handy would Serong, Young or Green have been for us this year? Or for the next 10 years? Young especially is the sliding doors moment for me - I rate him so highly and it looks like he’s finally reaching the potential that he showed back in his draft year

I don’t want to take Tauru at 5 because I think it is almost always a surer thing to take mid over a tall at the top end Plus I rate any of the top 5 or 6 mids over him anyway Don’t get me wrong Tauru looks a gem but he’s icing on the cake - mids win you flags

Mid only at 5 pls Open to a tall at 9 but we can’t pass up on an opportunity to bring in an A grade midfielder at the top end of the draft

Hopefully it stays that way and we can take him at 5

You’re probably right - my main concern is that any KPP isn’t going to be able to come in an impact immediately like two top end mids are likely to We desperately need some fresh players through the middle of the ground, while I think for next year at least the combination of JVR, Turner and Petty will suffice (with hopefully a cameo from Jefferson)

No Armstrong pls No knock on the kid but we need mids mids mids

People can walk and chew gum at the same time Did the media take advantage of the situation and exaggerate our issues for clicks? Yes Does the club have serious issues that saw two of our best ever players wanting to leave? Also yes To think otherwise is head in the sand stuff

Embarrassing The club’s number one priority in 2025 is to earn back the respect back of the members and the wider industry For a dual All Australian to talk so openly about not wanting to join us is damning and shows how far we’ve fallen Yes the toxic media doesn’t help, but perception is reality, and we’ve got a long way to go get back into a position to bring elite talent into the club

What do you reckon about some of the knocks on him Daz? He seems to have all the physical attributes you could ask for but some questioning his work rate and ability to impose himself in the contest

Or Langdon and him on the wing, and Windsor more through the middle of the ground?

You hate to see him land at the Pies but overall I’m glad we didn’t trade for him Don’t get me wrong he’s an elite player but I’d rather take picks 5 and 9 to the draft to add elite talent to our young core And with uncertainty around Trac and Clarry and aging stars like Gawn and May, we need all the young talent we can get to avoid bottoming out when Tassie comes in Gee he would have been handy a year or two back though - could have been the difference in 22 or 23

Langford/Lalor into Lindsay/Travaglia is the dream for me Tauru looks a gem but I think another tall is down the list in terms of need for us As always I’ll back JT in - trust him more than anyone else at the club

I’d be getting the microwave out if I was a West Coast fan I understand the strategy, but they could have bought in Sheezel, Reid and one of Smith/FOS/Lalor over the past three years and be set with an elite midfield for a decade…