demoncat

We tried to get pick 1 and were knocked back, don’t have any more assets to increase our offer We’ll seriously consider Curtin if he falls to pick 6 We’ve also been linked to Leake and to a lesser extent Caddy, and will take Windsor with our second pick if he’s still there Honestly just sounds like more speculation and parroting what other sites have said 🤷‍♂️

Do you know how that works @DeeSpencer? Have we essentially only agreed to match if he doesn’t get bid on in the ND?

Honestly would rather play one of the two SA teams than another Victorian side there At least we can just treat it like another away game instead of the debacle that was the West Coast into Essendon game last year where we went Melb-Perth-Melb-Adelaide within a week

They can still trade picks on draft night

I’ve heard the comparisons and would obviously love if we picked him and he became our version of Charlie But tall forwards are just about the hardest position to pick when drafting - there are so many variables when bringing these guys into AFL environments, not least of which is whether their relative size and strength at the junior level will hold up against bigger bodies I like his competitiveness and ability to mark at the highest point - but I just think there are others around him who have more bankable traits that, personally speaking, would compliment our current list better both now and into the future More than happy to be wrong though!

On the topic of trading pick 6 - I’m coming around to the idea more and more Generally I still think it’s better to take whoever is best available at the top end of the draft and get a year of development into them - but if for some reason JT and Tim Lamb think there is a significant drop off between the top picks of this draft and pick 6, I’d certainly consider offering it to West Coast for their future first, which is almost guaranteed to be a top three or four pick (if not pick 1) The other consideration is that next year’s draft is supposedly going to be much more midfield heavy, and I think that is the area we need to focus our drafting on going forward if/when we have picks at the top end (life after Viney/Trac/Clarry etc) It’s would be a gamble, but if nothing else at least we’d have another death ride for next year 🤷‍♂️🏇

Jeez I hope not - no disrespect to Caddy but I really don’t think we need to draft a forward with our first pick three years in a row, especially if Sanders, Curtin or even Leake is available (which at least one will be)

There’s been some talk that we could be interested in James Leake at pick 6 Not a key position player by any stretch but has shown a lot of versatility playing as an intercept defender at half back, as well as a forward and midfielder (sometimes in the same game) Could alleviate the concern that we’d be taking two pure midfielders

The issue for North is that they’re still essentially giving up 2 and 3 for 1 (even if they’re getting back 11) which they have categorically ruled out I still think the key to improving the current offers for 1 would be to somehow involve Geelong’s 8 if they were open to trading it (only speculated at this stage) - perhaps North’s later picks for 8 or our 11 and something extra

Agreed - our chances of securing pick 1 hinge on how West Coast rates the players in our range If they could get Curtin with pick 6 and one of O’Sullivan/Wilson/Leake/Windsor with pick 11 - they might think that’s worth it alongside our future first But equally they might just think the gulf between Reid and these players is too big, or even the gap between McKercher or Duursma and these players (and if that case they’d prefer North’s offer of pick 2 and the late first rounders) I also think a lot hinges on how they view Curtin - let’s say they think he’s a top 3 or 4 prospect but through intel think they can get him at pick 6, then our offer would actually be better than it seems because we’d be guaranteeing them a top 3 or 4 player with 6, and 11 and a future first would be better than North’s late first rounders Of course their interest in Curtin could be overblown, but nonetheless if it was the case it’s a pathway to pick 1 for us… albeit an unlikely one

I love David King now

I tend to agree, although would be more than happy if they took our current offer But surely they need to split pick 1 right? Totally understand them holding out for the best offer - as they should - but at the end of the day I think they’re in the same position as North in needing as much high end talent as possible over the next few years The only way they get that in this draft is by splitting 1 Their fans might disagree, but I’d still be taking ours or Norths offer come draft night…

Unclear whether the above makes West Coast more likely to accept our offer, but suggests at the very least North would be unwilling to offer anything further (which I personally agree with from their list build perspective)

More info from the article linked:

👀

Get him in

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/west-coast-eagles/afl-draft-2023-pick-1-trade-options-analysis-harley-reid-what-is-pick-1-worth-in-a-deal-west-coast-eagles-north-melbourne-melbourne-offers/news-story/a0a86d51358c9e10f834b850bfa50506

Curious what people think the value of Geelong’s pick 8 would be? Cal Twomey has stated that we - as well as Adelaide - are interested With Geelong seemingly interested in taking multiple picks to the draft, would 11, 42 and perhaps a future second or third round pick secure it? Or is that overs? Could be the missing piece of a play for pick 1 or another strong move up the draft for us

James Leake

Here is Cal Twomey’s most recent form guide: https://www.afl.com.au/news/1054452/cal-twomeys-phantom-form-guide-top-draft-prospects-october-ranking

I’m personally happy to go all chips in on pick 1 by offering 6, 11 and F1 although I’m doubtful that would get it done But I wouldn’t be keen on giving up 6 and 11 for anything less such as North’s pick 3 and a later first rounder To me, it seems like Reid is the clear number 1 pick and then there is a group of 6 or so players in the next bracket (Walters, Duursma, McKercher, Watson, Curtin, Sanders) and then another group before a more significant drop off (Caddy, O’Sullivan, Read, Windsor, Leake, Rodgers and potentially Wilson) I’d happily take one of each group with 6 and 11 and don’t think it’s worth over paying to move up slightly in either - particularly as we already moved from 14 to 11 to get into the second tier

Who else does he manage? 👀

Couldn’t Melksham moving to the rookie list open up an extra spot? Two draft picks + Billings? Also possible that Brown gets rookied or we don’t take him at all

Looks like we could be in for another last day Tim Lamb special: https://x.com/tommorris32/status/1714391553035350298?s=46&t=uC9z4AjzfWvj5kf1WQ6J6g

Frustrating to think we might be going through another year of contract speculation, but the fact is we need him for 2024 Thankfully he’s contracted until 2025, so if he still wants out in 12 months, we get everything we can for him out of Adelaide and go hard for King, JUH or McDonald Having said that a lot can happen in a year or two, so there’s every chance he changes his mind and commits long term (r-right? 😢)