demoncat

I’d be curious how his speed compares to Bont or Cripps Neither are quick but they’re two of the best centre bounce midfielders in the league and have no issues winning a clearance

I’ll be a very happy Dees fan if we nab either one of them

Speed won’t be an issue as long as he can get to contests and use his strength and smarts to win the ball (not to mention his contested marking in the fwd 50) If he’s available at 5 take him and pick a faster type at 9 to pair with him for the next decade

Interesting that Lloyd points out his aggression when it doesn’t really come across in his highlights I’ll back JT in if he sees the same traits and drafts him, but I’ll be holding my breath that’s for sure

I can’t speak for anyone else but personally I haven’t seen enough from him to suggest that he has the competitiveness and aggression to make it as a key fwd at AFL level And while he’s solidly built for his age he’s not coming in as physically developed as a say a Jed Walter type, another first round pick who struggled at AFL level in his first year I think a lot of Dees fans are just worried about using a first round pick and ending up with another Weid (and potentially Jefferson) Whereas we have the opportunity to draft more likely midfield types with both 5 and 9, and set our midfield up for the next decade alongside Rivers, Windsor and Tholstrup

I had Langford ahead of Smith for a while but I’m coming around to taking him if he’s available (even if Langford is still there) Imagine if we had a Daicos or Sheezel type in our midfield the last few years? Smith might not be at their levels but I could definitely see him coming in and playing a similar role to those two - perhaps coming off half back or sitting off the back of stoppages and then using his skills and ball winning to set us up in transition

He looks a gun in every part of his game except his kicking, which looks genuinely shocking at times If you could fix that he could be an absolute steal, but after the past few years I think a lot of Dees fans are nervous about taking any player who isn’t at least a competent kick…

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