sylvinator

i found this on bigfooty...now dont roll ur eyes, but 1 out of 1000 people on bigfooty actually watch lots of under18 action and know lots about the draftees. in this phantom draft these guyz were rated very highly, but most phantom drafts have them slipping to 14. no doubt one of them will still be at our pick. it seems the top 11 will be Kruiser,Morton,Masten,Cotchin,McEvoy,Palmer,Henderson,Rance,Ebert,Myers and Grant...surely one of these could slip through as well..? basically, pick 14 we have plenty of options to get a great pick up. i think we should nab Rioli if available. We are desperate for another crumber to help out Davey, and he will turn out into a great midfielder. from the video footage ive seen of him, he seems special. 5. C Rioli DOB 14/7/89 Ht 178 Wt 74 Along with Collier, he was the standout draft prospect of Div 2. Rioli had some injury problems coming into the Champs and so was a little underdone and short of match fitness. Because of this he split time between the midfield and forward line in the first two matches. He came into the last match with an injury and so played exclusively in the forward line against Qld and managed a lazy 7 goals for NT. Not bad for someone with and injury and lacking match practice. This is the kind of magic that I think makes Rioli possibly the most exciting prospect in this draft. He quite simply has the potential to be the great indigenous player of his generation. Longer term I don’t think there is any doubt that Rioli will be a midfielder at AFL level but early on may he is likely to start on the HFF and work up into the midfield. He is a left footer with extremely good skills by foot and hand and with the great skill of being able to see everything happening around him and chose the right option. He has the ability to hit players in stride whilst at full pace himself and can make something out of nothing. He is an elusive runner and will often seem to be dancing around looking for an option where you would think someone should be tackling him. The one play from the Champs that sticks in my memory is a play where he used his pace to create separation from his player in the middle of the ground running at full pace toward the boundary. At about 70 metres out and close to the boundary he pulled the ball back sharply across his body and hit the leading forward in stride on the chest leading straight out from goal about 35 out. He has good accurate kick for goal landing them anywhere anywhere inside the 50. The tight pocket shots are also a bit of a party piece for him and he regularly nails these. He is deceptively strong in the body and has good hands in the marking contest. To add to his arsenal he also possesses a Voss like hand pass that will travel 20m to put his man away. He has reasonably good pace and stamina and is a great chase down and tackle player. Despite his injuries he was 6th in effective kicks at the Champs and 1st in goal assists which is a testament to his superb delivery and great vision. He is a bit shorter than is ideal nower days but not overly so. This is one guy I think who might not get picked up in the first couple but who is going to make those teams regret their decision for years to come. 7. Collier – DOB 25/3/89 Ht 192 Wt 86 There were two guys who stood out head and shoulders above the rest of Div 2 players as far as being draft prospects and they were Rioli and Collier. Collier played on ball or at half back and looks like he has all the talent and skills to be a star at the next level. At 192 he could legitimately play at CHB at AFL level but with his skills and engine he could also play in the midfield much in the same way as Chad Cornes does for Port. At the Champs he was a very physical presence especially charging through packs when he had the ball. He is a very strong, well balanced, elusive runner with a fantastic burst of speed all of which makes him extremely difficult to tackle. This is all the more the case when he is playing in the middle against smaller opponents. At the Champs he had some jaw dropping runs through the middle leaving defenders sprawling in his wake. As far as his midfield work goes for a tall guy he works well in and under and got his fair share of hard balls. When he has the ball he is poised and balanced in his disposal. He has good vision and his option taking is usually first class and he regularly set up goals for others at the Champs. At the Champs he had a hard tag most of the time and still managed to pick up 23 possessions a match and most of them were pure class. Collier also ended up with 11 contested possessions a match which was fourth best and even better considering he split time between the backline and midfield. He was a leader of the Tasmanian team and the guy they looked to to lead the way for them. He tends at this stage to not work overhead much and I haven’t seen enough of him to know whether this is a problem in his game or not. He has improved enormously over the last year after being overlooked in last year’s draft. He had been playing senior football for Tasmania in the VFL at half back and has shown discipline and composure in that role at that level. He is out of the rest of the year with a finger problem but I don’t see this hurting his draft prospects at all. This is one guy that I would love to see at Brisbane. 9. Grimes – DOB 11/5/89 Ht 187 Wt 76 Grimes was the best Vic Metro midfielder at the championships in my opinion. He has all the physical tools to succeed at AFL level in the midfield or the HFF. He has good prototypical modern height at 187, is agile and has good pace. He seems to have a good engine and works hard to make contests and throughout the game in general. His hands are good and he works well in tight situations. He has a determined streak which serves him well on the field and he thrives on a challenge. He reads play well and has footy smarts which serves him well when he floats forward. He is very dangerous around goal and is a good shot on goal within his range. Teams who value leadership in their recruits will also be looking at him closely as he captains his sides at all levels. The one major weakness in his game is in his disposal which lets him down too much. He is a right footer who doesn’t have great style and misses his targets too much. He doesn’t seem to have great feel on his kicks and when weighting passes will come up short or long. At the championships he also tended to fade in and out of games a little but I don’t have major concerns with this given that he was getting a lot of attention and he managed to work through the tags and still get his possessions. He has had a good season in the TAC and has averaged in the high 20’s in possessions. If a team thinks they can sort out his kicking I think he could go very high. 10. Rance – DOB 9/10/89 Ht 194 Wt 87 Rance was probably the most impressive Div 1 key position player for me and looks like he will be a class player. He directed the WA backline from CHB and provided good leadership for his fellow backmen. He has ideal size and is reasonably agile. Defensively he was mostly very good although there were occasional lapses where he was caught zoning off and his man lead him to the ball. He shows good closing speed and awareness of when to commit to a contest. He works hard to keep the pressure on and is never out of a contest having very good recovery skills. He is also courageous, goes hard at the ball and will put his body on the line. Going forward he is excellent and provides great run from defence. He will get his fair share of possessions and has the skills to make them count. By foot he has got pretty good length and when going short weights his kicks particularly well and usually finds his man. He finished seventh in the championships in handballs and looks to play on quickly on most occasions. He has been playing senior football in the WAFL and is a very improved player this year.

if people look at all the trades, the only player to fetch a first rounder was Judd, Wood and Johnstone!!! judd is the best player in the afl at 24yrold Wood is a 20 yrold extremely highly rated ruckman- ruckman always have huge currency...Jolly got us pick14 remember!!! Johnstone- 28 yrs old- brilliant at times, but pretty inconsistent... in the perspective of trade period, pick 14 was a great get. hopefully we use it well

i can picture it is 2 years time... johnstone is 30 and nearing the end of his career. still plays the odd scorcher but certainly not an elite afl player. at 30 injuries start to catch up on him... pick 14 we pick up a quality youngsters (1 of Henderson, Grant, Rance, Rioli are bound to slip to 14)...at 20 years old the draftee is starting to consolidate a starting 18 spot, and is looking forward to the next 10 years playing for the demons! as long as we pick up a good kid- like Jones,Dunn and Bate who were drafted at similar positions- and dont pick up a dud- Nick Smith- then we are huge winners in this trade.

now that trading is done, we can look at our list pretty close to how it will look for round1 2008! Bell, Carrol, Frawley Wheatley, Rivers, Pettard Sylvia, Mclean, Bruce Green, Newton, Bate Davey, Neitz, Robertson White, McDonald, Jones Interchange: Moloney, Dunn, Bartram, P.Johnson, Yze, Miller, Whelan still developing: Meesen, Buckley, C.Johnson, Garland, Bode, Weetra, pick4, pick14, pick21, pick54, PSDpick3 Depth (in case of injury to first choice k.p.p or ruckman): Holland, Warnock, Ferguson, Jamar Rookie: Hughes out from 07: 7 players (Bizzel,Brown,Ward,Pickett,Godfrey,Neville,Johnstone) in to 08: 7 players (4 draftees, 1PSD pick, Meesen, Bode) NOTES: - i think people will find that Miller will have a significant role this year. Bailey anounced he thought players were being played out of position in 07. clearly he was refering to miller being shifted to the backline. Bailey will back himself to transform miller into a quality forward - With Johnstone gone, watch Sylvia and Dunn train the entire preseason with the midfielder. they will not play in the forward line as they did this season. sylvia could be the big improver with a big preseason - i suspect Green should play closer to goal, more at halfforward. pretty much how sylvia played this year, but sylvia will not be playing in the midfield, so this opens up. - big improvers in 08 could be Garland, Sylvia, Frawley, Dunn and C.Johnson - guyz coming back from long term injury- Rivers, Bartram, Moloney, Yze and Whelan are pretty much 5 recruits for 08 and all are in our best 22 when fully fit. - Meesen will start at sandy to continue his development. he's only 20. but watch him be in our starting 22 by midyear 08 - pick 4 we must pick up a midfielder to replace johnstone, and midfielders are less risky for such high picks. i will be hoping for Cotchin, Masten or Palmer! - pick 14 should be for a top10 that slips through abit...it's possible one of Grant,Henderson,Rance or Rioli will still be available. if so, what a steal! - pick 21 and 54 should be used for the best available key position players - pick 3 PSD should either be another 18yrold, or hopefully a good uncontracted player (Brennan? who knows at this stage?)

2 very good deals by us! trade 1: Meesen for pick 37...massive steal. pick 8 and only 20 years old. could be a replacement for white. if he comes on as expected, will be the steal of the trade period. trade 2: johnstone for pick 14...big win... if people look at trade week, the only players who fetched a round 1 pick were Judd (best player in the afl), Wood (20 year old extremely highly rated ruckman always have high currency) and Johnstone (a 28 year old pretty inconsistent midfielder)!!! people who thought a 28 yr old could get a top 10 pick, dont understand the currency top10 picks have in trade week. pick 14 is a strong first rounder, and for a 28yr old, is very well done. we now have picks 4,14 and 21!!! great stuff. johnstone may play well for brisbane, but in 2 seasons, when pick 14 turns out to be a 20yr old guy like Dunn,Bate or Jones and johnstone is close to retirement, we will be laughing!

pick30 traded from westcoast to bulldogs, then ontraded to the crows for part of the hudson deal

CAC just on SEN...he said he dont have any more trades on the cards, tho he said that he will still be talking to the other clubs up until the deadline. dont expect any more deals, perhaps only trading CJ for a 3rd rounder... Miller will definitely be a demon next year, Bailey believes he can turn his potential into success

http://bigpondvideo.com/afl/41371 if people want to look at our potential pick 4, check out this link. it's long but very informative. it's thru the afl.com.au website called "draft camp review"

i'm starting to hear so much about Masten, that it seems he's clearly the best midfielder after Cotchin and Morton. if WestCoast dont pick this kid up, we should definitely take him. runs a beep test of 14.12, springs in under 3 seconds. in the archetypal inside and outside midfielder. is a ball magnet, and a genuine footballer

for me, its heartening to know that Bailey has such a clear, distinct vision of what our list should look like. people have been calling for a shakeup of our list all year- and Bailey has done it. he's gotten rid of all our dead wood (Ward,Godfrey,Brown,Bizzel, Pickett, Neville) and make a harsh call on the perenially inconsistent Johnstone. most notably, all players (except neville) are above 28yrsold. he has publicly state that he will build our list around our under23s. Bailey is making the tough calls, but i like the direction we're heading. this is what we should have done 2 years ago. now with pick4,14 and 21 and pick3PSD we can pick up 4 young-guns. add them to our young guns Rivers,Mclean,Sylvia,Jones,Bartram, Bate, Pettard,Frawley, Newton, Davey, Bell, Dunn, Moloney, PJ and Meesen. clearly we still have holes in our list: another key forward is essential, also a key defender and a fast midfielder. People have been crying out for this exact shakeup. it's exactly what we need as a club. maybe guyz like Bruce will realize that he can't fark around anymore. We are a team going places, and it will be built around our impressive crop of under23s. i like what Bailey is doing to our list

The truth about the Johnstone trade!!! a must read! Johnstone for pick 14 is a good trade for the demons. some people complain that pick 14 could be some 17yr old kid for such a talented midfielder. HOWEVER, if pick 14 is used well (ala matthew Bate, Lynden Dunn, Nathan Jones and Daniel Bell) then we will be laughing in 2 years time. in 2 years, we'll have an upncoming young gun, and johnstone will be 30, still inconsistent and nearing the end of his career. in the long run, we are making a very clever move. people should not just look at this decision in terms of its effect in 2008. look at its effect in 2009-2010. people were upset when Woewoden was traded for pick 15. they said "why are we traded a talented proven performer (and brownlow medalist) for pick 14. 2 years later woewoden retires, and now we have Daniel Bell as one of our upncoming young guns.

it was speculated he was offered a contract...clearly MFC would wait to see what happens during trade week before finalizing any contract. hasnt confirmed signed yet

also, its muchmuch better to get these young talented ruckman who are onyl 20-21 years old for cheap, rather than wasting lots of draft picks on 17 year olds who will hopefully turn into good ruckman. Meesen and Moran are clever ways of protecting our ruck options post White

i would defintely go for Moran, perhaps for pick 43 that we are getting for Chris Johnson to Stkilda. we can then delist Jamar coz he is hopeless and will never become a number 1 ruckman. that will leave us with White (number1 ruck but only 1-2 seasons left), PJ (a great backup ruck option who can play key position), Meeson (a highly talented and developing number1 ruck), and Moran (a highly talented and developing number 1 ruck)

i think our best bet is to pick up a player like Moran from tha kangas...he is a proming young ruckman and would be a steal in the psd. also known that we are interested in him. then we can delist jamar, and have White, Meeson, PJ and Moran as our 4 ruckman. with white close to retirement and PJ showing he is a more than capable backup ruckman, that leave us with 2 highly rated and talented developing ruckman to take over White eventually. remember people, that if we dont pick up guyz like Meeson and Moran we're gonna have to waste plenty of draft picks trying to find White's replacement. better off finding his replacemnet thru the psd

i'm very satisfied with pick 14 for Johnstone...there are around 15 standouts this year, and its highly likely one very highly rated player will slip thru to 14. johnstone is 28, and has not being able to consistently play good football. pick 14 for such an old and inconsistent player is a great deal. if we get something extra (like a sweetner of a 3rd rounder) would be great as well

pick 37 for Meesen is a masssiiivvveee victory for us. that's a steal. Meesen in only 21 years old, pick 8 in 2004 draft. He was injured for 2-3 months at the start and that was the only reason he dropped down the pecking order. he is supposed to be a supreme athlete. is big and strong, and obviously highly talented or he wouldnt have been chosen at pick 8. in 2006 he showed huge amount of promise playing as first ruck for Norwood. if this guy fulfills his potential we couldv gotten the biggest steal ever and a 10 year replacement for White. if not, its only pick 37, so is a speculative pick anyways

who says its a shallow draft...how would u know. i honestly want to know. have u followed the under 18s? how many tac cup matches did u watch? i heard it was an even draft, and after the first round it was even. if u draft well pick 42 could be useful. Michael newton pick 43. If Chris Johnson is traded Bailey obviously doesnt see him as part of our future. Johnson has had opportunities, and is simply not afl standard. if we get anything for him we should snatch it. we need picks to give bailey and CAC an opportunity to build our team. Chris johnson is borderline delisting. i wouldnt be upset to see him go. pick 43 is more than fine

imo Rys shaw is overly maligned...he has huge pace and has the ability to rack up 30 touches off the half back... with Ward and Brown gawn, Shaw would have a place in our team at half back. we could use his pace also... but even so, i would trade Johnstone for pick14 alone, so Shaw would just be a bonus... if would could get pick 14 and a second rounder, that would be perfect

if we trade Johnstone for pick 14, i would be reasonably happy. there are atleast 14 quality players in this draft, and if one top 10 slipped through, we could easily pick up a gem! it would probably be a fair trade as well. johnstone is 27 turning 28. he would really help add experience and class to a young brisbane team. MFC are looking for picks so that we can build a team around our under 23 yr olds. our 27 yr olds are dispensible because they are viewed as the cream (rather than the core) to any tilt at the premiership we have in the next 3 years. top 12 draftees: Kruiser, Morton, Cotchin, Masten, Grant, Palmer, McEvoy, Ebert, Rance, Henderson, Rioli, Myers i dont claim to be an expert of this years draftees. this means that there will certainly be atleast a couple highly rated youngsters in the top 10 which i dont know about... my point is, that if any of these 12 slip to 14 we should be stoked. pick 14= a good draft pick

im guessing Callan was traded to the bullies for pick 38...then it seems that Hudson must have been trade for pick 22... this is surprising considering the bullies couldv gotten Hudsen for nothing in the psd...? adelaide seem to be very well this trade period, trading average players for good 2nd round picks

mattner swap not finalized yet

SYDNEY Coach Paul Roos: On Martin Mattner: "We're pretty pleased to have him on board. We've been doing a little bit with Marty and the Crows have been really good to deal with, and we've been pretty keen to pursue it with him. We pushed it pretty hard with Marty and he agreed to come to us this morning, so it's just a matter of trying to get things finalised. It hasn't absolutely got over the line, but it's pretty well a done deal." the deal has not yet been finalized, and i think 'the australian' is simply assuming that the deal is for pick 28. it could well be for pick 44... let's just wait till things are finalized

agree. pick 21 is too much. pick 37 is a steal, but Adelaide will have to get over it, bc Meesan will simply nominate for the psd and we'll get him for nothing

Hay was worth 2 first round picks...Woewoden on the decline was worth pick 14. as was Jolly. u dont necessarily have to a superstar to fetch a first rounder...u just need to be required by another team... it seems a couple of clubs would see Green as a big asset otherwize they wouldnt have enquired