Whispering_Jack

The good thing for Jake is that he’s come to the club at a time when things are going well and there’s no urgency to push him into the fray early. So he won’t get the early glamour of the likes of a Gulden or a Thilthorpe but he will have every opportunity to develop his game and come into the team when he’s good and ready.

The new look VFL with its 22 teams is beginning to look lopsided and problematic. The fact that each team plays 16 matches and therefore won’t play 5 of the other teams during the regular season could lead to inequities when it comes to deciding the finals. This is not the ideal competition.

Who plays? Here’s the list with status after last night’s Casey game - 1. Steven May 2. Nathan Jones 3. Christian Salem 4. James Harmes (CASEY) 5. Christian Petracca 6. Luke Jackson 7. Jack Viney 8. Jake Lever 9. Charlie Spargo 10. Angus Brayshaw 11 Max Gawn 12. Toby Bedford (CASEY) 13. Clayton Oliver 14. Michael Hibbert 15. Ed Langdon 16. Bailey Laurie (INJURED LIST) 17. Jake Bowey (CASEY) 18. Jake Melksham 19. Fraser Rosman (CASEY) 20. Adam Tomlinson 21. Marty Hore (INJURED LIST) 22. Aaron vandenBerg (INJURED LIST) 23. James Jordon 24. Trent Rivers 25. Tom McDonald 26. Sam Weideman (CASEY) 27. Aaron Nietschke (INJURED LIST) 28. Majak Daw (CASEY) 29. Jayden Hunt 30. Alex Neal-Bullen 31. Bayley Fritsch 32. Tom Sparrow (CASEY) 33. Oskar Baker 34. Deakyn Smith (CASEY) 35. Harry Petty 36. Kysaiah Pickett 37. Kade Chandler (CASEY) 38. Mitch Brown 39. Neville Jetta (CASEY) 41. Jay Lockhart (INJURED LIST) 44. Joel Smith (INJURED LIST) 46. Austin Bradtke (CASEY) 50. Ben Brown This leaves 26 players to fit into 22 players plus the medical substitute and one emergency. I suspect that Mitch Brown and Harry Petty are “unofficially” injured. Melksham becomes the sub and Baker the emergency. Official ins and outs - In: Ben Brown Out: Kade Chandler

Jye Bolton has been around forever and a day. He’s 29 years of age and was drafted by Collingwood as a rookie midfielder in the 2010 rookie draft. He played VFL for them in 2011 and moved on to Werribee and other parts after that. Won two Sandover Medals at Claremont and it would be a romantic story if he returned to Collingwood and made it. Like James Podsiadly who was rookied by Essendon and Collingwood early in his career but didn’t get an AFL game until he was 28 by which time the rules allowed mature rookies and he was taken by Geelong. Ended up playing more than 100 games for the Cats and the Crows. Good luck to Kobe Farmer but unless he’s shot up from 169cm, he’s going to struggle.

Yes, it depends on the club’s position at the time of the mid season draft which I believe is slated for 2 June, 2021 i.e after Round 11 so there’s a lot of water still to flow under that bridge. However, there’s another factor and that is that the club must have a vacancy on its list after the 2020 drafts and the supplemental selections in March as well as long term injuries to players. At the end of the draft period, Melbourne had two list vacancies which it filled with two supplemental selections in Majak Daw and Deakyn Smith. However, a further two potential list spots were opened in the pre season period with ACL’s to Marty Hore and the unlucky Aaron Nietschke. We don’t have to exercise the picks but have the right to do so. I read recently that a number of clubs don’t have vacancies and at this stage, it’s unlikely that Carlton, Fremantle, Geelong, GWS Giants, Richmond, West Coast and Western Bulldogs will participate but that could change depending on the situation with injuries. I suppose that the salary cap might affect whether clubs decide to use the MSD. My guesstimate as to the positions if the draft was held today is as follows (but note that ladder positions will change over the next five rounds):- 1. North Melbourne 2. Collingwood 3. St. Kilda 4. Hawthorn 5. Essendon 6. Gold Coast 7. Adelaide 8. Brisbane 9. Sydney 10. Port Adelaide 11. Melbourne 12. North Melbourne 13. Collingwood 14. St. Kilda 15. Gold Coast 16. Adelaide 17. Melbourne 18. North Melbourne 19. St. Kilda 20. Gold Coast 21. St. Kilda 22. Gold Coast I’ve already mentioned that I would like to see the club avail itself of a pick but more to select a player with an eye for the future because it’s likely that we won’t be participating in the early part of the November national draft. Given the disruption to play in 2020, there are going to be some rare hidden gems that have been kept under the radar and if we get it right, we could achieve some big bonuses for the future.

Andrew received a glowing report given the outcome of the game. Scouting Notes: 2021 AFL Under 19 Academy vs. Geelong VFL #28 Mac Andrew (Dandenong Stingrays/VC) One of the steepest risers in this year’s crop, the Melbourne Next Generation Academy (NGA) prospect proved his true first round potential. He played up either end and gained a good tick for his versatility, but well and truly came to life in the final term with an awesome showing in the ruck – despite the result being well beyond his side at that point. Andrew caught the eye with phenomenal vertical leaps at each centre bounce, with his first act of the final term a follow-up clearance. He highlighted his marking ability with a nice clunk in front, and showed off some finesse in the ruck with a wonderfully directed hit to the anchoring Jason Horne. Having started forward, the Dandenong Stingrays talent snared the first score of the game with a snap, before displaying clean hands on the move and flying well in his less fruitful move to defence. Demons recruiters will now be sweating on his potential after a string of terrific performances, if they were not already.

The statistics ~ Riley Baldi 4 kicks 2 handballs 6 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 31 dream team points Oskar Baker 1 behind 18 kicks 6 handballs 24 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 90 dream team points Toby Bedford 3 behinds 12 kicks 7 handballs 19 disposals 5 marks 6 tackles 94 dream team points Jake Bowey 14 kicks 12 handballs 26 disposals 5 marks 81 dream team points Aaron Bradtke 1 goal 5 kicks 3 handballs 8 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 8 hit outs 43 dream team points Ben Brown 4 goals 2 behinds 10 kicks 2 handballs 12 disposals 5 marks 3 tackles 2 hit outs 87 dream team points Majak Daw 3 behinds 13 kicks 5 handballs 18 disposals 7 marks 6 tackles 32 hit outs 126 dream team points Zac Foot 1 goal 13 kicks 7 handballs 20 disposals 5 marks 3 tackles 85 dream team points Tom Freeman 7 kicks 1 handballs 8 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 41 dream team points George Grey 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 5 tackles 71 dream team points Jack Hutchins 1 behind 7 kicks 2 handballs 9 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 38 dream team points Neville Jetta 16 kicks 7 handballs 23 disposals 6 marks 80 dream team points Tom McCaffrey 13 kicks 2 handballs 15 disposals 8 marks 68 dream team points Cory Machaya 1 goal 8 kicks 2 handballs 10 disposals 3 marks 44 dream team points James Munro 1 goal 1 behind 12 kicks 9 handballs 21 disposals 2 marks 10 tackles 107 dream team points Harrison Petty 8 kicks 1 handball 9 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 40 dream team points Fraser Rosman 4 kicks 3 handballs 7 disposals 1 mark 21 dream team points Deakyn Smith 7 kicks 8 handballs 15 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 49 dream team points Ryan Sparkes 7 kicks 5 handballs 12 disposals 2 marks 5 tackles 54 dream team points Tom Sparrow 1 behind 11 kicks 7 handballs 18 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 62 dream team points Sam Weideman 3 goals 2 behinds 9 kicks 4 handballs 13 disposals 8 marks 1 tackle 82 dream team points Mitch White 2 goals 1 behind 13 kicks 6 handballs 19 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 79 dream team points

Happy to take them on anywhere, any time but first we have a big game tonight. Football’s all about one game at a time.

Excellent research Mr. Pennski and I stand corrected. Both dates are significant for Dylan aficionados. The Newport Folk Festival fiasco took place on 25 July, 1965 which of course was the day after the sacking of Norm Smith was announced and Melbourne took the field against North Melbourne under the coaching of “Checker” Hughes who will be honoured tonight at the G. And let’s hope that the times are a changing and we get the job done on the Tigers.

Yes. We seem to be very well placed to try to pick up a rare hidden gem or two for the future. The thing that we shouldn’t forget is that at this point in time we don’t have a first round pick for the National Draft and, based on the way we’re traveling at the moment, our first selection is therefore going to be somewhere in the late 30s. Given that so much potential talent was left without exposure to games of footy last year because of Covid19, you never know what could emerge over the next month or two to help with our overall recruiting going forward.

The fact that Andrew has made the squad of 24 suggests that he’s getting close to top 20 selection so it’s up to him to keep improving to force his way into contention. Taj Woewodin is playing in the WAFL Colts competition (although probably not this weekend thanks to Covid19) so he’s a bit more under the radar compared to the elite group in the team for today’s game.

Remember it well and the day still hurts after all these years because it truly heralded the end of Melbourne’s great golden era. And it was all the more painful because we were 8-0 on Queen’s Birthday morning, 1965. The truth is that our team was growing older, we hadn’t recruited well for a couple of years and there were cracks in the ranks over the loss of our greatest ever player Ron Barassi who had switched to Carlton while Norm Smith and the committee weren’t seeing eye to eye over a legal issue. In short, the bubble burst and we even failed to make the finals (it was a final 4 in those days). My only criticism of the article by Age journo Percy Beams and a great Demon was his comment about the game being “watched and enjoyed by a crowd of 72,114.” I didn’t enjoy it and at least half of the crowd would not have enjoyed what was the beginning of the “Norm Smith curse”. The lesson is that you can never take anything for granted. Footnote for those who follow the American folk/rock music scene is that on the day after the game and the very day on which the Beams article was published, the great Bob Dylan went electric at the Newport Folk Festival and caused an uproar that had massive repercussions in the American music scene. As a fan of the folk scene at the time as well as the MFC, my entire world was turned upside down in the space of two days.

Agreed about our own accuracy in front of goal but it’s also an issue for us at the other end of the ground. While our defence has generally been very strong, our opponents have been extremely accurate when it’s come to their kicking for goal. With the exception of Round 1 (Freo 8.10.58 after being 0.6 at one stage) teams have scored more goals than behinds in every game (includes 11.2.68 by GWS). On the other hand, we’ve still managed to keep opposition scores down with St. Kilda’s 11.7.73 being the highest score against to this point in time.

We need 4 quarters tonight - nothing less.

I've changed the title of the thread to cover only the mid year draft. The mid year draft does not involve trading which can only happen during the trade period at the end of the season.

Mac Andrew is being hyped up in today’s Herald Sun which refers to his inclusion in the NAB AFL Academy Squad to play against Geelong. On the other hand, his NAB League SuperRanking after Round 4 is only 34 while Bulldogs NGA Academy prospect Cody Raak is #1 on that list. The SuperRanking list doesn’t include interstate players so Andrew is still not guaranteed a top 20 spot by a long way.

This week’s Scouting Notes: 2021 NAB League Boys – Round 3 including you know who from the Dandenong Stingrays.

Mac CHF in the current team of the week

Love your work goodoil. For those who are wondering ~ Manute Bol .

Yes and until draft time the Mac Andrew story is part of the NAB Boys League. A separate thread can be opened closer to the Draft.

The point here is that, unlike the others you cite, Bradtke is a Category B rookie who we were able to recruit because he had not played football for several years. He came from a basketball background and, at the time of his recruitment, it was acknowledged that he was a player who would require substantial development over a number of years. Given the closure of the VFL due to Covid19, he's actually one game into his second season. Let's see where he's at after he plays another dozen games at that level.

Professor Wikipedia on Dean Cox “The Eagles then put him on their senior list and he made his AFL debut in 2001. Initially he showed few signs of his potential at that level. However, he was persisted with ... “He came of age during the 2005 season ...” Cox turned 24 during the 2005 season when “he came of age” but let’s not get in the way of a good fact. Max also had his coming of age season at the same age. Luke Jackson is one of the rare breed who has been able to spend time in the ruck on a consistent basis as a teen and we’re lucky to have him, just as he’s lucky to be the understudy to a great ruck man so the pressure is very much off him. This just underscores his own great potential. It doesn’t in any way diminish others like Bradtke who will need a lot of development time if he’s going to make it at all. Similarly, Mac Andrew will take time as well, not just to learn the skills of ruck work but to add the around 30kgs he would need to compete with the big boys.

There’s one category of footballer that I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss and that’s the ruck. Even allowing for the fact that he was handicapped by 3 ACL’s, our skipper was well beyond the age of 21 when he established himself in that position. History tells us that you shouldn’t write off 20/21 year old ruckmen. Dean Cox was picked as a rookie by the Eagles at 20 but didn’t come of age until he was 24. Aaron Sandilands was also picked as a rookie by the Dockers but didn’t make All-Australian till he was 26. Although he’s nowhere near to their class as a ruckman, Brisbane Lions’ Oscar McInerney was running around in the then VFL Development League (reserves) for Casey at 21 years of age and was 23 when drafted as a rookie (at #37) by the Lions. He was almost 24 when he played his first AFL game. Until injured early this season he was the #1 ruck in a team that was regarded as a premiership contender. There are plenty of other ruckmen who were barely on the radar at 21 so I wouldn’t be writing Bradtke off just yet.

Yes ... but at least when he did notice Goody, he was seeing two of him.

The match statistics Oskar Baker 5 kicks 2 handballs 7 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 32 dream team points Toby Bedford 2 goals 10 kicks 5 handballs 15 disposals 1 mark 7 tackles 79 dream team points Jake Bowey 16 kicks 6 handballs 22 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 76 dream team points Aaron Bradtke 2 behinds 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 8 hit outs 36 dream team points Ben Brown 3 goals 1 behind 14 kicks 4 handballs 18 disposals 6 marks 1 hit out 90 dream team points Kade Chandler 1 goal 2 behinds 14 kicks 10 handballs 24 disposals 10 marks 3 tackles 112 dream team points Majak Daw 6 kicks 6 handballs 12 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 23 hit outs 62 dream team points Zac Foot 8 kicks 5 handballs13 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 48 dream team points Tom Freeman 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 6 marks 54 dream team points Luca Goonan 1 behind 10 kicks 7 handballs 17 disposals 6 marks 3 tackles 72 dream team points George Grey 1 behind 6 kicks 6 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 53 dream team points Jack Hutchins 5 kicks 3 handballs 8 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 35 dream team points Neville Jetta 1 behind 19 kicks 6 handballs 25 disposals 7 marks 5 tackles 113 dream team points Jay Lockhart 20 kicks 3 handballs 23 disposals 9 marks 2 tackles 99 dream team points James Munro 6 kicks 8 handballs 14 disposals 3 marks 8 tackles 74 dream team points Fraser Rosman 2 goals 8 kicks 8 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 49 dream team points Deakyn Smith 14 kicks 5 handballs 19 disposals 7 marks 4 tackles 78 dream team points Joel Smith 11 kicks 7 handballs 18 disposals 5 marks 62 dream team points Ryan Sparkes 1 goal 1 behind 10 kicks 0 handballs 16 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 69 dream team points Aaron vandenBerg 1 goal 16 kicks 9 handballs 25 disposals 7 marks 5 tackles 113 dream team points Sam Weideman 7 goals 2 behinds 12 kicks 4 handballs 16 disposals 7 marks 2 hit outs 110 dream team points Mitch White 2 behinds 12 kicks 4 handballs 16 disposals 8 marks 5 tackles 91 dream team points