Whispering_Jack

Nick Daicos leads Knightmare’s June power rankings AFL Draft - June's Power Rankings: Daicos pulling away from chasing pack

Confirmed in an article on page 46 in this morning’s Herald Sun (VIC PLAYERS SCRATCH ITCH THROUGH UNOFFICIAL MATCHES by Sam Landsberger - paywall no link). However, only four clubs participated in the “club-run match simulation” for players not selected in Round 12 - Carlton, Collingwood , Melbourne and Essendon. There’s very little else in the article and no Melbourne players named so it doesn’t provide much insight into possible team changes. Perhaps an “insider” might be prepared to name some names of those involved and how they went??

The best part of the Carlton v West Coast telecast has been the ads for Four N’ Twenty Pies.

And so, for the second year in a row, the big blockbuster game between the Dees and the Pies will not be played in front of a big crowd on the MCG. Last time around, it was a 10 goal win for Melbourne at the Gabba. This time we move a little closer to the SCG. Last year’s teams - MELBOURNE FB Michael Hibberd Steven May Jay Lockhart HB Christian Salem Jake Lever Nathan Jones C Ed Langdon Clayton Oliver Adam Tomlinson HF Jake Melksham Tom McDonald Bayley Fritsch FF Christian Petracca Sam Weideman Kysaiah Pickett FOL Braydon Preuss Angus Brayshaw Jack Viney I/C James Harmes Charlie Spargo Tom Sparrow Aaron vandenBerg EMG Mitch Brown Mitch Hannan Jayden Hunt Joel Smith IN Jay Lockhart Braydon Preuss Jack Viney OUT Mitch Hannan (omitted) Luke Jackson (hamstring) Trent Rivers (omitted) COLLINGWOOD FB Jack Crisp Darcy Moore Jack Madgen HB Brayden Maynard Lynden Dunn John Noble C Tom Phillips Steele Sidebottom Josh Daicos HF Brody Mihocek Ben Reid Will Hoskin-Elliott FF Callum L Brown Darcy Cameron Jamie Elliott FOL Brodie Grundy Taylor Adams Scott Pendlebury IC Trey Ruscoe Josh Thomas Travis Varcoe Rupert Wills EMG Tim Broomhead Mark Keane Chris Mayne Matthew Scharenberg IN Jamie Elliott Will Hoskin-Elliott Darcy Moore Scott Pendlebury Ben Reid OUT Tim Broomhead (omitted) Chris Mayne (omitted) Jordan Roughead (concussion) Brayden Sier (quad) Jaidyn Stephenson (omitted)

Saints will be playing out the rest of 2021 for draft picks. Their poor percentage has put them out of the running and rightly so!

Ed Pascoe’s Top 20 June update

Hope Bowey gets a game sooner or later but not against Collingwood on QB. After the Jack Watts experience, we should never give debuts in that game again.

Brisbane has included their big gun Brownlow Medalist for the game after several weeks on the sidelines. This might provide a big test for the Demons but it could backfire badly on the Lions. The next 20 or so hours will tell the story.

According to Bigfooty’s Knightmare, Melbourne’s greatest list need is a mid-forward who can add speed. He recommends a West Australian by the name of Haiden Schloithe. What every AFL club needs to do at the 2021 mid-season draft Schloithe was included in Knighmare’s recent top ten draft rankings:- “Averaging 32 disposals and kicking 11 goals from his five WAFL games so far, Schloithe is arguably the premier state-leaguer and is the ultimate choice for any club looking to instantly improve their midfield and front half. Schloithe has been a dominant player so far this season and has been a star for several years, previously winning the Sandover Medal ahead of then teammate Tim Kelly who went on to get drafted the same year. There are 'accumulators' in the state leagues (who might not damage teams with their touches), and then there is Schloithe, who has good speed and is a classy and damaging ball user who finishes around goal and hits damaging targets. With Schloithe's capacity to hurt rival teams through the midfield and close to goal, he is good enough to slot straight into any club's best 22. The component that will have some clubs pausing is his age with Schloithe turning 28 in June which may see his chances limited to clubs with shorter time horizons.”

This is the provisional draft order based on reverse current ladder position. It’s not final because clubs can still have additional picks if they nominate additional inactive players:- Rules regarding eligibility - Eligible players include: • A Player who nominated for the most recent NAB AFL National Draft. Please note: A Player who nominated for and was not selected during the Draft and who committed for a further year as a 19-year-old Northern or NGA Academy Player is available to all Clubs should they nominate for the NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft. • A Player who has previously been on the list of a Club (not required to nominate for the most recent Draft) refers to the following situations: • A Delisted Player Please note: A Player delisted by a Club cannot be reselected in the NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft by the same Club in the period immediately following their delisting unless they nominated for the most recent Draft. • A Retired Player and/or a Player who has delisted himself and has not been on an AFL List for one year or more. For example, a player who retired in 2020 is not able to be selected in the 2021 NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft. Players in their 18th year or younger are not eligible to be selected. Any player who does not meet the above criteria can be nominated by a representative of the AFL Talent Pathway, their AFLPA accredited agent or the player themselves and be considered for an exemption. State League Participation: Players who are selected in the 2021 Mid-Season Rookie Draft that stay in their original State are subject to the following: • They will not be permitted to play against their original Club unless otherwise agreed by all parties. • The player has the right to return to their original Club to participate in finals if their service is no longer required at their AFL Club.

Significant win for Essendon and, given their relatively easy draw in the back half of the season, it might have given them a potential finals spot. This could spell big trouble for one of Sydney, West Coast or Richmond.

I doubt that we will be using the MSD to fill all three positions of our ACL victims. I think perhaps, the temporary change in Marty Hore’s status from being out for the season to 10 to 12 weeks might be a hint that the club doesn’t necessarily consider him “inactive”. So, at best, it’s two players. I’m thinking one might be a ready made player required to fill a need for the remainder of the season and possibly going into the finals and the other a hidden gem for the future.

Another record that will surely be hard to beat. Tom Sparrow’s entry onto the field in the last minute of Friday night’s game would have to be the a record in terms of the amount of time a replacement player/sub/emergency has entered the playing arena.

In the lead up to the 2021 AFL Midseason Draft, Chris Doerre (“Knightmare”) has come up with a video presentation of his Top 20 MSD Power Rankings and the best players at each position ranked. https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/knightmares-2021-draft-almanac.1257391/ These are his top twenty power draft candidates of who 3 had yet to nominate at the time of the presentation:- 1. Jackson Callow 2. Jacob Edwards 3. Ned Boyle 4. Bailey Lambert (did not nominate) 5. Tyrone Thorne 6. Angus Baker 7. Jack Avery (did not nominate) 8. Blake Schlensog 9. Patrick Parnell 10. Sam Lowson 11. Max Pescud 12. Haiden Schloithe 13. Jye Bolton 14. Charlie Dean 15. Josh Green 16. Mitch Podhajski 17. Jai Newcombe 18. Zavier Maher 19. Josh Newman (did not nominate) 20. Cody Raak In addition, a further five players were nominated as being worth discussing:- • Nathan Freeman • Marcus Lentini • Joel Trudgeon • Alex Mirkov (210cm with Carlton VFL) • Tyson Stengle

The mail is that Neale is close to a return although he might not be particularly effective if he goes straight into the side after a long break.

Hope they play it at Metricon Stadium for the selfish reason that I’m currently hunkered down and doing it rough in the warmth and brilliant sunshine of late autumn on the Gold Coast while my thoughts are always with my fellow Victorians, locked down, shivering and huddled around fireplaces. I’m up for the challenge of single handedly supporting the Demons to a big win at Carrara if Gillon provides me with the challenge.

Despite the effort against one of the leading teams in the competition, we just fell short THE TEAMS MELBOURNE FB Michael Hibberd Steven May Jay Lockhart HB Christian Salem Jake Lever Oscar McDonald C Ed Langdon Clayton Oliver Bayley Fritsch HF Jake Melksham Sam Weideman James Harmes FF Kysaiah Pickett Mitch Hannan Harley Bennell FOL Max Gawn Christian Petracca Jack Viney I/C Angus Brayshaw Luke Jackson Neville Jetta Nathan Jones EM Tom McDonald Alex Neal-Bullen Joel Smith Adam Tomlinson IN Nathan Jones OUT Aaron vandenBerg (fractured cheek bone) BRISBANE LIONS FB Ryan Lester Harris Andrews Darcy Gardiner HB Daniel Rich Grant Birchall Brandon Starcevich C Mitch Robinson Dayne Zorko Hugh McCluggage HF Jarrod Berry Eric Hipwood Cam Rayner FF Zac Bailey Daniel McStay Charlie Cameron FOL Oscar McInerney Jarryd Lyons Lachie Neale I/C Callum Ah Chee Thomas Berry Lincoln McCarthy Archie Smith EM Connor Ballenden Keidean Coleman Rhys Mathieson Alex Witherden IN Archie Smith OUT Stefan Martin (back)

A rare occasion when it might be important to be negative, rather than positive.

The Dragons fielded a depleted side in their game against Jets with Chesser, Sinn and some of their ruck power missing to go down for the first time in 2021. And in case anyone’s interested, these are the results of the Stingrays game, Mac Andrew kicked a goal but didn’t feature in the best against the Suns Academy. Dandenong Stingrays 2.2 4.8 7.13 8.17 (65) Gold Coast Suns Academy 0.1 1.1 1.3 5.6 (36) GOALS: Dandenong Stingrays: Kyle 2 Cole Culley Cahill Nayna Andrew Murr BEST: Dandenong Stingrays: Bergman Cahill Bravo Frangalas Milford

They simply outclassed us in the middle and all over the ground after half time. WESTERN BULLDOGS FB Easton Wood Alex Keath Caleb Daniel HB Bailey Williams Ryan Gardner Hayden Crozier C Bailey Smith Jack Macrae Lachie Hunter HF Toby McLean Josh Bruce Mitch Wallis FF Tom Liberatore Aaron Naughton Ben Cavarra FOL Tim English Marcus Bontempelli Josh Dunkley I/C Jason Johannisen Patrick Lipinski Ed Richards Laitham Vandermeer, EM Tory Dickson Riley Garcia Roarke Smith Lewis Young IN Josh Bruce Hayden Crozier Jason Johannisen Laitham Vandermeer OUT Bailey Dale (omitted) Sam Lloyd (omitted) Roarke Smith (managed) Rhylee West (groin) MELBOURNE FB Jay Lockhart Steven May Jake Lever HB Christian Salem Adam Tomlinson Michael Hibberd C Ed Langdon Jack Viney James Harmes HF Nathan Jones Sam Weideman Christian Petracca FF Kysaiah Pickett Tom McDonald Bayley Fritsch FOL Braydon Preuss Jake Melksham Clayton Oliver I/C Angus Brayshaw Charlie Spargo Tom Sparrow Aaron vandenBerg EMG Mitch Brown Mitch Hannan Trent Rivers Joel Smith NO CHANGE

In a similar vein, an article by Chris Cavanagh in today’s Herald Sun (Young Guns Firing On All Cylinders - no link available) also ranks Mac Andrew highly. The article lists the author’s top ten NAB League future stars:- • Nick Daicos (Oakleigh Chargers) - a ball-winning midfielder who can float forward and hit the scoreboard; • Sam Darcy (Oakleigh Chargers) - son of ex-Western Bulldogs captain Luke Darcy who is a versatile tall who can play both as a key forward and in the ruck; • Tyler Sonsie (Eastern Ranges) - a smooth mover with excellent foot skills; • Josh Sinn (Sandringham Dragons) - classy and versatile, has a damaging left-foot boot, good speed and an impressive ability to read the play; • Josh Rachele (Murray Bushrangers) - former elite soccer player who is an explosive X-factor player who has been likened to Giants star Toby Greene; • Campbell Chesser (Sandringham Dragons) - an athletic rebounding defender or wingman who has a good mix of speed and endurance; • Mac Andrew (Dandenong Stingrays) - “A Melbourne Next Generation Academy member, Andrew has emerged “out of nowhere” to sit as a likely top-20 draft pick this year. Standing 200cm tall, he covers the ground effortlessly, has a nice kick, possesses a giant jump, and becomes an extra midfielder once the ball hits the ground out of the ruck contest. His favoured position is in the ruck.” Josh Gibcus (Greater Western Vic Rebels) - a 195cm key defender with a big leap and is considered an elite intercept mark. Finn Callaghan (Sandringham Dragons) - a rebounding defender or wingman, Callaghan can also be deployed across half-forward and has emerged as a top draft prospect this year. Cody Raak (Western Jets) - a mid-sized defender previously tied through the NGA system to the Western Bulldogs but overlooked in last year’s draft. He might be taken in this year’s MSD. The list includes only NAB Boys League players

Callum Twomey’s first go at his Draft Team of the Year Twomey's Draft Team of the Year: Top-10 bolters, mid-season chances snare spots He includes Mac Andrew on his bench so there’s a chance, in his view at least, that the Demons’ NGA prospect might go top 20 in the national draft and be stolen from our grasp.

How will the Demons handle a game where they come in as red hot favourites to win? They will need to be more convincing than they were in Tasmania against North Melbourne a few weeks ago.