Whispering_Jack

Watched with interest over the weekend and his promise was evident in the final quarter, albeit a bit overhyped by the commentators. Not much to write home about in the first three quarters in a team that was completely overwhelmed. The previous two Academy teams won their matches against VFL teams - in 2018 (v North Melbourne) and in 2019 (v Casey Demons). This possibly suggests that Covid19 has had an effect on the preparation of the elite level draftees.

It was the last game of 2020 … ESSENDON FB Jordan Ridley Brandon Zerk-Thatcher Martin Gleeson HB Devon Smith Michael Hurley Adam Saad C Tom Cutler Zach Merrett Brayden Ham HF Will Snelling James Stewart Matt Guelfi FF Jake Stringer Joe Daniher Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti FOL Sam Draper Dylan Shiel Darcy Parish I/C Dylan Clarke Kyle Langford Jayden Laverde Mason Redman, EMG Josh Begley Cale Hooker Kobe Mutch Andrew Phillips IN Michael Hurley Jayden Laverde Mason Redman OUT Mitchell Hibberd (omitted) Andrew Phillips (omitted) Jacob Townsend (omitted) MELBOURNE FB Joel Smith Steven May Michael Hibberd HB Trent Rivers Jake Lever Christian Salem C Ed Langdon Christian Petracca Aaron vandenBerg HF Jayden Hunt Sam Weideman Alex Neal-Bullen FF Kysaiah Pickett Mitch Brown Charlie Spargo FOL Max Gawn Jack Viney Clayton Oliver I/C Oskar Baker Bayley Fritsch Jake Melksham Adam Tomlinson EMG Mitch Hannan Luke Jackson Neville Jetta Tom Sparrow IN Michael Hibberd OUT Neville Jetta (omitted)

The time has come for the Demons to take control of the SCG

Kicked one goal out of NT’s 3.8.26 in a 78 point caning at the hands of the GES Academy (15.14.104).

The whole debate is very much dependent upon how Mac Andrew performs for the rest of the year. He showed some very good form in the opening few rounds of the NAB Boys League which earned him a place in the NAB AFL Academy side that played Geelong VFL in late April. Chris Doerre (“Knightmare”) of ESPN and Bigfooty has Andrew at #16 in his June Power rankings (down from #13 in May) and prefaces his review of the player in this way - “Earning his way onto this draft board on the back of his final quarter performance for the AFL Academy against Geelong's VFL side, Melbourne Next-Generation Academy product Andrew is a light bodied, athletic ruckman with upside.” Others have pointed out that the game was a debacle for the Academy team which suffered a 130-point thumping and that Andrews’ stats for the game were mediocre. If a few hit outs and a goal in the final quarter are enough to make the top 20 in a critical evaluation of the top draft prospects, then what does it tell us about the quality of the field? I remain a sceptic as to whether he’s top 20 material but I stand corrected. Since the Academy game, the Stingrays played in once (vs Gold Coast Academy on 22 May) when Andrew scored a goal but wasn’t named in the best. The lockdown has put a pause on an already shortened season and many prospective candidates in the various junior football competitions can’t even get a look in as a result. I understand that when a full return is permitted by government*, at least one NAB Boys League game a week will be streamed to Herald Sun subscribers and the games themselves will most likely be open to the public so people will be able to make their assessments of Andrew and other draft prospects. Hopefully, the national championships will proceed later next month and he’ll also represent Vic Country. In the meantime, it’s all speculation. [* when that’s announced Dazzle, feel welcome to start a Mac Andrew thread which we will carry through to the Draft in November].

I thought Sparrow played very well for the Suns yesterday

Breaking News: Collingwood has announced the new coach to replace Nathan Buckley. Former player and club legend Laurie Holden will take the reins with immediate effect. The club wishes him well. (Item from Facebook - at this point in time not verified by The Club). NOTE: They named the Holden Centre after this man.

Back in March, NTFL club Nightcliff staged a thrilling comeback to beat St Mary’s by seven points after extra time to record its third consecutive premiership. Melbourne NGA Academy player player Andy Moniz-Wakefield (aged 17) who was a member of the team, is now representing Northern Territory in the team’s occasional games in the NAB Boys League. There’s some vision of him here during the summer season. Hopefully, we’ll see the government restrictions on community footy lifted to enable the Dandenong Stingrays who have three of the club’s NGAs in their ranks (including Mac Andrew) to resume playing.

There seems to be some rivalry brewing for #1 draft selection between Nick Daicos and Jason Horne ~  The race to be number one: What separates Daicos and Horne?

3. Deep Purple (sorry a bit late)

Congratulations to Taj on his selection but just before anyone gets carried away, Aussie Rules Draft Central’s Ed Pascoe has previewed how the West Australian team may look 2021 West Australian Under 19 squad announced and he has him down as an emergency:- FB: Jack Avery (P) – Rhett Bazzo (SD) – Finn Gorringe (EF) HB: Jed Hagan (EF) – Jaiden Hunter (P) – Judd McVee (EF) C: Corey Warner (EF) – Matthew Johnson (S) – Max Chipper (SD) HF: Ethan Regan (EP) – Jacob van Rooyen (C) – Neil Erasmus (S) FF: Jye Amiss (EP) – Jack Williams (EF) – Jesse Motlop (SF) FOL: Jake South (S) – Josh Browne (EF) – Kade Dittmar (EP) INT: Zac Fleiner (WP), Kaden Harbour (EP), Brady Hough (PT), Lochlan Paton (WP), Luke Polson (PT), James Tunstill (EP) EMG: Oscar Armstrong (EP), Eric Benning (C), Ed Curley (EF), Richard Farmer (S), Jarrod McIlvinney (PT), Angus Sheldrick (C), Jahmal Stretch (C), Bryce Watson (SD), Taj Woewodin (EF) That said, father Shane had to make it the hard way. He was overlooked in the 1996 national draft and was picked up late in the 1997 pre-season draft at selection 18 (out of 20). He was Melbourne’s third pick in that draft with the Demons taking Albury ruckman Leigh Newton at #3 and former Magpie at #13. Woewodin won the Brownlow Medal three years later in 2000.

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.