Whispering_Jack

I wouldn’t be relying on Mr Leg if I were you OD. He was last seen on a banana plantation in Pago Pago holding court with the locals and was apparently so impressed with the place that he’s considering migrating to Western Samoa and laying down his roots there.

Precisely. The thread’s been completely derailed for the last 700 or so pages and it’s time to get back on topic. I’m surprised, no shocked ? that nobody has picked up on this comment by Deeman on the AFLW thread about last week's game v GWS Giants:- “I understand the concern about Mifsud’s absence for us but what I really want to know is why [censored] wasn’t playing for them!”

Superdraft or superhyped? Early view on 2018

The AFL website’s Callum Twomey is a little bit behind us but he hasn’t wasted much time getting into the 2018 draft prospects. The next batch: Looking ahead to the 2018 draft

And now ... the family connection. Charlie Spargo’s great grandfather Bob Spargo Senior played with the Melbourne Football Club, although it was just for two games during WW2. Bob Snr. stood at 175cm and weighed 69kgs. He played most of his career with Footscray (1934-41) before moving to the Demons in the twilight of his career in 1942. He was a professional athlete who finished third in two Stawell Gifts (1936 & 40). His sons Bob Jnr. and Ricky also represented the Bulldogs and the latter was fifth in the 1974 Stawell Gift. Bob Jnr. played in the team's 1961 Grand Final loss to Hawthorn. Bob Jr's son Paul Spargo played 81 games with North Melbourne and 9 with the Brisbane Bears. During his time with the Kangaroos he was a teammate of Mark Brayshaw, father of our own Angus Brayshaw. He was an assistant coach at Richmond for a while and had a great record coaching in the Ovens & Murray Football League with involvement in multiple premierships. Paul Spargo is Charlie's father. With a great pedigree in football and foot racing, Charlie had a fantastic junior career and two years ago was outstanding in the national carnival. A year ago, he was one of the most highly ranked of the country's draft prospects and headed for a possible top ten selection until shoulder surgery curtailed his season. Don't let his size fool you - Charlie Spargo can play and it's in his blood.

The top two 2018 AFL National Draft prospects are South Australians ~ both considered exceptional.~ Firstly, Izak Rankine AFL Draft prospect Izak Rankine catches talent scouts’ eyes while playing for SANFL side West Adelaide and South Australia Then there’s Jack Lukosius U18: Bottom-ager Lukosius stars in SA's big win And Connor Rozee goes all right too. That trio are all in the AFL Academy squad which is where the better prospects can be found. No wonder the Crows fought tooth and nail to extract our future first round pick for Jake Lever.

This is what his VFL coach said of him ~ Coldstream product Bayley Fritsch continues rise to the big time with VFL club Casey Demons

Huge upside ~ an Under 18 All Australian. ESPN’s Chris Doerre (aka Knightmare) had him at 16 in his October power rankings:- Harrison Petty (VIC) Best position: Key defender Height, weight: 195cm, 82kg Recruited from: Norwood Projected draft range: Second round Similar to: Robbie Tarrant October Ranking: 16 Rationale: Named South Australia's MVP during the Under-18 Championships. Petty is a relatively untapped talent who has improved significantly this season and is still growing, having shot up 5cm this season. Petty's potential as a still growing key defender with a late-year birthday sees him hold firm despite others rising. Strengths: Intercept marking Reads the flight of the ball early Takes marks at highest point Clean at ground level Effective ball user Composure with ball in hand Rate of improvement Strong performances from limited exposure Weaknesses: Keeping balance in one-on-one contests Strength solid but not as advanced as some of his peers Capable but not a freakish athlete According to Snoop Dog:- “HARRISON PETTY – NORWOOD / KEY DEFENDER / 195cm Tall defender from SA that wasn’t really on my radar leading into Champs but was super impressed with him through them and in the subsequent games I saw. Just reads the footy so well and happy to peel off and intercept. His hands are assured and his ball skills are very good to. Seems to play the game with a lot of composure and could be a steal this late.”

And here's what his Queensland club's football operations manager said about him in Inside Football:- Oskar Baker DOB: 25-05-98 181.9cm, 75.6kg Apsley “Oskar was cut from the Lions academy in January and made his way to Apsley as a rookie, but due to a raft of injuries he got his opportunity early in the year and never looked back. His ability to take the game on is his strength - even against the AFL-aligned reserves he looked to tuck the ball under his arm and run. He has skill, is good overhead and is mentally strong. One of the better state league prospects.” - Apsley football operations manager Mark Perkins

The name has been mentioned in dispatches a few times in recent weeks but when two well respected observers in the media nominate a previously obscure draft prospect as Melbourne’s first draft selection in their mock drafts, there’s a fair chance that they might have some inside knowledge about the club’s intentions. It’s surely no coincidence that Oskar Baker was named at #30 (number revised to allow for an earlier matching father/son bid) by both Brett Anderson and Callum Twomey so it's time o sit up and take notice. This what Twomey has to say about him:- "OSKAR BAKER POS: Midfielder, Ht 182, Wt 75kg, DOB 25/5/98 From Aspley The Aspley flyer with the flowing red hair has caught attention this season playing in the NEAFL, and with his pace and ball-carrying ability could add another element to Melbourne's midfield mix. Baker, who was previously a member of the Brisbane Lions' academy before being cut and thus making him available to the open draft pool, was overlooked at last year's draft but had a terrific season to stake his claim for a spot on an AFL list."

Snoop Dog from bigfooty has issued his 2017 Phantom Draft including Rookie Draft. It’s a little bit different to many of the others and has some interesting selections (eg Bayley Fritsch) going later than most would expect.

Likely to be Matthew McGannon's grandfather. Based on that item about him, Cliff made his senior debut at 13 years of age - a fair effort. Amazing how times have changed if he grew homesick whilst trying out at Geelong. Now his grandson could end up at Fremantle or even worse, out in the backblocks of Western Sydney with Tom Scully and the "no" voters.

... and it still irks me remembering the times when the MFC took risks and spent time, effort and money on the Irish experiment and was rewarded by a Brownlow Medallist who went on to become Club President in Jimmy Stynes and a great footballer in Sean Wight who also served on the club committee after he retired. These days, we don't seem to be interested. AFL draft 2017: Carlton set to sign highly rated Irish youngster Cillian McDaid

Do you know if he’s training with the Casey boys Drunkn?

Off topic a bit but I’ve never been to Fish Creek. It seems to me to be the quintessential name for a charming but sleepy Aussie country town. Does it live up to that image?

The big one is out - but I’m not convinced that the Demons would use two of their four draft picks on 196cm potential tall key position players - Knightmare's November phantom draft: The first three rounds

Won't end up at Melbourne but Darcy Fogarty might well turn out to be the best pick of the draft.

The 2017 NAB National Draft is now less than a month away. Cal Twomey's updated draft form guide as at the end of October gets a bit of a shake up with a slider and a bolter- Cal Twomey's Phantom form guide: October edition

I was shocked to discover that Redleg will not be attending Moonee Valley Racecourse this afternoon for the running of the WS Cox Plate and has instead chosen to travel to the land of the bananabenders on some undisclosed and mysterious mission. And what on earth has happened to the countdown?

Knightmare's October phantom draft: The first two rounds I like pick # 31

Talk around town that our first game next year will be v Adelaide Crows. I'm looking forward to Tex and Jake lining up against each other.

With the trade period out of the way, the next five weeks will see more discussion on the prospects in the forthcoming draft. The Herald Sun has kicked off with Gary Buckenara's top 30 - Recruiter Gary Buckenara names his top 30 draft prospects for 2017 AFL draft The top selections are well out of Melbourne's reach but here's the player who Bucky thinks will fall at the club's first selection # 29:- 29. JACK PETRUCCELLE Half back/half forward, 184cm, 73kg, Northern Knights/Vic Metro Buckenara says: Petruccelle is one of the most exciting prospects in this draft because of his potential. A former basketballer who took up footy in his mid-teens, he is a bit raw at the moment in terms of his footy knowledge but has some special traits clubs will love. He runs 20 metres over 2.82 seconds and that speed, plus his athleticism is certain to see him be the star of the draft combine. Petruccelle loves to take the game on from half back and half forward when he plays there — he tries to make things happen and can do that because he’s powerful and has great breakaway speed. He needs to find more of the football, tidy up his kicking and get more involved in games consistently because there are times he struggles to get into the action, which was the case during the championships. But when he kicked five goals for the Knights earlier this year, that showed exactly what he’s capable of with development in an AFL system. There is big upside. Plays like: Nakia Cockatoo Clubs suited: All clubs Apart from anything else, after recent player movements, the club is crying out for another player named "Jack" - an outside speedster who can kick goals would be handy too!

The first of the true phantom drafts thanks to Matt Balmer at AFL Draft Central. The Demons don't enter into proceedings until the middle part of the second round of the draft so the recruiting team has its work cut out for it. Here's Balmer's take on who we might pick ~ "Pick 29: Melbourne – A small forward or classy outside ball user would likely appear to the Dees. Ryley Stoddart, Matt Ling and Lochie O’Brien are three such classy outside midfielders/half back flanks. If they’re looking for a small forward, Dylan Moore and Charlie Spargo are two second round prospects that they could consider. The Demons also have Pick 31 and 36." My information is that the bolded trio might just be a tad out of reach for the MFC at #29. O'Brien in particular is a likely top 20 pick.

Knightmare's AFL Draft Power Rankings: October

I'm going to leave it to you all to argue the toss about whether we paid overs or unders. It's not relevant to me because we have finally secured a highly credentialled player who we were interested in getting some three to four years ago and who is going to fit perfectly into our line up. That's what trading and drafting is all about. In the meantime, I'm going to re-read The Draftees: How Five Boys Made it to the AFL National Draft The book's blurb " Meet Jake Lever, Peter Wright, Isaac Heeney, Tom Lamb and Clem Smith. In 2015, they played their first game. In years to come, they could become stars. But first they had to be drafted to a club."