Whispering_Jack

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.

INDICATIVE DRAFT ORDER (after the free agency and trade period) ROUND ONE 1. Brisbane Lions 2. Fremantle (received from Gold Coast via Lachie Weller trade) 3. Carlton 4. North Melbourne 5. Fremantle 6. Collingwood 7. St Kilda (received from Hawthorn in 2016) 8. St Kilda 9. Western Bulldogs 10. Carlton (received from Adelaide via Bryce Gibbs trade, originally received from Melbourne via Jake Lever trade) 11. GWS Giants (received from Essendon via Devon Smith trade) 12. Adelaide (received from Brisbane Lions for Charlie Cameron, originally received from Port Adelaide in 2016) 13. West Coast 14. Sydney Swans 15. Brisbane Lions (received from Richmond via pick swap, originally received from Geelong in 2016, via Carlton and GWS on-trades) 16. Western Bulldogs (received from Carlton via pick swap, originally received from Adelaide via Bryce Gibbs trade) 17. Richmond END OF ROUND ONE 18. Brisbane Lions (received as compensation for free agent Tom Rockliff) 19. Gold Coast (received from Geelong as part of Gary Ablett trade, originally received as compensation for free agent Steven Motlop) * GWS Giants have been penalised 1000 draft points over the Lachie Whitfield drugs suspension and their first-round draft pick becomes pick No.63. ROUND TWO 20. Richmond (received from Brisbane Lions via pick swap) 21. West Coast (received from Gold Coast via pick swap) 22. Geelong (received from Carlton in 2016) 23. North Melbourne 24. Geelong (received from Gold Coast as part of Gary Ablett trade, originally received from Fremantle in 2016) 25. Richmond (received from Brisbane Lions via pick swap, received from Westerm Bulldogs via Josh Schache trade, received from Essendon via Jake Stringer strade; received from GWS as part via Devon Smith trade, originally received from Collingwood in 2016) 26. West Coast (received from Gold Coast via pick swap, originally received from Hawthorn in 2016) 27. GWS Giants (received from St Kilda in 2016) 28. GWS Giants (received from Carlton for Matthew Kennedy, originally received from Western Bulldogs via pick swap) 29. Melbourne 30. Carlton (received from Western Bulldogs via pick swap, originally received from Essendon via Jake Stringer trade) 31. Melbourne (received from Port Adelaide via Jack Watts trade) 32. West Coast 33. Sydney Swans 34. St Kilda (received from Port Adelaide via pick swap, received from Hawthorn as part of Jarman Impey trade, originally received from GWS in 2016) 35. Geelong 36. Melbourne (received from Adelaide via Jake Lever trade) 37. West Coast (received from Gold Coast via pick swap, originally received from Richmond in 2016) ROUND THREE 38. Collingwood (received from the Brisbane Lions in 2016) 39. Adelaide (received from Gold Coast via Harrison Wigg trade) 40. Brisbane Lions (received from Westerm Bulldogs via Josh Schache trade, received from Carlton via pick swap) 41. Gold Coast (received from Fremantle via Lachie Weller trade, received from Western Bulldogs trade for Hayden Crozier, originally from North Melbourne in 2016) 42. Fremantle 43. Hawthorn (received from Brisbane Lions via Luke Hodge trade) 44. Brisbane Lions (received from Hawthorn via Luke Hodge trade, originally received from Collingwood in 2016) 45. St Kilda 46. Port Adelaide (received from North Melbourne via pick swap; originally received from Western Bulldogs in 2016) 47. Melbourne 48. Essendon 49. Port Adelaide 50. Gold Coast (received from West Coast via pick swap) 51. Sydney 52. Brisbane Lions (received from Richmond via pick swap, originally received from Greater Western Sydney in 2016) 53. Richmond (received from Geelong for future third-round pick) 54. Gold Coast (received from Adelaide via Harrison Wigg trade) 55. Richmond ROUND FOUR 56. Collingwood (received from the Brisbane Lions in 2016) 57. GWS Giants (received from Fremantle as part of Nathan Wilson trade, originally received from Gold Coast in 2016) 58. Geelong (received from Carlton via Darcy Lang trade) 59. Port Adelaide (received from St Kilda via pick swap, originally received from North Melbourne in 2016, via Western Bulldogs on-trade) 60. Fremantle 61. Collingwood 62. Port Adelaide (received from Hawthorn via Jarman Impey trade) 63. Port Adelaide (received from St Kilda via pick swap) 64. North Melbourne (received from Western Bulldogs in 2016) 65. GWS Giants (original pick No.15 slides down after 1000-point penalty) 66. Fremantle (received from Melbourne via Harley Balic trade) 67. Essendon 68. Hawthorn (received from Port Adelaide via Jarman Impey trade) 69. West Coast 70. Collingwood (received from Sydney via Sam Murray trade) 71. Fremantle (received from GWS via Nathan Wilson trade) 72. Geelong 73. Carlton (received from Adelaide via Bryce Gibbs trade) 74. Richmond ROUND FIVE 75. Hawthorn (received from Brisbane Lions via Luke Hodge trade) 76. Gold Coast 77. Adelaide (received from Carlton via Bryce Gibbs trade) 78. North Melbourne 79. Fremantle 80. Collingwood 81. Hawthorn 82. Western Bulldogs (received from St Kilda in 2016) 83. Fremantle (received from Western Bulldogs via Hayden Crozier trade) 84. Melbourne 85. Essendon 86. Port Adelaide 87. West Coast 88. Sydney 89. Greater Western Sydney 90. Geelong 91. North Melbourne (received from Adelaide via Sam Gibson trade) 92. Richmond ROUND SIX 93. Brisbane Lions 94. Gold Coast 95. Port Adelaide (received from Carlton via Matthew Lobbe trade) 96. North Melbourne 97. Fremantle 98. Collingwood 99. Hawthorn 100. St Kilda 101. Western Bulldogs 102. Melbourne 103. Essendon 104. Port Adelaide 105. West Coast 106. Sydney 107. Greater Western Sydney 108. Geelong 109. Adelaide 110. Richmond Future picks Adelaide - 2018 round one draft selection from Melbourne via Jake Lever trade, 2018 round four selection from Melbourne via Jake Lever trade, 2018 round two selection from Carlton via Bryce Gibbs trade, 2018 round three selection from Carlton via Bryce Gibbs trade Carlton - 2018 round two draft selection from Adelaide via Bryce Gibbs trade, 2018 round two selection from Western Bulldogs via pick swap, 2018 round four selection from Geelong via Darcy Lang trade Collingwood - 2018 round three draft selection from Sydney via Sam Murray trade Essendon - 2018 round two draft selection from GWS via Devon Smith trade Geelong - 2018 round three draft selection from Richmond via pick swap, 2018 round four selection from Carlton via Darcy Lang swap, 2018 round four selection from Gold Coast via Gary Ablett trade Gold Coast - 2018 round one draft selection from West Coast, 2018 round two draft selection from Essendon via Adam Saad trade, 2018 round two draft selection from Geelong via Gary Ablett trade, 2018 round three draft selection from Fremantle via Brandon Matera trade Greater Western Sydney - 2018 round two draft selection from Fremantle via Nathan Wilson trade, 2018 round three draft selection from Essendon as part of Devon Smith trade Melbourne - 2018 round three draft selection from Adelaide via Jake Lever trade North Melbourne - 2018 round three selection (tied to West Coast) on-traded by Port Adelaide in pick swap, 2018 round three selection (tied to St Kilda) on-traded by Port Adelaide in pick swap Port Adelaide - 2018 round two draft selection from St Kilda via pick swap, 2018 round three draft selection from North Melbourne via pick swap Sydney - 2018 round two draft selection from Collingwood via Sam Murray trade St Kilda - 2018 round four draft selection from Port Adelaide via Logan Austin trade, 2018 round four draft selection (tied to Adelaide) on-traded by Port Adelaide via pick swap West Coast - 2018 round four draft selection (tied to Hawthorn) from Port Adelaide via Brendon Ah Chee trade, 2018 round two draft selection from Gold Coast Western Bulldogs - 2018 round four draft selection from Fremantle via Hayden Crozier trade

Every deal completed on the final day of the 2017 NAB AFL Trade Period • Adelaide receive Bryce Gibbs, pick 77, and 2018 second and third round picks in exchange for picks 10, 16, 73 and a 2018 second round pick to Carlton • West Coast receive picks 21, 26, 37 and a 2018 second round pick in exchange for pick 50 and their 2018 first round pick to the Gold Coast • Port Adelaide’s Aaron Young traded to the Gold Coast Suns for a 2018 fourth round pick • Swans rookie Sam Murray, pick 70 and future third round pick to Collingwood for a 2018 second round pick • Power defender Logan Austin traded to St Kilda for 2018 fourth round pick • Sam Gibson has been traded from North Melbourne to the Adelaide Crows for pick 91 • GWS Giant Nathan Wilson and pick 71 have been traded to Fremantle in exchange for a 2018 second round pick and pick 57 • Matthew Lobbe has been traded from Port Adelaide to Carlton in exchange for pick 95 • Jake Stringer has been traded from the Western Bulldogs to the Essendon Bombers in exchange for picks 25 and 30 • Carlton receive picks 28, 30 and 2018 second round pick from the Western Bulldogs in exchange for picks 16 and 40 • Richmond receives pick 53 in exchange for a future third round pick to Geelong • Carlton receives Matthew Kennedy in exchange for pick 28 to the GWS Giants • Brisbane receives Luke Hodge and pick 44 in exchange for pick 43 and pick 75 to Hawthorn • Carlton receive Darcy Lang and 2018 fourth round pick in exchange for pick 58 and 2018 fourth round pick from Geelong • Geelong receive Gary Ablett, pick 24 and 2018 fourth round pick in exchange for pick 19 and a 2018 second round pick • Brisbane receive Charlie Cameron in exchange for pick 12 to the Adelaide Crows • Port Adelaide receives a fourth-round draft selection (No.59 at time of trade), a fourth-round draft selection (No.63 at time of trade) and a future second-round draft selection in exchange for on-traded second-round draft selection (No.34 at time of trade) and future on-traded round-four draft selection to St Kilda • Western Bulldogs receive Josh Schache in exchange for pick 25 and 40 to Brisbane • Fremantle receives Brandon Matera in exchange for 2018 third round pick to Gold Coast • Fremantle receives pick 2 and 41 from Gold Coast in exchange for Lachie Weller • Port Adelaide receives pick 46 and a future third round pick in exchange for two future third round selections to North Melbourne

As things stand at the moment, Melbourne's 2018 draft selections start at #29 which means a fair slab of the best young talent available will be gone and the club could well be looking outside the square at some mature age recruits. ESPN's Chris Doerre (Knightmare) has compiled this article on the best mature age AFL prospects and it would not surprise if the club lands at least one of the players mentioned.

Richmond finished in the bottom six in 2016 which gave them a dream draw in 2017 and then they had a relatively injury free season leaving them with a stable side - their strongest possible for the finals. Yes, they were good in that finals series but the stars were all aligned in their favour. Port would have to have everything running their way in 2018 to emulate that and knowing their "prized" recruits have all been out of favour with the clubs they are leaving and, being mindful of the roles they play, doesn't really inspire me.

• a dramatic close to the 2017 trade period is looming as Bryce Gibbs, Gary Ablett, Jake Stringer, Charlie Cameron, Luke Hodge, Nathan Wilson, Lachie Weller, Brandon Matera, Josh Schache, Darcy Lang, Matthew Kennedy and more, will have their football futures decided by 2.00 pm tomorrow. • meanwhile, Fremantle midfielder Harley Balic today found his way to Melbourne for pick 66 and Gold Coast also picked up former second round draft pick Harrison Wigg from Adelaide. • Darcy Lang put a serious wedge in the Gary Ablett to Geelong deal by choosing Carlton over Gold Coast but by close of play tomorrow, Ablett will still find his way to the Cats.

• Jack Watts found a new home today, joining Port Adelaide. Melbourne will receive pick 31 back for the former number one draft pick. • Port Adelaide's Brendon Ah Chee was traded to West Coast today for a swap of future third and fourth round picks. • Docker Harley Balic is set to join Melbourne and North Melbourne said they won’t get in the way of Andrew Swallow joining Gold Coast to play with his brother if a deal can be reached. • Brisbane General Manager of Football David Noble confirmed Luke Hodge will sign a two-year contract with the club. The Lions will attempt to trade with the Hawks for the veteran, but will otherwise head to the preseason draft for Hodge.

Yesterday's "big" deal was Adam Saad leaving Gold Coast for Essendon with the Suns getting a future second rounder. I just received a tweet from NAB Trade Radio suggesting that there's a big day ahead! That's what they say every day and not much happens. Thankfully, it will all be done and dusted soon.

Knightmare's AFL Draft Power Rankings: October

Somewhat inevitable and sad, particularly since his entire career has encompassed the hard times. I hope the club and Colin work things out and that he remains in a role at the club.

Tim Watson has claimed today on SEN that Melbourne mismanaged the Lever signing Watson claims that not having Lever dressed up in a Melbourne jumper before he went overseas was a faux pas and battered the Demons' reputation, particularly when Essendon had a back page spread of their new signing Devon Smith in Essendon colours. The back page of Friday's Age which announced the trades for both Lever and Smith had photographs of both players in their new colours. No doubt, Watson missed this for some reason ... but that pales into insignificance when one thinks of his own club's reputation that was tarnished to a significantly greater dimension than a possible wardrobe failure by the Bombers' own issues over recent times which involved injecting players with unknown substances and led to 34 players receiving 12 month playing suspensions. Given Watson's involvement with the Bombers, he should be the last person to comment on the reputations of other clubs.

The NAB AFL restricted free agency offer and unrestricted free agency period ends at close of business tomorrow and there are still 3½ days of trading left before this part of the current exchange and draft period ends but there's more to come. On 1 November, it's time for the delisted free agents ~ Worth a look: We rank the top 10 delisted players

• Free agent Steven Motlop has chosen Port Adelaide as his new home. • Hayden Crozier moved to the Western Bulldogs in exchange for picks 40 and 82. • Brisbane has put pick 19 on the table for Charlie Cameron as the small forward looks to get home to Queensland, but his club Adelaide wants the Lions’ pick 12. • Player manager Marty Pask confirmed Adam Saad would definitely be joining Essendon. • North Melbourne and Hawthorn also effectively ruled themselves out of the race for Josh Schache.

Wide awake again - • Jake Lever was the first domino to fall, joining the Melbourne Football Club in exchange for pick 10 and a 2018 first round pick. The Demons also received pick 35 as part of the deal. • Next up was Devon Smith who officially joined the Bombers. GWS gave up the midfielder in exchange for pick 11 and a future third round pick. Essendon will get back pick 24 and a future second round selection. • In the final moments of the day, Jarman Impey was traded to Hawthorn, with the Power receiving pick 33 in return. The Hawks labelled Impey as their priority in this trade period given their lack of top draft picks.

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."

Appropriately all of today’s news is from Sleepy Hollow • Cats list manager Stephen Wells said today it was unlikely Jack Watts would join the Cats and that under no circumstances would Mitch Duncan, Nakia Cockatoo and Jake Kolodjashnij be part of any trade with Gold Coast for Gary Ablett. • Wells said he was encouraged by Gold Coast Suns’ list manager Scott Clayton attitude towards a trade of Ablett to the Cats when the matter was discussed at Monday’s gathering at Etihad Stadium. • Cat Steven Motlop’s next move could also be part of any Geelong-Gold Coast negotiation over Ablett. Though a free agent, Motlop, should he choose the Suns as his new home, could easily be used as part of the exchange for Ablett. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2017 AFL Draft National Combine top 10s Draft prospects stand out at Victorian state combine

• Port Adelaide has lodged the paperwork for free agent Tom Rockliff. Brisbane will not match the offer and will receive pick 19 as compensation. • Jack Watts again toured the facilities at Geelong today and will now need to weigh up whether he wants to stay in Victoria and join Geelong or head interstate. • Alex Fasolo is likely to remain at Collingwood. Fasolo had been linked to a return home to Western Australia, but his manager Tom Petroro said given West Coast is likely to take their picks to the draft and Fremantle is busy with other trades, the forward will probably stick with the Pies. • Delisted North Melbourne midfielder Sam Gibson is eager to play on again in 2018 and is willing to move anywhere in Australia to get a second chance at a footy career. Gibson told NAB AFL Trade Radio he struggled to comprehend being delisted by North Melbourne.

I'm here. The attendance here is bigger than Melbourne v Fremantle from earlier this year at the G.

• a number of players requested trades including Brisbane forward Josh Schache who wishes to return to Victoria [stop press: Schache has now nominated Collingwood as his preferred destination]. • Jarman Impey and Brendon Ah Chee requested trades from Port Adelaide, looking to join Hawthorn and West Coast respectively. Hawthorn list manager Graham Wright said his club’s priority was securing Impey. • Adelaide list manager Justin Reid said his club had “moved on” from Bryce Gibbs as he appears to be happy at Carlton. Gibbs is contracted with the Blues through to 2019. Also not going anywhere is Adam Tomlinson. GWS list manager Craig Cameron ruled out any possibility of Tomlinson being on the trade table. • Port Adelaide superstar Robbie Gray revealed he has had surgery after being diagnosed with testicular cancer. Gray will undergo preventative chemotherapy, but the club expects him to be healthy for pre-season training in November.

From our perspective, Port Adelaide doesn't have much to offer by way of a trade. Their top three currently available draft picks are 29, 47 and 66. Unless there are some player & selection swaps involving other clubs, I don't see us benefiting from him going there as distinct from some other clubs.

I know it's not good in football to go by gut feel but it's been my view that an interstate club was always going to be his destination, that he needs to get out of the bubble to allow his career to refresh in a different environment. Port have been mentioned around for a little while now and it wouldn't surprise if an in principle deal has already been agreed upon with perhaps some fine tuning to be done during the trade period.

And here's the Age Guide to the 2017 AFL Trade Period

Jack Viney would like that.