Whispering_Jack

According to some, this kid could go #1 - Country star emerges as top-five prospect Meanwhile, the AFL Academy faced Peter Jackson VFL team the Northern Blues at Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with Western Jets midfielder/forward Cameron Rayner appointed captain of the Academy team for the night. AFL ACADEMY 4.2 5.2 5.3 6.3 (39) NORTHERN BLUES 4.1 9.6 16.11 17.12 (114) Goals AFL Academy: Cameron Rayner (Western), Charlie Spargo (Murray), Jarrod Brander (Bendigo), Changkuoth Jiath (Gippsland), Jaidyn Stephenson (Eastern), Hayden McLean (Sandringham) Northern Blues: Gallucci 4, Jaksch 3, McKay 2, Glass- McCasker 2, Kerridge, Polson, Boekhorst, Smedts, Sheehan, Phillips Best AFL Academy: Luke Davies-Uniacke (Dandenong), Lachlan Fogarty (Western), Jack Higgins (Oakleigh), Rayner, Hunter Clark (Dandenong) Northern Blues: Kerridge, Polson, Cuningham, Smedts, Jaksch, Boekhorst

A little belated but here's a report on that AFL Academy game ~ MCG curtain-raiser a glimpse of the future

Brett Anderson has an interesting item on the SEN site - A FIRST LOOK AT THIS YEAR'S INTRIGUING DRAFT CROP

And if you follow the Kinks (as someone of your vintage would) you should know that Lola ain't a woman.

The talent scouts will be out in force on Sunday afternoon at the MCG when a special NAB AFL Academy 20th anniversary celebration match as the curtain raiser to the Carlton and Essendon clash. The match will highlight members of this year's national academy prospects and will include players eligible for the 2017 and 2018 drafts. I know there were many Demonlanders lost interest in the drafts last year because the club ultimately went into the 2016 AFL National Draft without a selection in the first two rounds and that we're aiming for high places in the competition in the new Simon Goodwin era but it's still important to replenish your supply of talent no matter where you finish. This is the time when talent scouts get a chance to see the top ranked youth pitted against each other in a competitive outing and it should be worthwhile keeping an eye on who does well in the games involving the best of the NAB AFL Academy talent - Two years of talent on show in MCG curtain raiser The squads for the game are:- TEAM WEITERING 1. Charlie Spargo 4. Izak Rankine 5. Lachlan Fogarty 6. Rhylee West 7. Jack Powell 8. Connor Rozee 9. Luke Valente 11. Lochie O'Brien 12. Buku Khamis 14. James Worpel 15. Jack Bytel 16. Hunter Clark 17. Dominic Grant 18. Luke Davies-Uniacke 19. Darcy Fogarty 20. Zane Barzen 21. Jarrod Brander 22. Oscar Clavarino 25. Kwaby Boakye 27. Max King 28. Ben King 29. Changkuoth Jiath 32. Connor Ballenden 33. Callum Coleman-Jones 34. Hudson Garoni 35. Sam Hayes TEAM DANIHER 2. Cameron Rayner 3. Chayce Jones 4. Jack Higgins 5. Sam Walsh 6. Patrick Naish 8. Kane Farrell 9. Jake Patmore 10. Aidan Quigley 12. Jye Caldwell 13. Joel Garner 14. Jordan Houlahan 15. Jaidyn Stephenson 17. Tarryn Thomas 19. Jackson Hately 20. Andrew McPherson 21. Sam Taylor 23. Thomas Schmusch 24. Jack Lukosius 25. Noah Balta 30. Tom De Koning 31. Paddy Dow

By golly, that's right. And as nice a guy as JT is and as much as I want him to succeed in his comeback, we have really missed out on a gem.

It was said at the time of the 2014 AFL National Draft that Melbourne was heavily into getting Lever who would have been rated even more highly but was coming back from an ACL injury. The word was that the club offered up Jack Trengove for a trade with Richmond just so that we could get in a position draft Lever (as it turned out the Tigers' pick would have been insufficient). It would be nice to get him to the club but can we do it?

Just on the question of the club's intentions going into that draft, I was at the pre draft talk at the club with Jason Taylor and Todd Viney and they basically had it down to taking two of Petracca, McCartin and Brayshaw but the way they spoke it sounded very much like they believed the Saints would take the truck, spending a lot of time talking about Paddy's attributes. They even mentioned how he dealt with his diabetes and the need for him to manage it with rests during games. There was also the matter about Alan Richardson being close with the Petracca family and how he knew Christian from when he was a young kid. There is a lot to suggest that the Saints changed their minds in the eleventh hour. I think we might have lucked out on this one.

Following Melbourne's win over St Kilda last week, a poster on Saintsational sparked some debate with this offering:- "Petracca is a gun who will be a superstar of the competition for the next dozen years. McCartin is an injury-prone, under-sized key forward who doesn't kick goals. He can take a great grab, but does little else. We are having to try to turn him into a lead-up forward because he isn't good enough in the goalsquare. I know hind sight is a beautiful thing, but there have been few more important decisions that the club has had to make over the last 6-7 years. It was crucial that we picked well at the 2014 draft. With the number one pick it was our biggest opportunity to pick up a star for the next generation: our next Riewoldt, Goddard or (dare I say it) Judd. From the media reports at the time Petracca was the clear number one choice in the lead up to that draft. If we were drafting on ability instead of perceived need it was a no-brainer. I understand our logic - we thought we needed a key forward - but McCartin is no Tony Lockett. I say this with all due respect to McCartin himself who seems a great young guy, and to our recruiting team who has generally done a great job over the last five years, but sometimes mistakes are made, and when they are we have to recognise them, deal with them, and only then can we move on. I think McCartin can and probably will be a really good player for us, but he won't give us what Petracca would have. As ever, I am happy to be proven wrong." I don't think he will be proven wrong but it's far too early to write off McCartin. Key forwards take their time in development. The discussion however, did mirror some of the standard debate generated here whenever we look at failed draft selections from the past.

... and now that tyre company has not only lost lots of customers among Dee fans but also has the longest losing streak in Melbourne/ St Kilda games - 15. Losers!!!

Was anyone watching the carnage in Adelaide?

Virat Kohli ruled out of the fourth and final test.

We need to read the fine print but it looks like a bit of a compromise compared with what I understood was originally mooted. AFL confirms changes to GWS Giants' academy

With Mitch Starc injured, I reckon James Pattinson would have to be close to the best pace bowler going around. Let's hope our young pace bowlers can stay healthy for a change.

If the report is correct and the changes are adopted it will finally be a case of sanity prevailing. Blind Freddie could tell you that a region that produced the likes of the Danihers, Wayne Carey, Paul Kelly and Shane Crawford to name a few isn't really a development zone and that the Giants were never deserving of the free access to players from this region under the northern states academy concept. This year's national draft would have been a farce with three top 10 players available to one club (and possibly one more if they were able to trade into an early pick as they did last year).

Will the AFL bite the bullet and start taking action to make its draft a level playing field again? One club out of 18 can't have direct access ahead of the others to what could possibly be 3 of the best 10 prospects in the land. Why Greater Western Sydney should lose rich recruiting zone

Here we go again. Chanderpaul father-son duo make history

Most likely because it was way off topic, breached our rules and made a moderator angry. And now, can we not take this thread for a long walk. Please stay on topic.

... but instead, the AFL took no steps to sanction the club in any way whatsoever after the final CAS decision found the 34 EFC players and former players guilty of an anti doping rule violation. In fact, the AFL had an immediate plan in place to lighten the club's burden during the period of the players' suspension by allowing it to supplement its list with top up players (with no assistance to other clubs that had lost players who had in the interim transferred from the EFC). Within that plan was its decision that notwithstanding that Essendon's record in 2016 would inevitably be adversely affected by the unavailability of players, most of who would be returning in 2017, this factor would not be taken into account in determining the club's position in the 2016 AFL draft. Hence, a gift of the first pick in that draft and improved position in other rounds in a draft already tainted and skewed by the academy system. Well done AFL. It was the least you could do after all those years and in particular the way your own Tribunal stuffed up the initial hearing into the doping saga.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any more ridiculous this story keeps on giving.

Nah, leave that sort of stuff for the honourable Mr Redleg.

Where's O'Keefe been?

Just listened to the tape and don't understand the drama. Nothing new and it seems to me that it demonstrates that the AFL and the EFC were doing their level best to make a deal that would have circumvented the anti doping rules.

I'm reporting this to Adrian Anderson. He'll fix it all up ... no, wait.

The Plaintiff in this case must think the Supreme Court justices are a humourless lot and in need of some laughter which is, after all, the best medicine. Another windfall for the legal fraternity from the gift that keeps on giving.