jabberwocky

I like this thread because it reminds me that things can click quickly. If we have 7 or 8 Neville Jettas this year, then we can rise pretty quickly. We have stability, we have what appears to a be a stable and consistent footy dept. There is enough latent talent on the list for it to be conceivable. Red: Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.

You are paraphrasing inaccurately.

Yeah main difference I believe is that he is played a genuine mid.

PETER BAMPTON | NORWOOD PLAYER BIO 2014 U18 STATS Age: 18 Games: – Height: 182cm Goals: – Weight: 83kg Avg Kicks: – Pos: Midfielder Avg Marks: – Avg H'balls: – THE INSIDE WORDHard-running, strong-bodied medium midfielder with an appetite for the contest. Played seniors for Norwood in the SANFL, averaging 19 touches in seven games this year. Injured his ankle and missed the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships. Can win the ball from stoppages and runs hard." Anyone got the inside view on this bloke, looks an absolute truck, missed the championships and might be a bargain? http://www.afl.com.au/draft/draft-machine

Really....couldn't find that bit. Could you quote it? I only saw a few people questioning the view that he is worth our pick 3. Is that even allowed here on a footy forum? Do you have a view? It's fine not to have one of course, but is it ok if a few people have a discussion regarding their views?

3 out of 700 players drafted at some point, correct. Three or four are capable of being effective stay at home forwards. Is this kid good enough to be another one? You say that he is? I honestly don't know. He does have some limitations which will probably mean that if he isn't good enough he will struggle to find another spot.

That's 3 out of about 700 players. It highlights that if that is the role that you are going to play, then you need to be exceptional at it. How exceptional is McCartin going to be?

I do agree with you to a point, but there are 18 year olds out there that haven't quite grown into their frame and that needs to be considered. My non-negotiable would be firstly that they hit the ball hard and can win a contest. Fyfe's name continually comes up as an example, he was a skinny kid, not particularly quick but had great hands and had a kamikaze attack on the pill. He is a beast of a midfielder now.

I think this is the point, this bloke is not likely to be as good as Hawkins, at the same age Hawkins was absolutely dominating. McCartin doesn't really bear any similarities to the others, and Riewoldt is completely different.

Agree with this. You need to either be absolutely exceptional as a stay at home full forward or you need to have other strings to your bow. I think there is a question mark over how exceptional he is. Hogan, Boyd and Paton would all have been ahead of him at the same stage.

One day I will be bothered to do an analysis. My hypothesis would be that strong bodies midfielders, with work ethic, good skills and of good character rate a much higher chance of success. But then all of those qualites are objective and can be difficult to measure.

I don't think it hurts to have family connections at a footy club, as long as decisions are made wisely and nepotism isn't in play. If Tyler Roos is believed to have a lot of upside and is worth a rookie spot, then I hope we get him. I have coached my sons and while sometimes it has it challenges I can impart information to them with intimate knowledge of all of their strengths and weaknesses. I am sure this has made them much better footballers and has ultimately helped the teams. Roos is a shrewd character when it comes to this sort of stuff, if he is selected as a rookie there will be no nepotism. If he gets a game it will be because he has earnt it.

If Mahoney says that Wright is "around the mark" and Roos has previously suggested that we won't take Wright then you could be forgiven for thinking that either Mahoney and Roos don't communicate, at at odds or something else is going on. I can confirm that we are "into" other players with Roos himself having very recently conducted interviews with the players and families.

I can tell you that those four names are not the only ones being considered. The answer was not definitive by Mahoney.

These are not the picks you are looking for.

Yes another flawed comparison, not a mid, he played as a low possession winning forward flanker at underage level. Solid bodied mids have a much higher hit rate than any other player type. I can't be bothered doing the list, go through the last five years and have a look. For every failure I could show you 4 or 5 who have either made it or are well on the way.

He will simply be know as "oracle"

I know that Roos is involved in the decision making and has personally interviewed some of the potential candidates.

Ollie Wines and Joel Selwood say hi back,then they get 40 possies and help carry thier side to victory. Both highly regarded juniors, high picks and much better and fairer comparisons than yours but as usual you don't let the truth get in the way. The highly regarded, strongly built midfielder has a high success rate, can't think of too many failures in recent times. It's the sexy outside ones that are the more likely to fail. We are still heavily paying for recruiting failures during the late Daniher and Bailey era. That's when you were involved with the running of the club wasn't it?

No just after that, Ditterich was still involved. Had a few mates at the club including the coach. Sean Charles was there though...interesting fellow.

Haha.. played a few games for them

"I don't know and I am not qualified to give my opinion" Ignore list grows by one.

Yes exactly, and I am not saying that I am the one who has the information to make these calls. Re 2. that is where I expect our recruiting experts to make their money. Not to pick the Larke medalist or All Australian CHF, or the small bodied hard working outside mid with questionable disposal. Nailing the top picks is not as easy as we probably believed 5 years ago.

I think there needs to be some distinction about who is arguing what. 1. Best available player vs best available midfielder and 2. Best immediate output vs Best career output. I want our club to recruit the best available player (any position) they expect to give the greatest career output. And it may be that that player is a midfielder who is currently considered the best player right now....or it may not.

That's exactly what I am saying, on all the evidence and instinct Taylor picks that guy. And that player may or may not be a mid. You certainly can't pick Lever on his 2014 but he may well be the one that our guys see as the projected champ. This is where the recruiters earn thier money.