Bonkers

Are you taking into account free agency also?

Identifying undervalued players that can play a role or fill a need can still apply I would have thought even if the sabremetrics don't directly translate. I'm sure that there are statistics that FD's can use such as disposal efficiency, tackles, avg contested possessions etc that could be used. For all we know there are teams already using similar systems for recruiting.

It was good to read that players are putting in extra voluntary training sessions as well as players seeking mentors outside the club for personal development. There is another article in the Hun regarding the moneyball strategy to recruiting. It may deserve its own thread.

In regards to Bennell, I think it would help his development if he was given a role that suits his talents. He isn't a shut down defender/back pocket. His best games have been as a forward. He clearly has talent, the footy dept aren't getting enough out of him. He could be very damaging if played in a Varcoe type role. He does have deficiencies but clearly has enough talent. He is a keep IMO.

That's a good find & apologies. I was under the assumption that 8 year players were restricted & 10 year players were unrestricted. Thanks for the link.

Restricted free agents are players who can be kept by their existing club if they match a contract offer from rival clubs. It has no bearing on what he is being paid at the moment.

Jamb that up your clacker David King!!!

That's right. It was his best performance in the red n blue to date. IMO he did everything you could ask of him as a captain last night. It was great to see him get some time playing in the centre also, which was his position when he was u/18 captain of Vic metro. Well done Jack your heart beats true.

Your looking for excuses. Every other team was capable of it being taught.

He had them for 4 years I would call that long term. He talked about a lot of things. He also talked about how we were trying to implement the forward press. Funny how he talked about it but the players knew nothing about implementing it.

Strongly disagree. Against most quality sides it was evident Bailey didn't have a defensive game style other than to flood the backline. He was tactically inept other than running the ball forward in waves Pagan paddock style almost. We never had permanent forwards & had the weekest zone in the entire comp with the exception of GC. We had our pants continuously pulled down because of this. Whilst the current side under Neeld has also had bad losses, it isn't because there isn't a defensive side to our game, but more so the fact that the players haven't put in the effort.

If Neeld doesn't get what is required out of players by seasons end maybe. But who will our senior players be next season? We have seen what happens when you get rid of all your senior listed players without replacing them. IMO I'd only be willing to trade/move on senior players if it meant senior players were guaranteed to be brought in. I believe improvement can be made by bringing in free agents as well as using the high draft picks we have on the best U/18 talent available & trading lower draft picks for senior players. Eg lower than pick 25-30 depending on what bargains are available if any & whether the club can identify talent that would improve our list from other clubs.

Not much has been spoken about Neeld's ability to get the players onside. To me it appears many of the younger players have bought in to the new coaches message. The real worry is in regards to the senior players. Moloney, Davey, Green & Sylvia when in form are/ were our most important players(no matter what our personal opinions of them as players are). The real test of Neeld will be to get these players to buy into what the club is trying to do & to get the best out of their abilities. The club will be far better off if Neeld is able to get inside the senior players heads give them some confidence & also turn them into disciplined players rather than another clean out. Moloney & Sylvia in particular are both good enough & it's up to Neeld to turn these players careers around. Question is whether some of the senior players really have any desire to adhere to team structures & perhaps sacrifice some of the aspects of their own game & ego for the betterment of the team. Needs also has to give this group some belief & confidence. 95% of the game is played above your ears, you can talk tactics, structures, player abilities till the cows come home if the players aren't playing for each other & the coach as a unified group we are going nowhere. There are numerous examples of players who forged careers out of not much ability but got through on mental application some of out players could learn from those examples.

Like Tom Scully?

Pretty amusing comment regarding Neil Craig. Whilst he didn't achieve ultimate success at the crows as a coach he had a pretty good record there as a coach & as part of developing an elite performance program during their flag era. He was also the coach that instigated flooding & what many people would regard as the beginning of the current football trend in terms of tactics.

Moloney is a restricted free agent at the end of the season. If he's not happy & there is demand for him at another club he will walk & the best compensation we can hope for would be a compo pick from the AFL. Sylvia signed a contract extension last year so would have some trade value. Trading/losing these two players won't get us a high enough draft pick to make it worthwhile, yet their performances are so inconsistent. I hope the coaching staff can get these two players to start "complying" otherwise what a waste of talent. Edit: Spelling

These two players will grow into better players earlier because of the responsibility heaped upon them. We might not see their best football this year but I believe it will help them develop into better players in the long term. I believe both of them will relish the challenge ahead of them & work even harder to succeed than what they would have before. They both need time & patience. In the long run the club will reap the benefits through their peers following the example they set in preparation & attitude to hard work. As a club that is what we need & something none of the former leadership group was able to do.

There is more value in educating Jack Watts, supporting his development & giving him an understanding of what finals football is about than putting him up for trade. He is 5 games into a career under a new coach, the season ahead is a big learning curve. He has all the natural ability. All he needs is to do is start doing the 1%ers & to develop a desire to hunt the ball & his opponent. He needs to develop some mongrel. I think he can do it. I also believe the coaches can bring it out of him. If by the end of the season nothing's changed see what is on the table.

Try sitting with your kids in the deezone or whatever the club has called it. I'm not a Dad so I don't know where the family friendly areas are. All I can say is that football is football & you are always going to get all cross sections of society saying pretty much whatever they like to at the game. Best advice to shield them from it is take them to a family friendly area, maybe you could ask the club in an email what they suggest or sit where no one else is sitting. Cheers.

Explain to me how opposition analysis is in any way related to the players you have on your own list & what their capabilities are come game day? Or better provide me a link to the thread so I can read your explanation. IMO you either draft players with the right physical, mental & technical ability or you don't. The more investment you make into getting the selections right in this area the better chance you have of succeeding in it.

Jamar is a free agent at the end of the year so he will have no trade value to us unless he signs a contract.

I don't think you understand the jist of my post, I will clarify it further. I am questioning the current recruiting setup & whether we have the right staff & direction in terms of its drafting priorities & the resources available to beat the competition in this area. Yes the order of the draft is fairly well exposed I agree, however some clubs simply draft better than others which is not an accident. Player development is a separate issue & something that I believe the club has addressed over the pre-season.

Yes I agree, but what has changed at the club to suggest we will draft the right players? Fair enough Viney should have a decent knowledge of this draft as he would have been watching his son amongst others in his year. But the club still hasn't IMO addressed the recruiting problems withing the club. Maybe they have tried & haven't been able to secure anyone, IDK. But for me this is an issue going into this years super draft seeing as we are about to embark on yet another rebuild.

First of all I agree with your post. You brushed over how the club decided to rebuild, we have cleared probably 80% of the list since 2007-08 if not more. The reason we are in the position we are in at the moment though is due to the clubs philosophy in regards to recruiting & list management as well as the investments being made into the FD. When the club decided to rebuild they decided to rebuild through the draft almost exclusively. Connolly & Schwab spoke at the time about attaining high draft picks & that it would be the panacea to future success. Well we all know this isn't true, the current situation is proof of that. A change in philosophy of player recruitment has to occur at the club. It is fine to attain high draft picks if you get them right & have the resources to develop them as well as senior players to show them the way, however that isn't the case currently at the MFC. The club needs to look at filling holes in the list with players from outside the the traditional U18 system & start making some smart decisions in regards to bringing in senior players similar to what Sydney has been doing for years(particularly in the midfield). The club has leaned too far to one direction of bringing in youth without giving them any senior players to follow. Whilst I am a strong believer in developing young players, a club has to be good at doing it they are going to adopt this philosophy as their primary focus. Perhaps the biggest failing over the last 3-4 years was that the club simply didn't have the resources & setup within the FD to adopt the youth development system as their sole means of player/list development.

Until we can get some players into the side to even out the continuous negative disparity in overall disposals I can't see the MFC beating anyone except GWS & GC. So in answer to your questions no. We are three good midfielders short of being on an even keel in the midfield with any team in the comp bar GWS & GC. Sylvia comes back in & that makes it 2 short, he wont make the difference.