Doggo

6. Moloney - Outstanding. Hard at it, threw himself at everything and was a genuine clearance winner. A performance that we expect from our leaders.

5. Tapscott

4. Trengove

3. Martin

2. Jamar

1. Grimes - Could've polled better but for poor kicking.

I don't consider Moloney a genuine clearance midfielder. Thus, my point still stands.

Ridiculous call. Seriously.

If Beamer isn't a genuine clearance player... what exactly is he then? He's as close to genuine "first dibs" clearance player as we have.

Jones has always been a bit slow (reaction wise) in close IMO. His hands aren't quite clean or fast enough to extract the footy consistently and he often tries too much. Beamer can also be guilty of this at times, but i feel his spatial awareness in close and clean hands are far superior to Jones.

We played in a GF in 2000 with Robertson at CHF and Bizell at CHB. That's pretty short!

Bizzell came to the club in 2001. In 2000 we had Neita at FF, Ox at CHF, Ingerson CHB, Nicholson FB. Hardly a short spine!

I mean, heavily criticizing the potential of a 19 year old who you've never even seen play... gotta be a troll

We have one genuine clearance midfielder in Jones. The Swans have four A-grade inside men - Bolton, Kennedy, Jack and Hannebery. Our defence needs to have its very best game if we're to be any sort of chance.

Brent Moloney says hi.

Short memories around here, some of you lot...

No way. He's way too short.

My tip all along has been Martin - height, speed, endurance, leap.

No way Martin has the endurance or agility to go with Goodes in the guts. Speed, yes. Height, yes. Even strength he matches well. But tank/engine... no way.

Should have kept Johnson.. Didn't mind that bloke. Least his fit

I repeat, PJ has barely been sighted on the track at Hawthron this pre-season, didn't play any of the trial matches and is coming off very limited preparation due to ongoing foot issues. So no, atm he's not fit.

It's a nil-all draw at this stage.

Robert Campbell 6-8 weeks away,LOL,to think we got rid of a fit PJ !!!

Someone explain Bailey's logic,neither are guns and never will be but at least PJ is fit some of the time.

PJ is currently out injured with a foot-injury carried over from last year, and hasn't featured in any of the Hawks pre-season matches. Pretty much in the same boat as Campbell in terms of footy played/preparation for the season. Nil-all draw

This is why Nathan Buckley is a massive call for the Pies. Especialy if Mick takes a walk to another club as well.

With our luck he will turn out to be fantastic, but geez it would be great to see this decision go pear shaped.

You might be able to add M.Voss to that list too soon.

Hoping to add James Hird to this list one day!

Jurrah

Sylvia

Frawley

Jamar

Davey

Green

Garland

Grimes

McKenzie

Moloney

Jurrah at #1, purely because he has the potential to be not just an elite forward in the league, but one of the most freakish talents ever to play. Could be up there with Ablett Sr on skill alone. A once in a lifetime player.

Good on him for putting his nuts on the line and actually picking a list of players that he likes, rather than a "best 50" list. Well, that's my interpretation of it anyway. But yeah, some pretty ridiculous inclusions and omissions there.

Ventured out to Cranbourne today. Beautiful sunny day although as the game wore on the wind became stronger and skills became scrappier.

For those who are interested my two cents are as follows:

Thanks for the report, much appreciated.

Too easy.

Slick Rick and Wona doing well makes me smile inside

Not that this is even relevant, but as a reckless, hot-headed youth, myself and a couple of old mates from the Prahran flats got into a brawl with some Scotch fellas once. Cleaned 'em right up. Despite them being bigger and more muscular than we were.

Just saying.

FLAME AWAY!

A nice neat footballer, & I hope he goes well. But I just wonder, now I've seen him a couple of times, about the weapons he carries, or lack of. I think if he had a bit more pace, it would elevate him to the next level.

Agree with pace comment on Zaharakis, but i'd imagine he'll improve in that regard, and he's not slow like a Jones or Moloney is slow. I think the issue might be an inability to run at 100% pace for more than just short bursts due to a relatively small engine. My best mate is an Essendon supporter and I've watched a lot of them over the last few years (which is why i've found their sparkling form under a new coach this preseason so surprising). It's fair to say Zaharakis has some weapons. Knows how to kick a goal, is a good decision maker with nice field kicking, is very strong overhead for his size and competes well, and has a little bit of X-factor. Has shown that he can bob up late in a game and kick important goals. And he's just a natural player, reads the game well and when he gets a bit fitter, will get a lot more of the ball. Let's just say, if he had a Scully sized engine, i'd be very worried.

I'm mystified when people say he's just average. And it's something i've only ever really heard from Melbourne supporters. I think he's a very promising and will only get better. Maybe even potentially an A-grader. If we could swap Strauss or even Blease for him right now (pointless excerise I know), i'd do it in a flash.

A comparison with Hurley?

Hurley was a man when he was an under 18. He was an old fashioned footballer with a strong body in under 18s and so the level of development he needed to compete at AFL level was not particularly high. His game is about being smart and being strong, with his major weakness being that he is slow.

Compared with Watts, who was pencil thin and had a game based upon athleticism and ball use. He has played some very good games when pushing up the ground (which suits his skinny frame and athleticism). He is now pushing deeper into attack and showing some good signs, but is still being pushed around by bigger defenders which he is struggling with.

These are two completely different players. For two people that play the same position, I'd struggle to think of two people that were more different in style.

What sort of development do the two have left in them?

Hurley might get a little bit stronger, which will mean he can do the same thing he does now a little bit better. He's a pretty good player now and he should make some improvement.

Watts will get stronger and it will allow him to play the game completely differently. With added strength he can play deeper to goal and compete under the high ball. That's his biggest problem at the moment, but he's getting much better at it. Plus he's still going to be able to push up the ground and turn his man around like he does now, so you can't just play a gorilla on him.

The real time when Watts will become hugely dangerous is when he starts getting too strong for at opposition's most mobile tall defender. Then he'll force the opposition to make a decision between mobility and strength, the way Riewoldt does.

This will take some time, since he is only 19 years old. It may not happen until he is 23.

Look at Goddard, who is a different player but had a similar issue. He was a tall midfielder/flanker but very skinny. For years he was said to underperform. Then, when he finally grew into his frame and became physically on par (and even superior) among his peers, he was able to dominate and play all over the ground. It took Goddard a long time, but we all know how that turned out.

Great post. Agree 100%.

Aside the obvious young "guns" (ie. Scully etc) i really think Gysberts could be the one to explode once his body is up to the rigours of AFL footy. Haven't seen a better first 2 games (even more impressive from a pure tall-midfielder built like a rake) ever. He is all class.

If this is a "prediction" top 50, where's Sylvia in the list, Mike? Come on...

When fit he's comfortably in our best 22, just talk to anyone in the FD and they'll agree.

I've heard Chris Connolly say this rather emphatically back in 2009. Not sure if he still thinks it, but it is fair to say the FD rate Aussie's talent quite highly, and probably still ahead of Maric. Though he is doing well in Wona's absence and is a certain-starter for Round 1.

On Maric, to his credit, he has been able to get his body and build his tank to AFL standard over the pre-season. He's finally grasped the opportunity Wona's injuries have provided and has been one of our few shining lights in the praccy games.

Despite his pre-season form, the jury is still out on him for mine. He's been really impressive in the games I've seen, as well as reports from the Nab Challenge games I haven't, and is having a stellar pre-season, yes... but i guess i'd like to see him do it in the season proper before i would go talking about him being in our best side come the pointy end of the season. If he's still in the side and doing well with a fully-fit Wona playing good footy in the VFL come mid-season, i reckon Wona might nudge him out unless he's having a stellar year.

I don't think Jetta should be thought of as a small crumbing forward in the same regard as those 2 though. He may play in the pocket at times, but is more likely to be part of the midfield rotation pushing forward, than a full-time forward lke Maric or Wona.

Back on Wona, that's really exciting news that he's come back and played well in his first hit-out, albeit in a VFL praccy match. 4 goals is a good return on any day for a small forward. I'm interested to hear more about his game from the guys who saw him first hand, JCB, satyricon, J-Riv? How much game time did he get? Was his forward pressure still there?

It's been a tough recent time for Aussie and with the rise of Maric, some been quick to write Aussie off or maybe lose faith in his return. I reckon it could go one of two ways when something like the death of a loved one happens. It either shatters you completely and has a major effect on playing performance (one example off the top of my head was Mark Mercuri's brother dying in the early 2000's during the off-season. Mark came back into the team that year after an interrupted pre-season, and was never the same player). Or it fortifies and strengthens you, and can even be something used as a motivating or driving force, "Playing for Dad" so to speak. Clint Bartram is could be viewed as an example of this, as he's become a better, more mature footballer since his father's passing.

Let's hope Wona can string a few more together. The thought of the Jurramirri show is tantalizing.

I saw Aussie about a month ago at the Future Fund function and had a chat with him. He easily looked the best I've seen him in the last three years - very toned and seems to have lost that chubbiness / baby fat that I've seen in previous years. Once his training load is back where the FD want and he's back in the red and blue he's in for a massive year imvho.

That's what I like to hear!

Zaharakis will never be more than an average footballer, unfortunately Strauss might not even get to average.

I've heard Melbourne supporters say this often, but i really wonder what that's based around? He has shown himself top be very handy already, and will no doubt improve as he matures. He already looks better than average, especially considering he is only 20 years of age. If he was at Melbourne he'd be the bees-knees, i'm sure. Once his motor is fully developed, look out. Underrated around here, that's for sure. I hate Essendon too, but you can't just say their youngsters, like Zaharakis, are "average" when clearly they've shown quite a bit.

As for Strauss, I hope he makes it, but as others have mentioned already, my expectations aren't high anymore.

He must be a ripping bloke.

I LOL'd

I know deep down inside Simon is still a true Melbourne Football Club person. He works for the Collingwood footy club, but his passion still lies at the Dees. According to a mate who knows his family, he and his family (especially his old man) were absolutely gutted when he was delisted by us (being such passionate MFC people), and was picked up by the old enemy.

Good luck to him in his career at Collingwood, like PJ in the other thread, I was a big fan of Bucks and thought if he could improve his disposal he could be a fantastic player. You can't teach speed like his. He looks to have improved that disposal aspect of his game so far (based on this pre season) and might end up with a great career still. Or he might not (probably won't).

Loved PJ, followed him from juniors and always thought he had something. Last couple of years with us were particularly poor, and he never really delivered on the 'potential' some of us saw early on... But good luck to him.

I hope he gives it a red hot crack and does well, hopefully just not against us. And FWIW, i rate him better than Renouf, and jury is still out on whether Max Bailey's knees will hold up. PJ should play some games, no doubt.

Snigger all you like, but in a MATCH I've never been impressed by his speed and/or agility, draft camp tests and running races might make things seem better, but during A GAME OF FOOTY I've never thought anything other than he seems to lumber a bit. To suggest he could run with Goodes all day is ridiculous, especially seeing he might not even get a game that day.

I remember him kicking a ripping running goal at Etihad against Essendon once, showed a real turn of speed for a big bloke. 2009 maybe, Jurrah's first game? Also, dont really recall him being burnt on the lead too often when playing back before he made the transition into "forward/ruckman", which he has no doubt been disappointing at to this stage.

Don't think he could run with Goodes, but to say he's slow is just unfair. Slow "of mind" perhaps, but the kid can run.