Lord Travis

He's a serious weapon and will drive our engine room for years to come. He's adept inside, outside, defending and in the air. Ultra consistent and no-one can stop him. If they get their hands on him, he either just breaks through it or has the Clarry like ability to get hands free and fire the handball off. He's super fit too, had one of the best 2km times at the combine, so will be able to step in straight away. Pair him with Windsor, Rivers, Lindsey and our midfield is set for the next generation after Viney, Trac and Clarry wind down. Others like Tholstrup, Kozzie and McVee will also contribute there too. We've managed to draft these kids all while being in premiership contention. Huge tick for our recruitment and list management teams! Midfields win premierships, and we've rejuvenated ours nicely.

Said in an interview he'd be ready to go for preseason starting in December. He'll likely be managed since it's his first one though. I'd expect him to play early next year and wager he'll be ahead of those listed very quickly. Salem struggles with injury and form, and I'm not convinced Bowey has a place in the team long term unless he can reinvent himself in another role.

Great selection. Been keen on him for months. Bont mach 2 and will be core to our next premiership midfield. Welcome to the Dees Harvey!

The clubs know more than Cal. Cals phantom drafts he shares are just a less educated version of what clubs have told him. They have zero influence on the draft. Clubs have lists of 50 plus with tools to alter based on factors like position, specific attribute, location etc. What we read and hear about is a fraction of it all.

In the unlikely event that occurred, then Smilie would still be there and would be a likely target.

I'm still worried he's a flight risk. He was WA captain and is from the suburbs not far south of Perth, so he's entrenched in Perth city. Whispers he's a flight risk too, so it has me spooked given gun WA players often heading home. He's got a great athletic profile, one of the best in this draft. He's more of a half back flanker though, hasn't shown much in the midfield and is a low possession winner in all possessions. We'd have to do a good job coaching him for him to realise his midfield potential.

It's an interesting one as no-one is talking about Travaglia being slow despite his sprint time for a running half back flanker being poor.

Where did the midfield talk come from? Blind hope? He's an intercepting defender who shows a bit as a leading forward too. He hasn't really shown anything as a midfielder, and has poor skills and decision making with ball in hand, so seems unlikely. It reminds me of the Brodie Kemp draft talk a few years back. He was a tall forward who had played tall back. He slid due to doing his ACL, but everyone was frothing he'd become a big midfielder like Fyfe. He's ultimately become an average third tall defender...

Sounds like FOS may slide to our pick. I haven't bothered looking at him properly due to assuming he'd be pick 1-2. He was awesome last year, but was limited by playing injured this year. Anyone got an opinion of if he'd be the best option at 5 for us should he be available? He smashed testing at the combine, so looks a great athlete as well as being a renowned impactful ball user...

Worth a punt with rookie spot. He did some good jobs shutting down highly rated ket forwards.

New favorite for pick 1. Make him a demon! 😈 I don't really see the movement part. Trapper had a more punchy penetrating kick too. Reid does have great decision making and good skills though and wouldn't be the worst option at 9 if we get a ball winning mid at 5 too.

Hotton would be a bold call for sure. I'm thinking longer term though. I think our windows shut now and we're building the core of our next premiership team. Trac did his ACL preseason and missed entire first year. Didn't stop him becoming a superstar and Norm Smith medalist. Hotton is a talent, but how talented is hard to judge.

5 - Smith, next best Langford 9 - Smilie, next best Hotton

He's an interesting one for me. Despite being labeled the big inside bull, on my viewing he's at this best on the outside using a side step and driving the ball forward with nice kicking when he has time. His contest work could use improvement. He doesn't have the same natural ability of a Smith or Langford to get his hand free and nail quick handballs. He's also not strong or clean enough in aerial contests to develop into a key position player instead despite his decent size if he's still growing. If his inside work could be improved with good coaching, he could be an absolute weapon. His ceiling is Patrick Cripps then basically. My fear is his floor is a tall average paced rebounding halfback flanker. I won't be disappointed if we draft him due to potential ceiling, but he's definitely a more risky prospect than others around the same projected draft position.

I believe because we've already traded a future first pick, we're no longer allowed to trade further future picks. Would have to check the rules. We're more likely to split pick 9 for two later picks such as GWS' 15+16.

The comparisons are being made because they're blatantly obvious. He moves exactly like Butters, down to the quick short gait in his stride, pivot of hips and spins to avoid tackles. He's not as penetrating of a kick as Butters, but he wins more hard ball and positions himself better. He was more pure clearance extractor earlier in the season, and so handballed sideways and backwards out of congestion more often. As the season wore on he altered this and by the end of it he was bursting out front of stoppages regularly, dare I say Bang, Bang, Bang style. He's rarely run down also due to having extraordinary reflexes like Clarry to get a handball off in the rare occasion someone manages to catch him. He's not the mid-forward bull JT usually goes for, but he'd be a worthy pick 5.

His awareness and ability to weave through traffic is unparalleled in this draft. The way he moves at such speed in traffic and zips around is eerily similar to Butters. He didn't test through the roof for the 20m sprint (was still good), but he's constantly moving at such high speed around the ball that to the eye he's the fastest midfielder out there. He's so strong through the hips already, if he can add some upper body strength in a proper AFL environment then the skies the limit. Not hard to see him becoming a Lachie Neale type midfielder winning a Brownlow. He's probably the safest bet in the entire draft to become a good player. He's a leader too, being a captain this year. Would be a good point of difference to the bigger slower Trac and Clarry types we have and could lead the next generation after them. If he fell to our pick 5, it would be a very bold call not to draft him.

Langford has better hands, is a better mark, and hits the scoreboard more often. Smilie a bit better on the outside. Langford is better on the inside. For his big size, Smilie tends to feel pressure around stoppages and often sags back and dump kicks long. Langford works it through traffic and finds options better by hand.and is generally more effective. Who knows if Smilie could improve that part of his game in an AFL environment though, which is why he's an interesting prospect.

He's not a mid sized forward though, he's predominantly a midfielder, and a dominant inside one at that. He'd be a weapon at bounces, not a liability. He's one of the best clearance winners at his level. He was top 10 at the combine for the 2km time trial, so he's fit and has a high cruising speed to make it to lots of contests. He just doesn't have the initial burst that some others do. His fitness, determination and footy IQ make up for it thus far. He projects as an inside midfielder who can rest forward. He's very similar to in style to Bont and Cripps, both are both supposedly slow too. Lack of burst speed didn't stop midfielders like Mitchell, Pendlebury, Selwood, Bontempelli, Hodge, Bartel, Cripps, Fyfe etc from being game changing midfielders. Assuming he develops well, it won't stop Langford either.

Great athlete. Not the best decision maker with ball in hand and average kicking skills, especially short-mid range. Could develop into an explosive inside midfielder. Could develop into a poorly skilled rebounding half back flanker. WA lad rumored to be a flight risk. Would be a brave call but can see the appeal also.

Not officially, but expecting an announcement in the near future. Bassett confirmed when questioned that he's moving to Melbourne for a coaching role but stopped there.

Interesting to see people sour on Jagga. He's the best performed midfielder in it and at worst will be a solid accumulator at AFL level. People saying his inside work wouldn't stack up at AFL level are a bit off IMO. He played a few games in the VFL late in the year and absolutely dominated mature bodies and AFL listed players. Averaged 27 disposals and 7 clearances across the three VFL matches. Had 50+ disposal games at CTL level. He's the best ball winner at underage level since Nick Daicos and projects similarly. If he was available to us at pick 5 it would be a very bold call to pass on him for someone else. I suspect he'll be gone before our pick though.

So did Liam Stocker and Matthew Bate 🫠 Having said that, don't mind Lindsay at 9 as a skilled rebounder if we take a gun midfielder who can win their own ball at 5 (Lalor, Langford, Draper, Smith, Smilie)

Smilie the next FIGJAM?1

He does a form guide based on ranking at the moment. He does a phantom draft based on his intel right before the draft and it's usually 90% accurate for the top 10-15 picks. He's the only journo worth listening to when it comes to the draft. All others are liars making up rubbish for clicks. Cal is actually interested, has connections, and doesn't want to be a Kornes style shock jockey.