Lord Travis

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.

Reportedly there and why I think he's not being mentioned more as a top 10 pick. West Coast traded down to pick 12 to grab him. Freo have 14. He will likely go to Eagles at 12 unless a club takes the risk before then.

Not quick for a rebounding defender type, but if his footy IQ is high it can more than make up for slight gap in pace. Others of note who weren't quick are Smilie 3.088 and Langford 3.2. Then again, Cripps apparently 3.23, so shows burst speed not necessary depending on your role, and they're both big bodied ball extractors who could dominate regardless.

He's at his best as an intercept defender floating into packs with his huge leap. He won't be able to do that unimpeded at AFL level, so queries around how solid the rest of his game is. He's not the best with ball in hand, and is undersized for KPP if he doesn't keep growing. He's unproven in midfield and don't think he's quick enough mentally to be a big bodied midfielder around stoppages long term. I see why he's being hyped up as his athletic profile is great. He'd be a good target at 9 if he's there to develop as the Lever replacement long term.

Not sure what vision you watched, but your assessment of him sounds a bit off. He's 190cm, high footy IQ, gets to the right spots, racks up clearances and ball, uses his strength and size to break through tackles, has clean hands both distributing from stoppage and contested marking. He's also a good penetrating kick, one of the better kicks in this draft, and hits the scoreboard big time for a midfielder. He's the most productive mid-forward in this draft. His only weakness is speed. If he had better speed, he'd be a standout pick 1 instead of a likely top 5 pick. Langford and Smith are probably the safest bets to be good AFL players in this draft.

There will no doubt be some bolters and sliders with the draft still a month away. On exposed form though, looks like we'll likely get one of Lalor, Langford or Draper with pick 5. Basically whichever one gets through to us. We need midfielders more than anything, so works perfectly. Pick 9 is where it get interesting. I could see us taking Reid or Tauru if available. Reid gives us class and skill to help with our forward connection. Tauru would become a third tall/interceptor type to slot into our backline long term. Lindsay could also be an option as a classy skilled player like Reid. They'd both likely start on a flank and move into the midfield over time. I'm not sold on Armstrong personally. He seems pretty vanilla and often just on the end of a dominant teams work.

I never referred to his family. Not sure why you've mentioned them? I gave my opinion on a player struggling for form at VFL level who is worse performed than options we already have in the VFL. The common knock on him is poor work ethic. His VFL coach Fraser even called out his poor work ethic in a post game interview late in the year. Unless Johnson has a great season next year, he won't be on an AFL list going forward. He's being kept by the Pies because he's still got a contract, where as Kreuger is out of contract. Kreuger is an injury prone battler and will likely head home to SA to play in the SAFL if he can get on the park.

Contract for next year, so wasn't traded. Wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole. He's got poor attitude and work ethic. He battled away in the VFL for most of the year despite the Pies crying out for forward targets due to injuries to Mihocek and McStay. Struggled in VFL, kicking 10+ goals less than our own youngster Jefferson. Probably best to close this thread and burn it with fire.

Perfect midfield/half forward depth for mine. Won't be a world beater, but offers more at AFL level than some others on our list IMO. No trade cost, likely low salary, free hit.

100%. I've been posting on this site a few decades too, and it's become very toxic the past year or so. Sadly I've had to reduce time spent reading and posting unless it's on a specific question or topic. Hopefully 2025 is a better year for the club and our great draft hand provides us all with some hope and excitement.

Barrett has been proven to be uninformed and a liar repeatedly over the years. Take anything he says with a grain of salt. He's a liar and a cancer on the industry and sport at large