Fat Tony

Frawley got us pick 3 and Garland will get pick 26 in a weak draft if we are lucky. Steve your unhealthy obsession with Garland is like Titan with Dunn and Picket Fence with Toumpas.

Not directly. Only Garland is a Free agent.

I couldn't disagree more on this. Nic Nat's chasing, tackling and smothering is first rate. As is his follow up work around clearances. He just struggles to find the ball in general play. But, IMO, he is still a star because there are nearly 80 clearances per game. I also don't think West Coast's midfield is that strong and, indeed, he is the one making them look good.

Max Gawn would be a much better player if he could improve his goal kicking. It is a disgrace.

I think Nic Nat is a gun. While he doesn't take many marks, he influences games significantly with his dominant centre bounce ruck work and pressure acts. The fact that Max Gawn is being spoken of on the same page as Nic Nat says more about big Max. He has been sensational in the last five games except when he was beaten by Nic Nat.

I think picking up a player like Kelly would give us an extra win (and a little less whinge from you old dee). The thing is these players would all command a first round pick plus 6% of the salary cap.

There is a lot of talk about how Geelong will manage its list given the number of aging stars it has. Should we consider offering one of them a lifeline ala Daniel Cross and Paul Chapman? I think Steve Johnson looks finished and I cannot see Enright, Bartel or Lonergan (contracted) going anywhere. But James Kelly looks to be still going well and would fit in well to our midfield nicely. Matty Stokes has been up and down this year, but has still played half a dozen good games. Jared Rivers was in excellent form early in the year. And Andrew Mackie is still good enough to go again. Enright, Corey (33yr 10mth) Johnson, Steve (32yr) Bartel, Jimmy (31yr 7mth) Kelly, James (31yr 6mth) Lonergan, Tom (31yr 2mth) Mackie, Andrew (30yr 11mth) McIntosh, Hamish (30yr 10mth) Rivers, Jared (30yr 9mth) Stokes, Mathew (30yr 7mth)

Prestia is a bit of a dilemma as I think our biggest needs are classy outside mids and a key forward/second ruck. I like Prestia as a footballer and think he could add some explosiveness to our midfield. But, on the flip side, our current midfield lacks height and outside run/skill. I am a bit worried that an inside midfield including N Jones, Prestia and Viney would not be able to cope with the oppositions' big bodied mids. For this reason Prestia isn't the ideal target IMO. But I would still rather trade our pick than chance the draft lottery and Prestia is well worth our first rounder as it stands.

Posters wanting Howe to be traded don't understand the present AFL landscape. He is out of contract and will nominate a club and get there. We will then get unders in terms of any trade or he will manipulate the draft to get to his destination. Howe leaving is unlikely to be a win for us.

Hopefully 6.

O'Meara would be up there with Hogan and Bontempelli as one of the best kids in the competition. He would cost our first two picks.

I am not sure you need 10-12 genuine midfielders. The Hawthorn premiership side had Mitchell, Lewis, Hodge, Langford, Shiels and Burgoyne as genuine inside midfielders (6) and Hill and Smith on the outside (2). It also had speedy small forwards like Rioli, Puopolo and Breust as well as Gunston and Roughead who all took turns in the midfield, but I wouldn’t call any of them true midfielders (and none of them were recruited as such). I am much more bullish on Vandenberg than you and feel Watts is starting to show really good signs. Also, it would be a complete disaster if Petracca does not come on. And Cross is averaging 91 SC points (5th for Melbourne) which is similar to last year, so I would be disappointed if he didn't play next year.

I think our midfield is looking much healthier now. Viney, N Jones, Vince, Tyson, Vandenberg and Brayshaw all look to be at least good AFL players, along with hopefully Petracca, Neal-Bullen, Salem, Toumpas, Watts and Stretch. Add in Cross, who is defying father time. And maybe even Trengove. I am not saying another quality midfielder is not wanted, but it is a vast improvement already and I think we should take best available.

Maybe I am putting too much stock in Jack's four-goal game against Melbourne in 2013. But he looked a great prospect on that day.

After watching the last Vic Country game and thinking about it, I would consider trading up the draft to pick up Josh Schache. Trade our first and second round picks and Dawes to Gold Coast for pick 1 or 2. This move goes against the philosophy of generally only drafting inside mids, but this kid looks a total package. His kicking for goal is as fluent as any AFL player and he has good endurance and looks to take a reasonable mark. He and Hogan could set up our forward line for a decade and, at 199cm, Schache could also fill the role as a second ruckman. I also think we are looking pretty good for inside mids at the moment given the arrival of Tyson, Vandenberg, Brayshaw and Petracca, along with Viney, Jones and Vince. (Obviously I would love to pick up Patty Dangerfield but that is only a dream.) I also think we can probably pick up some outside runners relatively cheaply either down the draft or through trades. (i.e. Sam Dwyer, Brandon Jack, Courtney Dempsey) Edit: Spelling

There will be a time when he gets Jack of playing NEAFL (pardon the pun) and Sydney have a pipeline of young midfielders through their Acadamy. My google search indicates he is out of contract.

Brandon Jack is one I would go after. I think he is out of contract this year and he has good pace. He was best on ground in the NEAFL this week and he may be keen to go elsewhere to play regular footy. He is only worth a late draft pick and Sydney won't be able to match a decent contract offer.

VanDemon has shown enough that other clubs will offer him a long-term deal on good money. We will need to offer him a spot on the main list. Sunday was his first game as a bonefide mid and he was exceptional.

But St Kilda will take him.

As good as Dom is now and will be, I think Salem will be better.

We should look to split the pick(s) like we did last year. Goddard might actually develop into a tall mid like his cousin.

1. We may not have pick 1. 2. Ruckmen/hit outs are highly overrated. 3. A good ruckman can be acquired in other ways or later in the draft. (Think of Mumford, Grundy, Cox, Sandilands, Jacobs, Maric, McIntosh, Hale, McEvoy, Pyke etc) 4. The press has reduced the impact of KPFs in the AFL, as they must push up the ground to defend and so they don't lead up at the ball as they do in underage footy. 5. Hogan will come good eventually.

I agree that we need to target a ruckman, but we would be better off trading for one.

While believing in always drafting best available, I would be trying to boost our midfield again at the end of the year. The game has changed and top midfielders are of much more value than good KPP these days. Look at who are the top players today (Ablett, Selwood, Watson, Dangerfield, Pendlebury and Mitchell) and compare that to yesteryear when it would have been Dunstall, Brereton, Carey, Kernahan and Lockett. Given our pick is likely to be very early again and much of the top end talent is KPPs, I would be in favour of trading down our pick(s) again. I also think underage KPPs often look better draft prospects than they actually are because underage games are more open and there are more one-on-one marking contests.

With 18 players on the field, one player can only have so much influence. (Gary Ablett Jnr only racks up around 10% of GCS total SuperCoach points, which is an indicator of his value.) And given how difficult it is to postulate how 18 year old boys will develop, this means the draft is an extremely ineffective tool in evening up the competition. The AFL should restrict the first round of the draft to only teams that miss the eight and then go in reverse ladder order for round 2. I would also be in favour of a weighted lottery for the first round. This change is particularly necessary in a world of Free Agency.