RalphiusMaximus

I was referring to the 2011 ND. I'm not holding my breath on any of the guys we picked up. I'm thrilled with the players we got in 2010. Howe looks to be a great prospect and Davis and McDonald are coming along nicely. Cook remains a question, but as was pointed out he has time on his side.

LOL

Not true. I don't really rate any of the draftees from the ND last year. I want to be proven wrong, but I don't think I will be. I also think there have to be questions over the future of Cook given how many talls Neld is drafting. Surely that points to serious doubt about the stocks we already had?

Agree totally. I really hope that a new coach and a new role will help salvage him for us, because he really looked like a class act as a junior.

I've figured it out. Neeld comes from Collingwood, and since none of their supporters are employed, they would get a good turnout at 3 on a Friday afternoon. He just needs to adjust to fans who work for a living.

Wow. They're really determined to play in front of no spectators this year.

That is a very nice highlight reel. He takes contested marks, including going back with the flight, his kicking is on display and he shows some real pace. Can we draft this kid? :D

A cross between Brisbane of a decade ago and more recent Geelong with a dash of Collingwood's discipline for good measure.

Blease needs to get himself up to around the 10 min mark eventually. He needs to be able to keep up with the machines on a long run, not just blow them off on a short sprint.

Why on earth would they schedule it for a time when people will be at work? Wouldn't it make more sense from a PR perspective to make it a Saturday games so more people can watch? I would love to go to this, but I won't finish work until 6pm.

But what are the Cousins, Aunts and Uncles doing while this is going on?

Can any of them get you a Dees premiership for next year?

I'm going to hope that Round 1 will show us only 2 names on the list. Strauss and Gawn. If we have a really good run on injuries we could se some action in September.

And to all a good night.

I don't think anyone here is claiming to have a crystal ball and absolute certainty on who is going to get the chop, but it's the off-season and we need something to discuss. Might as well be something that is relevant to the team. Personally, I am really looking forward to seeing how it pans out over the course of the year and how close people came to picking the unlucky players.

Awesome news if it pans out. It's where he should have been playing for his entire career.

I think we can all agree that Neeld likes the Leigh Brown style of player. Not only did he recruit the guy as one of his assistants, but he has now drafted a raft of players with similar physical attributes. I am very curious to see how he plans to use them.

Was that an early incarnation of the forward press I saw?

I'm hoping Morton picks up his game. I still feel he has a heap of talent, but it looks like next season is going to be all about playing the percentages and that will take some adjusting for a few of our lads. I wonder if they will be allowed to take the high risk/high reward pass into the forward 50 or if it will be percentage the whole way. We could see a lot of passes into the forward pocket next year.

Trade him to GWS for a compo pick like the doggies did? They could use him.

Well, I've just added a couple more to the tally. Hope they like their presents.

Congratulations dude! Oh, and the wedding is a good thing too... Seriously though, that is a really awesome bit of promotional work by LT and the club, and no doubt made a special day even better for you and your family. Also really good to hear the take on the mature aged recruits. As H_T says, we really don't need him to name names. There has been plenty of speculation on these boards about certain players who seem to coast through the season and get picked anyway. That little comment may be the most significant insight into Neeld's plans for the team that we've had so far. Nobody is safe and everyone has to work hard to earn a spot in the side.

Looking at the two questions asked, my pick for the first Rookie upgraded is Magner. He is everything that Neeld is looking to instil in the side, a hard, mature bodied player who is an animal at clearances. I have him ahead of Crouch at this point. The second question, who will be elevated if Nicholson is the first, in my opinion is Williams. Once again, he is a little older than the other choice in Sheahan, and has a very strong frame to throw around. Neeld has shown a preference for tall utility style players and he could provide a serious presence in the forward line.

Mobile talls are a good thing, but what I've been getting at with my comments about being top heavy, especially in the 50m arcs, is the lack of quality smalls at either end. It's something that I think has really hurt us the last few seasons and I don't see much sign of the situation improving. I really hope that Kelvin Lawrence has a huge year and breaks into the side as a small forward because it's something we haven't had since Jeff Farmer left. Davey did the job, but he was more interested in moving to the midfield. Likewise, we can't keep relying on Bartram to be our only small defender. He's good 1-1, but he is a very limited player and while his endurance is good he's not really quick enough on a short sprint to go with the better forward pockets. I just find it monumentally frustrating to see guys like Garland and Frawley lumbering after a little gnat-sized forward pocket because they are the only match-ups we could find for them. It's poor list management. If every other club in the league can find guys to fill these roles, why is it so hard for us?

Not Sheahan. Too young. I'd back Leigh Williams if they went one of the big men. Even so, I think it would more likely be Magner who gets the nod. He ticks all of the boxes for Neeld.