RalphiusMaximus

Seventeen years old and half a head shorter than his Father. Can we expect a late growth spurt from him? Not that he really needs it, but it would be an added bonus if he wound up his Dad's size and build.

Best part of this is that he was being chased by a number of clubs and chose to come to the MFC.

Honestly, the photo's are quite reassuring. Look at the focus on his face when he's kicking. He may not have the body, but that makes me think he might have the mental side covered. Hope I'm not reading too much into a few pictures.

Don't forget sliding knees-first into grounded opponents.

The pathway only gets them onto an AFL list. I said nothing about what happens next.

I think I'm actually most excited by this guy. He has the two things we desperately need in pace and kicking skills. He could be a real bargain.

Casey has been amazing as an AFL pathway. Look at the guys who have been picked up from there. Silvagni, Mohr, McInerney, Smith, Keilty, and now Fritsch. There may be others as well that I've missed. That's a pretty great record for a VFL side. I don't know how many others have produced that many mature-aged recruits.

He looks to be a decent kick and can certainly get his own ball, but I don't see this pace everyone is talking about. He's certainly not even close to Boomer Harvey in that respect. I note that the Fox panel had Moore ranked at 11. We took Spargo instead, presumably because of his reputation for being competitive. I guess time will tell, but I think the Hawks got a bargain.

This one is going to take a few years before we really consider giving him games I would think. The great advantage of having a strong line-up with some depth behind it is that you can take your time with the kids and not play them until they are ready.

Skill.

I want it to, but I think they're missing some key points with their planning.

Get real? We have the worst disposal in the league. We have no forward structure. Our greatest strength is a brigade of tough nut midfielders who can't kick. We have never seen any evidence that our talls are able to work with each other instead of getting in each others' way. The team still falls asleep for large portions of games. Realistically, I think we're a damn good chance to go backwards next year.

Is it wrong that I'm hoping to see them take the flag next year? Assuming that we don't of course.

Again, not a single tackle in the entire reel. I'd love to hear from someone who's seen him play whether he puts in defensively.

He's exciting, but I didn't see any tackling on that clip.

It's great that we've got Lever to the club. I rated him as a junior and he's shown himself to be a quality player ever since. However, I can't agree with paying that much to get the trade done. We paid more for Lever than Geelong paid for Dangerfield. That's a damn poor deal in my book.

Nope. Finally saw him play and to me he looks a hell of a lot like Cale Morton. He's more physical, but that skinny build will hamper him.

The thing is, it's all very well to talk about the size of defenders right now and Lever is right in the middle of the field (and taller than I thought), but it doesn't address the issue. A few weeks ago BEN BROWN tore us apart. Now he's an ok player, but he's no Wayne Carey. In round six, Joe Danniher kicked six straight points before his one goal. That could easily have been a seven goal haul to win them the game. Darcy Moore isn't there yet, but he's a mobile 201cms. GWS have Patton at a shortish 198cm and Lobb floating in at 207. Port have Dixon and the Hoff at 2m+ and Ryder chipping in at just shy of 2m. Boyd at the Doggies is 2m. Even Brisbane have Schache (for now) at 199 and Hipwood at 202. These guys stretch their arms up and we have nobody short of Max Gawn who has a chance of getting a fist to the ball. We need to get pro-active and try to find a solution. Maybe that means grabbing an American Basketball reject and training them to spoil or converting a spare ruck (like we have one).

Jake's a bloody good player, but he's an upgrade rather than filling a hole in our side. I'd prefer to see us chasing someone with a few more inches to them who can go with the 2m forwards that seem to have sprouted all over the league.

Paddy Mac today managed two goals and a report in the VFL. Developing nicely.

I read that as us being the most likely destination if he did decide to come back to Vic. I could be wrong, but it sure sounded good to me.

This weekend was the first I've seen of him, but he certainly looked like a good prospect. His first quarter in particular, I think he had 10 disposals. Moved really well and laid some really nice tackles. It's a good sign for a basketballer to take to the physical side of the game so readily I think. Some of his disposals were a bit ordinary, but others were fine. I don't see any point in upgrading him next year, but he certainly looks like he'll be a player in the future. No rush for now.

Gawn and Dangerfield on the footy show tonight had a nice little chat. Gawn again talking up the armchair ride he's giving our mids and how underappreciated it is. Danger responds that obviously nobody appreciates how hard it is to tap a ball as opposed to actually catching it. This was all in the context of Gawn coming equal fourth in the PA MVP. Nice effort there Max.

Thon Maker. Was he in the u18 AFL ranks a few years ago? He's just gone No. 10 in the NBA draft.

Yep. Viney got 24.