Little Goffy

I've got him at 188cm, but there's no doubt he's a the tall end of midfielders. Can get it, plus can use it. So he's one up on Mclean already! But we will have to wait and see, of course.

Oooh, blatant baiting! Ok, I'll rise to it, though I'm not a 'ball-basher' except in your head "1. The line on "he doesn't want to come to us". As I said, we will never know the full truth in regards to this." Ok, a variation - he hasn't allowed us or any other club to conduct due diligence in assessing his medical situation, and has placed a frankly unreasonable price on his head for two years, with the implicit understanding that in a third year contract extension with Collingwood he would accept a minimal salary to bring the overall average rate down to reasonable levels. But this front loading is more like front F$^%^ for other clubs. Given the long history of chronic injury problems which ahs limited his output considerably for a number of years, the unavailability of medical checks make sit, in my opinion, irresponsible to draft him 'blind'. Which is exactly what he's relying on clubs thinking in order to get to Collingwood, of course. "2. The line about "his body wont last 3 years...blah, blah". Read the above link on Luke Molan, a former pick 9, INJURIES CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE!!!" The thing is, he's not in the 'can happen to' boat, he's in the 'already has holes in him' boat. To the point where his output it limited, and his longevity at AFL level is questionable. And, as mentioned, he hasn't been open with his medical situation. Finally, by the time the Demons are in premiership contention, he'll frankly be a minor cog. Lacks pace, lacks penetrating kicking, can't play high game time. All of which aren't going to improve as he ages. His leadership is the main argument remaining for getting him - but I can't say I'm a fan of importing leaders from elsewhere, and I do now think that in the likes of Davey, Moloney, Rivers we have mature players able to offer leadership, and that we also now have an exceptional group of leaders at the youngest age range. The perceived vacuum isn't really there; at least not to the point of spending a million dollars over two years on a 'playing assistant coach'. So my final words on Ball are - I simply don't see him as a part of the 'premiership journey'.

HF/MID - various levels of roatation of course Bate, Sylvia, Trengove, Jetta, Maric, Petterd HB/MID - various levels of Rotation Grimes, Strauss, Blease, Bennell Followers & Wing- Moloney, Jones, Scully, Davey, Morton Plus taggers Bartram and Dunn, and the primarily forward pocket Wonaeamirri, and of course the occassional run on the wing from Watts, and back pockets like Cheney, Bell, Bail, to whatever extent you see their future. In amongst all that mix, it should be reasonably easy to find 12 quality players to run through the middle or play the tagging role. In fact, you line up all of them in their various parts of the field, we have more than covered the possibility that a few wont make it at all. In the short term, Bruce, McDonald and Green fills spots while development happens, and hopefully at least Green will still be with us for some years yet. Also, we're looking at four extra players from the draft, plus one PSD, next week. It's not like all five of them will be key position players. And next year, another four or so, and the year after that, another four. Even if only one good and one depth player come to us from those drafts to replace any of this wave of kids that simply aren't up to it, we'll be well and truly set long term. (time for a 'Jack Viney Grin', too)

Lots of love for even numbered positions, there.

Yep, just food. And Shanghai you'll have some options because of the long-established internatoinal presence. That might be a bit expensive though. Come to think of it, Shanghai is supposed to be pretty expensive for China, if you're planning a trip you might want to move around a bit and only be in the city for a day or two. You'd also think there will be packages coordinated by the club, as the date approaches. Packages with Max Walker hosting, that sort of thing.

This is absolute solid gold. To match it with the world expo, to be delivering such a huge piece of extra value to Kaspersky, to be the only game on at that time, at the end of a season which (we all know it) is going to have people beginning to look at us as a serious team again. Solid Gold. This certainly means that Kaspersky is getting the best value for money sponsorhsip service in the entire AFL. And other sponsors will notice that. I wonder what we can come up with as a bonus for Hankook?

Got a message from the club by email today letting me know what kind of dates the actual mail-out of mermbership packs will happen. Good to see the club taking initiative and responding to an issue raised by supporters last season, about not knowing when their packs wold arrive and not getting quick confirmation that things were underway. Another tick for the new and continuously improving MelbourneFC.

Our Danihers. I've watched and rewatched everything I could get of Dylan, which isn't a lot but does show enough to be clear that he's no spud and would be very, very unlucky to be in the 'delisting' basket after a couple of years. GREAT closing speed. Has a bit of initiative. Smart and will keep learning. You'd have to be confident he'd be around and contributing long enough to make sure there were at least two Grimes' names permanently inscribed on lockers in our changerooms. If you look at his little draft profile comments, he is one of very few who make a point of sayign they are passionate about the club they support, and exploring it further. I'd say worth pick 34, and let's be sure that if he's till there for us at 50 then it's significantly because of unspoken graciousness by 15 other clubs. It would actually be one of those little moments where 'football wins'.

Hurrah! My booking has been confirmed. See you there, Wonnabeeri and others. Make sure you remember who you tipped in the nearest the pin. Winner gets no prize, but all the glory on the night. So nice of them to hold it when I was going to be in Melbourne anyway, too. Finally, anyone for a 'draft buzz-word' drinking game?

I can confirm that Troy Taylor was interviewed at draft camp, so I guess that puts him on our radar. Given that I think he will slide, there is the remotest of remote possibilities he'll be there at 34 and we get to do a happy dance. But it's not likely and I think we might not go for him at 18. Fingers crossed, it would be extraordinary value.

In so far are we're talking about someone 'sliding' from their perceived range to a lower pick... I'm gonna go with Troy Taylor. Some have him first round, some early second round. I think he'll drop a fair way because despite the excitement factor he is unlikely to be much in his first couple of seasons - he really struggled at draft camp, particularly with fitness tests, and will take some development. Bring that together with the -perceived- risk of misbehaviour or Rhan Hooper style AWOL incidents, and clubs may just keep going for the slightly safer option. I say perceived because my own reckoning is that he's a good kid at heart and with good support will work out just fine. When someone else consistently believes in him, it'll make a world of difference.

Yeah, it's a shame that Collingwood got it's priority picks back in the days when you only had to fail one year. What did they get? Only Fraser, Didak and Pendlebury. Each time with the exact maximum number of wins to still be eligible. Right after playing finals, and strangely back in finals again right away. Cheaply 'earned' priority picks form the core of Collingwood's competitiveness. Add that to the first class facilties, extended coaching staff at premium wages, and soft fixtures, and it's a sure fire recipe for consistent not-quite-success If 'modern' Collingwood had any soul left, they'd be routine premiers. Instead they just deliver high-performance failure.

Well, that does imply that Mclean is reasonably injury free now. And we've always known that Mclean is exceptional at sustaining a single pace for long periods. It's probably a good move, might extend Judd's career a little at the same time as testing our whether the Gibbs/Murphy/Mclean onball unit can do the job alone. Might mess around with plans to match up on Judd, too. This is exactly why Mclean might really be worth pick 11 to the Blues. Good luck to him. If he's really lucky the Blues will even get a premiership in before the Demons roll over the top. Also, Scully would have beaten them both. Not kidding or exaggerating. That's just what we're getting. Lap it up.

I love the thought of having a regular pre-game 'rallying point'. Heading over for the game with a small, slightly familiar crowd would be like a miniature version of the Walk to the 'G event. I think it would be particularly good as a welcoming ritual for people travelling in from country areas or interstate too.

Is it possible that we're looking at Tenace as a depth player primarily in a tagging role, with a little side hope that he will eventually improve the disposal? If Tenace were happy to put him self in some kind of hibernation chamber for three years, we'd probably think he was a handy pick up then, providing a reserve option behind the truckload of gun mids. But we probably wont look at him as a prospect for being a midfield regular, which may mean he misses out.

The trouble with lining up Coleman Medals to Premierships is that it can work both ways for the argument - On the one hand, it definately shows that you don't have to have the leagues No. 1 goalkicker on hand to win a premiership. On the other hand, it might be seen to imply that having at least a second high quality target up forward, spreading the goals rather than focusing through a single target, might be worth something. Or, if you really wanna get stuck into it, you could argue that forwards working together effectively to use space, create one-on-ones and control the most dangerous areas is most important. In which case, I'd argue that we should draft a tall now so that these kids can work out their system together and develop it over the years. And go all out for the best forward line coach we can get. Someone who will teach unselfish play and smart cooperation. Anybody got some names worth thinking about? (I have no objection to Moloney, but lets think as if at square 1)

I'm a big fan of having the maximum variety of avenues to goal, so that no single player is critically important. If Riewolt had been injured for the Saints finals campaign, would they have made it past the Bulldogs, lets alone Geelong? But even Gary Ablett Jnr doesn't define the whole hopes of Geelong. He's very handy, no doubt. But there's another Brownlow medallist in there, and Corey Enright was equal winner of the club best and fairest. So my perspective is, maximise the number of midfielders who can rotate forward or forwards who can contribute to the midfield (Sylvia, Green, Trengove, Bate, Davey, hopefully Maric and Blease, and if I had my way in the draft, Moore). Plus a couple of genuiely 'special' athletic forwards like Watts and Jurrah, ideally with a bit of heavy contested marking power in the mix - my reason for looking at Griifiths. I also like Griffiths precisely because he represents a win-loss scenario rather than a middle of the range situation - either the injuries will screw his career, or he'll deliver the underlying talent and strength that has recruiters saying he'd be top ten if not for the injuries. Key forwards is quality over quantity, always.

The club is clearly looking to create opportunities for supporters to feel like part of the inner sanctum once in a while, and I think it would be hard to put together an 'intimate' event like this without attaching a solid cost. But absolutely I'd hope there would be a good mix of these smaller events alongside much more accessible events. The family day at Luna Park was a success according to those I've heard from. I like the approach of having other things to do (especially for kids) as well as mingle and meet players. The events based on supporter groups are a winner too, since they give a chance for all of us loyal demons to come together and draw a bit of mutual support/celebration. The Ballarat Demons seem to be really well mobilised to set up reasonably priced and inclusive functions. Hmm... here's a thought about another 'family' function - with summer coming could we (the club) hold a kind of "learn to swim/water safety/slipslopslap event"? In similar fashion to the Luna Park arrangement, book a good venue for the day and we could even have some of the players helping with the lessons. And of course a casual kick on the grass nearby. Meanwhile, the parents and other supporters can have a chat over a BBQ, mixing with eachother and players/coaches etc...

1. Scully 2. Trengove 11. Moore 18. Griffiths 34. Gawn 50. Grimes PSD1. Beats me so I'll say Mitch Thorp. Two gun mids, a 188cm utility, a big contested marking and long kicking forward, a 206cm project ruckman, and a versatile medium-tall defender. Both the utility and the defender have successful experience playing as undersized key position options. For the record, I'd be stoked if we picket up Callum Bartlett or Andrew Hooper at 34, too. Update Nov 17 - I'm really mixing it now with the thought of grabbing Carlisle at 11. I was looking over our list and noticed something - in all our 'tall' areas, even in defence, we have very few players over the 192/193cm mark. Basically Jack Watts, Stefan Martin, and the four rucks (including Spencer) are our whole list at or above 194cm. Carlisle's ability to play forward and back, at 196cm, pushes him up in my reckoning of his usefulness and gives him more opportunites to get a game. He would be highly unlikely to be available at 18. That would reduce the need for Griffiths at 18, though he would still be a nice acquisition. It partly depends on whether Thorp is a goer in the PSD. It is also remotely possible that one of Moore, Tapscott or Vardy will slide that far and be good value, with other options I'd look at for 18 being Bastinac, Troy Taylor, and Joseph Dare. Getting Vardy at 18 would bump Gawn out of 34, to be replaced by any of the above which slid that far, or one of Bartlett or Hooper, as mentioned in my original comments. So, to update the original in the simplest manner possible, and probably shoot myself in the foot with too much optimism on Moore sliding - 1&2. Jam Scullgove. 11. Carlisle 18. Moore. 34. Gawn. 50. Grimes. PSD 1. Thorp.

It's highly unlikely we'll get a pick in the top ten for a few years now. And what will REALLY upset people here is that after this draft there's a very strong chance we'll be recruiting specifically for position. We have talent. Oh boy do we have talent. By the end of next season we'll be beginning to see where we are strong or weak or need more depth. There are also going to be two distinct player cycles at the club - the very stable core, plus a fairly high turnover of speculative picks, each given a couple of years to show something but as we have seen, Bailey, Harrington and Connolly are ready to be ruthless when it comes to list management. I'd also expect some heavy trading of mid-range picks to advance earli-ish picks. We'll be looking for the extra star and then endless cannon fodder. Which sounds awful but you know what I mean. Remember that next year's draft, despite Gold Coast raiding the first round, will actually be deeper on account of the shunting back of this year's 17 year olds. Not ALL of them will be in Queensland.

I'm happy to add Carlisle to the list of 'good options' for 18. The more I look at it the more I think this will be a solid pick-up, whichever of several players end up available there.

And yes, North Melbourne with 21 or 25, Essendon with 24 or 26, you'd think one of them would have to take him.

An away win in the Nab cup over Fremantle, followed by an exciting, open game against Geelong where we drop away in the last qtr against the sustained class of the Premiers, has the fans thinking there is genuine appeal to the coming season. This is followed by an embarrassing shellacking... handed out by us this time, down at Casey Fields in front of a good local crowd whipped up by effective pre-season visits and marketing. Rnd 1. Memebership ticks over 20,000 before the season starts, then bumps up a few more thousand after a ferocious, hard-fought first round where the ruthless hawks brutally target debut guns Trengove and Scully, and Campbell Brown gets himself rubbed out for five weeks for an absurd and offensive high bump on James McDonald. Brent Moloney slams on the 'fair bumps' for the rest of the quarter, stepping up to lead until McDonald comes back after the half time break. The kids acquit themselves well under the hammering, understandably without starring, but doing a few 'special' things which stamp that they will not be intimidated. There are four guys in the middle of the circle celebrating their first win, Watts, Scully, Trengove and Strauss, appropriately for the Demons new 'youth game'. Rnd 2. The game stays in the media all week courtesy of the controversy, leading to a sensational build-up to the round 2 game against Collingwood. A big crowd turns up and is treated to a thrilling encounter, punctuated by the Liam Jurrah show. Collingwood win by just a couple of goals and everyone goes home looking forward to Queens Birthday. Rnd 3. After an uncertain start in the first couple of rounds, Adelaide go back to basics and strangle the game, as they do so well. The Demons hold close for most of the match but a couple of quick goals put Adelaide four goals in front going into the last change. The final quarter opens up the scoring and both sides kick almost as many in the last as they did for the rest of the game, but the Crows hold on with only a slight reduction in their 3/4 time margin. Rnd 4. Richmond. After humiliations in the first two rounds Hardwick managed to rally the troops for a surprise win up in Sydney, partly thanks to another Richo special. They are brought thudding back to earth by the Demons, who have played much better football despite accompanying the Tigers on one win for the season. Solidly ahead at half time, the third quarter sees a withering burst from multiple young guns that tears the game open and leaves only the question of who, of several, should be taking home that week's rising star award. A couple of junk time goals in the final quarter fail to bring respectability back to the margin for Richmond. Rnd 5. Saturday night at the 'G and the Demons faithful have turned up in the best numbers against an interstate side for some years. Plenty of stragglers and 'footy lovers' have come along to see the Fevola-Brown show in Victoria for the first time that season, and they are treated to a special day at both ends. Voss backs his older midfield and power forwards to win more contests and kick more goals, choosing to open the game right up for all out attack. The continuing Jurrah spectacular and at last the breakout game from Watts turns the game into a spectator's party, with more than 20 goals kicked by just four players. Frawley gets a handle on Fevola in the second half and in the end only an extraordinary effort from Jonathan Brown gets the Lions over the line. Sitting at 2-3 after five rounds, with good percentage, nobody is tipping the Demons for the spoon. Memberships creep past 30,000 during the week and look sure to break the club record again. The lively and unpredictable games and determined efforts have gone a long way to establishing a new respect for the Demons and have the turnstiles ticking over merrily. You may wonder how I know so much detail in my 'flashforward', but seriously, if all this happened, would there me anything else on your mind?

That is all that's left to say - it's over, and that is only troubling if you were particular keen on Ball coming to us. It's as much a testament to our impending midfield strength as it is to any concerns Ball had about waiting for the next premiership window.

Hmmm... well, lets start with the obvious. Mitch Thorp - how are his injuries, how is his attitude, how is he getting along with others at training? Are there any more delistings being considered? Is the club now confident enough in it's overall talent base to start taking risks on injured kids (such as Ben Griffiths, Callum Bartlett) Is there a longer term plan for managing the GC/WS drafts - is the depth back again next year? How's the father-son (Jack Viney) situation looking? Can he put in a good word for me with the ridiculously pretty redhead girl from corporate? Obviously not all of these questions are obligatory