Little Goffy

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

Well, a potential gun CHF on the cheap is always a nice thought. And he's definately still young. I think a pick 6 is one of the few first-round selections we don't have in our collection, too. As much as being 'variety pack' of pricks didn't do Hawthorn too much harm in 2008, I'm not sure it's the way I want the Demons to go. Of course it comes down to the triple - is he injury free, has he held onto his talent, and will he fit in with what we want the club to be. I think I match the general mood of the board with an 'interested but wary' feeling about this.

For what it's worth, the Demons did interview big Max at draft camp. Having never actually seen him play and knowing almost nothing about him, all I can say is that he didn't seem like a beanpole tall kid. Could easily develop into the same kind of overall build as Sandilands. My only reason against grabbing him at 34 would be the emotional pull of bringing in Dylan Grimes. Unless Callum Bartlett or Troy Taylor slip that far by some miracle, or perhaps Fitzpatrick.

One. Just one. Really, really, good one.

PISCATEA ROSEA

As I understand it, the primary Bailey 'gameplan' is a chain of handballs running out of defence (or from a contest) designed to keep the ball moving forward at the same time as eventually getting a player enough space to deliver a -good- long kick into the forward line. Obviously there are shifts and variations but that's the main path to goal. Right now, the hard ball isn't won often enough, the handballs don't connect quite enough, the players aren't working free quite enough, the understanding of how to support eachother and give options isn't quite enough, and the forward targets aren't quite potent enough. Between all these things, it quickly looks like a shambles. It takes years for a team working on this style together to get it right, but when it works it's a winner. And fun to watch. Just so long as they never forget to run hard defensively as well.

The roller-coaster of 2001,02,03, and the subsequent surge and drops within the 2004,05,06 seasons, tell a story of multiple teams sliding in and out, not one team. In any given year some players came through well, some were ordinary and some fell away. Woewodin, Johnstone, Yze, Vardy, Pickett, Rigoni, Bruce, Neitz, Robertson, White, Rivers, Yze, Davey, Mclean, Whelan, Wheatley, Moloney, all these guys and more were up and down from injury or form over this period (2001-2006). We never managed consecutive seasons without major disruption to the list. Godfrey and Heffernen were regulars in the midfield and our tall defence was held together by Alistair Nicholson almost alone. We never really had a Centre-half-forward, either. With all these deficiencies, Daniher did a fine job to keep us competitive on a regular basis. And there were flashes, runs of wins where we looked like the real thing, but they always cracked and faltered, and we were always staggering by the time finals came around. On talent and positional balance, the team we have assmebled (or will have finished assembling in about three weeks) has much more going for it than the Daniher era teams. Already when you look at the team sheet for round 1 next year, you find yourself wondering which highly talented young players will miss out, not 'how do we cover this and that'. combine that with the determination to give the kids time to play games together, not just accumulate games but play them as a stable team, and we have ourselves the magic beans.

Yep. With a modest profit this year and all sorts of changes successfully made, we might just be alright. One more big heave and we're there. Then we can start working forward, getting ready to maximise the exposure and commercial value of the rise up the ladder, and we'll be established, strong and looking forward to our 200th birthday and onwards.

Hmm... I've had a change of heart on our need for KPP. I don;t think it is that urgent, we have a wealth of defenders and a couple of future star talls up forward. I've been very hot and cold on Vardy, much to my embarrassment. Griffiths I've stayed in love with all the way though, even if I'm considering seeing Carlisle on the side My thinking has been shaped a little by looking at other clubs and their situations and the realisation of the obvious - true tall forwards take time to develop, even if they turn out to be great, and you can't load up on them because there are limited spots available for their type. Meanwhile, if you can find goal-kicking midfielders/medium forwards you don't have to worry so much about finding a way for them to slot in, you always need plenty of rotation options, and they can provide a bit of forward firepower while you wait to find a truly potent key forward. That's the other thing - those few tall forwards need to be exceptional, there's no space for being the seventh on a roster or a tagger, you've got to be a winner in your position. I also think that from here on in we should be happy to take risks with selections, in terms of total hit-or-miss types rather than 'likely to be ok'. We now have so many players who may well be with us for then next ten years or more that there simply wont be opportunities for new guys to find a spot unless they really stand out. 1. Scully. The man in the middle. 2. Trengove. Attacking Mid and Medium Forward. 11. Andrew Moore. Attacking Mid and Medium Forward. 18 . Ben Griffiths. Risk on injury, but would be a top-ten without them. If we manage it and clear it up successfully, he will be gold. 34. Well, actually I still like Dylan Grimes for this pick, just because And the obligatory Majak Daw side note - if he's there for our first rookie pick, we get him. No doubts.

The initial thrill has faded. I like Luke Ball but don't think he's what we're after, and the apparent disinterest to date from him just seals that. I wish him the best renewing his career with St Kilda.

Hmm. Is it possible that Ball looks at our list and sees the prospect of ... Grimes, Morton, Moloney, Jones, Strauss, Blease, Scully, Bate, Sylvia, Maric, Davey, Trengove, Bennell, Jetta, Wonaeamirri, Petterd, Green and Bruce ... between them squeezing him out of a regular game in a couple of years time, whether midfield, forward or back? Further to that, given the Demon's impending midfield transformation, is it possible that in a sense we have been excited at the prospect of getting him because in our minds we were recruiting to save last season, not build the next? edit: I accidently had Morton in there twice (he was leaning on a lamp post and I got confused)

I tried to load the 'Dees eye Bradshaw' article, but I don't think it worked properly. All I got was a page covered in FAIL.

Ok, first things first. LUKE MOLAN WAS NOT A DUD SELECTION - LUKE MOLAN WAS HIDEOUSLY CRUELLED BY INJURIES -AFTER- BEING RECRUITED I don't normally resort to capitalisation, but this fact needs to be drilled into some people. The poor guy had the most appalling injury luck and it's really unfair on him as a person to keep on baggging him like he was a spud. Second thing. It has been widely (almost universally) acknowledged in the media and from the professionals when interviewed that you can 'throw a blanket over' draft selections from about 10 to the mid 20s. I.e. our picks. I've barely heard of a kid being rated as there around 11 who wasn't also a possible to be there at 18. If there ever was a draft it pick for need, this is it. Especially since we already have two gun mids coming in, and even more so if Ball joins the party.

And a little note on him being 'huge' - up close he doesn't look like a gorilla Fraser Gehrig style, it's more like someone took one of those beanpole 200cm kids and gave them a solid but athletic frame.

I like Griffiths, I think he will not only fill a need but also be best available if he's still there at 18. We could be getting an absolute steal here, the kid is definately good. Given that we wont be looking to rush him and can take the time to identify and manage any problems there might be as far as injury, we're well placed to take him, too.

You'd think at the very least the AFL could back the quarter of a million Australians overseas in London, plus the tens of thousands in each of Hong Kong, Singapore, Los Angeles and the North-East USA. A quietly healthy amateur presence of Australian football around the world would also be a good little boost to the tourist attention AFL gets. Frankly, this game of ours should be as high profile as Uluru and hugging Koalas. The only reason it isn't, at the moment, is because so much of Australia's tourism promotion effort is driven by companies and government agencies based in the northern, 'AFL weak' states. (True story)

On the plus side... The 'new era' squad gets to start it's season with a road trip together, have a good shot a coming away with a win, and return the next week to play a nothing-to-lose game against the reigning premiers. It'll be a lesson in recovery and travel discipline, a bonding experience, a confidence builder and an eye-opener all in one. Basically, our kids will have had a look at a couple of the major challenges of AFL (travel and Geelong) right from the start, and will then have a couple more NAB/Practice matches to think about it, work on it and be ready for round one. What else can we ask for from the preseason cup?