Dr. Gonzo

It depends on the ability to identify talent/traits, the ability to identify what YOUR team needs and how that player will fit in to your structures and the environment they're coming in to The Cleveland Browns can keep drafting top 3 picks til the cows come home and theyre out if the league in 3 years while the Patriots keep picking in the 20s/30s and finding guys who plug gaps in their next Superbowl team.

But it's not the draft per se that's the problem. If we selected Dangerfield instead of Morton, nicnat over watts, Martin over trengove Wines over toumpas etc things would be seen a hell of a lot differently. It's easy to say in hindsight but a lot of these were not outrageous (probably Dangerfield was never in the discussion but the rest certainly were hotly debated).

I was definitely all in on the strategy, including tanking to ensure we secured the priority pick. I am not saying the strategy was wrong, just the execution. Drafting is an inexact science especially in our game where we take kids out of high school and expect them to come into a bottom placed team and singlehandedly drag them back up the ladder. I don't think you can discount the draft though, it's still the best way to secure elite talent. You can trade out draft picks but the chances of prying an elite player from an opposition team is extremely small even if you do offer them a top draft pick or 2 in return. The answer in my mind is to target mid-upper range players via trade, continue to identify the traits that can't be taught in drafting (skill, game awareness and competitiveness) and too up with free agency. If the FA rules are changed this will give more flexibility in securing talent via this method but as it stands it is extremely unlikely you will get a guy like Tom lybch via FA, it's more likely to be a guy like Tomlinson.

I agree wholeheartedly, I can't believe we haven't been linked to any of Papley, Martin or Brad Hill. These guys are the exact kind of players we need. It's a bit disheartening as either we haven't bothered or were quickly rebuffed.

The AFL has been involved in the running of clubs since the Commission was formed because the club's have proven time and again that they are incapable of running themselves. Look what happened to our club when left to our own devices. Thankfully the AFL stepped in giving us Roos and Jackson to help us operate like a professional organisation. I'm not saying the AFL is perfect, in fact it is extremely amateurish and incompetent in many facets. But if all they were measured by was the viability of the club's and the competition they would be seen as resoundingly successful.

We thought we'd raided the draft from 2007-2009 and so wouldn't be impacted because we had already stocked up. We stuffed those 3 years of picks, no one else to blame.

Not to mention we made a Prelim last year and wouldn't have qualified for a PP under the afls previous rules. This isn't about Melbourne, it's about the game and the competition. This decision will not be the difference between us being successful or not and if we think it is then that's part of the problem.

Every draft is compromised due to academy picks, father sons and now priority picks. This makes no difference to that

Petracca Brayshaw Oliver Weideman

Richmond and Footscray both bottomed out at that time as well.

Yeah can't believe Lever retired without ever paying back the faith we showed in him

You mean he might help the "connection" between the defense, mids and forwards?

"Educated guess" he said

He wouldn't have even known who Pickett was before yesterday.

If that's true would need to get his head out of his [censored]. If another club is willing to pay more good luck to them, if he wants to stay I wouldn't kick him out but I wouldn't jeopardise the salary cap paying a backup KPD stupid money.

I reckon we have a couple of difference makers but they just need to mature. Oliver Brayshaw Petracca Viney being the main ones.

We weren't far off 9-10 wins this year, the Crows game, both Eagles games and the Kangaroos game were opportunities gone begging. Of course we weren't far off 2-3 wins either with the Suns, Hawks and Blues games going down to the wire but overall I think we have the talent to rebound quickly.

Will barracking the Giants home today and I actually think they will win. Certainly don't deserve to be $3.30 outsiders, closer to a 50/50 game I would've thought.

Was it the league or the broadcaster?

They shouldn't be.

Is he better than the Wagner's? Stretch? JKH? ANB? Frost? OMac? If so it's a no brainer.

You're right, we should be going after Fyfe, Dangerfield, Kelly x2 etc. If we don't land any of these it's a(nother) complete failure by the MFC

Surely you're not that stupid?

We're not getting "reamed". We're being bumped down one spot in the draft. Every other club, in particular clubs like Saints and North, could be as easily aggrieved as us. Quit with the persecution complex, it's unbecoming. How much of a difference do you really think it will make if we have pick 2 or 3? Have you guys learnt nothing from the past 15 years of praying for salvation through draft picks?

Will never happen, more than 6 clubs are run/bankrolled by the AFL. Can't upset the applecart.