Dr. Gonzo

Depends what you mean by elite user? I think the last few years has shown us that poor disposal in today's game kills you on the rebound. I also think elite decision making is a key component of the modern game and this could be part of being an elite user.

We will try to get Prestia next year but centring our drafting around this hypothetical would be very stupid

It's a bit of a different situation this time round though. Rather than getting Parish in and chucking him to the wolves and expecting him to lead our midfield he will likely sit at Casey/half back for some time first. We've also got some big bodies around him and around the ball to protect him rather than expecting him to be the no. 1 guy. Previously we'd drafted these guys (Morton, Grimes, Scully, Trengove, Gysberts etc) and expected them to come in as skinny kids and be our first choice mids. Yeah we had Moloney and Jones but the list of big bodied mids fell away quickly after that. It also meant the new guys couldn't use their best attributes (disposal) and had to compete to win the footy as contested mids. This time around I feel we've built the engine room first and now can add a guy like Parish on top with his great vision and disposal to complement the likes of Jones, Vince, Viney, Brayshaw, Petracca, Salem and Vandenberg. Also the fact he is talked about as having "manic energy" and being good in the contest can't be overlooked as a point of difference to our prior draftees.

Just doing some last minute reading, my extremely amateur opinion on this year's draft is if we can come away with any two of Oliver, Parish and Weideman (preferably Oliver/Parish and Weideman) I'll be happy. Very interested to see how this year's draft plays out.

1) if they feel ostracised they need to harden up and get over it 2) The Hawks voted against the merger we didn't

I thought they did but Garlett selected us after, amongst other things, having a chat with Davey?

Or maybe he [censored] himself knowing it would blow up in the media if he tested positive for booze and knowing it could affect his chances on Tuesday and his entire future career... That has happened anyway but in the heat of the moment he may probably didn't really think this through properly, he just [censored] himself.

Good point, we also don't know the circumstances. Was he drunk? Did he have alcohol in his system? Did he have several drinks hours earlier and would have blown .00 anyway but tried to stall for extra time for the alcohol to go out of his system (even if unnecessary). I don't know but again, if the club was set on him it would be ridiculous to turn him down on the basis of this. I'd be at least discussing it with the leadership group to get their views.

Drink driving is stupid, I've never done it but I have lost my licence for speeding before when I was younger - also got done running a red light (not at an intersection) and no Ps at the same time. It was stupid but it didn't define my character.

Who hasn't?

Yep, that kid is class and grunt. Would be my favourite player if not for Hogan.

Brilliant

I wouldn't be putting the house on that, not yet anyway.

Oh the team played fine in the year 39 We're the DEMONS that no one can lick

After thinking this through for a bit I think we have to just go with the best two players available at those picks. The philosophy in most draft-run competitions is best player available with early picks, pick for needs with later picks. If you try to "reach" to fill a gap with an early pick you invariably end up screwing yourself over.

Maybe there's a reason those clubs are all producing that merch? Sometimes it's not always best to be different for differents sake.

I'm only 33! But I do find myself scowling and shaking my fist at the young hoodlums with their ridiculous outfits and poor taste in music.

I wish they would get some of the 39Thirty hats in, I can't stand the flat brim and high top of the 59Fifty's

We should have two logos like the Cats, this one is great for formal purposes but we need a "Demon" logo for marketing to kids, especially on kids merchandise like tshirts, school bags, pencil cases etc

Our support base is nowhere near as bad as is made out and we don't get the benefit of artificially inflated numbers by playing against local rivals every other week. If you go and crunch the numbers and take these things into account you'll find its just more [censored] spun by the big clubs anf AFL to maintain the status quo. We have been shafted in the fixture for 20-25 years, basically since the comp went national and these things have both short and long term ramifications. The compensation we receive from the AFL is wholly inadequate when you factor this into account.

The problem is just taking a key forward early is not guarantee they will work out - look at Molan, Watts, Cook. The best key forwards are taken early but only because they were the best players available not because they were key forwards

Similar traits to a former #3 draft pick who found out at Freo he was getting it far too easy at the MFC

Based off that footage he also seems to have great vision and an ability to move the ball laterally (with precision) which would help open up the play and our forward line, something we sorely lack.

Thanks for sharing this mate. I'm thinking (hoping) Salem will see more time in the middle this year so maybe he can replace the role on the HBF. Although setting up the play from the back half is such an important part of todays footy maybe they want to settle with Salem there? I don't know, he just seems to talented not to play a greater amount of time through the middle.