DeeSpencer

I think King wants players who express themselves with playing. That’s been the Geelong way. And the Hawks way. And there’s certainly been some Swans (more recently than the Roos era) who fit that bill too. I also think the cultural clean out might’ve been to make sure we’re bringing young guys with a bit of spunk in to the right place. Room for them to make their own mistakes but not be led astray.

Am I watching the same clips as everyone else? I watched the futures games and the champs vs Allies and he had about 10 handball turnovers in both and didn’t complete a handball more than 50cm

I believe we nominated him before the draft which means he’s now automatic, it gets read out as a pick just for the sake of it.

Let’s see him play an afl game before we assume he’s got the Spargoat covered. That said, it’s not what he does with the ball that excites me compared with Charlie. I want to see flat out speed and aggressive tackling. That’s something injuries took out of Spargo’s game and our forward line aside from Kozzie really lacked.

Mihocek will make more difference than any draft pick or anyone else available. And I’m happy to buy all shares in Kentfield especially if he gets through preseason. Trelly P is here to play right away if he has a good summer and he’s going to put speed on the ball. The lack of midfield reinforcements is more concerning but aside from a few Tracc throw back games we didn’t lose much.

Brisbane snag Koby Evans, that’s why they are the best, they’ll fix his injuries. Eagles mad to not match.

Brisbane’s? I reckon every premiership team since Cyril at the Hawks in 08 had great small forwards, including our side in ‘21. If we want Pickett on ball, and the flexibility to run Chin on the wing we need at least 2 new ones.

Can never have enough good small forwards!

Based on what’s left I’d take Max Kondo and just stack a strength on a strength with medium defenders. Build the wall back there and worry about the midfield next year.

CDT played exceptional footy in the Coates league last year, hence he came in to the year a number 1 pick fancy. Robey is a bit of gamble on a limited sample size with no champs. But he ticks a lot of boxes in terms of character and work rate. If a SANFL ressies player who hasn't stuck in the elite system isn't a gamble then I don't know what is?

We're getting a bit off topic here (sorry for the people who dislike that) but I do wonder if the funneling of Indigenous players in to NGA's rather than just putting that money in to state league clubs hurts players. Port NGA seemingly did nothing for Pickett. Where as if those resources were with Norwood he might've stuck around for more than 3 matches in 2023. And the SANFL and WAFL clubs have 100 years of connections to their regional zones And in Victoria I really wish the Coates leagues clubs would align with VFL standalone clubs (or reform the VFA) and actually have a clear pathway for guys who miss out. There's some for alliances, Geelong to Geelong, Eastern to Box Hill, Oakeligh to Port, Dandenong to Frankston but largely it's up to the kids to make it and without reserves or a history in that organisation they have to find a way to star at local footy just to get a good look in the VFL most of the time.

Whilst that looks great in hindsight I think the track record of plucking guys from obscurity across most clubs is poor, they need to go through the grades. In this case Latrelle needed to live and settle in Adelaide away from home in Tumby Bay. If you want to identify an error it was not getting Isaiah Dudley last year as a train on player. Matching without trading to get more picks in - which would’ve cost them at least a future 2nd - would’ve given their first rounder next year a points deficit. Adding a points deficit to probably an early first round pick is a bad bad decision. Really they made their decision with the trade up and selection of Sharp that Sweid was on the table if he went in the first round. They came up 1 pick short!

The beauty of Stewart is whilst he can play taller he almost never starts games as one of the Cats 3 tall defenders (SDK, Henry, O’Sullivan) because he can match up on smalls and provides the rebound and skills of a flanker. Gives you 4 talls and allows for more zoning and to just blanket teams in the air. Listening to JT that sounds exactly how they see Taylor fitting for us.

We aren’t using that pick unless maybe we need to for White. Pass or trade for a F4 most likely. No reason to have more than 36 on the senior list and better to keep a train on spot for Sinnema and other hungry mature agers.

There’s a few red flags: concussion, recurring calf injuries, lack of contested possession and lack of improvement at Coates league where he’s basically the same player now at 18 as he was debuting at 16. But at some stage the talent outweighs the negatives. We’ve also drafted a junior team mate of Windsor, Kolt and Lindsay. Which is probably more coincidence than by design, but Harvey is the only one we haven’t paired up.

The club seems keen to give Adams a crack at replacing May. X Taylor hopefully replaces and improves upon Judd. Latrelle replaces Spargo and hopefully lets Kozzie play half forward not just deep forward when he's in the forward line. We were very unlikely to replace Oliver where our picks fell. We were never going to replace Tracc. It's probably going to take top 5 picks in strong drafts to replace those guys. Or if we're lucky a Humphrey trade.

A few more than that. In fact our last 3 number 1 picks in Windsor, Langford and now X Taylor all went to public schools. Windsor was in the sports program at Rowille Sec. And the last 2 apparently turned down scholarships to private schools.

Byrne and Ainsworth the 2 Twomey linked us with. Tai Hayes the obscure VFL player he linked us to. Not sure this is the spot to go for needs too much but a mid who can play forward early on would be very handy. Phillipou, Allen fit the bill

You got to be Maynard levels of not very bright when you’re this good at footy to not get a scholarship. The good news is that often makes for a very good footballer

I’d have taken Nairn and Barker if I went then hawks trade back route. But I do think Schubert is very handy because he’s a really hand ruck who can develop as a forward. Anyway, always trust in JT and think Latrelle can play. Just not sure we maximised our hand in a draft that should’ve been more about rebuilding the list than individuals.

I don’t think Taranto, Hipper or especially Prestia played a role but Lalor, Smillie and even Hotton are all see ball get ball players without a lot of defensive game. A runner with their second pick was always likely. Then Cumming is the most team orientated and defensive of the mid/forward types. You’re spot on that he fits better than Robey.

Hawks traded 9 for 10 and 22 in trade week. Trade 10 back with GWS for a future 2nd. Traded it again with WC for another future 2nd. Traded a future 3rd to slide their second pick up. I reckon that’s incredible manipulation of the draft. They’ll end up with Nairn, Schubert, 2 figure seconds in a much better draft. We’ve got Latrelle.

30 right now. Carlton and West Coast have picks that might get chewed up but most academy bids now will push it back. Probably ends up 33-35

X Taylor is a player, will need to find his role and place in the club but Kingy should sort him out. Latrelle is a gamble, but Kozzie didn’t do a whole lot in his draft year. No club is better placed to get the most out of him and he’s got some genuine moves - and we sure have genuine needs.

Would be a nice result for us, although if I'm Essendon I'm picking the 3 Eastern Ranges boys. Which could work for us if Adelaide put their future first rounder and 16 on the table for Sharp and we can do the patient thing for once.