DeeSpencer

We'd score 120+ on bad teams and 60 on good teams though, our system wasn't sustainable against good teams for most of the year. Only the last round against GWS and the first 2 finals pointed towards it working against top clubs. That said.. I don't think long bombs to Hogan (as a full forward), ANB's flat track specials or Garlett really worked against good teams, so it was relying on Tommy Mc, Melksham and maybe Hannan . There's a chance we get Weid (like in the finals), Petty or Jackson as the 2nd tall, a big dose of Fritsch, Pickett crumbing alongside T Mc and Melk for a better forward line that makes so much more of the opportunities. Then the wings didn't seem to work until Vanders came back in. He could be the missing ingredient but Langdon and Tomlinson might help. And more midfield Petracca to create high quality and quantity chances. Sustainable defensive plan + the best parts of 2018 ball movement without the worst part (inefficient inside 50's) = success.

None of Petty, Weideman or Preuss have locked down a spot, in fact there will be a 4 way battle with Jackson for 1-2 spots depending on how the team wants to play. Jackson has speed and skill for his size that will create opportunities for the little guys. I'm not sure that the SANFL is the second best comp outside the AFL, but sure it's a good state league. Stephens had 1 excellent game but averaged 18 disposals in a fairly open competition. Langdon knows what he needs to do to win the ball against AFL players, most outside mids struggle with that transition early. Whitfield - who is bigger, faster, more skilled than Stephens - took a number of years to truly be comfortable at the top level. Good clubs win games with senior players whilst developing kids at the same time. If they stop developing kids it's only because they run out of good draft choices. There will be plenty of opportunities to develop our kids.

Reliable if not flashy ball winner, solid as a rock skills, good size and decent athletic potential that should easily take to AFL conditioning - he missed all preseason with glandular fever. He's exactly the kind of player Brisbane have been drafting for a while now. Only thing he's missing is he's from WA not Country Victoria!

There’s more chance Jackson plays round 1 than doesn’t play at all next year. 94kg and runs a very solid 2km time trial. He’s raw but has the size and endurance to play against men straight away. If there was a betting line on games played I’d put it at about 8.5 if not higher. Stephens was my pick of the rest but he’s 183cm and very light. A lack of aerial ability or contested ground ball ability could see him struggle to play inside or outside early. He projects as a half forward early in his career in my opinion. Every year a number of top 10 picks thrive early and plenty don’t. And you get guys who don’t debut who go on to be Tom Mitchell and you get others who play every game and become Lewis Taylor. That’s why you draft best available and develop a list instead of attempting to fill gaps.

Yeah was told his game against WA was far from flattering. I think that and lack of pace. If you aren't bursting off half back and breaking the lines then there's only so many places you can kick the ball. Even at 100% efficiency good teams don't leave huge gaps the same way the under 18's do. The Grant Birchall comparison probably is about right and people forget how good Birchall was but at the same time are you racing out to use pick 3 on Birchall? The most interesting part of the comments about Young was the recruiter who loved his midfield game and thought he could be Pendlebury based on one game. 30 touches of sublime ball use and decision making across the ground sure does sound nice - but why wasn't he given more midfield time in the NAB League?

Sydney have a vested interest in clubs not making academy bids. Whilst Blakey was bid on by the Giants last year it was at pick 10, far after he should have been. With so many academy players next year there seems to be a sense that less bidding is better for many clubs and Sydney are one of them. The Crows have enough one paced mids so probably didn't want any risk but apart from that their trade with the Giants likely came with stipulations. For the life of me I can't understand Freo not bidding. It would've pushed each of their picks back one and made the price of Liam Henry slightly less. Nothing to lose, the Giants were certainly matching by pick 7. Green is a beauty but I think he's also slightly overrated. One paced mids are a dying breed and you have to be Paddy Cripps good to make it. If you're even 80% of Cripps then you go from a weapon to a liability. We've seen that with Gus Brayshaw - just a little off his game and he falls from (an undeserving) Brownlow contender to a player I now have serious doubts about.

He's a beautiful kick and has incredible balance. Different types of players but if Sydney Stack can go undrafted after some character concerns - possibly similar to EJ - and then light up the comp across half back as an 18 year old then why can't EJ do the same? If you're 188cm, skilled as can be and a bit inconsistent with forward pressure and ball winning then show me you can compete down back and stay in a game that way and I'll draft you. Similar to Frtisch, show some ability learning the game on a wing and half back and once you've matured and can handle physical defenders and off days and stay in the games then you'll be a gun forward. That would be my first question to him. If he can't handle the half back flank he won't make it as a forward these days. All the talent in the world won't make it at AFL level if you don't have a defensive game or a hunger for the contest.

Kosi's lack of height might help him tuck in under opponents and prevent him knocking their heads in to next week! Ricciuto was the only one really standing up to Pickett in that video, although Goody had a decent crack and wasn't too worried about Tredrae and co.

I'm a Rivers fan, just seems so solid and I think our backline needs versatile that all round quality type who can play any of about 5 roles back there. I'm also interested in the idea of taking Williams and making him play half back to light a fire under him, very Sicily/Hardwick at Hawthorn like. Otherwise if they want to go Taylor that's fine by me. Same with Sharp, Gould, Bianco, although those 3 are kind of positives and negatives with attributes, less versatile. The only one who I haven't seen but I'm just fascinated by is the idea of Perez. A junior soccer star with elite kicking skills. Have you seen much of him J?

In the highlights video he's playing for: WWT reserves WWT seniors SA under 18 v Glenelg SA under 18 AFL rising stars game - white AFL academy v Casey And there's nothing from school games there. I know most young guys go through a similar thing but for an instinctive player who clearly feeds off and works well with team mates there's potentially a heap of improvement for settling him in the same side - Casey if not the AFL team - and letting him play with team mates who know his game. His possession totals could quickly elevate by a couple of kicks and handballs and at least dispel any concerns that he doesn't get the ball enough.

Our coaches haven't shown any great ability to train front and centre or pressure. We've trained up ball winning and I think we've trained up a pretty fit squad (up until last year). And rightly or wrongly we've trained a team that can get the ball inside 50. Yeah I'd rather use pick 20, and yes I wonder if the mid sized Bergman or the slightly bigger Weightman were better picks but the speed to the drop of the ball, the taps on, the pressure. There's so much to like. He's not just flukey and flashy, he does all the defensive stuff.

I think the only thing we are allowed to do is trade a future 4th round pick to move up. 30 and a future 4th to Sydney for 27 - gives them some bonus academy picks for next year? I don't think they are accepting that. 30 and a future 4th to North for 28? If they know who we are taking they'll do that given they have 29. But probably isn't worth it.

Now pick 30, probably moves to 31 and effectively pick 9 of the second night. 10 names: Mids: Robertson, Sharp, Schoenberg, Ralphsmith, Rantall Backs: Worrell, Bianco, Rivers, Gould, Perez Forwards: Taylor, Williams, Mahoney

Yeah I guess the Tigers shouldn't have drafted Rance when they were crap. Or Hawthorn when they were damn ordinary, what they hell were they doing drafting Buddy Franklin. Geelong with a great culture obviously were right to pick Tim Kelly, he was always going to stay right? Time to make the culture in to one of success and that starts with recruiting the best talents and keeping them.

They should have enough champs footage for the first round kids at least. If Fox could borrow Cal Twomey and pump up Matt Balmer and have them go head to head for a decade they’d have good tv. Instead both are babies in media terms and probably are years away from finding their voices as draft experts. And the very skilled but still somewhat overrated Neroli Meadows has been let go. We’ll get perfectly nice interviews but it’s also some boring kids mostly. The background stories just don’t compare to those of NBA and NFL draftees.

5 minutes a pick for at least 21 picks, it has to run for 105 minutes. And I think it should. Add in 15 minutes of introductions and you get 2 hours. Plus a wrap at the end. Unfortunately to make it great tv you need 3 things: 1. Excellent HD highlights package 2. Draft experts with knowledge and presentation skills. Ideally 2 of them to bounce off each other. 3. An interviewer with skills and kids with charisma and stories to tell.

Theory: If we were picking anyone but Jackson we would've traded that information with a journo for inside info on what teams 7-15 are doing. And we'd also look pretty silly for getting Jackson's hopes up. I think we're past the point of people debating it.

So Collingwood miss out on winning a premiership by one fluke kick from Sheed and: Grundy - first round pick De Goey - not a midfielder, not a key forward - top 5 pick Jaiden Stephenson - not a midfielder, not a key forward - pick 6 Are they all bad picks? They look like excellent picks if you ask me. Yes you can win a grand final without a gun ruck and yes gun rucks can be nullified by lesser opponents but good taggers shut out good midfielders a lot of the time too. And plenty of finals have featured pretty average defenders shut down good forwards. Nick Riewoldt got comfortably held against the Pies in his absolute prime by a young Nathan Brown and Ben Reid IIRC. Joel Hamling (with an assist from Dale Morris) shut down Buddy. Zaine Cordy and Jacob Townsend are premiership winning CHF's in recent years.

Gold Coast aren’t taking him obviously. But reports had us, Adelaide, GWS and Freo all very keen. That’s picks 3, 4, 6, 7. And Sydney keep things close. He’s not a unanimous choice at 3 but I don’t see clubs kicking the door down for any of the other top 7 guys. Ash seems popular, but my guess is clubs would be split between those 2 and Young, Flanders and Stephens.

Maybe we need to rethink the way we acclimatise Jackson to Melbourne. The current plan seems to be boarding with a caring host family then quickly in to a share house with team mates in a nice inner city suburb with lots of things to see and do. We might be better off just dumping him in a dilapidated house in Cranbourne (near to Casey) or even better Frankston (right by the beach) with a few meth addicted neighbours and plenty of bogan in the air. Buy him a jetski and he won't even know the difference (until June).

Absolutely, but I just used Swallow as an example because he really faded down the stretch as the game adapted and he was also a WA captain with excellent leadership skills and selfless play. One dimensional players are certainly on the decline if you look at Green also dropping down the order.

I just don't see us needing to keep 2 spots open given there's significant doubts over keeping both players and that unfortunately list spots often open up prior to March. There's no hurry to give Bennell a spot that's for sure and Brown should only get one if we really think he's best 22.

Selwood's been an absolute champion but I think the way the Tigers have changed the modern game is challenging recruiters and coaches on just what the value of a Selwood type player is worth. An absolute champion is clearly great but a lesser imitation might not be all that valuable. At 183cm Robertson isn't a big body, he's a good all round athlete but not off the charts in speed or fitness, isn't a great or maybe even a good kick, can't really play more than 1 position well. Richmond are rolling out midfielders who are mostly faster and more skilful, therefore also more versatile. Or bigger bodies like Caddy. As I said in an earlier thread if he's Selwood you have to take him, but if he's closer to an Andrew Swallow with the way the game is going you look elsewhere.

Yep that's another option, either way I significantly doubt he's a pick 28 chance. Twomey has us down for Elijah Taylor, Trent Rivers or Thomson Dow as the chances, hopefully one of those guys slip

Then they kind of tricked GWS to trade up with Adelaide, which also tipped the Giants hand that they were getting ahead of a bid. Seems incredibly low risk for the Swans to bid. Surely Freo bid just to keep them honest. GWS aren’t taking picks 40, 59 and 60, they are using them to match!