DeeSpencer

Think it will come to Travaglia or Lindsay if Allan is gone.

The 200cm plus guys you might have to put a Petty on or draft another tall but I have no concerns with a filled out, 50+ games experience Tauru taking the likes of Curnow and Naughton. He has the body to fill out and the athleticism to run and spoil, move laterally, wrestle etc. Different built and athletic traits to Lever. Yes, he’s mostly played off his opponents and backed himself to intercept but that’s what talented tall backs should do especially at juniors.

Can I have some of whatever you’re on? I see a guy who gets it done rather than a star with JVR.

193cm Alix Tauru with a 94cm running vertical jump can’t play full back like 193cm Steve May? Every defender is an interceptor these days. Coaches can get the match ups and roles right. Im with you on concerns about the ball use - though I’d rather someone willing to make mistakes than not move the ball on - but I’m not worried about the overlap in styles.

Packers Vikings Texans

I get the concerns. Although we’ve drafted guys like Oliver and Luke Jackson who haven’t been much for the talking when they were picked (or since). But I agree it’s nice if key forwards especially have some swagger. Armstrong reminds me more of Harry McKay than Jezza. McKay was very much a kick-mark type player early in his afl career who’s slowly added more strings. In an ideal world you take a guy who can do a lot more than just key forward stuff so they can play earlier. The one thing Armstrong has is elite agility to be a decent tackler and contribute on the deck. So even if he’s pushed around in marking contests he can give something and not be a total witches hat for his first few years. No mail but I have a sneaky suspicion we might like Jack Whitlock as much if not more, especially with a trade back a few places.

So we have pick 5. But a bid for Levi Ashcroft is surely coming. If not before us then for the sake of the competition we must do it. That will push us back to pick 6. 6 is not a good number. Look at it. It's bottom heavy. It's slow. It's both too full and incomplete. The history of the AFL draft has made it's thoughts crystal clear on the value of 6. 5 is more streamlined. 7 is fast, angular, dynamic. Pick 5: 130 games Pick 6: 69 games Pick 7: 125 games Since 2001 the following players have played 200 games Pick 6: Gary Rohan, Chad Wingard (who fell because he wouldn't leave SA), Jack Macrae Pick 7: Hale, Mackie, Lewis, Ryder, Selwood, Rich, Sheppard, Haynes, Wines The following guys (and sorry to be rude) can be considered what some would call the b word: Pick 6: Sampi, Williams, Dowler, Thorp, Myers, Scharenberg, Marchbank, Francis, probably Stephenson and SPS, McAsey, DGB Pick 7: Kane Tenace, Paul Ahern (dodgy knees), Hunter Clark. Having traded up with Essendon there's no way we bid on Kako. But fortunately the Gold Coast have an extremely athletic high quality young midfielder by the name of Leo Lombard who they are ready and willing to match a bid on. By all reports he's a great young man and I'm sure by getting to the Suns he will be well equipped to handle the curse of pick 6. We must bid with pick 6 on Leo Lombard and therefor slide to pick 7.

No idea if this has changed since but when they bought the bidding system in: the listing of F/S players and local Academy graduates is facilitated in later rounds because the discount rises steadily from 20% in Round 1 to 100% at pick 56 (if a player is bid from this point, a Nominating Club need only use their last pick in the draft to list the player). The other question I have is whether we can go in to deficit to match a bid in the 3rd round. We might be willing/able to do that if he gets through to the start of the 3rd round which could be about pick 45. So from the 3rd round and especially from 56 he becomes an easier chance to get to us. Or he might purely be a Cat B Rookie in the eyes of our recruiting team.

Did we want Houston for those reasons or did we want his elite kicking, and therefore will we favour someone like Xavier Lindsay? I see Allan's issue more as decision making than skills. Which worries me for his ability to be a high level half back because seeing the ground and picking your moments is such a core component at half back. But I agree that's just the start of his career and long term he looms a midfielder. The decision making matters less there. On ball he just hasn't accumulated big numbers and that to me indicates a player who's more reactive at the stoppages and around the ground than proactive. He hunts the ball hard when it's there but other players move first. Long term do he stay more of a defensive mid than an attacking one? He's a safe bet to play a lot of AFL footy with his physical tools and work rate. Just not sure we traded half the farm for safe, even with the physical upside.

3 years at Melbourne Grammar. Played for Sandy Dragons. Even played for Vic Metro in under 16's until someone wised up and decided that would've looked horrendous if it continued in to under 18's. Genuine rort.

I can only justify passing on a mid at 5 if they think Tauru is a cut above the mids AND they think the selection of top bracket mids stretches to 9 - which is possible if you think Smillie, Travaglia, Allan, Reid etc are on the same level as the top guys.

The afl probably shouldn’t pay for Cal to fully ruin the draft. Honestly he should get a few in the top 10 and more in the top 30 wrong just to make it more interesting! That said, I’ll read every bit of it and I’m happy for any classic demonland mail!

But for every argument about our declining midfield depth and future doubts on current guys I think you can make the exact same argument for our talls. BBB gone, May, Max, McDonald not much left. Even Lever not a consistent force any more. The top line midfielders available at 5 are seen as very high level prospects. Personally I think the reason no one can decide who goes 2 and who goes 6 is because they’re all good without being great. The second tier mids are obviously considered by consensus another level lower. At some stage if they aren’t rated all that highly and one of the talls are then we should go the better rated tall. Even more so if we can get a sneaky trade back too. I believe the club are super high on Rivers. Add in Windsor and pick 5 that’s the basis of the next wave of mids. Plus Kolt. Depth is iffy right now but rebuilding midfield depth isn’t as difficult as finding stars.

He’s clean at times but there’s a lot of two grabbing or the ball going off his hands. If he was an exceptional mark to go with his rare athleticism for a tall and straight set shot kicking he’d be a sure thing top 5 pick. Lloyd is pumping up his guy, not really an unbiased opinion.

I'd like to know just how people can see the fitness of Clarrie in photos. He's always had that pale complexion and solid build that never photographs well. I'm glad to see some strength back in his legs. If you look across the group there's clearly a focus on building muscle for power and speed over the offseason

The article that starts with North working on a trade to take Tauru at 4. I’d be shocked if North don’t take their man.

All along I’ve been team Langford but FOS is one that makes you consider the options. Great athlete. Lovely sidestep. Exceptional mark for his height. Booming kick. The knocks are he just hasn’t had a chance to demonstrate his inside ball winning consistently and his ball use runs hot and cold too. He’s a great fit as a half forward, wing, inside-out mid but whether that’s enough to overlook Langford’s combination of size and class I’m not sure.

Spot on. I reckon North have played this beautifully if they get an F2 out of Adelaide and pick him at 4.

Might want to look to who the Saints recruiting manager is (it’s not Sos)

Second cousin too! First cousin is a stretch, second is just silly Vossy is a contest first coach, I reckon Draper is a real chance

No it didn’t, just got to get to the 3rd image. We’ve never talked much about father sons and academy players pre draft, not sure the club is well served by coming out and announcing they don’t rate a player

Love the outside the box thinking, but teams aren’t giving up the chance to develop players in a full time environment. Especially when the best alternative for him to get proper development would be at the Suns VFL program. It’s not like he’s a Victorian who could be hooked in to Port Melbourne. Maybe he could train at pokies FC but in reality the kid will be keen to start his professional career, just has a choice to make where. We should offer flexibility to go home through the season and other ways to keep the family engaged/ happy tho. So I don’t mind outside the box, just not sure you’ve nailed it yet.

Northern state academies are open to anyone not based on ethnicity like NGA.

I wouldn’t be sure of that. Lalor is still the pick 1 favourite but Cal sounds nervous. The North and Adelaide pick swap seems genuinely possible. And Draper to Carlton has momentum too. Every chance Cal’s phantom looks like this. 1. FOS (Rich) 2. Lalor (Adel) or Draper 3. Draper (Carl) or Lalor/Langford/Smith 4. Tauru (North).

It wasn’t so much a negative a realistic good outcome if he doesn’t play routinely in the midfield. Comparing any draft pick to a high level (fringe All Aus even) player is positive. I just imagine they’ll want to use a pick that high on a genuine prime mover and/or a forward who wins contests as well as creates for others. If they pick Reid I can already picture Jase Taylor in his straight forward style saying he’ll start forward but he’s a midfielder. And I expect the footy department want Spargo back to his best, think Kolt grows in this area and wants to use Chandler’s kicking more too.