DeeSpencer

Not sure that's a great result for us. Ely Smith, Sturt, O'Halloran all gone. Ian Hill, Curtis Taylor, Luke Valente, Luke Foley the highest media rated still left I guess. Nervous with Sydney ahead of us as well as West Coast and Adelaide. 3 of the better drafting sides.

That whole intersection is being altered with a series of new lanes and p turns to create continuous traffic flow up Punt road. The limited amount of space there is probably all being used up. Not going to happen.

Yes and no. They did trade pick 13 to Carlton in a 3 way deal with the Crows for picks 26, 28 and 40. They'll probably get a top 5/top 7 player for pick 13. Not a bad return for employing John Blakey for a decade. When added to Mills and Heeney it allows them to never go down the ladder to acquire elite talent, although the other main aspect of rebuilding - bringing in bulk picks to get younger - is a little harder for them.

No they won't. They've got plenty of picks this year to match an early bid without going in to deficit.

Barring a trade the Eagles will effectively have picks 1 and 3 of the second day which might mess with our plans a bit. Any obviously slide will have clubs calling the Eagles and offering a decent deal and given they have the 2 picks they are likely to entertain offers. They have the advantage of the night to sleep on it and negotiate a trade. Makes it less likely that we'll secure a slider.

Depends on your definition of success. Sam Reid has been a success for the Giants. Useful depth player they very much needed and important culture guy. I forgot the best one of the bunch recently in Sam Menegola. I wouldn't be overly keen on Wagner if we were an older list and didn't have as many list spots because I agree the odds are against him being a long term player. But considering we still have 7 list spots to fill with kids and we had a lot of delistings as well as trading Kent and Tyson it makes sense to get him in. I'll be calling him a success if he helps Casey win games and can come in and provide some cover when needed.

Sam Reid at GWS maybe spent a year only as a coach and NEAFL player before resuming as a player? Michael Hartley was cut from Collingwood, played at Coburg then to Essendon. Sam Collins is doing it this year going up to the Suns. Same with Brooksby to the Eagles. What about Shannon Motlop back in the day under very unusual circumstances. As list management gets more flexible and teams get more creative in the ways they fill their list I think it will happen more often. No way to confirm but I've thought at least part of North delisting Wagner was to get as young and cheap as possible to make sure they had as much salary cap space as they could get to offer Gaff et al.

East Melbourne residents are truly a special brand of entitled. They live 10 minutes walk from the CBD yet expect to live without traffic, without development, surrounded by parks and gardens like they live on the urban fringe. I guess that's what happens when your property values increase something like 100 fold over the course of your life time. Things can change after elections so we shouldn't completely write it off but it does make it harder. I wonder if it's possible to build the facility and still train at Gosch's? I understand why people don't want to change the character of Yarra Park, but the argument against building over the train line and making use of underutilised space isn't as good. Maybe get the funding for the facility and get a proper stand alone base at the MCG and then work on reclaiming part of the park for an oval at a later stage.

What do you like about him Jay? I see a neat player but apart from a little extra height does he have more to offer than someone like Billy Stretch? I'm getting very Dave McKay vibes about Kennerley. Maybe not the same endurance but McKenzie seems to have more burst and maybe more penetration on his kicking. The other thing that stood out from his highlights was excellent hands on both sides and the creativity to get it to guys in space. I see the trademark Jason Taylor grunt in Sparrow. Good athleticism too. Worry about a lack of polish. Where does Tom Joyce rank in the inside mids list, he looks full of class.

This is such a bad rule. I like that every club has to have 3 national draft picks a year to make sure they bring in young talent. I like the rule requiring 2 first round draft picks in 4 years, even with the vague notion that the AFL can allow teams to break it with permission. That's enough restrictions. If a team wants to trade 1st, 2nd and 3rd round picks from a future draft then let them. Particularly if they are using those picks to move up in the current draft and bring talent in. The AFL have brought in trading and tried to spice up the draft, it's not only a fun idea but it's good for clubs as well. Teams can back themselves and pay the price for a certain player and bottom teams can get full return for their valuable picks if trading down. Silly to add a protection that restricts top teams from making bold decisions.

Jason Taylor on the Inside Melbourne podcast never went in to specifics on players but was asked about whether we needed a key forward. Can't read too much in to his response which was basically if they're good enough we'll look at the key forwards, but he did mention we've got Austin Bradke coming on to the list and it might be a case of reassessing the tall talent in 12 months time. I wouldn't hold your breath expecting Williams to be picked at either of our early picks.

The state leagues certainly have salary caps. Not sure how it works for AFL sides. I will say that I don't think AFL teams are going to load up with delisted players in their reserves. Aside from the expense it takes away development opportunities for your own young players. I think this rule favours the WA and SA teams more than anyone else. They have strong local leagues to watch a number of delisted and undrafted players in and can then offer them a second chance without needing to relocate. The VFL isn't 5 times stronger than the SANFL/WAFL, nor is the NEAFL as strong as those leagues. Still, it will more be about opportunity. Brooksby the ruckman is off to West Coast because they have an opportunity greater than what other teams can offer. As far as I can tell he has no links to Perth or the Eagles, he's just going to a team that wants him.

Welcome Corey, Good physical attributes and sure to benefit being back full time after losing that chance with North. Not sure if he has the skills to make it long term but he’s a nice depth addition, effectively replacing Kent. My only question is are teams limited to one rookie addition or can we leave another spot open after the draft and add another player over summer?

What's the chance he's just signed with us? Surely high.

Liked the look of him last year, good to see he had a strong 19 year old season. His class shines through his highlights, draft him, work out if he has the physical tools or grunt later.

I think if you can bump Favre for Rodgers you can probably move McCarthy on! The man is surely set for life financially and in time should be honoured as a SB winning coach. 13 years is a long stretch, it's not like he's been replaced in a hurry. Today was an unusual game for the Bears. The defense absolutely dominated for a large part and get out to an early 2 TD lead, somewhat similar to the Bears v Packers in round 1. Trubisky made 2 head scratching intercepted throws which he hasn't been doing lately. Then Cohen has a really bad fumble. Just when you think the Vikings should get back in to it they give up some soft penalties. Bears kick a field goal to all but seal it but then let the Vikings drive on them just to keep it interesting. The Bears biggest issue right now is they have a thunder back - Howard and a lightening back - Cohen but the thunder back can't catch it and the lightening back can't make those down hill yards up the middle. O line isn't helping either, they're good in pass pro but can't get the running game going. If they could run the ball far more efficiently then they could ride out games getting the bare minimum from Trubisky. Right now they can't so they put him in some tricky spots. With Nagy's play calling he'll torch bad defenses but the good ones can adapt. The Vikings defense looked confused for a half today before looking in total control. Not overly impressed by the point differential, that is overhyped by blowing out Tampa, NY Jets and Buffalo - 3 teams that crapped the bed when faced with our defense. Beat Seattle when their defense was a mess with injuries. Scraped passed the Cardinals. Narrow loss to the NE Pats. Blew a game in Miami. 2-1 in the Division now. A final record of 3 and 3 in the Division wouldn't shock me, a tough back up for the Lions on Thanksgiving won't be easy and then Packers/Vikings down the stretch might depend on where those teams are at. .500 in the division is more of what the Bears are I think. Defense that starts absolutely great but can fade late if the pass rush is worn down or made obsolete by good play calls. Offense that looks great with trickery but where the QB struggles under pressure. That might be enough to win the NFC North this year due to the Packers malaise and the Viking's O line but it's a long way from the class of the NFC.

Valid point and it's nice to know we have a couple of very fit flankers in ANB and Smith and I'm all for fit guys on the flanks, but you need really good endurance to be a great midfielder. Or at least a midfield group with a strong endurance base. So far we've got Viney and Petracca in the rehab group. Oliver sure to join them when he's back outside. Harmes had surgery as well. Vanders too? So in terms of our first choice inside mids the only one out there running appears to be Brayshaw, hopefully he's in for a big preseason but he's a noted endurance runner. Then on the outside KK's obviously fit and firing and Jones was there early getting stuck in. Fritsch training. But Stretch probably not back to training yet? Oskar Baker? KK being an excellent runner is obviously one of the reasons why we recruited him and it lends more weight to the idea he's a possible solution to our wingmen woes. I'd just like to see a few more midfielders right up there running 6:30 2km runs as well.

Roll the dice and fire him Macca. What's the point in investing 30 million + a year in Rodgers and saddling him with a play caller he doesn't get on with? I've been critical of Rodgers for a long time being amazing at big plays and the scramble drill but lacking the consistent marching drives with high percentage throws. Yeah the TE and WR spots aren't good but there's enough to create some sort of scheme to get guys open. I'm a big believer in Mike Pettine coaching the D. Mike Daniels is a star. Blake Martinez is a really solid middle line backer. Jaire Alexander is a star. This is a defense that can be sustainable. Not world beaters but good enough. They made Brady look very shaky before the momentum changed with the fumble a few weeks ago. Held the Rams as well. Plus aside from that small stretch of slimmer Eddie Lacy the Pack finally have a running back - one that looks adept at getting yards on the ground and in the passing game. The easy choice on who to hire - John DeFillipo the Vikings OC. Worked wonders in Philly and doing well with a bad O line at the Vikings. You'd weaken a main division rival and get a very modern offense in. Lincoln Riley would be a bold choice that could work wonders. The Packers have the right veterans and organisational culture to make a change and not lose out. Hire an offensive guy and the offense surely can improve. Hire any other quality head coach and the game management can't be worse than some of the things McCarthy has done recently - punting, not throwing a challenge etc.

Looks like initial reports were incorrect and it will be just for previously AFL listed players. In which case Corey Wagner might be the most obvious candidate for Melbourne. A watch this space for the next few days and maybe a move will be made after the national draft but prior to the rookie draft if it's possible to do so that late.

Didn't get there today DL, will attempt to be there soon. Impressed that KK and Joel Smith were up the front of the 3km time trial, although it is a concern we don't have more fit and ready to go midfielders/running flankers right up there as well.

The injured year still would've counted towards his years of service. He's there by choice, but whether players turn up early or not says very little about their level of dedication. In fact I'm more impressed by the guys who do the whole offseason by themselves and turn up in good condition. That said, Tracc looks in decent shape from that picture. It's crazy to expect him to be super lean, he's a power player who relies on his strength, but he does need to take another solid step forward in fitness this offseason.

He meant Whitefriars for Anderson as well. At school level Whitefriars are in the ACC, where as Marcellin are the in AGSV. At old collegians level both have teams in the VAFA.

Pittsburgh, Houston, Carolina

I wouldn't tip the Chiefs because come crunch time the Rams have the smarter head coach. That said, I think right now the Chiefs offense is more explosive which gives them a better chance in a straight out shootout.The counter to that is the Rams can use Gurley to kill the clock and ice it that way.Will be interesting to see if the Rams are impacted by the fires and all the disruption, I wouldn't blame them.

After the first round I believe the discount becomes 197 draft points So pick 54 can match any pick up to 41 straight up. Adding in pick 61 allows up to match any pick up until 34. Sydney have 26, 33, 38, 39, 40 most of which will be swallowed up by 1 player. North have 42, 47, 48, 49 and 58 most of which will be used on 2 players. Collingwood have 41, 44, 57, 59 and 60 to use on 2 players. Pick 54 and 62 will likely end up as something like pick 48 and 53. When added to a discount that's enough to match pick 26