DeeSpencer

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.

He reminds me of early half forward Sidebottom but doesn’t have the same overhead ability which has always been a crucial bonus factor in Steele’s game no matter what position he plays but has helped him excel on the wing even with no pace. Plus Sidebottom has elite endurance. I also feel like Sidebottom would’ve played a lot more of his career as a permanent mid if not for Pendles, but it was better to have Pendles inside and Sidey outside for team balance.

Jagga over Lalor at 4/5. Tauru over Smillie at 8/9. Hmmm what could be the reasons for those changes - both joined gettable as guests in the last 2 episodes! Bo Allan over TT at 11/12. Combine hangover? Joe Berry up 3 (Freo keen at 14?). Jack Whitlock up a couple (Rich, Port keen). Trainor slides a couple more. Dattoli up (Rich, Syd interest). Gross slides 3 spots at the back (he’s a 35+ prospect IMO).

I’ve often thought the same and as everyone knows I’m not a huge Jagga fan but he does have a fraction more pace and maybe more importantly more of a strength to win the footy and escape in tight without getting pushed around. With a decent amount of confidence you can say he’ll be a pretty solid midfielder. I love Reid’s hands and his vision, they are special attributes. But if he doesn’t flash the natural strength and physicality to play as a mid he’s a one paced small forward. It all becomes a bit Gyran like. Mind you, if you said the following percentages are how his career players out: 20% Bill Laurie, 40% Gryan, 20% Josh Daicos and 20% Sam Mitchell how high would you take him?

just a different link for anyone interested Cal actually says very little on the draft prospects. Saving it for tomorrow

Despite being very underdone and down on confidence especially early in the year Petty was 11th in the league for contested marks. Im not against the idea of a key forward because Petty probably goes back long term but the big thing we need is to stop relying on contested marks on the wing for ball movement. Long kicks to packs down the line means you’ve failed in your ball movement. We have to study the way Brisbane spread their forwards out, move the ball in different ways and kick to isolate forward on the lead or one on one.

Wonder if we can match a bid in the 3rd round with pick 70 whatever (currently has no points) or by going in to deficit (when we have Brisbane’s 3rd rounder next year anyway). I suspect rookie list is the goal but assuming he gets through to the 3rd round we might snap him up.