DeeSpencer

Red hair Country lad Late entry to the elite talent pathway after relocating to boarding school Underdeveloped physically Standout games with standout attributes Unpopular pick due to already having similar players on the list with many wanting a needs based pick Not overly quick but elite agility (for his position, 8.29 according to AFL draft central) All of those criteria apply to Clarry and to Petty. I remember many on here saying we should've picked Parish because we already had Viney, Tyson, Petracca, Brayshaw etc and didn't need another inside midfielder. Talls take a little longer but if in 3 years time this guy is looking good and playing regularly there won't be any complaints. Personally, I think we needed a key defender, but even if we didn't I like the pick.

Jones is 29 and has the fitness and skill to transition to an outside role. A couple of injuries won't change my mind on that. Vince won't be missed if he rarely plays this year, Joel Smith and Lever - different players sure - can replace his backine games. Or Lewis moves to half back and Stretch plays on the wing. Lewis will be clinging to his spot in the side for one more year, that's fine. Pretty much we are phasing out Vince for now and putting in Lever. Phasing out Lewis next year and there's a raft of players ready to replace him - Spargo could play half forward, Melksham on a wing in 2019, easy. I don't know how Tom Mc will go as a forward but it's increasingly clear he's done as a defender. Oscar and Frost have played games out of necessity. They were good enough to move Dunn on but that's about it, a healthy Garland might've played at times if available. Look at the best and fairest rankings to see the coaches thoughts. Keilty - I don't mind him - but there's nothing to suggest he's a permanent AFL player so far. Right as we sit there's more chance he's delisted than promoted in 12 months and I don't mean that to be harsh, that's the reality for mature age tall pick ups, they have to dominate at VFL and get games to stay on. I actually think Keilty's best value would be as a Pedersen swing man rather than ever being best 22 anyway. There was no reason to play Fritsch in the midfield at Casey. He was their most consistent path to goal and developing well. The Dogs did the same thing with Hannan, hid him in a forward pocket until he was drafted. Hannan clearly has something to offer up the ground at AFL level. By all reports Fristch has excellent endurance and a lovely kick, so moving him to the wing or half back has to be an option and doesn't require a massive bulking up. Petrucelle looks like a forward to me. Too shonky a kick to play midfield until you've done years of work there. Express pace for pressuring would be nice but I'd go for ability to kick and mark more. Worpel seemed a nice player but has to be in the contest, either at half back or on ball. Would he dislodge any of our inside mids? I'll stick with Viney, Oliver, Petracca, Tyson and Brayshaw over Worpel.

Frost has a limited tank. If he's streaming forward one way he wont' be streaming back. He's also a shonky kick and not a natural reader of the play. His opponents pick up the flight of the ball quicker than him. I like him as a player but he's still yet to solidify his spot in the team and the reality might be he's best used as depth.

Put 2016 down for Weeds, time will tell but we ended up with a similar pick and he's a year ahead. Put 2018 down for Lever, unless we end up in the bottom 4 I'd say we've come out with a good result there. 2017 we traded back from pick 10 to pick 36 as part of the Lever deal. If Harry Petty can make it as a solid key defender then that's also a good result.

Could've had him at 37 if West Coast were scared off as well. Unfortunately the talks of substances, nights out and defects only made them keener.

I forgot Petty fell over and broke his elbow at Norwood training but that shouldn't be a problem. Good signs that he was out there training pre draft. Country SA defenders. Ingerson, Rivers, Petty.

Flags are won with Rance, Astbury and Grimes as well. Or Morris and Hamling (with Roberts) shutting down Franklin. Or Brian Lake. Or Scarlett and Harley. If Weeds comes on we trade Tom McDonald or Hogan. Cross that bridge when we come to it. Weeds has all of Cam Pedersen's games to play first before taking games away from those guys. Jones has plenty of time left. Vince and Lewis were both ordinary for most of the year. Getting Salem, Oliver, Brayshaw and Petracca fitter means they'll be the possession winners with Viney and Tyson. Along with Hunt, ANB, Melksham, Hannan, Harmes, Stretch. Give me those 12 with a lock down defensive unit and a functional forward line and I'll be happy. 3 picks of running players. 1 pick on a tall and I can see a tall defender being of much more value than a tall forward or back up ruck.

What plethora? Tom is a forward now. Years of turnovers = no more backline. Oscar, Frost and Lever are our starters. Joel Smith the back up medium, Wagner a 3rd tall option if needed but really a flanker type. Keilty a rookie list mature back up. That's it. Frost is a bit out of favour, Oscar isn't solidfied as a genuine long term option, Joel Smith limited experience, makes a lot of sense to bring in another one.

2 members of the Wilburys. It will be the end of the line for opposition key forwards. He'll handle them with care.

Love his kick as well as his mark and he can run. There's a lot more to footy than that of course but really it's the basis of AFL football isn't it? Wouldn't at all be surprised to see him playing half back or rotating through a wing as part of his development.

Competitor without the ball. Good evasive skills and vision with the ball means quick and quality decisions. That's a nice combination. More of a midfielder than a speedy crumber but as defenders get quicker I don't think pure speed is going to run them down all that often. I like the pick and I think he'll be a player.

I like Bailey much more than Baker if I was lining all the kids up in the draft. I don't have a full list, I don't watch the kids I just see a few games of state champs or TAC plus make judgements from what I read or see in highlights. I'm just not overly enamoured with him like others seem to be. Sounds like Bailey will be gone by our first pick and he would've been a nice fit there but I think there's others who are as good. Baker seems like someone fun for our later picks.

Do the outside players? If the inside mids are getting it 50 times there might be less footy for the runners! I like the look of this guy and I think he suits our needs, but I'd rather take best available for a couple of picks and get him with the 3rd or 4th choice. He's linked with our first pick much more than any other player and there's other speedy outside types in the draft so I think there's probably some truth to it. That said, once you get linked in one phantom draft the other 'media drafters' often just follow it.

Averages 16 disposals which probably isn't too bad for a 19 year old outside player. His team went 8-10 so were probably not all that great at getting the ball out, especially up against the stronger AFL reserves sides. He looks like he plays a bit taller than a 6 foot guy and I think that's maybe where some of the interest is. If he can hold his own in the air as well as take the game on at ground level then he might not need to win a lot of gound balls. I've seen a few times his endurance has been listed as needing to improve to play regular AFL midfield footy. That might be my biggest concern. If he runs hard and has the speed and evasive skills then that's almost enough for a good player. If he doesn't have above average endurance then he's probably going to be more of a Gary Rohan than an Isaac Smith.

The AFL website list is after rookie promotions. They've already assigned a pick 80 (for example) to him and done that. They changed the rules a year or so ago to stop the charade of reading out promoted rookies on draft night and made that process complete before the draft.

Back on to Liam Ryan - still seeing him mocked to the Eagles in the 20's. I think they'll get him in the 30's. I don't think we can risk it for a player with a strong go home factor and doubts over his defensive game. I'd love to have him and move the ball in quick to him one on one and see what he can do but too much of modern footy isn't played one on one anyway

Nope you're wrong. Joel Smith is part of the 36 on the senior list. Rookie upgrades just get assigned a late pick and upgraded now, they don't have to go through the draft process. We wouldn't have to use 47 on him anyway, we had a pick in the 80's or 100's available if needed. We can and should use all 4 picks on Friday night.

My new favourite from the highlights videos is Matthew McGannon. 183cm skinny but rangy kid who seems suited to flanks, inside or the wings. Just makes really quick and good decisions in moving the ball on and mixes his kicks between weighted and flat. Not afraid to use his left foot or hand either. Doesn't look fast but seems to glide out of trouble when needed. Any draft watchers seen him play?

Andy seems fitter, faster and a more penetrating kick that Gus. He's fitting the mould of how the game has swung back towards pace and running the ball with the Dogs and this Richmond team. Gus is bigger, stronger and more suited to the style that was in vogue when he was drafted of big bodied mids. I am hoping that with a strong fitness base and consistent game time that Gus will mature and get sharper in his ball use and quicker on his feet. That's been true of a lot of players over the years, like a Josh Kennedy at Sydney. The other thing I think recruiters are picking up on is that with the number 1 pick especially but also with top 3, top 5 or top 10 even you have to pick a player who will thrive under scrutiny. That can be a Dusty or Clarry who outwardly look like lads but have inner determination or it can be an Andy McGrath super professional type but they have to be resilient. Andy Brayshaw seems like that.

Have a look at Oskar Baker's highlights on the AFL website. Kicking needs work but he looks like a lot of fun. Speed to burn.

Get him fit at the start of the season and playing all the practice games - compared to his usual month at Casey getting match fit - and I think he has to be considered to play as a key defender.

Ok he looks good overhead on the lead which is nice. And his kicking and decision making seems decent. Better at pack hangers but he actually reminds me more of Luke Breust than of Cyril. More of a goal kicker who can gather possessions up the ground as well than a pressure player.

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Season Grade Games Kicks Handballs Disposals Marks Goals Points Tackles Hitouts Frees For Frees Ag. 2017 League 23 255 56 311 108 73 35 39 0 22 18 Table doesn't come up very well and is out by a column but it's 23 games, 255 kicks so about 10 a game, 108 marks so 4 a game, 73 goals which is very impressive but only 39 tackles. Under 2 tackles a game when surely he would've been told time and time again that to play AFL he has to impart forward pressure isn't a good sign. That said, the counterpoint is at over 3 goals a game he was most likely the focal goal scorer so it's harder to tackle when your job for the team is to kick goals. And the WAFL footy is more open anyway, it's not the same style of game as AFL. Having just turned 21 I think he's too good a goal kicker not to have a go in the AFL system but from the reviews on here and the stats I'd rather use our 4th pick than any of the first 3.

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