DeeSpencer

Jason Taylor was the NSW Scholarship program scout for the Pies as one of his jobs there, they also have had a pretty good run of drafting Queenslanders, so he would know Northern state talent pretty well. Not at all surprised we looked that way again when the best juniors and state league players from the VFL, WAFL and SANFL were largely taken.

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/love-of-the-game-wagner-family-grassroots-greats-in-aussie-rules/news-story/32ea24ca3b1070c7a07e433b76dfa61e?sv=18b13c69b7fb9e3a8843b27ff3c9b795 You wonder if the academies had been around earlier if Josh Wagner as well as Vanders and others would've been picked as 18 year olds. There's no way the talent could be so much better in a matter of a couple of years in QLD and NSW, it's mainly the development that has changed to see so many academy kids picked up, including Josh's brother Corey going to the Roos.

Hopefully some time in the system can improve his speed and repeat speed, but if you can create space for yourself and kick then you don't need to be all that fast to play half back. A nice pick up for a spot we don't have a lot of depth in and a solid enough beep test that indicates he might be able to play wing as well. In a shallow draft seems a reasonable call.

Yep I watched the same. Tackling probably the weakness right now, he let a couple slip. It did look a bit like he was playing on Tom Fields, who was 1 and done at Carlton despite being able to roost the ball 75m reliably which is a bit of a worry. But still a more developed body and in what looked like a pretty competitive game.

Nope once father sons have gone passed the national draft they go straight on to the rookie list (effectively taking the last rookie pick). He's a bomber now.Murray played for Wodonga, can only presume he lives on the side of the river, surely they only get the boys in their state. But who knows. The reality is if we wanted him we could've taken him in the main draft. No one even wants a PSD pick tomorrow, so the desire for these kids is low across the board. Sounds harsh but largely clubs are just filling out spots they have to use for the year and hoping to find a diamond.

The turn around for the Chicago D has been amazing. Quality coaching in the NFL makes all the difference. Need an impact player in the secondary and a bit more talent on the D Line and we'll be rolling. It's funny because I think John Fox is a bit short sighted with his game plan and having poor relations with the local media and so on but he obviously understand locker room culture and he hires very good coordinators and puts them in a position to succeed. It seems less is often more with NFL head coaches. Way too often teams hire the quality coordinator instead of picking a guy to be head coach who can then delegate. I think Roosy would be an awesome NFL head coach. He'd just keep the players happy, hire the best coordinators, make sure to always play competitive and tough football and go from there.

Vikings Cards Pats Upset alert for Carolina who I didn't tip and NE who I did. No doubt they'll contain and make life very hard for Osweiler but they might struggle to score on Denver as well. Could be a 13-9 type game.

So the ability to view highlights from the AFL draft machine has disappeared. That's great. Just wondering if we really want speed and outside run if we'd consider nabbing St Kilda's Josh Saunders. Just an outside the box thought.

Yep I'm not a huge fan but it seems logical after losing Howe and Cross and going for the 2 first round picks now to bring in a mature player. North have just made consecutive prelims with a team of competitors and Harvey, Dal Santo and Higgins being the only real class players, the last two being picked up via free agency in the last two years. Our plan is to hopefully bring a core group of competitors through and we can always add class on the fringes later but unless we have enough senior players to lead the way and set standards on field then we won't ever get out of the bottom 10.

If we were shite last year then we must have a lot of ordinary players towards the bottom of our 22, no? We gave up a decent pick for Melksham and plan to play him at half back. The coaches believe in him and even if it's blind faith in some regards we have to as well. He's probably getting the first month in the side regardless of performance. Bugg is in competition with the likes of Grimes and Lumumba (2 players who have seen better days) for a spot at half back. His top line endurance and decent speed makes him our best option to shut down a dangerous half forward flanker. We've lost 2 regular senior players in Howe and Cross and these are the 2 we brought in to replace them.

I assume a lot from Petracca and Kent but they are great talents. I also think Melksham will get a long crack at half back and is a decent shot of locking it down. Also that Garland will bounce back and unless we are playing a team with 3 monster forwards I think he and Dunn have the edge on Frost. So: FB: Jetta Dunn Garland HB: Salem McDonald Melksham C: xxx1xxx Jones xxx2xxxx HF: Kent Hogan Brayshaw FF: Garlett xxxx3xxx Petracca Foll: Gawn Vince Viney Int: Tyson Vanders xxx4xxxx xxx5xxxx 1. Wing: Think we need at least 1 pure wingman. Stretch would be my favourite. He's best suited to fill the role and will make others in the team better by being a natural in the position 2. Wing/fwd rotation: Here is where we need either the next best midfielder or a forward who can spend some time on the wing. Newton, Watts, JKH, ANB, Kennedy under consideration 3. Fwd/ruck: Dawes v Pedersen v Frost v Max King v Weideman (unlikely) 4. 7th defender/wing. Either Grimes, Bugg or Lumumba to provide top level endurance, spend some time defending and up on a wing. Alternatively Mitch White an option with Melksham/Salem taking the wing minutes 5. Forward/best option: Be it another tall forward or 2nd ruck, Watts as a medium forward, getting Oliver in, Harmes, or any of those listed under spot 2. Jayden Hunt an option. I'd go with Stretch, Watts, Pedersen, Bugg and Harmes. The first two provide run and kicking that we need between the arcs. The next 3 are the best options to play competitive tough footy. But if we do have a fit list I think there will be a lot of debate during the NAB challenge about these spots.

He has speed and is the right age to take a big step up from last year to this year. He has to be in consideration for a half forward spot along with the likes of Kent, JKH and Watts and there isn't all that much between that group.

Darcy Moore is doing well at Collingwood, so is Joe Daniher at Essendon. Every young key forward with or without a famous surname has a lot of pressure on them to perform. Some do, some don't. Who knows if the pressure is a factor. Certainly developing alongside a gun key forward is a good advantage and Weideman will have that, but I doubt it's an AFL conspiracy. They are busy enough.

No real change. Oliver is another for the midfield/resting forward rotation but doesn't really make a change for the need for some pace and skill on the wing and flanks. Weideman is a while off and whether we can fit a 2nd ruck (Max King?) plus Hogan and Weideman long term in an interesting debate. If we can that puts pressure on Watts as a taller goal kicking forward, but he's never played that way anyway. Weideman (2nd ruck), Hogan, Hulett is another combination but that's even further down the track. We still lack wingman and the competition for a spot as a pacy half forward remains mainly Kent, JKH, Kennedy. Decent options, but not impossible for Watts to keep them out. As usual the ball is in Watts' court.

A calf injury? Dawes is fit. Beep test would hurt him though with all the acceleration/deceleration. 2 or 3km time trial is a better guide for an AFL tall in their prime. In the repeat 300m's a select group were running the other day Dawes was leading whilst Hogan was spotting him 10m. It's not a race, they are more just trying to run consistent times, but Dawes when healthy does have a high motor. He can repeat lead and get back and apply forward pressure. It's the when healthy that's key.

Punishment for the Melksham trade too early costing us points in the GWS deal. That said, I would've only wanted Bonner and to a lesser extent Balic. Mathieson we don't need. I think we might've liked Brandon White. And Blake Hardwick to have been there for our second pick in the 40's. Picking a ruckman prior to North's pick was probably a consideration for doing it first.

It's best to forget anything that happened between 2007 and the end of 2013 besides the 2012 draft/trade period. We've just had our 4th trade and draft period and will be entering our 3rd year of a proper rebuild. We need to see results on field but it's way too early to panic in to try and pick every draft pick to fill holes.

Neither Brayshaw nor Petracca were that fit last year. Petracca certainly wasn't, he had more weight (mainly in muscle) than Oliver does and Brayshaw had done an ankle and had been off legs for a while after the end of his season. I think it's well and truly time for us to stash some draftees and let them develop more in the VFL but it wouldn't shock me if we have a few injuries and Oliver sneaks in to a forward pocket. Brayshaw wasn't meant to debut in round 1, they held him out of the NAB challege after a concussion but he was just too good for VFL footy.

It's the kicking and physicality that impressive me. If he can run = key forward. If he can't = potential intercept 3rd tall defender

The Toumpas comparisons with Parish are silly. In 3 or 4 preseasons and I actually think Parish after beginning his career on a wing or back flank will end up like Nathan Jones, despite coming from a completely different body shape and skill set. Our skipper is about 180cm, wins his share of ball at the contest, covers the ground and links up well and is an underrated kick on either foot. 3 or 4 preseasons from Clayton Oliver and he could be Luke Parker, even a Patty Dangerfield or a Jake Stringer (with a greater midfield v forward mix). I like the risk.

Just looking at the video: McDonald Grimes Bugg A tall slim figure that could be Oscar Mc Stretch Melksham 3 defenders - Garland, Dunn, Jetta coming in together. Harmes Wouldn't have been fun in this wind. Unless someone happened to be there I don't think we'll ever know detailed results from this one.

I'd give 13 and 26 a rest for a year. 27 - Oliver. Put him in between the McDonald brothers, good country lads. 33 - Weid - next to Buggy and Grimes 34 or 40 - Mitch King - we've had a couple of good ruckman play in that number recently 38 - Hulett - in between Vanders and Jetta, a couple of tough units The live rookie pick can have 48 or 49.

Give them a ruckman each, bounce it and see who gets more touches from the hitouts. Anyway, I don't really care. There's plenty of room for both. Just got to get Dom back on track and I'm confident he will be. I'm in no hurry to add Brayshaw, Petracca and Oliver to our centre square rotations on anything more than a casual basis. Jones and Vince, then Viney and Tyson and after that Vanders probably deserves first crack at some midfield minutes. If the youngsters are ready then we can always move Jones or Vince out. The Dogs did that this year with Boyd but we might be a year or two from that.

Not at all. But it's why I like that we have these kids in now to push those guys not to replace them right away. If we waited a couple of years then Dawes and Pedersen would be truly past it and we'd be either playing kids or having to find mature replacements who would either cost a bit in a trade or potentially be repeat Tom Gillies types.

That's true, but the trade off even if they are average they usually get a second chance. Along with longer contracts the AFLPA should push for a greater pay scale for the early round picks. If they are good they get it though, play 22 games and you go close to earning 200k due to all the match payments. Play no games and you get 70k or whatever it is.