Rogue

An old'un but a good'un.

I think that someone else - whether it be Carroll, Holland, Nicholson, etc - has generally picked up the KPF's for the opposition, at least as plan 'A'. Rivers tends to take the less dangerous tall forwards and then provide assistance to the other defenders. Always interesting to see how others see the game differently though

Haha, yeah. However, the NZ'ers apparently gifted their wickets away. Whatever it is they need to get off it, ASAP. I think it's fair enough that Lee, Johnson and Clark have been chosen ahead of him atm - they have the runs on the board (or not, but you catch my drift). I think we'll see Siddle by Perth though.

That's some pretty wet ink

What's that based on? I hope you're wrong.

How is it being pedantic to talk about what type of player Rivers is after you put forward an opinion and gave some reasons for it? While no debate ever 'needs to be done' on this forum it'd be a pretty boring place if all assertions went unchallenged. You dismissed the notion that Rivers is a third tall based on some factors that don't a) exclude him from playing a third-tall role, or B) mean he must be a KPP. In fact, some of the attributes you asserted that Rivers has are qualities you want in a third-tall (ie. courage and reading the play). I think it's fair enough for me to ask why you feel those qualities mean he must be a KPP when I don't see him in that way... In fact, I'd probably use factors that you used to reinforce your point that Rivers was a KPP to argue the opposite, so I was interested to hear more about why you felt they meant he wasn't a third-tall. Garland can play small - he's played on Farmer - and I think he can also play forward.

^ I didn't.

Check the Mates of Melbourne function thread in the draft forum

Awesome. One thing I'm not sure was mentioned is that Neitz mentioned that MoM have nabbed a sponsor who's going to put in some significant money. Unfortunately I can't remember who at this moment in time. As others have said this shouldn't become a CJ thread. However, I do think that there are a number of Melbourne youngsters that could be vying for the same role as CJ in future, and CJ's been unable to secure a spot in our team over a number of years, so it's understandable he may feel there are more opportunities elsewhere.

Fwiw Garland was used up forward on the odd occassion - Richmond (at TD?) comes to mind. I think Garland's probably the more football talented, and thus more likely to make it up forward than Martin. I definitely see merit in utilising our fan base as voluntary workers so staff can focus on important tasks. However, what can the volunteer say about the idea if you're looking at feedback from people at the Club? Either the volunteer just writes whatever they feel is appropriate and you're getting the views of the volunteer or they ask the relevant staffer about the idea, in which case the staffer may as well write the email themselves (assuming they're not two-finger typists).

While this might be covering some old ground here's some info for those super-keen: The event was held at Melbourne City Volvo, with name tags & drinks providede upon arrival. After some pimping of sponsors - Volvo and Tyrell(?) wins - and Mates of Melbourne Neitz handed the mic over to Cameron Schwab. Schwab's speech didn't share much that was new and it probably wasn't his most engaging speech. He spoke a little about how he started in recruitment and then talked about his newest recruits to the management team, the COO and CFO. He mentioned that the Club was putting together a blueprint on and off the field, and CC brought this up later when he said that the reasons the Club made decisions would be very transparent once this was the case. Neitz then handed over the MC duties to CC who introduced Barry Prendergast. CC stated that our choice was down to Watts and Natanui but that we would need to read between the lines as the Club wouldn't be announcing the #1 pick. To the side of the stage there was a TV with some vision of likely top picks - Watts, Natanui, Rich, etc. BP started off by explaining a little about recruitment - that we had many people working on it across the country. BP asserted that WA had a heap of talent and cited Yarran, Rich, and NN as three guys touted as potential top picks early on. According to CC we spend $500K on recruiting p/year and BP mentioned that he'd been to Perth something like 10 times (maybe 8, can't quite remember). BP spoke a fair bit about Watts and Natanui. He said that NN was an amazing athlete and referred to his draft camp results and his great high jump ability. BP suggested that NN could be at the cutting edge of the revolution in rucks, noting his unique capabilities that would mean many would mean others wouldn't be able to play in the same way. BP spoke of Watts' versatility as a player, noting that he could play in the midfield and up forward. He did disagree with the notion that Watts was a 'power forward' atm, but implied that he may become one. BP also highlighted Watts' pace and lateral movement. CC then took questions from the audience. Most were directed at BP and touched on what some other Clubs might do. There was a rundown of the likely top 10 but I wasn't particularly interested. There wasn't much insight into what we're likely to do later in the draft, just the assertion that we hope some people take some guys early that we don't rate as first-rounders so some top-rated guys fall to us at 17 and 19. There was also some chat about making sure that after the first 16 we get the two guys we most highly rate at 17 and 19 by ensuring that we're smart about who we pick at 17. We want to make sure that at 17 nab the guy WCE are most likely to go for so we can get the two we want. A question regarding the 'great' Ben Cousins was handed over to DB, who was very brutal as he asserted 'I don't want Ben Cousins at this football Club'. DB said that he wanted to build a team from the ground up with youth and was looking for players who'd play 10 years for Melbourne. However, he also stressed that he was looking for good people who were Melbourne people. DB also highlighted the fact that we have West as someone that can teach our young midfielders. Fwiw, apparently DB wasn't required to come to the function but said he'd be there and just skip an AFL function the following night. While CC was happy that DB was coming to the draft preview, he jokingly explained that he'd counselled DB against missing the AFL function, given the Club's situation.

How does that make him a KP?

Yep - you choose the 'Melbourne Club support' option and a decent amount of the AFL M/ship goes to the Club.

Give the dollar to charity instead. Either way you'll never see any financial return but at least that way you'll know you're making a positive contribution. That warm fuzzy feeling is priceless.

Fair enough However, don't be embarassed by the Melbourne Football Club, and certainly not because of some rubbish written by the Herald Sun readers!

It seems a strange reaction to be 'confused and embarassed' regarding the financial predicament of the Melbourne Football Club. I was expecting a revelation along the lines of you being caught with your pants down or something.

Prendergast is on record as saying the decision was made after the Club travelled to Perth and interviewed the family of Nat and Rich, so you're right in that we've known for a while.

I agree.

Anyone know much about Shane Tregear?

I hope you don't believe that. It's nothing to do with integrity of the draft and everything to do with money (ironically, the same reason we want to announce it early).

Good article and good story - a tough road for some, isn't it? It's easy to deride 'wasted' top picks from prior years but articles like that remind you that they're more than a name on a page or an obscure footy trivia question.

I remember a great mark of Tingay's on the intro movie of the game 'AFL 98'. I'm not sure if it's the same one, but it was as you described it. I don't see it either.

I agree. Let it be buried under cricket news later in the year when we have our AGM.