bing181

Semantics. It's clear what the intention of what he was saying was, yet you pull him to task over 2 words, delivered off-the-cuff and now taken out of context. It's just nit-picking and pettiness.

I read the interview. Don't have a problem with it. And if I had, I wouldn't have bothered starting a thread about it.

You're so far off the mark, there is no substance in your post. Fantasyland.

Every non-Melbourne supporter would have had him in the first round, if not at number 1 AT THE TIME .... (though not sure how you can claim to speak for "every non-Melbourne supporter", and probably even less so in regard to your favourite obsession, Jack-Watts-who-isn't-a-KPF)

His first game for 6 weeks, he's rusty and off the pace, and we have 3 pages of posts bagging him.

You're presuming we tried to get him or wanted him.

You see what you want to see. We beat a top 4 side in uncontested possessions, were only down 19 on uncontested possessions, and for all the mistakes, turnovers, outgunned midfield, and lack of fitness, we equalled them for inside 50's and tackles. And this with a large chunk of our list out of action and 14 players with less than 50 games. and ... "Jay Clark ‏@ClarkyHeraldSun Saw signs of life in Melbourne today. First half ball use and outside run impressive in parts. Just got smashed in ruck and down back." But carry on.

Not mutually exclusive.

... at the end of a season with plenty of players who either a) didn't have a full-season or B) are too young to have had many pre-seasons.

Adelaide ... fitter, stronger, bigger, more experienced. Work to do, we ain't gonna find all that in one off-season.

Great post BH. Thanks.

Demons may trade early pick "Harrington did not indicate where the club currently rated Viney in the draft"

You expected it to turn around in one season?

... with spelling to match.

Much too sensible. Lord forbid that in reality we didn't take Darling because he wasn't what we were after. This site, fair dinkum. I don't now how some of you get through the day.

That sir, is the million dollar question that all clubs ask. Some players develop, other don't, some rise to the challenge, others don't, for some the penny drops, for others not, and some (more than some ...) take time time time. The draft is a kind of rating of the best 18 year olds. It can look very different a year earlier, and certainly a year later (just look at which picks win the Rising Star). As for what happens 5 years down the track ... anything can happen and often does. Not excusing the recruitment guys, but you make informed choices ... and then cross your fingers.

Ah, but if we can ... which is perhaps a big if ... we'll be so much the richer and stronger for it. Worth giving it a crack IMHO.

Exactly. And not only 3-5 years, but 3-5 playing years, not a year out with injury, followed by another year basically in rehab. Amongst Gysberts, Cook, Tapscott, Jurrah, Spencer, Jetta, Evans, Taggert (the forgotten man), some of them have yet to complete even one solid run of pre-season and season, yet alone 3-5.

That's what he got.

Much too sensible ...

... coupled with the odd serious injury or two. Perhaps if Gysberts could actually get a couple of pre-seasons into him, and put together a decent run of games, he might at least have a chance of fulfilling his potential, whatever it is. As for the rest of the thread ... just lucky we didn't draft Dane Swan, what were they thinking!!! Year after year of spudness.

It's not defiant. It's just wrong.

Ah, another "our drafting sucks" thread to add to the umpteen other "our drafting sucks" threads. Do they? Every club has draft success and failures. Ours have been pointed out from time to time, but no more than any other club's.

One really bad quarter (the third) cost us. Once upon a time that would have opened the floodgates, but we worked back into it, which is a positive. Didn't mind some of the younger brigade today, starting to look like they could be players: Blease, McDonald (except for a couple of brain fades), Jetta, Strauss, and not to forget Jake Spencer, who did some nice things around the ground. Decent game from some of the mid-tier players as well, Joel Mac and Dunn didn't disgrace themselves, and it was great seeing Rivers down back again. Odd, I got more out of today's loss than last week's win.

No forward line is completely shafting us, Jetta, Howe and Blease should be the icing on the cake, not the main men. Really hurting with a quarter of the list out.