Mad_Melbourne

O'Kearny, i was surprised that we didnt pull the trigger on him with one of our later picks, hopefully he could come through the middle, massive accumulator and worth the punt. Possibly Callum Moore too, athletic talent, a couple years to develop on the rookie list could be alright.

I just like that in 5 years time it looks like we will have the best inside midfield in the comp, whilst the draft crop may not have been as deep the top 15 are as good as any other, it just happened that 4-5 of those were unavailable due to being academy players. I really like this fella, more so because of how good nick he got himself into after the season finished, it was clearly just excess weight due to O.P and probably not watching what he ate. Fitness will sky rocket but the only thing i dont like is watching him bounce the football, jeez that was ugly. Clayton, welcome to the melbourne football club, enjoy the constant comparrisons to Darcy Parish and also the completely negative posts when inevitably you make a mistake.

This is probably due to his sub 3 second 20 metre and really good evasive step, JKH has the step but not the break away speed.

The funniest thing I noticed was the clear difference between the country bumpkin who has not been through the AIS and therefore has no media training and the prim and proper private school boy with media training in Wiedeman. Loved both aspects but the difference between the two was quite humorous

Problem with this, imho, is that it will be hardest to find this in the rookie draft because the skill levels will be relatively low. Some sort of speed I agree, which is most likely to be found through the misfiled forward half. I agree though players like ANB and Oliver etc will spend time through the middle. Whilst I know you dislike the guy, Jack Watts will probably start on the wing for us this year.

Fair suggestion that the short-medium term ruck is sorted. If gawn stays injury free clearly #1. Spencer, frost, pedo will all be the main back ups and the two kings building in the VFL. Fairly sorted ruck stocks meaning rookie draft would look for a mid/small forward.

This is correct, Worsfold is on the record sayin Clayton Oliver or bust and they will refuse to use the draft picks on anyone else

Hibberd, i think he is the best mid in the draft and he will probably end up at Hawthorn

This is the argument im most keen on exploring... Positionally, inside mids do have a much easier transition to AFL football and the bigger bodies are suiting the direction of the modern game more. That said, Parish is an inside mid, so its hard to say that his game would not translate to AFL level with multiple mids being around his height too. Secondly, Oliver can be seen as more of a risk due to already having OP issues, not having played the carnival either years when compared to an injury free player who was all Australian both years. What are the relative odds of success from a player who did not actually play the carnival or reach all australian status relative to the other? Its interesting to think about, either way il be happy!

Hopefully he can get a full pre season under his belt

Not sure if Ben Newton missed training or not, but he did spend the night in hospital with some sort of injury issue. Probably will be announced my mission at some stage

It was a good read, took up the morning of work which is great. Rankings are so subjective, I started trying to do one the other day 1-30, but i absolutely battled as I probably hadn't seen enough of the interstaters and I held bias towards Hibberd and Gresham. Draft time of the year is always fun, considering everyone has a different view. I really liked how he rated Mckay relative to the other two in competition with him, again because i think something similar.

I haven't read much of Quigleys work, but the fact that he highly underrates most players being touted with the top picks and throws some curveballs into the top 15 makes me think hes an "I told you so" poster. He will hope that one or two of the players he underrates, underwhelms and the ones he has put a bit higher hopefully 1 or 2 succeed and he can suggest he knew better than the rest. That said, Hibberd is probably my top 3 favourite players in this draft, and I think he has all the attributes to become an outstanding AFL player and i personally rate him in the top 10, so i agree on that!

I only used the quote as it wasn't complete hearsay but rather a fair indication of where he was playing. Was more emphasising the change of attitude and that he was brought in to play up forward and ruck which was where he trained most of last pre season. He was a defender at GWS but brought in to fill the key position gap left by Frawley rather than a spot in defence. He will play ahead of Pedo as the fwd/ruck in my opinion and Dawes will still be the true chf. Regardless he is a handy addition, I just think he will play second ruck forward and especially while there is a gap in the side there. Secondly the media would have no idea what we are going to select, we don't leak anymore. Would not be surprised if it's a kpf at 7 but I think it's definitely a mid at 3.

If you actually read the articles, as you did to provide quotes, none are actually from Mahoney or Roos. Other than something about bringing in a key position player. I understand that they thought of him as a ready made replacement initially, but later in pre season Roos stated something about him playing forward ruck and he was used in this way in the first couple of rounds before his injury. He will continue to play this role, ruck/forward and I can't be bothered scrolling back to find the video or articles on it. Edit: http://m.afl.com.au/news/2015-04-20/toe-injury-to-sideline-dee "Had impressed up forward and in a back up ruck role" Whilst it is not a direct quote from Roos or Mahoney it is 100% true of where he was playing

He played a fair bit of his football at younger ages as a utility playing all over the ground, so he has some experience there. Whilst his field kicking is not the best, his ability to find space on the lead and compete in the air is something that we need in the forward line. He adds something similar to Pederson in terms of competing well in the air and in the ruck and he's much younger so a much more viable option. I think that an athletic forward who can not only push up the ground but take advantage of the space behind is pivotal for future teams as he would be an incredibly hard match up due to his height and athleticism. I guess I haven't seen enough to have a 100% confident view on his ball work, but the fact his ruck work is relatively solid and that we would definitely be able to use him with leading patterns and game style up forward suggests to me he would be handy up there. I also think I'm more optimistic towards it because Roosy specifically targeted him for this role.

The main reason I'm intrigued by it is I think he has all the attributes to develop into a fairly handy ruck/forward. Whilst I think his athleticism suits playing a key defender role, he also has the skills to be a handy asset and fill the gap in our forward line. It isn't just you who disagrees with him being a forward, but you are the post I just saw.

Brett Anderson tweeted we would not select Parish with 3. Grain of salt

Whilst you continue to make this assertion, all the evidence points to him being played as forward/ruck. I personally think that he will continue to be used in this position, his speed and athleticism make him a perfect players not this position and I doubt they will move much of the the key defenders from what it was last year. His footy smarts are not the greatest and he is not a natural footballer but more and athlete and that typically would suggest him becoming a defender but his ability to jump, pressure in the forward half but also create space through speed will be a major asset up forward.

Massive EDFL player, really stiff to not be drafted based on his height more so than anything. On Oliver, he just seems to fit the bill of competitive and that is what we have looked to address over the trade period and also the last couple of years. His disposal is average, but kicking it out of clearances makes disposals look a lot poorer. I really like Oliver and I really like Parish so I would be happy to take both. I'm growing on the idea that we will take both with Essendon passing on him with one of their earlier picks. But who knows. Parish/Oliver/McKay. They are the three players I want.

Parish being compared to players like Toumpas and even Aish, which hasn't been said on here is completely ridiculous due to his contested ball numbers. Parish is probably the 3rd best mid in the draft and Oliver the 5th dependent on people's ratings, but that's how I have it. That said, I think Oliver has chance to make a more immediate impact but Parish is a 2-3 year prospect before consistent AFL!! Il take either of them though and even both ...

Toumpas and Parish are very poor comparisons. I'd almost say Sam Mitchell v Jordan Lewis In terms of style of play and possible ceiling?

But it was also common knowledge that we were most likely ending up with 2/3 players. In this draft we could end up with any 2/10 almost and it makes it harder to get excited as it is less likely to be able to pick who we get, thats how I feel about it. I am underwhelmed by the key position talent after the first two who look like they will be stars, but there are still up to 20 players in this draft who interest me and the possibility of getting some more top end talent is exciting. Jason Taylor is yet to do poorly, so im backing him in to bring us high quality picks that are ready to be developed.

I am really keen to see a situation like this unwind, especially to see a club with an academy not match the bid in order to grab one of the other players. Obviously therefore meaning they rated player unbid on higher than they rated player bid on.

Frost is already being said as a defender, but I think he will continue to play that ruck forward role and see him using his athletiscism to cause damage forward of the ball. Its hard to say who the surprise packet would be because its all relative to expectations, I think Hunt will end up breaking into the side at some stage and hope that he can use his pace to be a line breaker that our side sorely lacks. He would be spewing the sub rule has been thrown out, because that would have been his perfect opportunity mid next year.