binman

Ahh all is well with the world. The natural cycle of life: beautiful spring weather, hayfever, great horse races, Saty springing to the defense of his boys and taking a swipe at any poster silly enough to make even the mildest of harmless jokes. Nothing like routines to buffer against the fear of impermanence.

I'd like to sponsor Lever

Which is what i reckon we should go with. The training top with the monogram seems to be universally liked (at least on DL). Perhaps the dark blue is a problem, but the red monagram on a white background (perhaps with dark blue around collar, yolk and shoulders) would work

Which is what i reckon we should go with. The training top with the monogram seems to be universally liked (at least on DL). Perhaps the dark blue is a problem, but the red monagram on a white background (perhaps with dark blue around collar, yolk and shoulders) would work

As noted by (almost) all above a great decision. It is how they should have managed Jnr. Give him another year in the seniors as an on field playing coach (god knows we needed it) and transition him into a development/coaching role. Just as GWS did. You keep solid citizens around the place - It's how you build a good culture (as opposed to a list)

They'd never catch Morton in order to hit him - just ask Brendan Lade (with apologies to Morton, i know that GIF is not accurate, but jeez its funny).

No to mention he is an elite level boxer who apparently was considering going down that path instead of footy. I don't want to give fodder to the Watts bashers but i can't really see Jack (or Morton for that matter) in a boxing ring.

The other interesting thing about Judd that highlights the folly of making black and white calls on 18 year old draftees is that even after a player starts playing AFL and everyone gets to see him, how a players is ranked in comparison to other players can change. I have made this point before so apologies for repetition but there are any number of examples where a player hailed as a gun early in his career has been matched or surpassed in terms of standing in the game by other players who were initially not though to be as good as the gun. After 2-3 years most footy people would have said the Hawks made a blunder not taking Judd and instead taking Hodge. Without debating their relative merits, with 2 premierships, a brownlow and 2 Norm Smiths fewer people would make that case now. Nickat v Watts is another example. After a year footy people were universal in their view that the dees made a big mistake. And now, some 5 years later? Well, still lots of people would argue we erred but i doubt that view is still universal and if Watts has a big year and Nik Nat has another poor one even fewer people would argue we made a clear error. The point is, it is folly making calls about untried kids and also fraught to make early calls on players in terms of how they rank and how wise their selection was, even after 1 -2 years of playing AFL footy. Some players take time to get to an elite level. Gibbs is an excellent example. He was brilliant last year and no doubt was happy to respond to those who suggested Carlton erred in taking him so high. Watson, Ablett and Hawkins are other examples. Conversely people were lavish in their praise of Rich and Hurley early on but i would argue both have flat lined and the case for them being guns (as they were widely touted in their first 2 years) is pretty hard to make. The obvious current example of this naive tendency is Wines v The Toump. History tells us that there is every chance the Toump will be a better player, even if shrill posters and some footy people could not countenance such a heretical idea. Time will tell.

This has been disputed by Jako13 who seems to know of what he speaks when it comes to such injuries

It might even take on the air of one of those noir films or books set in the deep South of the US as once proud Southern families who made their money from slavery incestuously stagnate in their decaying mansions, oblivious to the pathos and tragedy that envelops them. Or maybe Hird will become like Betty Davis in Whatever happended to Baby Jane.

I liked this comment from a Tracey in the comments section under the Hird Hun story: Hirdy will be in a much better position once all the facts are suppressed

Another reason the top clubs get it so easy!

I got everything up to 'From the AFL website....' (with apologies to Maxwell Smart). Informative post Jako, ta. Really interesting that you don't think there's no more risk of injury if the surgery and rehab has been successfully implemented than any other young kid who hasn't gone through it and come out the other side as from a complete layman point of view it is what i was worried about in picking him up. I'm guessing your view is shared by the club doc and if so reckon Lever will be a dee (assuming Petracca goes one). He seems the type of young man Roos would love to have at the club, a natural leader and a bright guy. A big part of what Roos is doing is building a culture and i suspect this aspect will be a huge factor in the drafting philosophy. Also he is big fella for a mid (which Roos has said is important) and as a defender will not have to learn the defensive mind set and focus that other, more attacking player would coming to the dees (with Roos ultra focus on the importance of defense). Even the fact he had a year off could be end up being a positive as he seems to have studied the game from a coaches perspective and obviously avoided injuries and wear and tear playing in his pre draft year. I've convinced myself. Lever is ours.

Excellent ideas. Byrnes would make an ideal playing coach and still be a pretty competitive at VFL level. Might snag a few goals.Some Casey players training with us feels a little like they are introducing elements of an academy as does appointing Plapp who seems to part of the Dees' coaching set up. Can only help Casey and as WJ rightly says something has to happen. With Plapp coaching at Casey and Miller having a big involvement, I wonder if they are also thinking a bit about creating a coaching pathway. Fits with the whole succession model they have in place. Goodwin takes over from Roos and someone below steps up to senior assistant and heir apparent. I like what they are doing at the Dees atm.

Wines has peaked and is in any case over rated. The Toump will be a gun and sail past Wines. Will be viewed soon enough as a genius drafting move.

.....and continue to post?

Spot on. A simple and elegant solution would be to have the tac cup play for another year. If cost was an issue you could simply have the kids start a tear later

Ahh. The first signs of pre season. Posters squabbling and becoming frustrated with Saty. Currently not ignored for me given the change in name. I wonder how long that will last? Looking forward to the reports.

Thread title sounds like the name of a John Hughes film. I heard the interview live. Was lead to his answer by the question, which basically asked did he fail because he was crap or because he was poorly developed. Probably should have played a dead bat but i have no probs with what he said. Who cares? Obviously has some fondness for BP, which is unsurprising given he selected him. My only thought was about why do an interview now and why was it approved. Surely head down, play a few senior games with the Cats and then maybe do a radio interview. Not a big deal though i guess

An under 19's comp would be great. Alternatively a new Under 21 team (well) funded by the AFL that plays in say the VFL with a list of the best forty or so under 21's in the land. The Young Guns. An academy if you will (assuming interstators would want to come to Melbourne - but if it meant quality training and development environment i guess most would be keen, as they are with the AIS). I would raise the age by one year as they are planning to do in the NBA next year (for all the same reasons as made here with the AFL). In my scenario the Young Guns VFL team would have the best young prospects for a year, before being drafted. Those who don't get drafted can remain in the Young Guns, continue to develop and try their luck in the following years draft(s). If not picked up by 21 they then could filter into the VFL or SANFL etc. The Young Guns would have exposure and causal fans could become a lot more aware of and informed about who is coming through (as occurs in the states with college bball and football). Good facilities. Good training and development. Would be expensive but might be offset by generating some revenue and would be an investment in the future. I imagine might also be attractive to a stand alone sponsor - eg the NAB Young Guns.

I'm with Steve the man on this. This is one draft where we will pick for need not the best available. Top teams have 10-12 mids (and 5-6 of these are guns). We have are desperate for more good mids and I would be shocked if we don't use both picks 2 and 3 on mids

Interesting article. I love the fact (which I didn't know) is that he is a lefty. I see a clear pattern emerging

More good reasons for raising the draft age

This site is a fair microcosm of society. Some good folk and some absolute f flogs. Have a look at the photos of the devestated connections of that magnificent horse admire ratki and then justify Vince's moronic comments.

Is the thread title another riddle?