Maldonboy38

It is too early to be doing this but I can't help myself. B: Garland Frawley Strauss HB: Dunn McDonald Watts C: Howe Jones Trengove HF: Tapscott Dawes Byrnes F: Davey Clark Jetta R: Jamar Grimes Sylvia Int: Gawn McKenzie Viney Sub: Bail or Tynan Neeld appears to be a fan of Joel MacDonald so he will probably push one player out. The list above is probably who I want to be in there, not who will be.

Toumpas. We have : 2 proven in-and unders in Jones and McKenzie. 2 stop gap in-an-unders in Magner and Couch 2 potential in-and-unders, Viney and Gysberts. We NEED outside brilliance. Toumpas - but I don't reckon he will get to pick 4.

HF: Byrnes Dawes Sylvia (or Tappy) F: Davey Clark Jetta I agree with above - a lot of onballers will rotate through. Can't see Pederson forcing his way into the 22 yet.

Neeld is proving himself in many areas of coaching - recruiting, development, dedication to training, strategy and planning - but he has not proven match day abiity yet. I still reserve judgement on this. In 2012 his playing list and performance gave us little opportunity to assess his match day coaching ability but this year we will get a clear indication. But boy does it feel good to see his determination and clear focus.

I get optimistic every preseason only to get my hopes so often dashed. But this year feels so different. It feels aggressive, determined and very clearly "my way or the highway" for players and coaches. I go to a lot of preaseason training - really looking forward to it in a few weeks.

Gumby has a horrible kicking action - a bit like James Hirds. Just lets the ball drop with two hands. But his kicking efficiency is good despite how ordinary his action is. His marking ability is amazing. He is fit, but can it hold together? I would trade our pick 45 for him, but I reckon the Bombers won't let him go for that. Pick 20 is probably too much for him.

If we don't secure Dawes in a trade, then lock in Towers. If he is available at pick 20 we cannot let him get through.

Yes, but I just sifted through and gave insights on the candidates that looked strong to me.

IN: FA - Byrnes Draft no. 13 - Barry Draft no. 20 - Draft no. 26 - Viney Draft no. 45 - Draft no. 64 - Draft no. 82 - Draft no. 100 Draft no. 118 Rookie upgrade Dan Nicholson POSSIBLE TRADE IN: Dawes. COLL Pederson. NMFC Thomas. PA Ray. STK DEFINITE OUT: Lawrence Jurrah Green Moloney POSSIBLEOUT: Morton Petterd Bate Bennell Martin Rivers Gysberts Davis Cook

"Hey, teacher, leave them kids alone". Pink Floyd

If we take a quick outside midfielder with pick 4, then I am happy with Dawes being traded for Pick 20. However, the comment above about Ben Holland fills me with the jitters. If we can't/don't get Dawes at 20, then I'd take draftee Dean Towers, planning to develop Hogan in this spot in 2014. Use Martin, Fitzy, Sellar for 2013. If we want Pederson or Gumbleton, take them at pick 45. May need to inclide Morton/Petterd/Bate to pick up Gumbleton this late.

If you look at our stats over the last ten rounds of 2012, you will find that we began to match it with other teams for contested ball. Jones, Magner, McKenzie and Trengove really improved in this area in the 2nd half of the season. We have already added Viney and will probably develop Gysberts in and under also. Our need is for players 5 - 7 metres away from the stoppage who receive the ball from the in-and-under players, who are highly skillful under pressure or when free and can either deliver with efficiency, or can run and carry. At the moment only Blease and Watts fill this category. Sylvia showed he might (oh please, please please!!) deliver in 2013. Dom Barry has been delieberately selected an outside runner and we need to bring in one more. Oliver Wines. No Jesse Lonergan. No Jimmy Toumpas. Yes, but probably won't get him Tim Mayes. Yes Jonathon O'Rourke. Yes Josh Kelly. Yes Tim Broomhead. Possible Matthew Crouch. Possible. Nick Graham. Possible See http://www.afl.com.a...x?newsid=144594 for list of best midfielder draft picks

Lawrence left and Moloney has gone as a free agent so that makes at least four. As an additional minimum I reckon Bate and Petterd will be taken by other clubs, and if we are lucky Morton could also be traded.

Very few sides have, or use, two expert and locked-in ruckman. West Coast are the exception but Cox will decline sharply in the next two years as younger rucks begin to jump over him and out-bustle him. So, we need one major big bloke to do 70% ruck time. Currently Jamar has this but Gawn will overtake him by the end of 2013. Spencer is the back up. Then we have the options of Clark, Sellar, Fitzy, Martin who can ruck in the forward line while also playing a third tall role. Because of all this I can't see the Dees chasing another tall seeing we drafted Jesse Hogan. BTW, Jeff White was close to a superstar for the Dees. Don't let ourcurrent lack of success re-write history. He was a really good tap ruckman, an outstanding mark, a reliable kick for goal, was effective around the ground and brought our midfield into play.

Jamar and Gawn and by the start of 2014 Gawn will be our no.1. Because of injury this year he fell off our radar but he is a serious talent. Apart from his one massive brain-fade in front of goal he has got good skills, is aggressive, has great 2nd efforts like Mumford and can take a good mark. Spencer is the next in line but will be overtaken by a fit Martin, and Fitzpatrick was super for Casey in the last half of the season. I wouldn't be surprised to see Fitzy overtake both Martin and Spencer if his form continues.

AFL website has just answered my own question. Quote: "Barry was zoned to GWS under the draft and player concession rules that gave the expansion club access to players from the Northern Territory who will be draft eligible by the time of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 drafts."" Although he is available for this draft, he was formally attached to GWS and that is how they were able to use him in the Hogan trade. Well done Dees.

I agree with you in part but recruiting young players who are U18 fit doesn't hold much sway when entering AFL ranks. They need to be made AFL-fit and that could take some time. The major changes to our fitness will come via Sylvia, Gysberts, Tapscott, Martin (if we keep him), Bail, Blease Strauss, Jetta etc... doing a full preseason and entering Round 1 with no injury setbacks. They will have had two summers under Misson's training regimen and we will see a massive upturn in fitness for 2013. I also think that players like Trengove and Garland will re-find form and excel next year.

Welcome young fella - hop on board a Dees train that might finally be going somewhere. Looks like an outside mid or a small half-forward. Don't reckon we will see him in 2013 - needs some beef, but 2014 might be the go.

I am trying to sort this out in my head. Was Barry available in the draft? If yes, how do we know we have him - is he not available to other clubs? Or was he already on the GWS list in some way?

Yeah I know dandeeman your posts are usually entertaining, but your post above was a little bit depressing during a time when we got Viney, probably will have Hogan and Dawes, and will be getting rid of Morton, Bennell and Petterd. Too many good things in the wind to be too downcast.

To quote Brian Taylor, "Boy Oh Boy" dandeeman, that's a negative spin at a time when things are at the worst looking refreshing. Do you need a hug? An inside midfield of Jones, Magner, Viney, McKenzie, Gysberts attached to outside mids Sylvia, Blease, Bail, Grimes, Byrnes and Trengove all fit with a full preseason doens't sound too bad to me. Add into this Taggart and Tynan with one full season under thier belt, and then add a possible Toumpas / Wines or whoever and it could be OK.

I don't reckon Neeld and co are overlooking anything. They will talk with every club and seek advantage at every point.

There is no way that we are going to be doing 8 - 10 trades, regardless of which players we Demonlanders might love or hate. With Green, Moloney, Lawrence and Jurrah all gone our best trade bait are mid-to-low-range players (Martin, Morton, Bate, Petterd, Bennell etc... ). Rivers is probably the only top 5 player being considered. At this stage I do not believe the Sylvia rumours or the Jordie rumours. It seems too many on here are suggesting possible trades based solely on which players they most dislike. Incoming: Viney Hogan (more than likely) Dawes (more than likley) Pick 13 is way over price for him. Pederson (likely) Pick 3 has to be used on a midfielder with genuine class. I hope Toumpas gets through. Probable trade outs Rivers to Geelong Bate to Bulldogs (although this has gone very quiet) Possible trade outs: Morton to WCE (although this sounds too far fetched for me) Martin to ...? Gysberts to...? Petterd to...? Bennell to...? Although this trade week is turning out to be very different from past years, I cannot see all the 5 possible trades mentioned above actually happening. The draft is really strong and there are better players around for trade than those listed. I reckon some strong delisting is on the cards at the Dees following trade week.

If we get Hogan in the manner described, it must a least bring into question the need for Dawes. Yes, it will leave a hole for 2013 but maybe Fitztpatrick / Martin / Sellar can fill this hole for 12 months until Hogan arrives. It places a higher emphasis on Hogan than Dawes but I don't think we can go through another 12 months with a development big bodied forward. We need Dawes in 2013 The question I find it difficult to anser is this: is Dawes worth pick no. 20? On last year's form no but on 2011 form yes. Mark Neeld is keen on drafting some ready-made stop-gap players and Dawes at his best is better than a stop-gap player. Add to this the established relationship between Dawes and Neeld and I reckon the Dees will chase him hard. So I see it like this: Pick 3 Hogan Pick 4 Wines or other potential gun midfielder (with kicking skills please!!!) Pick 20 Dawes Pick 26 Viney after this, mature age players like Pederson, Ottens etc...

Davey cannot go down back in 2013. His great asset was run-down tackles from behind and he no longer has the pace for this. Small and mid sized forwards will now run off him and he does nor have the physical presence to hustle and bustle and bother other forwards. Kicking skills alone are not enough to win a place in the backline. Keep him in the forward pocket where he can run in short burts and use his excellent kicking. Even though at his best he is one of our classiest players, if Tapscott, Strauss and others develop thier kicking Davey may not be able to win a place in the starting 22 due to this skill.