durango

I have a good feeling about Rosman his highlights were very good but nothing will prepare us to his ability until he takes the field whether in the VFL or AFL, training is always a guide but there is no pressure and tackling that happens in the real thing, he has the athletic attributes of wingman but only time will tell if he has the football nous to read the play and position himself to get the football. Jack Dyer once said "if you don't get the ball you can't kick it"

The picture on Tom McDonald shows he has definately fined down

I reviewed the Alister Clarkson Coaching history he was appointed after the 2004 season. Richmond and Hawthorn was granted 2 free hits before the first pick recruiting Roughead, Franklin and Lewis with their first 3 picks. It took him till 2008 to win the premiership. The players already at the club were Hodge another free hit and Crawford. At the time the club was not expecting to win the 2008 premiership because they believed the side was too young. Hawthorn won the game 18.7 to Geelongs 11.23. Their next grand final appearance was 2012 which they lost to Sydney. Maybe Clarkson is a great coach but Norm Smith went to Fitzroy as Captain Coach in 1950 and as coach in 1951, he took over the MFC in 1952 as coach with Checker Hughes as chairman of Selectors and won 6 premierships in the 1950's and 1960's. Chris Scott was appointed the coach of Geelong in October 2010 and won the premiership in his 1st year and has been there abouts but has not won another, questions must be asked about is coaching in Finals because he had excellent teams but fell short. Nathan Buckley was appointed coach of Collingwood at end of the season in 2011 and has fallen short in 9 years at the helm. In conclusion coaches need 2 things luck and cattle to win finals and premierships.

Most people forget that Hardwick was without a premiership after 7 years and very little finals but year 8 after recruitment of good players the worm turned and he has won 3 of the last 4. I think that when his defensive coach arrived Justin Leppitsch they became a force, limiting opponents to a losing score. I have a feeling Troy Chaplin is our defencive coach and has taken over from Rawlings and we have improved in that area with Lever and May which makes winning easier when you don't have to kick 100 points+ to win.

People forget the fact he was asked to play forward because of injuries to Hogan and others in 2017 and still managed to kick 23 goals but 2019 started and he was recovering from injures as well as carrying extra weight, no one predicted 2020 was going to be disaster for Tom. The MFC changed fitness coaches from Mission to Burgess who had no knowledge that Tom was carrying extra weight that Mission wanted him to carry.

For those who saw the 1950's Melbourne teams, know that Stuart Spencer came from Tasmania as a Back Pocket player but Norm Smith decided he was too good to waste in the Back Pocket and played him as a rover and the rest is history. Neil Compton came as a rover and could not get a game and was played as a Back Pocket player in a premiership. It is not where players start their careers but where they are best used for the team, Western Bulldogs play Caleb Daniel as a half back yet he is not the height of a typical half back but does the job well and is a star.

When I was at the MFC the players were listed at heights that were not only incorrect but under there actual height because they were never measured again from the time they were recruited making match ups difficult for the other clubs, only there weight was measured.

I the picture he looks not much shorter than Viney or Spargo

If Max Holmes was the player he wanted then if he is a professional recruiter he should not admit it to the MFC public because it is a inhouse type of thing. I wanted the MFC to pick Cripps, not Morton and Martin but they thought they knew better but I was not on the recruiting panel.

The last 2 years the top goalkicker got 22 and that is one of the reasons we have been poor in 2019 and 2020. If Ben Brown can emulate players like Fanning and Bennett in the next season then we will play finals and maybe if the team remain injury free we may get the ultimate prize?

I have reveiwed his reported playing statistics, highlights showing a quality player who as an under age player was on a path to elite U18 player. Hopefully he will with our coaching panel be put on the path to elite AFL status.

So long as he does not do his knee like Sean did early in his career, which probably reduced his pace and spring slightly.

This player has been trained to play football from the moment he could run, his father was a small rover (168 cm) with some pace and managed 85 games at a time when players of his size were not in fashion. It is expected his father made sure he had the skills, pace, sidestep, awareness and tenacity to play the game against much bigger opponents so I don't worry about his size holding him back, he will get the best coaching from Yze and Williams along with the fitness and weight work to build his body correctly. I saw Stan Alves and Robert Flower when they arrived at the MFC and within a few months played for the senior MFC team both player had great awareness which helped when you have a small frame, so maybe he will thrive in the professional football world and become a good ordinary player (Jack Dyer) like Stan and Robert, so long as he is never satisified with just being drafted and playing some senior games.

Like all highlights they only show the best of the recuits not the blunders so we need a better sample of the player and you need to see what he does when his team does not have the ball, shepards, blocks, spoils, chases, tackles and knock ons. I have watch football since 1953 and I am amazed that people still don't value athletes who have height, endurance and speed very well but the this year the No 1 draft pick has some of these and yet pick 34 seem to have the same attributes and we tend to devalue him because he is pick 34. I will make a prediction this player will become an elite player provided he put his mind and soul into the game, he reminds me of a young Koutoufides.

The year MFC left the MCG as its training ground was 1985 which was RDB last year as coach, I was a trainer at the time.

I have watched some of the matches this year when Trent Rivers played and I believe he has all the attributes which are required for the modern wingman and he should be given first dibbs at the role this year rather than Salem.

The statistics show he kicked 10 goals and 6 behinds in 8 matches and had more tackles than most senior players get in a whole season but they don't show how many tackles created opportunities for others. It also does not show whether the team won or lost the games? Some times we judge players on the obvious statistics but don't show how many times a player chases an opponent and causes a turnover thru pressure?

Looks closely at his stats time for 20 meters elite, time for 2k elite and has an athletic background in 800 metres and 1500 metres. Wingman with size speed and endurance are rare but he may become one? Reminds me of Anthony Koutoufides.

Robert Flower did wear 50 52 and 2. He never played a senior game in 50.

Robert Flower

Definately a quality forward and the highlights show he is more than a player who leads and marks the ball but a contested beast.

Hannan would never be in a MFC premiership side unless injuries occured in the finals, he was in the 2018 side because Kent got injuryed, not because he played great football. If you look at the 2018 final against Geelong the ball was coming down the ground and the Geelong defender was in front and fell over making his life easier, in the other games in the finals he did not fire at all. I wish him good luck but I am not one of his fans because he is a lazy footballer and an opportunist.

Braydon played a good game against Grundy and that is why his value skyrocketed to a pick in the second round. Good Ruckmen means you must pay a premium since they don't grow on trees. MFC traded Jolly for pick 15.

I always ask why people like Matt Rendell give opinions about football and seem to never win premierships when they are in charge of the recuiting at a club, they are experts who have never had success. A friend of mine used to say an expert is a drip under pressure. Our recuiting has always been poor due to these recuiting experts hired by the club who lack the forsight and imagination.

Vale Blair from a Melbourne High School college