PaulRB

Jack Watts to play with the intensity and courage of Jonathan Brown.

Given we lured Clark away from his prefered destination (WA) would we be interested in Polec?

It you look at Roos record with drafting, he seem to target team with red hot midfields and looks at midfielders that are struggling to get a game, i.e. Kennedy from Hawks. Dom could be similar?

Well get PP after our first pick (i.e. pick 3). Typical AFL style compromise. And not a bad result for us.

We need a star midfielder or two... and they too are best picked from the top of the draft. Judd - Pick 3 Hodge - Pick 1 Pendlebury - Pick 5 Murphy - Pick 1 Thomas - Pick 2 Deledio - Pick 1 Cooney - Pick 1 Goddard - Pick 1

Ablett, Judd, Hodge, Barlow, Pendlebury, etc... we need one of this calibre and we'll only unearth and develop one via a high pick (trade for or develop). The MFC needs a star mid-fielder or three... all efforts should be directed to acquiring these players because we're going nowhere till we have them. Stockpiling tall forwards cause we can, is daft.

A high draft pick, mature, seasoned player finishes 5th in B&F of the team that finished 17th... Disappointing. Taking his AFL player ranks as a guide he would be the 2nd best mid at Melbourne, which would equate to the 6th best at Hawks (just above Isaac Smith), or 8th best at Geelong (just above Joel Corey), or 7th best at Swans (above Craig Bird)... He's not going anywhere to play finals because on present form he'd be lucky to get a game in a top 4 team...

Even if Boyd is super talented, he is young and tall, meaning he'll need to be developed and eased into AFL footy with a good amount of time playing VFL. So we'd not benefit fully for a year or three... Hogan has just completed his year in the VFL and I doubt will be fully comfortable and dominating in the AFL for a couple of years. Given we have invested in the development of Fitzy, and Gawn as tal forwards (ruck) and have Dawes and Clark we simply don't need Boyd, unless we can trade one of our existing talls. And given the ego nature of trades we'd get alot more for a No# 1 draft pick requiring 2-3 years dev than any of the others given injuries etc... We need mids, got to trade.

Is there any word on what qualifies a player or assistant to be a likely coach? I'd love Captain Kirk to be the successor simply for the romance and symetry of it, but have no idea if he can actually coach well at this level... Is he? And why are people saying Ling would be a good coach?

If this guts Essendon, they can alway go begging for a Priority Pick after 7 years for 34 wins...

They have put it out there from the announcement today. Hence, it's on the table that they are likely to decide Melbourne's next coach with the appointment of the Senior assistant.

Voss? or Kirk?

Just reported in AFL site "Players union pushes for Bombers' release". Could be an opportunity or two for us?

Perhaps the AFL should simply give us the picks they recently took from the Bombers...

For a sobering look at the low quality of our midfield check out the AFL player rating gizmo (http://www.afl.com.au/afl/stats/player-ratings/overall-standings#club/CD_T90/position/midfielder)... Depressing.

Games are won with midfields. Swans, Geelong, Hawks have two large forwards and deep quality midfields. Collingwood have 1.5 large forwards and quality Midfielders... Trade Boyd to a team with need for a large forward who are willing to give up a quality experienced midfielder. Ps not sure why this is on the Taylor Adams thread.

I must have been watching another team these past couple of years! How can anyone who's watched us recently say we don't desperately need the PP??? We need more than one Priority Pick! as unless we trade it for an experienced mid it will have minimal effect in 2014... i.e. equivalent of adding another Jack Viney... NIce in three years.

I think Jack is the type of player who will rise with the tide (so to speak), as in when Melbourne are up and running he'll be a better player. The intro of Hogan and Clarke next year will lift the intensity of the forward line ( and provide JW with clear targets), the intro of a couple of seasoned mids will lift the intensity in the middle (where JW should play, i.e. on wing). Jack knows he has no more excuses and a rare opportunity to recast his reputation as a quality player under a well respected new coach in Roos... Everything is in place for him to succeed and finally have some of those career defining and game winning moments we all know he is capable of.

Respect.

Is it coincidence the week we play Fremantle a rumour circulates that Fremantle in interested in Melbourne's Jack Watts? The most plausible reasons include: Melb thought Jack could do with a reminder that unless he lifts his game (and extends his contract) he might find himself at a new club next year of Melbourne's choice, and one potentially 3440.8 km away from his family and friends. Freo marketing thought it might get more Freo fans turning out for an otherwise lack luster Sunday late arvo game... Jack let slip that he'd always fancied moving to Perth's version of Geelong.

Hey Old Dee, my two brothers follow Essendon and over the journey (numerous Don Flags, 2000, etc...) I have had to suck it up and suck it up and ... So the prospect of ASADA shutting them down for drug cheating, fills me with an irrepressible urge to smile and look forward to my next family do. Sorry ;-))

Agree, my biggest worry about JW is that he's still waiting for others to lift and lead the team into better times. Those players you mentioned seem to be taking public responsibility for turning it around. At the same time JW publicly laments our lack of selwood, hodge type players... makes me think he's painting himself to be a fringe player... Which we'd all hoped he'd be more than.

Every Auction needs a couple of bidders to up the price. We can say to GC and the other Vic clubs we'd take Caddy for Pick 13 (if GC play ball on JV). This would mean for Caddy to go elsewhere that the club would need to offer GC batter than Pick 13. GC get a good deal for a so so player.

I'd pass on Caddy for the sole reason that he wanted to go ONLY to the Dons last year and made too big a fuss about it all for a player with few credits in the AFL player bank... Over valued and we'd be likely to pay too much if we tried to out muscle other clubs ... for a so-so midfielder whose value has diminished since he was drafted, i.e Drafted at pick 7 & now struggling to justify pick 13.

Hold on. Gold Coast get Tippet for pick 13 and a second rounder, and we get Caddy for pick 13 (and some change). I'd prefer GC's deal for Tippet.