Hannabal

I don't have a problem with any of that, although this sentence could be reconstructed "If a recruiter was to choose a player on a gut feel over a player with any questionable attribute then he is not doing his job correctly." And ultimately gut feel is what one needs to rely upon once all the analytical work has been done and all things are relatively equal. Judgment calls need to be made. Robinson doesn't move, or dispose of the ball with as much class as many others in this draft. I don't see star factor. I like Zaharakis and I love the way Deboer moves, but given a choice I've a few ahead of them. I like Strauss too, but sharing an opinion with Freak already has me questioning my view. Anyway, we'll know how they're rated soon enough, but even then it's subjective until 2013.

Acceleration is far more important than endurance for a tall. Ask John Meesen. I suspect you have no real clue how stupid you sound when belittling Watts as a footballer. I've seen him 3 times live and I've seen Rich and Naitanui live twice. Most times I'd take a mid at no.1. How many times has a key forward gone 1 ? I can only think of Riewoldt in recent times. Most are still under developed and they don't dominate at junior level until they've physically matured. Wayne Carey was traded by Sydney as a junior. They knew he was good, but it was too early to be sure of the impending greatness. By his own admission Nathan Buckley was a very soft 'outside' player at 17 and was borderline best 22 for his school side at Salesian College (Sunbury). Watts is arguably the quickest key position player the game has seen, which is an enormous asset for a forward. His Vic Metro Coach David Dickson rates him as having the best hands in a marking contest he's seen. His timing is superb in a pack marking situation. His evasiveness and agility puts most mids to shame. And his kicking skills on both sides are excellent. Until recently he spent as much time on the basketball court as the footy field. The package of Watts the footballer and athlete is just about as exciting as it gets, but it surprises me little that the talent identification escapes you.

The skill of the best recruiters is not judging, or selecting, based on what a player has done to date, but what one's innate feelings tell you they're capable of. In other words, their upside. I'd love Schoenmakers and don't believe that I overrate his potential as an AFL player. We'll just have to disagree on Robinson. He's quite highly rated, but his skills are too lacking for mine. I want genuine class in the top 20 and don't see it with him. I'm not saying that he won't succeeed as an AFL player, but he doesn't excite me when I compare him to others.

When I first saw Deboer move he reminded me of a young Geoff Raines. He really does have nice balance with a low centre of gravity. But on the day I saw him at Casey Fields his kicking was terrible. Twice running into an open goal from 30 metres under little pressure he sprayed them everywhere. I like what I see, but his kicking is a concern. I hope we don't get Mitch Robinson. He's tall, takes the game on, but he just doesn't reek of class. He reminds me of a rich mans Josh Thurgood, the gutsy Hawthorn redhead with bad skills. I did say 'Rich' mans. I also like Zaharakis, but as time has gone on I wonder whether picks 17 or 19 are too early for him. He'll be a really solid AFL citizen, but I'm hoping for a bit more. Make no mistake, this is the most important draft in Melbourne's recent history. Melbourne need to unearth a couple of out and out stars in this draft. Even down to pick 51 we should get a very good player, such is the strength of the draft. I'm hoping we pick players with class that have genuine upside to become stars of the competition and I'm not sure that Robinson or Zaharakis fall into that category. We need more than just good footballers, we really need some stars. O'Keefe and Schoenmakers are 2 classic left footers who'd be in the top 3 or 4 kicks in the draft - just behind Rich, and they both love a contest. Schoenmakers has grown to 194cms, is a good mark and placed in the top 10 for quickest over 20 metres at DC. I salivate at the thought of Watts and Schoenmakers roaming the front half of the ground. O'Keefe is hard at it, 187cms, a good mark, was named on a hbf in the AA side after the under 18 Carnival and won South Australia's award for most valuable player. A running midfield role beckons. Importantly, both have x factor. Now I know that there's not a hope in Haiti that I'll get what I want, but it's still fun analysing the likely prospects. It's a long wait til draft day.

I have my fiend. Naturally some more than others.

I've waxed and waned, changed my mind, viewed footage, etc, and have locked in my preferences for the 2008 draft. As follows: Pick 1. Jack Watts Pick 17. Ryan Schoenmakers Pick 19. Rhys O'Keefe Pick 35. Sam Wright I really like Matthew Broadbent and Strauss, but they won't be there at 35. If either of my listed picks at 17 or 19 are gone I'd be happy with these two. I also really like Walters. Jared Redden will be a very good ruckman, but I doubt he'll slip to 51. I've not named a preference for 51 as it's too difficult to even guess who'll be available. Naturally if there was a player such as Trengove, Sidebottom, etc, slip to 17 I'd be stoked, but it won't happen. It's going to be a great draft and there are so many players that look good, but those I've listed would please me no end. Six weeks is a long time to wait.

The reference to Biffin was a joke. The joke being that Biffin would deck him. He was a tough loyal servant in very bad teams.

Perhaps the recently retired Scott West is worth talking to.

I knew a girl from Cranbourne once. Her name was Tammy. Your post reminded me of this very talented girl. Continue.

We don't have a "bucket of cash". We're not even in a position to lure a 28 year old AA forward home from interstate due to salary cap pressures. I'm a conservative by nature. If it's a choice between 'pie in the sky' or 'healthy dose of realism', I'll usually adopt the latter. And it's not a case of giving up. We need to develop our own through the National Draft and Rookie List. We haven't had enough picks in either for far too long. Anyone notice how Hawthorn delisted a 96 gamer who's in their leadership group ? At Melbourne the same player would have been retained and gone on to play 150. We don't turn our list over nearly enough. We usually don't have enough picks in the draft. We keep Ward, Godfrey, Luke Williams, Nicholson, Smith, Lamb, Ferguson, Armstrong, etc, etc for far too long. Bell is just becoming another example. Lyon spoke of list cloggers. We're the experts.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll see.

Have I suddenly visited Noddyland ? Murphy shows enough of a cool head to knock back Brisbane at 17 years of age even though he was wooed by such footy dignitaries as Voss and Brown, et al, for a Brisbane Lions Father/Son selection, yet because he's not presently completely happy with his current contract offer he'd consider walking into the PSD to become a Melbourne player, even though the [censored] he currently plays for are gathering momentum towards Finals footy whilst we're crud ? He'd rather be a diabetic in a candy store than come to us.

Ah, too easy. (Except there's been no pick 90 this century, so I'll revert by one.) 2006 Draft Pick 89 St. Kilda Pass I'd have him over Bell any day.

As usual, I go against the grain. Like Rhino, I doubt that there will be any delistings. That said, I'd cut Bell and Dunn. I just don't rate either. I certainly wouldn't give anything longer than a 1 year contract. Pick 90 >> Bell

First time I've seen this thread and behind the hubris jacka has a point. I've no doubt that it's an issue for our current players not to mention those contemplating joining us.

Why on Earth would he want to come to Melbourne ? I can't see it.

"Stop the adds already" Guess who watches too much American tv. You could have thrown in the "for crying out loud".

Do you pass up talls in a draft that many experts say is the best and deepest for talls that there's been ? And it's thought that there's not likely to be such a rich vain of talent any time soon. Clubs will rate the draft in order. If a quality tall is available at 17 or 19 it would be pretty hard to pass up I imagine.

I saw Cornelius at Casey Fields and he looked very very good in one quarter. He's slight, but reads the play well and has sticky hands. He ran a slowish 3.12 for 20 metres at DC which really concerns me. Can his reading of the play and marking ability overcome a lack of leg speed ? Too many doubts for me.

I'd drive him to Linton Street, save for the stench he'd leave.

If I was a Carltion supporter I'd be wrapped how their club just 'gets it done'. Some 'holier than thou' types may disagree from an ethical point of view, and that's fine. Unfortunately, my club has been a soft touch for 40 years. I prefer the alternative.

Are you still having trouble seeing past the mound on your forehead, Sleeve ?

We all want any snippet of information we can, so take out of it what you want. If you think it's crap, don't bother reading. If I had a genuine source I wouldn't devulge either. I think there's merit in his post and what's mooted seems quite believable. And he acknowledges that nearly all of them won't come to fruition. What else do you think the clubs talk about ? The names being bandied are the ones you'd expect to be bandied. There's no great revelation. But I like the info anyway. Thanks Nudge.

Sewell