Nascent

Carlton losing always puts a smile on my face. Shame Collingwood couldn't lose as well. Heats gotta come onto Carlton soon surely.

Not sure going in with 19 players will do us any favours

To qualify for a nomination for the rising star award you need to be both under the age of 21 at the start of the year and have played less than 10 games prior to the commencement of the season. For Melbourne we have Jackson, Rivers, Sparrow, Jordon, Chandler, Bedford, Bowey, Laurie, Rosman, Bradtke and D. Smith all eligible to receive a nomination. Errol Guldon has taken out the first nomination with his 19 disposal, 3 goals and 10 marks on debut for the Swans against Brisbane. Nominations Round 1 - Errol Guldon - Sydney

Bump. Topic might be a bit premature to talk about this early in the season considering Angus has just come back from injury, but an article on the AFL website today lists Angus as not attending a single centre bounce with other options preferred including Jordon, Sparrow, Harmes, Neal-Bullen, Pickett and Jones. His peak form come in 2018 when he played inside mid and seemed to have the best connection with Max in the centre. Obviously there are fitness considerations at the moment but it also widely suggested that we have a number of attacking midfielders with perhaps some less inclined to run hard the other way. So where do we see Angus in our midfield mix now? Jordon and Sparrow are supposedly liked for their defensive intent which compliments the attacking nature of Oliver and Petracca. I'm struggling to place Angus in other positions on the ground where he can excel. Thoughts?

Have a great day to all those that are going. I just got home from nightshift and have another tonight so will be watching on TV unfortunately. Can't wait to get back to the G in the near future. Dees by 27

Congrats Jordan. Hope you play your role well and enjoy your debut with a win.

It'd be a fair effort to wake up without a pulse.

Ah yes you're probably right actually. Ignore me.

Interesting tid bit from an article today on afl.com saying we were interested in Caldwell. I don't think I once heard us connected to him in the media which shows there's a lot going on in the background that never makes the news for whatever reason. I know a few of us on here were keen on the dees making a play for him. "While the Giants lifted their offer to four years to keep Caldwell, the Bombers also had competition for him in Melbourne, with St Kilda also interested." https://www.afl.com.au/news/549397/why-jye-chose-essendon-over-staying-a-giant

Probably already been said before but wouldn't surprise to see Petty given a go up forward.

I haven't forgotten at all and I am not upset in the slightest with our selections as I recognise I have insignificant knowledge of U18 footy compared to our recruiting team. In 2019 we traded multiple picks including futures to secure pick 8 that would eventually be split for 10 and 28 ultimately landing us Kozzie and Rivers. However even after all that trading prior to the draft, we attempted multiple times to move up in the order. Our first attempt was to move up and try to nab a sliding Robertson, although we had little to no trade currency to be in the conversation for him, and the second was to ensure we grabbed Rivers ahead of any potential rivals. This year we saw no such attempt to trade for any player either before or after our consecutive picks. Now maybe we did and it simply wasn't included in the footage to protect club intel, but that's where my comments were coming from. These videos below play out the edited footage of our draft night from 2019 which I found to be more illuminating and interesting to watch. Obviously a pre-Covid world but it's interesting to see the discussion and demeanor of all involved, particularly Goody, in comparison to this years video. In my personal opinion, Goody seemed less enthused about our first two picks in 2020 but there could be a myriad of reasons for that. I say less enthused because of the reassurance Tim Lamb and Jason Taylor were providing him, particularly when Taylor talked up the recruits during there selection and immediately after that Tim Lamb got Goody's attention again and said we've got the best two kicks in the draft, turned to Kelly O'Donnell for him to reiterate that point as well. Or perhaps my perception of this is wide of the mark.

I found this really interesting. Goody did not seem enthused at all, I'm guessing due to their size, and had to be reassured on their quality. Its good to know that the recruiters aren't easily over ridden though and their research and opinion are respected. Also compared to last year it seems we weren't interested in trading up for any players in particular, although perhaps they just didnt include the footage to keep that intel in house.

Is Lord Nev a 45 year old Geologist?

1. Harmes - Was a damaging weapon with his ability to shut down the oppositions premier ball winners and hurt them the other way. Has the ability to hit the scoreboard and seems to be lost in the back half. Perhaps a return to a mid/forward role will be the catalyst required to return to form. 2. Wiedeman - The time is now for the weed to impose himself in the forward half and become a consistent threat. With Brown taking the number 1 mantle and defender, conditions are primed for him to cause headaches for opposition. 3. Brayshaw - We've all seen him at his best and want him to return to that form as soon as possible. Delayed start to pre-season with a foot injury so has a bit of work to do to catch up. Time for him to stamp himself as a starting centre square mid or at least in the first rotation. 4. Petty - Have high hopes for him as a key position player and suspect he will he more suited to the backline. Only had the few games to show his wares but displayed great hands and reading of the play. I believe he would suit as the second key back position allowing lever to zone off more and enable him to play his intercepting game more effectively. Has shown he is capable of holding his own and providing a target in the forward half. 5. Rivers - Love the kid and was stoked he slide through to us on draft night. Will be vital in the back half as our defence unit goes through a small transition period with the likes of Jetta and Hibberd moving into the end stages of their career. Apologies to T-Mac, Lever, Pickett, Sparrow and a more accurate Fritsch. Players like Gawn, Oliver, Petracca Langdon and May are crucial to our performance and I have high expectations for them to perform regularly.

Not sure if this has been posted already but found extended highlights on youtube. May want to listen with the volume lowered unless you like high energy techno music.

With all due respect dazzle I think you're being a bit disingenuous here. Firstly you know that we got two consecutive picks. Secondly Taylor said he will start in the back line, which is a common path for young players in their development. I suspect he'll be a winger/high half foward long term but if he makes a half back or even back pocket spot his own I won't be complaining. Many clubs have picked up non-key defenders in the first round of recent years.

Thanks, just saw the article in the mfc site saying he was overlooked at the draft.

Did we ever resolve whether he was eligible for this years draft, and was overlooked, or is next year his first run at it?

Did read a few tid bits linking us with Angwin close to the draft. Would have been interesting to see who we would have taken between him and Rosman if he was still on the board. One thing I suspect we do well is follow select draft prospects in the following years and woo them over the long run. Langdon and Lever are two examples that come to mind. I wonder if there's a player in this draft we may see in red and blue a few years from now. GWS seem to be perpetually susceptible to raids and Angwin has a long list of quality midfielders ahead of him. Maybe one to keep an eye on.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/533681/bids-bluffs-and-frantic-calls-inside-2020-s-first-round-draft-frenzy An interesting article about how the first round panned out behind the scenes with numerous deals in the works had stars aligned differently. In relation to the dees, we had an offer from the crows involving our 18 and 28 for their 22 and 23, leaving us with 19, 22, 23. However the article states the crows were intent on using that pick for Laurie. No other whispers in terms of potential deals we were involved in however it did mention the Giants interest in both Bowey and Laurie for their pick immediately following us, which then made them pull the trigger on trading out that pick to the pies for their future first. Also mentioned that if the tigers had of kept their pick they were likely to take Laurie and West Coast also tried to get into the tigers pick for either Laurie or O'Driscoll. Saints also keen on Laurie and Bowey.

Can confirm.

So we shouldn't expect to see him until about age 30, where he will develop a cult following after displaying some freakish ability, before being brutally cut from the list? Guess after that we can re-draft him during the mid-season draft the following year to revive his career.

Can delete O-mac as well. Someone that's on instagram might be able to stalk the new recruits account and suss it out from there. Not that I advocate online stalking...

Looking forward to some reports and footage of our new recruits at training when they filter through over the coming weeks. In terms of jumper numbers available we have; 16, 17, 19, 21, 28, 40, 42, 43, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50. Guessing for no other reason other than I'm bored at work. 17: Bowey 19: Laurie 21: Rosman 50: Brown

After bringing in 4 first round draft picks and 6 inside 34 over the past two years, are we likely to see a greater emphasis on trades and free agency to target list needs?