Young Blood

At the moment his partner who is from Darwin is very happy with her current job and life here in Melbourne. Apparently Kozzy has expressed he would one day like to move up to Darwin. I think I heard if there was a Darwin AFL club he'd be keen to play there one day, but that was just a comment. To answer your question, home is where family is. I'd imagine one of Eyre Peninsula in SA or Quairading in WA. For now he has his little family and sister here in Melbourne with all the support from the team and is signed on until the end of 2027. The homesick thing is blown out by media, he's probably mentioned a few times in front of supporters which media will run with as him expressing wanting to leave. Its not going to go away unfortunately. Apart from supporting his family and perhaps looking to sign more indigenous players which Koz would like, there's not much more the club can do. I'm sure getting back into finals contention and Kozzy kicking bags in front of bigger crowds (hopefully!) will go a long way too.

Phew. I always just see 'Melbourne' written when first quickly reading something in anticipation and was relieved to read it properly in full here. North would be a good fit for him. We have our good small HB ball users already in Salem and Bowey. In terms of playing him as HF I way prefer Spargo coming back from injury in this position.

Remind me, how many list spots do we have currently? Of the players retired or delisted: Brayshaw. Smith, Brown, Farris-White and Schache? Is it only 5 or am I missing more? Any chance of more delistings?

I'd trade pick 25 for Peatling in a heartbeat. This guy is going to be better then ANB. He's just turned 24, his key strengths are his agility, speed and footy IQ. In his draft years the things he had to work on was his strength/size, endurance and disposal efficiency. Since then he's gone from 73kg to 79kg, built his tank while being able to maintain that speed and ability get in and out of traffic with quick feet and smarts. Hard to say how much his disposal has improved but considering this season that 50% of his possessions were contested (7.1 per game) his overall disposal efficiency of 70% is pretty good for a midfielder who played inside a fair bit. He can play inside or outside mid and you just love his attack on the contest and want to tackle. In the two finals played he really showed how committed his is defensively with his pressure and tackling. He also showed his versatility by hitting the scoreboard playing the high HF pressure role and I think could even play down back if needed with how well he reads the play/ball with strong marking for his size Very similar type player to Rivers, drives the legs out of packs with a penetrating kick. Whoever gets him will be stoked to get such a well rounded player already who has had to prove himself with immense improvement over three years and hasn't even reached his full potential. He is exactly what this team needs and I think in a few years looking back pick 25 for him might be a steal.

I'm just going by lots of photos of him standing next to and being the same height as Harry and Hogan. I always find this so funny in other sports when they do the bare feet measurements. Its so silly. Unless players play in barefeet its a stupid exercise IMO. Do they go as far to measure with studs on? On grass or hard surface? If on grass wet or dry day?.. Would make quite a difference I'd say 🙃

He's the same height as Hogan and Harry Himmelberg so 194-195cm

Make some suggestions. Ones that would be happy to play behind Max / for Casey for a few years. Worked out great with Grundy... I imagine the club is looking at younger rucks across the comp to bring in and develop alongside Verrall to hopefully be a longterm option post Gawn. Until then whats wrong with bringing in a mature decent back up Ruckman who can compete at AFL level if/when Max is out or needs a rest which is likely to happen in the next two seasons?

Sorry, I didn't realize there was a backstory to that particular poster actually trolling. My apologies

How is that trolling? I don't think @Demonsone was talking about their performance in this game. Its a fact that both wanted to leave the Dees to play in another teams best 22. They did and now they're both about to play in a premiership and have played their roles to get there... kudos to both of them.

Umpires ear pieces getting a good work over tonight

Are Port being ghost coached by Goodwin 😉

This is inside goss you're getting? Or its reported?

Would be more funny if it weren't so true... 😪 But I'm not giving up on 25 yr old Fullarton just yet! A lot of 200cm players take time to develop. This is my mediocre half glass full approach.

Answers - Very good - Jesse Hogan

Well for one thing, unlike Smith he'll be available at pick 5 most likely. But I don't rate Reid at all for us at pick 5. I think he will slide to the teens. Lacks pace, agility and contest. He could develop to a Pendles type outside mid who relies on his timing and skills. But I just don't see it. His possessions aren't damaging and doesn't get separation from opponents. At best he'll be a handy flanker.

Fair enough. Physically I see O'Sullivan with elite agility. He has the Kozzy like bounce/footwork and quick lateral movement and burst to get himself free. Long legs with long strides with a booming kick, covers a lot of ground. Makes good decisions and doesn't waste many possessions. He's more of an outside mid/wing at this stage but I think he could develop his inside game over time. Which is why he'd be perfect for us fit-wise at the moment. I will agree with you that he has had an up and down year being in and out with injuries without a clear run. I watched him play a few games including VFL for Richmond where he really held his own and showed some of the pure talent. This kid oozes talent and has the highest upside in the whole draft. I would be thrilled if he dropped to us. He's like a Josh Kelly with more speed and agility. He's listed at 182cm but I reckon that's an old measurement. I'd say he's closer to 184-185cm now.

Curious as to why no O'Sullivan? I think he's the most talented player in this draft and has the highest skill and quick footwork we need as an outside mid. Lalor is very tempting but won't have much impact in his first season (or two maybe). As he mentioned in a recent interview he hasn't had much pre seasons of late because he plays high grade cricket. He mentioned coming into this years season underdone. I think it will take a few pre seasons for him to build a proper AFL level of fitness and conditioning to perform at the level. FWIW my order of preference: 1. O'Sullivan - Shades of Heeney with how complete his all round game is. His ability to get out of traffic is elite 2. Jagga - Definitely has that forward run out of stoppages like Butters. He has super strong hips like a Daicos too 3. Draper - Although I think he'll get snapped up by Adelaide or WC I think he is the exact player we need with his skill and pure speed as a midfielder. He's a jet. I think he's the most like Warner in this draft. 4. Langford - I'm not sure where he will fit in to this current team but long term a solid choice as a midfield workhorse that could develop into a Dawson/Cripps type mid with his size.

Yes and most of these came from precision ball movement from Carlton mids who put it down his throat. Out midfield, ball movement is very different... He's not able to create much himself out of contest. I'm sure there's a few reasons that Carlton is happy to move on from him. I think he's greatly benefited from playing alongside Curnow and Mckay who draw all the attention which has allowed him to play off of them and find space and time He does kick straight I'll give him that and is a decent mark. I'd like to concentrate on other players ahead of him.

Nah Adelaide has pick 25 this draft which has already been talked about coming our way for ANB

All good! Just sharing some quotes from Peatling himself :)

Leaning towards GWS. He's a local Sydney boy and now that he's got proper midfield rotation time he'll most likely stay. As per Fox sports a few days ago: BIG BLOW FOR VIC SUITORS IN RACE FOR VERSATILE GIANT Potential Victorian suitors have been dealt a big blow with Giants utility James Peatling expressing his desire to sign a new deal with the club. Peatling had been linked to multiple clubs across the competition given his versatility but looks increasingly likely to remain in the charcoal and orange beyond this season. “Everything is moving in the right direction,” he said on SEN. “We are just taking our time with it, we wanted to focus on the finals and me playing consistent football because that’s something I haven’t done yet. “Everything is trending in the right direction, and I love where this club is at so, hopefully we can get something done soon.” The mature-age Giant has averaged 14 disposals, five tackles and 3.5 clearances this campaign. Peatling said he “100 per cent” planned to remain at the Giants in 2025 and beyond and looms as a key factor in the Giants’ semi-final with Brisbane this weekend.

Who's the coach who replaces him that is available? Someone with a good proven track record would be good.

Yeah I certainly wasn't comparing Jagga's game to a Daicos. Just that he has the hip strength/shimmy and ability to get out of traffic. He doesn't waste too many possessions and definitely uses handball too often currently but the positive is that its pretty much always to a player on the outside or ahead of the ball who can dispose cleanly in space. He plays the modern getting on the move, drawing opponents and releasing players and with his quick feet he relocates to create another option. Very rarely does he win the ball and hack a kick out, he's clean and goes for quality possessions. Agreed would definitely prefer Draper and O'Sullivan who have more well-rounded games. I'm expecting O'Sullivan to go pick one he's just has all the tools and then some. I think any of these three are going to be excellent players over the next 10-15 years.

With Jagga yes he slight up top of course. But he has fantastic core/hip strength. This is why I liken him to Daicos. He has similar low centre of gravity and ability to twist and shift his hips to get out of tackles/traffic. Have a look at some of his games for Richmond in the VFL and you will see how well he's already performing around mature bodies. They simply can't catch him at times because of his ability to get out of traffic. His ability to get on the move and open up the ground is fantastic On your last statement I would have traditionally agreed with you. But we have the big bodied mids at the moment (Clarry, Trac, Rivers) what we desperately need is what the best midfields have now which is someone with elite agility, pace and accurate damaging ball use. We have the physical contested ball winners. What we need is an outside mid who can get out of traffic and create with excellent foot skills. O'Sullivan, Jagga and Draper are the three highest quality mids in this regard high agility, speed, skills and clean. Unfortunately I think all three will be picked ahead of us. If for some reason one of those slid (or we traded up) that would be amazing.