Young Blood

YES Life would be a heck of a lot easier if Mills and Hopper were free for us to pick. They are both better mids IMO then Parish/Oliver.

Yeah I would have voted Oliver....

Yeah Davos I think its still Curnow for me too. With Either Weid or Oliver at 7. I just think we're not seeing it now but Curnow could be something special. The way he moves with the ball, his size and athleticism, contested marking and leading is great. Has huge potential and could be useful playing different roles for the team next year like a lot of our young guys do while developing under Roos. I think he could be the player of the draft. But who knows. I'm a nobody. (ps I'm ignoring the recent run in with the law Charlie had with my comments) Would still be happy with Parish though

I've watched a lot of match replays and all the highlights of Parish (yes they're just highlights I know I know) I believe the experts that he can read the play well, uses the ball well and is a good outside midfielder in the way he can burst away from packs and spread well. But I haven't seen any really solid contested football from him. He bounces around in congestion occasionally and gets the handball away quickly before or just as he's being tackled. But I'm really not sure about his contested football. When you look at Hopper's highlights (Brayshaw and Petracca's from last year too) they can do a lot of different things. The main thing you see from these three is real hardness and commitment to the contest including tackling. Hopper, Trak and Brayshaw can win one on one contests all over the ground. I don't see this much at all from Darcy. It is what Roos has pushed most is commitment and hardness which you also see from Harmes, Stretch and ANB. If we are looking for an outside mid who can spread and use the ball well then I think he's great. If he can work on his defensive side and build up his strength he could be terrific.

funnily enough Mathieson had decent results with skills in the combine Clean hands test Kieran Collins 29 (out of a possible 30) Darcy MacPherson 28 Tyrone Leonardis 28 Daniel Rioli 27 Rhys Mathieson 27 Mitch King 27 Jade Gresham 26 Bailey Rice 26 Darcy Tucker 26 Declan Mountford 26 Kurt Mutimer 26 Jordan Snadden 26 Kicking test Mitchell Hibberd 24 (out of a possible 30) Nick Coughlan 23 Darcy MacPherson 22 Thomas Glen 22 Matthew Allen 22 Jade Gresham 21 Nick O'Kearney 21 Rhys Mathieson 21 Declan Mountford 21 Jordan Snadden 21 Ben McKay 21 Charlie Curnow 21 However I agree with others that under pressure as a 'contested ball winning midfielder' he is predominantly (not highlights on Youtube) sloppy with the ball. I'v watched a few of his Falcon games. Reminds me of a Collingwood midfielder type, the way he wills the ball on.. If we went with Curnow or Francis at 3, I would prefer Tucker or Balic at 7. I think they could terrific outside runners who are creative with the ball (ala Salem/Brayshaw) and can build their intensity and contested game. Balic reminds me of Stretch but taller and with a higher ceiling.

This is great. Thanks so much for uploading this. You get a good look at Curnow, Tucker, Francis, Parish etc. In a full game. See how they position themselves and get an idea of them in and around the contest. Would really love to see more footage of Curnow in the midfield. He looks terrific running into space with those long arms and marking ability. Nice finisher and user of the ball. But would just like to see more of his contested ball work in the middle of the ground. He pretty much plays one on one in most of the footage I've seen. Still preferring Curnow. I just think he has the most potential out of he and Parish. Parish could become a Sloane type player at best. But when you compare him to our previous years midfield drafted players he just doesn't use his body well and is not as good defensively. Of course he can work on those things. But I just think Curnow is a natural smarter footballer and would love to see him playing for Melbourne.

Parish isn't super quick either...

I was dead set on bringing another solid midfielder in Parish to lineup alongside Viney, Pettracca, Brayshaw and Dom. But this kid just looks like a terrific natural footballer. Seems to have good awareness of time and space around him, marks and uses the ball well. The question mark for me is still his competitiveness. Would like to see or hear more of his tackling and intent at the footy. We hear of him being a possible high fwd / midfielder but I haven't seen much of his contested ball winning/stats in that area as a midfielder. Definitely looks terrific on the lead and in contested marking situations. Recovers well when the ball comes to ground and has nice agility in his ability to turn off of his opponent. Just wish there was more on his defensive side.

What gives you the impression they're thinking outside the square? I would have thought they might want another marking tall (ala Francis) to replace Dixon.

Yes this is I think why we will pick Parish over Curnow. We want to keep our string of compeditive high intensity/tackling young players to go with Brayshaw, Harmes, Petracca etc. Essendon are in the same boat as us. Want a mid and a key position player. We will make life annoying for them if we pick Parish. They might go with the combination: Matherson or Balic and Curnow or Francis. Gives us much more options I think if we stick with Parish at 3.

Anyone know much about Ryan Burton? Seems if we are looking to pick up a mid and a forward it might look a bit like this: 3. Parish 7. Weideman 3. Parish 7. Burton OR 3. Curnow/Francis 7. Mathieson 3. Curnow/Francis 7. Balic

I agree that would be unbelievable if we could get one of those two player combo's Parish/Francis or Parish/Curnow or even Curnow/Francis. But can't see it happening. After we draft Parish (for example) Francis, Weideman, Curnow will be picked by Essendon and GoldCoast. Right?

yeah I think the Blues are going to offer more for him too.

yeah Tomlinson would be great. Icing on the cake. What would we give up though?

yeah I think Mathieson is sloppy with the ball. Wins a lot of it but uses it poorly. Don't want him at the Dees. Looks like a Collingwood player.

Would really like Tomlinson. Might mean less pressure for us to draft a tall (Francis/Curnow) with that 3rd pick.

can't wait to yell out 'carn buggy!'

I love how much Dees fans on here love Seinfeld

Didn't Mahoney say we won't be trading picks 3 or 10? I doubt GWS will part with this pick as well as giving up Bugg. Any news on this?

ok then use pick 94 Dees! yeah! Thanks DD

yes please. Throw in pick 94 we just got for Fitzy.

I think Essendon are in the great position we were in last year. Last year we had the choice of three combinations Mccartin/Brayshaw or Mccartin/Petracca, ended up with Petracca/Brayshaw Essendon have the choice of Parish/Curnow or Parish/Francis or Curnow/Francis. They are in a good position with those two back to back picks.

Good point Manny. It will be interesting to see what Viney does. Most years they would say 'we will draft who we think is the best player when it is our turn to pick'. I think Parish might be a different type of mid. He stands out more then the Hoppers, Kennedy's etc. seems to have that Bontempeli x factor about him. I dunno. I do think it might be too hard to pass up on Curnow at 3. Has a bit of everything. Love his size and how he moves and marks. Do we really think we need to take Weideman at no.3?

Yeah I think it will be Parish. His ceiling is high and if doesn't reach it he will be a consistant midfielder (Dom Tyson+ perhaps). He seems to be that compeditive Fyfe type player in his build and constant work rate. Like Fyfe he likes to constantly keep moving in and around the contest and won't stop until he wins the ball. Not saying he will be Fyfe but we need this type of player at the club. I can't see them passing him up. Unless Curnow has too much fwd/mid/Stringerish potential to resist. Curnow nor Francis will slip down to 10, its tough. Really don't know who we pick at 10.