Young Blood

Pleased to hear this. It seems that North are now looking more unlikely to trade pick 2, but still why would JT be so forthcoming in public saying we're drafting mids? Would it not be more beneficial to say we're open to drafting any position (i.e. maybe even Tauru ;) with our pick 5 so North doesn't take that chance and stop exploring a trade and take Tauru with pick 2, leaving us with more midfield options to choose from with our pick?

As evident with your posts in this thread you're not keen on Jagga with pick 5. Perfectly fine. Keen to know what your preference is at pick 5 and pick 9. Perhaps a few names in order of preference.

In some ways it would be as I believe in many other draft years that Jagga would be a pretty clear no.1 pick. As he was for a lot of this year on draft boards. To get him at pick 5 would be incredible. I really hope North doesn't call whatever bluff's we have going and they end up standing firm to hold the no.2 pick so they nab Tauru with that pick. If that happens we can be more confident that Jagga will be in our sights at 5. Crossing fingers and toes.

Some bold picks and predictions coming in here with Dylan Alexanders mock draft: Has us picking 5. Langfort and 9. Hotton

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/the-afl-draft-is-just-weeks-away-here-s-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-top-40-prospects-20241024-p5kl0v.html The Age reporting there's still interest for Cooper Hynes. It would have made a lot of sense when we had the second rounder but I just think reaching for him at pick 9 is a tad too far with the amount of talent we'll have to choose from Re: Pick 12 where the Age has us picking Armstrong: 'The Demons are also big fans of Dandenong Stingrays bull Cooper Hynes' 28. Cooper Hynes (Richmond) Dandenong Stingrays/Vic Metro Midfielder/forward, 190cm, 28/2/2006 Talent League stats (avg): 23.7 disposals, 4.7 clearances, 1.5 goals The Age’s August top 30: N/A October top 30: 27 Agility test: N/A 20m sprint: N/A 2km time trial: N/A This might be far too low for Hynes, who could go as high as Melbourne’s second pick, with West Coast and Port Adelaide among his admirers. The common retort about the powerful Stingrays product is that he has the widest draft range of any player. Formed a great one-two punch with Harvey Langford, and they often switched between the forward line and midfield. There are some lofty AFL comparisons for him, from Cam Zurhaar to even Clayton Oliver. Hynes’ endurance needs to improve, but his forward and clearance craft are rated highly.

If this prediction came to fruition, I'm drooling at the thought of us being able to choose from Draper, FOS or Lalor. Would definitely be picking one of those three ahead of Jagga.

He's going to have to carve out a role for himself now that other mids are pushing for his midfield rotations (River, Koz, Windsor and the top 10 mid(s) we draft). Could be as a tagger who can follow a star mid around all day. Will have to continue to build his fitness and size, not to mention getting a bit more nasty perhaps to get under the oppo's skin and really own the role. We saw with a lot of hard work and dedication what happened with Nibbler in his early 20's when he had to change his primary position from midfielder to high HF. I don't see why at 24 yrs why Sparrow can't do the same. He doesn't have Nibblers attributes but if he can get really fit and just bring consistent intensity I think he can play a role in our best 22.

We see the game very differently and that's perfectly fine. I hope we pick him and you and I will be very happy with the player we picked ☮️

I was a big believer in Petty as a forward. In 2023 he just showed so much promise with his leading patterns and physicality down there not to mention the accurate kicking. I still think while May, Tmac and Lever are around that we should continue with Petty down forward. If he can just play that second tall option as CHF leading up the ground it will be a big advantage. But he will need to hit the scoreboard more that's for sure. We know at some stage he'll eventually go back and I think be one of the best key defenders in the comp. But for now we're still stacked down back and if he can play a role up forward so be it. Praying for a rare full preseason where he can hit the ground running for a change!

Just picked a random game from youtube and had a watch. Not one of the ones I attended. But this kids special. Feel like it really highlights his strengths and impact offensively particularly. Highlight for me at 0:39 where he receives a handball only to quickly pivot and turn away/against the direction of the play to open up the ground, nice burst of pace to get himself open to hit up the CHF down the corridor. Such a small thing but makes such a big impact. We need this type of player. Video shows multiple times Jagga bursts forward out the front of stoppages. He's certainly not a straightline midfielder, he's always looking to change the angles to find the best options in space.

OK so we're now hand picking youtube clips and analyzing every possession. I'll ask you again like I did with Armstrong. Have you actually been to a game and seen Armstrong or Jagga live? I have only seen the two Armstrong games but have been to quite a few Jagga games and each time have found him to be the most impactful player on the ground he has the highest motor I've seen in a long time. His agility/side steps/evasive skills are not so pronounced yes but they're there and he'll most likely improve on this over time.

Definitely agree that the Butters comparison is a poor one. But you keep mentioning that he most often goes sideways or backward with the ball. Why is this such a bad thing? Jagga's first priority is to find players in space which he does incredibly well. He'll draw a few players, use his hip strength and agility to get himself free enough to give the ball off to players in space and generally on the move. Football's not played in straight lines, fluid ball movement is about changing the angles and this kid has terrific vision to find players in space to make the next play. He very rarely throws it on the boot and values his possessions and uses his team mates to link up for forward entries. We're dying for more players like this. I'm assuming you would rather a big-bodied mid to break the lines and run forward with the ball? Thats not Jagga's game, but what he does do is give the ball off and get on the move running forward himself for the next receive. He's got such a great balance and inside/outside game.

haha I thought you would pick out the outliers! I'll add one 2016 - Taranto at 8 (ended up pick 2) Perhaps I should have worded this more carefully. Twomey *generally* gets it right and yes you're probably right he is drip fed info from the true experts as you say. Comparatively in other years a month out he got the top 6 right in 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2022. So you're right he's not the most accurate. @DeeSpencer you seem to have a very firm understanding of this draft. I trust your judgement of Armstrong as someone who knows his game well. Were you able to get down to see him live? Would be keen to know how you thought he looked in person as opposed to the others on this thread just going off of youtube clips and Lloyds gushing over him in reports. I went down to see two games of his this year for Sandy where he was pretty solid. In those games he played deeper and less involved. Would like to have seen him presenting further up the ground as its been reported. Could be a Jeremy Cameron type player with his elite agility which would be fantastic for us.

Cal Twomey pretty much always gets the top 6-8 players correct (not the exact order, just those picked in this range). You're not considering him an expert which is fine but his record speaks for itself. He certainly ranks the top 8 players in this years draft as mids. But I actually kind of agree that a few of the mids won't be as good as the two KP players picked in that mix. I think Armstrong and Tauru are certainly ahead of Reid who I think should slide into the teens (hoping saints pick him with one of their first picks so he's out of the way). Also possibly ahead of Smillie as well whose work rate I have concerns about. The other 6 best mids though I think should be who we're picking from with our pick 5. Will be very happy with Armstrong, Tauru or Travaglia with that pick 9 as I don't see any of those top 6-7 mids sliding to our pick 9 anyway.

Damn no new info from Cal. Just what we already know...