Lucifers Hero

We've had 18 months to prepare covid ready hospital facilities but so far has much happened? Early last year wasn't there a 'covid surge health plan' to convert Jeff's Shed to a covid hospital with high levels of ICU capacity? To me a dedicated covid facility makes the most sense as it would concentrate covid health resources in the one place, allow existing hospitals to continue as pre-covid and greatly minimise the risk of covid escaping to staff, patients and visitors to those hospitals. The buildings to create a dedicated covid facility are there. It is a matter of converting and resourcing them. Let's not burden an existing stretched hospital system with more resource intensive cases; covid.

Did Roos' see Oliver's tapes first? My impression was he poured over lots. Not sure that he actually stopped looking at others as at the time (July 2015) we didn't have pick 3 and there were others considered for our first 'natural' pick that year. Oliver wasn't thought to go that high. JT and others thought he could go anywhere from the high teens to the 50's!! I think our first 'natural' pick was #9 so Oliver wasn't in the reckoning for it in July 2015. Look at the dates of the articles I quoted one of which was April 2017, when Oliver had played only a dozen games. At that time there was no history for Roos to rewrite. What he has said since and reported since supports comments back then. Recruiters don't work in a vacuum or in isolation. They build a list that maximises a coach's game plan. From the first Roos' was committed to building an elite mid-field and have 10-12 on-ballers. Methinks you are short selling Roos' role in Oliver's recruitment and other premiership players recruited while Roos was coach. TBH, I have been really impressed that the likes of Roos, Jackson, Macca, Bartlett and many others that were involved in the rebuild of our club and our team, haven't tried to step into the limelight of a premiership. They have humbly stayed in the background. Anyway, we are diverting from pick #17.

GWS seem prepared to let Hill go if they get a small forward back, specifically Chad Wingard. He won't go there They were prepared to give Hawthorn pick #13 for Wingard if Hawks paid some of his salary. So what happens next? Essendon offered 2 picks between 50 - 60 or in a pinch their future 2nd round pick 30+). Collingwood have put their hat in the ring but they they may not the trade currency to get a deal done. But HIll wants to go to Essendon. Makes one wonder about his true motives for coming to Vic if he won't consider other clubs. He said he wants to play in the Dreamtime game and ANZAC Day game... From what I'm reading I don't think Hill's attitude is a good fit for us (but that could be worked on) so not canvassing for him. But I do think it is a shame that one of our small forwards: Bedford, Chandler, Smith could not form a trade with GWS having just extended their contracts. It wouldn't be pick #13 as Lobb staying means they wouldn't need to offload Wingard's salary but a three club deal could have been done. While being contracted doesn't make our players untradeable it would be very strange for that to happen now. We aren't that sort of club. Perhaps we extended their contracts a bit early as the trade period was still open. We have a lot of, a surplus even, of depth in the small forward department. Every chance Hill stays at GWS. Or if Wingard is prepared to go to another Vic club a deal might get done.

Here are several articles that talk about Roos and his early viewing of Oliver vision: olivers-twist-how-the-dees-smoothed-rough-diamond "But as he kept poring over the vision, Roos was drawn to Oliver’s clean hands, his strength and power at stoppages, his sharp decision making in tight and the 187cm midfielder's physical presence. The redhead was raw, but the veteran coach knew he was watching a natural footballer who would complement the previous year's top draftees Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw nicely". (April 2017) from-a-parma-and-chips-to-an-afl-star "Five months earlier, Melbourne coach Paul Roos strolled out of his office and asked Jason Taylor if he could take a look at the 2015 draft crop. Essendon had just defeated Melbourne by nine points at the MCG in James Harmes’ debut. It left Roos’ men with just four wins after 15 rounds. It was time to look ahead to 2016. By mid-July, Jacob Weitering and Josh Schache had separated themselves at the top of the pile of soon-to-be-drafted teenagers. Callum Mills was not far behind and almost certain to go to Sydney. Behind the trio was a glut of players including Darcy Parish, Jacob Hopper, Sam Weiderman and Charlie Curnow. "Roos sat back in his AAMI Park office chair and began to flick through various clips of footage. His job was not to recruit, but to offer an unbiased eye...One player stood out above all others...Roos, who had already committed for the 2016 season, walked back out and ask a senior recruiter where Oliver would go in the draft. The response was lukewarm. He was expected to be taken in the late teens or early 20s at best. Perhaps he could even slip to the 40s or 50s. (June 2018). iirc it was later in 2015 that a Demon recruiting team (which I think included Goodwin) went to interview him and meet his family etc. They laid down some goals for Oliver to reach to be drafted by us. He reached them. And so the Footy Legend of Clayton Oliver was born.

Lets hope we keep picks 37, 49 and 57 (or get picks with equivalent points) so that we have enough to match, if he slides into the low 20's.

The commentators lauded that pass and others like it. Yet, last year they were criticising them as "hollywood handball" Changed their tune quickly!

In the table I showed players who voted in more than one final. Fritsch got 8 votes in the GF. Only so many votes to go round.

LOL, so HP isn't a modern day Don Juan!

Coaches votes were: QF PF GF Petracca 7 6 10 23 Oliver 10 4 5 19 Gawn 1 10 0 11 Salem 0 6 2 8 Lever had 3 vs Lions, Viney had 3 vs Cats and there was a few 1 votes for other dees.

I think it was Roos who was big on Oliver. He was still building the mid-field/on-ballers core. But to answer your question, the top 10 in 2014 were: McCartin, Petracca, Brayshaw, Pickett, DeGoey, Marchbank, Ahem, 2'metre Pete, Moore (F/S), Cockatoo. As things turned out Brayshaw was the best choice @ pick 3. Roos and JT nailed that draft! Roos' mind games with the Saints helped as they blinked and took McCartin instead of Petracca.

HeartBreaker???

An interesting discussion on the current chasing of ruckmen: rucks-set-to-roll-around-again-until-trade-music-stops The proposition is: "...most clubs now want to take four ruckman into a season, which ideally includes the first ruckman, a ruck-forward, a back-up ruck and a developing ruckman, maybe two". Looking at that proposition of 4/5 ruckman, we have: First Ruck: Gawn Ruck-Forward: Jackson Back-up Ruckman: Daw Developing ruckman (or two): ? We did not renew Bradke's B Rookie contract and with Mac Andrew seemingly out of reach any ideas who could be our 'developing ruckman'? Other sport prospects? Or will we not bother with a 'developing ruckman', for now?

Damn it! I should have known you would be lurking and should have triple rather than double checked!!

Another shout out to the player's at the club for 186 who didn't play that day but stayed true and got to win or be part of a premiership campaign. Max Gawn. Tom McDonald. Neville Jetta. Along with Jones, they are loyal and true Demons who stuck fat through our darkest days on and off the field.

A shout out to Col Garland. In the article he says: "The club means a lot to me. I was there from age 18 to 30...After your time, you just become a supporter...And it's just like anything in life. When you see close friends, who are good people, achieve success in whatever field - that's a really good thing." I always was a fan but he went to the top when he commented on (his good mate) Frawley winning a premiership. He said something like: If I don't win one with Melbourne it won't mean much'. Little doubt Garland's heart still beats true.

That game was wiped from my demon history when over. What I can't forget is the distress at watching a terminally ill Jimmy struggle though the press conf to sack Dean Bailey. And then watching Bailey all alone to front the media, stripped of club colours and of a sponsor board. He was a good man, gave us his all and deserved better. I had tears all the way for both of them and for our beloved club. For mine the aftermath of 186 was more ignominious for our club than the loss itself. Any lingering feelings about 186 were wiped with the rnd 23, after the siren goal to give us a redeeming win at the scene of the crime. Ultimate redemption was thrashing the Cats in the penultimate game of our season; a Preliminary final on the second biggest stage of all with the footy world watching. All was atoned that day.

Agreed. That is effectively what we did with Jordan except that Jordan got 2 years on the main list. There is a fair chance Crows were offering him a main list spot, perhaps 2 years. For him to reject that would suggest we offered something better, perhaps similar to Jordan: 1 rookie year, 2 senior years = 3 year contract. I'm only guessing but that looks like a plausible reading of how things have panned out.

On Trade Radio, Lamb has said we will try and get as high as we can and there are a few things they are looking at. So every chance pick 17 could move up the order.

From today's session: But the premiers haven’t finished their wheeling and dealing just yet. “We’ll look at every opportunity to try to get as high as we can. We’re certainly having a little bit of look at some things,” Demons list manager Tim Lamb said on Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio “We've had a habit of trying to get back into the first round of the draft or improve our position in the draft and that was something we wanted to do again this year. By being back in the first round again that will give us five first-rounders over the last three years. “We’d seen the impact at Hawthorn of a group of young players that come in together over a two- or three-year period and they can really grow together, their relationships become really strong, and they go on the journey together. So that was our real focus.” That looks like another 'drafting cluster.' The first cluster was under Roos over three drafts from 2013, when we took Salem, (Tyson), AVB, ANB, Stretch, Hunt, Harmes, Petracca, Brayshaw, Oliver, Weideman, when Roos' goal was to build the midfield first and have 10-12 on-ballers. Some have moved on but they are our core players now in their prime. The second cluster started 5 years later and is the one we are in now: Jackson, Rivers, Pickett, Laurie, Bowey, x and y from this year's draft. And a few choice picks in between: Spargo, Petty, etc etc.

From The Age: Melbourne is talking with the management of Rising Star winner and premiership big man Luke Jackson with the Demons categorically denying they have had any talks with Fremantle about the WA native. Jackson is out of contract at the end of season 2022 and Melbourne wants him to extend his stay with the former Australian under-17 basketballer developing faster than many expected culminating in his ruck work in the grand final helping to turn the game to the Demons in the third term. Demons list manager Tim Lamb shot down any suggestion they had talked with the Dockers about Jackson. “At no time, has there ever been a conversation internally, or with Fremantle, about Luke Jackson,” Lamb told AFL trade radio. “I can categorically say that has never occurred. “He’s out of contract at the end of next season, we’re talking with his manager and happy with where it sits.”

My reservation is that we will have almost zero flexibility to add players in the PSD or the MSD. There will probably be very good Vic players who miss the draft because they have very little exposed form. By next year they will have a chance to perform but unless we get LTI we won't have the room to draft them.

I am 99.9% certain that Jordan was effectively made a senior player in April this year: Club announcement JJ signs on It doesn't state he has a senior spot but we would not have been able to recruit Declase and Turner in the mid-season draft if he remained a rookie as we would have exceeded the 6 allowed rookies. Using a draft pick (94 or 112) is a mere formality.

How to upgrade pick 17. We have 4 'live' picks with value: 17, 37, 49, 57, (and later picks 94 and 112 which can be used to promote players from the rookie list). We won't have enough list spots to use all 4. Hypothetical: GWS and Freo are playing a bit of cat and mouse re Lobb. GWS have picks 2 (untradeable), 13, 53, 71. 13 is too much and 53 not enough. We can 'help'! We get GWS #13 and give #17 and #49 (or 37 and something back to us if we really want to sweeten the deal). GWS will have a better hand to deal with Freo. We improve our hand and still have 3 'live picks' if we want to fill all our senior list spots. Freo have a fistful of picks and if they were to get #17 as part of the Lobb deal they could then deal with Geelong for Clark. As an aside Geelong would take out the 'grandstanding' award by demanding a 1st round pick for a player they have had for several years but haven't played very often.

Thank you. Are we sure they had it right? The club was specific on: "Baker and Bedford have been retained on the senior list, while Brown, Daw, Smith and Turner will remain on the rookie list for 2022" but was moot on Chandler so for now I'll leave him as a Rookie. On my next Contract thread update I'll note the uncertainty on Chandler's status.

I didn't see the 2 years in the announcement. Did I misread? Agreed under the new rules he can do a 4th year on the rookie list. For the 'Contracts' thread I usually wait until there is something 'official' so for now I'll stick with Chandler as a Rookie in that thread.