Ted Lasso

Of course it matters what we say, we've sent a clear message to North that if they want Tauru, they need to take him before pick 5. If they do this, we get what we want which is one of the premium midfielders sliding to our pick. This is no guarantee, but it makes plenty of sense. If they slide down to pick 7 or 8 for example, and think Tauru gets past us, whoever gets that pick off North almost certainly takes one of those mids and we miss out again. The most reliable path for the MFC to get one of these gun mids is for North to take Tauru at pick 2

It's possibly a few games being played as well, I personally think we've sent North a message that we're going to take Tauru, potentially so they don't slide down and we end up getting someone like Smith or Langford sliding to us.

Every Carlton fan i've spoken to is absolutely convinced they're going to take Sid Draper at pick 3 regardless of who else is available, it may be media hype and what not, but they're not buying the Jagga Smith talk at all.

The flow on effect seems to be that if North go FOS rather than Tauru we will get Tauru, if North go Tauru, or slide down in their picks, we'll likely get a choice between Langford and Smith.

This seems to be the thing, unless there is a last minute trade from Richmond for pick 2. I still would be really shocked if the Crows passed on Sid Draper, a home grown talent like that should be incredibly difficult to pass up unless there are some serious underlying red flags

That's where i am at as well, potentially if Tauru is a forward and Petty goes back to defense it sort of looks okay, but i just can't wrap my head around passing on Sid Draper. Obviously JT is the expert and i didn't really love the Windsor selection pre draft last year either.

Any chance we see him as a key forward?

Looking more and more like the Blues will take Draper, and the Crom will choose Langford or Smith leaving us with one of Smith, Tauru or O'Sullivan at pick 5.

If Richmond don't take Lalor at pick 1, would North consider him at pick 2 over Tauru? I am really curious about this because the Dusty type would feel a bit like the icing on the cake for what they're trying to build midfield wise.

The reality is we are probably at the least appealing the club has been to a player like LDU for at least a decade. 2025 is about fixing that.

My major knock on the 2 players i think we will take (Smith and Reid) are that they're both on the smaller side, i don't really have any major concerns about either developing into really good AFL players, they're both a little bit different but they suit the modern game well. Everyone rates players differently, i reckon the clubs with the first 10 picks would likely have very different orders of preference

I think the criticisms of Murphy Reid are a little bit rough to be honest, the kid is an absolute star, his vision, hands and ability to open up the play and create scores from nothing is the best in the draft by a fair distance in my view. I would liken him a lot more to Harry Sheezel than i would Charlie Spargo.

@Adam The God surely going to put your hat in the ring?

I think the pitch is pretty simple, he's much MUCH more likely to get a game consistently with us than he is to displace Walter, King or Andrew out of the forward line at the Suns.

I'd be staggered if Jagga Smith and Finn O'Sullivan somehow both made it to pick 5 given those two players have been prospective number 1 picks for the majority of this year with Lalor emerging late. I'd probably lean towards Jagga personally but JT is the expert

I managed to stop in for a little look, but i am not great at training reports so i will do my best. Everyone looked in really good shape from a fitness perspective, the players look lean, are running really well and i think it's really encouraging for the young guys to look this fit and ready to go before pre-season even starts. Jacob Van Rooyen looked noticeably stronger to me, i'd be shocked if he doesn't take a really big step this year, I agree with other posters thoughts on Jefferson and Windsor, both stood out, Jefferson looks like he's done an enormous amount of work. One thing that really stood out for me was the impact of Nathan Jones, the entire group looked like they got a real lift from him being there, and you could see right away he is going to settle in really well to coaching life. It looks as though a lot of players have been given homework around their running, which probably reflects the change in game plan Goody looks like the absolute weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders, it seems the break and release of some pressure has done him an enormous amount of good. I know it's very early but the entire vibe of the club felt much more lighthearted, fun and energetic than i can remember it being since maybe 2021

Who knows, i am sure they're seriously discussing Jagga Smith as well, i am sure Josh Smillie would be in consideration, imagine 2 of Patty Cripps! it's such an even draft where the type of midfielder is going to be a deciding factor for a lot of teams, i think we will really value a little bit more class, where as a team like the Saints or Tigers probably do want to build from the inside and get the ball winning support.

Taj Hotton could be the one, he's so exciting when he's up and going, and i suspect without his injuries we'd probably be talking about him in the top 5 of the draft.

Reid is absolute class with insane footy IQ, i liken him to Steele Sidebottom. I would much rather take a chance on Reid being small ish vs the go home risks around Allen. If Smillie is available (he won't be) he's a no brainer at 9 though

I would be amazed if the Blues don't seriously consider Langford, he's the big body midfield support Cripps has been screaming out for, he's ready to go and he's a beautiful kick which the big forwards would love.

I would take Jagga Smith at pick 5 and Murphy Reid at pick 9 assuming both are available. back up plan for either pick would be Langford and Travaglia/Hynes

I get the feeling the big ROO is a future captain

Geez he's impressive. He'd play round 1 next year i reckon.

Surely we just go the Langford/Hynes combo