Ted Lasso

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

I agree, i saw enough to think Kolt has the makings of being a 200 game AFL player and a regular part of our best 22 for a long time.

The Saints 2 picks are really interesting, would they offer up 7 and 8 to Norf for 2 and 22? if they hold those picks they're on record as wanting midfield class, but i think a King/Armstrong combination would be really tempting for them

I'm not sure we're entitled to that from Trac to be honest, i think to pretend we've handled him and Clarry perfectly is foolish, regardless of what mistakes the players themselves have made. I think it's going to take time for wounds to heal and relationships to strengthen, if we're playing in and winning finals in 2025 it's going to be a non issue, if Trac does decide to go, we're going to get a war chest of draft assets right before Tasmania join the league from a club like Collingwood standing on the edge of the cliff looking down (Age wise)

McQualter did last season, and Jones was a significantly better player than Mini.

Offt. probably in the significant minority with that view i reckon Saty

Saty thinking we're fine at the same time as the President and CEO are both gone, our two best players seriously considered leaving and we finished 14th. Nothing has changed in the last 15 years haha

If we had pick 4, i'd probably be calling for Draper over Langford or Smith, so more than happy for them to pass.