spirit of norm smith

4. Paxy Paxman Injury: Foot Est. Return: 1 - 2 Weeks 43. Jemma Rigoni Injury: Groin Est. Return: 1 - 2 weeks 28. Saraid Taylor Injury: Calf Est. Return: 2 - 3 Weeks 15. Lauren Pearce Injury: Wrist Est. Return: 5 weeks 2. Olivia Purcell Injury: Face Est. Return: TBC 7. Tayla Harris Injury: Shoulder Est. Return: Season 25. Jacinta Hose Injury: Knee Est. Return: Season 16. Grace Beasley Injury: Knee Est. Return: Season 21. Aimee Mackin Injury: Knee Est. Return: Season

Derksen is very versatile. Key back. Key forwards. Relief ruck. He was behind too many at the Giants. Probably deserved a go ahead of Keefe. He kicked 35 goals at VFL level in 2023. Two times kicked 5 goals and accuracy was good. In 2024, he played mostly in defence (averaged 20 disposals and 10 marks per game). In the last 3 games, he played key forward again and kicked 6 goals. Handy addition if we give up very little Playing forward in 2023 … https://www.afl.com.au/video/951845/vfl-showreel-r13-wade-derksen-highlights?videoId=951845&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1686969300001

@Lord Neville X Flash yes tough to compare to Ashcroft. O’Sullivan has had injury interrupted year so perhaps agility not at 100%. His VFL game shows a little more of what talent he has, with decision making, composure and skills and goalkicking His 2023 form (free of injury) as an underage player was as good as top 5 last year

Agree with you re Levi Ashcroft being clear number 1. Elite midfielder. Lions are very lucky “again” with father son picks. what’s the knock on O’Sullivan? He’s had a few niggling injuries this year so hasn’t shown his very best. But he has elite skills as a mid, is versatile, excellent evasive ability in packs, good build at 184cms. Can kick goals. His style of play is like LDU. IF he’s available at our pick “5”, he would have to be taken.

@58er under the thread 2024 Phantom Drafts, I had my update with Brew at #61. Late draft chance. Would like to see the Dees take him if available. Midfielder. Excellent left foot disposal. Tackles were real impact. Mature decision maker. Certainly has the ability to play AFL, and not just be depth or good at Casey. https://www.afl.com.au/video/1170533/vfl-showreel-r16-dom-brew-highlights?videoId=1170533&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1720836514001

Everyone seems in agreement that’s there’s no obvious number 1 or 2 or : … etc etc. up to about 10. Smith, O’Sullivan, Draper, Langford, Lalor, Reid. All are super talented in my view. All could be AFL stars. All could be number 1 really. They have excellent qualities. Are they perfect? No. Do they still need development? All youngsters do. Rare to find a Harley Reid or Nick Daicos. (Footnote…Levi Ashcroft will be an absolute star. As good as his brother).

From the SANFL, I think the best player suitable to pickup is Billy Cootee from Norwood. Has averaged about 25 possessions a game, excellent metres gained, good skills, hard at it plus can run and burst when needed. Kicks goals. Skipper of Western Jets in 2021. Had 2 years on Essendon VFL list (including every game in 2023) then transferred to Norwood at start of 2024. At 21, still can rise up. Perhaps a late draft pick https://www.afl.com.au/video/1216940/sanfl-showreel-sf1-billy-cootee-highlights?videoId=1216940&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1725772709001

Starred again v Stingrays alongside Reid and Ashcroft Absolutely going a bargain pick in the draft. Watch him in the GF.

Maybe the Dees could have members and supporters contribute or pledge towards the new training base, admin headquarters & social club centre. Buy A Brick type campaign with your name, family name or in memory of a loved one its been done by many many clubs here in the AFL, other sports clubs in Australia and throughout the world.

Clubs will do their required medical checks and due diligence. Lalor (Like O’Sullivan) has been impacted by injury but at his best, he is one of the very very best in the draft pool. If Langford, O’Sullivan, Smith and Draper all go before our pick, then either Lalor or Reid will be the most likely selection choices for the Dees.

@KC from Casey disappointing season out at Casey. Tough draw and tough scheduling. From this years squad, I would look to retain… Primary List Jack Bell 26.1.01. 203cm Leo Connolly 7.8.01 181cm Tyler Edwards 8.2.01 182cm Tom Freeman 16.4.99 188cm Roan Steele 22.10.01 182cm Mitch Szybkowski 9.1.04 186cm (add +4) having lost experience such as Munro, Grey, White , additional experienced players are needed !!! Development List: Category A Riak Andrew 17.12.05 194cm Paddy Cross 14.2.03 183cm Brayden Laplanche 30.11.05 189cm Ned Moodie 31.3.04 190cm Charlie Peters 26.7.03 182cm Kobe Shipp 12.5.05 188cm Ziggy Toledo 15.4.04 194cm Kai Windsor 27.1.04 180cm (add +6) Obviously the AFL listed players make up the majority of the Casey Demons playing group each game. Assume the “Casey” club needs minimum 24 players in the squad. Some young players (unlikely to be drafted but have shown talent and good develop with the right extra support) to try to bring onto Casey’s development group for 2025 but are Henry Hayes, Ben Hopkins, Charlie Orchard (stingrays) and Asher Eastham, Max Stobie, Max O’Donohue(power). thoughts?

I’d suggest there’s problems. Players rather go and play at Rosebud or Sorrento. Most under 18s going elsewhere

Because he’s marginal as a player !!! Been tried many many times and not quite shown enough

Barrass, 28, remains contracted to the Eagles until the end of 2029 Sam Mitchell’s men have offered him a contract worth about $800,000 a season to move from Perth to Melbourne. I am confused. Does that mean any contracted player is available if the deal can be done? The Eagles don’t want to lose Barrass but the hawks have seduced him into wanting a change, with the lure of more $$$$ being a prime driver. So can any player be approached irrespective of a contract ??? Hmmm

First offer … Derksen and GWS pick 49 for … MFC pick 45!!! Operation Dodoro style 🤣🤣🤣

Sam Lalor… youngster from Bacchus Marsh, attending at Geelong Grammar. We have to remind ourselves what a future star he will be. Plays like ? … Dustin Martin. Huge call. It’s a shame that’s he’s not going to be available in this week Grand Final for the Rebels v Sandy Dragons.

@Ted Lasso agree. A future star at “pick 5” then pickup another 3-4 players in this draft. This year imv there’s talent all the way through into the 40s,50s and beyond.

In 2023, 72 players were drafted through the national draft and rookie draft last year (excluding the rookie list top ups or AFL list downgrades to rookies). 40 of them had a debut in 2024. The talent and preparation of youngsters now means they can step up quickly. 2024 draft rankings update … (likely 1st round) 1 Finn O'Sullivan - Oakleigh⭐️mid/utility 2. *** Levi Ashcroft. Mid. ⭐️Brisbane match bid. Father son. 3. Harvey Langford- Dandenong⭐️tall mid 4. Sid Draper - Sth Adel ⭐️mid 5. Sam Lalor- GWV⭐mid/utility 6. Jagga Smith - Oakleigh. ⭐️Mid. 7. Murphy Reid - Sandringham. ⭐️Mid. 8. Xavier Lindsay - Gippsland⭐mid/hbf 9. Luke Trainor ⭐️Sandringham. Tall fwd/back 10.*** Leonardo Lombard.⭐️ Mid. Suns match bid - (Academy ). 11. Josh Smillie - Eastern. Tall mid. 12. Tobe Travaglia - Bendigo. Running mid/hbf 13. Harry Armstrong - Sandringham. Key fwd 14. Taj Hotton - Sandringham. Mid/hff 15. Jobe Shanahan - Bendigo (NSW) . Key fwd 16. *** Ben Camporeale. Mid. Glenelg SA. Blues match bid. ( father son). 17. Bo Allan - WA. Mid 18.*** Sam Marshall. Mid. Sandringham. Lions match bid. - Bris Lions academy 19. Joe Berry - Murray. HFF/mid. 20. Alix Tauru - Gippsland. tall fwd/back 21. Tom Gross - Oakleigh. Mid. 22. Alex Dodson- SA . Ruck ————————————————- (likely 2nd round) 23. Harry O'Farrell - Calder. Key back. 24. Cooper Hynes - Dandenong. Tall mid. 25. *** Isaac Kako. Small fwd. Calder. Ess match bid. - (Ess NGA) 26. Jack Whitlock - Murray. Key fwd 27. Jesse Dattoli - Northern. Mid/hff 28. Hamish Davis - Claremont WA. Mid/hff 29. Harrison Oliver - Sandringham. Tall def 30. Christian Moraes - Eastern. Mid. 31. Nathaniel Sulzberger - Sandringham/ Tassie. Mid. 32. Thomas Sims - Northern. Ruck. 33. Jonty Faull - GWV. Key fwd 34. Matt Whitlock- Murray. Key back/fwd 35. Lachie Jacques - Geelong. Running hbf 36. Kayle Gerryn - WA West Perth. Key back/fwd/ruck 37. Noah Mraz - Dandenong. Tall def 38. Angus Clarke - Glenelg. Hbf 39. Josh Murphy - Murray. Tall fwd 40. Charlie Nicholls - Central District SA. Tall fwd 41. *** Tyler Welsh . Key fwd. WWT eagles. Crows match bid. Father son. 42. James Barrat - Bendigo. Key defender ————————————————— (likely 3rd round) 43.*** Joel Cochran. Tall def. Sydney match bid (academy) . 44. Archer Day-Wicks - Bendigo. HFF. 45. Riley Bice - Werribee VFL. Hbf. 46. *** Luke Camporeale. Mid. Glenelg SA. Blues match bid. Father son. 47. Sam Davidson . Fwd. - RICHMOND VFL 48. Jack Ough - GWV. Tall mid. 49. *** Logan Smith . Ruck. GWS match bid. / GWS ACADEMY 50. Zane Cochrane - Oakleigh. Tall mid. 51. Clancy Dennis - WA. Key back. 52. *** Adrian Cole. Key def. Sandringham. Stk match bid. Stk NGA 53. Ollie Hannaford - Rebels. Small fwd/mid 54. Bailey McKenzie. Fwd. Sandringham 55.*** Louis Montgomery. Mid/hff. SA Nth Adel. Port Adelaide match bid. Father son. 56. Phoenix Hargrave. Mid. SA Sth Adel 57. *** Malakai Champion. Sml fwd. WA Subiaco. West Coast match bid NGA 58. Kade Herbert. Mid/hff. SA WWT eagles 59. Hugh Boxshall. Tall mid. WA 60. Luke Kennedy . Mid. Sandringham ————————————————- (Likely 4th round/rookies) 61. Dom Brew. Mid. Werribee VFL 62. Patrick Retschko. Hbf/mid. Oakleigh 63. Oliver Depaoli-Kubank. Running mid. Tassie 64. Lucca Grego. Mid/hbf. Western 65. *** Benny Barrett. Sml fwd. Sth Adel. Port match bid NGA. 66. Ned Bowman. HFF. Norwood SA 67. Cody Angove. Running mid. WA 68. Jasper Alger. Sml fwd. Oakleigh 69. Zak Johnson. Mid/hff. Northern 70. Cody Anderson. Mid. Eastern 71. Jaxon Artemis- WA. Running mid 72. Lucas McInerney. Mid. Northern 73. *** Cooper Bell. Tall def. GWS academy. 74. Nash King. Mid. Calder 75. Oliver Warburton. Hbf. Murray 76. Aiden Riddle - WA. Ruck. 77. Harry Charlson. Hbf. GWV 78. Luke Urquhart. Mid. WA 79. Damon Hollow. Mid. Calder 80. *** Lennox Hoffman. Hbf. Sandringham. Stk match bid. Saints NGA. 81. Jett Hasting. Hbf. SA 82. Keighton Matofai-Forbes. Fwd. Western *** Noah Yze. Mid/hff. Oakleigh. Dees. father son. *** Ricky Mentha. Hbf/hff. Dees NGA *** Riak Andrew. Tall def. Dees NGA.

Stringer. It’s no no no. And no no no.

MORRISH MEDAL (COATES TALENT LEAGUE BOYS BEST AND FAIREST) Xavier Lindsay (Gippsland Power) 21 votes Cooper Hynes (Dandenong Stingrays) 19 Jayden Nguyen (Calder Cannons) 18 Jagga Smith (Oakleigh Chargers) 18 Josh Smillie (Eastern Ranges) 17 Zak Johnson (Northern Knights) 16 Damon Hollow (Calder Cannons) 15 Tobie Travaglia (Bendigo Pioneers) 13 Isaac Kako (Calder Cannons) 12 Cody Anderson (Eastern Ranges) 11 Xavier Kardachi (Western Jets) 11 Harvey Langford (Dandenong Stingrays) 11

A deserved winner ⭐️Xavier Lindsay 👏👏👏 His class, skill and evasive ability would have been key reasons MORRISH MEDAL (COATES TALENT LEAGUE BOYS BEST AND FAIREST) Xavier Lindsay (Gippsland Power) 21 votes Cooper Hynes (Dandenong Stingrays) 19 Jayden Nguyen (Calder Cannons) 18 Jagga Smith (Oakleigh Chargers) 18 Josh Smillie (Eastern Ranges) 17 Zak Johnson (Northern Knights) 16 Damon Hollow (Calder Cannons) 15 Tobie Travaglia (Bendigo Pioneers) 13 Isaac Kako (Calder Cannons) 12 Cody Anderson (Eastern Ranges) 11 Xavier Kardachi (Western Jets) 11 Harvey Langford (Dandenong Stingrays) 11

SEN update Angus Sheldrick (Sydney) “He’s been a stand-out in the VFL since he got there, so the phone has rung a lot for him. “He would have options if he explored a trade. He played two games in 2022, seven games last year, but didn’t get a look in this year and he had a nasty ankle injury and concussion. “But he too is committed to staying for at least the final year of his contract next year. “We can put a line through him for now.” Ok … For now … Dees definitely need to be one of the teams on the phone to his manager

What’s your thoughts on the offer required? (Years? $$s??). Both would need to be sizeable.

Sorry. I’d like to offer 5 years !!!

Yes to Peatling (if he was available) Yes probably to Parfitt, Derksen Maybe to Membrey , Matt Kennedy, Owies Maybe but with a lot of due diligence: Malcolm Rosas (jnr) No to … Macrae, Daniel, Ross, Taberner, Cerra, Ladhams, Jack Martin, Marchbank, Hind, Sam Day , Haynes, Stringer, Darling