spirit of norm smith

Finals week 1 Stingrays won by 5 goals Harvey Langford. Best on ground again. 32 possessions. 15 kicks. 17 handballs. 5 marks. 4 tackles. 2 goals. Kicked the first goal of the game. Kicked first goal in the last quarter. He’s actually playing so well, he may actually shoot up to the #1 pick.

North can get Trainor with pick 2. He’s what they need. A taller player who can play back and set up attack or a marking forward who kicks goals. Dees should KEEP PICK 5 (as is). No splitting. @5 gets us at least either Langford, Lalor, Smillie. Based on current trajectory and baring injury, are all highly likely to become elite midfielders.

Absolutely farkkkkn yes !! Mids with first 3 picks. Casey and list is devoid of next level mids behind Petracca 29, Oliver 28, Viney 30. We would experiment with Riv and McVee which robbed us of our backline strength imv. Absolutely mids a Priority !!!!

I agree. He’s a quality player and unlucky not to be getting regular footy. Not sure MFC would offer an “automatic” inclusion though. It’s going to be hard to shake players out of the hawks but they will face a player squeeze at the end of next year. They will also find the $$$ tightening as they pay for guys like B$attle and B$arrass. Also will see higher $$$ into others. Get into Mitchell manager early that Dees are interested.

Definitely recruiters will lift Jesse Dattoli ranking in the 20s now. Another excellent games yesterday with 30+ possessions and goals. Best on ground again. Showed his skill and pace and goalkicking. Leading Knights midfield and has the decision making and class to make it in the AFL. If we get pick 25 off the Crows for ANB, then Dattoli has to be on the potentials sheet.

At least 8 players from the Dragons could be drafted. Another hugely talented team this year.

He was never going to play on the wing. That was fanciful. I liked him as a tall defender who reads the play, could play on big forwards and disposal was composed. Played on Lynch and McKay one year and kept both goalless. Would still have value to teams like Kangas and Crows in my view that need tall defenders.

6 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️Hore 5 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️Goldrick 4❤️❤️❤️❤️Mackin 3❤️❤️❤️Heath 2❤️❤️Pearce 1❤️Gillard

Sam McClure!!! Cop that !!!

Positive karma!! ❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙

Dees supporters everywhere !!!

SENSATIONAL NEWS. YES YES YES WE LOVE TRAC 💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️👏👏

Thanks DD36. Maybe we can develop Ricky Mentha and ANW as two small defenders in the next few years. With Salem ageing and Riv earmarked for more time in the midfield, there will be a role there in the near future.

The Go Home Factor. That little piece of the recruitment decision that surely must be considered when making a choice on draft picks. There is no denying it is demonstrated how risky it can be to recruit players from interstate. There was previously some discussion that it was riskier for interstate (non Victorian clubs) teams. I actually think it is now shown as more difficult for Victorian clubs trying to retain their interstate recruits especially from WA and SA. Or is it simply the lure of $$$s. Not necessarily in my view. For the Demons, we look back. Early days … Once the Crows came in, Todd Viney and Steven Stretch were on their radar. Both were loyal Demons and committed the club resisting offers. Earl Spalding left in strange circumstances He wanted to go home to the Eagles. The club said ok go. His manager then shopped interest and the Tigers and Blues were making offers. He went to the Blues and won a premiership. Andrew Obst went back to Port Adelaide after they came in. Scott Thompson. Went back to Adelaide after 4 years at MFC (40 games). Traded to the Crows as he wanted to go back for family reasons. Played 269 games over 13 years at the crows, including two time B&F winner. We know the others Jeff Farmer 😭 Jesse Hogan 😭 Luke Jackson 😭 Now … Alex Neal-Bullen 😭 Yes it does work both ways. We got Lever, Langdon & Jeff White as come back to Victoria players. Though Melbourne probably has had the least players brought back for this reason (famously missing out on Chris Judd due to $$ and brown paper bag ambassador roles). So we worry about Kozzzy, Riv, JVR, Petty, Sparrow, McVee, Tholstrup. Will they decide the lure of family or the surf will call them back home. Do we look ahead and look to prefer Victorian youngsters. This year most of the top 25 draft picks are Victorian. Probably 21 of the 25. So no shortage of talent. Is it a factor? The discussion continues…

Goodwin … early sign of his madness? The Age. October 2019. Adam Tomlinson is looking forward to some consistency in his playing role after being earmarked for a spot on the wing at Melbourne. The Demons recruit was unveiled at AAMI Park on Tuesday after joining the club as a free agent on a five-year deal on Monday. Melbourne have identified Tomlinson primarily as a wingman. Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin spoke about him playing a consistent role, and once games start, being cemented in that spot.

Andy Moniz -Wakefield played 12 of the 18 VFL games. In my opinion, he was our best player alongside White in 5 or 6 of those games as well as one of the best players in most other games. Very strange that he wasn’t in the top 10. Definitely one player who deserved promotion on his strong Casey performances.

VFL Top Ten Vote Count 1. Mitch White - 130 Votes 2. Roan Steele - 100 Votes 3. Matt Jefferson - 97 Votes 4. Oliver Sestan - 92 Votes 4. Bailey Laurie - 92 Votes 6. Kynan Brown - 86 Votes 6. Tom Fullarton - 86 Votes 8. Tyler Edwards - 85 Votes 9. Will Verrall - 75 Votes 10. Max Gregory - 74 Votes

Parfitt’s name is in the jar. Wait and see who and what’s available … then we may open the jar

No.

Caleb Windsor, Mckercher and Wardlaw will be the 3 best players from this group. Strange that Dempsey was so clear as the number 1. I think he’s okay but not exceptional.

I prefer Langford over Smillie, no doubt. However some foreboding that Langford may be on the Eagles radar. If so and he’s gone, it’s then a choice of Smillie or Lalor, which I am more 50/50 on the choice. Smillie has excellent foot skills and can kick 50metres easily. He wins the contested footy. He can distribute. All of these are demonstrated. The challenge is his defensive skills. He has been so good at winning the footy through his junior years, the AFL challenge is how you manage against other stars and “defend the footy”. Will he work hard without the ball. That’s his unknown for me.

More due diligence required in my view. We must be super super diligent in adding anyone. I like his goal sense and pace but there must be a reason that the Suns terminated his contract with a year still to run. Why are they letting him go ???? Rosas, originally from Darwin, was the first player to be signed by the Suns through their Darwin talent zone. He made his AFL debut in 2021 and quickly became known for his speed and goal-scoring ability. Over the years, Rosas became an integral part of the Suns’ forward line, playing 33 games and scoring 33 goals during his time with the club. The decision to release Rosas is surprising given his recent contract extension and the significant contributions he made to the team. His departure leaves a noticeable gap in the Suns’ forward line as they look towards the future. Rosas’ release raises questions about the Suns’ strategy moving forward and how they plan to fill the void left by his departure. The reasons behind the decision have not been publicly disclosed, but it marks a significant change for both Rosas and the Gold Coast Suns.

@leave it to deever I agree there’s a few more that would not be part of the future. But we have to keep them to honour contracts (Laurie, Billings, McAdam, Fullarton) or just to keep some sense of stability (which is crumbling quickly). It shows how quickly our depth has been eroded. We were tight for list spots and perhaps didn’t give JJ or Bedford the sense of security. Deakyn Smith also unlucky to go but we were limited for spots. Now as you mentioned, we could find plenty to delist !!!

Full stop. Good.

One kid out of Queensland that has improved this year is Ty Gallop. Plays key forward at local club Maroochydore in QAFL as a 17 year old. He’s not Jed Walter but can take pack marks, loves a goal and has physical presence even as a youngster. He can kick 45/50 metres easily. Records this year shows kicked 8 goals in 3 Coates league games for the Brisbane Lions academy, 4 goals in 2 Under18 championships games for Allies and Kicked 30 goals in 9 QAFL games for Maroochydore (including 16 in last three games of the year). Dominated the last game of the year versus morningside. He is unfortunately tied to the Lions academy but sure to bolt up recruitment lists. Not sure the Lions have ability to match as they will have invested heavily in Ashcroft and Marshall. Aggressive young key forwards are hard to find. Might not be top 50 but Dees have to find some gems with skill and some real toughness in their style. Reminds me of Logan Morris in style.