Davos

Brisbane has one midfielder who you'd classify as an elite kick (McCluggage), and even then he is probably still more of a wingman than an out and out mid. The Brisbane mids are all stoppage guns, and that's where they killed Sydney on Saturday. Having said that, we do need better users in the back half. They're the guys pulling the trigger on the 20-35m corridor kicks, and outside of McVee we are devoid of talent in that area. Bowey hasn't developed, Howes has yet to prove himself, Salem is practically a corpse at this point and Rivers is an overrated user who is now probably a full time midfielder anyway. I'd say the club has identified this, hence the pursuit of Houston. Not sure if anyone fits the bill in this year's draft - seems to be a lot of mids, small forwards or key position players.

Take it to the bank if Twomey is reporting it. Thanks for the many memories Claz. Praying those in charge know what they're doing (not confident).

The Harmes deal was a mistake, and likely contributed to this decade's poor track record of AFL recruitment and the depth erosion we've seen post premiership. You can't pay role players overs (speculating in Harmes' case) on long deals when you already have 4/5 guys on top end coin - go and find yourself a Tom Atkins on $100k if you need a defensive minded midfielder who's never going to be a needle mover.

We should be taking a close look at this kid with the ANB pick. Given his performances since moving from half back to the forward line, and how valuable small forwards have become in modern footy, he may not even be available at pick 25.

It doesn't need to be verified by Petracca or his team to still be true. He's obviously not going to publicly state he wants/wanted out, without first lining up a move to his preferred club.

Tom Morris has nailed everything relating to the CP saga. Hate him all you want, but you can't deny he gets good mail.

Very normal stuff Christian...

Nice summation. Seems worth the punt. Don't think we'll be giving up a second though - probably only worth a later pick given he's never featured at AFL level.

And he takes home the Liston. Great stuff.

Can't question his work ethic or determination - bloke is an animal. Pretty unlikely a late 20s, 5'11" athletically limited pure midfielder gets picked up unfortunately. He was BOG again today in the prelim. Mannagh has pace on his side, and hit the scoreboard. He's a better version of Kade Chandler.

I love Dom Brew, but don't think he'll get any real AFL interest. Jack Riding is the one that I've been told has attracted some enquiries from AFL clubs, as well as Bice.

Barrass and Battle are both proven AFL players. Sheldrick is not, although I would like to see us go after him.

You might have him at 20, but Cal Twomey thinks he's shot himself into top 10 calculations. I could see us liking Langford, Lalor and Draper - but there's a chance they all go before pick 5. What then? I personally wouldn't draft Jagga, and I'm lukewarm on O'Sullivan. Lindsay isn't a top 10 calibre prospect for mine. I love Reid but understand his potential limitations at AFL level. Twomey also mentioned on the most recent Gattable podcast that Ough is probably a top 30 guy. Whether he's the right fit for our midfield mix would be the question.

General consensus on here seems to be that we must go midfielder with pick 5, but I wonder whether JT and Goodwin will look at Alix Tauru as a prospect we could't possibly pass up on. We know we always look to competitiveness as a key trait when drafting, and he seemingly has it in spades. Can't say key defender (or potentially forward) isn't a need for us as well - May and TMac are both the wrong side of 30 and we seem committed to keeping Petty forward. JT has also shown a willingness to take a bolter high in the draft - Clarry, Jackson and even Windsor last year to an extent were all taken higher than expected. We could then look to draft midfield depth later on. Jack Ough interests me as an option in the 20s.

Agree with everything (I'll probably be wrong).

This guy is pure silk - footy IQ and hands are off the charts. Will his lack of size and explosiveness hurt him at AFL level, or will his smarts help him overcome those limitations?

Jack Riding at Werribee has had some interest from AFL clubs this season. He's also a very good cricketer.

That's not Sam Lalor, that's Cam Rayner.

I'd take those in bold, assuming we could get them for a bag of potato chips.

I know statistically a couple of these guys won't pan out, but that's a quality list of mids (not even accounting for Smillie). Not sure there are any talls worth taking that early, unless we love Trainor and think he can play early as a TMac / eventual May replacement.

Which would be your preference, accounting for our needs DS? I reckon Lalor waxing with Petracca as a FWD/MID early on would be pretty damaging, although Draper would bring an entirely different profile to our midfield mix.

Sam Lalor screams Melbourne midfielder. We should have some great options available at pick 5.

Has that been reported? I've only read that we were the sole Melbourne based team willing to offer two firsts. Thank god Houston appears to have saved us from ourselves.

But I was told on here that he has been lacking effort, and is lazy? Weird.

What's the big call Mark? Drop him? Who's coming in and performing better? Trade him? For what? Assuming he isn't still an off field liability, the club and sensible supporters know exactly why his output is down. It shouldn't take much work for someone who's paid to cover the game to realise why that might be, either.