manny100

Given we have loaded up on mids the last few drafts and this trading period looks like we may go for talls with 3 and 10. Giving up our 2016 pick which is touted as a mids draft further indicates this. With Jamar and Fitzy delisted we need a couple more talls. Maybe a crash and bash Weideman? Callum Twoomey on AFL radio today suggests Weideman or Parish who is a game changer. I think we need a back up for Hogan - so I tip a KPF.

His Under 18 form was really good and he slippred in his draft year. I suspect that he will play a similar type role to Dean Kent who has been very injury prone. We really missed Dean Kent's pace, run, defensive pressure etc most of last season. Ben Kennedy should be a good performer and will be good insurance for Dean should he have further issues with his hamstrings or other injuries. Lets hope they can both be in top form and play in the same team!!!!

For a change we need some luck with injuries. If Kent can stay fit i think he will have a breakout season for us and provide some good run and carry speed plus defensive work. I think we are ok for defensive KP's but we should recruit a KPF in the draft. I see Callum Twoomey AFL website has both Weideman and Curnow around our pick 6.

Hmmmm, the Lions got pick 17 for Redden!!!!! I think Howe has more value, he certainly is way more versatile. Interesting to see what we get. We need to hope he nominates the GC - they will be knee deep in picks before this trade period finishes!!!!!

I would take him. Bigs are hard to get. If you trade for one you up big. So take one when you can. Mids are easier to get through the draft, trade and FA!!!! Hopefully Trengove recovers and gets back to best++. Petracca to come in, Kent back. Maybe Melksham and Kennedy. We have plenty of mids developing.

Conversion is a big issue for us as a team. See the Hawks kicking for goal today!!! Bail had a massive issue with conversion - missed to many gettable shots for goal. Can't afford that with limited touches. If Kennedy is better at conversion, ball use and accumulation then pick him up and give him a go.

Gary Buckenara on the AFL draft as talked has 6 'bigs' in his top 10. His reasoning is that they are hard to come by and this year they are good. He said Weideman has a bit of Pavlich about him but that clubs would want to make sure his injury is ok. Said Curnow could surprise. Rated Collins at 3 - said clubs would work on his agility. I would like us to pick up either Weideman or Curnow.

Well done Crossy!!! Looks like he will be kept on at the club in a development capacity next year.

I think he showed enough to suggest he will LIKELY BE A GOOD PLAYER. The coaches would have been happy and he should get another game next week. For list management purposes it was important to see what he and others such as Harmes, ANB can offer. It has a bearing on the types we may look to recruit during the happy season.

Salem's been ok this quarter

It takes some players 4 or 5 years for the penny to drop. The Toump must be one of them. Coaches obviously think he will turn out a good player - lets hope they are right!!

We certainly need some luck with injury. Lets hope Petracca, Frost and Trengove play really good footy next year. Kent has the breakout year we have been waiting for and we get some overall improvement from the 22. Salem, Brayshaw, Viney, Hogan have loads of room for improvement.

Put N Jones, Bail, ANB, Mitchie, Harmes and Brayshaw (he looks knackered) in the Hawks team and I bet they will drop off a heap - reality!!!!List wise we are a mile behind the bulldogs at the moment. Over the last few years they have scored big time with the draft and father/son. Our guys are young and hopefully will develop ok. The work Macca did at the bulldogs is underrated and hopefully he can help develop the kids to play at a high level. Probably should make a play for FA Stanton to shore up the midfield and give the young mids a bit more time to develop - will also allow us to use our 1st rounder in the draft. Getting hold of an experienced mid was really highlighted yesterday.

After that Q the AFL will be taking pee samplrs at the break.

Makes going all out for gun mid in the trading period a cert. Take Tyson and Vanders out and we are crap.

See below Knightmare's (from big footy) description of Christian Petracca. He compares him to a Dustin Martin type without the personal issues. Says he is ready season one - we will of course have to wait until season 2!! " 1. Christian Petracca (VIC – Mid/Fwd) Height:186cm, Weight: 92kg, DOB: 04/01/1996 Recruited from: Eastern Ranges Draft range: 1-2 Best position/role: Rotational midfielder/forward. Strengths: Front half talent –Petracca can play both deep in the front half as a marking target and off a forward flank to a high standard when playing forward. Deep in the front half Petracca provides strong scoreboard impact and is an imposing marking presence with his 1v1 strength, overhead marking ability, marking on the lead and superior ability to read the drop of the ball. He can deep in the front half also win the ground ball. Petracca can also play off a forward flank and have a big impact, he can on a forward flank accumulate the footy in bunches, do damage with his footskills, present as a strong marking target, provide strong scoreboard impact and push up the field. Midfield talent – Petracca is an improved midfielder this year having improved his endurance and decreased his skinfolds. He has a nice mix between inside and outside game. He is a very good contested ball winner and stoppage player and these areas of his game can continue to improve given his size and strength. He is a strong ground ball winner. He is a strong tackler. He also has a rare power to him not only with his strength to bully guys inside the contest but some real explosive power where he can burst through a contest, come up with the ball and break away from the contest at speed. He also has excellent evasiveness and can sidestep guys and burst away with some real explosiveness. Some of his work inside by hand finding targets also is impressive. Outside the contest Petracca shows that he can find the footy but also use it really well utilising his damaging footskills and vision allowing him to find damaging targets up the field. Scoreboard impact – Forward or through the midfield Petracca provides strong scoreboard impact and is capable of kicking multiple goals and breaking games open with his scoreboard impact in any given game whether that be from set shots or in general play. Strength and power – There are not many 92kg midfielders going around and even fewer with the explosiveness and power of Petracca. He wins his own ball and can either burst through the contest or run around you with ease. He stands up through tackles and has the strength through his core and hips, he can shrug tackles and give a strong don’t argue. In the 1v1 contests he can take advantage of anyone who is not key position sized making him a matchup nightmare. Versatility – Petracca because he can play not only through the midfield but also on a forward flank or deep in the front half as a marking target gives you options and this versatility should also help him receive immediate senior games on any team. Footskills – Has an excellent mix between footskills hitting his targets around the ground with consistency, vision allowing him to find some really damaging targets in great position but also he has the finishing ability and set shot goalkicking to allow him to make the most of his opportunities in front of goal. I have also enjoyed some of his kicks to target while tackled showing that even when tackled he can still execute and find his targets. Marking ability – Few if any medium size types have the marking ability of Petracca. He has the 1v1 marking ability, contested marking ability and ability on the lead to take his marks and he has the strength overhead to take them consistently. He also reads the drop of the ball exceptionally well and uses his body well in the contest allowing him to effectively protect the drop zone making him incredibly hard to defend particularly if he can isolate a smaller player defender deep in defence. Weaknesses: Endurance – His endurance is building and has improved significantly this year to an extent where he can play the majority of game time through the midfield, and his endurance testing at the combine was good but if he hopes to eventually become a full time midfielder he will still need to put a further few seasons of work into building that endurance base. Skinfolds – Like with his endurance his skinfolds have reduced but his skinfolds still appear relatively high and also need to decrease further. Decision making ability – Petracca’s decision making ability while good most of the time can at times can leave something to be desired. Both by hand and foot Petracca with his touches generally looks to do as much meaningful damage as he can but at times as a result of this he can fail to recognise his limitations which can lead to a poor kick or handball and an overall lower disposal efficiency than he might otherwise have. What I expect will improve:I expect Petracca to continue to improve his contested ball winning and stoppage work and take that area of his game from good to eventually excellent. I also expect his endurance and skinfolds to improve. I also imagine his disposal efficiency to increase as he improves his decision making ability and better learns when he can do damage and when he needs to go the safe option. Who he can become? I anticipate Petracca to develop into a player largely similar to Dustin Martin but without the personal issues. I see Petracca mostly playing as a damaging forward flanker at first who will at times push deeper into the front half splitting his minutes between playing through the front half and midfield with those midfield minutes increasing as he improves his ability up the ground. When will he be ready to play? Petracca is season one, round one ready to play. He I imagine will start off season one mostly playing in the front half and by season two or three likely play more a split between forward and midfield minutes. How to best utilise him? Petracca today is best utilised at the moment in the front half because he is just so damaging forward of centre. The hope will be that he becomes more a midfielder but I would look for him to split his minutes between the midfield and front half long term as he is a rare weapon forward of centre. Interpretation of his numbers: Petracca well and truly has the performances on the board and is one of if not the best performed player in this draft class based on his form these past couple of seasons through the TAC Cup and U18 championships. He is finding the footy but also providing heavy scoreboard impact at both levels which such suggests he will provide both a strong immediate impact at AFL level but also that he will become one of the best to come out of this draft with those high production power midfielders who can provide heavy scoreboard impact of strong value to teams."

We need to go all out for Trealor. ANB, Stretch etc need more time to develop - but should be good. Riley and Mitchie unlikely to improve enough to be top players - but stranger things have happenned, Newton??. But give them a chance over the remainder of the season. Need more games in Harmes. Salem could be a star - but needs to get games under his belt. Trealor would give us an instant lift. We also have Trengove and Petracca to come in next year - basically new recruits. Should give the mid and forward area an immediate lift with some injury and form luck. We also will have Frost back - basically a new recruit - could play CHB and free up McDonald for a forward role without to much compromis to the backline. Kent will also be basically a new recruit next year - looked like having a breakout season early on!!!!!!!! He has pace, strength and power and will be a big boost up forward - if injury free!!! Salem by the time he gets back in the seniors will have missed around 11+ weeks - should be a bonus next year. Another scenario however is to get a mid FA next year and pick up a tall KPP with our first rounder. Picking say a Stanton may be a risk with the WADA issue still to be resolved.

Performances like Tom's up forward are often one week wonders as was Jake Spencer against Geelong up forward. Having said that it would be worth trialling Tom for a few weeks as a third tall forward with Fitzpatrick coming in down back and Howe down back as well. One of either Hogan, Dawes or Tom gets the 3rd tall defender. Tom can run all day and also play high forward.

I think we will win around 2 or 3 more games and get a pick in the range 4 - 6. If we do not trade it for a high production gun mid I would like to see us draft a KPF. We hopefully have a fit Trengove back next year and Petracca should make an impact as a mid/medium forward. So for list balance a KPF would be good.

The usual suspects will be considered for moving on, M Jones, Bail, Terlich. Looks like it may be over for Jamar and we may see Toumpas offered up for trade - unless he turns it around soon. Roos/coaching team will want to see what Stretch, ANB and Harmes have to offer for the future before deciding on which way to go at trading/drafting - how long will it be before they are high production mids?). They will want to assess the chances of Trengove re-establishing his career. Don't forget fit and in form he can play inside and outside to a high standard. Petracca is another player who likely can come in and have an immediate impact in the midfield as well as forward. If all these players can come up then our midfield should be ok. Given the number of young players on our list I would favour either a trade for an established gun high production mid or if we cannot attract one use our pick on a young KPF (risking one is available at our pick). We probably need a young KPF to come through.

Best available will be the way to go. A young tall KPF would be good if available at our pick. It seems likely a number of tallish players will go top 10.

Its great to see ANB get a game. Probably as sub. He gets to show what he has got against some of the young Saints. Knightmare over on BF said he was season 1 ready so good luck to ANB.

Vandenberg on the AFL injury list is shown as TBC. What does that mean. Its 'London to a brick' its obvious but I can't see it!!

Hi all, some one requested some information on AND. See 'the King of draftings's' comments below sourced from Big footy. Knightmare had him rated at 21 and said he was season one ready. Anyway read, digest and comment. 21. Alex Neal-Bullen (SA Mid) Height: 182cm, Weight: 77kg, DOB: 09/01/1996 Recruited from: Glenelg Draft range: 20-50 Best position/role: Midfield on the ball. Strengths: Work by hand What most stands out with Neal-Bullen is his awareness in traffic to find the best player by hand, he will at times gamble looking for the opening but he typically finds the most damaging target. Inside game In addition to what Neal-Bullen does by hand he at stoppages is consistently in close, in the best positions to either win his own contested ball or to receive the inside ball to win the clearances. He had the highest clearance winning total through the U18 Championships and has shown at SANFL League level that he can also win the clearances. He has excellent contested ball winning numbers and is a terrific contested ball winner showing hardness at the footy, and a real cleanness at ground level. Endurance Neal-Bullen has among the best endurance of the midfielders in this draft and it is obvious watching how much ground he covers in game and how many contests he gets to. He is someone who just never seems to stand still in game really showing in game a terrific work rate. Season one ready Neal-Bullen has played and played very well at SANFL League level showing that he can compete against men and find and win his own footy against men which suggests that he can from season one play senior games if the opportunity presents. Versatility Although he by far and away is best suited on the ball through the midfield he has also spent time in the back half this season so while he probably will be more a pure midfielder he can as required be played in the back half. Pace - Neal-Bullen is not a plodder and can at times use his pace in game. He can provide some run and carry with ball in hand or break away from the contest and occasionally can get himself out of trouble in traffic to then get a handball off to a target or a quick kick away. Weaknesses: Footskills under pressure and decision making Neal-Bullen in traffic by foot will often just get the ball onto his boot hoping it hits a target, really at this stage just lacking composure. Because he gets so much ball in close making it a reoccurring theme and a constant frustration with his game but at times he can hit a meaningful target from these situations so he is someone who will go for damage over efficiency and it will be a learning process to know when to hit the meaningful target and when to go safe. Give him time and space through and his footskills while still slightly inconsistent are on the most part generally good mostly hitting his targets over a variety of distances, making better decisions and occasionally doing damage and even at times lowering his eyes, but on the inside he just needs that bit more composure and needs to take more time on his kicks than he does at the present time. Outside game At this stage Neal-Bullen finds a high proportion of his ball inside the contest and surprisingly despite his endurance and work rate he finds limited outside ball as someone who is very much an inside midfielder first at the moment. What I expect will improve: I mostly with Neal-Bullen anticipate the natural and continued improvement in the areas that he performs strongly in and specifically his inside game. Who he can become? Through the midfield Neal-Bullen is of similar quality and production to Anthony Miles. When will he be ready to play? Neal-Bullen has the ability to play as soon as season one and fit in at AFL level given his strong SANFL League performance. How to best utilise him? Neal-Bullen is best utilised on the ball through the midfield. Interpretation of his numbers: Neal-Bullens numbers have been exceptional both through the U18 Championships and at SANFL League level this season and is among the best performed players in this draft class. Through the U18 Championships he led all participants in clearances and was also one of the dominant contested ball winners throughout. What was troubling was troubling through the U18 Championships his low disposal efficiency of 54%. Through the SANFL at league level Neal-Bullen has shown that he can not only play at the level but also find strong numbers suggesting that he will be able to make the adjustment to playing at AFL level and if opportunity presents from season one. Knightmare, Nov 5, 2014

The reality is that injuries do matter when they reach a certain tipping point of 1st 18's. It helps when you have a relatively stable and relatively healthy 1st 18. Its an advantage if you are playing a team that has more 1st 18s' injured than you have. But things can change quickly and it also depends on the severity of injuries. A say 6 - 10 week injury robs a players of fitness, form etc whereas short term injuries generally have less self and team impact.