Roger Mellie

Cal Twomey's Phantom Form Guide: Top draft prospects' October ranking

Matthew Lloyd pumping up the tyres of Harry Armstrong (The Age): Harry Armstrong Haileybury coach and former Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd: “I’ve always said he’s the best mark I’ve seen come through in my time [at Haileybury], which is a big call … but since joining us as a year 10, he’s shown some amazing signs. “He’s very unselfish, hits the ball hard, and times his leads really well. Some [developing] key forwards can be quite placid, but he is aggressive as well and brings everyone down with him. “He’s worked extremely hard on his goalkicking, too. He used to be probably a 50-50 proposition, or even worse, but now he’s closer to seven or eight out of 10.”

Eth-dog's Phantom Draft: Round 1: Pick 1. Richmond: Sam Lalor (GWV Rebels, 187 cm, Inside Midfielder/Medium Forward). Who goes 1? I went Lalor as in the past few weeks it's felt as if there's more and more people thinking it'll be the powerful mid/forward for Vic Country. Some are comparing him to Martin and I think the Tigers won't pass that up. Pick 2. Brisbane: Levi Ashcroft (Sandringham Dragons, 179 cm, IM). North Melbourne bid pick 2, Brisbane match the 2013.6 with picks 27 (703), 34 (542), 42 (395) and 43 (378) and add a 4.4 point surplus. Brisbane probably live trade 27 at this point for more points but to win the flag and then secure arguably the best prospect of the year is great for the Lions, Levi will add to their forward rotation until he breaks into that midfield. Pick 3. North Melbourne: Finn O'Sullivan (Oakleigh Chargers, 182 cm, IM). Smith or O'Sullivan? The pair make a deadly combination and I struggled to separate the two here so essentially went with my gut on who was going to be taken first of the pair. Pick 4. Carlton: Jagga Smith (OC, 182 cm, IM). I honestly almost had him going at 1, but make no mistake, Smithnis a star of the future. His best is absolutely lethal and will likely impact for Carlton in round 1 if he ends up here. Pick 5. Adelaide: Sid Draper (South Adelaide, 180 cm, IM). I know it's a bit cloche for Adelaide to take the SA product but he's also the best player available at this point in a position of need. Rumours of him not wanting to play for Adelaide are exaggerated apparently but they may cause the Crows to look elsewhere. Pick 6. Melbourne: Josh Smillie (Eastern Ranges, 194 cm, IM). Where to go for Melbourne? They have some quality Young key forwards coming through, same with their defence. Given the tumultuous off season over Oliver and Petracca, adding a replacement could be wise. Pick 7. Richmond: Alixzander Tauru (Bendigo Pioneers, 194 cm, Key Position Defender). I ummed and ahhed over this one a bit. I think Richmond have a really good chance at setting up their spine over the next couple of drafts and Tauru as someone who is primarily a defender but can go forward as well is a prime xandidate for them, and I don't think he gets past the Saints Pick 8. Gold Coast: Leo Lombard (Burleigh Bombers, 178 cm, IM/SF). St. Kilda bid with pick 8, Gold Coast match 1240.8 points with picks 38 (465), 40 (429), 48 (302) and 58 (170) and gain a 125.2 point surplus. I think the Saints bid here because they need the midfielders to rise up the table and obviously Gold Coast traded out a raft of picks because of this guy so will definitely match. Pick 9. Essendon: Isaac Kako (Calder Cannons, 175 cm, Small Forward). St Kilda bid with pick 9, Essendon match 1175.2 with picks 29 (653) and 32 (584) and gain a 61.8 point surplus. I think St Kilda bid here because everyone knows Essendon match. Kako is tailor made for the bombers, the best small forward in the draft. I do think Essendon likely trade 28 and 31 out for a F1 at this point to trade back into the draft at some point around pick 15-20 as the rest of their picks can match this. Pick 10. St. Kilda: Xavier Lindsay (Gippsland Power, 183 cm, Outside Midfielder). Saints get a midfielder that has received multiple comparisons to Essendon captain Zach Merrett. St Kilda need to add class to the midfield and he's the classiest mid left. Pick 11. St. Kilda: Luke Trainor (SD, 194 cm, KPD). I think St Kilda need some Young key defenders coming through and Trainor is probably the best of this draft class alongside Tauru, who they were probably be hoping for here. Pick 12. Melbourne: Murphy Reid (SD, 180 cm, IM/SF). Reid and Langford was a genuine 50/50 at this point, Reid I simply think is the better player and adding the big bodied Amillie already makes me lean more Reid. Pick 13. Richmond: Harvey Langford (Dandenong Stingrays, 190 cm, IM/MF). I almost pulled the trigger on Langford at pick 7 but thought he was more likely to last than Tauru for the Tigers. Langford adds height and power to the Rixhmond midfield and forward line and is probably the perfect rotational piece for Lalor. Pick 14. Richmond: Harry Armstrong (SD, 195 cm, Key Position Forward). The best key forward of this class, I think taking Armstrong here is the obvious choice, he can take a mark, solid set shot and is the man for them in my opinion. Pick 15. West Coast: Bo Allen (Peel Thunder, 191 cm, Half Back/IM). More class is needed off half back for the Eagles and Allen more than provides that, and he could well end up in the mids down the track too. Pick 16. Port Adelaide: Matt Whitlock (Murray Bushrangers, 199 cm, Key Position Utility). Hard to say when Whitlock goes but I think Port really really need to bring in a key defender and that's honestly where I see Whitlock ending up. Pick 17. Brisbane: Sam Marshall (SD, 185 cm, HB/OM). Fremantle bid with pick 17, Brisbane match 820 points with picks 44 (362), 54 (220), 59 (158) and their 4.4 Point surplus, go into a 75.6 point deficit for 2025. I think Freo bids because a classy half back who can impact straight away will help in their September push but Brisbane probably get a pick upgrade here to cocer off this small deficit. Pick 18. Fremantle: Tobie Travaglia (Bendigo Pioneers, 187 cm, HB). Travaglia is the perfect guy for Freo as a half back who can run and carry and kick the ball really well, so I feel like if he lasts to this point he's not gonna get passed up here. Pick 19. Greater Western Sydney: Tom Gross (OC, 181 cm, IM). The next mid off the ranks, and the area the Giants most need. Mids are really important for GWS, having lost Peatling without a direct replacement. Pick 20. Greater Western Sydney: Hamish Davis (Claremont, 190 cm, MF/IM). Davis is an interesting one, he is very talented but is he a forward or mid? I lean forward but he could well end up as a very food mid. Pick 21. Western Bulldogs: Joe Berry (MB, 180 cm, SF). Late? Yeah, but the only spot I honestly see him going earlier than this is the Tigers last brace of picks. Pick 22. Richmond: Jobe Shanahan (BP, 194 cm, KPF). Jobe Shanahan can seriouslymplay, as shown by his 11 VFL games in 3 games. He and Armstrong could make a very dangerous combination in the future if it works out this way. Pick 23. Sydney: Jack Whitlock (MB, 199 cm, KPF). I think this probably gets traded but Whitlock is a very good player and if they keep the pick, he'd be the right one to pick. Pick 24. Richmond: Taj Hotton (SD, 182 cm, SF/IM). Hotton here allows the Tigers to somewhat replace Bolton but not as good, the kid can add a lot to their side if they haven't traded out. Pick 25. Greater Western Sydney: Harrison Oliver (SD, 181 cm, HB). I think more class off half back is something they need to address, plus he's probably the best available at this pick too. Pick 26. Sydney: Angus Clarke (Glenelg, 188 cm, HB). Again, I think this pick gets traded but Clarke adds some class off half back for the Swans. Pick 27. Richmond: Alex Dodson (Sturt, 203 cm, Ruck). How do you cap it off? The best ruck in the class is a nice way to round out day 1 with two key forwards, a key defender and plenty of mids, this seemed the natural choice.

Turning up in a Melbourne jumper would have been a good start 🤞

Mahoney left Essendon because he clashed with Dodoro. Do you really think Mahoney was the problem there?

Running over the same old ground, what have we found?

Yeah, it was discussed on SEN this arvo by Josh Jenkins and Adam Cooney plus another dude. He's apparently asking for $700Kp.a on the back of one decent season. The above rated him at 400-500K, hence the lack of interest.

Nice try by Pies but would GC get enough points for Lombard if they entertained that?

Gold Coast holds pick 41. That looks a bit closer to the mark. Pick 13 ha ha ha

I've been thinking similarly if we have a pick in the right range. I like the timing and the fact that he'll have great mentors with Campbell and Gawn. I'd be happy for Dodson and Verrall to have a shoot-out for the spot. Verrall's height is a concern and IMO, he doesn't make up for it in other ways (eg. mobility, marking or kicking). I like his handballing and follow-up after a ruck contest but I'll reserve judgement until he's reached peak fitness, hopefully this preseason. Can anyone offer insight into Dodson beyond the highlights reel?

I wasn't there but totally agree. I thought Goodwin's speech was spot on, particularly the pointed comments. I saw the amusing irony when a couple of the players followed him with - I'm here to win a flag! I might add, it's a bloody hard sell asking players to 'fall in love with the process.' I get what he means and believe in his message but it sounds a bit like asking you to fall in love with bookkeeping or admin (with apologies to the fine bookkeepers and administrators on this site). Maybe there's a better word for it?

I think his talent lies in giving his opponent the Jimmy Grits. That's about it. Oh and he has a huge tank.

Their list manager (can't remember his name) was on Gettable about a month ago and mentioned what a bargain Toby Bedford was. Perhaps they are going back for seconds and trying to ramp up the price. My preference is that they GAGF.

When it's all said and done, I can't see how the club comes out of this without looking like a steaming pile! They either: a) lose the support of a lot of members by shipping Clarry to Geelong for sod all or, b) lose supporters/credibility by retaining him and setting themselves up as a cultural mire target for years to come. On top of this, the media is applying maximum pressure to feed their narrative/create new headlines. Hard to take

Jeez I'm sick of all this [censored]! The laughable thing is all this is happening smack-bang in the middle of a review. Lucky Pert has exempted himself from it. The icing on the cake would be to get bent over by Andrew 'Dedoro' Mackie if the trade request is true. I need to find my MFCSS pills.

That's heartening!

Potentially shooting themselves in the foot with Rievoldt's three sons.

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Fixed - a decent rumour requires a decent player!

We need speed in our midfield and he hasn't got it.

I agree that Toiges could be trouble but I'm not sure they're going to part with 21 and 22 for 15 unless they have someone in mind. They need to fill a lot of holes on that list with the number of players jumping ship.

Please let him get to Collingwood 🤞

I reckon Bedford would have been a walk-up start to our best 22 in 2024 and that it was part of our plan. We offered him a competitive contract so clearly weren't trying to offload him. I think he's an excellent pressure player and has that rare combo of being speedy and an endurance beast. He's also performed well as a tagger. The major downside is that he's a small forward who can't kick for [censored].

Hope so

What does it say?