Just quickly chose Mitch Brown then realised he is injured!
I am a ■■■■.
Bargey not texted per instructions.
Pick 184. Phil Davis (GWS)Decent get at 184 if he scores like last game.
Bargey not texted per instructions.
Face book messaged, but looks like he’s at Adelaide fringe atm
Time for the traditional introduction of the draftees to the fans.
That’s TrevorBix, the sole member of High Fyfe, and he couldn’t make it back from Taswegia in time (or at least, that’s what he said), so I’m really introducing the draftees to an empty room.
Maybe room is a bit generous. Btw, PM me if you want some photoshopping done.
Pick 11: Mitchell Hibberd (BC, North Melbourne)
Oh wait, not Michael Hibberd? Damn. Not sure why I picked this bloke, think I got confused because of the plethora of B-list draftees available. Norf appear to have deluded themselves into thinking they’re a premiership contender, so I’d be surprised if they played any of their young guys for a while.
Pick 29: Harry Cunningham (FC, Sydney)
Desperately needed a decent scoring forward but instead picked up this absolute hack. Will likely rack them up in the NEAFL against teenagers who are surprised that they’re allowed to pass the ball forward.
It is rumoured that Sydney are already thinking of trading Cunningham to Cobram FC in return for this potato
Pick 47: Nathan Krakouer (B, Port Adelaide)
Read something about how good he’s going to be this season and assumed Barge would snap him up at 55 with his Port Adelaide fetish. But now he’s injured, and even when he’s fit he only averages 50 odd.
Pick 51: James Harmes (F, Melbourne)
Would be the 54th best player at Hawthorn, but he’s probably in the Demons’ top 10 (only slightly joking). Look for him to disappoint in rounds 1-3 and spend the rest of the season languishing in the VFL.
Pick 65: Nick Suban (C, Fremantle)
I’m in an abusive relationship with Suban. Try as I might to get rid of him, he always comes back, and I always let him.
Pick 83: Luke Partington (C, West Coast)
Didn’t really need a speculative pure mid, but Partington could be OK. Like Hibberd, unlikely to get any games until the year two thousand and never.
A generic photo of the distant future, when Partington will play his first AFL game
Pick 101: Josh Walker (F, Brisbane)
He’ll get games because Brisbane are rubbish, but then he’ll probably forget what a football looks like playing at full forward in that team.
Pick 118: Tom Cole (BC, West Coast)
Like the look of this guy - averaged 25 disposals or so in TAC cup, and didn’t disgrace himself in a few outings for Geelong’s VFL side. Obviously you guys all agreed with me which is why you let him get to pick 118.
Pick 121: Sam Day (BF, Gold Coast)
Flexibility with this pick - he can get his season-high 37 points in the backline as well as the forward line.
Pick 167: Taylor Garner (F, North Melbourne)
This guy plays like a young Nat Fyfe, according to good judges. Well, judges anyway. OK then, North fans. Idiots, in other words.
The only comparisons that should be made of Taylor Garner and Nat Fyfe is ‘Taylor Garner will never be as good as Nat Fyfe’
Pick 183: Reilly O’Brien (R, Adelaide)
Would have picked a ruck earlier but they were all completely rubbish so got stuck with this guy. Probably won’t play a game, but at least he’s not the worst player ever to be on a BBFFL#2 list (that’s Matthew Watson, who wezza drafted last year, just in case you needed a reminder wez).
Looking forward to fluking a few wins over the rest of you, and losing to everyone else as normal.
Pick 184. Phil Davis (GWS)Decent get at 184 if he scores like last game.
I was tossing up between 3 of my old defenders and that last game swayed my decision.
Best draft review I’ve read.
Awesome.
Genuine lols.
Cbh with the sick burn! Truth hurts. Lol.
CBH that is genius. It will make my boring plain write up tomorrow seem exactly that - plain and boring.
Also what has Cobram footy club done to deserve Cunningham? More out of curiosity given they play against my hometown.
rightio, here’s how it played out for me (slight recap on the early picks)
Saracens Football Club.
Draft wrap, 2016.
Pick 1. Aaron Francis.
Having decided very late in trade period to trade for pick 1, and with picks 4 and 5 already “in the bag”, i took the view that looking at the three picks as a package was the way to go. ie - come out of the first 5 with three types of players rather than necessarily three specific players. It was also apparent that trading out Jack Steven was a short term step backwards and as such needed to “fix” a problem long term. In my mind, this was the backline. Walker had come in via trade but even if he works out it doesn’t provide a long term foundation. Harry Taylor is slowly fading as a big FF scorer. And so somewhere in the early picks I had to nail down a top defensive prospect. Which basically meant Weitering or Francis. If pick 1 had stayed with Silly Billy, i thought there was a real chance that one or both could be taken in the first three. Result- get pick 1 and have the choice. After much pondering the day before the draft, I settled on Francis. It was ability to win one-on-one footy as much as anything that sold me for FF purposes. The footage seemed to show a kid who could win contested marks, run with the footy, link up, get involved at stoppages and play forward with big results. Dual position eligibility just added icing to the cake.
Doubts: He may take a little bit of time, but as a package he suited my needs perfectly for the years ahead. Late update: having now seen his VFL practice match, i am content. His ability to have multiple involvements in handball chains through smart follow-up positioning looks very promising for scoring potential.
Rivals: It was he or Weitering. I decided that Weitering may be the better defender outright, but may not score as highly and won’t earn F status.
Pick 4. Jacob Hopper.
Locking on Francis at pick 1 may have cost me Weitering, or the highly rated Mills but i was sure it would leave plenty of midfield options for 4 and 5. I was very confident that either way, Hopper would be on the table. Parish was always going to be tempting on a Dons forum. Mills was rated by many at Pick 1. If my guess that others in the top three would want a defender was correct then it was almost impossible to see Hopper taken at 2 or 3. Once Paz went with Schache i was home free. Two of Weitering, Parish, Hopper and Mills had to be mine. I’d settled on Hopper really early. As early as the NAB draft. Of all the mids, he was target No1. A bit like Francis, i put a lot of currency on his contested footy ability - and his is exceptional. He can do more or less anything, although isn’t exceptionally fast. Big scoring potential as a junior, solid build. huge wraps from all and sundry. North Ballarat rave about him.
Doubts: GWS have stupid amounts of talent. Hard to believe but Hopper may have to follow Jack Steele’s pathway and play a minor role in year 1.
Rivals: tbh, there wasn’t one. I could defer the decision making to pick 5! I wanted Hopper, i got him.
Pick 5. Callum Mills.
I wasn’t at all surprised that Cafe took Parish at 3. It felt inevitable. And in a way it helped me out. I could live with leaving Weitering behind. But to leave either the young Bomber or the kid many thought was the best prospect in the field on the table was a recipe for life-long regret, lol. With Darcy gone, things became far clearer. Who would i have chosen? I genuinely, sincerely, don’t know. At any rate, the point was moot. Mills was there, which in a way was hard to believe. I rated Hopper higher, but pretty much every draft and junior footy watcher had Mills as the best player available- or at very least the best midfielder. With Steven gone, the midfield stocks needed a boost and Mills is perhaps more likely to get plenty of games in year 1 than Hopper. I spent 10 minutes tossing up another option (see Rival) but ultimately I couldn’t NOT pick him.
Doubts: Should i get another defender instead? That was really all i could come up with. Should play and play often. Late update: has looked good so far and may pick up a “B” position as well. Which would be very very useful.
Rival: Weitering. get him, add to Francis and hopefully have the core of a backline for 8 years to come. It was tempting in a way. But the midfield looked a bit thin and i wanted to keep Merrett forward until he loses F eligibility next year. I also liked Keays but he was never seriously considered this early. Ultimately, I was comfortable to leave the top 5 with the Dual Position defender and arguably two of the best three mids.
Pick 22: Blake Acres
I had my fingers crossed through the first round hoping for one of Hibberd, Keays or Matho to magically slide through. Alas, it wasn’t to be. I wasn’t impressed that League 1 brought all three to public notice first, lol. In reality, none were liely to make it through anyway. So i changed tack to an extent. The midfield still looked bare, particularly with the shift to 7 C’s. I went looking for an experienced midfield point scorer but none jumped out. Then i turned to a list of possible “breakout” contenders and this is where Acres appeared. A ball magnet as a kid, and now with multiple preseasons under his belt, this is the time where some players make the jump to top notch. Its a bit of a gamble but he’s definitely got the talent to score well. Plugged him in and moved on to working out what the cluster of picks in the late 30’s would need to net. Interestingly this pick heralded a whole run of picks by the League of similarly rated “experienced” players. The draft pool was just that kind of polarised field this year.
Doubts: the cancellation of the Lions/Saints game threw a spanner in the works. I would have liked to have seen an extra score / role. And you always worry trying to predict a big increase in output from average young players.
Rivals: I looked at Keiran Lovell here. pretty closely actually. But i didn’t like his chances of cracking into the Hawthorn midfield this year and i felt i needed someone who’d play. Will Langford was also a chance to be re-drafted.
Pick 36. Rory Atkins
By this selection, Langford had gone and the “kid” i would have considered - Curnow- was also taken. The aim here was to get more midfield depth from at least one of the three close succession picks. Atkins was similar to Acres, a chance to step up into a useful scoring option. Even better, his first two NAB cup games produced very good scores. More mids meant Merrett and Steele could accompany Stringer up front. So i grabbed him.
Doubts - Adelaide worry me in terms of Don Pykes “favourites” not really being sorted yet. But two NAB matches suggested he’s going to get first crack (until he got on the piss and got suspended!!! grrr).
Rivals: CEY could have been taken here but again i was unsure of the Crows round 1 makeup. I also started looking at Townsend as a possible bankable mid.
Pick 37. Jordan Roughead.
The obvious here was another mid. But i had in mind the need for a ruck cover at some point and was happy to consider one in these three picks if it solved a later dilemma. Roughead appealed a bit when i started looking at him, as much for his dual B rating. It gave some coverage in both area’s. I saw him play Vfl last season and he spent time in the ruck and also pushed forward for a couple of goals. With Talia’s departure and Minson’s uncertain status with Beveridge i think he will get games. Which is all i need, i hope never to play him.
Doubts: this is a positional pick, not completely sold on his prospects or scoring range.
Rivals: i looked at Andrew Phillips here and was tempted. But Kruezer looks fit and i think Phillips is maybe still a year away. Brooksby scored ok in the Nab match and was floating somewhere in my thoughts.
Pick 40. Jacob Townsend.
Picks 36, 37 and 40 all occured on a day where i was stretched thin at work, trying to have a concrete prep done for the pour early the next morning. Then a core hole was run through a live conduit and i had a repair to deal with as well. Townsend was basically a default pick as the leftover from Pick 36 to not hold up the draft too much. The fact that Richmond chased him via trade suggested theyd give him opportunities. Another midfielder with some preseasons behind him looking for opportunity. His Nab scores were promising.
Doubts: winning enough of the ball, fringe 22. Laying 10 tackles per game probably keeps him in Dimma’s good books, but i’m hoping he can post some 20 possession games too. Hoping.
Rivals: Lovell still appealed. Ryan Clarke was another on my diary page. But i stuck to the more mature path. With Knight and Atkins on the roster, id moved away from CEY. In truth, i didnt think much for this pick.
Pick 76. Jonathon Simpkin.
Having to sit through two full rounds saw a few names leave the list. Lovell went, as did Wilson, CEY and Dunkley. But It also gave me time to sit down and look my players to see what was missing. I was uneasy in hindsight about the late 30’s picks and whether i’d gone wrong. Clarke was still there, but by now i wasnt convinced Atkins or Townsend were locks to play most weeks and went looking for someone who might be. I was concurrently compiling names for Wob to consider in League 1 during his hospitalization , one of whom was Simpkin. Further investigation revealed that Simpkins 2014 numbers were heavily impacted by the sub vest. In games where he was given four full quarters, he averaged a very healthy 90! Well, the vest is gone, he has a premiership medal to flaunt and imo will be one of the top-ups to play most weeks. To round it off, he is C and F eligible. I couldn’t really have asked for more. I then had to hope he got through, which he did. I left feeling much happier with the list and its flexibility after pick 76 than before it. Particularly with Beams still under an injury cloud.
Doubts: essendon arent hawthorn 2014. No guarantee he gets up around the tonne with us with a younger group around him.
Rivals: I ruled out Clarke, wanting a more certain player. I started to consider various Essendon players, who made sense from a will-play viewpoint. Crowley and Stokes the main ones. Crowley went two picks prior.
Pick 94. Tom Phillips.
Id honed in on Phillips early in the draft as a possible late pick. An over ager in the TAC Cup with excellent numbers and competitiveness. By now i felt more comfortable with another kid, but even so Phillips is a little more advanced than some draftees. Dual role appealed too.
Doubts: Will he be Tom Langdon or spenc much of the year in the ressies whilst Collingwoods trade recruits get the limelight?
Rivals: i had a real hankering to draft Thomas Cole at this point. WC unlikely to throw him many games though. Sam Grimley was close.
Pick 109. Ryan Burton.
A pure gamble. “Too early” is meaningless when your draft is finished at 109 but you also dont want to waste a pick. The only info i could find is that he’s training with the main group and hawthorn training watchers are hailing his skill and finesse. Certainly a massive talent pre-injury.
Doubts: The injury. that simple. even if he plays, Hawthorn may let him get through the year at Box Hill on modified program. then again, they might inject him with every concoction under the sun, be hailed as innovative career savers by the same cretins who damned us as mad scientists and get him up and running again.
Rivals: as of now, i regret this pick. I had actually settled on Jackson Ramsay as a promising running defender. I changed at the last minute to Burton. Time will tell but i suspect i’ve mucked up. Tom Cole was also left on the table, somewhat regretfully. Bailey Rice was only ruled out when i found he had glandular fever. The feelgood pick would have been Will Hams.
Possible Round 1 side:
Backs: A. Walker, M Gleeson, B Sheppard, O Fantasia, H Taylor
Centres: B Gibbs, C Ward, J Simpkin, C Mills, J Townsend, R Atkins, B Acres
Forwards: J Stringer, Z Merrett, J Steele, S Lycett, D Lang
Ruck: S McKernan
injured/not ready: D Beams / A Francis
bench: J Hopper, J Roughead, T Phillips, C Ellis, W Hoskin Elliott, R Knight, J Anderson, C Smith, R Burton, H Goddard,
Its a young side, badly needs Beams back in it and will likely be inconsistent in its scoring. But i suspect the first three forwards named are going to bring some joy this season and there is genuine potential on every line plus the bench. If Knight gets named for the Crows then Zerrett goes midfield.
I have faith that Raz and Glees will add to their averages this year and if Francis comes through then the defensive weakness will be no more.
An Interesting season looms.
well done CBH. Outstanding!
Bargey not texted per instructions.Face book messaged, but looks like he’s at Adelaide fringe atm
Wez be stalking me. Yep, was out getting my quota of full frontal male nudity for the year, more ■■■■■ on display tonight than at an umpire’s convention.
And like that we’re done, fine work everybody, we seem to be getting it done in shorter periods each time these days.
Boakie’s Betrayal 2016 Draft Round Up
Predicting somewhat of a premiership hangover for my boys this year, there is no way my team will be as strong as it finished last year. I didn’t lose anyone vital to retirement etc, but lost maybe 5 guys getting regular games last year, and without having a pick in the first 3 rounds was never going to be able to replace their quality. That said I picked up some gems after Pick 100 last year in Schneider, Bruce & Dickson so hopefully I have some struck some similar gold this year.
Ideally I would have traded some players to get back into the top end of the draft but just didn’t have time to do so, that will hurt me this year and beyond, and because I didn’t get to watch or read anything about footy before the draft I was pretty much stuck with going for proven performers over any type of random prospects. I tend to go for guys who get regular games because I think average scoring players who actually play have more currency than potential future greats who don’t get many games. Also positional changes meant I was left with a decimated backline so that’s where most of my picks went.
Pick 55: James Gwilt B
Suspect he’ll get a lot of the footy this year just because the footy is going to spend a lot of time in Essendon’s backline. If I can get anything over a 65 average I’ll be very happy with him.
Pick 72: Jarrad Waite F
He’ll be up and down all over the place, IF he stays fit I can expect some 100s and some 30s. I think the Roos will be pretty good this year so he should do ok, and I need cover for Roughy’s absence for awhile. He’ll allow me to move Barlow / S. Gray & Zorko into the middle if I’m light on in there.
Pick 90: Ben Reid BF
Started to show some good form late last year, and has had a good preseason so hopefully can finally live up to his potential. BF Might come in handy though I suspect he’ll be playing down back for me most of the time.
Pick 108: Scott D. Thompson B
I can’t stand this guy, so I’m ashamed at myself for picking him. But he plays every week, his scores are very consistent and if the Roos do well he’ll likely get a fair few easy possessions.
Pick 124: Kyle Cheney B
Had this bloke on the list last year, I think he’ll get even more of a run with the Cows this year. Seen him play a bit and I rate him, how much of the footy he gets is yet to be seen.
Pick 125: Josh Hill F
Can normally count on him to play every week and get a goal or two a game, so should add good depth to my forward line will I don’t have Roughy. Hopefully West Coast continue to smash some teams and there’s lots of ball getting down there for him to feast on.
Pick 141: Xavier Ellis B
Isn’t as old as I thought he was, another consistent performer. Will keep a close eye on him to make sure old age isn’t setting in. Won’t hesitate delisting him, sometimes it’s good to have some expendable players at the bottom of your list.
Pick 142: Jackson Ramsay B
Exceeded my expectations in the first few rounds last year before he got hurt and wasn’t sighted again. When I saw he was named for NAB 3 and was still available I jumped at him, he can find the footy, and he could get midfield time in future.
Pick 159: Jarman Impey B
Traditionally not a great scorer, but I suspect he’ll get more regular footy this season, he’s looked in great touch in the NAB. Gotta have at least one new Port boy on the list each year, wouldn’t have selected him if Wez had of traded me Boaky.
Pick 160: Josh Thomas FC
Wez thinks I’m a ■■■■■■■■, but this kid averaged 75 over his first two seasons including several stints in the green vest, and had 5 scores over 100, 3 of which were over 125 in his first 35 games. Have no doubt he’ll be back on the Pies list next year, so I don’t mind having him sitting taking up a roster spot this year. I think my squad has enough depth to waste one. Worst case I delist him, there certainly wasn’t anything better than him still available this late in the draft. It’s a punt, it might pay off massively or it might bite me in the ■■■■.
Pick 185: Dean Kent F
Seems to be playing ok this preseason, played all 3 NAB games so he might come in handy down the bottom of the list if I cop a few injuries.
Guys I’m disappointed were taken just before some of my picks:
Cam-Ellis Yolmen, James Frawley, Jarryd Lyons, Nathan Broad, James Sicily, Mitch McGovern, Dean Gore, Blake Hardwick, Tom Keough & Jake Kelly
I doubt I’ll be putting up regular 1600s like late last year, but my squad definitely has more depth this year, so I should be pretty competitive every week. My best 22 scored over 1500 this week.
Best 22 looks something like this:
B Matthew Boyd, James Gwilt, Nathan Van Berlo, Tendai Mzungu, Lynden Dunn
C Scott Pendlebury, Tom Mitchell, Sam Mitchell, Taylor Adams, Liam Picken, Nathan Jones, Sam Gray
F Michael Barlow, Dayne Zorko, Justin Westhoff, Jarrad Waite, Cory Gregson
R Sam Jacobs
I Josh Hill, Ben Reid, Darcy Moore, Jackson Ramsay
Looking forward to another evenly matched season this year, good luck to all coaches except Wezza.
Burras 2016 draft
Pick 12: Jade Gresham
I needed to freshen the midfield and Jade seemed the best option at this pick. Performed well in NAB and hopefully gets early opportunities.
Pick 30: Sean Dempster.
Welcome back old fellow. Plays each week and will be good backup for defence.
Pick 42: Cameron Ellis-Yolmen
Another picked to freshen the midfield and may get more opportunities with the departure of Dangerfield.
Pick 48: Eric MacKenzie
Another returning to the Burras and also from a knee reconstruction. Providing the knee stays sound is capable of good scores.
Pick 66: Kayne Turner
First player to be re-drafted by the club. Small but shows plenty of promise.
Pick 84: Bailey Dale
Will be interesting to see if he develops into a best 22 player. CF eligibility is handy.
Pick 102: Danny Stanley
Just before this pick it was announced he had been elevated to the senior list. His ability in past seasons to score well combined with his BF eligibility made him an attractive prospect.
Pick 119: Daniel Gorringe
Needed a third ruck and he was as good as any of the other rubbish rucks left.
Pick 136: Mitchell McGovern
May take a while to get games but NAB form was good.
Pick 153: Blake Hardwick
The new Dimma. Another who may take time to get games but also performed well in NAB.
Pick 184: Phil Davis
Thought he was a cheap pickup at this pick. Hasn’t been a big scorer, partially due to numerous injuries, but is easily best 22 when fit.
Wrap: In past seasons I have tended to take mostly older players as my 20 keepers were mostly young players. Now that the team has matured, I felt it was time to refresh the squad with some younger players as I have a couple of blokes who may be in their last couple of seasons.
Congratulations to everyone (Especially Redbull) on a very quick and well run draft.
Less than 2 weeks to go 
B)
Is there any estimate on when squads will be updated and ready to use on UF? Not hurrying anyone along, just curious.
PS loving all the draft reviews
Already forgotten who i drafted bar crowley
Is there any estimate on when squads will be updated and ready to use on UF? Not hurrying anyone along, just curious.PS loving all the draft reviews
Was planning on doing it today but have spent all day doing my draft review which still isn’t compete!
The selection committee is on notice after almost blowing it. Fortunately in the end got away with it. J J Kennedy - just !!!WOW!!!
He certainly gave me a shot but not going to win many games with 30 from Clarke and Lever. Grats on the win.
lol, I approve of the reason for the delay