So, we got McGrath, Ridley, Begley, Mutch and Clarke. So thoughts, opinions?
My thoughts.
Couldn’t give a stuff on which Mc we got. Both sounded exceptional. We got the one with better pace, clearance work and disposal. I’m happy with that even if he’s a short ■■■■, kicks less goals and doesn’t rack it up as much.
Blitz actually seems to have been on the ball with the draft. Although the order differs, we probably could have gone close to picking the first 20. Which means the likelihood was that we’d know the names to come less. Personally, I don’t know these guys. But I like what I read.
We got two clearance guys which was a future need. To replace Watson/Myers and upgrade Bird/Hocking/Hewlett. Both were steals in the sense they went muck later than expected. Our two higher picks went on utilities, both a little stronger at ends opposite to each other. One may step into Hibberd’s role, the other gives us a very good kicking forward/mid. Both have upside.
Overall I think the mix is good. I didn’t think we needed talls, and we didn’t take one. We covered most smalls bases other than Benfti excitement machine. Overall I’m satisfied with what we got, but time will tell.
Just on a flight from Sydney back to Melbourne. Gil, Wayne Campbell and brendon gale are all on it. I overheard Campbell and Gil talking about setterfield and the bombers not having the balls to bid on him. Got away from me a bit but sounded like dodoro (not 100% it was him but a bombers rep anyway) asked Campbell after the draft if they would have matched. To which he basically said ■■■■ off. Did we blink and take McGrath so we could retain the status of pick 1? Personally if we rated setterfield at 1 think we should've bid.
I disagree, if we thought they would match what’s the point your only going to loose the publicity and status to get the same player. It’s a good new story for the club, and we should take it considering the ■■■■ stories we have had lately.
Our second pick (22) was the pivot point for us.
I think it’s clear from what Dodoro said and how our team reacted at that point that we were really hoping that a couple of players might have slipped through. They didn’t, and we had to readjust our approach from here.
Just on a flight from Sydney back to Melbourne. Gil, Wayne Campbell and brendon gale are all on it. I overheard Campbell and Gil talking about setterfield and the bombers not having the balls to bid on him. Got away from me a bit but sounded like dodoro (not 100% it was him but a bombers rep anyway) asked Campbell after the draft if they would have matched. To which he basically said ■■■■ off. Did we blink and take McGrath so we could retain the status of pick 1? Personally if we rated setterfield at 1 think we should’ve bid.
time will tell, but reckon we blew a monster opportunity to set the clubs midfield up for the next decade.
so much hinges on how our later picks pan out…
How? I’m seriously curious about this.
We got the guy who dominated Division 1 champs for clearances in the winning side (Clarke). We got the guy who dominated Division 2 in the same way, and is meant to be a clean user inside/outside (Mutch). We got one of the dominant midfielders of the TAC who had more clearances than McCluggage despite spending some time in defence, and who can break lines and is a clean ball user (McGrath). We got a guy who can legitimately kick bags as a small forward, but also go into the midfield and still get goals.
The last guy isn’t a mid, but did win the combine goal kicking, and may be the guy to shred a team’s zone - which indirectly aids the midfield.
So I find your comment interesting as it feels to me the midfield was the focus. Especially boosting our future clearance ability.
after a good nights sleep and a bit of cooling down, i can say this draft crop has grown on me a little bit, I can see what the clubs trying to do
Uninspired... Do we have the lowest number of Aboriginal players in the comp now? So very disappointed we didn't pick Long or Rioli. We have a relationship with Tiwi supposedly but don't seem to be capitalising on it. Hope the new recruits do well but... meh.
Depends on what we do with Eades/rookie draft, as of right now, yes, but don’t remind me
I agree with you on being a bit more daring with a pick or two.
I think it may have been a function of our picks more than anything.
We obviously rate Ridley, was hoping for Cox or Bolton there myself. But a marking target is a bit of a need.
Begley I’m pumped about so I can’t dispute that one.
Next pick was Mutch who seems like a screwed selection. Bombers fan, Good endurance, clearances and kicking. However GWS not matching is a concern. Rioli definitely and option there.
Next pick was Clarke who appears like a steal given the numbers he can rack up. Kicking is a big concern. But at pick 60 you are not going to get a complete player. Would Mutch have fallen to here?
Given out needs of some inside mids, and another marking target, where the picks fell how would you have liked it to go?
Uninspired... Do we have the lowest number of Aboriginal players in the comp now? So very disappointed we didn't pick Long or Rioli. We have a relationship with Tiwi supposedly but don't seem to be capitalising on it. Hope the new recruits do well but... meh.
Long went at 25, Club would’ve been irresponsible taking him at 20. He was maybe worth our pick 41. Rioli the same I rather take Mutch at 41 than Rioli, There is a reason Rioli went at 56.
Excluding the educated posters like HM, it's a win-win situation to take a negative stance with this years draft. If you're wrong, you're happy to be wrong because your team has a crop of young guns on it. If you're right, you have a previous quote that makes you look like a genius!
I remember how satisfied we all were in 2006 when we shot the sh*t out of the "super draft" which we all know in hindsight did not end up being the case. No guns from our picks and no one left on our list.
Let’s wait and see how we go…
I think you’re massively overrating the foresight and cynicism of a lot of posters. For me at least, I’m just giving my gut reaction based on my limited knowledge because I enjoy discussing it. I’m very unlikely to say “I told you so” five years from now because then I’d also have to own up to being stoked when we took Steinberg and Kavanagh, thinking Reimers would be a genuine star of the competition, or thinking upgrading Baguley from the rookie list was a complete waste of time. Hell, I’m already turning around my opinion on Begley and lterally nothing has changed in the last 12 hours.
Obviously the most rational stance is to wait and see, but there’s no football for months so why not speculate while we wait?
IMO the selection of a short player like McG puts a lot of pressure on Langford and maybe Laverde to become the big bodied mid in the medium term to replace Jobe, unless of course we do manage to get Fyfe in a trade next year. ( its a fair assumption that Francis will never have the tank to play as a mid) To get Fyfe we need to demonstrate in 2017 the trajectory that will take us to top 4 in 2018 and and ultimately beat GWS in 2018/19. Apart from McG, any of the mids we drafted this year who last that long will peak in the 2020s , after our next flag window.
We selected Begley & Clarke who are both big bodied mids. Begleys ceiling unknown as really only moved there this year but had terrific performances and kicks goals!, Clarke is an All Australian inside mid averaging 30 & 8 tackles/game.
I dont expect Begley / Clarke to even begin to peak until 2020. Maybe that will be our year. In that case if they are still with us, and they do develop, its perfect timing . If they develop faster like Zerret, more to the good. In the meantime, theres just a chance Langford will take the next step as a big body mid in 2017/8, and if he does, bingo.
I agree that most of the guys we hoped to be available at pick 22 were gone, and so we were stymied to some extent.
But, Shai Bolton would have been my pick. He is only small and light, but his highlights tape and his performance in the pre GF invitee game looked like a player we should have been keen on. Outside run to burn. Maybe we thought we have that covered with Tippa, Colyer and Fanta (+ McGrath?) but he sure looks good.
Also, if we were going to go utility/medium defender, Witherden was also available.
The delay indicates we did not really have Ridley on our radar, or we would have made the decision more, quickly.
Excluding the educated posters like HM, it’s a win-win situation to take a negative stance with this years draft. If you’re wrong, you’re happy to be wrong because your team has a crop of young guns on it. If you’re right, you have a previous quote that makes you look like a genius!
I remember how satisfied we all were in 2006 when we shot the sh*t out of the “super draft” which we all know in hindsight did not end up being the case. No guns from our picks and no one left on our list.
IMO the selection of a short player like McG puts a lot of pressure on Langford and maybe Laverde to become the big bodied mid in the medium term to replace Jobe, unless of course we do manage to get Fyfe in a trade next year. ( its a fair assumption that Francis will never have the tank to play as a mid) To get Fyfe we need to demonstrate in 2017 the trajectory that will take us to top 4 in 2018 and and ultimately beat GWS in 2018/19. Apart from McG, any of the mids we drafted this year who last that long will peak in the 2020s , after our next flag window.
We selected Begley & Clarke who are both big bodied mids. Begleys ceiling unknown as really only moved there this year but had terrific performances and kicks goals!, Clarke is an All Australian inside mid averaging 30 & 8 tackles/game.
The one getting me excited is Begley. Averaged 5 goals a game when first in the TAC playing as a forward, before going into the midfield. I'd love to know how he played forward. At ~187cm normally it would be as a small forward but at TAC level it could have been a marking option. But that was the period he was least fit, and he did that. Add him to Greene, consider how Raz and Walla stepped up this year, and our small forward woes may be a thing of the past. Having four would be good as he, Walla and Raz may start spending time in the midfield down the track.
It’s kind of like how Dodoro fixed a huge chunk of our tall problems in one draft (+ moving Ambrose back). We may have done the same with small forwards and clearance mids in this draft (+ Parish).
A lot of hit up leads, some contested marking, plus a bit of mobile groundwork, judging from his highlights. Not sure he could play like that in the AFL, but those ground ball goals look pretty fluent (and we didn’t recruit him to play as a short marking forward, so it doesn’t matter). He kind of reminds me of Rockliff.
Goddard, Watson, Myers, Howlett, hocking etc are largely unknown in terms of what they will produce.
The fact is Jobe hasn’t produced even near his best since mid 2013… Myers hasn’t even played what I thought would be his best on a consistent basis ever… And nothing of note except for one offs for years… Goddard has struggled for a couple of years. Yes 4th on the B&F in a group of kids and ring ins, but he has struggled more than excelled on field in his quarter back role.
Benny is a fringe player and Heath a beast who will play his heart out but hasn’t played much for 2 years.
In 2 years they might largely be done or close to… I’m happy with the group we’ve got who will be ready made with a couple of years under their belt to step in.
The one thing I don’t want is for us to draft like Carlton, North and Richmond have in the past trying to plug gaps when it’s too late because they couldn’t develop a player to save themselves.
If we as a club can develop a young group together who play for each other and the club - that’s how you create a dynasty.
The hawks developed their core and then brought in their cream around them- like us in the 90s… (Wellman, Barnard, Denham)
I’d love to see our current batch of kids (who have talent! Just adding McGrath to what we’ve got improves our list and adds plenty in 2017 IMO) develop together and become the core and nucleus of our side for the next 10 years.
I am hoping the big fish we are targeting next year is not the answer, just the cream, and if we don’t land one, that our progression will still be onward and upward.
The one getting me excited is Begley. Averaged 5 goals a game when first in the TAC playing as a forward, before going into the midfield. I’d love to know how he played forward. At ~187cm normally it would be as a small forward but at TAC level it could have been a marking option. But that was the period he was least fit, and he did that. Add him to Greene, consider how Raz and Walla stepped up this year, and our small forward woes may be a thing of the past. Having four would be good as he, Walla and Raz may start spending time in the midfield down the track.
It’s kind of like how Dodoro fixed a huge chunk of our tall problems in one draft (+ moving Ambrose back). We may have done the same with small forwards and clearance mids in this draft (+ Parish).