Mid Season Draft — Operation Replace Devon completed

expectation v reality is poles apart in here.

lets go find the next time kelly. to what play him in the vfl ?

no midfield vfl, sanfl or wafl player is walking into this midfield ahead of any of the players at present for no other reason than the coaches would not pick him.

geelong pushed him into the middle and moved out more selwood and dangerfield last year and are doing it even more this year.

if a kelly came to us he still wouldn’t have debuted, as they’d still be ■■■■ farting around trying to figure out what combo of myers, langford and parish “work”.

1 Like

I think I’d go with Corey Gault as a replacement as he could not only be a safety net for TBell but also McKernan and potentially could play down back. I preferred Gault over Zac Clarke in last years draft as I thought he offered more versatility as a forward/ruck. If we were to go small I’d go with Marlion Pickett as he’d be the most athletic afl ready mid who’s also capable of playing multiple positions as well.
I don’t really know how much value there is to picking a kid with upside as there would be multiple clubs picking the best prospects before us.

5 Likes

I haven’t paid much attention to Munn but don’t believe he has set the world on fire in SANFL

1 Like

Had a look at some Corey Gault highlights from his time at Collingwood- definite possibility.

1 Like

Every club who takes a pick will use it as a free-hit at a state player they were considering in the main draft period.

They get it right, then they get 6 months extra as part of the team. They don’t, can cut them and try again with someone else at the main draft and there is no net loss.

So, I’d expect drafting to be concordant with an ‘if our entire list was fit, who would fill a gap’ mentality.

1 Like

Welcome to Essendon,

Mid Season Draft.

It’s a good name for a beer.

11 Likes

Hmmmm.
No offence meant, but Ajang Ajang might want to change his name.

Draft him, even if it’s just so I can see his girlfriend more.

Get on the Nino Lazzaro train!

3 Likes

How many Nino Blitz whip?

Just get Picket

He would give us extra spark anywhere he is played. He could have Bags spot for a start. Or move McKenna up the field and play him back. Can play anywhere and yes is Kelly like. I don’t care one bit about his youthful indiscretions. Kelly, Parker and Stack have all commented what a great mentor he has been for them.

I really think you would get 4 years of terrific football from an unbelievable athlete who now has his head switched on the right way.

Bring in more power and excitement

Bring in Marlion Pickett

26 Likes

A decent small forward would be handy.

1 Like

They would need to fit within the TPSC

This!!!

TBC ain’t no spring chicken…he may not have much left in the tank when his contract expires end of 2020 (he’ll be 31.5 years old by then).

Zlarke is 29…in his limited time with us, he has done his calf, and has dished up poor football at a high frequency IMO…people earlier in this thread were saying “Don’t waste this mid-season draft pick on a Jonathan Giles-like spud!”. We’ll I’m looking at Zlarke and thinking “We might already be relying on someone of Giles-like quality as our supposed depth”.

Next, Draper…IMO, our list only really had Draper as a reliable post-2020 ruck option, which is insufficient as it is…and he just did his ACL.

So, for me, another long-term ruck was already very close to the top of my wishes for the 2019 national draft. The Draper injury elevates that need to clear number one priority IMO. There would have to be an amazing 18 year old on offer, to convince me to wait until later in the year. If we are going to get an older ruckman than that, just grab him now.

5 Likes

Draft Jye Bolton. Anything that could be a chance we do the opposite.

Why would we grab a long term ruckman now? The issue with this is:

  1. They wouldn’t likely be able to fill a position this year if doomsday occurs and all our rucks are injured - if they are capable then they are likely just a stop gap replacement rather than a long term option
  2. By waiting another 6 months before taking a long term ruck, the players we are looking at will have more time to develop and demonstrate their ability.
  3. They will be behind Draper from next year which means we don’t need to rush into finding the right long term replacement now.
2 Likes

We can also see if they up to it now, get them into the professional environment etc

And if so list them straight away & if not look to bring in someone else.

List managers/recruiters also wouldn’t be judging someone on 6mths of this season only. Would have been monitoring for years.

The good mature age rucks are generally always strong commodities, can get jump on other clubs who don’t have a need for them right now/no open list space to gain.

3 Likes

This supports my argument. Why dip in now and look for another one, when there is likely a far better option already on an AFL list somewhere.