Rookie Draft Time

Draper reminds me a lot of the Jenkins pick. Keen to see how it works out

Our club never takes risks. Where is the dare of last years drafting? We had the balls to take Eades last year and upgraded Smack. Genuine excitement those choices!

This year? All we did was sign Smack and picking up Eades. YAWN!

To be fair we took risks last year and delisted two after just 12 months and re-rookied one.

Here is my problem with the Eades thing, and it kind of has nothing to do with Eades specifically.

I said words to this effect on the blitzcast. You draft a kid like Eades in the knowledge that he is a work in progress athletically and socially. It takes time, patience and understanding.

With that being said what I would hate to see happen (and yes it’s on him to an extent) Is it falls on its face and is gone at years end and Yestin Eades will be forever the reference point as to why we don’t give kids like that a go anymore. I would like to think the club (and blitz) are better than that.

I reckon 12 months is plenty of time to know if a kid isn’t going to turn it around. Reckon probably would’ve worked this out in the first week.

I’m going to lobby to the AFL to ban us adding our own delisted players to our own rookie list.

So 2 rucks playing seniors (yuk) or 3 playing VFL.

Why is everyone crying about wasting picks on McKernan and Eades, despite the club openly saying that they were going to do it the whole time?

We may have lost out on two rookie picks, but we also gained two national draft picks in Mutch and Clarke. I’d much rather have those picks than two extra rookie spots.

I’m crying about it because we keep doing it and it keeps not working, and I’m kind of hoping one day the pile of re-rookied players gets big enough that we stop wasting list spots doing it.

Most rookies don’t make it, whether they’ve been on a list or not. Nor are Essendon the only club to do so, either today or in past years.

Either way, McKernan is the only ruck depth we have outside our first choice pair aside from a 17year old, and we aren’t stacked with tall forwards either. Eades has all the raw skills and physical attributes to make it as an AFL player and plays a position that we’ve been crying out for someone to fill for years.

I hate re-draftings

I reckon 12 months is plenty of time to know if a kid isn't going to turn it around. Reckon probably would've worked this out in the first week..

You’d make a terrible youth worker.

Very sad for A Hepp. Obviously should have taken up smoking at club functions. (excuse my bad mood).

Both the drafts have been really underwhelming. Thank fark for McG.

Wonder what Xavier Richards is thinking right now.
He will go back to University if he doesn't get picked up.

Hope we pick X for our VFL team. By the way, Ben Cavarra is likely to join our VFL team too. One of the best VFL players going around.

So can rookie listed players play this year without this elevation nonsense or was just a potential outcome?

Why is everyone crying about wasting picks on McKernan and Eades, despite the club openly saying that they were going to do it the whole time?

We may have lost out on two rookie picks, but we also gained two national draft picks in Mutch and Clarke. I’d much rather have those picks than two extra rookie spots.

I’m crying about it because we keep doing it and it keeps not working, and I’m kind of hoping one day the pile of re-rookied players gets big enough that we stop wasting list spots doing it.

Most rookies don’t make it, whether they’ve been on a list or not. Nor are Essendon the only club to do so, either today or in past years.

Either way, McKernan is the only ruck depth we have outside our first choice pair aside from a 17year old, and we aren’t stacked with tall forwards either. Eades has all the raw skills and physical attributes to make it as an AFL player and plays a position that we’ve been crying out for someone to fill for years.

I understand the rationale, but at 0 from 8 over the last 10 years at what point do you acknowledge that the rationale is flawed? 0 from 10? 0 from 20?

So we choose a 204cm budding ruck with around one year of footy experience - Yet that’s not taking a risk - Got me beat.

I hope they don’t try to work the “comeback story” thing for Smack and Eades!

Blitz:

Nov 2015: Great move drafting Yestin, such an imaginative and progressive move by the club.

Nov 2016: Terrible move drafting Yestin, why can’t the club be more imaginative and progressive?

I hope they don't try to work the "comeback story" thing for Smack and Eades!

Your hopes are dashed.

I reckon 12 months is plenty of time to know if a kid isn't going to turn it around. Reckon probably would've worked this out in the first week..

You’d make a terrible youth worker.

AFL clubs aren’t social workers. They’re part of an elite professional sporting league.

So there are zero “exotic” Cat B rookies taken? Really?

(Earlier they confirmed 4 Irish, 2 not-played-for-three-years, and 1 television contest winner.)

Blitz:

Nov 2015: Great move drafting Yestin, such an imaginative and progressive move by the club.

Nov 2016: Terrible move drafting Yestin, why can’t the club be more imaginative and progressive?

2014 we traded in Giles because we thought he could provide handy ruck backup. 2015 we traded him out because we didn’t think he offered us anything. Both viewpoints can be correct because they’re a year apart.

I don’t feel strongly about Eades one way or the other (aside from my general skepticism about re-rookieing players), but changing your mind about something isn’t necessarily inconsistent.