amazonstud
25 Nov 2001, 15:30
I can't put into words how devastated I am with our recruiting at the draft.
It is now quite apparent that the Blues need a new recruiting manager. I think this is the most disappointing performance by the Blues at the draft for many years and continues a trend of identifying weaknesses and then not doing anything about them.
Now I have nothing against Justin Davies or Sam Cranage but I think the idea of your first pick when recruiting at the draft is to rectify structural weaknesses in your team. How can a midfield or HBF flanker cum tagger rectify a key backline position weakness? We had recruited 2 medium sized players and a tall under the father son not exactly the way I believe the mix should have been. Having 4 chances we could have still saved ourselves with the last choice and picked one of the remaining key defender talls still available. However we then passed on our last pick. If we were going to go with youth I would have preferred a tall defender say Aidan Parker or Ben Rutten with our last pick.
Obviously the recruiting staff believe these talls will be available for us in the rookie draft and the other clubs are not going to grab them. I think not. Or else they think that we don't need any tall key position back line players. Obviously they haven't been watching the same team as we have for the last few years.
We have now put all our eggs into the basket of Sporn O'Keefe Livingston covering the key back line positions all year in their first season of senior AFL football. This defies the historical proof that young players take 2-3 years to develop into regular senior players after their firt taste of AFL football.
Well I'm shattered to say it appears the club will be only mid range this season with a great forward line, good onball and centreline but hopelessly short back half. What's worst is it appears the club has accepted that result.
It is now quite apparent that the Blues need a new recruiting manager. I think this is the most disappointing performance by the Blues at the draft for many years and continues a trend of identifying weaknesses and then not doing anything about them.
Now I have nothing against Justin Davies or Sam Cranage but I think the idea of your first pick when recruiting at the draft is to rectify structural weaknesses in your team. How can a midfield or HBF flanker cum tagger rectify a key backline position weakness? We had recruited 2 medium sized players and a tall under the father son not exactly the way I believe the mix should have been. Having 4 chances we could have still saved ourselves with the last choice and picked one of the remaining key defender talls still available. However we then passed on our last pick. If we were going to go with youth I would have preferred a tall defender say Aidan Parker or Ben Rutten with our last pick.
Obviously the recruiting staff believe these talls will be available for us in the rookie draft and the other clubs are not going to grab them. I think not. Or else they think that we don't need any tall key position back line players. Obviously they haven't been watching the same team as we have for the last few years.
We have now put all our eggs into the basket of Sporn O'Keefe Livingston covering the key back line positions all year in their first season of senior AFL football. This defies the historical proof that young players take 2-3 years to develop into regular senior players after their firt taste of AFL football.
Well I'm shattered to say it appears the club will be only mid range this season with a great forward line, good onball and centreline but hopelessly short back half. What's worst is it appears the club has accepted that result.