Game Day 2014 National Draft
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I love the pessimism in these drafts. Honestly, the talls are so hard to pick, that unless you have a standout usually going in the top 8, then it is a complete lottery.
One thing that stands out in premierships is the classy midfielders. They win the footy and use it well going forward. Midfielders are more important than key forwards in todays footy. Win the footy, control the footy, deliver the footy either for a goal or to a forward big, or small.
A good KPF may have a KPB on him and they are neutral. So long as you can have a KPF halve the contest then good small forwards and mids will make opportunities happen. Jack R, although perhaps the best mark in the AFL, cannot get his team in the 8.
So even if our team now needs a KP.Player, drafting one will not help that cause coz they will not be regular and good until Fyfe is at the later stage of his career. Even if you take a player that is established it may or may not work. Croad? x McPhee? y Modra y Tarrant bad forward but y defender. Cloke is probably one of the better KP forwards in the AFL, but he has little impact for a Collingwood outfit that struggles.
I agree with the "pick the best player" then trade, rather than lottery pick and delist when they do not develop method. Stick with Bluechip for mine.
One thing that stands out in premierships is the classy midfielders. They win the footy and use it well going forward. Midfielders are more important than key forwards in todays footy. Win the footy, control the footy, deliver the footy either for a goal or to a forward big, or small.
A good KPF may have a KPB on him and they are neutral. So long as you can have a KPF halve the contest then good small forwards and mids will make opportunities happen. Jack R, although perhaps the best mark in the AFL, cannot get his team in the 8.
So even if our team now needs a KP.Player, drafting one will not help that cause coz they will not be regular and good until Fyfe is at the later stage of his career. Even if you take a player that is established it may or may not work. Croad? x McPhee? y Modra y Tarrant bad forward but y defender. Cloke is probably one of the better KP forwards in the AFL, but he has little impact for a Collingwood outfit that struggles.
I agree with the "pick the best player" then trade, rather than lottery pick and delist when they do not develop method. Stick with Bluechip for mine.
strobe00
Norm Smith Medallist
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Forster was from the same home town as lachie also. Same draft too.
Arcassius
Team Chaplain
Wasn't he away on holiday last draft? He has his input but it's not necessary for him to be at the draft
Hill has played every game he's been available from since debut.
players are coming into the system now better prepared in both fitness and mental preparation. The good ones are good enough to play from Rd 1 of their debut year. O'Meara, Heppell. Even the skinny ones like Martin if they are good enough.
The talls might take longer like you say.
pokerspiv
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Nor can Ablett. There's 21 guys on a team, no 1 person can drag them over the line. Tall forwards are extremely important, especially in finals. Obviously you need a good midfield too, but we already have that. Not that I am saying I disagree with the picks, but I think it's wrong to say midfielders are more important than forwards. The only way they are more important is that you need 5-6 midfielders and only 2 tall forwards.
As it relates to us, the likes of Taberner, Apeness, Crozier, Sheridan and Duffy are the players who I expect to have an immediate impact in 2015 - not these four draftees. The improvement to support our short term aspirations is not coming from the Draft (and hence why they did not choose a Tall). Frawley was the attempted short term fix on that front.
Dunno about our midfield being good tbh. We have Fyfe, Hill, Mundy, Barlow, Mzungu, and Neale. The rest of guys we throw through there are very average for afl footballers. (Ignoring guys like Sutcliffe etc who play mainly another position) The top teams this year had more guns than that. Suban, De Boer, Crowley, Pearce, Sylvia and Sheridan were very average this year and to be blatantly honest I only really see Sheridan getting any better. Hopefully I'm wrong as we need these guys to lift to have an impact next year.
- Jul 9, 2010
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There's not just one area Freo need to improve in – it's most.
It's the reliance on an absolutely cooked Luke McPharlin, the inability to let Silvagni get his confidence up and play more than five games in a row... it's guys like Danyle Pearce, brought over for experience and speed, going missing in huge finals and butchering kicks with hot-heads and dumb decisions. It's the way the midfield is too susceptible to inconsistency. And then there's the forward line... making the sub-6-foot Sonny and Ballas the most important players, with Son Son having to try and crash packs... it's Pav, a man who has spent his entire career as the lynchpin, at age 33 having to do all the work – and, when he can't get off two defenders or rightfully doesn't have the speed, leaves the forward line limp and insipid. And it's having Matt Taberner as the great white forward line hope.
It's not speed. It's not just one key defender. It's not a big forward. It's everything.
If the club actually drafted well in the last few years, we'd wouldn't be in this chasm where, in two drafts, we're having to address about five urgent needs.
Hase was right by the way. Smart is the hero you guys should be worshipping, not "Bondy."
It's the reliance on an absolutely cooked Luke McPharlin, the inability to let Silvagni get his confidence up and play more than five games in a row... it's guys like Danyle Pearce, brought over for experience and speed, going missing in huge finals and butchering kicks with hot-heads and dumb decisions. It's the way the midfield is too susceptible to inconsistency. And then there's the forward line... making the sub-6-foot Sonny and Ballas the most important players, with Son Son having to try and crash packs... it's Pav, a man who has spent his entire career as the lynchpin, at age 33 having to do all the work – and, when he can't get off two defenders or rightfully doesn't have the speed, leaves the forward line limp and insipid. And it's having Matt Taberner as the great white forward line hope.
It's not speed. It's not just one key defender. It's not a big forward. It's everything.
If the club actually drafted well in the last few years, we'd wouldn't be in this chasm where, in two drafts, we're having to address about five urgent needs.
Hase was right by the way. Smart is the hero you guys should be worshipping, not "Bondy."
DudleyDocker
Cancelled
I've heard of glass half empty people SA, but you are glass empty, smashed and cut your wrists with the shards!
We have been in the top four two years in a row, no reason to think we won't stay there and imporve by a couple of games at the end - have a little faith.
One game off top spot mate. Anyone would think we're coming off bottom four with that rant.
You're joking right? Smart had probably three good drafts in 1999, 2008 & 2009. During his 15 years we made one prelim and the finals three times. Sounds like a gun recruiter to me.
The sky is not falling, we're not the Hawks or Geelong from a few years ago but we're not that far off.
- Jul 9, 2010
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It's not like the team improved on 2013 at all though. The best game was round 1. We looked cut-throat, absolutely awesome in that, but the wheel's got wobbly and spun off. The side was shown to have flimsy depth and that the second tier players simply couldn't elevate their game enough. In the end, we were probably lucky to sneak into the four (but luck's only acknowledgeable when it's against Fremantle...) and were promptly shown up. We were completely gutless in that Swans game... I've never seen a capable team so indifferent to potential success. And then we were cooked by a Port side who had hunger, venom, and more of the 'Any Team, Anywhere, Anytime' 'play your role' mentality than Ross Lyon's own side.
So the side regressed in 2014 in anyone's terms.
Couple that with another year in the wrong direction for Pav, Sandi, Luke, and Mundy – four of our five, six most important players.
Not to mention the Hawks looking no worse and picking up a serviceable defender in Frawley. And they'll probably be able to turn O'Rourke into a solid part of their 22 as well.
Plus you have Sydney who might go okay. They're certainly at Freo's level at the absolute least. Even if Tippett's the worst buy in the last 10 years and Goodes is a seagull.
Then there's Port. I'll chuck a coupla hunge on them being better than Fremantle next season.
Also, probably not a good idea to have an avatar marking someone's untimely death with the same font that's used for heaps bulk funny memes. It's like using Comic Sans on an obituary. Bit of decorum.
So the side regressed in 2014 in anyone's terms.
Couple that with another year in the wrong direction for Pav, Sandi, Luke, and Mundy – four of our five, six most important players.
Not to mention the Hawks looking no worse and picking up a serviceable defender in Frawley. And they'll probably be able to turn O'Rourke into a solid part of their 22 as well.
Plus you have Sydney who might go okay. They're certainly at Freo's level at the absolute least. Even if Tippett's the worst buy in the last 10 years and Goodes is a seagull.
Then there's Port. I'll chuck a coupla hunge on them being better than Fremantle next season.
No worries, but I'm not your mate.
Also, probably not a good idea to have an avatar marking someone's untimely death with the same font that's used for heaps bulk funny memes. It's like using Comic Sans on an obituary. Bit of decorum.
You're lecturing another poster on decorum at the same time that you're saying you 're not their mate.
Classic
Yep, you're right we are doomed. Next year we'll be lucky to hold up the rest of the teams at the bottom of the ladder. We have no height, no speed, no kicking ability and no appetite for a contest. All of our old players are cooked, and all or our young players are s**t. This all began when we let go of Michie, who was the best and most dreamy player of all time. And those observers who say anything positive in the preseason training reports are deluded fools who are just too old to be hipster.
Am I doing it right?
The comment about comic sans showed a distinct lack of decorum btw.
But I want to be your friend. Can I demonstrate a bit of decorum and maybe suggest we meet up when you get down to Pre Season Training? I've uploaded a picture so you recognise me and I'm happy to let you choose your font for the obituary too .....
counting bodies like sheep
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How many of those are quality talls? Of those, how many are 30 or over.... It's quality talls we seem to be lacking, not talls over all.
Then htf did we make finals for three consecutive years and top four last two when decimated by injury.
s**t teams don't make grand finals.
Mcpharlin isn't cooked either; He will be as good as ever in 2015. Luke has been down at Freo Oval for a 6.30 am running regime through the off season.
His problem was a misdiagnosed tendon in his calf not old age.
Taylor
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I have been thinking over the long Pearce kicks inside fifty that fall over the boundary line and I think now that it is a clear directive from the coaches that unless he can hit someone clear in space he is to gain the metres and our stoppage team will reset up the ground.
Very interesting about the misdiagnosed tendon was that reported anywhere?
Yes.
It was only discovered very late in the season.
I will try and find the article.
Yes. RTB mentions it in an interview on 3AW before the Swans loss about 3 minutes in.
Interview is via the Link below and hopefully still works...
http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/i-3-the-media-snippets-thread.987544/page-49#post-34888722
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Good work Fred. I didnt know about that. Suddenly I'm more positive about the chances of Mcpharlin playing an important role in 2015. Im surprised at the negativity in this thread. BTW: With the recruitment of mids I think it is more than likely that we will use Fyfe as a permanent forward who starts in the centre square at the centre bounce and then plays as a genuine key forward in general play in the post Pav years. I thought his role changed a tad in the last four or five games in 2014 in that he was effectively spending most of his time as a forward player in general play. Im not worried about our forward line in a few years time or our midfield, as much as what our defensive group will look like in three years time.
I totally argree. Also, the fact that he finished ahead of Crowley, Pav, Dawson, Duff, Neale and Gu in the best and fairest was a pretty good indicator that the coaches rated his season significantly higher than your average fan. He was clearly doing a decent job at following out his coaching instructions then most casual fans would have thought. If you remember the time he got a bake from Ross was when he kicked short, so clearly they want him to kick long on a consistent basis.
counting bodies like sheep
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He was also talked up here as a potential first round national draft pick... Hence my point... People on big footy rate players often who aren't deserving of that rating, people also had an outcry when we picked up ballantyne... I seriously think you missed my point, good of you to revert to petty name calling though
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