Pick 1

[Periphery]

Yes, but not to the same extent as the Saints have considering how much young talent the Giants already have. At this stage the Saints need to bring in as much quantity of talent as they can, where GWS can afford to pick and choose a bit more.

4 and 7 for 1 and 21 (which is what an insider on our board reports was offered) is a horrible deal. It doesn't bring in any more quantity of talent, trades us out of the 3 top players in the draft (Petracca, Brayshaw and McCartin) and leaves us with two picks that are in a no-mans land of tall defenders and riskier outside mids.

The slider we get with 21 and Petracca could easily end up better than the players taken at 4 and 7 this year.

 

[Stylo]

Petracca is a big bodied contested ball winning mid. History shows that those types of players taken early have a far higher success rate. Hopefully Melbourne have learnt a hard lesson.

Petracca and Brayshaw are far more likely to succeed that a Scully, Morton, or Watts.

Trav 20 hit the nail on the head.

We need to nail this draft and evidence suggests big bodied mids with ball winning ability are a much surer thing than outside mids and talls. This drafts top 10 is packed full of talls and outside mids with the only elite ball winners being Petracca and Brayshaw - who are odds-on to go 1 and 2. There's no ball winning guys like Wines or Selwood projected to be in that 4-7 range.

Whilst guys like Laverde, Pickett, Durdin and Wright look like nice prospects they are not the safe options like Petracca and Brayshaw and are a higher chance of being a 'bust'. We cannot take that risk. It's no coincidence the guys you mentioned that Melbourne took are a tall and an outside mid.

Fair enough, as I said, time will tell.

 

[Stylo]

4 and 7 for 1 and 21 (which is what an insider on our board reports was offered) is a horrible deal. It doesn't bring in any more quantity of talent, trades us out of the 3 top players in the draft (Petracca, Brayshaw and McCartin) and leaves us with two picks that are in a no-mans land of tall defenders and riskier outside mids.

The slider we get with 21 and Petracca could easily end up better than the players taken at 4 and 7 this year.

Didn't realise 21 was meant to be included in the deal. That makes a fair difference.

 

[nineteen eighty]

Usually yes. But the talk is there's no standout midfielder after the first 2.

Peter Wright may be a forward. Or he may just be a ruckman with some forward abilities that will take ages to develop. Which brings us back to McCartin who could be a very good key forward in which it would be hard to make a case for a defender ahead of. But at the same time I'd much rather the Dees drafted Michael Hurley than Jack Watts in 2008!

Still can't see it master. Roos also likes mids and I can't see him turning down the opportunity of picking up a player who knows how to play as a midfielder.

As an aside, I keep hearing this draft is very even. Does it have depth? Or does it fall away after a number of top picks?

I'm also a believer that unless you already have a gun list you draft the best available player. GWS and GCS can pick and choose but Melbourne definitely is not in this position and needs to pick up the best available players as they become available.

 

[Periphery]

Didn't realise 21 was meant to be included in the deal. That makes a fair difference.

Who knows what was really offered but that is the deal that a fairly 'in the know' Saints insider claims that was on the table. Take it with a decent serving of salt.

 

[nineteen eighty]

Several draft people (like Emma Quayle) and his junior coaches feel like he could make it in the middle.

I've had a look at his highlights package on afl.com.au and he looks like he's a good reader of the play who has very good, clean hands. A very good clean marker of the ball. Also a good kick. I don't however see anything that makes me think an AFL club can turn a junior KPB into a midfielder once he reaches AFL level.

I also did a search on Emma and any comments on Lever and I only found two references...with neither stating he has potential to be turned into a midfielder. He certainly looks like a kid that I would love at the Tiges but the point is that I just do not see him being picked as a midfielder.

update: found this and all it states is that his junior coach feels that he might have spent time in the midfield if he played this year.

Jake Lever (Calder Cannons) Emma Q
Born 5.3.1996, 193cm, 84kg
AFL biography: Competitive and aggressive tall defender who can shut down opponents while also providing good rebound. Missed entire 2014 after suffering ACL injury but on the way to a full recovery. His leadership is excellent as is his work rate and feel for the game.

Ian Kyte, Calder Cannons: "Jake had his knee reconstructed in December. He's back in training now and he'll be ready to go when he gets to a club. Had he played this year he would possibly have been the No. 1 selection. He's a tall, aggressive, competitive key defender who's a really good leader. He might have even spent some time in the midfield this year had he been able to play. His leadership qualities have improved this year even though he hasn't been able to play and he hasn't missed a beat with his recovery. He does everything right, to the point we had to force him to take a break at times."

 

[askdotcom]

hopefully saints take a tall at 1 and Petreca slips through to 67 for Brisbane to snap him up.


We can only dream