True mateYep.
The best players to pick up are those who are squeezed out of a successful club because the incumbent players are superstars. Kennedy from Hawthorn to Sydney is a great example. Brett Voss to us (behind the Scott brothers).
The other type of great players to pick up are those at a club which is factional and imploding and delists players because of personalities. Brian Lake and Adam Cooney are 2 that come to mind. A bit odd but can play. Watch for Cooney to tear it up next year for the injectors. Cooney is up for a full pre-season and his knee is good.
Picking up spuds who can't get a game in the seniors (think all the Richmond rejects we have drafted) is not the way to go.
Membury is stuck behind the best forward line in 20 years so he is a coming to us for all the right reasons. He is a better prospect than any of the Adelaide blokes training with us or blokes like Savage.
So in order of preference:
- Gun who wants to return home for personal reasons (Judd);
- Gun who hates his coach and or club (Griffin);
- Gun who has been injured and needs a fresh start or isn't in the new coach's plans (Cooney);
- Kid with potential who is stuck behind a gun team (Membury, Kennedy);
- Kid with potential who is homesick (Boyd);
- Kid with potential who is stuck behind other gun kids (GWS and GC players);
- GOP who is out of favour with coach (Weller, McKernan);
- GOP who is stuck behind other players;
- GOP who needs a fresh start due to injury (Patrenko);
- Duds from another club that our previous recruiters picked up or coaches pushed for (insert anyone from Richmond, Peake, TDL....etc).
That was like us with Jason Gram. You wouldnt call Grammy elite but for a few yrs he was an extremely good player for us. Not far off the Norm Smith in 09.
We basically got him cos the Lions were overflowing with A-Graders at the time and he couldnt get a sniff in.
Was a shame Gram went a bit pear shaped with his behaviour at the end of his career. Besides from that he was good for us.