#12 in National Draft

[Demon 16]

It was certainly written with a great deal of conviction, but I'm not sure you could justify picking him with the fourth selection after the year he's had, both on and off the field.

They never admit it but the Eagles must surely lean towards local lads wherever possible - and that'll work in Darlings favour.

But I think the Eagles are still average in the midfield and will be looking to bolster their running stocks. Gold Coast will want to do the same as theyve already got some decent talls and will get Day and probably Gorringe as well.

Any of Atley, Smedts or Darling would make me pretty happy at this point.

 

[tesseract]

Unlikely, but not entirely beyond the realms of possibility.

For me, I'm hoping we end up with either Darling, Smedts or Lycett from our first rounder (assuming the top 10 ends up as is anticipated), as all three are quality players who would go some way towards filling a void in our list.

With Jamar doing well, and Fitzpatrick and Gawn developing, do Melbourne need another developing Ruck? Is a Ruckman a top priority so as to take Lycett at pick 12?

 

[SolidTiger]

An article from the Herald Sun

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/demons-midfield-draft-dilemma/story-e6frf9jf-1225948829746

I personally think you guys should go for the best availiable. You may need a tall but getting a midfeilder is not a bad thing. In todays game it;s better to have an elite midfield with a 'B grade tall forward line instead of an "A" grade forward line with a "B" grade midfield.

Pick best availiable in the draft and trade for needs.

 

[ThePuppetMaster]

i agree mate, but only with our 1st pick

best available (which could be darling) then a kpp @ 33 (cos of roos' pick) hopefully Mitchell is there (which will be much more likely if we don't take Darling)

 

[cannons]

With Jamar doing well, and Fitzpatrick and Gawn developing, do Melbourne need another developing Ruck? Is a Ruckman a top priority so as to take Lycett at pick 12?

I just think Lycett will be one of the best available at that pick. I realise that others don't seem to rate him as highly as I do, but I tend to think he's going to develop into a real gun at AFL level.

So, whilst getting a young ruck is probably not a massive priority for us, if we can get one as good as Lycett, I'd be all for it.

 

[LITTLE STINGA]

An article from the Herald Sun

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/demons-midfield-draft-dilemma/story-e6frf9jf-1225948829746

I personally think you guys should go for the best availiable. You may need a tall but getting a midfeilder is not a bad thing. In todays game it;s better to have an elite midfield with a 'B grade tall forward line instead of an "A" grade forward line with a "B" grade midfield.

Pick best availiable in the draft and trade for needs.

I have had a complete turn around since Grand Final day. I think we have to go for midfielders with the ability to be a utility, Atley, Smedts or Harper would be perfect for us.

I think it is a myth that we have too many midfielders. We have just lost McDonald and Bruce, we also don't get Viney for a couple of years.

If we were to recruit a tall firstly I would be asking why did he slip so far down to us cos usually a good key forward would standout more because they are like Gold so they should get picked up in the first 6-10 (this is a big reason why at the start of the year I thought that we should have waited another year before we moved up the ladder).

Secondly are they really that important?

Geelong and Collingwood both have pretty ordinary key forwards.
Riewoldt has failed in the last 3 Grand Finals, Kositchke fails every week.
Franklin and Roughhead were very ordinary in the Grand Final even though they won.
Barry Hall was going to be the saviour at the Bulldogs and even though he had a good year the Bulldogs went from a team who had multiple goal kickers to a team that only had 1 avenue to goal.
Fevola and Brown were going to be an unstoppable force at the start of the year and what happened by the end of it? They finish in the bottom 4.

The game is so quick and defensively minded these days that the dinosaurs don't have the pace and or space to use their height and bulk to advantage often enough. Unless you have the athletic capabilities and skill of a Franklin or Riewoldt big blokes won't survive as key forwards.

We desperately need to find someone to give Jamar a hand in the ruck, but he just can't sit on the bench for most of the game the new sub rule doesn't allow for it. Lycett isn't a good enough kick to be that forward\ruck option but if he was around for our second pick I would consider taking the gamble on him or someone similar, definately not a first rnd pick though.

 

[Demon 16]

With Jamar doing well, and Fitzpatrick and Gawn developing, do Melbourne need another developing Ruck? Is a Ruckman a top priority so as to take Lycett at pick 12?

Good point but outside of Jamar we havnt got anyone who's shown a glimpse so far. Gorringe is a surprising chance that we would def take though.

 

[bing181]

Good point but outside of Jamar we havnt got anyone who's shown a glimpse so far. Gorringe is a surprising chance that we would def take though.

Maybe, but have a look through Quigley's mock - if only for the detailed analysis of each player. He rates Lycett the best ruck, and expects either he or Gorringe to still be there at 12, so maybe we'll be able to combine "tall" and "best available" after all.

Looking down the list a bit, maybe we'd even have a chance at Phillips at 32, who he rates, and could be a great pickup if we end up with a mid at 12. Shame that GC have already grabbed Hickey, as he could have also been a fall back option for a later ruck pick. His write-up on Hickey is interesting, and shows how much of a prediction game this is.

 

[master bate]

If we go a mid it should be a skilled outside player capable of playing HBF or HFF.

With Moloney, Sylvia, Jones, McKenzie, Scully, Trengove and Gysberts we have 7 players who look primarily suited to being inside players or in the case of Scully and Trengove will be both inside and outside but too good not to have at the centre square.

 

[Demon 16]

Being committed to Jack Viney next year means were at least a few years away from another crack at a decent tall - unless we trade.

 

[LITTLE STINGA]

Being committed to Jack Viney next year means were at least a few years away from another crack at a decent tall - unless we trade.

We still have a first rnd pick in next year's draft, Viney will be in the 2012 draft.

That's the dilemma of rising up the ladder, the best talls should be gone by the time we have a pick.

I wouldn't be surprised to see us make a play for Kosi if he doesn't improve dramatically next year.

 

[Timmy Houlihan]

Kosi?
Seriously?

 

[Deestroy]

i agree mate, but only with our 1st pick

best available (which could be darling) then a kpp @ 33 (cos of roos' pick) hopefully Mitchell is there (which will be much more likely if we don't take Darling)

I agree with this. If we rate a tall at that pick I would go for it but if not I'm fine with another gun midfielder, you can never have enough. If we do go a mid first up I would hope to see a tall with our 2nd rounder.

 

[Gazza_11]

I really want Tom Lynch. Has absolutely massive upside, barely played any Aussie Rules.

 

[Demon 16]

I really want Tom Lynch. Has absolutely massive upside, barely played any Aussie Rules.

Hes played plenty of Aussie rules - its just that he was always a tallish midfielder then he grew something like 6 inches in 6 months and now has the height as well as the skill.

Almost impossible for him to get past GC picks 9, 10 or 11 imo.

 

[tesseract]

Good point but outside of Jamar we havnt got anyone who's shown a glimpse so far. Gorringe is a surprising chance that we would def take though.

Fitzpatrick and Gawn should be fine, they just need time, just like 99% of young Ruckman do.

While Lycett is worth pick 12 and would be a nice pick up for Melbourne, he'd still need a few years of development. That wouldn't help Jamar out in the short term. Perhaps a mature state league Ruckman could be drafted with a late pick to help Jamar in the short term, while the youngsters continue to develop in the meantime.

While I don't think Melbourne would be best served by selecting Lycett, he's not without a chance due to being an excellent prospect.

Still leaves me scratching my head as to who Melbourne are likely to select.

 

[Demon 16]

Perhaps a mature state league Ruckman could be drafted with a late pick to help Jamar in the short term, while the youngsters continue to develop in the meantime.

Still leaves me scratching my head as to who Melbourne are likely to select.

Yeh bottom line is we have no idea either.. spot on about a mature bodied backup for Jamar - Callum Sinclair and Jonathan Giles must be a chance with one of our later picks.

 

[LITTLE STINGA]

Kosi?
Seriously?

Kosi and Hale are the same type of player and we chased Hale pretty hard. It will also depend on how teams use the second ruckman now that the sub has been introduced and how well our other ruckmen develop.

 

[Punchy Demons]

Still leaves me scratching my head as to who Melbourne are likely to select.

I hope that we pick Darling.
Perhaps we are mentioning the likes of Lynch & Watson in the hope that GC select one or both of them which enables Darling to slide through to us at #12.

I wouldn't be surprised to see us make a play for Kosi if he doesn't improve dramatically next year.

I seriously hope not. We are in serious trouble if we start chasing blokes like him. He is 28 already and is definitely past his best.

 

[Gazza_11]

Hes played plenty of Aussie rules - its just that he was always a tallish midfielder then he grew something like 6 inches in 6 months and now has the height as well as the skill.

Almost impossible for him to get past GC picks 9, 10 or 11 imo.

http://www.footydraft.com/tom-lynch/

Says only one season of footy. That's obviously not right but maybe not too far off? Or does it mean one season of TAC?

 

[LITTLE STINGA]

He is 28 already and is definitely past his best.

I didn't think he was that old. We would have to be really high up on the ladder to consider him then.

 

[Demon 16]

http://www.footydraft.com/tom-lynch/

Says only one season of footy. That's obviously not right but maybe not too far off? Or does it mean one season of TAC?

There are a few stories going around like this but I dont know why. He played for Sorrento in a very strong junior side that won 3 or 4 premierships I think.

Then he went on to the Stringrays last year and got selcted for Vic after his huge growth spurt.

He did also play some basketball down the line - sorry I tried but cant find anything to confirm.

 

[DemonBlood]

if Darling falls, would we want to make a play on Seb Tape?
I don't see Lycett or Gorringe being around at 12.

 

[bing181]

I don't see Lycett or Gorringe being around at 12.

I'd be suprised if one, if not both, are there at 12. To the extent that phantom drafts can be used as a guide, I don't think I've see one yet with both of them gone by 12.

Consensus seems to be that GC are pretty well-stocked on talls, at least to be taking another one in the first round. So think it's going to depend on Essendon, and if they feel they need a ruck.

But ....???

 

[stretcharmstrong]

if Darling falls, would we want to make a play on Seb Tape?
I don't see Lycett or Gorringe being around at 12.

I would be shocked if at least two of darling, lycett, cook, lynch or gorringe weren't still around.