2012 Draft Discussion

[KeSter]

And Marco can return the favour by helping Yeoey with his spelling.

Actually his spelling is correct, it's his grammar that needs help; but the English language is a bastard mix of Celtic, Saxon and French so, as far as I am concerned, he is excused.

 

[Old Den]

I'm seriously looking forward to seeing Close fill out and put a couple of kilograms on. Watching with interest, over here.

At 85 he is going to need more than a couple...best he talks to Justin.

 

[Dan12]

Terry 'the list manager' Wallace said in his summary of our list during the trade period that he wanted KPPs first and foremost, with a need for creativity and polish as well. Then we draft two differently-skilled KPFs and a very silky mid/fwd in the op 10. Perfect!
So you would think he would have loved our drafting, but he says we did average.....?
Unless he thought we needed a KPD, which if he did, is imo underestimating our depth there and not paying attention to detail. We have Tickner next year, Clarke (future gun from what I've heard here), McKeever (will make it imo) and I reckon the club may see Lisle playing there too. And of course the older guys Maguire, Merrett and Patfull. There is no problem and that's reinforced by the club not selecting one last night.

But my main point is that we worked to fill our needs very well and I am sure they looked into heaps of depth into how those 3 played when coming to their decision. They didn't just say 'we need a KPF who is the best one at 23?' and then take Tim O'Brien. They looked into a very detailed and long term plan. And as for us drafting too many KPFs recently, it's good to point out that all of Michael, Martin, Lisle, Cornelius, Longer, Paparone, Close have different strengths and besides- 2 or 4 might make it in the end. Really good drafting, needs based definitely, but really good.

 

[Voss the boss]

we could have a couple of monster Michael's in the next few years - one at CHB one at CHF.

 

[LionKing]

Blokes who run all day will come in handy if the AFL introduce a cap on the number of interchanges

 

[pauldrc]

No doubt some teams are thinking this was also, Carlton came out and said something similar....

 

[matwt73]

I'm seriously looking forward to seeing Close fill out and put a couple of kilograms on. Watching with interest, over here.

Yep. I Watched the youtubes of Close and his size stood out, he is a big unit, and with 10 or 15 kg he will be a beast. The question may be how putting on the bulk will affect his ability to run.

Whilst the 'list Mangler' may be correct in saying he is no JB (who is), I think it sometimes gets forgotten how JB keeps in motion and makes space for himself through little have leads and changes of direction and keeping his opponent on the move and guessing.

A 100kg tall with the tank to keep moving all day? Sounds,like a fit. Though of course he's no Pap.

 

[beatnik]

But, that being said, I 100% agree with Wallace.

...and you probably thought you'd never utter those words

 

[KeSter]

Good of you to state what you don't mean. Would be helpful if you explained what you do mean.
If Polec is "soft" I'll take that as meaning silky and sublime.

You know my mate (on SEN) Kevin Bartlett, who can throw the cat amongst the pigeons like no one else can, made a very good point about player expectations the other day.

He was saying that in his day there was no way a new recruit would be expected to change a clubs culture or prospects from the get go, it just didn't happen. But now with the focus on draft picks and their supposed value there is insane pressure on young players.

He used Jack Watts as an example saying if he had been selected in the 20's instead of number 1 most Melbourne supporters would probably be happy with his output, because it would meet their supposed expectations based on his frame of recruitment.

He complained that the player never asked for this extra scrutiny and the fault, if any, lies with the media and recruiters, and their expectations; which then gets adopted by the clubs supporters.

Its funny how most folks seem to have accepted that Adcock will never be the game breaker many of us hoped he would turn into, but are quite happy with his returns, as he was recruited at 33 after all, and seems to represent 'good value'.

But Polec, taken at number 5, must not only get a kick but bare the extra burden of his supposed value; one he never set upon himself. There were many comparisons between him and Heppell (popularly supposed to be our early target in that draft).

Now Heppell has had his flash in the pan moment and has since fallen away considerably, the candle that burns twice as bright often burns down twice as fast.

Polec on the other hand has been quietly getting himself in a position to be a regular AFL footballer; an incredibly difficult proposition in the modern game.

I for one think we need to give this skinny, silky skilled kid time to blossom, Polec will shine soon I am sure of it.

 

[dlanod]

KeSter Quickly, edit in Heppell for Hurley.

 

[KeSter]

KeSter Quickly, edit in Heppell for Hurley.

Hehe, never post before showering!

 

[Wargreymon90]

Mayes is a brilliant player.

And will fit your team perfectly. 2 sa lads on the wings in Mayes and Polec?

 

[GabbaMan]

Mayes is a brilliant player.

And will fit your team perfectly. 2 sa lads on the wings in Mayes and Polec?

On Mayes, my sentiments exactly, will be our best recruit since Redden.
But really disappointed in Polec, doesn't not seem to have his heart in it.
I don't believe he's soft at all, its more commitment, hopefully he will do a Ryan O'keefe
and decide the Lions are the team he wants to be a part of.

 

[Wargreymon90]

On Mayes, my sentiments exactly, will be our best recruit since Redden.
But really disappointed in Polec, doesn't not seem to have his heart in it.
I don't believe he's soft at all, its more commitment, hopefully he will do a Ryan O'keefe
and decide the Lions are the team he wants to be a part of.

To be fair he did have a pretty significant injury. He's probably not that fit. You will see significant improvement next year

 

[13Beast]

Wow people are harsh on Polec! Give the kid a chance to get a solid pre-season and full season strung together before we start baying for his blood.

Of course I have high expectation of him too, but im willing to give him a chance to put in his best shot first. He certainly showed flashes of brilliance last year, and I hope we see more of it this year.

In the meantime, we've been blessed with out of left field finds like Zorko, Green, Bewick, Beams etc, which certainly eases the angst over not seeing A-Corn/Karny/Polec/Bartlett reach superstardom just yet

 

[chopperduck]

Think people need to settle down on Polec, he I a skinny kid, has talent but is still crafting his game. He has had 2 seasons at the club, both with injuries. People need to stop expecting kids to be fully developed footballers by the age of 20. Kid got talent, can't wait to see him rip it up.

 

[Simba Moyo]

"He's going to hang around Simon Black for the first couple of weeks,"
Okay, I'm excited.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/151694/default.aspx

 

[Mayestro]

Earlier this year someone mentioned that whilst our post 2008 recruiting crew's bona fides has been established for small and mediums, their talent identification of talls has yet to be tested (apart from late draft speculators such as Retzlaff, or top 10 gimmes in Longer). So picking two second round KPFs will test their mettle.

An interesting subplot for the next few years.

As I've no idea about these players, I'm happy to back Kerr and co in their choices. The team is beginning to look nicely balanced.

 

[Ruse]

Must be great being a recruiter where ppl can't tell whether you're a spud list manager or not for 5 years and if someone dares to question your draft choices they get beaten down with a thorny stick.

 

[dlanod]

Must be great being a recruiter where ppl can't tell whether you're a spud list manager or not for 5 years and if someone dares to question your draft choices they get beaten down with a thorny stick.

I'd love to be a recruiter where, regardless of your success rate over the last five years, people are always willing to assume you have no idea year in, year out.

 

[patfullfankezz]

Gut feeling says Paperone will be something special. Tossing up whether to sponsor him as well as Joel or not.

 

[Hollow Knight]

I'd love to be a recruiter where, regardless of your success rate over the last five years, spud posters are always willing to assume you have no idea year in, year out.

Fixed.

 

[irish]

Gut feeling says Paperone will be something special. Tossing up whether to sponsor him as well as Joel or not.

you know this boy has a darryl white feel about him to me ! what do others think ?

all he needs is the magic !

 

[Ruse]

I'd love to be a recruiter where, regardless of your success rate over the last five years, people are always willing to assume you have no idea year in, year out.

Yeah I wish we had a recruiter that had a good success rate as well but alas, we're still nowhere near finals footy.

 

[Ruse]

you know this boy has a darryl white feel about him to me ! what do others think ?

all he needs is the magic !

I don't see it.