People are saying that Luko Walsh Rankine and Smith are the clear top 4 prospects.. I would bet quite a significant amount of money that these aren’t the 4 best players in the draft once all is said and done..
Recruiting also has some luck involved and I believe if we can get 2 top 11 picks (or so) we would maximise our chances. You have to back in the scouting department to find the players with the assets available.. We could get a player we rate in the same tier as those players as well as getting extra bites of the apple.. A godfather offer would be required obviously as the Crows would have to pay Overs to secure the local prospect..
Clayton Oliver wasn’t considered this highly ranked and didn’t even make his state team and has turned out to be an elite piece of recruiting..
Oliver went pick 4, think he was rated highly enough.
When supporters here talk about Lukosius, Rankine, Smith and Walsh, we're looking at the prospects who we believe suit the Lions needs. Same reason why we don't discuss Tarryn Thomas and Nick Blakey, because they are tied to other clubs and we have no chance of drafting them.
Out of curiosity, who do currently rate as the top talents in the draft? Who is your bolter to climb in to top 5 discussions?
If you look at Twomey's top 8 from his phantom form guide, all 8 have appeared in top 5 discussions by recruiters and draft watchers.
If a player like Rozee or Hately climbs in top 5 discussion, fair enough, we have seen something similar in recent drafts. But at this stage, those players aren't in such discussions, at least not amongst the amateur or media draft watchers, so we can only focus on the names that are in such discussions currently.
I've talked about acquiring an extra first round draft pick, but what are we giving up? Noble has said the club is against trading out a future first round pick. If you look at each teams picks in this years draft, we are the only team that didn't trade out a future pick last year.
I've discussed trading back with a team like Adelaide. I can't see them offering a godfather offer for a pick that's not top 2. Nor do I believe they offer up their first 2 picks for a pick in the 3 to 5 range, unless they climb the ladder and make the 8, and both their's and Melbourne's pick end up being in the 11 to 15 range, and they believe they'll miss out on both Rozee and Hately before their picks roll around.
Would you really trade pick 4 for picks 11 and 13?