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Delisted Adrian Dodoro - On leave Aug ‘24. Parted ways Nov ‘24. Lodged a dispute with FairWork. Paid out. Gone. #putoutyourjackets

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Some very interesting comments from Hird today on AFL trade radio. They were interviewing Beatson and got onto the discussion of Luke Parker in the draft and how good Luke was for pick 40. According to Hird, he and Sean Wellman (who was involved with Parker in the under 18s when he was assistant coach at Melbourne) were telling dodo to seriously look at Parker for our pick, but he obviously passed on him and selected Steinberg instead. I'm paraphrasing as I can't remember exactly how he said it, but thought that was interesting. Also seems to contrast with what has been stated here in the past.

We still don't know what Rosa will offer, but I am so pleased he is there instead of dodo now.
 
Here_we_come said:
According to Hird, he and Sean Wellman (who was involved with Parker in the under 18s when he was assistant coach at Melbourne) were telling dodo to seriously look at Parker for our pick, but he obviously passed on him and selected Steinberg instead.
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Nah, absolutely unfair dismissal, no question about it. Really harshly treated :rolleyes:. ****ing Dodo!
 
Here_we_come said:
Some very interesting comments from Hird today on AFL trade radio. They were interviewing Beatson and got onto the discussion of Luke Parker in the draft and how good Luke was for pick 40. According to Hird, he and Sean Wellman (who was involved with Parker in the under 18s when he was assistant coach at Melbourne) were telling dodo to seriously look at Parker for our pick, but he obviously passed on him and selected Steinberg instead. I'm paraphrasing as I can't remember exactly how he said it, but thought that was interesting. Also seems to contrast with what has been stated here in the past.

We still don't know what Rosa will offer, but I am so pleased he is there instead of dodo now.
Click to expand...

Sydney's first pick in that draft was pick 21 and they took Jed Lamb.

5 of the next 8 players taken in that draft have turned into key players in premierships across multiple clubs. Best not to dwell on what could have been with the benefit of 15 years worth of hindsight.
 

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Zach Package said:
Sydney's first pick in that draft was pick 21 and they took Jed Lamb.

5 of the next 8 players taken in that draft have turned into key players in premierships across multiple clubs. Best not to dwell on what could have been with the benefit of 15 years worth of hindsight.
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I don't believe I'm dwelling. Just pointing out an interesting comment and then expressing gratitude that we've finally decided to give someone else a go.

And you can claim it's easy with 15 years worth of hindsight and other clubs passed on him blah blah blah, but that's just a massive cop out. We need to be better than other clubs if we want to win, not excuse failures because other clubs also failed. And it's not hindsight anyway, there were even people on this forum who were hoping we'd take parker at our pick 31 before the draft.
 
Here_we_come said:
Some very interesting comments from Hird today on AFL trade radio. They were interviewing Beatson and got onto the discussion of Luke Parker in the draft and how good Luke was for pick 40. According to Hird, he and Sean Wellman (who was involved with Parker in the under 18s when he was assistant coach at Melbourne) were telling dodo to seriously look at Parker for our pick, but he obviously passed on him and selected Steinberg instead. I'm paraphrasing as I can't remember exactly how he said it, but thought that was interesting. Also seems to contrast with what has been stated here in the past.

We still don't know what Rosa will offer, but I am so pleased he is there instead of dodo now.
Click to expand...
I was on the same page. I was telling everyone we should be picking Parker. Is on record here. One has to pump his own tyres every now and then :)
 
ant555 said:
I was on the same page. I was telling everyone we should be picking Parker. Is on record here. One has to pump his own tyres every now and then :)
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So you did and a bonus reference to the poster formally known as bombersno1 at the end of the review too lol From Nov 19 2010
ant555 said:
Well another draft down and it should prove a good mix this year again. Last season we saw Melksham and Colyer do some good things in games despite being pretty raw and light framed and I think that a couple of this year’s picks in Heppell and Browne are capable of playing a few games this year.
Overall I like what they have done this year. No they have not gone out and picked a pure calls midfielder like I would have liked but in Heppell they have come close as his clean ball handling skills and good read make it possible for him to play through the middle. Then we have Ariel who fits into could be anything or nothing box as he has shown some exciting glimpse in a short space of time. Browne is a solid pick who can play defence and midfield, Davis is another defender who can play midfield as is Ross.
It looks like this year’s theme was pick some players who can play through the middle that also have a defensive side to their game.
So as far as a mark out of 10 at this early stage I would give them a 7/10 which could be better if Steinberg comes good although personally I would have gone with Parker with that pick but given what they picked after you can see the logic in the picks.

DYSON HEPPELL – 187CM - 79KG – GIPPSLAND POWER

My verdict – good pick at this range as the kid can play and he puts 150% into everything he does so he will be exactly the type Hird is looking for. Has not had the pure exposure as the pure mid we may have been looking for but his efforts in the TAC Cup finals showed he can certainly play there. Others in the picture here where Atley who is similar to Heppell in some ways but a bit quicker but not as good skill wise and Prestia who is a solid in and under mid who is not overly tall but good enough to make it.
I think they have chosen well.

The player – I have had a really good look at Heppell over the last two years and seen a lot of him play (15 plus games) and he is simply a player you have to like because he leaves nothing in the tank. His form has always been consistent and he has worked hard to make sure his game has always been on the improve.
Early in the year I was asked about Heppell and at that stage I thought he had improved from a 40 to 60 draft pick to a mid second round choice type but as the year went on he simply kept getting better. He was very good for Vic country in the champ series with his run from half back and when he got back to TAC Cup there was no stopping him.

Has played most of his footy off half back or on the wing with some bursts in the midfield and for most of his career he has looked like an ideal flanker/winger who is able to read the ball well and break up zones with his long left foot kicking.
As this year went on he started to spend more time in the middle and his good read and hands at the stoppages was transferred to the centre clearances where he did well. He is a one touch player and that buys him time to work well inside when needed.

As a half back he does tend to lay a lot taller than his 187cm height mainly due to his good vertical leap and defensive spoil. He uses his ability to read the play and chip in and take a mark well so he is very effective around that half back area.
Skill wise he has a good kicking action on the left side that is reliable and he kicks the ball 50 to 60 meters with ease. He is ok on the right side but does not use it a lot and like a lot of players it is more to get him out of trouble if needed. Efficiency wise he has been very solid going at over 70% in the last two TAC Cup seasons as well as this year’s Champ series.

He is good by hand and as previously mentioned he is very clean at ground level.
A few other good points are he runs a very good beep so the engine is there, he was Country’s MVP for the Champs series and made the AA side and his finals in the TAC Cup where very good so he likes to play in big games and perform well.
Overall he plays a constant game finding the ball over 20 times most weeks and has had several big 30 plus possession games over the journey.
He improve his tackling tally from 2 per game last year to 3.6 a game this season but he still needs a little work on it as stronger players can break through his arms before he wraps them up. He will block well for his team mates and is pretty vocal on the ground and leads from the front.
Has not kicked a lot of goals given he has played a lot of half back so it is hard to comment on his goals kicking skills. I did see him kick a ripping 50 meter goal on the run from close to the boundary against Dandenong last year.

The Knock – so far I have wrapped him up to be the next James Hird but like any player there are issues. Fist up I have seen a few phantom drafts or player profiles say he is pretty quick but his 20 meter sprint times are not great and he really is simply average pace wise. I guess the illusion of him being quick comes from the fact that he tests really well for repeat sprints so when the others get tired he simply keeps on keeping on. He will run into a lot more players who are closer to his level or better in the AFL so that will not be as good as a weapon as it has been in the TAC Cup.

Secondly he can have an issue with decision making when he kicks as far as where he kicks it to. Although his kicking efficiency is good overall there have been a number of games where he has been 50/50 kicking wise and the issue has been he was simply kicking the ball anywhere or to poor options 50 meters away rather than finding a better short option. Even in games where he is hitting 70% to 80% he can be prone to kicking long to contests and missing some better options.

The final knock on him for me is despite the fact he reads it well and has a good leap he can drop contested marks you think he was sure to take.
Overall you would hope that he can keep working on his sprint times (they have improved from last year’s club testing) and the marking issues can be overcome with a bit more strength but the decision making issues give me some little doubts about him being the “gun” a lot of people have called him. In saying that there is no doubt he can make a good half back even if he does not live up to making it in the midfield.

ARIEL STEINBERG – 191CM – 83KG – BENDIGO PIONEERS

My verdict – my first thought was interesting but it probably had more to do with Parker being available as he is who I would have taken but given the picks after the pick made sense. Given Still did not work out and Neagle continues to show he lacks the mental ability to match his natural skill then picking a tallish forward here makes some sense.

The Player- It is fair to say that most people would not have heard of him until late in the year or even at all as some would have been scratching their heads saying Ariel who WTF. Anyway he was one of those picks where everyone sits back waiting to see who jumps first as the kid did show some real flashes of brilliance in a short space of time this year.
As most will already know he spent last year in Canada on a student exchange and he played school footy (gridiron) as a punter while he was there. It was a case of out of sight out of mind as he was not in the initial thoughts of the Pioneers early on in the season but showed some good form in the Mildura League over a number of weeks that forced the Pioneers hand in getting him into the side.

There is no doubt that Essendon’s Bendigo connection would have helped them make the decision to jump before anyone else but the kid has shown huge potential.

He is pretty quick and is a good leading forward who takes a good mark and is a reliable kick for goal despite not having a text book style and does not mind kicking a goal on the run either.

Another strong point is the work he has put in on the fitness side over the season as it helped his second efforts and made him a much more dangerous player overall. Pace wise he is above average and it helps him keep in front of a lot of defenders his size on the lead. He generally takes a few marks during game which worries defenders and he can hit targets kicking into his forwards when playing high.
He is pretty clean at ground level and his agility is pretty good which may well lend itself to him being able to play high half forward or even a wing in the future and he probably has a good enough leap to make a reasonable defender. Body size he is pretty close to being ready so that is a plus.

THE KNOCK - For a second round pick he has not done a lot on the field in the past couple of seasons so he is very raw. He has to continue to work up his fitness levels and his kicking action is one that if he got a touch of the yips it could take a while for him to get his mojo back.
He does not tackle all that well from what I have seen but given it has only been 5 out of 8 games that I have seen it is hard to make a certain call.
I guess the fact he has sprung up from nowhere and only played the last couple of months of TAC Cup keeps you wondering.

The other issue is at 191cm he is only just bigger than some midfielders so he could only be a flanker or third forward if he does not continue to improve and provide the X factor some think he may have.

A risky pick that could pay big dividends down the track if things come off but in the drafting game it is not always the super consistent players who maybe lack a bit of X who are the best picks, it is the guys who show glimpses of something really good and can improve who tend to be the stars outside of the first round.

ALEX BROWNE – 188CM – 86KG – OAKLIEGH CHARGERS

My verdict – For the third round this bloke does fit the bill as he is a player who can play midfield or half back, runs hard and can find the ball. His testing was pretty good and he played 3 games for Metro during the champ series. May not have huge X factor other than his pretty reliable skills by foot and hand but does have a better than average work rate and some upside. Having seen 9 of his games this year including a couple if champ games I thought he was a pretty good player who was well worth the risk as he can play in the middle.

The player – Solid hard running half back / midfielder who was used off half back by the Chargers more because he has the skills ( Generally good but can have his off days)and decision making is pretty good rather than any deficiencies he has playing in the middle.

Not super quick but can break the lines and plays hard but also hits targets going forward by foot most of the time when he is on song. Very clean hands at ground level which is a real bonus as he attacks the contest hard. His clearance and stoppage skills are pretty good from what I have seen but his midfield time has been limited so it will need some work. Has good vision inside and does create well by hand.
Defence wise he is strong and can out mark taller opponents or spoil and the fact he is an above average read of the game he gets to good spots to cut players off on the lead.

Skill wise he goes ok and was in the 70% range for efficiency during the year and his tackling got better as the year went on as he got to the stage where he was getting 4 or 5 per game. Did not hit the score board a lot but playing at half back does not give you a lot of opportunity to do so.

The knock – Is he simply too plain and not overly strong in any one area? It is true he does not really stand out in an X factor way and despite his good kicking in a lot of games but he can have some real howlers by foot and put his side under pressure. Not something that happened all the time but it did happen in some games so you do walk away wondering.

I guess the other knock is 188cm with above average pace genuinely adds up to a solid player at best and certainly no super star but as Sydney proved you can go a long way with good solid players.

LUKE DAVIS – 190CM – 82KG – WEST ADELAIDE

My verdict – A player I have not seen a lot of other than 3 champ games and a SANFL seconds video file so I can not say it is terribly good or bad. Looks like a better version of Tyson Slattery from what I saw so for this range it could be a good pick.

The player – As I said I have not seen a lot of him so the South Aussies will have more to say on him. From what I did see he looks to read the game ok and his pace looks ok. He does use it a bit to cut off play and take a mark and is prepared to take a risk and leave an opponent to get to the ball. Can kick the ball a long way and is a reasonable kick.

He was a solid defender during the champ series but did not have big numbers only averaging 9 possessions. His disposal efficiency during the series was a good 78% but I only really saw him kick right side. Played a few reserves games towards the end of the season and tested well at state screening.

The knock – like the positives it is hard to have a big list of knocks on limited games but one thing I did notice was like Heppell he did sometimes just kick blindly out of the back half when better short options where on.
Also at 190cm he could struggle to become anything other than a flanker but at this range this is the type of player issues you deal with. Did not win a lot of the ball in the few games I did see.

MICHEAL ROSS – 183cm – 75kg – GIPPSLAND POWER

My verdict – well what can you say at pick 80 other than chances are you will not find a super star all that often so you do your best and this bloke can play a bit even if he does not have a lot of standout areas.

The player – Worked out well for him as he was over looked in last year’s draft and given another chance by the Power this year and he played well. Like Heppell I have seen a fair bit of him during his 3 years in TAC Cup and he is a handy player with good pace off the mark and handy foot skills.
Kicking efficiency was in the 70% plus range over 3 seasons and often in the elite class.
He can find the ball out of defence and can also do his bit in the middle but he sometimes lacked consistency and played games where you would not notice him out there because of his low numbers stat wise. He averaged 16 disposals a game during last year’s TAC Cup.

Clearance and stoppage wise he is reasonably good and in defence he was pretty solid against the small forwards and has improved each year he has played.
He is a player who did well in the TAC Cup who you noticed some weeks and thought he may have a little to offer as a late pick but it could possibly lead to nothing.

The knock – well he is small, an average type of player who can be rather plain and not always a consistent ball winner. Despite the fact that some weeks his kicking was elite there where others when his kicking was simply ordinary.

Although he has played midfield he has not always produced midfield numbers which is a worry if they are looking for him to fill a midfield role.
I guess it is easy to find plenty of knocks on blokes in round 5 of the draft and as previously said he is sort of a plain type of player who you often would miss unless you where looking for him or had previously seen him do something good in a game.


PS Hi all :thumbsu::cool: have not been around for a long while and given my work situation i will not be around much in the future but i thought a few may be interested in my views.
Hopefully i will get some time to drop in now and again. I see that some things never change, got to love the draft expert bombersno1 and her expert views :D
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ant555 said:
I was on the same page. I was telling everyone we should be picking Parker. Is on record here. One has to pump his own tyres every now and then :)
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Yes, I always knew this one was not hindsight. I distinctly remember quite a few people were calling for Parker before the draft. In fact, iirc bombersno1 who you referenced in the post above may have even done that.
 
faible said:
Not sure there's many servos on the ring road, so probably good to be able to pump your own tyres if needed.
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Only the twin Mobil. Derrimut outbound. Sunshine West inbound :)
 
windyhill said:
Imagine the scenes when hird comes back and brings this **** with him !
Very similar to when golden boy brought back, sorry, insisted that Danny Corcoran be brought back.
Shit show incoming. Guaranteed.
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My brother, I think you need to stop doing this to yourself.
 

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Here_we_come said:
Some very interesting comments from Hird today on AFL trade radio. They were interviewing Beatson and got onto the discussion of Luke Parker in the draft and how good Luke was for pick 40. According to Hird, he and Sean Wellman (who was involved with Parker in the under 18s when he was assistant coach at Melbourne) were telling dodo to seriously look at Parker for our pick, but he obviously passed on him and selected Steinberg instead. I'm paraphrasing as I can't remember exactly how he said it, but thought that was interesting. Also seems to contrast with what has been stated here in the past.

We still don't know what Rosa will offer, but I am so pleased he is there instead of dodo now.
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this is a bit of a weird story. we rightly complain about Sheedy's rumoured influence on the draft during the 2000s. the coach and assistant coach having a say in pick 40 would have been absurd. and tbf, that's not what's being said here, but it's not like this is a Tom Stewart situation and we needed a tip off. everyone knew who Parker was, everyone missed the pick and that's that
 
alex browne 2012 game vs adelaide away. was sure he was gonna be a gun 😢
 
Nicholas61 said:
My memory was he was hard at it, good pace and kicked bullets.
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From memory did his ACL year 3? When he looked primed to be a really good player
 

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It's not a bad idea, broken clock etc
 

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Delisted Adrian Dodoro - On leave Aug ‘24. Parted ways Nov ‘24. Lodged a dispute with FairWork. Paid out. Gone. #putoutyourjackets

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