Final list spot - who gets it?

[Blue__Balls]

Tipping that Pickett getting cut was a clear indication that Russell doesn't believe he has the mindset to succeed.

 

[Sharks On A Plane]

Call me crazy, but I'd do it......although not fully across Picketts mindset.

Would love to see a 'dedicated' Pickett on a list.

Yep. There's very little obvious upside in the players we've trialled. Pickett on the other hand...

Not sure if he burnt any bridges at the club but from the outside he did seem a well-liked part of the group. Betts would be a big factor imo.

 

[HARKER]

Yep. There's very little obvious upside in the players we've trialled. Pickett on the other hand...
Not sure if he burnt any bridges at the club but from the outside he did seem a well-liked part of the group. Betts would be a big factor imo.

I feel we're still short one or two 'difference' type of players.

They may well yet develop from within, but just to have another 'igniter' or two.
Martin is one of those types though and even given the fact I wasn't thrilled about him early on, I'm starting to see the light.

The best of Pickett was exhilarating. Dangerous around the ground, dangerous in the air, can kick goals........not enough of any one in particular area, but there was something there. Loss to the AFL for mine if he doesn't dedicate himself. Kelly did. doing OK now.

 

[chipzac]

Completely irrelevant, ODN, I've already suggested whoever (if anyone) we take in the SSP is extremely unlikely to see much senior footy. Moore, in particular, would be a viable option to add an extra layer of depth in our forward stocks so that VFL side isn't left shorthanded if we need to call upon Casboult, TDK and/or Pittonet during the season. Moore isn't necessarily a like-for-like for any of those, but he's a decent been better than a-goal-a-game at that level for a few years now.

The point to the JSOS and Kennedy reference was that our "forward stocks" aren't as rosy as people like to make out - specifically in the short term.

Casboult - fit
Curnow - injured
McKay - returning from a groin injury
McGovern - returning from injury/load management?
Kreuzer - spotty injury history, heart procedure not long ago, getting on in years
TDK - developing, can't run out a senior game yet
Pittonet - not a forward
BSOS - developing, fair way off it, not sure if forward or defender
O'Dwyer - developing, miles off it
JSOS - not a forward target, is more supplementary/supporting player
Kennedy - would like to think he could be an old-school forward target, but evidence is minimal

Repurposing other players?

Weitering - nobody should ever suggest taking him out of the backline again
Jones - see Weitering
Marchbank - returning from sever neck injury, not a forward
Goddard - not a forward
Macreadie - developing, miles off it

That's the point - we've got plenty of talls, but right now we've got one who is absolutely, 100% ready to be playing AFL footy, and that's Levi.

I'd be stoked if we could find a "gem", but given the wealth of talent on our list I think playing the percentages and covering an area of need with a mature body makes sense.

Again though - if there's a diamond in the rough that the club has identified, no complaints from me.

really tough guy ... returning after getting his neck severed.

 

[DangerousD]

Think Thomas has well and truly moved on, mate. Will have teed up plenty of media appearances, most likely be enjoying time with his family, probably hasn't trained in earnest since the end of the season.

The two mid players we've been looking at are significantly younger than Thomas, but have a few years in the system under their belts. They'd sit in the middle ground as far as being potential immediate impact as well as potential long term value. Moore is the same, while we're at it, young enough that if a second chance presented he could still forge a decent career.

Consider Billy Gowers - bit of a tease for us, never amounted to much, got cut, penny dropped, got a chance with the Doggies and has played some OK footy since (without setting the world on fire). If WB Gowers is the most we can expect from Moore or similar, that's not a bad thing.

I know Thomas has moved on, it just has always irked me and now with a vacant list spot, i think he would have been a lot better. I would much rather go for the young untried player who wasn't drafted for x reason, than players who missed out previously.

 

[thylacine60]

really tough guy ... returning after getting his neck severed.

emu regularly lost his head on a jinking run to oblivion..........

 

[ItsAllAboutMe]

I would pick it based on who is most likely to be able to help the northern blues.. For our senior side to be consistent and firing we need the 2s to be developing and playing finals as a minimum.. Forget that this player will one day end up a 200 game player for the club because it’s extremely unlikel.. Additionally taking a key forward or back like Moore might restrict the opportunity for Ben Dilvagni, Tom DK, Finbar Etc to develop so I would lean towards taking Webb, but have him almost as an assistant coach to Fraser

 

[Arr0w]

Pickett was told by WC, that if he wanted a spot on the list, he needed to turn up to preseason in good condition

He turned up 10KG overweight

He just doesn't have the right mindset, shame, he was blessed with talent

 

[murphster]

Look at it this way - presumably we felt the "list balance" was right coming into this year.

The only confirmed outs are a first year draftee (who we knew would miss the majority of the year) and Charlie.

If we're going to bring in one more player via the SSP, a forward target is probably the sensible choice.

Doesn't have to be Moore. I'd be OK with Sokol provided there's no hidden red flags that clubs are aware of but the public isn't. Or someone else I haven't heard of.

I'm equally happy if we take a longer term view with someone like Sturgess, though we need to bear in mind that whoever we take was either overlooked in the national and rookie drafts, potentially multiple times for mature agers, or has been delisted by an AFL club. We're not getting a free hit at someone from next year's draft, we're getting dregs. Maybe there's a diamond there somewhere....statistically it's very unlikely though.

Well I suggested that we give Jermaine Jones a run during pre season when he was delisted by the Cats but we didn’t and he has now been given one of West Coasts SSP slots after training with them, would have been a good option for us as he has some undoubted talent. Wouldn’t mind giving Sokol a go and I think an SSP role would be a good way to try him out, could certainly learn a lot playing with Eddie, although he’s a very different player, and there is no doubt he knows where the goals are he kicked 32 goals in the 5 games leading up to the grand final and kicked 6 in the granny.

You can see watching the WAFL why there players fit in so well at AFL level it is a very similar style to the AFL where as the VFL just isn’t imo, Sokol would slot in well coming from a very successful club that plays a similar style to the way Teague wants us to play, also his club has a great culture of train hard to play hard and team first mentality. I’d take him.



Also for those interested:

 

[murphster]

Personally I wouldn’t be giving any of the current train on players the slot and it’s probably to late to try anyone else so maybe we just wait until the mid year draft, does anyone know what Archie Manton is doing this year? Is he playing as an overager for the Knights or maybe coming to Northern, very raw but won the goal kicking in the U18s last year.

After watching the StMarys vs Nightcliffe game last week wouldn’t mind looking at Nick Yarran Jr he’s small 171cm but tough and has talent, we should be keeping a close eye on this comp, as the talent is immense, and we need to broaden our horizons which seems to have really narrowed of late, we could use another cat b rookie and we obviously have given up on the Irish experiment, Bombers have Nigel Lockyer training with them who plays up there as well.

PS: For those interested there is a final in the NTFL on this weekend on NITV at 3:00pm on Sunday, well worth a look. Also replayed Monday night at 9:35.

 

[Bamboo Harvester]

Personally I wouldn’t be giving any of the current train on players the slot and it’s probably to late to try anyone else so maybe we just wait until the mid year draft, does anyone know what Archie Manton is doing this year? Is he playing as an overager for the Knights or maybe coming to Northern, very raw but won the goal kicking in the U18s last year.

After watching the StMarys vs Nightcliffe game last week wouldn’t mind looking at Nick Yarran Jr he’s small 171cm but tough and has talent, we should be keeping a close eye on this comp, as the talent is immense, and we need to broaden our horizons which seems to have really narrowed of late, we could use another cat b rookie and we obviously have given up on the Irish experiment, Bombers have Nigel Lockyer training with them who plays up there as well.

PS: For those interested there is a final in the NTFL on this weekend on NITV at 3:00pm on Sunday, well worth a look. Also replayed Monday night at 9:35.

Or even possibly Adam Sambono....kicked 12 in a game last year for the Buffalos in the NTFL...tall and skinny, but MASSIVELY talented.

Great highlights reel from a few years back.

Clubs in a flap over NT Thunder go-go gadget

Football world taking notice of Adam Sambono, a raw talent on the rise

www.afl.com.au

 

[Arr0w]

Or even possibly Adam Sambono....kicked 12 in a game last year for the Buffalos in the NTFL...tall and skinny, but MASSIVELY talented.

Great highlights reel from a few years back.

Clubs in a flap over NT Thunder go-go gadget

Football world taking notice of Adam Sambono, a raw talent on the rise

www.afl.com.au

Has class hasn't he, does some real freaky things

 

[chipzac]

Has class hasn't he, does some real freaky things

classy players who do freaky things ... these are the guys we should be trying out for a rookie spot.

 

[bmaurizio]

Absolutely give Adam A go , he’s obviously talented and may just respond to the challenge and demands of playing AFL center stage.
We must be less risk aversive , the team has some great mentors and will help settle and attune the lad to the demanding professional environment and rapacious media, it ain’t easy but the gains could huge for kid and the club.

 

[Bamboo Harvester]

We must be less risk aversive , the team has some great mentors

You've absolutely nailed it....we'll probably just go the 'safe' option with Moore or Webb or the other kid....but I'd love for us to take a 'risk' and give someone like Sambono an opportunity....who obviously has huge talent, and could be mentored by Eddie and others down the club in his development. Tiggs took risks with both Stack and Pickett, and ended up with a couple of potential gems.

His team mate Matt Campbell (ex North) said in the article "I'd hate for a kid this talented not to get a look in, just because an AFL club is worried about what he'd do off-field. He's not a risk, in terms of a Liam Jurrah. He doesn't drink and he doesn’t take drugs. He's a great kid and all he wants is a great opportunity."

We could do a lot worse...and I reckon someone like him would quickly become a fan favorite

 

[Opine]

I like the ex Dog. I think he could be a handy pickup if he can get a reasonable turn of luck against injury.


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[chipzac]

I like the ex Dog. I think he could be a handy pickup if he can get a reasonable turn of luck against injury.


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app

He's done his hind leg apparently

 

[reg_lower91]

I’m in the camp of waiting until the mid season draft to see what our needs are then. We have a relatively healthy list, no need to rush it on someone who hasn’t quite earned it IMO.

 

[murphster]

Or even possibly Adam Sambono....kicked 12 in a game last year for the Buffalos in the NTFL...tall and skinny, but MASSIVELY talented.

Great highlights reel from a few years back.

Clubs in a flap over NT Thunder go-go gadget

Football world taking notice of Adam Sambono, a raw talent on the rise

www.afl.com.au

Yeah surprising no one has even given him a rookie spot, skinny but loads of talent especially above his head.

 

[murphster]

Absolutely give Adam A go , he’s obviously talented and may just respond to the challenge and demands of playing AFL center stage.
We must be less risk aversive , the team has some great mentors and will help settle and attune the lad to the demanding professional environment and rapacious media, it ain’t easy but the gains could huge for kid and the club.

Yeah I think Samo would be a great mentor for him, I think the move to Melbourne would be a big shock to the kid and is probably a big reason no one has tried, I would be more than happy for Carlton to go down this road and it is definitely something we should be getting into especially now that we have a really good core group and the rookie slots will now be very important for us going forward.

 

[Doro]

I’m in the camp of waiting until the mid season draft to see what our needs are then. We have a relatively healthy list, no need to rush it on someone who hasn’t quite earned it IMO.

Yeah no-one has grabbed the opportunity, so we may as well hold onto it.

 

[Metalcrusher]

You've absolutely nailed it....we'll probably just go the 'safe' option with Moore or Webb or the other kid....but I'd love for us to take a 'risk' and give someone like Sambono an opportunity....who obviously has huge talent, and could be mentored by Eddie and others down the club in his development. Tiggs took risks with both Stack and Pickett, and ended up with a couple of potential gems.

His team mate Matt Campbell (ex North) said in the article "I'd hate for a kid this talented not to get a look in, just because an AFL club is worried about what he'd do off-field. He's not a risk, in terms of a Liam Jurrah. He doesn't drink and he doesn’t take drugs. He's a great kid and all he wants is a great opportunity."

We could do a lot worse...and I reckon someone like him would quickly become a fan favorite

Webb and Moore do not excite me.

 

[Metalcrusher]

Or even possibly Adam Sambono....kicked 12 in a game last year for the Buffalos in the NTFL...tall and skinny, but MASSIVELY talented.

Great highlights reel from a few years back.

Clubs in a flap over NT Thunder go-go gadget

Football world taking notice of Adam Sambono, a raw talent on the rise

www.afl.com.au

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2017 Draft Combine invitees

83 players from around Australia have been invited to the October 3-6 combine at Etihad Stadium

www.afc.com.au

Buddy visit inspires AFL draft hopeful

Franklin visited the community of Nauiyu, about 220km south of Darwin.

thewest.com.au

So what happened?

 

[thylacine60]

Webb and Moore do not excite me.

just as well I do then...........

 

[Opine]

He's done his hind leg apparently

Oh, thats bad luck; again.