Freo Draft Policy / Methods

[prattsta]

Yeah, I quite like Walters, his kicking is amazing.

He kind of reminds me of Hasleby for some reason. Might be the fact he's slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter or it could be the whole, short, slow, awesome footballer thing...

 

[strobe00]

Don't hold your breathe Selggad.

The draft looked purely like best available as opposed to needs with an asterisk against skill and speed.

Agreed. Spot on.

Still wishing that we'd managed to score an inside mid/accumulator. But we may already have those guys on our list but playing forward or back at the moment (e.g. MDB, suban).

 

[strobe00]

I think the trend is towards a greater spread of goal kickers rather than focusing attack through a monster KPF. Harder to double team when the person you leave free is an equally good path to goal.

Have a group of equally skilled hard runners leading in every direction and I would imagine it would be difficult to counter either by zoning or manning up.

Another bonus that we have is that quite a few of our flanker types are reasonably tall (187-191cm) or are good in contested marking situations despite their height (e.g. Broughton, Suban).

Hard to match up on mids that can drag their opponents deep into the forward line and take a contested mark.

That could also be part of the future strategy.

 

[HowieD]

You get me wrong in that I don't think Pitt will become a good player - I believe he will, but not in any timeframe that will help win a premiership. It's often discussed on here that our 2011/2012 best 22 will be better than our 2013/2014 best 22, and to me, this is something that is becoming clearer each draft since 2008.

Using this logic, and the fact that you are unhappy with the pick of an "outside" midfielder, you would want a flag in 2011/2012 with no thought of the future past that until the year before?

I don't believe you are saying this, but it comes across that way. Inside midfielders can be developed. Barlow, Palmer, Mundy, Sandilands (yes, his contested possessions make him worthy of an "inside midfielder" title). They are just a few. We have them already developing. I'm sure a few "outside" midfielders will be honing their "inside" skills for this year too.

Harvey's goal seems to be creating a bunch of allrounders. A team who can adapt to any style of play thrown at them. I love the fact Fremantle took Pitt with their first pick. I'm sure you will love it when the next season starts and Fremantle start better than this season.

Pitt is a long term prospect, but with him we now have a kid who can be the "quarterback". I envisage him running behind a player who has just taken a mark, getting dished the ball and pinpointing a long leading target. But I can also see Harvey having something completely different in mind. Put on ten kilograms in the next two to three years and the kid could be breaking packs open as well. Who knows with these kinds of player what they will be doing. Who knew Fyfe would be an inside midfielder when he was recruited? Who knew Barlow would dominate the possession count when he was recruited? Who knew that the coaching staff could teach de Boer to kick when he was recruited? Have faith. Pitt and others are better than their physical stats and highlights reels suggest.

 

[strobe00]

You said they were soft. That's what I picked you up on.

Also people are missing Fyfe when they talk about inside ball winners. Kid is a genius at getting hold of it around packs and dishing it out in a flash. Didn't anyone else notice this last year?

Definitely did. He's a natural.

May not be the biggest kid, but he's evasive, awesome below his knees and reads the play very well. Also makes great decisions.

For those points, he actually reminds me a bit of Mundy. Mundy isn't a heavy bloke, but was one of the comps very best clearance mids this year and has great skills. Fyfe has the potential to be as good.

 

[strobe00]

He kind of reminds me of Hasleby for some reason. Might be the fact he's slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter or it could be the whole, short, slow, awesome footballer thing...

I hadn't thought of Walters as slow. He mightn't be a jet, but he has reasonable pace. Definitely more toe than Hase anyway.

 

[Clay Davis]

Using this logic, and the fact that you are unhappy with the pick of an "outside" midfielder, you would want a flag in 2011/2012 with no thought of the future past that until the year before?

I don't see how that matters. An 18 year old who can make an impact in his first year won't be prevented from having a 10 year career

I don't believe you are saying this, but it comes across that way. Inside midfielders can be developed. Barlow, Palmer, Mundy, Sandilands (yes, his contested possessions make him worthy of an "inside midfielder" title). They are just a few. We have them already developing. I'm sure a few "outside" midfielders will be honing their "inside" skills for this year too.

The problem with the four you've listed, is one is a ruckman who needs a reduction in game time to prolong his career, and two have had serious injuries and are yet to return to peak form. That's why I believe we need more depth in that area.

Harvey's goal seems to be creating a bunch of allrounders. A team who can adapt to any style of play thrown at them.

I think you're projecting here.

Pitt is a long term prospect, but with him we now have a kid who can be the "quarterback".

We've never lacked for that kind of player. Black, Mundy, Ibbotson, Hayden, Duffield, Broughton have all done that to varying degrees.

Put on ten kilograms in the next two to three years and the kid could be breaking packs open as well. Who knows with these kinds of player what they will be doing. Who knew Fyfe would be an inside midfielder when he was recruited? Who knew Barlow would dominate the possession count when he was recruited? Who knew that the coaching staff could teach de Boer to kick when he was recruited? Have faith. Pitt and others are better than their physical stats and highlights reels suggest.

Many picked Barlow as being a huge pick up for the side. Fyfe isn't an inside midfielder. De Boer's kicking is better but I don't think he's been 'taught' yet.

I don't have faith that Pitt won't make it - my point is that he isn't what we need in the time frame we are best able to win a premiership.

 

[HowieD]

I don't have faith that Pitt won't make it - my point is that he isn't what we need in the time frame we are best able to win a premiership.

I'm not going to argue every point here. We have slightly differing opinions, for an argument with no right or wrong answer, and I'll grant that yours aren't horribly ugly with no merit. On the point quoted here, we both believe Pitt will make it at some point. You believe there are plenty of players who could fit a role now and also have an impact in the future. I believe we rounded out the core of our team in trade week, and started using this draft to look to sustain a period of success, rather than have a short two year window.

I always look at the Hill/Rich pick when thinking about this kind of thing. Rich was commonly thought of as "ready to go". We skipped him for Hill and developed Hill in the AFL from the start. Turns out both were ready to go. Just in different ways. The good thing for Hill is that he gets to play for a team with guts, and Rich is stuck listening to Vossy crow about how great he was.

 

[BananaOnTheRun]

crowley over the last 6-7 years has always been in our top 3 for fitness, so yes he can. i used to often say that matty deboer cant kick and wasnt in our best 22, every time ive said he cant do something, he has gone and made an idiot of me, so im willing to say that if he cant currently run all day (which i reckon he probably can anyway) then he wont be far off it come round 1

sounds like deboer's working on it. one the preseason threads reported him working on his running (with fyfe). good signs if that's the case. it'll mean the runners will have snipers who can keep up with them to bump pursuers aside.

i didn't realise de boer was so tall, he looks to have the body of a shorter man, ie. long trunk, short legs. that might explain why he's so good at keeping his feet. rewatching some games, it's amazing how unrattled he is after a bump, just a shake of the head and he's on his way while his opponent is counting how many teeth he's got left. if deboer was a boxer, he'd be one those guys who'd never get knocked out.

 

[Nickos66]

He should be called Matty balBoer.

 

[estibador]

Lol... that's very good Nicko

 

[twist]

I watched them all - only Mellington impressed well above his placement in the draft, and that was at the TAC level. Pitt's best stuff was against the NSW/ACT, which is on par with dominating at TAC.

.

Ay no Clay. His best stuff was his best on ground performance against Vic Metro on the first day of the Championships. Thats the game where everyone took notice....learn!!

 

[Boppo]

I hadn't thought of Walters as slow. He mightn't be a jet, but he has reasonable pace. Definitely more toe than Hase anyway.

I thought he was lightning against Hawthorn in the finals, streaking through traffic. Became a fan that day.