How should we use our first two draft picks?

[year of the cat]

With the excitement of the Under 18 Championships providing for Geelong supporters with the iminent drafting of Tom Hawkins as FS (third round pick) I thought it might be interesting to throw on the table a discussion as to what/who we should be attempting to draft with out first two picks.

For me our main deficiencies were a tall marking forward which hopefully is solved with Hawkins. Together with N.Ablett, Mooney and Ottens we should be right for now.

I believe we should be looking with our first two picks at -

1. A future replacement for CHB (ie. Tom Harley). Tom has been obviously very injury prone over the past two or three years and unless things change may have an interrupted remainder to his career. Suitable replacements in the upcoming draft include Thorpe, Ben Reid, Eric MacKenzie, Clinton Benjamin or one of the Brown twins from Vic Country.

2. More pace in the midfield. From the couple of matches that I viewed on Sunday together with discussion on Bigfooty we may look at Jetta, Collard, Houli, Hislop, Boak, Chris Schmidt from SA, Ricky Petterd and Albert Proad.

My question is should we use our first pick on a midfielder or a key position player (or something else if you have any other ideas)? Who has impressed you?

 

[cats2rise]

Thats scarey. Same sort of thread made at the same time.
Agree, we need another tall defender to take over from Harley, and more pace in the midfield. #rd round we get Hawkins, and after that maybe another pacey midfielder/ KPP player to either go forward or back. Either that or a Ruckman that is ahead of Blake and the other young one (cannot remember his name to save my life)

 

[year of the cat]

Thats scarey. Same sort of thread made at the same time.
Agree, we need another tall defender to take over from Harley, and more pace in the midfield. #rd round we get Hawkins, and after that maybe another pacey midfielder/ KPP player to either go forward or back. Either that or a Ruckman that is ahead of Blake and the other young one (cannot remember his name to save my life)

Trent West. I reckon Geelong will be making a play via a trade (player/s not early draft picks) for John Meeson. Whilst not an experienced ruckman he is a Geelong boy and apparently has filled out pretty well.

 

[Turbocat]

I think you'se guys should link pinkies. Two posts at the same time!

Our weak area are the one's you have outlined. Key backs , Rucks and and like every team quality in the middle

As a ruckman , one guy who really impressed me is too young this year , Kreuzer . Boy if he was available this year wouldnt that a bit gas on the fire. Although he didnt play that well the ruckman for WA , Leuenberger would have to be considered
Tall player who could play back and forward I liked Thorp and Hansen but Id say they will be gone before our pick, I also like Ben Ried he is a youngish player that could fit in across the backline that will develop in to good key backman , I sure most years he would be a lot earlier than he will go this year.

Theres just so much mid talent its almost to hard to tell but I did like a lot of the Aboriginal talent for NT, Anderson and Djerrkura where two I liked

 

[Inferno]

We will need a CHF this year to back up and take over Harley's role when he retires and a full-back next year to take over from Scarlett when we retires. Fast midfielder would be very nice and when we have Varcoe up and running we should have at top 3 midfield. If we can get a ruckman thats better then Blake that would be nice but we wont need Otto up forward as much with Hawkins.

 

[Whispers]

Hawkins will be great but like other KPP will need time to develop. Throw him in the deep end and he could drown. Looks like a pretty switched on kid which is good and its exciting that he may even wear the no. 26 next year if they delist McCarthey.

I could easily see Meeson at Geelong next year for Andrew Mackie... a year difference between them and both picked up in the first round. Both have underacheived.... so its not a huge risk.

 

[Reg Hickey]

Meesen would be too expensive. They won't just give away a top 10 pick that they've put two years of work into, and even if he comes out and says he's not happy and wants to be traded back to Victoria, there'd be a bit of competition for his services. And I don't think he's underachieved either - its only his second year and as a ruckman I doubt they expected much out of him yet.

I agree that we need a defensive KPP and some midfield pace, but I'm not convinced that our tall forward woes would be solved with Hawkins.

I think the argument for taking a key forward with our first pick is something like this.

N Ablett might make it, but he might not, and same with the other one you didn't mention, Grima. On our current list, that leaves Mooney who looks like a great find this year, and Ottens who will probably required to play a fair bit of ruck as the only real key forward options. Owen, Mackie, Dog are sometimes also mentioned, but they are all really flankers. The rest - Lonergan, McCarthy, Kingsley, Playfair - should be traded/delisted unless they can be reinvented into flankers (Kinglsey), ruckmen (Playfair) or defensive KPs (Lonergan and McCarthy).

Moons and Otto will both turn 27 before next season, which leaves them with maybe another 4 years, which coincidentally is about the amount of time it takes for a young KPP to really get up to speed at AFL level.

Two further facts strengthen the argument. First, our performance this year has been well below expectations, and I would suggest that we are not likely to be this bad again for at least a couple of years. Combined with the fact that no-one is eligible for a pre-first-round priority pick this year, that means that we will probably have an unusually high pick, which is where the really good tall forwards are found. Second, there is an unusually high amount of quality KPPs in this draft, so the chances of a potential superstar being available by our pick are increased.

So maybe we should take the opportunity to nab another really good key forward, and really make that part of the side a strength. We could then use our second pick (around 20-25) on a decent midfielder with pace, like Sheringham.

The argument against says that with Hawkins, Mooney, Ottens, N Ablett and Grima we have enough tall forward talent, and with Blake and West developing further, Otto can spend more time up forward. We could then look at a potential star midfielder (Jetta, Collard, Proud, Houli, Hislop or even Selwood) with our first rounder, use our second rounder on a potential key defender - Andrejs Everitt comes to mind after his effort on Sunday - and maybe a project ruckman in the fourth round.

Personally, I'm still undecided, which is why I think we should leave NA in the team for the rest of the season, and maybe promote Grima for a few matches as well, and decide once and for all whether we think they really do have the goods.

We should also do everything necessary to decide whether a guy like Lonergan is a future KP defender - he's played there a lot in the VFL, and if he is good enough he could be a good partner for Egan in the back half in a couple of years?

 

[Cats!!]

I think with our first pick we will have to go for a KPP. If we happen to miss them we will go for a pacey mid. Selwood is not this. I think someone like Jetta. But i think one of the KPP will fall down the order. Im basing this on that we will have around pick 7, 8 or 9. And then if we get a KPP with our first we'll pick up a pacey mid fielder with our second. Suck as someone like Boak.

 

[costanza23]

I want us to get Gumbleton, coz then I can call him Gumby .
Seriously, he will be gone by the time it gets to our first pick. I'm going to the game tomorrow at KP, so I'm definately on the watch for Hawksta and maybe Jetta. By the looks so far, Sellar, Hansen, Thorp and Gumbleton will all be gone by our pick. So I say another pacey midfield = Jetta. Hopefully he can be that 'match-winner' that we desperately need in the midfield that gets 25+ useful (refer to C. Ling) possessions a game.
I have no idea on what to use our second pick on thou.

Refering to other posts, people say we need a replacement for Harley. Isn't that Egan already? Or is he more of a FB than a CHB?

 

[Cats!!]

By the looks so far, Sellar, Hansen, Thorp and Gumbleton will all be gone by our pick.quote]

If those four are both gone by our pick, we will go for reiwaldt. He can play both forward and back. Although if Jetta is still there or even Collard it would be very tempting to take either of the two.

 

[Reg Hickey]

I want us to get Gumbleton, coz then I can call him Gumby .
Seriously, he will be gone by the time it gets to our first pick. I'm going to the game tomorrow at KP, so I'm definately on the watch for Hawksta and maybe Jetta. By the looks so far, Sellar, Hansen, Thorp and Gumbleton will all be gone by our pick. So I say another pacey midfield = Jetta. Hopefully he can be that 'match-winner' that we desperately need in the midfield that gets 25+ useful (refer to C. Ling) possessions a game.
I have no idea on what to use our second pick on thou.

Refering to other posts, people say we need a replacement for Harley. Isn't that Egan already? Or is he more of a FB than a CHB?

Egan probably is the future CHB, but then we need another tall defender to take over Egan's current role. Thus the need to "replace Harley".

I think we should be thinking about the two tall boys from Tassie for our first pick. Reiwoldt will still be there at 7-10, and I think there's even a decent chance that Thorp could slip that far - some clubs will be looking for midfielders with early picks and with Hansen, Gumbleton and Sellar up there, and Thorp being a Div 2 player, he might slide a bit. If he (Thorp) is available for our first pick, we should definitely nab him quick smart!

I'm not sold on Jetta though. Super quick and skilful, but apparently can drift in and out of the game and tends to go for the flashy option. Ronnie Burns anyone?? Not sure that's the sort of player we need. Maybe Hislop, Houli, Collard or Proud might be better?

For the second pick, if we take a KPP with our first then we have to go for the best midfielder. At that stage probably someone like Sheringham, Boak, Petterd, O'Brien would be good. If we take a midfielder first, then I like someone like Everitt as a key defender. Looked a cool and composed customer on Sunday. Might need a couple of years to develop, but I think we'll be able to give him time.

 

[Ricketts]

Trade them in for magic beans.

 

[Cats!!]

I doubt Thorp will slip. The one i reacon like i stated before is Riewaldt. Do you think his stocks may rise though? Also if Seller doesnt have a very good carnival do you reacon he could slip abit. or do u think he is a definent top 5.

 

[Scarlett Fever]

I am not even going to get involved in which kid we grab because I have not seen them and trust Wells to make the correct decision. But if the teams before us went for the hyped up talls and left a top quality ball magnet with excellent skills and desision making then I would be delighted. Maybe Selwood, Proud or dare I suggest Bryce Gibbs. Any chance we could get one of the best talls (Hawkins) and one of the best midfielders in the draft? If there is a quality tall still available then I would also be happy.

I don't know if Clinton Benjamin will make the grade but I understand he is a tall and a lightning fast flanker, wingman. These attributes would also be highly desirable to Geelong at the moment.

 

[Jack-Packenham]

It all depends on where we finish. Finish bottom 8 I would go Key Forward (Gumbleton or Riewoldt) and then an onballer (delphine). If we make the 8 I would go onballer (Hurley or Proud) and small forward (Prismall or Houlli).

If we miss the 8 I think we would be a huge chance to get either Gumbleton or Riewoldt, which combined with Hawkins and Nablett would set up our forward line for the next 10 years. Clubs don't get too many opportunities to pick key forwards with ability so me must take advantage of this years draft. The other area I believe the cats need to improve in is at the clearances. Rick Delphine from Gippsland is a clearance specialist and could be a go in the 2nd round. Pace I don't see as a huge issue with Tenace, Varcoe, Byrnes and Prismall. Just remember teams look quicker when you are winning the ball. I would also love to get a medium forward with polish like Houlli or Prismall. To get these guys we would probably have to trade for an early second round pick ( Mackie and S Johnson ) spring to mind. With the depth of this years draft I belive we could draft a key backman in the fourth round.

If we make the 8 I think we probably go for the on baller with the first pick(all the good forwards will be gone by then) Hurley or Proud may suit. Then I would take Prismall or Houlli in the second round.

 

[Reg Hickey]

It all depends on where we finish. Finish bottom 8 I would go Key Forward (Gumbleton or Riewoldt) and then an onballer (delphine). If we make the 8 I would go onballer (Hurley or Proud) and small forward (Prismall or Houlli).

If we miss the 8 I think we would be a huge chance to get either Gumbleton or Riewoldt, which combined with Hawkins and Nablett would set up our forward line for the next 10 years. Clubs don't get too many opportunities to pick key forwards with ability so me must take advantage of this years draft. The other area I believe the cats need to improve in is at the clearances. Rick Delphine from Gippsland is a clearance specialist and could be a go in the 2nd round. Pace I don't see as a huge issue with Tenace, Varcoe, Byrnes and Prismall. Just remember teams look quicker when you are winning the ball. I would also love to get a medium forward with polish like Houlli or Prismall. To get these guys we would probably have to trade for an early second round pick ( Mackie and S Johnson ) spring to mind. With the depth of this years draft I belive we could draft a key backman in the fourth round.

If we make the 8 I think we probably go for the on baller with the first pick(all the good forwards will be gone by then) Hurley or Proud may suit. Then I would take Prismall or Houlli in the second round.

I don't think we need any small forwards. We have GAJ, Chappy, Stokes, Mackie, SJ, Owen and even (dare I say it) Charlie. A key forward, a midfielder, a key defender and a small defender (ie just about everyone else!) are all more important.

I wouldn't trade Mackie at this stage. He is coming into his prime years now. Yes he's still underweight, but I think he's just taking a little longer than most and he'll get plenty bigger and stronger as he matures (at 22 I was 190cm and 73kgs, at 25 I was 190cm and 92kgs, and no it wasn't just fat!). He has pace, agility and a touch of class, and will be a very, very good player in the midfield and on a flank in a couple of years. SJ I'm not so sure about - the more I hear about his ankles the more worried I am. Trade while we can still get something??

I agree with most of the rest, except I think Delphine is too small. With a pick around 9-12 I would think that Proud, Collard, Hislop and O'Brien would probably be high on our shopping list.

 

[Jack-Packenham]

I agree with most of the rest, except I think Delphine is too small.

When the ball is on the ground who cares how small they are.

 

[Jack-Packenham]

I wouldn't trade Mackie at this stage. He is coming into his prime years now. Yes he's still underweight, but I think he's just taking a little longer than most and he'll get plenty bigger and stronger as he matures (at 22 I was 190cm and 73kgs, at 25 I was 190cm and 92kgs, and no it wasn't just fat!). He has pace, agility and a touch of class, and will be a very, very good player in the midfield and on a flank in a couple of years.

Mackie and class should never be used in the same sentence ever again. He can't even kick properly.

 

[year of the cat]

It sounds as if everyone is pretty much on the same park. I reckon that if there is a quality key position player still available come our pick we should take him, as has been mentioned they don't come around too often. If Thorpe is still available (Hansen, Sellar and Gumbleton will be gone) then we should take him, otherwise I would take at the moment in order Riewoldt, Reid and then McKenzie. If they are all gone then I would focus on a class on-baller. Again in order (assuming Gibbs is gone of course) it would be Collard, Jetta, Hislop, Hurley...Either way we should be able to get a couple of handy players with these two picks. I reckon there is a fair chance that Prismall will still be around in the fourth round.

 

[cats2rise]

I tend to agree with Jack here. Top post. But i think a tall defender should be higher on our list.

 

[thehoff]

I wouldn't trade Mackie at this stage. He is coming into his prime years now. Yes he's still underweight, but I think he's just taking a little longer than most and he'll get plenty bigger and stronger as he matures (at 22 I was 190cm and 73kgs, at 25 I was 190cm and 92kgs, and no it wasn't just fat!). He has pace, agility and a touch of class, and will be a very, very good player in the midfield and on a flank in a couple of years.

Gee Jack, you must have got stuck into the BigMacs from 22 to 25, however i do agree with you. Mackie is a keeper and will produce eventually.

 

[Jack-Packenham]

Gee Jack, you must have got stuck into the BigMacs from 22 to 25, however i do agree with you. Mackie is a keeper and will produce eventually.

That's not my quote hoff. Read again. I was quoting Reg Hickey.

 

[Reg Hickey]

That's not my quote hoff. Read again. I was quoting Reg Hickey.

Didn't mind a Big Mac every now and then! But I was also playing footy and going to the gym regularly, and it was just a case of my body maturing. Before 22 I couldn't put on weight to save myself, then suddenly it all changed. The point is that many people keep criticising Mackie for being too skinny even 3-4 years after being drafted, but its just that his body is taking longer to mature than others. He might never be built like Josh Hunt, but mark my words, if he works at it he'll be big enough.

And I do think Mackie has class. His biggest problem is his sometimes shoddy disposal, but he'll be OK.

 

[Reg Hickey]

It sounds as if everyone is pretty much on the same park. I reckon that if there is a quality key position player still available come our pick we should take him, as has been mentioned they don't come around too often. If Thorpe is still available (Hansen, Sellar and Gumbleton will be gone) then we should take him, otherwise I would take at the moment in order Riewoldt, Reid and then McKenzie. If they are all gone then I would focus on a class on-baller. Again in order (assuming Gibbs is gone of course) it would be Collard, Jetta, Hislop, Hurley...Either way we should be able to get a couple of handy players with these two picks. I reckon there is a fair chance that Prismall will still be around in the fourth round.

Generally agree, although not entirely sure we should be taking Reid or McKenzie over Collard or Jetta.

 

[DBAH0]

Messon for Mackie I think we would certainly do, don't know if Adelaide would do it. Although Craig might like Mackie's work in the defensive aspects of his game. Maybe he could turn him into another Mattner?

As for our picks, get one in the top 6. If we don't finish in the position, trade players like Steve Johnson etc. to move up into the top 6. Then you can grab a quality KPP like Gumbleton along with Hawkins.

2nd pick ideally would be another pacy midfielder, or a HFF like Prismall, but it should always be best player available and not drafting based on need.