My take on Draft/Trade week

[DaVe86]

I'm ecstatic. Think this has been a really good off-season by our recruiting team.

Ultimately, I was dissapointed we did not snare Ball in trade week. Hindsight will say that it turned out for the best considering we kept Wellingham and Goldsack, and only lost pick 30. But we did it the hard way, and realistically still should've got the trade across the line.

But when you're dealing with a hard-head like Lyon, you have to stand up for yourself. And we did that. Luck was with us...the cards had to fall our way. But we win, and they lose and that's all that matters at the end of the day.



Darren Jolly - Cost us a lot I thought. It would've been great having a pick in the 40's. But in the end, I wanted Ball, Buckley and Thomas and we got all 3. Plus we get an unknown propsect in Sinclair at 62 who was realistically our first pick in this draft.

Jolly is the ruckmen we have needed since Monky. Wood took leaps and bounds this year, but is not a premiership winning ruckman just yet. Jolly at 28 has years left in him. He never gets injured and will play til 33. He could even become a 100 game player for the Pies.


With Ball now in the midfield, the Jolly trade becomes so powerful. Not only do we have a gun ruckman, but we have quality at his feet. O'Bree, Ball, Pendlebury and Swan. That is a great clearance division.


Although we had to pay the extra draft pick, we did what we had to do to get the deal across. Roos was on a plane back to Sydney. So if we wanted our man, it had to be done.



Luke Ball
Perhaps the big fish of the off-season for us. He may only be a B grade footballer, but what he adds to a midfield is A grade. He is a bull at the contests. Has lacked a defensive aspect recently, but his tackling has always been a feature.

Collingwood will have guaranteed him gametime and Ball is looking super fit. I think he is getting back to him earlier speed and form. It has taken him a while to recover from OP.


Ultimately, this is a guy that wanted Collingwood and nothing else. He risked everything to be a Magpie. He left all other clubs under no illusion that it was Collingwood or nothing. And it was effective because the clubs let him go.


A fantastic acquisition for the club. He'll bleed black and white. He'll be a leader. And we screwed over Ross Lyon who tried to screw over both Ball and us.


Importantly, we did not give up. Once the trade fell through, it would've been easy to drop our heads. But instead we got an even better result that first thought.

A great onball division now. Let's hope he stays fit. He is young enough to be a 100 game player for Collingwood as well. That's what you want from a draftee.



ben Sinclair

Once we got Ball, we had to look at pace. We get this in Sinclair. Don't expect anything short term, he is too skinny. But he is courageous, quick and skilled. So if we are all patient we could have a winner.

Probably a bit of a project player. And look, you can't win off every pick. But at 62, and in a shallow draft, this sort of player was the way to go. because the upside is huge.


Josh Thomas

I had him down to be taken at 30. So to get him at 75 was a huge scoop. Obviously, someone gave him a guarantee that he would be drafted by opting out of the GC process. It must have been us.

Thomas has pace and ok skills. Has been compared to Cotchin, but I also see a bit of Foley in him.


This is fantastic work by Collingwood. These kids are bookmarked to be drafted by GC, so opting out of that is a risk to that player and involves them moving away from home. We have now convinced 3 players to do this. Taylor, Thomas and Beams. Taylor was taken by someone else, but that's OK because atleast Gold Coast are not getting everyone.


We are the only real team pursuiing this approach. And we are getting quality player cheap. It is just another example of Collingwood recruiters thinking outside the square.



Simon Buckley

I don't care what others say, I am a wrap for this selection. This is not a latest thing, I was on Buckley 2 years ago when i was scouting him for my dream team.

He has pace, good footskills and takes the game on. The obvious flaw is his decision making. But I believe this is largely due to the fact that he was playing for Melbourne. He had little support and it was from kids.

He was obviously instructed to take the game on and take risks. Often these risks came unstuck as he got caught often and often had no CHF leading up to him offering a target.

At Collingwood, you'd hope he'd have more support, and will also be given more structure.

I can honestly see him slipping into our 22. Apart from Shaw, we have no dash off half back. This is our downfall against Hawthorn and St.Kilda. Both will be top 4 next year so we'll have to beat them to win the flag.


Again, it could turn out a nothing pick, but at 85 you can't go much wrong. He is no worst than Shannon Cox anyway, and that is basically what it has cost.



Shae McNamara

Will now be rookied as an International. Another high risk/high reward pick. We've really taken the punt this year.

I don't think Shae will be too far off. As a ruckman, his skill level does not have to be that of a midfielder or forward. He obviously has the height and agility to be a great ruckman. He seems to be doing the hard yards with his training so I think it will all come naturally to him.

I know we are all scared since we have lost Marty and Dyas. I too am sceptical. But as an international rookie it costs us nothing. Another example of our recruiters casting a wide net.








Conclusion


A huge off-season to date. I've been critical of our recruiting in the past because I don't think we have made some tough calls. This year we have taken a risk, but have gone out and got our 2 targets. Our team is considerably stronger now.


My one worry is that guys like Reid, Brown, Dawes, Wood, Sidebottom, Beams, McCarthy and Wellingham all get pushed down the pecking order. In particular I worry about the talls. We need to expose these guys next year, even if it costs games.

I think 2011 is the year for us. But we should experiment in 2010 because we need another KPP to come through. But recuiting experience basically means we are going for a flag at all costs, which often means youngsters miss out.



But, I think we have recruited players who will offer 100 games plus to the side. These aren't stop gaps. They are long term options.


if you look at St.Kilda and Geelong's drafting over the last 5-6 years, they have had as many failures as hits. In fact, many of their top picks turned out duds. But they did well out of late picks, and built a strong side which played together for many years.

Collingwood is following this path, except I think our drafting has been spot on. There's a few misses in there, but you have to understand drafting is a 50/50 thing.


Bring on 2010.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

Probably the best draft I've seen us have (from a recycled player point of view) since Mick has been there.

 

[Snag Breac]

A terrific, fair, informative summation, Dave, as ever. The club has excelled itself this year.

 

[BEEG]

I'm ecstatic. Think this has been a really good off-season by our recruiting team.

Ultimately, I was dissapointed we did not snare Ball in trade week. Hindsight will say that it turned out for the best considering we kept Wellingham and Goldsack, and only lost pick 30. But we did it the hard way, and realistically still should've got the trade across the line.

But when you're dealing with a hard-head like Lyon, you have to stand up for yourself. And we did that. Luck was with us...the cards had to fall our way. But we win, and they lose and that's all that matters at the end of the day.



Darren Jolly - Cost us a lot I thought. It would've been great having a pick in the 40's. But in the end, I wanted Ball, Buckley and Thomas and we got all 3. Plus we get an unknown propsect in Sinclair at 62 who was realistically our first pick in this draft.

Jolly is the ruckmen we have needed since Monky. Wood took leaps and bounds this year, but is not a premiership winning ruckman just yet. Jolly at 28 has years left in him. He never gets injured and will play til 33. He could even become a 100 game player for the Pies.


With Ball now in the midfield, the Jolly trade becomes so powerful. Not only do we have a gun ruckman, but we have quality at his feet. O'Bree, Ball, Pendlebury and Swan. That is a great clearance division.


Although we had to pay the extra draft pick, we did what we had to do to get the deal across. Roos was on a plane back to Sydney. So if we wanted our man, it had to be done.



Luke Ball
Perhaps the big fish of the off-season for us. He may only be a B grade footballer, but what he adds to a midfield is A grade. He is a bull at the contests. Has lacked a defensive aspect recently, but his tackling has always been a feature.

Collingwood will have guaranteed him gametime and Ball is looking super fit. I think he is getting back to him earlier speed and form. It has taken him a while to recover from OP.


Ultimately, this is a guy that wanted Collingwood and nothing else. He risked everything to be a Magpie. He left all other clubs under no illusion that it was Collingwood or nothing. And it was effective because the clubs let him go.


A fantastic acquisition for the club. He'll bleed black and white. He'll be a leader. And we screwed over Ross Lyon who tried to screw over both Ball and us.


Importantly, we did not give up. Once the trade fell through, it would've been easy to drop our heads. But instead we got an even better result that first thought.

A great onball division now. Let's hope he stays fit. He is young enough to be a 100 game player for Collingwood as well. That's what you want from a draftee.



ben Sinclair

Once we got Ball, we had to look at pace. We get this in Sinclair. Don't expect anything short term, he is too skinny. But he is courageous, quick and skilled. So if we are all patient we could have a winner.

Probably a bit of a project player. And look, you can't win off every pick. But at 62, and in a shallow draft, this sort of player was the way to go. because the upside is huge.


Josh Thomas

I had him down to be taken at 30. So to get him at 75 was a huge scoop. Obviously, someone gave him a guarantee that he would be drafted by opting out of the GC process. It must have been us.

Thomas has pace and ok skills. Has been compared to Cotchin, but I also see a bit of Foley in him.


This is fantastic work by Collingwood. These kids are bookmarked to be drafted by GC, so opting out of that is a risk to that player and involves them moving away from home. We have now convinced 3 players to do this. Taylor, Thomas and Beams. Taylor was taken by someone else, but that's OK because atleast Gold Coast are not getting everyone.


We are the only real team pursuiing this approach. And we are getting quality player cheap. It is just another example of Collingwood recruiters thinking outside the square.



Simon Buckley

I don't care what others say, I am a wrap for this selection. This is not a latest thing, I was on Buckley 2 years ago when i was scouting him for my dream team.

He has pace, good footskills and takes the game on. The obvious flaw is his decision making. But I believe this is largely due to the fact that he was playing for Melbourne. He had little support and it was from kids.

He was obviously instructed to take the game on and take risks. Often these risks came unstuck as he got caught often and often had no CHF leading up to him offering a target.

At Collingwood, you'd hope he'd have more support, and will also be given more structure.

I can honestly see him slipping into our 22. Apart from Shaw, we have no dash off half back. This is our downfall against Hawthorn and St.Kilda. Both will be top 4 next year so we'll have to beat them to win the flag.


Again, it could turn out a nothing pick, but at 85 you can't go much wrong. He is no worst than Shannon Cox anyway, and that is basically what it has cost.



Shae McNamara

Will now be rookied as an International. Another high risk/high reward pick. We've really taken the punt this year.

I don't think Shae will be too far off. As a ruckman, his skill level does not have to be that of a midfielder or forward. He obviously has the height and agility to be a great ruckman. He seems to be doing the hard yards with his training so I think it will all come naturally to him.

I know we are all scared since we have lost Marty and Dyas. I too am sceptical. But as an international rookie it costs us nothing. Another example of our recruiters casting a wide net.








Conclusion


A huge off-season to date. I've been critical of our recruiting in the past because I don't think we have made some tough calls. This year we have taken a risk, but have gone out and got our 2 targets. Our team is considerably stronger now.


My one worry is that guys like Reid, Brown, Dawes, Wood, Sidebottom, Beams, McCarthy and Wellingham all get pushed down the pecking order. In particular I worry about the talls. We need to expose these guys next year, even if it costs games.

I think 2011 is the year for us. But we should experiment in 2010 because we need another KPP to come through. But recuiting experience basically means we are going for a flag at all costs, which often means youngsters miss out.



But, I think we have recruited players who will offer 100 games plus to the side. These aren't stop gaps. They are long term options.


if you look at St.Kilda and Geelong's drafting over the last 5-6 years, they have had as many failures as hits. In fact, many of their top picks turned out duds. But they did well out of late picks, and built a strong side which played together for many years.

Collingwood is following this path, except I think our drafting has been spot on. There's a few misses in there, but you have to understand drafting is a 50/50 thing.


Bring on 2010.

Great Read

I cant believe how well we did in the draft

We lost our first 3 picks and got Jolly and Ball that is a massive win for our club

The good thing is now we have a very good clearence player to take pressure off people like Didak and Davis who arnt the traditional midfielders

It also gives one of them more time to spend on the HFF which will be a massive plus

Happiest i have been in trade week for a long time

Also agree 2011 is our year

 

[hermerl]

I'm ecstatic. Think this has been a really good off-season by our recruiting team.

Ultimately, I was dissapointed we did not snare Ball in trade week. Hindsight will say that it turned out for the best considering we kept Wellingham and Goldsack, and only lost pick 30. But we did it the hard way, and realistically still should've got the trade across the line.

But when you're dealing with a hard-head like Lyon, you have to stand up for yourself. And we did that. Luck was with us...the cards had to fall our way. But we win, and they lose and that's all that matters at the end of the day.



Darren Jolly - Cost us a lot I thought. It would've been great having a pick in the 40's. But in the end, I wanted Ball, Buckley and Thomas and we got all 3. Plus we get an unknown propsect in Sinclair at 62 who was realistically our first pick in this draft.

Jolly is the ruckmen we have needed since Monky. Wood took leaps and bounds this year, but is not a premiership winning ruckman just yet. Jolly at 28 has years left in him. He never gets injured and will play til 33. He could even become a 100 game player for the Pies.


With Ball now in the midfield, the Jolly trade becomes so powerful. Not only do we have a gun ruckman, but we have quality at his feet. O'Bree, Ball, Pendlebury and Swan. That is a great clearance division.


Although we had to pay the extra draft pick, we did what we had to do to get the deal across. Roos was on a plane back to Sydney. So if we wanted our man, it had to be done.



Luke Ball
Perhaps the big fish of the off-season for us. He may only be a B grade footballer, but what he adds to a midfield is A grade. He is a bull at the contests. Has lacked a defensive aspect recently, but his tackling has always been a feature.

Collingwood will have guaranteed him gametime and Ball is looking super fit. I think he is getting back to him earlier speed and form. It has taken him a while to recover from OP.


Ultimately, this is a guy that wanted Collingwood and nothing else. He risked everything to be a Magpie. He left all other clubs under no illusion that it was Collingwood or nothing. And it was effective because the clubs let him go.


A fantastic acquisition for the club. He'll bleed black and white. He'll be a leader. And we screwed over Ross Lyon who tried to screw over both Ball and us.


Importantly, we did not give up. Once the trade fell through, it would've been easy to drop our heads. But instead we got an even better result that first thought.

A great onball division now. Let's hope he stays fit. He is young enough to be a 100 game player for Collingwood as well. That's what you want from a draftee.



ben Sinclair

Once we got Ball, we had to look at pace. We get this in Sinclair. Don't expect anything short term, he is too skinny. But he is courageous, quick and skilled. So if we are all patient we could have a winner.

Probably a bit of a project player. And look, you can't win off every pick. But at 62, and in a shallow draft, this sort of player was the way to go. because the upside is huge.


Josh Thomas

I had him down to be taken at 30. So to get him at 75 was a huge scoop. Obviously, someone gave him a guarantee that he would be drafted by opting out of the GC process. It must have been us.

Thomas has pace and ok skills. Has been compared to Cotchin, but I also see a bit of Foley in him.


This is fantastic work by Collingwood. These kids are bookmarked to be drafted by GC, so opting out of that is a risk to that player and involves them moving away from home. We have now convinced 3 players to do this. Taylor, Thomas and Beams. Taylor was taken by someone else, but that's OK because atleast Gold Coast are not getting everyone.


We are the only real team pursuiing this approach. And we are getting quality player cheap. It is just another example of Collingwood recruiters thinking outside the square.



Simon Buckley

I don't care what others say, I am a wrap for this selection. This is not a latest thing, I was on Buckley 2 years ago when i was scouting him for my dream team.

He has pace, good footskills and takes the game on. The obvious flaw is his decision making. But I believe this is largely due to the fact that he was playing for Melbourne. He had little support and it was from kids.

He was obviously instructed to take the game on and take risks. Often these risks came unstuck as he got caught often and often had no CHF leading up to him offering a target.

At Collingwood, you'd hope he'd have more support, and will also be given more structure.

I can honestly see him slipping into our 22. Apart from Shaw, we have no dash off half back. This is our downfall against Hawthorn and St.Kilda. Both will be top 4 next year so we'll have to beat them to win the flag.


Again, it could turn out a nothing pick, but at 85 you can't go much wrong. He is no worst than Shannon Cox anyway, and that is basically what it has cost.



Shae McNamara

Will now be rookied as an International. Another high risk/high reward pick. We've really taken the punt this year.

I don't think Shae will be too far off. As a ruckman, his skill level does not have to be that of a midfielder or forward. He obviously has the height and agility to be a great ruckman. He seems to be doing the hard yards with his training so I think it will all come naturally to him.

I know we are all scared since we have lost Marty and Dyas. I too am sceptical. But as an international rookie it costs us nothing. Another example of our recruiters casting a wide net.








Conclusion


A huge off-season to date. I've been critical of our recruiting in the past because I don't think we have made some tough calls. This year we have taken a risk, but have gone out and got our 2 targets. Our team is considerably stronger now.


My one worry is that guys like Reid, Brown, Dawes, Wood, Sidebottom, Beams, McCarthy and Wellingham all get pushed down the pecking order. In particular I worry about the talls. We need to expose these guys next year, even if it costs games.

I think 2011 is the year for us. But we should experiment in 2010 because we need another KPP to come through. But recuiting experience basically means we are going for a flag at all costs, which often means youngsters miss out.



But, I think we have recruited players who will offer 100 games plus to the side. These aren't stop gaps. They are long term options.


if you look at St.Kilda and Geelong's drafting over the last 5-6 years, they have had as many failures as hits. In fact, many of their top picks turned out duds. But they did well out of late picks, and built a strong side which played together for many years.

Collingwood is following this path, except I think our drafting has been spot on. There's a few misses in there, but you have to understand drafting is a 50/50 thing.


Bring on 2010.

Absolutely superb summary, you have said everthing that I was thinking, only with more insight, you put some of the so called experts to shame

 

[DaVe86]

cheers guys. I'm obviously pretty happy with the result.

 

[Quicky]

Great summation as always DaVe

You beat me to it with your comments on Buckley. I really think he could prove to be important against sides that implement zones as we really fell apart on the half backline against these sides. Having a player like Buckley who can support Shaw, take the game on and break up the zone could prove to be very important.

We also managed to find an A-Grade ruckman and an experienced hard bodied mid so we should improve considerably in the clearances. Considering this is another area we fell down in against the better sides this year we have really addressed our weaknesses in this years draft/trading period.

My other big concern is our misfiring forward line. This has to be fixed from within the list. Balls aquisition hopefully allows Didak or Davis to play a more or less permanent forward role next year - I hope it's Didak. We also need Cloke to regain his form and just get more competitive. If he can get back to some semblance of his 07 form it would be huge for our team. Medhurst getting over his injuries is the other important factor in our forward line. If he can do that and get back to his best we should be sorted.

And yeah, I agree we need to get more time into our younger KPP - especially considering these are the guys we will need to stick with for the next five years with the compromised drafts.

 

[DaVe86]

Forward line is a worry.

But:

- If Medhurst gets back to 50 goals a year then it solves all the problems.
- Jack needs to kick 50 this year in the H&A year. He can do this. Remember he struggled with a hip injury mid-year from the Sydney game.

- Cloke needs an uninterrupted pre-season. If he has this he will improve.



But the key is one of Rusling or Dawes to push through. We also need both of Reid and Brown to cement their spots.



But we made top 4 this year without our leading goal-kicker from 08 doing anything. So get him fit and firing and we are back to our best.

 

[BEEG]

Great summation as always DaVe

You beat me to it with your comments on Buckley. I really think he could prove to be important against sides that implement zones as we really fell apart on the half backline against these sides. Having a player like Buckley who can support Shaw, take the game on and break up the zone could prove to be very important.

We also managed to find an A-Grade ruckman and an experienced hard bodied mid so we should improve considerably in the clearances. Considering this is another area we fell down in against the better sides this year we have really addressed our weaknesses in this years draft/trading period.

My other big concern is our misfiring forward line. This has to be fixed from within the list. Balls aquisition hopefully allows Didak or Davis to play a more or less permanent forward role next year - I hope it's Didak. We also need Cloke to regain his form and just get more competitive. If he can get back to some semblance of his 07 form it would be huge for our team. Medhurst getting over his injuries is the other important factor in our forward line. If he can do that and get back to his best we should be sorted.

And yeah, I agree we need to get more time into our younger KPP - especially considering these are the guys we will need to stick with for the next five years with the compromised drafts.

All we were missing was a fully fit Medhurst and a Inform Cloke

Cloke will stand up this year everybody forgets he had a few injuries early and had a rough couple of months with the bashing and the bullet through the window

Medhurst is amazing when fully fit and if he can get right and have a big preseason he really controls that forward line and brings a whole other dimension to it with Anthony and Cloke

Maccaffer is the wild card

Looks at Geelongs Forward line

 

[HFF]

Like someone else said, if you had told me at the start of the season we would have Jolly and Ball for our first 3 picks I would have laughed it off.

This has been a fantastic off-season by the football club. We've added two very good players in Jolly and Ball and we also managed to snare another youngster who we rated very highly at pick 75 in Josh Thomas. It was widely regarded that we would have considered him at 30 if Ball was gone. Over on the Brisbane board TBD is a little annoyed at how this eventuated, so he is a highly rated QLD product.

We also added two other youngsters (albeit Buckley being 22), he is still very young in football terms and will add depth.

Great outcome considering Hine obviously didn't rate this draft highly.

Lets also not forget the masterminded plan to snare the "Dream Team" for 5 years in Bucks and Mick. This off-season has been, just wow.

 

[Frankie23]

The funny thing is that whenever it came down to Collingwood's picks, Hine didn't hesitate once. Whilst Luke Ball was one of the quickest names read out on the night, Ben Sinclair, Thomas and Buckley weren't far behind.

We got our man Ball, Hine obviously rates Sinclair and Thomas higher than their picks and Buckley is a very smart acquisition.

Well done Collingwood, I thought last years draft was great, but this may top it as we got everyone we wanted

 

[Old Spice]

It's just been an absolute schorcher. I still can't believe what we've landed in draft week and the succession plan in the coaching dept - mwah my compadres - belissimo.

I share Quicky's concerns and remedies for our forward line. I fully expect the Rus to fire this year, but if not we still have a dangerous forward line if Traviata and Medders fire. Bit concerned though about the snippet from Side by Side that Medders felt forward line structures and strategy too mechanical. Doesn't suit Medders flair-filled ways. Eh.

But yes with Ball allowing Davis or Didak to rotate up forward just kicks bum.

 

[pongo_3931]

It's just been an absolute schorcher. I still can't believe what we've landed in draft week and the succession plan in the coaching dept - mwah my compadres - belissimo.

I share Quicky's concerns and remedies for our forward line. I fully expect the Rus to fire this year, but if not we still have a dangerous forward line if Traviata and Medders fire. Bit concerned though about the snippet from Side by Side that Medders felt forward line structures and strategy too mechanical. Doesn't suit Medders flair-filled ways. Eh.

But yes with Ball allowing Davis or Didak to rotate up forward just kicks bum.

I find it no coincidence that Bucks has been appointed the forward line coach. We have the talent but are missing something. I very, very much look forward to watching our forward line this year and eagerly await the NAB cup.

 

[DaVe86]

I find it no coincidence that Bucks has been appointed the forward line coach. We have the talent but are missing something. I very, very much look forward to watching our forward line this year and eagerly await the NAB cup.

Fair point. Bucks definitely has the area with the most scope for improvement. Will be a very interesting year.

 

[magpiewarrior]

When is the Rookie Draft, it is usually straight after the ND, but not this year.
I'm greedy, I still want Clay Beams in the Rookie Draft (seeing as no-one picked him in the ND.)to complete what has been an awesome (almost perfect) recruiting drive.

 

[DaVe86]

15 December is rookie draft and we have a few selections so will be another good day.


Still some quality available.

Guys like Carey, Panos, Beams and maybe even guys like Miles Sewell or some VFL guys.

 

[Optimax]

Collingwood wont draft panos

 

[TradeDraft]

Collingwood wont draft panos

Then who would we Take Mate?

 

[Blade of Chronic]

Very happy with the players we chose and the players we are getting in 2009 with the limited picks we had. Not sure about Ben Sinclair as he does not look like a natural footballer but he does have the footspeed that we lack so happy that we got him. Wish we had a pick in the 40's though so we could have got Troy Taylor but overall very happy

 

[LukeyBall]

What happend to Koby Stevens couple of days before the draft people were saying he could go top 10 and he didnt end up getting drafted at all. We should have a look at him in the rookie draft

 

[HFF]

Very happy with the players we chose and the players we are getting in 2009 with the limited picks we had. Not sure about Ben Sinclair as he does not look like a natural footballer but he does have the footspeed that we lack so happy that we got him. Wish we had a pick in the 40's though so we could have got Troy Taylor but overall very happy

Just saw hish highlights package, is a very smooth mover. Seems comfortable on both sides of his body and plenty of run.

It's funny that he only played 3 TAC Cup games before being struck by injury (glandular fever). Hine chose J-Mac in similar circumstances in 2007.

 

[Brent24]

What happend to Koby Stevens couple of days before the draft people were saying he could go top 10 and he didnt end up getting drafted at all. We should have a look at him in the rookie draft

He was drafted.

 

[The Royal Sampler]

The funny thing is that whenever it came down to Collingwood's picks, Hine didn't hesitate once. Whilst Luke Ball was one of the quickest names read out on the night, Ben Sinclair, Thomas and Buckley weren't far behind.

I dare say that's because we'd already committed to 3/4 picks. We were always going to take Luke Ball if available at #30. We would have promised him as much.

I'd imagine we'd also promised to take Josh Thomas if available and that was part of an agreement that led to him foregoing a GC17 top-tier contract and nominating for the draft.

Simon Buckley it's hard to be sure of, but altogether possible that we'd made a commitment to take him in the ND once Shannon Cox retired/got the boot.

So really, aside from Ben Sinclair, we didn't have any decisions to make. The interesting question is whether we actually rated Sinclair above Thomas, or whether we thought his market value was higher and therefore we could afford risking Thomas until #75.

When is the Rookie Draft, it is usually straight after the ND, but not this year.
I'm greedy, I still want Clay Beams in the Rookie Draft (seeing as no-one picked him in the ND.)to complete what has been an awesome (almost perfect) recruiting drive.

The Rookie draft is usually after the Preseason draft, and it is again this year. From 1000 on the 15th December, via Windows Live.

I'd like to pick up Clay Beams, but the GC17 has the first five picks in the rookie draft which makes it unlikely. I think we'll take whomever we see as being best available rather than going for specific positions, because the most important thing will be to bolster our stocks of quality prospects going into several lean draft years (in reality, this year was the first of those). I do hope that we have a KP smoky hidden away somewhere, especially a defender as Hine has commented on the need to create depth to cover for Presti.

 

[TradeDraft]

I'd like to pick up Clay Beams, but the GC17 has the first five picks in the rookie draft which makes it unlikely. I think we'll take whomever we see as being best available rather than going for specific positions, because the most important thing will be to bolster our stocks of quality prospects going into several lean draft years (in reality, this year was the first of those). I do hope that we have a KP smoky hidden away somewhere, especially a defender as Hine has commented on the need to create depth to cover for Presti.

I reckon Weston could be a Good Chance for our 1st Pick in the Rookie Draft.

 

[The Royal Sampler]

Could well be, Dave, especially if Burgan's mail was even somewhat accurate.