Pick 14

[Docker82]

Grundy instead of Simpson.
Darling instead of Pitt.
Lever instead of Weller.
Acres instead of Apeness.
Glass instead of Brown.
Etc

Brown and Glass was 18 years ago. We’ve had about five coaches since then. It’s ages ago.

The others yea sure we screwed up but we actually got more for Weller technically than Adelaide did for Lever - I doubt anything would’ve changed for Lever had he been with us. Acres is hardly a gun either - he’s still a bust for pick 18. I would’ve rather “overpaid” at the time for Yeo.

Not picking Darling could’ve cost us a premiership in 2013 whilst picking Simpson was just plain dumb.

It’s 2011 that bothers me picking Sheridan, Crozier and Forster only to trade back in Hill, Hamling and Kersten five years later and miss out on Yeo because we were reaching crisis point with our lack of decent young KPPs and were too scared to sacrifice draft picks at trade time for anything else - we also ended up with Sylvia (R.I.P.) for pretty much the same reason.

 

[theGav56]

It’s 2011 that bothers me picking Sheridan, Crozier and Forster only to trade back in Hill, Hamling and Kersten five years later and miss out on Yeo because we were reaching crisis point with our lack of decent young KPPs and were too scared to sacrifice draft picks at trade time for anything else - we also ended up with Sylvia (R.I.P.) for pretty much the same reason.

I can't say that not picking those 3 were bad decisions. Kersten would be the mid-career player most likely to be gone by the end of the year, and Hamling took ages to develop. His type are available every draft, and it is a credit to him and his coaches that he has built a career.

 

[jerms]

McHenry is a lock at our second imo.

Would be absolutely stoked with McHenry at our second.

 

[_007_]

Stocker, Clark, Butters, Sturt or Hill in order of my personal preference. Thanks Freo.

 

[Scham]

I think the only bad pick in that is Simpson, but even then, Grundy's career would have been quite different coming to us with Sandilands and Clarke already on the list.

The other examples for me aren't bad picks per se, although clearly history shows there were better options. Lever coming of a leg injury; I am fine with us preferring Weller. Pitt/Darling has been done to death, but in the end comparing any player to someone who retired due to health issues is a bit pointless. Acres/Apeness is a marginal decision imo, and Brown had a decent career.

The weight of numbers definitely indicates we can do things better, which is probably the main point.

Pitt ver Darling is a shocker! And is a classic example of what eastfreo75 was referring to. Darling, the local boy who was a star junior was obvious but we looked away to try and find a diamond in the rough.

 

[theGav56]

Pitt ver Darling is a shocker! And is a classic example of what eastfreo75 was referring to. Darling, the local boy who was a star junior was obvious but we looked away to try and find a diamond in the rough.

Just a silly debate really given that the player being compared to retired due to health reasons, and that it seems very clear that Fremantle weren't the only club that had issues with Darling. Pitt was never a "diamond in the rough" and could be seen as a legitimate best available choice. We should have taken Darling because his position was the greater need. Rewind a few years and posters on here were absolutely bagging Darling.

From that list Darling and Grundy are pretty much the only "out there" decisions, but it is not that difficult to see why they were made.

 

[Paracleet]

Individual misses are irrelevant. Good recruiters miss less often than average ones across the totality of picks they take. The 19 players taken before Fyfe, Lamb over Blakey. It's all meaningless. Our drafting has actually been pretty good since 2007 when we gave up throwing 1st and 2nd round picks around in trade like confetti. Where we haven't done well is in trading to round out and regenerate the list. Whether our sudden uptick in activity in that area the last two or three seasons will pay off only time will tell.

 

[Paracleet]

Except Fiora over Pav.

 

[One_Wing]

Oh cool another thread that is looking to devolve into "oh gee Freo sure have ****ed up a lot in the past"

We sure don't have enough of those.

 

[blue shark]

Oh cool another thread that is looking to devolve into "oh gee Freo sure have ****** up a lot in the past"

We sure don't have enough of those.

In all reality we have set out to get what we wanted already, what we draft is a bonus.

 

[Big Flappy]

Hill over Rich

 

[more_of_bito]

Fyfe over all 19 other picks

 

[nurries]

We certainly do better after the first round ala Neale, Walters

 

[Unique Name]

Hill over Rich

..... was a great decision.

 

[Docker82]

..... was a great decision.

Think it’s more an example of going against the general opinion and getting it right. Hayden Ballantyne was probably also expected to go much lower and can only be seen as a tick at Pick 21. Fyfe was somewhat of a reach at the time as well.

In summary I think the general opinion means jack sh*t to the club and so it should.

For the past two years we’ve actually played it quite safe imo. The only player you could say otherwise about is Griffin Logue. Maybe even we were too safe by picking someone like Scott Jones.

 

[eastfreo75]

Just a silly debate really given that the player being compared to retired due to health reasons, and that it seems very clear that Fremantle weren't the only club that had issues with Darling. Pitt was never a "diamond in the rough" and could be seen as a legitimate best available choice. We should have taken Darling because his position was the greater need. Rewind a few years and posters on here were absolutely bagging Darling.

From that list Darling and Grundy are pretty much the only "out there" decisions, but it is not that difficult to see why they were made.

Pitt would have been a solid player.

Darling was from WA and a need who slide down the draft. No brainer.

 

[theGav56]

Pitt would have been a solid player.

Darling was from WA and a need who slide down the draft. No brainer.

I'm not disagreeing with this apart from the point that we will never know what Pitt would have become. Richmond shouldn't be flogging themselves over what Pavlich became, but over who they did take.

 

[eastfreo75]

I'm not disagreeing with this apart from the point that we will never know what Pitt would have become. Richmond shouldn't be flogging themselves over what Pavlich became, but over who they did take.

They did.

 

[E Shed]

I'd love to have seen what Pitt could've done. Very few players I've seen kick it with his touch, timing & control off either side. Could easily have been another Duffield type.

 

[Patty_Moz]

I don't really buy into the Darling over Pitt debate as from what I remember Pitt was rated around that mark. But from what I saw from Pitt he was never going to be much of an afl player.

 

[eastfreo75]

Hill over Rich

I remember the debate.

Their were Hill and Rich camps.

It wasn’t a no brainer pick. In fact, Rich had a lot of questions over his athleticism and short limbs.

 

[jedi mind tricks]

Individual misses are irrelevant. Good recruiters miss less often than average ones across the totality of picks they take. The 19 players taken before Fyfe, Lamb over Blakey. It's all meaningless. Our drafting has actually been pretty good since 2007 when we gave up throwing 1st and 2nd round picks around in trade like confetti. Where we haven't done well is in trading to round out and regenerate the list. Whether our sudden uptick in activity in that area the last two or three seasons will pay off only time will tell.

Individual misses aren't irrelevant. When you pick Tambling instead of Franklin it's far from irrelevant.

Drafting is as much on an individual basis as on a collective.

 

[theGav56]

Individual misses aren't irrelevant. When you pick Tambling instead of Franklin it's far from irrelevant.

Drafting is as much on an individual basis as on a collective.

Your right. Should only have hits.

 

[Jezzitizle]

It wasn’t just kpfs we needed when we drafted Pitt, team was full of average kicks and we grabbed someone who looked to be an elite kick.

Real shame he had to retire.

 

[Bastyy]

West Coasts Phantom Draft has us picking up Ian Hill and Luke Foley. Stack and Smith gone before 31, Bytel still available

I like it