Steele Sidebottom.

[King Woodie]

Amazingly negative summary of our list

Apart from Beams and McCarthy who you give unqualified praise to and have only played 8 games between them the rest of the list is either condemned with faint praise or written off

You seem a classic blue sky then burn man.

Beams and J MAc are all blue sky currently, good debuts but nothing substantial to judge them on yet so you only give them upside and will no doubt turn on them a little further down the track if they show any deficiencies in their game

The rest seem to amount to nothing much even though all their careers are embryonic or still early. I am not going to go through each player but a few examples

N Brown Great debut season that understandably trailed off a little. Less than great 1st THREE rounds in a position that is generally considered v difficult to master and apprenticeships traditionally take seasons to complete. But you would have him written off already

Cloke B&F 07, Main forward 08 and still good season, poor start this year and suddenly the guy who in my opinion is our most important player and forward needs a career change as a backman

Pendles Awesome 1st 3 years. In the top few young midfielders in the game. All you seem to want is to hang question marks on him. What happened to a bit of hope and expectation

The list goes on

Not every one on your list will make it of course bu geez I feel soory for you having such a large half empty glass

It is not negative, I actually think the assertions made in his list are all very valid and realistic. We know Pendles is a good player, but will he be a great player (top 10 in comp)? Probably not because he doesn't really have a weapon. We know

I agree with most of what he says. We may win a flag in the next few years, but for this to happen, we need alot of our players to come on in leaps. They haven't shown that yet.

 

[Gone Critical]

It is not negative, I actually think the assertions made in his list are all very valid and realistic. We know Pendles is a good player, but will he be a great player (top 10 in comp)? Probably not because he doesn't really have a weapon. We know

I agree with most of what he says. We may win a flag in the next few years, but for this to happen, we need alot of our players to come on in leaps. They haven't shown that yet.

I am not saying that a lot of the assessments made do not have some validity but that they have almost without exception taken the worst case senario as the probable outcome. Not really having a go at Kevin in particular but more the boom and bust mentality that pervades these boards so often.

Players take years to develop , we have a young list with potential and I agree more needs to be shown before we are realitically a flag contender. But you can throw the baby out with the bathwater if you are not careful

I think people have a tendency to go a bit overboard with positive assessments early and then damm players when they dont meet unrealistic expectations. In 2007 there were so many posts re our oversupply of KP forwards that were all going to turn into 10 yr champs. Posters were advocating we trade off one of Dawes Reid or Rusling as we were oversupplied. These guys take time to establish, Cloke has done it quicker than most. They need more time before you give up on them.

Pendles and Daisy are still v young , what is not in doubt is that they both seem to have been astute picks for us. Too early to say if they will be absolutely elite e.g Judd Ablett Hodge Black etc but would be fair to say their early careers stack up well with that group bar Judd.

Getting an elite top 10 from any draft pick is the luck of the draw anyway and shouldnt be used as a criticism of Pendles or Daisy. They are repaying their high pick in the draft with interest so far and no one can ask for more than that

Just need a little positivity mixed with that realism

 

[Dave The Man]

You are probably right. It is only a matter of opinion but-

Beams- Excellent prospect. Only conern is how much he can improve

McCarthy- Excellent prospect. I think we really need him in the side right now

Sidebottom- Appears to have the footy smarts, but will pace stop him from being a top AFL player? Too difficult to call

Wellingham- Has some ability but too likely to drift out of a game for long periods. May be mental issues. I doubt that he will make it.

Reid- Lots of athletic ability and leads well as a forward but is such a terrible kick that we should never have been drafted him. Terrible pick for a No.8

Nathan Brown- Only real ability he has shown is as a low possession negative backman like Presti. Unlike Presti, he is not particulary good winning contested ball one on one. A stint up forward may help him as he would have a chance to make the play, rather than react to it. Too early to make a definite call, but needs to improve a fair bit over the next 2 years

Dawes- I was a fan late last year after a great game in the VFL at Geelong and then reasonable AFL form. Like most of our tall players, he seems to struggle taking contested marks. I think Dawes will be the long term FF but I don't have the same confidence about him as last year

Wood- One rule in recruiting should be "Never recruit players who are poor kicks" and another rule should be "Never recruit ruckmen who have no physical presence".

Stanley- Poor disposal, too slow. Simply not good enough for AFL.

Cook- Only chance to make it at AFL level is as a dour tagger

Barham- Has pace and zip but his disposal will always prevent him from making it at AFL level

Anthony- I don't think he will make it as a FF. Good on the lesser players but will struggle against the top FBs. Needs to be tried in defence, possible CHB for a time . I see his real strength for the team as a 'swingman'. Or as the 3rd tall forward. Not as the FF

Cloke- Really concerned about Travis. Struggles to take contested marks and his kicking for goal is very 'iffy'. Can't agree with posters who suggest we play him deeper as that will only expose his 2 deficiencies even more. If his poor form as a forward continues, he may be able become a CHB, where the penetration of his kicking could be a weapon. Only trouble with that theory, is who the hell do we use as KF????

Rusling- 19 goals from 17 games as a FF, and injured on almost a permanent basis. Will be a miracle if he becomes a good, consistent player for us.

Shannon Cox- One of those players who divides supporters. Has good run and carry from the backline and skilled in all areas of the game. But also lacks accountability and doesn't go hard enough at the ball or at the man with the ball. I am a fan of Shannon's but do agree his critics have a point. Long term future is very hard to predict.

Thomas- Dale is a very good AFL player. Will he ever become an elite AFL player? I doubt it as a midfielder, but as a small forward, yes.

Pendleberry- A bit like Dale Thomas. Will he become elite, like a Judd or Ablett? The one thing I think that will prevent him becoming elite is the lack of a killer punch ie. that burst of speed to break lines, elite kicking skills ect

Goldsack- Liked him in his first year, but seems to have gone backwards at a rapid rate. Has lots of goals kicked on him and often gets into trouble as he is not a one touch player.Doubt he will make it.

Dick- Has shown signs and you have to love his enthusiasm for the game. His return to AFL in the last few weeks has been odd to say the least. One of his strengths in 2007 seemed to be his kicking, but in the past 2 games it has been a weakness. I would think he will make it at AFL level if he manages to put on a little more weight without losing his pace.

Marty Clarke- Still deveolping his knowledge of the game. Don't think he will ever be elite but should be a good AFL player as long as we can stop him returning to Ireland

Corrie- Fair enough he was a pick 94 or something. The thing that makes me angry is, so was Stephen King the year before when we desperately needed a ruckman. Corrie will never make it at AFL level

Rounds- Have not seen him play

Blight- Heard he is homesick and wants to be cleared back to a Perth side


Well Fu , that's 23 of the younger players our future is based upon. I agree with the call to replace MM at season's end and hopefully that will mean a coach with a different game plan of more direct play. Although looking at the deficiencies in the current list, I doubt if any other coach could actually get better results.

Looking at the list, the 2006 draft could either be a blessing or a disaster for us. With the form and deficiencies of Reid, Nathan Brown's current struggles and the uncertainty of Dawes it is beginning to look like the latter.

One thing for sure, if Beams, McCarthy and Sidebottom don't become elite players we are not going to win a premiership any time soon.

You seem to put alot on Speed as one if the Main Parts of being an elite player.

Good Question as of Beams in how much more will he develop.

Agree with Dawes late last season he had lots of fans(Me Included) that he could make a impact this season in the Seniors, and he had a massive pre-season bulding his Endurance and Getting Fitter but he has been very Quiet and does still struggle on taking marks.

 

[Dave The Man]

It is not negative, I actually think the assertions made in his list are all very valid and realistic. We know Pendles is a good player, but will he be a great player (top 10 in comp)? Probably not because he doesn't really have a weapon. We know

Pendles weapon is how he does not seem to get tackled and when he gets out of a Tackle he can Pin-Point a Disposal to another Pies Player

 

[Chase the Ace]

It is not negative, I actually think the assertions made in his list are all very valid and realistic. We know Pendles is a good player, but will he be a great player (top 10 in comp)? Probably not because he doesn't really have a weapon. We know

I agree with most of what he says. We may win a flag in the next few years, but for this to happen, we need alot of our players to come on in leaps. They haven't shown that yet.

It was 90% negative and to highlight how you only wanted to paint it as such, you even included rumour and innuendo as a way of trying to make a point.
Look at least be honest, come out and say you wanted to post something negative, its OK you are allowed to.

 

[FuManchu]

You don't seam to have a firm grasp about the draft in 2009 which makes me question your other observations expressed today. FYI Gold Coast don't have any picks in this years draft. Like I originally said to you, do some research, read more widely and then some of your purported facts might actually be that.

I corrected it as you conveiently forgot to mention.

The point remains valid, for us to do a clean out now is fraught with danger because the upcoming drafts are going to be diluted.

the fact that we will probably make the 8 this year also means our access to the top echelon of draft picks will be limited. In a lot of ways, we are stuck with what we have at the moment. If they dont stand up and by this I means the Reids, Dawes, Rusling, N Brown, all those Key position players we have banked on taking ownership of key positions, then we are in trouble for the next 3 or 4 years.

Because lets face it, we are hopeless at trading. We have really only ever traded for 2 good players in a decade, Clement and Medhurst ( and Medhurst was an accident, he wasnt meant to be that good in Freo's eyes) and we cant rely on Freo to cough up any more good players to us.

So my assumptions remain valid, unless you have a way to either make these players do what they have so far, failed to do, or can find a way to draft or recruit guaranteed key position players.

 

[Dave The Man]

I corrected it as you conveiently forgot to mention.

The point remains valid, for us to do a clean out now is fraught with danger because the upcoming drafts are going to be diluted.

the fact that we will probably make the 8 this year also means our access to the top echelon of draft picks will be limited. In a lot of ways, we are stuck with what we have at the moment. If they dont stand up and by this I means the Reids, Dawes, Rusling, N Brown, all those Key position players we have banked on taking ownership of key positions, then we are in trouble for the next 3 or 4 years.

Because lets face it, we are hopeless at trading. We have really only ever traded for 2 good players in a decade, Clement and Medhurst ( and Medhurst was an accident, he wasnt meant to be that good in Freo's eyes) and we cant rely on Freo to cough up any more good players to us.

So my assumptions remain valid, unless you have a way to either make these players do what they have so far, failed to do, or can find a way to draft or recruit guaranteed key position players.

Actually with the Medhurst trade we were suppose to have gotten Steve Johnson

 

[FuManchu]

Actually with the Medhurst trade we were suppose to have gotten Steve Johnson

Johnson at the time was a huge gamble, and based on what we knew about his ankle at the time, we probably made the right decision at that point in time. 3 years on .................... nyeh, we blew it!

 

[Dave The Man]

Johnson at the time was a huge gamble, and based on what we knew about his ankle at the time, we probably made the right decision at that point in time. 3 years on .................... nyeh, we blew it!

also he was in Trouble for being on the Drink Too Much as well turned us off but I think we did okay with getting Medhurst instead

 

[ChipDouglas]

I corrected it as you conveiently forgot to mention.

The point remains valid, for us to do a clean out now is fraught with danger because the upcoming drafts are going to be diluted.

the fact that we will probably make the 8 this year also means our access to the top echelon of draft picks will be limited. In a lot of ways, we are stuck with what we have at the moment. If they dont stand up and by this I means the Reids, Dawes, Rusling, N Brown, all those Key position players we have banked on taking ownership of key positions, then we are in trouble for the next 3 or 4 years.

Because lets face it, we are hopeless at trading. We have really only ever traded for 2 good players in a decade, Clement and Medhurst ( and Medhurst was an accident, he wasnt meant to be that good in Freo's eyes) and we cant rely on Freo to cough up any more good players to us.

So my assumptions remain valid, unless you have a way to either make these players do what they have so far, failed to do, or can find a way to draft or recruit guaranteed key position players.

You didn't correct it, another poster pointed out to you that your post was wrong. You didn't understand the draft rules until someone pointed it out to you. Someone who doesn't understand the most basic draft rules I would argue probably doesn't a great grasp of the draft or player evaluation so I'll take your "opinions" in this regard with a grain of salt.

For those posters who have rounded up two animals and made plans to jump on the ark based on your irrational rant I will say I can't remember the last time we had this much young talent on our list. What we need to do is have them play together a get experience, it won't happen overnight but it will happen.

Or we could listen to your preaching from the back of a chuckwagon with your magic elixir (sack the coach!) that cures all. It's not that simple you can't just flick a switch or shake a tree and a premiership cup falls out. I don't pay any attention to those peddling easy answers, my experience is they don't know what they're talking about. You want it all and you want it now but it isn't and has never been that simple.

 

[King Woodie]

It was 90% negative and to highlight how you only wanted to paint it as such, you even included rumour and innuendo as a way of trying to make a point.
Look at least be honest, come out and say you wanted to post something negative, its OK you are allowed to.

Who? Me??

I didn't post any rumour or innuendo... I was just supporting the views of KevinD, saying I thought his views were valid.

What are you talking about?

 

[FuManchu]

You didn't correct it, another poster pointed out to you that your post was wrong. You didn't understand the draft rules until someone pointed it out to you. Someone who doesn't understand the most basic draft rules I would argue probably doesn't a great grasp of the draft or player evaluation so I'll take your "opinions" in this regard with a grain of salt.

For those posters who have rounded up two animals and made plans to jump on the ark based on your irrational rant I will say I can't remember the last time we had this much young talent on our list. What we need to do is have them play together a get experience, it won't happen overnight but it will happen.

Or we could listen to your preaching from the back of a chuckwagon with your magic elixir (sack the coach!) that cures all. It's not that simple you can't just flick a switch or shake a tree and a premiership cup falls out. I don't pay any attention to those peddling easy answers, my experience is they don't know what they're talking about. You want it all and you want it now but it isn't and has never been that simple.

The essence of my argument was consistant because the point I am making is that we dont have enough time to find 4 key position players, like the ones we spent early draft picks on recently. Your semantics doesnt lessen the argument.

What makes me laugh is that you are pinning your hopes in internal improvement. But the fact that these young blokes arent taking ownership by now says something. The Franklins and Rougheads by this stage were taking ownership of their positions. Ours have just drifted.

Can you tell me where the ruck talent is?

Can you tell me for certain where the next FB is?

Can you assure me N Brown is the answer at CHB?

Can you tell me that Someone will stand up and fill the FF role with great aplomb?

I bet you cant. In fact I bet you just think we need to band aid these structural deficiencies. We do have talent in certain areas, but we lack anyone putting their hand up in 4 vital positions. N Brown maybe being the exception.

And now is the time they need to be putting their hands up, Presti is one to two seasons at best, Rocca is probably just this season and he is not even getting a run as it is and no-one is filling his role as I see it. We have real problems and I reckon this year we will slide ever so slightly or just be overtaken by those clubs that have got it right.

 

[Gone Critical]

The essence of my argument was consistant because the point I am making is that we dont have enough time to find 4 key position players, like the ones we spent early draft picks on recently. Your semantics doesnt lessen the argument.

What makes me laugh is that you are pinning your hopes in internal improvement. But the fact that these young blokes arent taking ownership by now says something. The Franklins and Rougheads by this stage were taking ownership of their positions. Ours have just drifted.

Can you tell me where the ruck talent is?

Can you tell me for certain where the next FB is?

Can you assure me N Brown is the answer at CHB?

Can you tell me that Someone will stand up and fill the FF role with great aplomb?

I bet you cant. In fact I bet you just think we need to band aid these structural deficiencies. We do have talent in certain areas, but we lack anyone putting their hand up in 4 vital positions. N Brown maybe being the exception.

And now is the time they need to be putting their hands up, Presti is one to two seasons at best, Rocca is probably just this season and he is not even getting a run as it is and no-one is filling his role as I see it. We have real problems and I reckon this year we will slide ever so slightly or just be overtaken by those clubs that have got it right.

Our list has been developed well last few seasons but is young and needs maturity. Loss of Bucks, Burns Lica, Jimmy and Wakes over 2 seasons has left a void and we have known for years now we are deficient in the 25-30 age group where most of our leaders should be coming from.

Ruck is the glaring area where we are exposed esp if we lost Fraser. Wood was recruited spec to cover that role and has yet to come on yet, Keefe although showing something aat VFL level is still speculative. We have tried to cover this area but job not done yet. I'll give you that one.

The key back positions are covered fairly well but again the potential incumbants are young and need time. Brown while down in recent weeks has had an exciting start to his career. Bock Glass Rutten Scarlett all took years to settle fully into their role. You need to be patient. I want to see him play better at the current time but I am not going to condemn him based on the 1st 3 rounds this year

Reid Anthony Rusling will fight out the role of the other key defender. Again patience , its an ongoing process and no one from the coach down knows how it is going to pan out in the end. The building blocks are there however which is what you seem to be struggling with.

You are asking questions for which there can be no definite answers yet and then extrapolating to insinuate that means there are no answers

With Cloke one definite long term forward the other 1-2 will again come from Rusling Anthony Dawes and Reid. Sure for different reasons these guys are not fully established yet. Wouldnt we love them to be the equivalent of Franklin and Roughhead already. They are the 2 premier big young forwards in the comp currently with Cloke an excellent 3rd best. That makes it a slightly unfair comparison. Think of it that way and our stocks dont seem to bad. A lot of other teams would gladly swap into our position.

So my answer to your questions is mainly patience. The hand dealt by this list is only just starting to be played. No point tossing in a handful of cards yet

 

[ChipDouglas]

Our list has been developed well last few seasons but is young and needs maturity. Loss of Bucks, Burns Lica, Jimmy and Wakes over 2 seasons has left a void and we have known for years now we are deficient in the 25-30 age group where most of our leaders should be coming from.

Ruck is the glaring area where we are exposed esp if we lost Fraser. Wood was recruited spec to cover that role and has yet to come on yet, Keefe although showing something aat VFL level is still speculative. We have tried to cover this area but job not done yet. I'll give you that one.

The key back positions are covered fairly well but again the potential incumbants are young and need time. Brown while down in recent weeks has had an exciting start to his career. Bock Glass Rutten Scarlett all took years to settle fully into their role. You need to be patient. I want to see him play better at the current time but I am not going to condemn him based on the 1st 3 rounds this year

Reid Anthony Rusling will fight out the role of the other key defender. Again patience , its an ongoing process and no one from the coach down knows how it is going to pan out in the end. The building blocks are there however which is what you seem to be struggling with.

You are asking questions for which there can be no definite answers yet and then extrapolating to insinuate that means there are no answers

With Cloke one definite long term forward the other 1-2 will again come from Rusling Anthony Dawes and Reid. Sure for different reasons these guys are not fully established yet. Wouldnt we love them to be the equivalent of Franklin and Roughhead already. They are the 2 premier big young forwards in the comp currently with Cloke an excellent 3rd best. That makes it a slightly unfair comparison. Think of it that way and our stocks dont seem to bad. A lot of other teams would gladly swap into our position.

So my answer to your questions is mainly patience. The hand dealt by this list is only just starting to be played. No point tossing in a handful of cards yet

It's difficult to teach patience to, mataphorically speaking, a premature ejaculator. Fortunately in time those who sound stupid will look it.

These players IMO will be regulars in the future and in bold are their current ages.

Backs Rounds 18 Brown 20 O'Brien 22
Half Backs Blight 18 Reid 19 Shaw 23
Centers McCarthy 19 Beams 19 Clarke 21
Half Forwards Thomas 21 Cloke 22 Didak 26
Forwards Medhurst 27 Dawes 20 Anthony 21
Rucks Fraser 27 Pendlebury 21 Swan 25
Inter from Davis 27 Wood 22 Sidebottom 18 Dick 20 Stanley 21 Cook 21 Goldsack 21 and others we draft along the way.

I'll happily go to battle with this group because I understand talent and development. Others sadly will continue to do more bitching and whingeing than the most prolific Englishman. They bore me because the can't see the future because they're always looking behind them.

 

[mattys123]

It's difficult to teach patience to, mataphorically speaking, a premature ejaculator. Fortunately in time those who sound stupid will look it.

These players IMO will be regulars in the future and in bold are their current ages.

Backs Rounds 18 Brown 20 O'Brien 22
Half Backs Blight 18 Reid 19 Shaw 23
Centers McCarthy 19 Beams 19 Clarke 21
Half Forwards Thomas 21 Cloke 22 Didak 26
Forwards Medhurst 27 Dawes 20 Anthony 21
Rucks Fraser 27 Pendlebury 21 Swan 25
Inter from Davis 27 Wood 22 Sidebottom 18 Dick 20 Stanley 21 Cook 21 Goldsack 21 and others we draft along the way.

I'll happily go to battle with this group because I understand talent and development. Others sadly will continue to do more bitching and whingeing than the most prolific Englishman. They bore me because the can't see the future because they're always looking behind them.

Was waiting for someone to show an example like that, shows that with a little bit of luck we do have the majority of positions filled in the future, with Rucks still our obvious concern.

I would back most of those players to play consistent senior football in the next 2-3 years, and it just shows we have to be a bit patient, but also that it may be time to take some medicine and play younger players ahead of some of the older options we have.

 

[didaka]

Blight- Heard he is homesick and wants to be cleared back to a Perth side

Can confirm this rumor is untrue.

Enjoying life in Melbourne and at Collingwood, and keen to have a big future at the club.

 

[mattys123]

Can confirm this rumor is untrue.

Enjoying life in Melbourne and at Collingwood, and keen to have a big future at the club.

Great to here, was hoping the "homesick" thing was just a stupid rumour.

The last thing we need is a 1st year draftee leaving us for personal reasons, going home and developing into a good player.

 

[FuManchu]

Our list has been developed well last few seasons but is young and needs maturity. Loss of Bucks, Burns Lica, Jimmy and Wakes over 2 seasons has left a void and we have known for years now we are deficient in the 25-30 age group where most of our leaders should be coming from.

The 25 -30yo's we have are apparently not really leaders, so it seems

Ruck is the glaring area where we are exposed esp if we lost Fraser. Wood was recruited spec to cover that role and has yet to come on yet, Keefe although showing something aat VFL level is still speculative. We have tried to cover this area but job not done yet. I'll give you that one.

9 years of this

The key back positions are covered fairly well but again the potential incumbants are young and need time. Brown while down in recent weeks has had an exciting start to his career. Bock Glass Rutten Scarlett all took years to settle fully into their role. You need to be patient. I want to see him play better at the current time but I am not going to condemn him based on the 1st 3 rounds this year

We dont have time, if as many are assuming, we are to challenge this year ( pfft, thats a joke) next year ( when we possibly lose Presti, so we are one maybe two down if Brown doesnt gell) and the following year when we will have to replace Presti and Brown is still no certainty. The key backs are a real concern, MM has been caught with his pants down in this area not forseeing the impact of generational change, having players like O'Brien try and fill key roles when he is a #3 back.

Reid Anthony Rusling will fight out the role of the other key defender. Again patience , its an ongoing process and no one from the coach down knows how it is going to pan out in the end. The building blocks are there however which is what you seem to be struggling with.

You dont know if Anthony will end up there. He is the most one dimensional player I have seen, if he doesnt mark it, you might as well forget he is playing. Reid just plain refuses to assert himself in a time when opportunity knocks. That speaks volumes about his motivation, or lack of them. Sorry, but if three key possies were up for grabs, he would be making huge inroads to win them. But he is languishing in the twos. Sorry, he just hasnt got the 'right stuff' to be an aggressive player in our side. Rusling ............. well, just get on the park son.

Forget this patience crap, if you want to be forging your destiny over the next 2 years, they need to be in place now.

You are asking questions for which there can be no definite answers yet and then extrapolating to insinuate that means there are no answers

There are answers, just not the ones many want to hear

With Cloke one definite long term forward the other 1-2 will again come from Rusling Anthony Dawes and Reid. Sure for different reasons these guys are not fully established yet. Wouldnt we love them to be the equivalent of Franklin and Roughhead already. They are the 2 premier big young forwards in the comp currently with Cloke an excellent 3rd best. That makes it a slightly unfair comparison. Think of it that way and our stocks dont seem to bad. A lot of other teams would gladly swap into our position.

Dawes is Reid, no commitment to wanting it bad enough. To play with the lack of intensity as he did in the NAB, when that FF was up for grabs just tells me he doesnt want it bad enough.

These players might not be at the level of a Roughy or Buddy, but they also wouldnt be dwelling in the twos either. They'd be warranting a spot in the seniors. MM may have his faults, but he obviously doesnt see enough in these kids to give them enough exposure. To even think about bringing back a injury prone Rocca in front of Reid or Dawes tells me plenty.

So my answer to your questions is mainly patience. The hand dealt by this list is only just starting to be played. No point tossing in a handful of cards yet

They would want to extract the digit real soon, this supposed window Eddie boasted of, and so many blindly rah rah rahed because Eddie spoke of it, is well upon us, yet the team doesnt seem to anywhere near settled to even contemplate talk of flags. This year or next.

 

[rand corp]

Think we are missing McCarthy's hardness around the contest and if fit and at his best would certainly be in the side. Was looking for a big year from the kid but will now have to work his way back to fitness, touch and eventually senior footy.

Steele needs to be eased in, no rush, i do think he could be playing regular AFL footy by the second half of the year.

 

[Dave The Man]

Think we are missing McCarthy's hardness around the contest and if fit and at his best would certainly be in the side. Was looking for a big year from the kid but will now have to work his way back to fitness, touch and eventually senior footy.

Steele needs to be eased in, no rush, i do think he could be playing regular AFL footy by the second half of the year.

Agree McCarthy would be a fantastic in and would be in before Steele but I heard JMAC is injured from the VFL Game on Saturday

 

[well left]

It's difficult to teach patience to, mataphorically speaking, a premature ejaculator. Fortunately in time those who sound stupid will look it.

These players IMO will be regulars in the future and in bold are their current ages.

Backs Rounds 18 Brown 20 O'Brien 22
Half Backs Blight 18 Reid 19 Shaw 23
Centers McCarthy 19 Beams 19 Clarke 21
Half Forwards Thomas 21 Cloke 22 Didak 26
Forwards Medhurst 27 Dawes 20 Anthony 21
Rucks Fraser 27 Pendlebury 21 Swan 25
Inter from Davis 27 Wood 22 Sidebottom 18 Dick 20 Stanley 21 Cook 21 Goldsack 21 and others we draft along the way.

I'll happily go to battle with this group because I understand talent and development. Others sadly will continue to do more bitching and whingeing than the most prolific Englishman. They bore me because the can't see the future because they're always looking behind them.

The only problem I see here is that talent and development do not always go hand in hand.

4 years ago a similar side could possibly have contained Egan on a wing or forward flank, Iacobucci as a midfielder, Billy Morrison at FF, Brayden Shaw in the centre, Brent Hall as a ruckman or CHB and Julian Rowe on a wing.

I trust that our drafting has been better in recent years but I am far from certain on 14 of the players selected in Chip's team. If we can get that figure down to say 8 by the end of the year I'd be satisfied with our development.

My 6 players I'd like to see improve through the year to the point where I was confident of their ability to have long successful careers would be N Brown, Beams, McCarthy, Wood, Sidebottom and Reid

 

[Quicky]

The only problem I see here is that talent and development do not always go hand in hand.

4 years ago a similar side could possibly have contained Egan on a wing or forward flank, Iacobucci as a midfielder, Billy Morrison at FF, Brayden Shaw in the centre, Brent Hall as a ruckman or CHB and Julian Rowe on a wing.

I trust that our drafting has been better in recent years but I am far from certain on 14 of the players selected in Chip's team. If we can get that figure down to say 8 by the end of the year I'd be satisfied with our development.

My 6 players I'd like to see improve through the year to the point where I was confident of their ability to have long successful careers would be N Brown, Beams, McCarthy, Wood, Sidebottom and Reid

Thats it. How Brown, Reid, Wood, Dawes, Anthony, Beams and Sidebottom develop will go a long way towards our chances of winning a flag. What worries me is that Wood and Dawes both look very iffy and i'm not sure Reid can hold down a KP. The ruck is real worry from a development point view with Fraser probably only 3-4 good years left and no one really coming through. Even so theres still a lot of talent and development on our list.

 

[Dave The Man]

Here is a Very Good Profile on Steele:

Height: 183.6cm
Weight: 80.5kg
Preferred foot: Right/Dual Sided
Playing Style: Creative predator/outside/inside midfielder/5th man in HFF/HBF/leading and marking small forward
Potential: 6.5-8/10



Strengths



> Strong aerial ability for his height – leaps at the footy – good judge off flight - however at a reach disadvantage for his height
> Genuinely dual sided – equal ability on both feet - technically very good
> Exceptional play reading ability and reaction time
> Excellent ethic – hard at the footy, runs all day and gives his all (like a Labrador pup) – > possibly the most enthusiastic player in this draft - routinely chases and tackles tenaciously and produces the 1%ers– has a very good impact defensively too
> Big game player – TAC Cup GF MOTM (10 goals)
> Slippery and evasive – hard to get a handle on – moves well through traffic
> Range of tricks
> Clean hands – swoops on the footy
> Creative and opportunistic football brain
> Good ball winner that wins a large chunk under contested pressure
> Excellent engine – gut runner
> Versatile – can play as a creative rebounding small defender, midfielder in a variety of roles (inside/outside/predator or even run-with) or clever small forward



Weaknesses



> Very slow off the mark - covered somewhat by his exceptional play reading ability/reaction time and perpetual motion style of play – however should never ever take the man on the mark on again
> Kicking lacks penetration over 50m and hurt factor – a lot of short kicks – also not a routinely reliable kick – reliability overrated
> Tends to bomb away quite regularly at clearances in particular (would like to see him distribute it by hand more frequently as he has very good vision) – tends to kick off one step too often
> Lacks lower body strength – particularly evident in his lack of acceleration



Overall



Sidebottom has a range of attractive attributes, however I feel his flaws (particularly his severe lack of pace) will prevent him from ever being an out and out star at AFL. He’s a safe bet though and I think he’ll at least be serviceable best XXII player as he has tremendous work ethic and seems to be one of those types that will leave no stone unturned.

Profile Here

 

[The Royal Sampler]

Can confirm this rumor is untrue.

Enjoying life in Melbourne and at Collingwood, and keen to have a big future at the club.

I can believe that he's homesick.

I can't believe that he wants to be cleared to one of the two WA clubs who thought enough of him to overlook him in the 2008 draft.

I'll bet he wants to make every post a winner, and make the Eagles and Dockers rue the day they went for Ballantyne and Ash Smith respectively.

 

[wicksy]

The 25 -30yo's we have are apparently not really leaders, so it seems



9 years of this



We dont have time, if as many are assuming, we are to challenge this year ( pfft, thats a joke) next year ( when we possibly lose Presti, so we are one maybe two down if Brown doesnt gell) and the following year when we will have to replace Presti and Brown is still no certainty. The key backs are a real concern, MM has been caught with his pants down in this area not forseeing the impact of generational change, having players like O'Brien try and fill key roles when he is a #3 back.



You dont know if Anthony will end up there. He is the most one dimensional player I have seen, if he doesnt mark it, you might as well forget he is playing. Reid just plain refuses to assert himself in a time when opportunity knocks. That speaks volumes about his motivation, or lack of them. Sorry, but if three key possies were up for grabs, he would be making huge inroads to win them. But he is languishing in the twos. Sorry, he just hasnt got the 'right stuff' to be an aggressive player in our side. Rusling ............. well, just get on the park son.

Forget this patience crap, if you want to be forging your destiny over the next 2 years, they need to be in place now.



There are answers, just not the ones many want to hear



Dawes is Reid, no commitment to wanting it bad enough. To play with the lack of intensity as he did in the NAB, when that FF was up for grabs just tells me he doesnt want it bad enough.

These players might not be at the level of a Roughy or Buddy, but they also wouldnt be dwelling in the twos either. They'd be warranting a spot in the seniors. MM may have his faults, but he obviously doesnt see enough in these kids to give them enough exposure. To even think about bringing back a injury prone Rocca in front of Reid or Dawes tells me plenty.



They would want to extract the digit real soon, this supposed window Eddie boasted of, and so many blindly rah rah rahed because Eddie spoke of it, is well upon us, yet the team doesnt seem to anywhere near settled to even contemplate talk of flags. This year or next.

I feel sorry for you.
Even if what you're saying is true, you just sound like an old broken down man who doesn't feel any real happiness in his life anymore.

Have some faith? Give some credit and barrack hard because all you seem to do is whinge.