Game Day Happy Reidmas - 2023 Draft Day Thread

[Keys]

Sam McClure you gimp



“I just don’t think West Coast will pick him (Reid),” he said on the Tradies podcast.

“I wouldn’t do the deal if I’m North.

“You’ve got two and three, right. Just say (to West Coast) ‘pick him, go on’. Don’t (North Melbourne) want pick one? No, you’re not going to pick him, we don’t want it. We’re going to get him at two.”

 

[eaglespremiers]

Is this where we post now?

 

[greatwhiteshark]

What is the hold up?

 

[KERRPOW]

FFS hurry da heck up

 

[ShaunDuggan]

Any chance we take Reid at 1?

Is nic nat in Melbourne now?

 

[Dylan82]

Once again AFL.

 

[UseR2006]

When they pick him up at the airport, they can take Harley straight to salon express.

Speaking of, Harleys latest insta is him getting a fresh cut for tonight.

 

[xLeCrAs2x]

Since the last round of the home and away season it’s been non stop talks about what we do and now it all boils down to the next half hour. Happy draft day fellow eagles

 

[Eastcoasteagle]

Man this is a hard listen. HTFU

 

[Barrybran]

What is the hold up?

They have to talk for a minimum amount of time before they allow clubs to actually make picks. Only 45 more minutes now.

 

[KBLT]

 

[twce13]

 

[Keys]

Posted this in the draft thread

Q1 looks to be answered with Nic flying across

The rest are still to be answered

Burning questions

With the draft less than a week away and the will we or won’t we take Reid debate seemingly over, these are my burning questions going into November 20/21 :

1) Who presents the club jumper to Reid on draft night?

With the AFL reportedly said to be encouraging clubs to incorporate past players more on draft night we have a few options.

Our recently retired captain and new assistant coach, Luke Shuey

13

Luke Shuey

Age

34

Ht

184cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

23.7

5star

K

13.0

5star

HB

10.7

5star

M

3.3

3star

T

4.9

5star

CL

5.6

5star

D

18.7

4star

K

10.8

4star

HB

7.8

4star

M

2.8

3star

T

2.7

4star

CL

4.3

5star

D

17.0

5star

K

9.2

4star

HB

7.8

5star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.8

5star

CL

1.4

4star

, who played 248 games after being recruited from Victoria could do it. Another recent retiree and club icon, Nic Naitanui would also be a good choice to hand over the baton as the clubs most marketable player.

Either would be fine and deserving of the honour

But one past player stands out. The symbolism of Ben Cousins handing Reid a West Coast Eagles jumper would be something else, especially if it has #9 already printed on the back. Cuz has been steadily getting his life back in order and having him representing the club in such an important moment in the clubs rebuild would be fantastic for the club, it’s supporters and Ben.

Make it happen West Coast

2) When does Dan Curtin get taken and does he slide far enough for us to make a play for him?

So much has been written about how keen we are on Curtin and how we needed to trade pick 1 to get him it seems odd he might slide outside the top 5. North might take him as might the Hawks who have paraded their interest but they both have other more likely targets. Bulldogs don’t need another tall so Melbourne loom as his first realistic landing spot

If he gets past them, maybe GWS listen to a trade offer using our F1 but pushing their top 10 pick into next year might not interest them unless it’s a lopsided offer in their favour. Ditto for noted fair traders Geelong and Essendon

Adelaide with pick 10 are the one club with an incentive to chase our F1 and the collateral to make a trade attractive enough, if Curtin slides that far. It’s unlikely, but with the likes of Caddy, Leake, Wilson, Windsor and O’Sullivan generating interest maybe those clubs go local, or near local in Leake’s case leaving the WA lad waiting for a home

Until his name gets called out, the unthinkable of Curtin joining Reid at West Coast will remain a tantalising possibility

3) How proactive will we be in improving our draft hand, if at all?

When the final siren of the GF announced Collingwood as premiers, our draft hand was 1,19,33,38,52,57 and 75. Thanks to Norths freeloading and overly generous FA compensation picks generally it now stands at 1,23,37,58 and 81 after we traded out our R3 and R4 picks to Hawthorn (what were 38 and 57 but became 44 and 63). Our 2nd pick likely blows out to 28 on draft night courtesy of academy and F/S selections

For a side that finished last it’s a somewhat underwhelming draft hand

Traditionally, WCE haven’t traded up in the draft preferring to split picks for multiple later picks and/or future picks with mixed success. This year though might be the year our recruiting team get aggressive and use future picks to improve our position if opportunity presents

I’ve already mentioned the possibility of using our F1 to get Curtin above. But if that doesn’t happen, or maybe even if it does, our F2 could be used with 23 to get us into the back end of R1. Or maybe on its own to get a very late R1 or early R2 pick.

Or we could use a combination of picks including our F2 or F3 to get one of those early 2nd picks Gold Coast are holding.

Or we could stay true to type and split what we’re assuming will be the first pick of the second night. Essendon with picks 31 and 35 look to be the most beneficial trade partner if we split 23, giving us those picks with 37 to use bearing in mind Gold Coast hold 24,26,27,32,36 and 38 that will be burned in bid matches

Or….

There’s a myriad of potential trades if the club wants to be proactive but as a minimum another pick in that very even range of the draft between 20 and 40 thereabouts should be targeted to go with the 23 and 37 we currently hold

Four picks inside 40 for the second year running after 3 in 2021 plus 2 No.1 MSD picks is building a decent tank of potential talent for the future

4) Will we pull the trigger on any high risk/high reward selections?

Three names have regularly been discussed that loom as very much boom or bust picks. We could go all three with the picks we have or none at all

a) Lance Collard
A West Coast NGA player who started the season as a realistic chance of going later than pick 40 where we could match a bid. Has ended the season as a potential late R1 pick who may not even be on the board for our second pick of the draft. Are we that keen we trade up into R1 to get him or do we hold our nerve and wait to see if he gets through night 1 undrafted. Do we even draft him then at all

b) Zane Zakostelsky
Like Collard his stocks have risen late on the back of a BOG performance in the colts GF and an impressive combine. Another KPD on the list would be handy and ZZ Top, whilst a raw talent, fits the bill. Should still be on the board for our 2nd pick which would be a slight reach given there’s a good chance of him lasting until our 3rd. Reach or run the risk of missing out.

c) Ashton Moir
Unlike the first two mentioned, Moir has gone backwards in 2023 from being a possible top 5 talent to a late 2nd/early 3rd round pick. A hip injury partially explains his poor year but there’s also questions on his application/commitment which may or may not be fair. Strong possibility he’s available at our 3rd pick where on talent he’d be a steal but he’s a risk when there’ll be other less talented but safer options. If he’s still there at our 4th pick, which is possible, then he’s probably worth a swing

There’s every chance that we have the opportunity to draft all three using our picks 23,37,58 (wherever they ultimately land) but that’s a definite boon or bust result. If all three hit their potential, along with Reid, it becomes a momentum shifting draft.

Or we play safe, some may say smart, and take players with a lower ceiling but a higher probability of reaching it. And make no mistake there’ll be good options at each of those selections

Moreso than Reid, those three picks will define our draft, making night 2 the far more interesting night for us

5) Do we use our 5th pick?

We are guaranteed to use our first 4 picks in this draft. That will leave two list spots open, at least one of which will be on the rookie list, maybe both

Pending any live trades, as mentioned earlier, our 5th pick which nominally is 81 but will likely be in the mid to high 50’s.

It’s been reported (by Mark Duffield) that our recruiters have identified approximately 55 players they consider draftable. So it’s likely our 5th pick would s getting towards the end of that list and given that we also have the first pick of the rookie draft we could hold until then to take a 5th player

We also have NGA players, Oscar Hine-Baston and Coen Livingstone, who will likely be there in the rookie draft to potentially fill the last two spots

Or we could leave one spot open to find a SSP option like Trey Ruscoe post draft, which would be unlikely if we use 5 picks in the main draft

I’m hoping we find another pick in the 15-40 range giving us 4 under 40 plus a roll of the dice with wherever pick 58 lands (high 40’s likely). Take a chance on Moir if he’s there or go someone like Clay Hall as a meat and potatoes type



Go well BOND 007 and co

 

[UseR2006]

They have to talk for a minimum amount of time before they allow clubs to actually make picks. Only 45 more minutes now.

30 minutes until dillon waffles on for a bit then we take Harley

 

[pantskyle]

Let's go.

 

[Smeg Head]

Slower than Indias run rate after the 10th over last night.

 

[FiftyFootyFans]

Are we there yet

 

[twce13]

Y'all ready to watch this umm complex event

 

[Barrybran]

Q1 looks to be answered with Nic flying across

Plot twist - Nic was looking for Dean Cox to present the jumper

 

[maxrm]

Must say I'd put a line through Caddy a long time ago due to his draft range and reported mummyboyitis.
Honestly think he looks a great prospect, just didn't think a KPF would be high on our priority list... But at least Caddy is versatile so could probably combine with some of our other tall forwards effectively.

 

[UseR2006]

But one past player stands out. The symbolism of Ben Cousins handing Reid a West Coast Eagles jumper would be something else, especially if it has #9 already printed on the back. Cuz has been steadily getting his life back in order and having him representing the club in such an important moment in the clubs rebuild would be fantastic for the club, it’s supporters and Ben.

Have Ben do the Game day Debut presentation.
I think i prefer that to a jumper that doesn't have 9 on it.

 

[DRK_13]

Is Caddy a legit option at 7 if we get it?

 

[KBLT]

good lord, shut up

 

[eagles rule]

ahh smeggle

 

[YeoGabbaGabba]

Can’t wait to Reid this idiots melts