Player Watch #28: Jack Darling - has officially been traded to NM from WCE in exchange for #67 - welcome Jack

[spurs]

Why not Tom Lynch?

 

[The Nostradamus]

Why not Tom Lynch?

tigers letting him go?

 

[perplexed]

Other than Cadman, who were our options?

In the last five draft and trade periods?

Have you noticed that we've been trading for needs recently and drafting for long term?

No, I haven't. I've noticed us ignore needs with our early picks and try and plug holes in our list with late, rookie, DFA and MSD picks. Having all of Biggie, Teakle, Pink, CCJ and Darling on our list would simply be incompetence.

 

[Hearts to hearts]

I’m not excited to hear this but I’m open-minded, and if he becomes a North Melbourne player he therefore has my whole-hearted support.

 

[Topparoo]

FF: Curtis Larkey Darling
HF: Teakle Comben Zurhaar

Looks good. Dynamic.

Looks way too top heavy for my liking

 

[roos_tt29]

I’m not excited to hear this but I’m open-minded, and if he becomes a North Melbourne player he therefore has my whole-hearted support.

Same - not my first choice, but willing to give him a chance.

There has to be a reason we're looking at him. I doubt Clarko would consent to brining in a washed up vet who will be useless.

Gotta stay open-minded.

 

[Sphynx]

FF: Curtis Larkey Darling
HF: Teakle Comben Zurhaar

Looks good. Dynamic.

LOL.

If our scores from D50 weren't bad enough, the combined pressure from that forward line would be 25 goals conceded every game.

 

[Better Loosen Up]

LOL.

If our scores from D50 weren't bad enough, the combined pressure from that forward line would be 25 goals conceded every game.

It's staggering how some people don't see just how bad this Darling idea is.

 

[DuckYeah]

 

[Tiberius]

I don't see how this is a bad idea. Not going to cost too much and we're struggling to get to the minimum cap anyway. If he really is cooked then he doesn't play but he still gets to teach the young forwards a lot about forward craft and Gym work. But if a new environment helps him re-discover somewhere near his best then we have an absolute bargain. People were adamant Taylor Walker

13

Taylor Walker

Age

34

Ht

194cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.0

3star

K

9.0

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

5.7

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

2.3

5star

No current season stats available

D

8.0

2star

K

6.4

3star

HB

1.6

2star

M

4.2

4star

T

1.6

4star

G

1.6

5star

was cooked 3 years ago when he was Darling's age, and he was All Australian last year.

 

[hilly]

I recall a lot of the same negative comments when we picked up Jarrad Waite

Jarrad Waite

Age

41

Ht

194cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.3

4star

K

9.8

4star

HB

4.5

3star

M

5.8

5star

T

2.7

4star

G

1.5

5star

No current season stats available

D

9.4

3star

K

6.2

3star

HB

3.2

3star

M

2.4

3star

T

2.2

4star

G

0.6

3star

.

Both will be 32 when they play their first game.

I really get supporters frustration at this overall. We have watched the worst team of all time for years under the constant rhetoric that we are rebuilding.

We have botched this so bad we are going after blokes 30 plus an obviously past their best, to fill numerous gaps we should have well filled by now.

In no way can this be sold any other way than a total failure of the whole list management team and this rebuild overall.

But, we need to do it. There is no other choice. We had Pink and Teakle as our second and third forwards last year.

Our only other option is Chom , who is better down back and CCJ who is ordinary and coming off a serious injury.

Darling is a better option than any of the above by a distance (except Chom).

I’m assuming the plan is to draft a young key forward and have Darling up there to help out him and let Larkey do his thing.

Waite 2014 v Darling 2024

14.4 possessions pg
6.3 marks pg
1.8 goals pg

10 possessions pg
3.2 marks pg
1 goal pg

 

[DocSholl]

Reckon we would have asked the question, there is always the potential he would prefer to play for Collingwood, who also needs a KPF if he comes back to Melbourne before us.

They'd probably set their sights a bit higher though

 

[spurs]

tigers letting him go?

No, I’ve just noticed he’s spoken about as a possible trade target on Fox sports for other clubs.

 

[perplexed]

we should have played finnbar towards the end of the year instead of wasting game time on pink

Certainly wouldn't have hurt to give him a game or two. But Maley is really a long-term project type rookie. He doesn't make up for the lack of investment in tall forwards.

 

[King Corey]

Waite 2014 v Darling 2024

14.4 possessions pg
6.3 marks pg
1.8 goals pg

10 possessions pg
3.2 marks pg
1 goal pg

But other than that?

 

[davefromjerra]

I doubt Clarko would consent to bring in a washed up vet who will be useless.

First thing he did when he got here was rookie Kayne Turner

 

[DocSholl]

First thing he did when he got here was rookie Kayne Turner

Went on a bit of a mature player rampage in his last few years at Hawthorn too (Impey, Scully, Hartigan, Wingard, Patton, Frost, Phillips). Not sure his judgement in that space is flawless.

 

[swaeney]

Same - not my first choice, but willing to give him a chance.

There has to be a reason we're looking at him. I doubt Clarko would consent to brining in a washed up vet who will be useless.

Gotta stay open-minded.

I think Darling is a great recruit for us. Our lack of senior experience is obvious.

But Clarkos record isn’t always 100% with recruits. See Ty Vickery at Hawks.

 

[DuckYeah]

I slung so much shit on him when he ducked his head in a grandfinal. He cant come here.

 

[iloveireland]

Why not Tom Lynch?

Was thinking this too. However, maybe Richmond are asking for crazy compensation?

 

[DuckYeah]

Was thinking this too. However, maybe Richmond are asking for crazy compensation?

They grabbed him as RFA, they should just give him up for bugger all

 

[Event Horizon]

Don't like this at all. But its happening.

Cannot believe we arent into Riccardi.

This also says to me we will be drafting a key forward at our first pick, which i'm okay with, but we should be doing our best to get creative with the pick.

Who says we aren't or weren't into Riccardi? Giants simply weren't keen on letting a contracted player go cheaply, and we don't have whole lot of draft capital to waste.

FWIW, I am happy to trust the footy department on this one. I don't think it's Clarko making the call on his own. But there is no doubt that pressure to start winning games is increasing, and so it should be. Whether Darlling is going to help that or not we'll know in time, but even with Comben forward (as I believe will happen in most games) we still need another tall up there, and can't be Pink if we are serious about trying to win games.

Darling is a premiership player with experience and at worst he will add anther 20 goals per season and some mentoring. Honestly don't see a problem with it. But the best case scenario is he gels well with Larkey and Comben, kicks 30 himself and we end up in finals contention.

 

[spurs]

Was thinking this too. However, maybe Richmond are asking for crazy compensation?

Take his contract and give up a late pick

 

[chubbspeterson]

Bit meh on this. He's cooked with the odd good game but he's better than Pink and Teakle right now.
I can understand replacing Shiels and Greenwood and perhaps this is part of us keeping the two extra list spots.
He's won a flag, a former All-Australian who can help teach forward craft and protect the young forwards like Maley, Duursma and Comben. I just hope we finally take a few in the draft to develop at VFL level or next to him.
I wonder if Zane and Will Dawson doing their shoulders has had an impact on this decision to protect the young guys more and let them develop at their own pace so to speak vs throwing them into the fire too early.
Anyway we will find out if this is a good move or not. It might be like Petrie giving WCE 12 months of footy.

 

[Ashley B]

GWS imo cost themselves a Preliminary final neither Brown or Riccardi played. Instead they put in Keeffffffeeee who looked like he had never kicked a footy before . Baffling decision as above Riccardi would be ideal.