Recruiting AFL Draft Watch 2023

[Lore]

Quick links: Player Contract Status | Trade & Draft Thread | JHA Father/Son and NGA | Adrian Dodoro | AFLW Draft, Trade & Sign

Spoiler: LIVE DRAFT ORDER (2023 Draft Order)

 

[doug85]

So is Dodoro still hard to deal with? Or is he now a push over?

 

[Beerfish]

So is Dodoro still hard to deal with? Or is he now a push over?

Yes

 

[Call Me Cake]

If Caddy isn't slamming goals and causing headaches for the opposition for us, he'd be doing it to us.

And if we wanted to poach him down the line, a first rounder and anything close to #36 ain't getting it done.

We keep our future 1st and we get the man we need while holding off others. Most clubs choose between best available and positional needs, in a rare scenario we've managed to hit both. Exciting times.

 

[Zach Package]

No one in our current best 23 was taken after #30 at the national draft.

View attachment 1857662

So while #36 isn't completely "meaningless", there's been enough to show that the range hasn't been as impactful/crucial to us as you're trying to make it out to be, and you're confusing hypothetical talk on #35 (#40) with caring when really it's just off-season boredom and wanting something footy related to talk about/look forward to.

The fact that we didn't give up our future 1st like we were trying to do earlier (and like WCE were trying to do) is a great outcome for the club. Would much rather give away #36 than give up our future 1st.

So what you’re telling me is 21% of the best 22 was selected beyond pick 30 in the national draft?

 

[Lance Uppercut]

So be trades have ever been negotiated to near end and then one team gets cold feet? That happens a lot on the real world and particularly in sports.

you explicitly said we could have enquired about the player, assessed the willingness and circumstances, agreed to a deal, and then pulled out based on that information to get a better outcome.

That is the very definition of negotiating in bad faith and not in any way an example of "getting cold feet"

 

[Call Me Cake]

So what you’re telling me is 21% of the best 22 was selected beyond pick 30 in the national draft?

Was talking about the main draft, not SSP's or rookies.

 

[DonsRule]

Have we officially won the draft yet?

 

[Call Me Cake]

Some melts at the Melbourne

Not even he could believe we picked him at 7 over Curtin, Caddy & O'Sullivan. JT better have nailed this because it feels like we drafted to target a specific need or two with speed & kicking I50 rather than BPA which is ridiculous at 7.

 

[doug85]

Some melts at the Melbourne

Are any teams unanimously happy with their draft? There’s even a vocal minority on our board that are pissed about trading up for Caddy. Although, no one seems disappointed about taking Caddy.

 

[P Money]

It's been said on here before but worth reiterating: we didn't trade picks 11 & 31 for pick 10, or to 'move up one spot'. We traded 11 & 31 for Nate Caddy. The context of live trading is important - we knew the exact player that was there for us to take by doing that trade.

Doing that deal in the trade period before the draft is underway would make a whole lot less sense, as we would then be simply trading for a pick 1 spot higher in the draft with all the uncertainty that comes with that. That's not the case and thinking about Caddy as a draft pick isn't the right way to assess the deal.

EDIT: If you think Caddy would have been available at our pick anyway and we just got swindled by the Cats I'd hazard a guess (admittedly it's a guess as I have zero inside knowledge) that your view of the transparency of other club's intentions on draft night is way off. I mean didn't Twomey correctly predict the full top 20 (or so) draft order before it happened last year? If a journo knows with that much certainty who clubs are going to pick ahead of time you can bet your bottom dollar list managers know which way the wind is blowing on draft night.

 

[Call Me Cake]

Are any teams unanimously happy with their draft? There’s even a vocal minority on our board that are pissed about trading up for Caddy. Although, no one seems disappointed about taking Caddy.

Personally I feel like this is the first draft in a long time where I see the majority of supporter bases walking away happy.

 

[Foxx]

The funniest thing was the commentators claiming Dodoro is a "genius" for paying overs to get his man.

Let's be honest we had to pay overs to get him. I'm OK with it because I think Caddy is what we need. And we HAD to do it to get our man.

But those who say pick 30 is meaningless though are living in denial. Lots of great players have been selected pick 30 and below. Half of Geelongs premiership era was deep picks.

I'll bet if we picked a different player who we didn't particularly need, those people would be saying otherwise.

 

[Nifft]

The funniest thing was the commentators claiming Dodoro is a "genius" for paying overs to get his man.

Let's be honest we had to pay overs to get him. I'm OK with it because I think Caddy is what we need. And we HAD to do it to get our man.

But those who say pick 30 is meaningless though are living in denial.
I'll bet if we picked a different player who we didn't particularly need, those people would be saying otherwise.

It wasn't pick 30

 

[Foxx]

It wasn't pick 30

Ok 31 genius.

 

[eth-dog]

Ok 31 genius.

Barring another (very) early bid it's 36. When we have another pick 3 spots after it.

 

[JayJ20]

No, it means they likely took a slightly worse offer from Essendon than they might have got elsewhere, for that very reason.

This is a genuine win/win but the average footy fan is so conditioned to a zero sum approach they simply can't their heads around it

I'm convinced it's because some Essendon supporters have an inferiority complex. Because Geelong did that deal, it must mean we got screwed. If it was the other way around, then the same people would also think Essendon got screwed because we gave up a need for a mere second rounder. We'd hear all about how we gave up Curnow again etc.

It really only comes from the idea that Geelong know what they are doing and Essendon don't because I genuinely cannot see how a second rounder in a shallow and heavily compromised draft could be anything but dispensable.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

you explicitly said we could have enquired about the player, assessed the willingness and circumstances, agreed to a deal, and then pulled out based on that information to get a better outcome.

That is the very definition of negotiating in bad faith and not in any way an example of "getting cold feet"

You can negotiate to a point where you may have enough info to not have to go through with whole deal. Not bad faith at all as original intention was to trade.

 

[Foxx]

Barring another (very) early bid it's 36. When we have another pick 3 spots after it.

Ahh the technicality of academy bids. Those players were always almost guaranteed not to be available. It's still pick 31 live selection in my book.

 

[Call Me Cake]

If it was the other way around, then the same people would also think Essendon got screwed because we gave up a need for a mere second rounder. We'd hear all about how we gave up Curnow again etc.

It's more-so Geelong identifying a list need and us beating others who were offering future picks when we were offering a definite pick they can use right now to address their needs in a rebuild as quickly as possible while them still being able to hold a pick relative to where they were initially (#11).

West Coast were offering their future first and junk picks for Geelong's #10 even after Curtin was gone. But that's not where the Cats are at, and I can see why they baulked at that offer.

 

[eth-dog]

Ahh the technicality of academy bids. Those players were always almost guaranteed not to be available. It's still pick 31 live selection in my book.

Eh, technically speaking it's the 29th live one. 7 academy players taken so far.

 

[Call Me Cake]

Ahh the technicality of academy bids. Those players were always almost guaranteed not to be available. It's still pick 31 live selection in my book.

Then if we apply the same logic, Caddy is not a #10 pick, he's #5. Which means his selection is even more of a steal. But that's twisting narrative. He's #10 and the pick we gave was #36.

 

[faible]

I'm convinced it's because some Essendon supporters have an inferiority complex. Because Geelong did that deal, it must mean we got screwed. If it was the other way around, then the same people would also think Essendon got screwed because we gave up a need for a mere second rounder. We'd hear all about how we gave up Curnow again etc.

It really only comes from the idea that Geelong know what they are doing and Essendon don't because I genuinely cannot see how a second rounder in a shallow and heavily compromised draft could be anything but dispensable.

Geelong also aren't the masters of drafting people seem to think they are, they've had some real nothing drafts as well.

From the 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 drafts they've got one player still on their list; Jake Kolodjashnij

Much like Collingwood, once you've nailed a few drafts in a row to give you a high quality core of players you can afford to have a period of complete and utter trash without really feeling the effects.

If our 2020 - 2023 draft period can produce multiple high quality AFL standard players from the group of:

Cox
Perkins
Reid
Durham
Martin
Hobbs
Menzie
Tsatas
Hayes
Davey
Davey Jnr
Hunter
Caddy
<insert whoever else we take here>

Then we'll have set ourselves up well for the next decade as for once we'll have a significant number of players all coming through at a similar age.

 

[JayJ20]

The funniest thing was the commentators claiming Dodoro is a "genius" for paying overs to get his man.

Let's be honest we had to pay overs to get him. I'm OK with it because I think Caddy is what we need. And we HAD to do it to get our man.

But those who say pick 30 is meaningless though are living in denial. Lots of great players have been selected pick 30 and below. Half of Geelongs premiership era was deep picks.

I'll bet if we picked a different player who we didn't particularly need, those people would be saying otherwise.

Live trading is always overs though and I think a pick in the 30s for a top 10 talent (+second best KPF in the draft that fills a big need) is pretty cheap in the long run. Many teams have given up a future first to trade up and that's what I expected would need to happen. I find it irrelevant whether the movement was 1 spot up or 5 spots up.

Caddy was likely not going to be available outside the top 10 especially with West Coast's future first on the table to Geelong. We were lucky that Geelong needs both KPDs and KPFs which means it was irrelevant who they needed to pick between Caddy and O'Sullivan because other teams would have done that deal with West Coast.

 

[eth-dog]

My biggest interest tonight is to see if anyone trades up to West Coast's 30. I reckon Richmond are a big chance, Archer Reid is a big need for them at this point of their list build and I don't see him lasting to their pick. 35, F2 and F4 for 30 and F3

 

[Foxx]

Then if we apply the same logic, Caddy is not a #10 pick, he's #5. Which means his selection is even more of a steal.

Correct. If would be - if the 2nd rounder wasn't included. Remember pick 5 or 10, it's the same live selections for everybody, so it's all relative.