Mitch Duncan & rating draft success.

[pavilion103]

It's quite clear that Wells is the best recruiter in the league by some way. I don't know how much he is earning but it should be more than anyone else at the club.

Once again he has done the best in this draft and his recruiting over the last few years will ensure our medium term success. Seeing Harry Taylor becoming one of the best defenders in the league and Pods cleaning up in the forwardline shows that he isn't just a gun at picking the younger players.

This Geelong team first made the Prelim in 04, and besides a poor 06 has essentially been thereabouts for 6 years. I would not be surprised if we are around the mark for another 3. This would be the longest period of sustained success since the AFL came into existence. It is bloody good being a Cats fan.

 

[RooHooDoo]

It's quite clear that Wells is the best recruiter in the league by some way. I don't know how much he is earning but it should be more than anyone else at the club.

Once again he has done the best in this draft and his recruiting over the last few years will ensure our medium term success. Seeing Harry Taylor becoming one of the best defenders in the league and Pods cleaning up in the forwardline shows that he isn't just a gun at picking the younger players.

This Geelong team first made the Prelim in 04, and besides a poor 06 has essentially been thereabouts for 6 years. I would not be surprised if we are around the mark for another 3. This would be the longest period of sustained success since the AFL came into existence. It is bloody good being a Cats fan.

It will be a good run, remember though NM made 7 straight prelims from 1994- 2000 and played finals in 1993 and 2002 (we missed in 2001). Only won the 2 premierships though so Geelong certainly has the potential to surpass that effort.

 

[00Stinger]

Mitch Duncan would have to be up there as one of the best players, if not the best taken in the 2009 draft. Has walked into the best side in the country and has shown some unbelievable skills. Looks like a Stevie J II, and you have to wonder how he slipped so low. Save for Dustin Martin, none of the other 2009 draftees IMO have shown as much as Mitch.

When you add JPod to our list of inductees, you have to wonder whether Wells has done it again and whether Geelong are set for another era of dominance?Many people were predicting our downfall, but that doesn't look like happening any time soon. Definitely done the best out of the 2009 drafts at this stage.

I am interested to know the opinions of other teams' supporters on Mitch, and where he and JPod rate when compared to youngsters at other clubs.

I would say that Trengove has shown just as much

 

[pavilion103]

It will be a good run, remember though NM made 7 straight prelims from 1994- 2000 and played finals in 1993 and 2002 (we missed in 2001). Only won the 2 premierships though so Geelong certainly has the potential to surpass that effort.

Yeh North Melbourne were a powerhouse in the 90s. Haven't seen that level of consistency in the national competition.

I guess it was good that when we started playing finals in 2004, many of the core group now were 19-22. I guess it's very rare to have a team with a large number of core players all around the same age.

 

[Tas]

I reckon I would look good playing for Geelong and I have no real football ability.

Bastinac cops the best of the opposition midfielders, I am sure clubs wont worry about Ablett, Bartell and Selwood, they will put the hard tag on Duncan.

 

[Alfonz]

Lucky that Duncan is playing well, because their first pick Menzel looks like an absolute dud, I mean he hasn't even played a game yet.

 

[Monkey King]

Just want to make sure Kane Lucas gets some acknowledgment in this thread. He's been better than Duncan thus far IMO.

 

[Lunchlady Doris]

North had 280 odd possies against the Swans with a young midfield that was soundly beaten. Geelong had 479 in a stroll in the park against PA. I know which side I would rather try and get a kick in.

Duncan doesn't even play in the midfield

 

[gbatman]

There have been some great performances this year by first year players. Lucas, Scully and Banfield have all been exceptionally good. Duncan has been good but doesn't stand out above these types. He would find it harder in a lesser team like Melbourne or Richmond.

 

[Monkey King]

There have been some great performances this year by first year players. Lucas, Scully and Banfield have all been exceptionally good. Duncan has been good but doesn't stand out above these types. He would find it harder in a lesser team like Melbourne or Richmond.

I would call Banfield a second year player compared to those other guys. Was drafted a year ahead and therefore gets an extra year in the system... he's been good nonetheless.

 

[RooHooDoo]

Duncan doesn't even play in the midfield

Neither does Brent Harvey whats your point?

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

What Mayne said. I can't talk about what Duncan was like in junior footy but the situation he and Pods find themselves in is ideal...peripheral players in a fantastic and dominant football team.

As for a young draftee such as Duncan coming in, he doesn't get a look in from opposition sides. You have about 17 other blokes who get closely looked about before the young kid. A lot easier (not I didn't say easy) to play well in your team than most others. Imagine Duncan at the Tiges...jesus I shudder at the thought of what we would do to the kid.

Don't know about this. The point has long been debated, would you rather be a walk up start for a weak team, or a borderline player for a top team? The thing is, when Rooke, Varcoe, Scarlett and maybe Stokes are ready to come back, Duncan is one of the logical players to go back to the VFL. It's ok at the moment, because Geelong have had a fair few outs in the first weeks, but Duncan's spot is far from guaranteed when (if?) the Cats get to full strength, as impressive as he's been.

 

[DBAH0]

Neither does Brent Harvey whats your point?

That you can't compare Duncan and Bastinac because 1 plays the majority of his time in the midfield, while the other is basically a HFF who sometimes floats into the midfield.

Of course Duncan has looked good in a Geelong team etc. But for a 2nd round pick, he's done very well so far and we're very happy to have him.

Also shows that people writing Geelong off in the future, if they can keep hitting on these draft picks (which they have an excellent record of doing over the past decade), they're not going to drop off hugely in the future.

 

[Invigoration]

Good kid made to look better in a great side.

IE Prismall.

/thread

 

[Lunchlady Doris]

/thread

Prismall never looked as good as Duncan at Geelong.

 

[Selective Retention]

Plus it took Prismall nearly two whole seasons to play as many games as Duncan has and Brent was taken in the draft before Selwood arrived and Geelong turned into a top team.

 

[Invigoration]

Prismall never looked as good as Duncan at Geelong.

That's debatable, but beside the point anyway. The fact is they have/were both been made to look a lot better than they would have in a poor team.

That isn't to take anything away from Duncan though, because he has been very good and has done exceptionally well to break into the team in the first place, but it probably goes without mentioning that the OP has severely jumped the gun. He is already proclaiming him as the best draftee from 2009 ffs, let's not forget James Hird hardly played a game in his first 2 years at the club, so I think it's a bit to early to be declaring anything after 4 games. Or who'd have thought Dane Swan would be a better player than Luke Ball after their respective early years at their clubs.
Just setting yourself up for a fall with this sorta crap.

 

[Lunchlady Doris]

That's debatable, but beside the point anyway. The fact is they have/were both been made to look a lot better than they would have in a poor team.

That isn't to take anything away from Duncan though, because he has been very good and has done exceptionally well to break into the team in the first place, but it probably goes without mentioning that the OP has severely jumped the gun. He is already proclaiming him as the best draftee from 2009 ffs, let's not forget James Hird hardly played a game in his first 2 years at the club, so I think it's a bit to early to be declaring anything after 4 games. Or who'd have thought Dane Swan would be a better player than Luke Ball after their respective early years at their clubs.
Just setting yourself up for a fall with this sorta crap.

No argument from me, my first post in this thread was asking the OP why he thought this thread was a good idea.

 

[DanA]

He's looked okay. He has a nice penetrating kick, is calm on the ball and seems to be a good runner. This thread is a bit perplexing as I don't think he's at the level where he deserves this kind of praise though.


I think Bastinac looks to be the player punching above his weight out of last years draft. Most of the top 10 draft picks look to be pretty good choices from what I've seen too.

 

[Silvagnis]

Good kid made to look better in a great side.

If that's the case, then Geelong should jump the gun and extend Duncan's contract by two years.

The OP was OTT, but Duncan is a good footballer.

 

[Invigoration]

No argument from me, my first post in this thread was asking the OP why he thought this thread was a good idea.

Fair call.

I think if the OP wasn't a tool, you could have got some decent discussion on the kid. The way it's worded only incites opposition supporters into a 'our 2009 draftees vs yours' debate though.

FWIW, I think he looks really impressive so far, he has polished skills and a really good goal sense, two things that can't really be taught, so I think it bodes well for his future. As I alluded to, the 27 other kids before him need a chance before you judge them, but it would certainly appear at this stage that he has crept under the nose of selectors somewhat. I guess it's not too dissimilar to how I feel about Beams getting picked when he did, I think their respective clubs and supporters can both feel confident they have grabbed a bargain, regardless of how the rest of the draftees careers pan out.

 

[WoGiTaLiA]

I guess it was good that when we started playing finals in 2004, many of the core group now were 19-22. I guess it's very rare to have a team with a large number of core players all around the same age.

Seems to be pretty common with the good teams actually...

Geelong check.

Brisbane had Lappin, Voss, Aker, Lynch, Leppisch and a bunch of others in the same sort of age group with a couple of young guns, call them a Black and Brown comparison to Selwood and I guess Hawkins(though that's an insult to Browny at this point).

WCE had Kerr, Judd, Lynch, Cousins, Cox, Glass, Braun, Fletcher and co all in a similar sort of age range with Judd probably being their young outlier also.

Sydney had the whole old troop of Goodes, Kirk, Bolton x2, Hall, Magic, Ball, ROK. All pretty much in that 25-28 range.

Most of the consistently good teams have that core. It's a big reason why Carlton get talked up every year, people are expecting that Gibbs, Murphy and co group to take that step.

As for Duncan.. He looks really good but he is in a really good team and that does help greatly, guys like Luke Ablett looked a lot better when Sydney were good and dropped off when they weren't. Notting was an example at Brisbane. Braun, Embley, Hansen and Fletcher were great examples at WCE. When the delivery is great you have time to make decisions and execute skills. Effectively you perform under little pressure. Geelong provide that scenario.

Collinwood are a strong team also and had their kids all come in last year and look pretty good. Bulldogs have guys step in and perform. Hawks kids looked good the first couple of rounds last year until the injuries caught up and too much was asked of them.

What guys like Trengove, Martin and Bastinac are doing is more impressive. Martin is being asked to lead the midfield, Trengove is a key cog and Bastinac has been close to Norths best the last two weeks. You get more of an opportunity to play and shine in a bad team but it is also harder to do so.

 

[Brad Roo]

That you can't compare Duncan and Bastinac because 1 plays the majority of his time in the midfield, while the other is basically a HFF who sometimes floats into the midfield.

Would there be an opposition supporter that would take Duncan over Bastinac on exposed form?

 

[Partridge]

This Geelong team first made the Prelim in 04, and besides a poor 06 has essentially been thereabouts for 6 years. I would not be surprised if we are around the mark for another 3. This would be the longest period of sustained success since the AFL came into existence. It is bloody good being a Cats fan.

Sorry, but to me success means winning premierships. We've been successful twice in recent years. Making the finals means nothing if you come away with nothing.

Agree about Taylor though, that was a recruiting masterstroke. It's too early to tell with Duncan yet, although he looks very promising.

 

[Wish Wellingtons]

Duncan looks super solid, and Simon Hogan may struggle to reclaim a spot in the 22, but after four rounds it is a huge call to have him as the best player of the draft. I agree that wells is a genius, and that Duncan has been great value, but seriously BBC, keep a lid on the lad.