North Melbourne Priority Pick 2021

[north_lad]

Lot of water to go under the bridge yet

 

[bigboysdontcry]

One of the things I love about this website is the posters who speak with great authority on topics they have literally no clue about.

Brad Scott went to the board arguing the club needed to rebuild but was rejected. Selfishness had nothing to do with it. His job was to get the best results possible with the team that he had and he did that fairly well.

Why would Brad Scott advocate for a priority pick for North Melbourne now? What influence would he have on who gets a priority pick as head of AFL Victoria? How does that make any sense?

Hahaha! Brad saw the sinking ship from previous years of losing draft picks for mature age hasbeens! You’re telling me he had nothing to do with Dal Santo , Waite, Nahas. Terrible recruiting along the way also.

You’re talking about Brad going in at the end of the 2018 season and requesting that the club finally rebuilds. The damage was already done by that stage.

 

[ferball]

Absolutely not they chose to bottom out hard and become bad, that is totally fine but you shouldn't get handouts for choosing to be bad.

Were we good last year or something?

Do any of you people actually think with your brains?

 

[1990crow]

The crows were the "worst side in 30 years" and didn't get one. No way in hell do they deserve one.
If they do it's clearly #VICBIAS

 

[Iceman!]

Were we good last year or something?

Do any of you people actually think with your brains?

No i do, you were pretty shit but not deserving of a priority pick. Shit teams don't, you could have retained some of that talent and remained competitive in games.

You didn't want to so now you can rebuild without assistance.

Priority picks are a joke in the first place and should be canned all together.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Priority picks encourage tanking. Time to get rid of them.

 

[Deathly]

North shouldn't be rewarded for overrating their list and trading in garbage.

 

[The 747]

Nah. If they continue like this next year then maybe at the end of the year. Every year there has to be a side on the bottom of the ladder. Someone finishes last - and it is not certain that North will finish last this year.

 

[Blackas87]

Geez it’s round 6, can we wait until they are out of the finals race

 

[Chaisa]

I don't like priority picks as a rule, but assuming they don't improve significantly in the second half of the year if the Suns got one in 2019 it's hard to justify them not getting one this year.

Then again, the AFL had a vested interest for the Suns to succeed which I don't really think exists for North Melbourne, alas.

 

[Engimal v3]

We don't need one, but I'm not against us asking. Every team has their turn in the shitter, and we should make the most of it while we're here.

 

[Messenger]

No.

 

[projectv]

I think they would have more of a case in 2022 than this year. We're only six rounds in they might show something.

If they're bottom this year and next year then the AFL would probably consider it - Gold Coast did the same thing.

 

[ferball]

Simple question - should they get one?
Since 2012 the AFL have some 'discretionary formula' for handing out PPs consisting of wins in previous seasons, on-field prospects, list age, astrology charts and a rough measure of just how much Darcy "likes the way the list goes about it".

They might snag a win or two from here but they are a firmly developing side who would have certainly qualified for some form of assistance under the old formula. They are also 'carrying the can' in less desirable timeslots so some would argue deserve some from of goodwill on that measure as well.

Should they get a priority pick and if so, which pick(s)?

Do you want an honest answer?

Definitely!

Pick 2.

....

Even end of round 1 would be awesome.

Someone mentioned that Adelaide have had 10 top 30 picks in the last 3 or 4 years

Despite what you read here these are the facts:

The season isn't over. Who knows how we will finish. We may win the last four games and beat finalists.

At the end of this season we'll have at least 7 top 15 draft picks from 5 drafts and there is a good chance at least one of them is a genuine (ie Dusty or GAJ type) generational midfielder cos we look like getting pick 1 this year. WE already potentially have another from last year. Across those five years including the top 15 picks I mentioned we will have at least another 5 in the top 36 picks. We have the makings of a spine under 23 with Larkey, Xerri and McKay. That is 15 young players already by seasons end. At least. Jy Simpkin, Cam Zurhaar, Taylor, Scott and others, a potential top 30 player from a COVID free world in the MSD coming up. The reality is we have a lot of young talent and if it develop it well we will be a strong side in a few years time.

Our list was mismanaged badly, hence the cuts last year. We stuffed our post 2016 rebuild, reset or whatever it was. So we had to start a rebuild this year.

But we have picks 4, 6 and 11 from 2017. And the later two showed more than LDU on the weekend. Three reasonably good players from 2018, 2019 could be a bust (or come good, juries still out) but another 3 in 2020. Recruiting well has given another two players from 2018 and 19 that have shown something at senior level. Now alot of this is down to shrewd/lucky recruiting over the last two trade periods. It means we are in a better position than we seem in terms of depth of good young players.

This reinforces the idea we have young talent available and the team to get more, especially in a more effective way than we had done under Brad Scott. SO we have the raw materials.

We also have injuries to Luke McDonald, Jed Anderson, Robbie Tarrant, Trent Dumont (all top 3 B&F players from the last few seasons,) and Aiden Corr, who looked very promising and was important structurally. Then a bunch of other senior players too. Polec is among the best . We just lost Aaron Hall who had a mass cut of out of his throat that had been there for years and is playing footy as good as he ever has (for two games. He''s always been inconsistent. But he's always had that lump in his throat too.) We would be in a lot better shape with those guys playing (some of them anyway,) especially the first four.

The Gold Coast have an end of first round pick but we're in worse shape than them. So give that to us at the end of r1.

Although both of us have access to enough talent that one more pick won't make the difference between us being good and not being good. If we fit the criteria sure we'll take it. WE've won one game since r2 2020 (the first one back after the first lockdown a year ago,) ie two games in a year. It will look worse by the end of the season if we win two or less, or even none.

They are the facts, mostly, about where we are at this year.

A few teams other than us look destined for a cliff too. If we get a priority pick then they will all be wanting one too soon enough. They may have less to work with than us too. Ultimately it won't make much difference. One pick at the end of r1 won't make a difference to where we are at in a few years. To us or any other team really. LOL - so the AFL may as well give us one.

What really matters is a footy department with a clue. For the first time in a decade it looks like we may have one of those.

 

[Blackas87]

I missed the bit when Hawthorn said "No thanks AFL, we don't want to draft Luke Hodge at #1, priority picks are a joke in the first place and should be canned all together."

The poster isn’t the Hawthorn football club.
The Hawks also traded for that pick.

 

[projectv]

We don't need one, but I'm not against us asking. Every team has their turn in the shitter, and we should make the most of it while we're here.

After the amount of handouts given to GWS and GC, underperforming clubs would be crazy to not at least ask the question.

 

[Iceman!]

I missed the bit when Hawthorn said "No thanks AFL, we don't want to draft Luke Hodge at #1, priority picks are a joke in the first place and should be canned all together."

I missed the part where i spoke for the Hawthorn football club?

 

[ferball]

No i do, you were pretty sh*t but not deserving of a priority pick. sh*t teams don't, you could have retained some of that talent and remained competitive in games.

You didn't want to so now you can rebuild without assistance.

Priority picks are a joke in the first place and should be canned all together.

Yeah, that's probably fair enough. Remember that in about two and a half years.

As far as "being competitive in games". What is the point of that? It wasn't working and at some point you have to recognise that and try something different. 10 years of it led us to a place where we were mired in mediocrity.

 

[Iceman!]

Yeah, that's probably fair enough. Remember that in about two and a half years.

As far as "being competitive in games". What is the point of that? It wasn't working and at some point you have to recognise that and try something different. 10 years of it led us to a place where we were mired in mediocrity.

I will still hold the same position if we are winning a 5th straight spoon in 6 years.

It is a competition, if you can not build a list properly you do not deserve to be handed picks to do it for you.

 

[Shadow89]

Lol it must be such a sad state of affairs to be a club that actually wants to have a priority pick. Basically an admission that your club is in shambles and needs aid - rather than being a stable, successful one that can clean up their own mess.

Same story, different Bottom 2 club. At what stage does the AFL industry go 'hey, if you can't manage your club well, you're on your own'?

Such a joke.

 

[projectv]

The poster isn’t the Hawthorn football club.
The Hawks also traded for that pick.

Fair point. I got the players/years wrong, I should have said 2004 Roughead.

 

[Shadow89]

Yeah, that's probably fair enough. Remember that in about two and a half years.

As far as "being competitive in games". What is the point of that? It wasn't working and at some point you have to recognise that and try something different. 10 years of it led us to a place where we were mired in mediocrity.

So the AFL should give you a priority pick because by your own admission, you f*cked up your strategy? You do realize that being 'mired in mediocrity' is not a reason for the AFL to have to step in. Draft better. Trade better. Recruit staff better. It's your own organization's fault, and you shouldn't just be able to get handouts because you're not competitive enough anymore - due to your club's awful set of decisions.

That's like burning your house down and then going 'oh I didn't realize I didn't have insurance, please donate to my cause as I'm too stupid to manage my finances and affairs like a grown adult.'

You shouldn't want a priority pick if you want to actually be a club that stands on its own two feet. If you do want one, then you're basically saying that you are at the AFL's behest, and that makes you that much more likely to be the team that gets relocated - as you need the AFL to make your decisions for you.

 

[Shadow89]

The crows were the "worst side in 30 years" and didn't get one. No way in hell do they deserve one.
If they do it's clearly #VICBIAS

That's because your club actually has pride, and despite all the horrific off field BS that's occurred in recent years, you've managed to rebuild on your own two feet - and it's already paying dividends. That's how a club should be run - not running to mummy and daddy AFL house, in order to get handouts to fix their mistakes. Kudos

 

[projectv]

So the AFL should give you a priority pick because by your own admission, you f*cked up your strategy? You do realize that being 'mired in mediocrity' is not a reason for the AFL to have to step in. Draft better. Trade better. Recruit staff better. It's your own organization's fault, and you shouldn't just be able to get handouts because you're not competitive enough anymore - due to your club's awful set of decisions.

That's like burning your house down and then going 'oh I didn't realize I didn't have insurance, please donate to my cause as I'm too stupid to manage my finances and affair like a grown adult.'

You shouldn't want a priority pick if you want to actually be a club that stands on its own two feet. If you do want one, then you're basically saying that you are at the AFL's behest, and that makes you that much more likely to be the team that gets relocated - as you need the AFL to make your decisions for you.

To that North guys defence, the Saints have been 'mired in mediocrity' for the entire time I've been alive, yet the AFL steps in regularly.

Sometimes struggling clubs need a leg up.

 

[Shadow89]

To that North guys defence, the Saints have been 'mired in mediocrity' for the entire time I've been alive, yet the AFL steps in regularly.

Sometimes struggling clubs need a leg up.

They really don't. They need to be more professional as an organization. You guys are heading down the same road at the moment, after throwing all your money at Brad Hill, Brad Crouch, Dan Butler, Jack Higgins, Dougal Howard, Dan Hannebery, Paddy Ryder etc. If it doesn't reap you benefits - as it appears to not be at the moment - will you guys go back to the AFL for assistance, or will you try and fix things yourself?