Roast Ratten and selectors!

[BlueTongue]

Looking at our list, I was one who thought we could do with some extra height (particularly up foward given Hendo is our only genuine Key forward coming through).

However, WH clearly rated Lucas as significantly better than Talia/Black, and Davies as a better bet than anyone else available. Maybe we could have grabbed someone with 59 but really, you've got a much better chance of finding a smokey midfielder/flanker there than a tall (same applies to pick 43).

At the end of the day, I don't watch junior football and I'm not an AFL list manager so in WH I trust. Moreover, I couldn't be happier with the way we've drafted over the past couple of years (Browne, Joesph, Armfield, Hampson, Bowyer etc etc), so I'm not going to start second guessing the club now.

Welcome to the big leagues kids.

...Johnson, Bentley, Pfeiffer, Stanton
I like Browne, but who are you gonna take out of the 22 to put him in? Basically both Browne & Army are playing for the same spot.

Hughes is very good but he doesn't always get it right.

I may eat my words (I really hope I'm wrong) but I think we got number 12 wrong this year and should have taken Talia.

 

[Salaryman]

you can only pick from what's presented in front of you......aside from picking Lucas over Talia which is a no-brainer for mine, we passed on Fitzpatrick and Craig, 1 who spent the majority of the year in the ruck and the other on the sidelines (+ kicking issues).

 

[btdg]

I may eat my words (I really hope I'm wrong) but I think we got number 12 wrong this year and should have taken Talia.

Why? Because the conventional wisdom is that we need talls, and Talia is tall?

If only drafting was that simple. Fact is, Talia was passed over by 11 teams this year. If he was a sure thing big, he would have been a top 2-3 pick. The safe bet is to lock in a quality midfielder who is a sure thing, then worry about plugging gaps further down the track.

 

[Bluedude]

What value do you put on a player that loves the club ?
I would have gone Talia too, but I aint the selectors.
Have to pick up an established strong Jonathan Brown type Forward.
(PSD ?? Is it possible ??)
No use having a hundred guns when there is no target.

 

[40yearBLUE]

Not all Wayne Hughes is spuds

 

[Jock]

It might be one game, but it was the most important game our club has played in the last 8 seasons & despite holding a 5 goal lead early in the last quarter, we lost. Not because we didn't have enough KP forwards, but because we could not get our hands on the ball at stoppages.

We all know the intensity of AFL competiton goes up a level come September & with each week you progress in the finals, the intensity gets greater. It is no coincidence that the Top 4 teams in 2009 'bat' quite deep in the midfield (some have more class than others), yet only one of those teams can boast a top class KP forward (Riewoldt).

Totally agree - If you think of mid rotations of 8 not this fab four crap we come up short against the top 4. Hence Mc lean and now Lucas. Our talls are plentyful, mostly young and are good enough.

 

[LemmingMaster]

Where did you have him ranked?

I had him at 10 in my private ranking, but I dropped him down a couple of places due to thinking it was my East Fremantle bias.

I would put Scully, Trengove and Martin as clearly the best. Then I would place Lucas in the group just behind. Gysberts, I struggle to understand how he was rated in the top 11.

 

[BlueTongue]

We've got Henderson who can play forward for us for near on the next 10 years. Kreuzer can/will also play forward alot more next year. Hampson can be thrown down there, as can Waite & Austin. And O'Hailpin as well. That's 6 talls that can play down there. How many more do we need?

Henderson - CHF or FF - Leave him there !!
Kruezer - No.1 Gun Ruckman - Never going to be 100% Forward
Hampson - Tall, Athletic & Agile Ruckman - Never going to be 100% Forward
O'hAilpin - Tall, Athletic & Agile - Fill the gaps man
Waite - Tall, Athletic & Agile Potential CHF or FF - Always gonna be thrown back to CHB unless we get someone else.
Austin - Work in Progess

My point is, only Henderson can be called a Tall forward, the rest are just part timers doing another role, with the exception of Waite, whom I'd love to leave At CHF or Full Forward, but because we have gaps in our defence he goes back.

 

[starchamber]

We are obviously placing our faith in:

Henderson
Waite
Kreuzer
Hampson
O'hAilpin
Thornton
Bower
Jamison
Austin
Warnock
Jacobs
err and Fisher

to fill 2 ruck spots, 2 key forward spots, 2 key back spots and tall flanker spots.

Meaning we could get 4 tall injuries and cope or 6 if you just have the likes of Walker as tallish flankers.

We'd need to have a terrible run to need more but I am sure we will be looking at some interesting rookie selections.

Oh no Go back to Fremantle Dockers were the rot started.

 

[invinciBlues]

As I have said in previous threads, if you name me a KPP that we should have drafted instead of Lucas/Davies/Kerr and why. Where do you see this KPP playing?

Given that KPP's generally take 2-3 years to develop, we'd have to wait until at least 2012 before we start seeing any benefit from them. And please don't throw a Michael Hurley or Nick Riewoldt at me. These guys are the exceptions, not the rule.

Sorry, but I thought we were building a multi-dimensional forward-line - what dimensions does it have now?

The better option would have been to draft the best suit to CHF, and have him learn how its done. Get Sticks out of the office for a one on one once a week.

Have Henderson groomed for FF. A two pronged attacked!

Waite could have stayed in his switch-hitting role when required.

IMO, the National Draft is where you build your list with the best available talent. Trade Week is where you can address needs on your list.

I'm fond of growing our own talent, not grabbing what another club offer us. But its just a personal opinion. And there were "best available" options besides midfielders.

I know the brownlow gives the impression they are the be-all and end-all, but come on...

 

[zeeCFC]

Peter Labi will hold the opposition down with each of his fingers and toes while the rest of the blue boys get our percentage past 1000%. BOOKMARK IT!

recruiting win

 

[Silvagnis]

Hughes on new Blues

Hughes on new Blues

No.12 - Kane Lucas
DOB: 26/06/91, Height: 188cm, Weight: 79kg
Recruited from: Trinity College/East Fremantle (WA)
“We picked Kane for his ball-reading ability in the middle, reading of the play, good use of the ball. He’s smart in traffic and his athletic abilities give him the ability to play midfield rotation. Quick, good agility, good spring, just an all-round good package for us.”

No. 43 - Marcus Davies
DOB: 04/06/91, Height: 188cm, Weight: 84kg
Recruited from: North Hobart/Tassie Mariners (TAS)
“Tassie boy, centre half-back in the nationals, 191cms running player - I think he holds the state record for 3000 at schools. Good use of the ball, breaks the lines, can play on smalls and talls with his running so he could give us dash out of defence.”

No.59 - Rohan Kerr
DOB:17/11/91, Height:184cm Weight: 79.6kg
Recruited from: Dandenong Stingrays (VIC)
“Bit of a speculative pick, young Rohan. He had a very good finals series for the Dandenong Stingrays. Missed the first half of the year with an ankle injury. Has really good skill, kicks a lot of goals, good use of the footy. I think he’d be the most surprised player tonight, I would have thought, getting drafted. But I just think he has a little trick that it’ll be good for us, so we’ll give him a chance.”

Hughes on new Blues

Wayne Hughes on our draft

Kane Lucas interview

Go Sugar!

If Lucas doesn't grow to 193 cms over summer, we can send him to Russia to have his legs broken and lengthened.

 

[LemmingMaster]

The better option would have been to draft the best suit to CHF, and have him learn how its done.

I know the brownlow gives the impression they are the be-all and end-all, but come on...

Ok please offer a player or two up, who should have been drafted.

The main forward options would have been Black, Carlisle or Griffiths.

Not one of those players would have been a better option than Lucas.

 

[krayfesh]

Lucas was a huge win.

I was at the draft and when I heard Gysberts at 11, I nearly died.

A little sad that nobody picked Panos at all, hope he gets his shot.

I trust Hughes opinion on our chosen players and I have an excuse to head down to training.

Still, we got Lucas.

 

[Robbo's my hero]

I'm happy with Lucas as our 1st round choice. I rated him in the 6 to 10 category. I listened to the top 10 and realised his name wasn't among the picks. I thought this could be a bonus but surely Melbourne wouldn't let him go. With midfielders like Bartram and Moloney they need all the help in the world. After the Dees made its choice I knew who Carlton would pick. I pumped the air and did a victory dance. Lucas is ready to play senior footy. I was pleased with Davies at #43. Can run all day, nice kick and versatile. Kerr at #59? The stats are not outstanding but sometimes you've got to look for other attributes when assessing talent. A 'pick and hope' but that's ok with me. We could have used this pick for Maguire. It appears we had him slotted as a mature age rookie. We didn't rate him highly and Brisbane pinched him. Que sera. Hopefully this leaves the door open for a couple of mature age players who wore the navy blue and were delisted to make room for the new talent.

 

[Will.B.Worth.Da.Waite]

Henderson - CHF or FF - Leave him there !!
Kruezer - No.1 Gun Ruckman - Never going to be 100% Forward
Hampson - Tall, Athletic & Agile Ruckman - Never going to be 100% Forward
O'hAilpin - Tall, Athletic & Agile - Fill the gaps man
Waite - Tall, Athletic & Agile Potential CHF or FF - Always gonna be thrown back to CHB unless we get someone else.
Austin - Work in Progess

My point is, only Henderson can be called a Tall forward, the rest are just part timers doing another role, with the exception of Waite, whom I'd love to leave At CHF or Full Forward, but because we have gaps in our defence he goes back.

Exactly. And as I've already mentioned, for those saying "talia was passed by 11 teams", he was taken the pick after ours, so clearly he was rated similar to Lucas.

The biggest issue is that with GC and GWS coming in, we're going to have limited opportunities to address this need. Despite whatever spin people put on it, Henderson is our only genuine forward, and he is still very speculative. With limited draft picks coming up, it's going to be hard finding another quality KPP. And to those saying Talia isn't a forward, the point is he could play CHB allowing Waite to play forward.

Im actually happy with Lucas, appears as if he was a bit of a steal, but im a believer of drafting for needs if the quality is available, and Adelaide has shown that Talia probably had that quality. The only other downside I have with drafting Lucas is that it just seems to weird cheering for a Lucas when the Lucas at Liverpool is so ****ing shit. I hear Lucas and I associate it with crapness lol.

 

[dirk pitt]

One game. You're basing this on one game.

Gun forwards/defenders don't hit their stride for at least a couple of seasons.

Fair point on the need for higher rotations through the mid, but the first rounder could have gone for a KPP and the following picks for two above average mids.

Our midfield is already blue chip, all thats been done with this drafting is making it sparkle a little more. With proper rotations chances are you wouldn't have even noticed the difference. Mind you, its been stated that Lucas can't tackle and can't handball - he's hopefully got a devastating kick because the fact he can run really, really fast shouldn't be the sole factor in recruiting him.

invinciblues - you could also take a look at either of the Adelaide or Essendon games, the Collingwood game (when we weren't playing Williamstown) and several others.

Fact is, we didn't bat deep enough in the midfield in any game that mattered last season.

Our midfield's PR has been running a long way ahead of reality.

 

[Sin City]

If anyone is that concerned about talls for the future, we could've picked up an ok one in the draft, but with all the spare money we have in the salary cap, you can rest assured we will be looking at trading for a good one next year.

 

[blueblood25]

hooooolllyyy shiiitte.

what a freakin tank! reminds me on big john brown.


we picked some real gems tonight that i could see getting their chance sooner than i expected our picks to get.


mods can you please change this from a roast to a toast, i'm stoked.

 

[Sin City]

mods can you please change this from a roast to a toast, i'm stoked.

+1

 

[Silvagnis]

Exactly. And as I've already mentioned, for those saying "talia was passed by 11 teams", he was taken the pick after ours, so clearly he was rated similar to Lucas.

The biggest issue is that with GC and GWS coming in, we're going to have limited opportunities to address this need. Despite whatever spin people put on it, Henderson is our only genuine forward, and he is still very speculative. With limited draft picks coming up, it's going to be hard finding another quality KPP. And to those saying Talia isn't a forward, the point is he could play CHB allowing Waite to play forward.

Im actually happy with Lucas, appears as if he was a bit of a steal, but im a believer of drafting for needs if the quality is available, and Adelaide has shown that Talia probably had that quality. The only other downside I have with drafting Lucas is that it just seems to weird cheering for a Lucas when the Lucas at Liverpool is so ****ing shit. I hear Lucas and I associate it with crapness lol.

What a crap and reactionary post.

How do you know if the other clubs rated Talia as high as Adelaide?

If Austin is a work in progress, what do you call Talia?

Henderson is speculative, yet Talia is pumped at the saviour of the Carlton Football Club and a must get purely because he's a tall.

Can you name one thing Talia has that Austin lacks?

Other than no experience at the highest level.

The supporters who want Talia were crying out for Panos two months ago and saying we had to pick him because he was a forward.

Panos was overlooked in two national drafts by 16 clubs.

Even Maguire, Hooper, Buckley, Smith and Pattison were rated higher than Panos.

The same people are now questioning Wayne Hughes who knows these players inside out.

The inmates are trying to take over the asylum.

 

[mj300985]

It seems like most people here don't realise Davies can play KP. He is 191 and obviously still growing. Even if he doesn't he is only 2 cm shorter than Jammo and 1 cm shorter than T-bird and by the way only 3 cm shorter than Talia.

And just incase people don't know Fev is also 191 cm

It also seems to have been overlooked that both Lucas and Kerr can play forward roles.

I think we have had a great night. Roll on 2010!

 

[Jeremias]

The Saints have 2 A+ Tall Forwards and lost a G.F....

How many A+ Tall Forwards do Geelong have?

Please name them.

That's exactly right.

The last decade has shown us that superstar key forwards are not the be all and end all, and certainly not a necessity for a premiership team.

Geelong has been arguably the best team in the AFL over the last 3 seasons. And who do they have as forwards? Mooney and Hawkins, and before that Mooney, Nathan Ablett and Tom Lonergan.

Mooney is average, Lonergan is crap, and whilst Hawkins may turn out to be a star, he's far from that at the moment.

What won them their premierships and made them such a dominant force in recent years is the power and depth of their midfield and the quality of their smaller forwards.

And as you said, St Kilda had probably the best tall forward of season 2009 and another very good one and they fell short.

I've said it a million times before on here but I'll say it again: PREMIERSHIPS ARE WON IN THE MIDDLE.

Once you have an excellent midfield, everything else falls into place. If they remain fit and injury-free, our defensive unit is good enough. Our forward line is a weakness, but a tall forward is NOT a priority because what we've got are better than what Geelong had to offer.

Get the midfield sorted and you'll be right. And that's exactly what we are doing and I'm very happy about that. Very pleased with our selections tonight.

Only on BigFooty is it more important to be tall than a good footballer.

A team drafting for needs is one that reaches for a particular player type and is often left ruing that decision several years down the track.

 

[blues4flag]

...Johnson, Bentley, Pfeiffer, Stanton

You can't be serious? All you can do is name rookie and PSD selections?

 

[Dramoth]

Sorry, but I thought we were building a multi-dimensional forward-line - what dimensions does it have now?

The better option would have been to draft the best suit to CHF, and have him learn how its done. Get Sticks out of the office for a one on one once a week.[*A]

Have Henderson groomed for FF. A two pronged attacked!

Waite could have stayed in his switch-hitting role when required.



I'm fond of growing our own talent, not grabbing what another club offer us. But its just a personal opinion. And there were "best available" options besides midfielders.

I know the brownlow gives the impression they are the be-all and end-all, but come on...

We have 2 players on our list that are proven CHF. One with a lot of experience and the other was coming along nicely until he had the shit smashed out of him by our ex-poster boy. Both of these CHF can also rotate through the CHB position as required.

Yes, groom Hendo as our future FF. Thats going to take a couple of years before he gets his leading and positional work going great guns.

Waite AND Setanta are going to be excellent options on the CH lines because of their abilities to play at either end of the ground.

Austin will start to show a lot more next year and in 2011 he should be ready to play the role that the club has envisaged for him, be it up front or down back...