Mofra
Moderator
- Dec 6, 2005
- 67,487
- 199,360
- AFL Club
- Western Bulldogs
- Other Teams
- Footscray, Coney Island Warriors
- Moderator
- #13,026
IIRC we had Buss, Ed Allen and Weddle grouped as possibilities at that pick.Yes, it could have been a reach but at this stage it looks like it was a shallow draft. Weddle or Darcy Jones would have been great but every club can shed tears in the "if only we'd drafted [such-and-such]" game. And it’s still early days to say Buss won’t become a good footballer. Tall defenders take time. Especially if they start their first season recovering from shoulder surgery.
We've had quite a few years where our draft was hollowed out for FS/NGA bid matching & picking up trades in exchange for a 2nd/3rd rounder. Some good trades, some not so good. So to have picks 13, 24 and 39 in 2022 looked juicy at the time. However none of them played in 2023 - partly due to injuries - and so far only Gallagher has debuted in 2023. Clarke might get there but he's not coming along as fast as I'd have hoped for a pick 24.
What has made that off-season more palatable was picking up Liam Jones and then JOD early into the 2023 season. Both of them free hits.