If weak draft as predicted

[Goose is king]

If it's a weak draft as predicted how do we play the draft period.
In the last two we have done well with the picks about 18-23 with Dunstan, Acres, Goddard and D-Mac
If it's a shallow draft these picks may be a bit rubbish.
I'm guessing pick 5 and assuming with that would get a good-very good player but our picks from what would be 25? onwards more speculative.
I would love Slone, but not for pick 5. I think FA should be the only way we bring in an experienced gun.
Whoever is available next year or the one after should be our FA targets.
What ideas do others have on possibilities to upgrade picks to a good range player etc

[plugger66]

To early for FA and I think the club has said that. Think we will try and get a reasonable player from another side that wont lose us a round one pick. Maybe take 4 in the draft.

[citywest]

I would put Tom Hickey up for trade. If someone was prepared to give us a pick under 20 then I would take that. Please read carefully, only if they agreed to give us a pick better than 20. My reasoning is this, Longer has sewn up the number ruck role and is on the improve. We have Membrey who can play the role that Hickey is trying to play. By cashing in Hickey we then can give Lewis Pierce the responsibility of being the number 2 ruck and promote Jason Holmes to the senior list. If we got pick 18 for Hickey then we can draft the best available mid this November.

[plugger66]

I would put Tom Hickey up for trade. If someone was prepared to give us a pick under 20 then I would take that. Please read carefully, only if they agreed to give us a pick better than 20. My reasoning is this, Longer has sewn up the number ruck role and is on the improve. We have Membrey who can play the role that Hickey is trying to play. By cashing in Hickey we then can give Lewis Pierce the responsibility of being the number 2 ruck and promote Jason Holmes to the senior list. If we got pick 18 for Hickey then we can draft the best available mid this November.

What about Steven or Armo?

[FQF]

I reckon there's a lot of Dom Tyson's out there — GWS's very talented youngsters who can't crack the senior team. They might not be elite potential, but I'm sure there's a few potential A graders there who could come at good value.

Can't profess to know any names, but given how many draft picks they got and how well they're tracking, logic suggests that it's true. Perhaps those in the know can give more info.

[saynta]

I would put Tom Hickey up for trade. If someone was prepared to give us a pick under 20 then I would take that. Please read carefully, only if they agreed to give us a pick better than 20. My reasoning is this, Longer has sewn up the number ruck role and is on the improve. We have Membrey who can play the role that Hickey is trying to play. By cashing in Hickey we then can give Lewis Pierce the responsibility of being the number 2 ruck and promote Jason Holmes to the senior list. If we got pick 18 for Hickey then we can draft the best available mid this November.

From what I am hearing, seeing and reading the first ten picks are all good but after that all the players have deficiencies of some type or another. So, no thanks.

Are you still trying to sell of Armo and Steven?

[FQF]

One need not look past Jack Sinclair and Jack Lonie to realise that there can be plenty of very well rounded footballers deeper in the draft. I trust our recruiters to extract value from our picks.

[Sainternist]

I would put Tom Hickey up for trade. If someone was prepared to give us a pick under 20 then I would take that. Please read carefully, only if they agreed to give us a pick better than 20. My reasoning is this, Longer has sewn up the number ruck role and is on the improve. We have Membrey who can play the role that Hickey is trying to play. By cashing in Hickey we then can give Lewis Pierce the responsibility of being the number 2 ruck and promote Jason Holmes to the senior list. If we got pick 18 for Hickey then we can draft the best available mid this November.

Well, that just sounds nutsy. Thank god you're not involved in the team's list management. Natural rucks are like gold. Keeping and developing Hickey is the way to go. He is more skilled than Longer. There are no guarantees with Longer. Holmes isn't close to AFL standard and whether or not he ever will, remains to be seen.

I can't see why it wouldn't be a bad idea to pull the trigger on a high demand FA. It all depends on if they are right for us. Otherwise, we just keep focusing on developing the current crop of youngsters and draft the best available. Alan Richardson's long-term plan is, so far, going accordingly. He plays his cards well. I'm guessing he'll keep it conservative at least until the end of 2016.

[falka]

Can we trade longer? Please?

[jimmy_slats]

iMO this will be the most important draft\trade period we will have for some time... i feel we wont be getting a number 1 again anytime soon and thats a good thing but its these types of drafts we have tended to just cop on the chin! we really need to pull a few gems out of nowhere to push us hard for the next 5 or more years where we will be not getting (hopefully) top 10 picks

[saintsRrising]

I would put Tom Hickey up for trade. If someone was prepared to give us a pick under 20 then I would take that. Please read carefully, only if they agreed to give us a pick better than 20. My reasoning is this, Longer has sewn up the number ruck role and is on the improve. We have Membrey who can play the role that Hickey is trying to play. By cashing in Hickey we then can give Lewis Pierce the responsibility of being the number 2 ruck and promote Jason Holmes to the senior list. If we got pick 18 for Hickey then we can draft the best available mid this November.

Longer has sewn up nothing. And as long as he remains with iron hands when trying to mark he will not. Also needs to become more mobile.

Membrey cannot relief ruck and so comparing him to Hickey directly is odd. Hickey was being trialled in the role Stanley played. If Membrey cannot offer more than beinga lead up medium forward he will struggle to play many senio games. He needs to improve his defensive game, and his tank so that he can run more including some rotations through the midfield.

IMO Hickey is a better option for the overall No1 ruck spot until Longer can be damaging around the round, if ever.

Lewis Pierce is also clearly not ready to play in the seniors, and may never be.

[seano1]

if Hickey knee is still a problem he will be no good for us or anyone else......so trade him

[saintsRrising]

Our recruiters did very well sifting through the left overs this year to snag Lonie and Sinclair, and so if they maintain that the should hopefully find some more hidden gems.

[Con Gorozidis]

Jack Steven was pick 40 something.
I reckon we just play the numbers game. We are competitive enough as it is so we don't have to worry about topping up with mature players. This gives us the luxury of attacking the draft imo.

Lets just draft 4 kids in the ND and another 2 or 3 kids in the RD.
If we can somehow upgrade a pick or snag a higher one - do it.
One example might be Spencer + pick 59 for a pick in the 40s.
Or maybe we can package a Ruckman and do something so similar we end up with 4 picks in the top 45 + some rookie picks on top.

Do the same in 2016.

Then 2017 - we attack a FA depending on our needs.

[Devilhead]

Apologies for being a stick in the mud but can we move this to the sticky Draft and Trade thread

Good if we can keep all the draft and trade talk there - seems to work on BF

[St Ick]

Top 25 will still be quite good if you factor in the academy boys. Yes it's weak/shallow, but the top crop as still as good as any other year - some say the best mids are meant to be better than last years, especially Darcy Parish who we rate very very highly.

After the top 25 things go a bit pear shaped but we would use our third on either Sinclair or Rice (if he nominates us).

[Legendary]

The Cats built a triple premiership team without a top 3 pick. Yes you can argue they got father/sons and all that stuff.

But it was the weight of numbers of quality kids - not focussing on picks 1, 2 or 3. Surely the best example is Carlton - three number 1 picks in three consecutive years, and they are now rebuilding again without having achieved any success. Why? Because they lost focus once they'd taken the "star" player and didn't recruit, develop or retain the rest of the kids on their list. Instead, they thought Kreuzer, Murphy and Gibbs plus Judd would be enough.

In contrast, it's the guys like Lonie, Sinclair, McKenzie, Webster, Goddard, Acres, Bruce etc. who will be the difference for us. History says not all of them will end up making it (maybe they will). But this core is the key.

The weight of numbers with those guys picked outside the top 15 as quality players will build us a strong list. Yes you need a couple of stars. But you also need another 20 very good footballers to win the flag.

I hope we don't go after a "star" recruit in the trade period this year. I would rather take the next trio of Lonie, McKenzie and Sinclair and keep building this young group.