Are we a better list with Polo and Gamble and without Eddy?

[joffaboy]

Well Polo is an inside mid who has played defence while Gamble is a forward.

I suppose i would chose either of those two ahead of Eddy however I would probably have chosen someone already on the list for the GF's.

So I would probably say yes. What type of kid would we get at #90 and #104? Probably two kids that would be unlikely to ever play in the seniors.

By the sounds of it, Lyon wants to tweak our forward line so Gamble may get a gig early. We need an in and under to support Lenny so Polo can battle Armo for that spot.

realistically we have two more years before the dreaded rebuild. We have been this close to a flag over the past two seasons, so we need to go all out.

So weighing it up, Polo and Gamble get the nod.

[ace]

Don't be fooled by all the naming of rookie upgrades in later rounds.
Gamble and Polo were the last 2 real selections made in the draft.
They were only followed and separated by rookie upgrades and passes.

St Kilda had the last 2 picks and took these guys ahead of Eddy.


How other clubs can not want Eddy on their senior list is incredible.

He played in 2 grand finals so he surely is a better player than many who are not in the best 22 of clubs that did not make it into the finals.

[Bernard Shakey]

We will pick up Eddy in the Rookie Draft.

[bergsone]

IMO Gamble will add to the scoreboard,something Eddy didnt really do.Pollo looked the goods but seemed to go off the boil.New home may be just whats needed.Happy straight swap Eddy for Gamble in our forward line

[ChicagoSaint]

Dean Polo. Able to shake the Punt Rd blues?
Ryan Gamble straight into the 22.

[Spinner]

We will pick up Eddy in the Rookie Draft.

Yeh im thinking this as well....

Said on radio that he was able to train at stkilda.

[vacuous space]

We will pick up Eddy in the Rookie Draft.

What's the order in the rookie draft? GWS gets five picks. Then is it non-finalists twice? I think other teams may look at him as a better rookie pickup than ND pick. If not, I wouldn't be surprised to see either Eddy or miles back on the rookie list if they get past those picks. There's probably not a lot of quality kids around.

[fingers]

Did Eddy nominate for the draft?

[Bernard Shakey]

Did Eddy nominate for the draft?

Yes.

[joffaboy]

We will pick up Eddy in the Rookie Draft.

Well you got Polo and Gamble spot on, I'll go with your tip.

[3rd generation saint]

Let's not forget the pre season draft for Eddy, someone may get him there.

[eppo67]

Polo & Gamble will both blossom under RL.

[ace]

In previous drafts the team with the last live pick in the draft (ignoring Rookie upgrades) have often passed.

That then allowed them a pick in the pre-season draft.
The pre season draft order did not matter because those clubs leaving a space for the pre-season draft were already commited to a player.

The advantage of this stategy was that it allowed the club the full time before the pre-season draft to go through the entire list of players not selected in detail without time constraints and chose their player.

St Kilda had the last 2 live pick in this draft but chose to use them on Gamble and Polo.
M point being that if they wanted Gamble and Polo they could still have got them at the pre-season draft but they could have checked out who had been overlooked before hand.

The only reason I can think of for using the 2 picks in the National draft was fear of being excluded from the pre-season draft because of total player payment estimates.

[ace]

When you exclude the 29 rookie upgrades the actual National Draft pick order was.

ROUND ONE
1 Gold Coast Suns
2 Gold Coast Suns
3 Gold Coast Suns
4 West Coast Eagles
5 Brisbane Lions
6 Richmond
7 Gold Coast Suns
8 Essendon
9 Gold Coast Suns
10 Gold Coast Suns
11 Gold Coast Suns
12 Melbourne
13 Gold Coast Suns
14 Adelaide Crows
15 Geelong Cats
16 Port Adelaide
17 North Melbourne
18 Carlton
19 Hawthorn
20 Fremantle
21 Sydney Swans
22 Western Bulldogs (FS)
23 Geelong Cats
24 St Kilda
25 Brisbane Lions

RULE 6. PRIORITY
26 West Coast Eagles

GCFC COMPENSATION
27 North Melbourne (Brown)*

ROUND TWO
28 Brisbane Lions
29 West Coast Eagles
30 Richmond
31 Essendon
32 Brisbane Lions
33 Melbourne
34 Carlton
35 Port Adelaide
36 Port Adelaide
37 Geelong Cats
38 Hawthorn
39 Gold Coast Suns
40 Sydney Swans
41 Western Bulldogs (FS)
42 Carlton
43 St Kilda
44 Fremantle

ROUND THREE
45 Collingwood
46 Collingwood
47 Richmond
48 Essendon
49 Gold Coast Suns
50 Melbourne
51 Richmond
52 Port Adelaide
53 Melbourne
54 Geelong Cats
55 Hawthorn
56 Fremantle
57 Sydney Swans
58 St Kilda
59 Collingwood

ROUND FOUR
60 Adelaide Crows
61 West Coast Eagles
62 Richmond
63 Essendon
64 Hawthorn
65 Carlton
66 North Melbourne
67 Carlton
68 North Melbourne
69 Fremantle (Passed)
70 Sydney Swans
71 Western Bulldogs
72 St Kilda
73 Collingwood

ROUND FIVE
74 Collingwood
75 Richmond (Passed)
76 Essendon
77 Hawthorn (Passed)
78 Western Bulldogs
79 Western Bulldogs
80 St Kilda

ROUND SIX
81 Essendon (Passed)
82 St Kilda

ROUND SEVEN
83 Gold Coast Suns (Passed)

* - More info on Gold Coast FC compensation picks
FS = Father/Son (more info)

[bergholt]

The only reason I can think of for using the 2 picks in the National draft was fear of being excluded from the pre-season draft because of total player payment estimates.

and because it locks them in. there are at least five teams who'll pick before us in the psd. if we were of the opinion that polo and gamble were the best available then why would we risk losing one or both in those five picks? the only upside would be a chance at a decent kid who's already been overlooked by a lot of clubs, but having got four in already i'm not sure that was necessary.

i'd much rather the club knows what it wants and gets it, rather than keeping options open until the last possible moment and as a result ending up with crap.

[InkerSaint]

If Siposs was a steal at 75, what would we have got with those last two picks? Not much, I'd venture.

Interesting that Bernard's mail was correct on Gamble and Polo. The club clearly did their research and executed a plan. That encourages me more than anything.

[InkerSaint]

Also Polo and Gamble fill a deficiency in our lineup from another perspective - we are thin on the ground for players born between 86-89. If they become regulars, all the better.

[bergholt]

Also Polo and Gamble fill a deficiency in our lineup from another perspective - we are thin on the ground for players born between 86-89. If they become regulars, all the better.

dunno about 86, with dawson, ray, mcqualter, gwilt, gilbert. but then there was a two year gap to armitage, geary, walsh in 88. now polo slots in in 86, gamble in 87 - certainly bolsters the demographics in that part of the list. these guys will be the core of the team in three years, so let's hope a few come on.

[Zed]

We will pick up Eddy in the Rookie Draft.

Yeh im thinking this as well....

Said on radio that he was able to train at stkilda.

would not surprise me at all ..

[Dr Spaceman]

We will pick up Eddy in the Rookie Draft.

Yeh im thinking this as well....

Said on radio that he was able to train at stkilda.

would not surprise me at all ..

You may be right.

But with the natural improvement of the kids and the recruitment of two experienced players, Eddy's gonna find it's a long way back to the seniors - especially parked out there on the rookie list.

So while rookying (?) Eddy may please his supporters, I strongly suspect his game tally at the Saints will remain at 33.

[InkerSaint]

Actually - looking at it from the age demographics perspective - the Saints have done a like-for-like swap in Miles for Polo and Eddy for Gamble.

With the recruitment of 3 mids and a forward, our list from 85 onwards now features 9 defenders, 8 mids, 9 forwards and 2 rucks.

[samoht]

Digressing a little - I'm looking at all the recruits .. not only Gamble and Polo.

Our current forwards don't kick enough goals and don't provide enough effective chase - so they are hurting the team both ways.

We need forwards who can pressure Collingwood's half back line and opposition half back lines .. Shaw, Thomas and O'Brien not only got their 80 odd possessions on average against us in each of the GF's - they ran, carried and kicked the ball 60 - 80metres nearly every time.

Their half back line killed us.

So apart from kicking goals we need quick half forwards and some midfield pace to chase these characters down and not let them get away with murder again..

RL and recruiters identified structural weaknesses and recruited accordingly.

I think we've done well in attempting to address our weaknesses and to try to get the balance right... we've recruited pace.

There's no guarantees with any of the kids picked .. the only guarantee was if we didn't recruit speed we could expect more of the same from
Collingwood's murderous trio and opposition half backs in general.

[Dr Spaceman]

I just want to be able to go to the footy and know that:

a) we have quite a few players capable of kicking goals

b) we have quite a few players who are prepared to kick goals.

We have had a great team in recent years but it has been full of guys who either can’t, or won’t, have a shot.

I want to be able to see one of our blokes with the ball around the 50 mark and not have to then look to see where Roo or Kosi are.

Here’s hopin’

[samoht]

I just want to be able to go to the footy and know that:

a) we have quite a few players capable of kicking goals

b) we have quite a few players who are prepared to kick goals.

We have had a great team in recent years but it has been full of guys who either can’t, or won’t, have a shot.

I want to be able to see one of our blokes with the ball around the 50 mark and not have to then look to see where Roo or Kosi are.

Here’s hopin’

We not only need forwards who can kick goals - that's only half our problem , they must be able to also stop/more effectively restrict the opposition half backs from running and carrying it out of defence -otherwise the likes of O 'Brien, Shaw and Thomas will eat us alive again.

[Dr Spaceman]

I just want to be able to go to the footy and know that:

a) we have quite a few players capable of kicking goals

b) we have quite a few players who are prepared to kick goals.

We have had a great team in recent years but it has been full of guys who either can’t, or won’t, have a shot.

I want to be able to see one of our blokes with the ball around the 50 mark and not have to then look to see where Roo or Kosi are.

Here’s hopin’

We not only need forwards who can kick goals - that's only half our problem , they must be able to also stop/more effectively restrict the opposition half backs from running and carrying it out of defence -otherwise the likes of O 'Brien, Shaw and Thomas will eat us alive again.

I know it's only half of the pie but it's one I hope we fix.