Psd

[Raw Toast]

I'm very happy with this pick - running defenders with good disposal are looking close to our greatest weakness at the moment. The players ahead of Goodes have the chance to claim their spots (yes Howard and Wood, I'm looking at you), but we have precious little depth and based on last year's form and Murphy to the forward line, Goodes would fit straight into the team.

Players used to be at their peak around his age - that's changed, but his body should still be able to cope with wear and tear a bit more having endured less battering than AFL provides.

The other point in favour of this is that we've lost a generation of players with the later Clayton drafts and the kids still need some leaders on the track - we've got them in the midfield, here's one who can do that down back.

In fact, thinking about this, with Murphy going up forward and Lake gone fishing, our backline is going to be very, very young. Can't hurt it to be able to put in someone with experience who plays the game the right way.

[SlimPickens]

Baffling pick up, totally goes against what the coach promised us.

Bit speculative but what rookie pick isn't? He is a big body around some smaller young defenders, not baffled by it at all.

One selection out of 6 being over 18 isn't a big deal surely?

[LongWait]

I'm happy we took Goodes. It shows that if you work hard you'll be rewarded.


I wonder do why we took him as a rookie when we had a space on the main list available though. Something to do with Veteran's list maybe?

We have 5 rookies, one of whom can be elevated to the main list prior to round 1. I assume the club wants the 5 rookies to fight for the remaining spot on the senior list. Pre-season training will have a bit of spice.

[Bulldog Revolution]

We've had loads of guys on the list recently who aren't anywhere near as accomplished as Goodes - shame we didn't do it three years a go though.


We have 5 rookies, one of whom can be elevated to the main list prior to round 1. I assume the club wants the 5 rookies to fight for the remaining spot on the senior list. Pre-season training will have a bit of spice.

I dont mind this element to it

Its time we saw how much some of these blokes wanted it

[LostDoggy]

I'm happy with this pick.

Come on people Matthew Boyd's and Dale Morris's are very rare rookie specimens.

We have been very spolit with the Rookie draft over the years.

Sounds like the type of bloke you would want around the youngsters.

[F'scary]

We have 5 rookies, one of whom can be elevated to the main list prior to round 1. I assume the club wants the 5 rookies to fight for the remaining spot on the senior list. Pre-season training will have a bit of spice.

This is good.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I'm very happy with this pick - running defenders with good disposal are looking close to our greatest weakness at the moment. The players ahead of Goodes have the chance to claim their spots (yes Howard and Wood, I'm looking at you), but we have precious little depth and based on last year's form and Murphy to the forward line, Goodes would fit straight into the team.

Players used to be at their peak around his age - that's changed, but his body should still be able to cope with wear and tear a bit more having endured less battering than AFL provides.

The other point in favour of this is that we've lost a generation of players with the later Clayton drafts and the kids still need some leaders on the track - we've got them in the midfield, here's one who can do that down back.

In fact, thinking about this, with Murphy going up forward and Lake gone fishing, our backline is going to be very, very young. Can't hurt it to be able to put in someone with experience who plays the game the right way.

I couldn't agree more.

How many young untried and inexperienced kids do we need on our list? Melbourne went down this path and failed miserably. Truth is, the young players need older heads around them to push them, motivate them, teach them and look after them. Goodes is the perfect option for this role and should be a good pick for 2 or so years.


Bit speculative but what rookie pick isn't? He is a big body around some smaller young defenders, not baffled by it at all.

One selection out of 6 being over 18 isn't a big deal surely?

As always, agree with you Slim. Every list needs a balance.


We have 5 rookies, one of whom can be elevated to the main list prior to round 1. I assume the club wants the 5 rookies to fight for the remaining spot on the senior list. Pre-season training will have a bit of spice.

This could/would be a fantastic idea and incentive for those guys on the rookie list. I applaud the club if this is their line of thinking.

Too many supporters fixate themselves "on the future", but even when you are rebuilding like we currently are, you still need to pay respects to the present - which ironically also helps shape the future.

[w3design]

Welcome Brett to the Doggies i know you wont waste this chance good luck.

[Before I Die]

Lake, Gilbee, Hargrave gone. Morris under a cloud. Murthy touted to go forward and indications are that Williams may also be looking at a forward posting. Where is the flaw in the logic of bringing in an experienced, sure handed player who makes good decisions under pressure? And he is well known and respected by the young defenders who he may be called on to marshall in our defensive half. Excellent choice in my opinion.

[GVGjr]

We have 5 rookies, one of whom can be elevated to the main list prior to round 1. I assume the club wants the 5 rookies to fight for the remaining spot on the senior list. Pre-season training will have a bit of spice.
I think its essentially a race between Goodes and Austin for a spot. Not a bad position.

[Sedat]

Echo the thoughts of RT and TBB. Goodes instantly adds depths in an area crying out for it, and as rightly pointed out he has out-performed Prismall and Bate on merit on the training track. Pleasantly surprised by the selections of both Lower and Goodes, who both add far more balance to the list than Prismall and Bate would have. Also love the rookie aspect to the pick and the fierce competitive tension it will instill on the training track.

Surprised by the level of negativity at this selection.

[GVGjr]

Baffling pick up, totally goes against what the coach promised us.

You seem to be very focused on that point but from my perspective I don't think he has broken a promise.

[GVGjr]

Echo the thoughts of RT and TBB. Goodes instantly adds depths in an area crying out for it, and as rightly pointed out he has out-performed Prismall and Bate on merit on the training track. Pleasantly surprised by the selections of both Lower and Goodes, who both add far more balance to the list than Prismall and Bate would have. Also love the rookie aspect to the pick and the fierce competitive tension it will instill on the training track.

Surprised by the level of negativity at this selection.

Great summary.

Sedat, how did you rate our performance at the draft and trade tables this year?
To me losing Lake was a bitter pill but I think we have a better list now than what we did 12 months back. This year has been more methodical than previous years.
The easy option would have been to take Prismall but we resisted that.

[Sedat]

Great summary.

Sedat, how did you rate our performance at the draft and trade tables this year?
To me losing Lake was a bitter pill but I think we have a better list now than what we did 12 months back. This year has been more methodical than previous years.
The easy option would have been to take Prismall but we resisted that.
Agree that we have been methodical and worked to a plan in the off season. The trading of Lake was fine for where our list is at but we were far too generous to Hawthorn. We could have picked up exactly the same players in trade week and the national draft and kept pick 27, which would have netted us Tim O'Brien, and culled one extra filler on the list like Veszpremi. Otherwise I'm much happier with the balance of our list now than it was 6 weeks ago.

[bornadog]

You seem to be very focused on that point but from my perspective I don't think he has broken a promise.

I know we have discussed this before , but as far as I am concerned I thought the coach was on the right track by getting rid of a bunch of players that were not good enough to play AFL and a few who had reached an age where their best years were behind them. The coach said he would not be chasing any stars or older players but rather 18 year olds or those in the system a couple of years. I know this is a PSD, but I can't agree to having a 29 year old on the rookie list.


Surprised by the level of negativity at this selection.

The guy is 29 years old - complete waste of a rookie/Senior spot. We are in a rebuild mode, we don't need another 29 year old unproven (at AFL) player.

Surely if we wanted to go down this path we could have picked a 24/25 year old VFL player? Have a look at who Collingwood picked. = better than Goodes.

[stefoid]

Not sure about this one at all. Has to be a "culture" or "leadership" decision, but goes against what they said they would do.

Agreed - I suppose they see him benefitting the list through improving the 'culture' of the club even if he doesnt end up playing any games.

[GVGjr]

I know we have discussed this before , but as far as I am concerned I thought the coach was on the right track by getting rid of a bunch of players that were not good to play AFL and a few who had reached an age where thir bets was behind them. The coach said he would not be chasing any stars or older players but rather 18 year olds or those in the system a couple of years. I know this is a PSD, but I can't agree to having a 29 year old on the rookie list.



I can understand that point from a lot of supporters but the constant references to what he promised is a really minor thing. I strongly doubt he said I promise to only select young players. My gut feel is the said something more along the lines of our intention is to primarily draft young players and to stay away from targeting experienced or star players. The selection of Goodes doesn't undermine that.

I don't think there was another Stevens type that we were interested in and hopefully we took the best of the guys available who trained with us.

[Hotdog60]

I'm truly excited about the Dogs future and if it includes Goodes so be it. Sure he's 29 but if his body is ok I can see a man desperate to prove something to the footy world and can only lead to someone giving his all.

We'll know soon enough if the powers to be got this years trading right, I'm happy and bring on 2013.

[boydogs]

Also love the rookie aspect to the pick and the fierce competitive tension it will instill on the training track.

Yeah me too.

[Topdog]

Picking up a 29 year old is somewhat perplexing. I cant see what it adds from a playing perspective but if the guy can come in for a bargain price, train hard and get rewarded with some games it could do a lot for the culture of the young guys at the club.

Agree with others about loving the rookie being promoted before Round 1. Will make pre season training just a little bit fiercer.

[Ghost Dog]

I Love Goodes, purely on the basis that the coach Loves him, and he's 29! Fair effort. Must be pinching himself. BMac is no fool. Knows a work horse when he sees one. It's a gutsy pick.

[mighty_west]

Apparently the reason why Essendon didn't select this Garlett kid is because after training with the Bombers and going back home to Perth for the weekend, got completely s-faced on a 4am bender......seriously dude, really?

What a knob.

[mighty_west]

http://m.couriermail.com.au/sport/afl/dayle-garlett-wrecks-opportunity-to-be-drafted-by-essendon/story-e6frepf6-1226534821485

[Remi Moses]

Notice a few of the teams have gone with the mentoring player role.
We do have a truck load of younger players , will be interesting.

[Remi Moses]

Apparently the reason why Essendon didn't select this Garlett kid is because after training with the Bombers and going back home to Perth for the weekend, got completely s-faced on a 4am bender......seriously dude, really?

What a knob.

Staggered he'd do that. The penny has to drop soon for Dayle.

[Remi Moses]

Agree that we have been methodical and worked to a plan in the off season. The trading of Lake was fine for where our list is at but we were far too generous to Hawthorn. We could have picked up exactly the same players in trade week and the national draft and kept pick 27, which would have netted us Tim O'Brien, and culled one extra filler on the list like Veszpremi. Otherwise I'm much happier with the balance of our list now than it was 6 weeks ago.

I know it's a sore point but you do have to give a little to get something at trade time.
They were never going to take his contract and give us a pick . I just see it as a win win situation.

[GVGjr]

http://m.couriermail.com.au/sport/afl/dayle-garlett-wrecks-opportunity-to-be-drafted-by-essendon/story-e6frepf6-1226534821485

Its a shame isn't it? Another 12 months in the WAFL and hopefully some positive influences in his life might see him as a highly sort after player in 12 months time.

He has the talent.

[The Underdog]

Its a shame isn't it? Another 12 months in the WAFL and hopefully some positive influences in his life might see him as a highly sort after player in 12 months time.

He has the talent.

Would he be better off going to the SANFL or VFL to get away from other negative influences in WA? He doesn't seem mature enough for it but on the other hand it might force him to grow up a little. Particularly with a team that is AFL aligned.

[whythelongface]

I was surprised by the selection of Goodes. I thought we may have gone down the path of selectiing either Prismall or Bate but clearly the coaching team sees some highly desirable qualities in Goodes that can be a positive influence on the team. One of these would be his work ethic and determination to get a spot on an AFL list. These are the qualities that, no doubt, McCartney wants to instill in the team.

We are lacking experience, not just AFL experience, but life experience on our senior list, therefore can see the added benefit of having a person like Goodes on the list.

Having time to think about this selection I see it as a good move.

[LostDoggy]

Echo the thoughts of RT and TBB. Goodes instantly adds depths in an area crying out for it, and as rightly pointed out he has out-performed Prismall and Bate on merit on the training track. Pleasantly surprised by the selections of both Lower and Goodes, who both add far more balance to the list than Prismall and Bate would have. Also love the rookie aspect to the pick and the fierce competitive tension it will instill on the training track.

Surprised by the level of negativity at this selection.

Ummm he's 29 years of age FFS!!!

And he has been preferred over all 18 year old rookie candidates. Gladly, the recruiters aound the time of the pick up of Morris, Boyd and Dalhouse etc didn't pass on them for a 29 year old.

This selection defies belief.

Yes, he may get a game but he will be around for 2 years max and then he's gone. Compare that with the 12- 13 years of an 18 year old.

And he's fat.

Strange how no other Club thought of selecting a batch of 29 year olds.

[The Underdog]

Ummm he's 29 years of age FFS!!!

And he has been preferred over all 18 year old rookie candidates. Gladly, the recruiters aound the time of the pick up of Morris, Boyd and Dalhouse etc didn't pass on them for a 29 year old.

This selection defies belief.

Yes, he may get a game but he will be around for 2 years max and then he's gone. Compare that with the 12- 13 years of an 18 year old.

And he's fat.

Strange how no other Club thought of selecting a batch of 29 year olds.

Maybe they didn't see the potential they saw in Boyd or Morris or Dahl in any of the kids left. Chances are the kid they would pick up would be out of the system in 1-2 years anyway. I don't think it's as big a deal as you're suggesting, plus they were never looking at a kid for the spot. The other option was 25 with dodgy knees.

[Sedat]

Ummm he's 29 years of age FFS!!!
Not an issue for me as he is durable, fills a list deficiency need and clearly has untapped upside despite his age (as evidenced by his work on the track in beating 4 other candidats for the last spot on the list). Life doesn't end at 30 - you only need to look at his brother to see good bloodlines in toughness and durability.

And he has been preferred over all 18 year old rookie candidates. Gladly, the recruiters aound the time of the pick up of Morris, Boyd and Dalhouse etc didn't pass on them for a 29 year old.
Again, age should have no bearing on who we select in the RD if the player has beaten all-comers out on the track. How many 18-19yo straplings do we need on the list? We already have a couple of sub-20yo prospects on the rookie list and countless others on the main list. Your comparison with Morris, Boyd and Picken is not relevant as they were all mature age 21+ when selected as rookies. I have no faith in Howard becoming the running playmaker off half back that he was drafted for, so I'm very glad we have brought in some direct cover in this area of our list.

Yes, he may get a game but he will be around for 2 years max and then he's gone. Compare that with the 12- 13 years of an 18 year old.
Most 18yo rookies will end up never playing an AFL game and be chopped off the list after 12 months or 2 years. For every Dahlhaus and Harbrow, there are 50 Hooper's, Prato's, Ogle's, etc.. Goodes could end up playing for 5 seasons and 100 games for all we know.

And he's fat.
Was fat. By all accounts he's tearing it up on the track.

I agree with almost everything you post but just not in this instance. Prismall and Bate would add nothing to our list that we don't already have in spades (ie: inside ball-hunting mids and mid-sized forwards with questionable leg speed). Lower and Goodes add different skill sets to the list, and both in areas we are very deficient in. Goodes might not make it but the rationale behind his selection is sound IMO.

[bornadog]

. The other option was 25 with dodgy knees.

What about the rookies Collingwood picked up? All better than Goodes.

[Bulldog4life]

Ummm he's 29 years of age FFS!!!

And he has been preferred over all 18 year old rookie candidates. Gladly, the recruiters aound the time of the pick up of Morris, Boyd and Dalhouse etc didn't pass on them for a 29 year old.

This selection defies belief.

Yes, he may get a game but he will be around for 2 years max and then he's gone. Compare that with the 12- 13 years of an 18 year old.

And he's fat.

Strange how no other Club thought of selecting a batch of 29 year olds.

The Crows picked up Ian Callinan last year on rookie list at 29 years old and added him to main list during the year. You have to remember E.J that Goodesy has never had a AFL preseason yet. He didn't look fat when I saw him recently on the website and according to an article he has been mighty impressive on the track. He is a bulldog now. All should support him.

[Mofra]

What about the rookies Collingwood picked up? All better than Goodes.
You would want us to take Hudson back?
Remember, he's an on field coach more than anything else - just like Goodes.

The difference in us becoming an on-field powerhouse and also rans is not going to be the 44th player on our overall list in 2012 who is there more to guide the kids development anyway.

[KT31]

All the best to Goodes, have nothing personal against him and hope he makes the best of his opportunities.
Still I feel we wasted a chance to get two years development into a young kid and see what they have to offer.

[ledge]

I think 2 rookies should be mature players because they only get on the list due to injury, thus you want them able to
Come in and play senior AFL straight away , no good having all 18 yo as rookies because they aren't ready in an emergency.

[bornadog]

You would want us to take Hudson back?
Remember, he's an on field coach more than anything else - just like Goodes.

The difference in us becoming an on-field powerhouse and also rans is not going to be the 44th player on our overall list in 2012 who is there more to guide the kids development anyway.

Mof, did I say Hudson. Take a look at who they picked up on their rookie list. eg. Jack Frost would have been better than Goodes.

Come on posters aren't we allowed to have our say any more and opinions on club decisions???

[bornadog]

I think 2 rookies should be mature players because they only get on the list due to injury, thus you want them able to
Come in and play senior AFL straight away , no good having all 18 yo as rookies because they aren't ready in an emergency.

The rookie list is a joke. Should be now called the hasbeens list as I don't see many real rookies any more. (I am talking all clubs). Jong and Redpath are real Rookies.

[Mofra]

Mof, did I say Hudson. Take a look at who they picked up on their rookie list. eg. Jack Frost would have been better than Goodes.
You said rookies - Hudson was rookied by Coillingwood.

The majority of clubs took senior players with their rookie picks - our rookie list reads as Goodes, Greenwood, Jong, Austin & Redpath. Hardly an old age home.



Come on posters aren't we allowed to have our say any more and opinions on club decisions???
Yes - do you mind if I have mine too?

[Raw Toast]

I reckon two points need to be added to this conversation.

1) We have the youngest list outside of the two expansion teams - Lower and Goodes add depth and hard mature bodies without compromising our investment in the future.

2) As Emma Quayle noted, pretty much all (http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/clubs-give-boot-to-punts-on-teenagers-20121211-2b7tj.html)the clubs acted as if the talent pool was pretty drained by the time we came to the psd and rookie drafts. Personally I'd have loved to pick Garlett, but very few 18 year olds were picked up as rookies this year (which makes some sense with two new teams in the comp now).

[mighty_west]

You said rookies - Hudson was rookied by Coillingwood.

The majority of clubs took senior players with their rookie picks - our rookie list reads as Goodes, Greenwood, Jong, Austin & Redpath. Hardly an old age home.



I think that's actually a very well balanced rookie list personally, we have 3 kids developing, and 2 ready mades in case of injury who can step right in and play a role without being under developed and thrown in the deep end.

[bornadog]

You said rookies - Hudson was rookied by Coillingwood.

The majority of clubs took senior players with their rookie picks - our rookie list reads as Goodes, Greenwood, Jong, Austin & Redpath. Hardly an old age home.

Do you really think I would say lets pick up Hudson. I was talking about Kyle Martin (No.13, rookie), Sam Dwyer (No.27, rookie), Adam Oxley (No.35, rookie), Jack Frost (No.41, rookie),

I would have any of those over a 29 year old Goodes

You said rookies - Hudson was rookied by Coillingwood.

Yes - do you mind if I have mine too?

Never said you couldn't.

[Twodogs]

Come on posters aren't we allowed to have our say any more and opinions on club decisions???


Where has anyone stopped you having a say?

[jeemak]

The interweb's a serious business these days.

I remember when it was all dancing babies and rotten.com...........:)

[G-Mo77]

The interweb's a serious business these days.

I remember when it was all dancing babies and rotten.com...........:)

Rotten.com is still around but yeah that's one of the first sites I looked at when I got connected to the Internets.

[bornadog]

The interweb's a serious business these days.

I remember when it was all dancing babies and rotten.com...........:)

or maybe you can go to: http://www.fmylife.com/ :D

[Twodogs]

Maybe we can get back to footy now?


Although it's just occured to me that we are talking about the Rookie Draft and the thread is called PSD.

[jeemak]

I posted in the "Dogs Count Numbers" thread that boulstering our midfield area and spreading experience across our list was part of a strategy to be more competitive throughout its list development phase. This was a view based on my suspicion the club has realised it's going to be a pretty hard sell to sponsors and the league (as it approaches having to begin negotiations on a new TV deal in the coming years) if it continues to be uncompetitive for an extended period. The club needs to get more bums on seats, and position itself as a competitive team with a bright future to benefit from more favourable fixturing in the coming years.

Irrespective of whether I think getting Goodes was the best decision, I think the club has gotten the balance of recruites almost completely bang on this off season. We're in a position to be more competitive on the field, without stifling the development of our younger players. There's also going to be significant selection pressure in all but a few positions throughout the season, which is great for a young team to have to deal with.

I'm feeling a lot more boyant about our short term on-field performance potential now than I was after round 24, that's for sure.

[Remi Moses]

I reckon two points need to be added to this conversation.

1) We have the youngest list outside of the two expansion teams - Lower and Goodes add depth and hard mature bodies without compromising our investment in the future.

2) As Emma Quayle noted, pretty much all (http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/clubs-give-boot-to-punts-on-teenagers-20121211-2b7tj.html)the clubs acted as if the talent pool was pretty drained by the time we came to the psd and rookie drafts. Personally I'd have loved to pick Garlett, but very few 18 year olds were picked up as rookies this year (which makes some sense with two new teams in the comp now).

Beat me to it. The talent pool has been decimated with the two new clubs, and would think we'd better get used to this type of recruiting.

[Remi Moses]

I think that's actually a very well balanced rookie list personally, we have 3 kids developing, and 2 ready mades in case of injury who can step right in and play a role without being under developed and thrown in the deep end.

Could you imagine this board if we'd recruited Byrnes, Pedersen or Rodan?
Meltdown

[bornadog]

Could you imagine this board if we'd recruited Byrnes, Pedersen or Rodan?
Meltdown

We got rid of most of the dead wood and only have VEZ on shakey ground, now we have wasted another spot.

Gia, Cross, Murphy, Boyd are on their last legs as well, so we are a young team with a big future, hopefully we can be competitive in the next few years.

[LostDoggy]

I know we have discussed this before , but as far as I am concerned I thought the coach was on the right track by getting rid of a bunch of players that were not good enough to play AFL and a few who had reached an age where their best years were behind them. The coach said he would not be chasing any stars or older players but rather 18 year olds or those in the system a couple of years. I know this is a PSD, but I can't agree to having a 29 year old on the rookie list.

The guy is 29 years old - complete waste of a rookie/Senior spot. We are in a rebuild mode, we don't need another 29 year old unproven (at AFL) player.

Surely if we wanted to go down this path we could have picked a 24/25 year old VFL player? Have a look at who Collingwood picked. = better than Goodes.

We've got two new teams in the competition, which results in even more chances for an 18-20 kid to get a spot. Those who've slipped through to where we picked up Goodes most likely slipped through for a reason. To rant and rave about "giving up a 200-game player" is being incredibly unrealistic about the quality of the younger candidates in the rookie system. As previous posters have pointed out, they're not all Boyd/Morris/Picken/Dahlhaus.

So rather than pick a player who may make it, may not, might be hard at it, might not, might be dedicated, might not — we've gone with an older player where we know what we're getting and we know the role he's going to provide for us.

That makes him instantly better than Mulligan, Everitt, Josh Hill, etc… in my view.

[Mofra]

Do you really think I would say lets pick up Hudson. I was talking about Kyle Martin (No.13, rookie), Sam Dwyer (No.27, rookie), Adam Oxley (No.35, rookie), Jack Frost (No.41, rookie),

I would have any of those over a 29 year old Goodes
Given we were choosing between Goodes and Prismall (who we may still take as a coach), pure on-field punting was clearly off the table for this last pick - we want a part time coach for the last spot.

We have Austin on the rookie list - he is our KPD depth over Frost.
We signed Lower and traded for Young & Stevens, so the mids with a couple of years in the system are other spots we covered earlier.

We are clearly choosing one spot with a role in mind - on field & training mentor. None of Collingwood's picks actually meet that criteria with the exception of Hudson, and rucks are a spot we have reasonable depth in anyway.

[bornadog]

Given we were choosing between Goodes and Prismall (who we may still take as a coach), pure on-field punting was clearly off the table for this last pick - we want a part time coach for the last spot.

We have Austin on the rookie list - he is our KPD depth over Frost.
We signed Lower and traded for Young & Stevens, so the mids with a couple of years in the system are other spots we covered earlier.

We are clearly choosing one spot with a role in mind - on field & training mentor. None of Collingwood's picks actually meet that criteria with the exception of Hudson, and rucks are a spot we have reasonable depth in anyway.

My preference would have been to fill the role with another kid.

Anyway lets see how it pans out.

[F'scary]

Could you imagine this board if we'd recruited Byrnes, Pedersen or Rodan?
Meltdown

FUKUSHIMA in fact!!!

Rehashing some of the points made that impressed me:

Adam's Brother is, after all, the last player selected on the extended list. That is not the pick that presents itself as the season changing decision for 2013 or the next 2 years.

He beat all comers in a fierce gladiatorial fight-off to win what turned into the last rookie spot and seemed genuinely chuffed to have got it.

The club has clearly set up another gladiatorial pre-season tournament amongst the rookies to see who can nab the last spot on the senior list. I like this. Can “The Bionic Man” Austin beat “The Dictator” Lin Jong-il or will “Adam’s Brother” show them that he is the Goodes?

The club now has a relatively young list and is setting up a reserves team for 2014. The rookie-ing of Goodes, the quintessential ‘best clubman’ seems to be part of a cogent plan to deal with these exigencies.

All in all, I hope he gets the last spot and gets a couple of games before “retiring” to lead the reserves for a few years. Jong’s time will come in 2014. Austin can always be elevated if there is the specific need for him.

[azabob]

http://m.couriermail.com.au/sport/afl/dayle-garlett-wrecks-opportunity-to-be-drafted-by-essendon/story-e6frepf6-1226534821485

I am interested to know what the people in the "lets draft" Gartlett camp think now? Should we still have picked him up?

[bornadog]

I am interested to know what the people in the "lets draft" Gartlett camp think now? Should we still have picked him up?

Don't believe everything you read in the paper or the internet;)

[jeemak]

I am interested to know what the people in the "lets draft" Gartlett camp think now? Should we still have picked him up?

I'd be interested to know what a 4am bender entails in this instance.

Though, even staying out that late in his situation is buffoonery at its finest. Bender or no bender.

[F'scary]

I'd be interested to know what a 4am bender entails in this instance.

Though, even staying out that late in his situation is buffoonery at its finest. Bender or no bender.

Agreed. Crazy move given his purported abilities and what is at stake career-wise.

[mighty_west]

Agreed. Crazy move given his purported abilities and what is at stake career-wise.

Just staggering given all the media and the fact a kid so talented was passed from all clubs who would have been rated top 5 easily, to then get a chance to train with an AFL club but literally piss it all away.

You'd hope he would learn, one day.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

I am interested to know what the people in the "lets draft" Gartlett camp think now? Should we still have picked him up?

He seems pretty immature and irresponsible is that what you mean?
My bible says he is not beyond redemption. Are you saying he won't make it and if you are not then which club do think he will grace?

[jeemak]

He seems pretty immature and irresponsible is that what you mean?
My bible says he is not beyond redemption. Are you saying he won't make it and if you are not then which club do think he will grace?

Don't hide behind your bible mate, what do you say? :D

He's clearly immature, and from what I can deduce has very poor influences around him in WA. I think the best move on the limited information I have is to another city where he can pull his head in and knuckle down while out of his comfort zone. It seems that his recent issues have all happened in WA, and if he wants to make a play at the big league he needs to get away from them.

[G-Mo77]

Don't hide behind your bible mate, what do you say? :D

He's clearly immature, and from what I can deduce has very poor influences around him in WA. I think the best move on the limited information I have is to another city where he can pull his head in and knuckle down while out of his comfort zone. It seems that his recent issues have all happened in WA, and if he wants to make a play at the big league he needs to get away from them.

On the other hand it maybe the best thing for him as Melbourne is not exactly a quiet place either. It's in his court now, if he wants to play he's got a huge mountain to climb. Running away from issues is not always the best thing to do. Good luck to him though, glad we didn't draft him this year but would be happy to be the club that gave him a second chance.

Oh and I guess this relates to our PSD. Ben Duscher left the Bendigo Gold and signed with Essendon's VFL team. I'm guessing a Rookie at Essendon next year.

Also wrapped to see Jack Frost get a shot at the big leagues. I've always been a fan and if it wasn't for his hip injury he may have got a spot with us. Pity it's with the filth though.