You do that Buku

[hujsh]

Really strange decision from the club. I can't see Buku being in line for round 1 and would be surprised if he played seniors at all next year. Even if he did earn a spot at some stage through the season surely we will have a long term injured player that would allow a promotion for Buku. Why we didn't take an extra category A rookie we may never know...

Could it be as simple as showing a bit of confidence/faith in a kid expected to be on the top 40 but was instead passed by every club?

[soupman]

Could it be as simple as showing a bit of confidence/faith in a kid expected to be on the top 40 but was instead passed by every club?

Isn't drafting him enough "showing a bit of faith".

This is the only decision this off season i am somewhat displeased with. We are basically giving up a free hit at finding another player on the off chance Khamis deserves to be in the side but we have no one injured for long enough. More than anything else list spots are our most valuable asset, the more of them we can find the better off we are. Giving one up for no realistic gain makes no sense. It isn't as if we are struggling to afford rookies as in the past.

[Mofra]

Isn't drafting him enough "showing a bit of faith".

This is the only decision this off season i am somewhat displeased with. We are basically giving up a free hit at finding another player on the off chance Khamis deserves to be in the side but we have no one injured for long enough. More than anything else list spots are our most valuable asset, the more of them we can find the better off we are. Giving one up for no realistic gain makes no sense. It isn't as if we are struggling to afford rookies as in the past.

Unless we made a commitment to him as long as he 'works on his deficiencies' and don't want to financially disadvantage him as a Cat B after he followed our instructions?

[hujsh]

Isn't drafting him enough "showing a bit of faith".

This is the only decision this off season i am somewhat displeased with. We are basically giving up a free hit at finding another player on the off chance Khamis deserves to be in the side but we have no one injured for long enough. More than anything else list spots are our most valuable asset, the more of them we can find the better off we are. Giving one up for no realistic gain makes no sense. It isn't as if we are struggling to afford rookies as in the past.

Not if he's a Cat B Rookie. It's him or nothing as a Cat B.

That and Mofra's points above are the best explanations I can think of and I think they both feel very much like Beveridge moves to me.

[soupman]

Not if he's a Cat B Rookie. It's him or nothing as a Cat B.

Equally it's a list spot or not for him. If we don't pick him up there is a chance that he doesn't get to become a full time AFL player. The CBA makes no differential between the wages of a cat A or B rookie as far as I can tell from a brief glance, so he isn't missing out on salary. The only thing he is missing out on as a cat B is the opportunity to play immediately if no one else is injured. So no real benefit to him, especially not in his first season, considering how raw he is.

That and Mofra's points above are the best explanations I can think of and I think they both feel very much like Beveridge moves to me.

Yep. Beveridge does have a history of gut feel type decisions, but surely if you are Power you override that and take the free extra hit at finding a talent.

I just think this is a missed opportunity. People can argue it's just our last rookie pick we are giving up but that could be Picken, Johannisen or Morris, and the cost of taking that punt is virtually nil.

[bornadog]

I just think this is a missed opportunity. People can argue it's just our last rookie pick we are giving up but that could be Picken, Johannisen or Morris, and the cost of taking that punt is virtually nil.

How is it a missed opportunity? We could have picked up another Cat B? Buku is an AA under 18 player with lot's of talent and many on this board thought he may be drafted as a senior player.

[bulldogtragic]

How is it a missed opportunity? We could have picked up another Cat B? Buku is an AA under 18 player with lot's of talent and many on this board thought he may be drafted as a senior player.

I think soup is saying we could’ve picked up another rookie as a free hit for another extra young talent. Then next year maybe delist Roarke Smith, and elevate him then into a Cat A spot or senior spot. With our ‘bad luck’ Buku could’ve been elevated anyway. I can see the merits in that. It’s not a horrible outcome, but getting him Cat B was a huge get. There’s presumably a good reason. Either Bevo wants this, or maybe Bains doesn’t want the extra salary of an extra rookie. I wonder if this is going to set a precedent going ahead.

[Axe Man]

How is it a missed opportunity? We could have picked up another Cat B? Buku is an AA under 18 player with lot's of talent and many on this board thought he may be drafted as a senior player.

We could have picked another category A rookie. We will never know how that player would have turned out. Might have only been a 5% chance of being a player, but it would have been a chance. In a climate where clubs are looking for the smallest advantage over their rivals, running with a smaller list than almost every other club is clearly a potential disadvantage.

[bornadog]

We could have picked another category A rookie. We will never know how that player would have turned out. Might have only been a 5% chance of being a player, but it would have been a chance. In a climate where clubs are looking for the smallest advantage over their rivals, running with a smaller list than almost every other club is clearly a potential disadvantage.

My point is there is no missed opportunity.

[Axe Man]

My point is there is no missed opportunity.

Of course we will never know but clearly there is a potential missed opportunity. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

[hujsh]

My point is there is no missed opportunity.

We could have picked a Cat A and left Buku as a Cat B.

I can't see any argument that there's no opportunity cost in not taking another rookie even if you think it's the right decision to make Buku a Cat A

[soupman]

My point is there is no missed opportunity.

As stated above there clearly is.

It isn't a scenario where we arr picking between Khamis or someone else.

It's a scenario where we are choosing between Khamis or Khamis and another player. I am baffled why we would pick the first option.

[Dry Rot]

Unclear whether Webb plays this year, so we may have another spot.

[Go_Dogs]

Can we put Webb on the LTIL and pick up another rookie?

[bulldogtragic]

Can we put Webb on the LTIL and pick up another rookie?

Sam Power told our very own Choco that we were not recruiting anyone else (or words to that effect - see I think it was the events thread). So if he's told Choco the truth, we are not doing anything else up to and including anything with Webb.