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JARRAD Grant played in the VFL reserves on Sunday.
Sadly the sight of the No.5 pick in the 2007 draft kicking dew at Williamstown sums up the state of affairs at the Western Bulldogs.
It's a well-told story that recruiting manager at the time, Scott Clayton, said after the draft: "If Jarrad Grant's not the best player after them (No.1 Matthew Kreuzer and No.2 Trent Cotchin), then I'll swim to Williamstown from here."
All recruiters have a couple of shockers; that's the nature of the business.
The problem for the Dogs is some bad decisions at the draft table are coming home to roost big time.
It must be noted before you read the following that recruiters like to mention at this point that they're not responsible for the development of players.
In other words we can bring the talent in but it's not our fault if they don't prosper with the appropriate coaching.
Who is to blame for the mess at the Whitten Oval can be debated long and hard, but the facts are disturbing for Dogs fans.
1) OF the five selections at the 2006 national draft, none remains. The first pick was Andrejs Everitt at No.11. Players who were overlooked include James Frawley, Jack Riewoldt, Chris Dawes, Kurt Tippett, Robbie Gray and Justin Westhoff.
2) IN 2007 when Grant went at No.5, the following were still available: Lachie Henderson, Ben McEvoy, Patrick Dangerfield, Cyril Rioli and Harry Taylor.
3) THE 2009 draft, the first for recruiting manager Simon Dalrymple after Clayton went to Gold Coast, has been a bust.
Christian Howard, first pick at No.15, has played one game this year. Jason Tutt (31) and Lukas Markovic (63) have struggled, while Shane Thorne (76) is no longer around.
Those missed in favour of Howard include Daniel Menzel, Nathan Fyfe, Ryan Bastinac, Jake Carlisle, Mitch Duncan, Sam Reid, Allen Christensen and Nathan Vardy.
4) IN 2010 the Dogs struck gold with two father-son selections in Mitch Wallis and Tom Liberatore. Eight other players were added to the list, including trades for Nathan Djerrkura and Justin Sherman. Only one remains and that's ex-Swan Patrick Veszpremi, who can't get a game in the current climate.
5) THE most glaring hole is a lack of a key forward. Barry Hall filled the void for a few of years but the fact the Dogs have been unable to get any key-position talent is head-scratching. Liam Jones will be a good player, but he's not ready to be the main man. There was a play for Dawes in the trade period but he chose Melbourne, while out-of-favour Essendon big man Scott Gumbleton was considered but was not really courted. Given his form this year, that seems another bad decision.
Sadly the sight of the No.5 pick in the 2007 draft kicking dew at Williamstown sums up the state of affairs at the Western Bulldogs.
It's a well-told story that recruiting manager at the time, Scott Clayton, said after the draft: "If Jarrad Grant's not the best player after them (No.1 Matthew Kreuzer and No.2 Trent Cotchin), then I'll swim to Williamstown from here."
All recruiters have a couple of shockers; that's the nature of the business.
The problem for the Dogs is some bad decisions at the draft table are coming home to roost big time.
It must be noted before you read the following that recruiters like to mention at this point that they're not responsible for the development of players.
In other words we can bring the talent in but it's not our fault if they don't prosper with the appropriate coaching.
Who is to blame for the mess at the Whitten Oval can be debated long and hard, but the facts are disturbing for Dogs fans.
1) OF the five selections at the 2006 national draft, none remains. The first pick was Andrejs Everitt at No.11. Players who were overlooked include James Frawley, Jack Riewoldt, Chris Dawes, Kurt Tippett, Robbie Gray and Justin Westhoff.
2) IN 2007 when Grant went at No.5, the following were still available: Lachie Henderson, Ben McEvoy, Patrick Dangerfield, Cyril Rioli and Harry Taylor.
3) THE 2009 draft, the first for recruiting manager Simon Dalrymple after Clayton went to Gold Coast, has been a bust.
Christian Howard, first pick at No.15, has played one game this year. Jason Tutt (31) and Lukas Markovic (63) have struggled, while Shane Thorne (76) is no longer around.
Those missed in favour of Howard include Daniel Menzel, Nathan Fyfe, Ryan Bastinac, Jake Carlisle, Mitch Duncan, Sam Reid, Allen Christensen and Nathan Vardy.
4) IN 2010 the Dogs struck gold with two father-son selections in Mitch Wallis and Tom Liberatore. Eight other players were added to the list, including trades for Nathan Djerrkura and Justin Sherman. Only one remains and that's ex-Swan Patrick Veszpremi, who can't get a game in the current climate.
5) THE most glaring hole is a lack of a key forward. Barry Hall filled the void for a few of years but the fact the Dogs have been unable to get any key-position talent is head-scratching. Liam Jones will be a good player, but he's not ready to be the main man. There was a play for Dawes in the trade period but he chose Melbourne, while out-of-favour Essendon big man Scott Gumbleton was considered but was not really courted. Given his form this year, that seems another bad decision.
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