keogh wrote:
Thomas Medhat from East Perth is worth a look at in this years draft
Handy midsized forward
https://www.afl.com.au/video/1104935/wafl-showreel-r2-thomas-medhat-highlights?videoId=1104935&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1712539227001I don't know of him. Can't remember him in the Draft or as an NGA for Freo.
Point is there's plenty of rough diamonds out there.
I have always been supportive of looking for gems in lower leagues, after we landed Duigan with Pick 70, from Norwood, who after a great preseason became a regular in our backline, and eventually, won as a Final vs Richmond off his own boot as a Forward. Great move by Malthouse, in the only year I think luck went our way, when we replaced Effendopes in 8th position.
Duigan wasn't quick, but he had a tough body and I liked his physical approach to the game. Most important, he could compete against the bigger bodies, which our green shoots vs Lions last weekend, couldn't.
IMO, a mature player from lower leagues is as cheap as a kid we pick we pick up purely on potential at the Draft, but we have the advantage of seeing the body a player has grown into, let alone ready to rumble against the Big boys..
IMO its a must, but also would be easy to collate a list of 40 players with potential to add value to our best 23. Note, Best 23, not just depth.
From that list we could use our 6 late, "useless" picks we have failed to nail players with since 2002. SOS had no idea how to pick talent unless he had first round picks for tall players. Austin, who has had heaps of success with later picks whilst at Bulldogs, Port and Richmond, has failed to land a player with late picks, let alone one small forward after 5 goes.
We must make huge list changes this year, not next year. Next year, we have a first round pick, we don't have to use on Walker, given we can stack later picks to make up the points,whic will limit our draft picks next year, let alone the fact Tassie Devils will start cherry picking Under 17's, and some other deals made before the 2027 Draft when its totally compromised when Tasmania would be handed picks No. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 in their first draft, other teams select their Academy and NGA's, making a total mockery to provide support from the draft for bottom 4 teams.
Our TDK first round compo pick in 2025, maybe pick 6, which will become pick 10-12 should be traded for a running HB, and our future first (2026) used to trade for a quality midfielder.
Leave our spine alone, and find a No 1 ruck better than Pittonet...ie who can mark around the ground.
We will Draft Dean, and hopefully Ison as an NGA.
Outside of the abovementioned selections, we need to find 5-6 ready made mature players to push regular candidates like Gov, Acres, Pittonet, Young, Boyd, Cincotta, Durdin as break glass depth, which will also provide big bodies to expedite the development of the kids in the VFL.
We should not be playing kids in the VFL team inless they are freaks who can excel at the level. I have always held the position that kids should not be developed in the seniors, and 50 senior games, should be part of the player development after 3 years playing VFL whilst their bodies are strong enough. Geelong never play kids before 3 years of development, and even then, they still hold them back till thay are really ready to compete properly in the AFL.
I don't think any of Motlop, White, Binns, Wilson, HOF, Moir, Campo, Campo, Carroll, Lemmey, O'Keefe and Cowan should be playing senior football as early as they have. They have been picked because of injury, and a lack of depth in our list, let alone unreasonable expectation. A taste of senior footy, with senior players around to protect and help, is one thing just before the season ends, like we did for TDK and McKay, or OKeefe this year when we didnt had a shortage of talls because of our lack of depth, but picking kids and expect success in senior footy week in week out is fraught with danger imo. Its a trap.
We shouldn't be expecting our kids to play senior footy, let alone judging our kids till they have developed their bodies and gained experience playing against bigger bodies, over a minimum 3 preseasons imo. It just doesn't work, and something we have got use to doing since we landed our first Pick 1 in Marc Murphy, in 2006, and haven't stopped the ridiculous practise since. We have kids in the VFL who still struggle against big bodies in the VFL, and we still pick them to play AFL.
When I hear fans screaming at the MC to play the kids, I actually feel sick for the kids on our list because.....I've explained above, but moreso because.....
History keeps repeating at Carlton. 
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