Recently moved home and came across the 2005 Football record. Was looking through the playing lists of each club and focussed on the rookies. Looks like we have got very little value from our 2005 rookie selections which may help explain our predicament with lack of player depth.

Now for some team by team analysis

Of the 4 rookies at the Crows only Jonathn Griffin has progressed into their side. Not a bad addition. For the Brisbane lions, they have done very well with Josh Drumond and Scott Harding going on to make it of their four rookies. The Pies have only got to show Harry O'Brien of their four rookies but he will prove to be a prominent feature of their defence.. Essendon* have done very well picking up the two Koori boys in Andrew Lovett and Nathan Lovett Murray. Pretty good return. Moving on to Freo, none of their Rookies have taken a step forward from the 2005 year. Was Wayne Hughes involved then?. May have just switched over to Carlton. Geelong did not fare any better with their rookies with none of them maikng the senior transition. Clinton Young has paid dividends for the Hawks as their only successful rookie. The Roos fared relatively well picking upo Josh Gibson and Scott McMahon. The Dees picked up nothing of value with their two selections which may help explain their current predicament. Port picked up the handy Danyle Pearce at a bargain basement price and Robert Forster Knight who has made a name for himself at the Swans. For all the crap recruiting they have been accused, the Tigers have made the most of their rookie seelections picking up their best midfielder in Nathan Foley and best backman in Will Thursfield. The Saints picked up nothing of value and neither did the Swans. West Coast did well picking up Beau Wilkes, Aaron Edwards of the Kangas and Jaymie Graham of their four selections. The Bulldogs picke a beauty in Dale Morris. Not sure how, given he was 23 at the time.

This leads me to Carlton. We had the most rookie picks and between them they have not played one solitary game of afl footy. Daniel Batson, Jesse Smith Sam Pleming Nick Becker and our Irish experiment Aisake have delivered us very little return on investment. This has been remedied recently with some fine rookies in Ellard Joseph and Jacobs but you cant help but wonder what would have been had we had snapped up some of those quality kids still avaiable at the rookie stage.

Conundrum

That paragraph is hard to read and hardly compelling.

Foley is good though.

wouldnt say we're 'paying the price'. seems not many teams did well in that rookie draft.

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thats pretty bad-ass!

Smith played one game at least.

A bit pointless to look at one years rookie draft in isolation. Rookies are speculative. From where I sit we have done well.

Carrots
Thornton
Bentick
Jamison
Jackson
Sentanta
Aisake

The above are all on our senior list via the Rookie list.

This year look forward to Ellard and Joseph being promoted.

I think Smith played 2 games.

Rookie draft is always a bit of a lottery.

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

I stopped reading when you confused Lewis Roberts-Thomson with Robert Forster-Knight who played for Essendon* and was listed by Port after he got the chop.

so what you're saying is most teams didn't do well in the rookie draft....and we were one of those 'most teams'....ok...so?

just watch David Ellard! will be playin in the ones quicker than most think...

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Loooook OUT!

Yep, those two failed rookie selections have doomed the Dees to permanent failure. It explains EVERYTHING.

Top thread, this.

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Richard Pratt - A Carlton legend.

I always felt the 2005 rookie draft was a crunch draft, not only for us but the whole league..

Yep apologies for that.

I think the point I was trying to make was there are some real specials in the rookie draft and unfortunately for Carlton until recently we have not done so well despite having early round picks. Some time we as supporters focus too heavily on the early round picks to turn our performance around when there are rich pickings in the rookie draft system.

My exact same thought! Maybe next time .. use dot points, keep it simple and easy to read

but...good point though...

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hands up if you're a sycophant!

That was a make or break rookie draft........

I get the gist of what Conundrum is trying to say.

For those that like to shoot the messenger, the point is simple.

Other clubs seem to be able to pluck big bodied players from nowhere and put them on as a rookie and the results are, well, for all to see.

We don't. We like to rookie guys at 179cm for instnace. Which is fine but we rookie too many of them.

I believe that perhaps we have too small a recruiting network. I'd like to know how we stack up in comparison to other clubs. For instance, how many blokes do we have reporting to us on the juniors in WA or in SA or in NSW? Whatever the number, is it enough?

Agreed. Why the hell are we using the rookie draft to recruit midgets like Michael Jamison, Sam Jacobs, Setanta O'hAilpin, Aisake O'hAilpin, Craig Flint, Daniel Batson, and Sam Pleming?

Thank you for that constructive critique. Would it be too much to ask you you to add your view or would I be pushing it?

Point missed again.
Take the irish out of the equation as they don't apply to this discussion. We are talking about kids playing in the various comps around Australia. Besides Jammo, how many will play long term for Carlton?
And Flint and Pleming were not the 'big' talls that Conundrum is referring to. From memory, Flint was 189cm?

and where is Danyle Pearce at the moment? His currently form is one of the reasons why Port is where it is.