For me it's too early and too hard to tell which players will and won't make it. I reckon if we can get 200 games out of these 6 players as a collective, it will have been a win. If they don't then Boekhurst and Kerridge will both have to become super stars for us to come out in front for these particular trades.
You've set the bar pretty low Amers. I reckon at least one of them has to play 100 games. Still, 200 games out of all six suggests that they would be depth players and we definitely need more depth.
Howard Kotton from AFL.com.au reckons it will be PI2C's Nick Graham:
Quote
In his fourth season Nick Graham appears ready to take the next step in his development. The blond midfielder has recovered from a foot problem that caused him to miss the last nine games in 2015 and has been impressive in the Blues' two NAB Challenge matches this year. The 2012 Morrish medallist, 21, struggled to have an impact under former coach Mick Malthouse, being one of the emergencies on three occasions and starting substitute once early last season. But he flourished once given an opportunity in the midfield by interim coach John Barker after several superb performances for the Northern Blues in the VFL. The former Gippsland Under 18s player has an excellent work ethic and generally picks the right option. He is out of contract at the end of this season and will be keen to make his mark early. - Howard Kotton
Carlton has added experience to its list after signing delisted free agent Matthew Wright.
The 25-year-old former Crow played 94 games for Adelaide after being recruited through the 2009 Rookie Draft.
Carlton’s General Manager of List Management and Strategy Stephen Silvagni says Wright will add to Carlton’s depth.
“Matthew is an inside midfielder-forward with clean hands who’s a good set shot and quick around the packs,” Silvagni said.
“Importantly, he’s also a quality person who will bring experience and leadership to our team.
“With Matthew, our new draftees and the players we secured through the trade period, our list is taking shape.
“We believe we’ve got some terrific talent through the door and now we’re looking forward to seeing our list grow and develop under coach Brendon Bolton.”
An inside mid who is handy around the goals is just what we need. It would be nice to see him do well against the Swans next week.
Mooney said Jones has no tank and can only play in bursts and doubted he could make it as a league player...this is the same bloke who mentored Jones at the Dogs who is saying he wont make it.....pity we didnt chat to Mooney before Rogers traded for him...
Mooney isn't Robinson Crusoe. Barry Hall, who was Jones' training partner, said much the same, as did Hawthorn's opposition analysis dossier. It really was an inexplicable decision. However, it seems that mad Mick had more say in it than random Rogers.
Mooney actually said that Jones may do OK as a third tall playing alongside Casboult and Henderson. He implied that Jones doesn't have the ability to be a key forward.
Of course, I could be missing some secret message concealed within Mooney's statement
DJC, the result of the game was no surprise really and as you say the Bummer supporters didn't seem to get too carried away. I think the most disappointing aspect for us, and others near us, was that we lapsed into our old bad habits pretty much straight away. They have been well covered on here already so I won't go over them again.
I think that the proactive defence is the most obvious aspect of the new game plan. If nothing else, it's less frustrating to watch than the passive defence we used for the last few years.
You probably saved yourself 5 minutes that you can never recover by not reading it. It was typical Caro: hurt anyone you can except Richmond. I guess we shall see just how wise we were during Round 1. If we win, then she will have to admit that she was wrong, but I expect that more from Cardinal Pell than from Caro.
I watched Sunday's game from three different locations as I tried to track down my mate. I also went to the post game function. The Carlton supporters I interacted with all seemed to accept that we had played a weak side for a reason and were quite positive about our prospects. Interestingly, a lot of Essendon supporters (not the rabid dickheads!) were quite circumspect about the result.
It would be a novel approach for football reporters to actually rub shoulders with supporters and document their thoughts rather than just making stuff up.
Pointless article about a pointless match. If so called "potential members" can't see the bigger picture................
Well, I won't bother to read it then
Clearly our club has made on field success its highest priority and I have no argument with that. Winning a practice match might attract a few new members but sustained on field success will bring them back in droves.
I'm suggesting that people proclaiming the east west link is required to fix traffic issues is missing the bigger picture.
It will 'ease' traffic, in some areas only. It will fix nothing. Bandaid solution.
As many have mentioned, master plan, one piece of the jigsaw puzzle etc etc.
@Crash i think it was talking about radial system. The 'outer rings' you talk about are what the buses are supposedly for. Buses on the roads that are jammed and contribute to the overall problem. Outer ring rail system would be simply put in the too hard basket.
I used to play sim city back on the SNES when i was younger. If my city got to the stage Melbourne is at now, i'd just about take your approach and nuke the whole thing!
Yes, a bandaid over a festering sore.
Buses would really only work if there was a dedicated carriageway and I imagine that would be a cheaper option than rail or light rail.
People said the Irish experiment was a waste of time.
The same clueless boneheads now say the US sourced players are a waste.
Just a matter of time. The US has more gifted athletes playing in high level/elite sport than any other county in the world and AFL has only just scratched the surface.
95% are finished as athletes when college finishes. It will be a tidal wave, particularly for tall talent.
Mason Cox looks a terrific prospect and he's just the start.
I continue to be amazed at how well the Irish blokes pick up both the skills and nuances of the game. It really goes against the belief that you have to grow up playing the game to excel at it. I guess ruckmen like Goldstein and Martin are home grown examples although they could have had footies in their hands in between basketball commitments; kick to kick at school for example.
Mike Pyke is another example of how top class sportspeople can pick up another code and, as you say, Cox seems to be heading in the same direction. I think that the women's competition will also see sportswomen successfully changing codes.
There is a huge pool of US sportsmen and I have no doubt that many could make a successful transition to AFL. Selecting those most likely to succeed is the challenge. Now that the AFL has relaxed the rookie rules, we'll probably see more Americans taking up rookie spots and some going on to have AFL careers.
Wow, this guy has played 20 games in his career and has been unlucky with injury.....
Let's see how he fares when Murphy, Gibbs, Cripps, Kerridge are taking most of the heat?
I have reservations about Whiley too. We really need midfielders who can take the heat off Murphy, Gibbs and Cripps rather than relying on them to do the heavy lifting.
