One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on November 19, 2009, 04:00:19 AM
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Which newspaper to believe .....?
Macdonald now in Tigers sights
Stephen Rielly From: The Australian November 19, 2009
JOEL Macdonald is likely to be the first selection in next month's pre-season draft, with the former Brisbane defender's name conspicuously absent from the roll-call of delisted players who had to nominate by 2pm yesterday for next week's national draft.
By declining to place himself in the shop window of the national draft, where all 16 clubs will participate, Macdonald, 25, has all but confirmed he has a deal with either Melbourne or Richmond.
The Demons, with first pick in the pre-season draft, are the likely suspects although Richmond, along with North Melbourne and Fremantle, have spoken to Macdonald who was surprisingly cut last month after playing 22 of the Lions' 24 matches last season.
Melbourne had wanted to invest the selection in former St Kilda captain Luke Ball who has instead nominated for the national draft in an attempt to get to Collingwood.
Despite the interest of three other clubs - he was interviewed by North and underwent a medical, and also flew to Perth to meet Fremantle which has since settled for Essendon's Adam McPhee - Macdonald has been keen to join the Demons.
A Queenslander by birth, Macdonald played 80 games in six seasons with the Lions including 39 of 46 in the past two years. This season was his most productive. He played every home-and-away match, averaging almost 19 possessions before being demoted for the two finals the Lions played.
His omission and subsequent delisting surprised the football world, especially when the Lions went out and recruited Andrew Raines from Richmond as his replacement on a back stuff.
A measure of this surprise was the fact all the clubs who pursued him have former teammates of Macdonald's on staff. At Fremantle, dual Lions premiership defender Chris Scott is an assistant to Mark Harvey while his brother, Brad, is coach of North.
At Richmond, Justin Leppitsch has joined new coach Damien Hardwick after a decorated career with the Lions that most recently saw him working as Michael Voss's senior assistant this year.
If Melbourne has Macdonald and Fremantle gets McPhee with pick three, Richmond will have the first live selection in the pre-season draft at number two. The Tigers have another former Lion, Rhan Hooper, training with them and he may now be their target although he was one of 52 delisted players who had nominated by yesterday's cut-off, which means he could be selected next week.
Hooper, like Macdonald, has questions being asked about his departure from the Queensland capital.
An elite talent with admitted disciplinary issues, Hooper is only 21 and was under contract for $330,000 next year which the Lions are likely to have to pay out.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/macdonald-now-in-tigers-sights/story-e6frg7mf-1225799489420
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Macdonald a Demon on strategy
Michael Gleeson | November 19, 2009
MELBOURNE is certain to take former Brisbane defender Joel Macdonald with the first pick in the pre-season draft, after the former Lion yesterday decided to opt out of next Thursday's national draft.
Adam McPhee, who has quit Essendon after receiving a three-year contract offer from Fremantle, should confront no impediments getting to the Dockers at pick three in the pre-season draft, with Melbourne seemingly committed to Macdonald, while Richmond, with the second selection, is understood to want a younger player.
The Saints are understood to have some interest in former Richmond player Adam Pattison, while Hawthorn has asked Pattison's former Tiger teammate, Dean Putt, to train with the Hawks as they search for reinforcements to their ruck stocks.
http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rfnews/macdonald-a-demon-on-strategy/2009/11/18/1258219881697.html
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Sounds like Melbourne will go for MacDonald and then we'll take a kid who GC17 would take in the first 5 picks of the rookie draft. We normally in recent years get a group of the kids who miss the draft down to Punt Rd to have a look at them.
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not too worried either way.
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Could this mean we snag Thorpe in the Psd with first pick and Hooper with a later ND pick? :birthday
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Could this mean we snag Thorpe in the Psd with first pick and Hooper with a later ND pick? :birthday
Thorpe has nominated for the National Draft so may be gone by the PSD
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Could this mean we snag Thorpe in the Psd with first pick and Hooper with a later ND pick? :birthday
Thorpe has nominated for the National Draft so may be gone by the PSD
with any luck
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we'll take a kid who GC17 would take in the first 5 picks of the rookie draft.
Happy with that strategy.
Get as many kids as we can.
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Could this mean we snag Thorpe in the Psd with first pick and Hooper with a later ND pick? :birthday
Thorpe has nominated for the National Draft so may be gone by the PSD
My bad, I didn't follow what was going on properly. I thought Thorpe might be worth a gamble, a bit of a superiority complex won't hurt you in elite sport lol. Hooper is starting to set off some alarm bells for me though.
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I like the fact that this puts us in a position to make an objective choice...no-one can convince me thorpe is a better prospect than any of the leftovers from ND...invite 5-10 players down, reserve 1-2 selections and make a balanced call....locking onto a player now is crazy :o
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I like the fact that this puts us in a position to make an objective choice...no-one can convince me thorpe is a better prospect than any of the leftovers from ND...invite 5-10 players down, reserve 1-2 selections and make a balanced call....locking onto a player now is crazy :o
Well he was a top pick it was injury and the fact he was up against Franklin and Roughhead for a spot I thought that was making it hard for him, sounds plausible anyway. From what I have read he has the skills. Hoops just cant be serious though, rocking up out of shape just smacks of taking the mickey....
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Well he was a top pick it was injury and the fact he was up against Franklin and Roughhead for a spot I thought that was making it hard for him, sounds plausible anyway. From what I have read he has the skills. Hoops just cant be serious though, rocking up out of shape just smacks of taking the mickey....
He has been injured, but if you're good enough, a team will find a spot for you in the 22.
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I like the fact that this puts us in a position to make an objective choice...no-one can convince me thorpe is a better prospect than any of the leftovers from ND...invite 5-10 players down, reserve 1-2 selections and make a balanced call....locking onto a player now is crazy :o
A player who went pick #6 only a few years ago is not better than 18 year olds that have been overlooked 80+ times ?
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I like the fact that this puts us in a position to make an objective choice...no-one can convince me thorpe is a better prospect than any of the leftovers from ND...invite 5-10 players down, reserve 1-2 selections and make a balanced call....locking onto a player now is crazy :o
A player who went pick #6 only a few years ago is not better than 18 year olds that have been overlooked 80+ times ?
To be honest Bentleigh I'd probably say neither, unless there were extenuating circumstances for pick #6. Remember, JON went at 8! :-[