PSD pick

[mightytiges]

Reading Miller's article in the Fighting Tiger, our dilemma with Ty is going to be the difference between who we can pick up.

Our choice in the PSD on December 14 is in the balance. We know that we can pay only above the minimum to a player if Ty Zantuck was to join another club.

Terry just said we're after a ruckman. Mentioned Knobel, Porter and McKee in that order.

[mightytiges]

Pre-season draft: lifeline or deadline
By Jake Niall
The Age
December 2, 2004

....

Meanwhile, ruckman Steve McKee is the frontrunner to be selected first by Richmond in the draft, for delisted and uncontracted players.

Richmond coach Terry Wallace has indicated he favours drafting a ruckman, and with ex-Saint Trent Knobel setting a price seemingly beyond the Tigers' range and bound for Carlton, McKee is now favoured to return to the club where his career began.

His worth might have been boosted by changes to the ruck rules, with the previous interpretation of the rules hurting his prospects at Collingwood last year and in 2004.

While McKee is the favourite to be selected by the Tigers, his return to Punt Road is not a fait accompli, since their decision could be influenced by whether they succeed in offloading disgruntled defender Ty Zantuck, who is carrying a hefty contract for 2005.

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2004/12/01/1101577553191.html?oneclick=true

[WilliamPowell]

McKee craves return ticket

07 December 2004   Herald Sun
Rebecca Williams

FORMER Collingwood ruckman Steve McKee hopes his football career can swing full circle in next Tuesday's pre-season draft.

The 26-year-old has been training with Richmond for the past month, seeking a lifeline after being delisted by the Magpies.

McKee began his AFL career at Punt Rd and, seven years on, is eager to make a return to the Tigers.

Richmond, which has the first pick in the pre-season draft, has given McKee no assurances it will select him next week.

But McKee remains optimistic the invitation to train with Richmond will lead to another chance.

"(Coach) Terry (Wallace) spoke to me before and I might have a bit more of an idea towards the end of the week either way," McKee said yesterday.

"I've done what I can. I've just been a bit limited with how my body's feeling at the moment.

"Hopefully it will be enough, but if not we'll work that out from there.

"They're definitely interested otherwise they wouldn't have had me down here, otherwise I'd be wasting my time.

"There's been no promises so far, but there never is in footy. But I've been really impressed."

McKee made his debut with the Tigers in 1998 and, despite his time away from the club, said it had been easy to settle back in.

"There's probably about 10 blokes from when I was first here about five years ago, so it's probably been a little bit easier to get back in," he said.

McKee, whose manager also fielded interest from Carlton and St Kilda after his delisting, knew his time at Collingwood was up.

"I expected it because I didn't get much of a go this year," he said.

"But even knowing it was going to happen, it's still pretty sad when you've spent five years there and had such good mates there. You've just got to move on."

A niggling groin injury, which he has carried for the past two years, restricted McKee's workload at Richmond training yesterday afternoon.

But the 199cm ruckman said he still had plenty to offer, provided his body would allow it.

"The main thing is to get my body right," McKee said.

"If I can get my body right, I definitely think I can (offer a lot) on the field.

"But it's not really up to what I think, it's up to the coaches, so we'll wait and see if they agree with that."

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,11612257%255E20322,00.html

[Roar]

The AFL has completed its examination of each club's Total Player Payment (TPP) estimates for the 2005 season in the lead-up to the National Bank's AFL Pre-Season Draft next Tuesday, December 14.

The AFL Investigations Department has determined that seven teams are eligible to participate -- Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fremantle, Kangaroos, Port Adelaide and Richmond.

St Kilda was not eligible to participate on the basis of its TPP estimates while Adelaide, the Brisbane Lions, Geelong, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Sydney, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs already have full lists in place for the 2005 season.

As such, the full list of available selections to each club is as follows:

Round One
One -- Richmond
Two -- Collingwood
Three -- Carlton
Four -- Kangaroos
Five -- Fremantle
Six -- Essendon
Seven -- Port Adelaide

Round Two
Eight -- Richmond

 
 
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[mightytiges]

The Herald-Sun had us still considering Knobel but I still think we'll go for McKee given the possible ruck rule changes and pass on our 2nd pick.

So much for that silly rumour a while back trying to make out we were in breach of our TPP and would lose our picks .

[Hammerfire]

Welcome, former PRE'ender here who got banned for having an opinion, had this forum recommended to me.

I can't see why we would take Knobel, he is a No.1 ruckmen who can't do anything around the ground.

Simmonds was drafted to be our No.1 ruckmen, and he made it very clear in an article that he did not like it when he played only as a forward at Freo, and that he prefers to play in the ruck.

[LondonTiger]

TWO Picks!


I am going to hazard a guess


McKee

Rix

[froars]

Welcome Hammerfire to OER
Maybe you could go to the ASL thread and other newbies here and tell us something about yourself
Enjoy!

[bg25]

My only worry with McKee is that he appears to be injured at the moment...bit of worry when the season hasn't even started.

From all accounts Rix looks like he might be a good pick up.

[Bulluss]

If this Rix guy is a little older than a TAC player, then why even bother taking McKee.

We are better off taking someone like Jesse Smith or Kirby.

[mightytiges]

My only worry with McKee is that he appears to be injured at the moment...bit of worry when the season hasn't even started.

Looks like the Club has the same thought bg25. Looks like we're going with Trent Knobel.

From Caro's Tiger faction article:

This column has devoted copious amounts of space to Greg Miller over the years and it is fitting as the year draws to a close that we do so again as football's popular and charismatic wheeler-dealer puts the finishing touches on yet another deal.

..the Richmond football boss of two years has finally offloaded the problematic Ty Zantuck and looks to have picked up another ruckman, Trent Knobel, in the process.

Miller has convinced Casey that the Tigers can afford the 24-year-old former Saint at a base of around $160,000 and potentially $210,000 depending on the number of senior games he plays next year....

Subject to AFL approval, Knobel will join Richmond via its first pick in the pre-season draft thanks to some freed-up funds that have emerged via a sweetheart deal between the Tigers, Zantuck and the AFL - although the relationship between the first two parties has been anything but sweet. Knobel is a risk but a significantly better proposition than Steve McKee and his problematic groin. McKee was reportedly told on Friday he would not be returning to Tigerland.

[mightytiges]

Draft gloom for McKee
The Australian
December 12, 2004

RICHMOND has told former Collingwood ruckman Steve McKee it will not select him in the pre-season draft and is seeking clarification with the league about fitting Trent Knobel's contract into its AFL-approved budget.
 
The club told McKee yesterday it did not feel his troublesome groin could stand up to the rigours of the AFL and it would look elsewhere in Tuesday's draft.

The Tigers expect an AFL decision by tomorrow, which would clear the way for them to draft Knobel to the last spot on their list.

The club is well within the salary cap, but after the AFL had its accountants scrutinise its vastly scaled-back projections for 2005 it is keen to run any variations by the AFL.

Knobel has put a price on his head, but his two-year contact is only slightly above what the Tigers would have paid McKee.

If, as expected, the AFL approves Richmond's offer to sign Knobel for two years, it will swoop in before Carlton, which has flagged its intention of drafting the former Lion and Saint.

The Tiger move leaves McKee in limbo, with the majority of clubs having pledged to sign particular players.

With first selection in Tuesday's rookie list, Richmond is expected to take Ruory Kirkby, a key position player from Echuca desperately unlucky to be overlooked in the national draft.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11661323%255E23211,00.html

[mightytiges]

With first selection in Tuesday's rookie list, Richmond is expected to take Ruory Kirkby, a key position player from Echuca desperately unlucky to be overlooked in the national draft.

Good rookie list pick up Tiges if this is true. Obviously he's talented. Let's hope he's still one more growth spurt left in him, grows another inch and ends up as another possible KPP for us. What a huge bargin that would be.

[froars]

Ruory Kirkby
Details:
Club: Echuca/Bendigo
DOB: 2 April 1986 Hgt: 192cm Wgt: 81kg
Position: Centre Half Forward/Centre Half Back
Natural Foot: Left

Honours:
Victoria Country 2004
All Australian 2004
Back Pocket in TAC Cup Team of the Year 2004
National Draft Camp 2004

TAC Stats:
2004: 10 games, 1 goal, 12.1 PPG

Strengths: Kirkby has been one of the surprise packets of 2004, going from his local side Echuca in April to All-Australian selection in July. He is a very slight key position player who has done well at centre-half back and centre-half forward. Ruory has exceptional foot skills for a big man, can nail targets very well. Is a good mark and usually a good set shot, and can also kick goals on the run.

He really stepped up at the Carnival, doing a good job in defence on Ryan Willits and excelling at centre-half forward in the other two matches.

Weaknesses: Kirkby still needs to add a lot of weight to his frame before he can play AFL. There might be a question mark over whether his carnival was just a flash in the pan, and he still needs to work on his ability below his knees. Not that quick off the mark.

Footydraft.com comment: Bit of a gamble taking him early based on a few good months, but there is plenty to work with. It would be understandable if he slipped down the order a bit because clubs might not have seen enough good performances.


http://www.footydraft.com/players.php?player=ruory_kirkby&dr=n

[froars]

IT IS a day where dreams are made and lost for hundreds of aspiring footballers.

The 2004 AFL National Draft is arguably the most important time for club recruiting officers and coaches.

But it is definitely the most important day for Echuca youngster Ruory Kirkby, who has been touted to become a Richmond Tiger today. As he prepared for his year 12 formal yesterday, Kirkby said the nerves were just starting to kick in.

"Having something on tonight will help a lot, but I am just looking forward to tomorrow and waiting to see what happens," he said.

Kirkby said he had spoken to Adelaide, Richmond and Hawthorn in the past week and was hopeful something would come out of it.

"You never know," he said.

"I am hopeful, but there are also a lot of other good players in the mix." A barbecue with a group of friends is how Kirkby will spend the day as we waits for the phone call of a lifetime.

"With no telecast the only way to listen to the draft live is through SEN radio," he said.

"We have tried to get it at home, but there is a lot of static.

"Other than that I will just have to wait for a phone call." Should the 18-year-old's dream come true, it will be a fairytale ending to 2004 for the Bendigo Pioneer.

Kirkby started this season slowly, before a turning point in his career captured the attention of AFL scouts.

At the under-18 national championships, Kirkby played outside of his normal role as a defender with the Pioneers.

He relished the spent time up forward capping off the tournament with selection in the All-Australian team.

Bendigo Pioneers regional manager Ray Byrne said Kirby had all the attributes required to play at the highest level.

"He was impressive at the draft camp and I would be disappointed if Ruory was not picked up today," Byrne said.

"He is a strong mark and once he grows a bit more he will develop into a fine player." Kirkby stands at 192 cm and weighs 80 kg.

Should he find himself in a black and yellow jumper after today it will continue an incredible run for the township of Echuca.

West Coast Eagle Michael Braun was drafted from the town in 1996, while Andrew Walker, now at Carlton, was the second overall selection in last year's draft.

Other Bendigo Pioneers to attend the draft camp were Sam Barnes, Tim Hill and Travis Baird.

Byrne said all three players rated highly and stood a good chance of being drafted.

Bendigo Bank Bomber Simon Rosa will also be waiting anxiously to see if brother Matt is one of the lucky ones.

Matt played for North Ballarat in the TAC Cup last season.

http://bendigo.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=sport&subclass=local&category=general%20sport&story_id=352017&m=11&y=2004