The Hardwick Rebuild Is Dead Long Live the Next Rebuild

[YellowandBlackBlood]

When Heppell actually does something other than hit up a target 15-20 metres away, run and gather and do the same I will take note, I think he is grossly overated like Gibbs was in his first few years. In a couple of years he will be exposed like Gibbs has been, people will be wondering why such a high draft pick never breaks lines with kicking or run and doesn't hurt opposition teams. Not saying Conca is better, he needs to step it up, but sick of hearing about the heppell love affair, he's no gun just an average player. There is a reason why opposition coaches don't tag him, = no hurt factor, watch him closely instead of listening to flog commentary by Dennis and Bruce.

I love how differently people see our game and it's players. I see it so differently to you Tony on this occasion. Although I too think Gibbs is over rated but I would still swap him for Reece.

Fair enough BT, beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say. Also, just bc I call someone over rated doesn't mean I think they're no good   
Heppell's no dud(far from it!) I've mentioned before that imo his strengths are: hes a very good reader of the play, is genuinely a one grab player in traffic, fantastic link player and has leadership qualities in abundance, weaknesses: kicking has no penetration, is very slow and is not a gamebreaker. I just don't get the massive excitement? Solid player right now, comfortably ahead of Conca - and have no doubts he will develop into a very good player but don't see him as an A grader. Having said that, Im not going to write off Conca just yet due to injury, but will admit Im underwhelmed(his kicking concerns me). Have a sneaking suspicion he has scope to close the gap significantly over the next few years but that's just my opinion.

 I actually think Gibbs is a very good player(although hes down on form this season) but the first 3-4 years of his career he was being hailed a superstar similar to what we're seeing with Heppell. Then when his star failed to reach the heights the commentators and experts kept predicting he'd reach, he started coming in for a heap of criticism. He's simply not a superstar but he is an accomplished very good player - I'd take him in a heartbeat.

I think Jobe Watson also was slow and had no penetration on his kicks when he first appeared.   These days I'd take Jobe in a heartbeat over pretty much anyone in our team, Cotch excluded.  The trick is your picking and then nurturing talent and Essendon seems to be good at that and we aren't.  Good players have unflapability about them, Jobe got his from his father.  I'm happier we now interview the players for character but I am really wondering about Francis Jackson now.

It's called culture.

[Diocletian]

The argument about who we should've taken at pick 6 begins & ends with Heppell.
 
Heppell & Parker were so obvious it wasn't funny. Jackson & Hartley were too clever by half in that draft.

Ok. So that has made the whole team ignore the team plan, not chase, not harass the opposition, not block for your team mate, not put in maximum effort........

People are getting so simplistic around here, it's not funny.

Did you see Heppell against Freo?  He was poo.  Slower than an injured snail.

That's what happens when the players around you don't play well either.  Same with Conca. He needs everyone around him to lift including himself.

Yeah yeah "Footsteppell's a soft girl wif gay hair and plays for dem gay bummers lol!1!!!1!" .... must've been another a player with the same name and  funny haircut  that I saw run his arse off all day against Fremantle in summer-like conditions.

If you think Conca's anywhere near as good as Heppell you're delusional. Not even the same class.

Wow that sound amazing

I assume EFC won by ten goals?

http://i.imgur.com/u24usC5.gif

So Sandilands mowing down Colyer proves Heppell was poo?

[the claw]

[

Didn't say he was. But only a fool would think that all our problems are due to the difference in talent between Conca and Heppell. And Heppell is slow in leg speed - something we have already in spades!

didnt think anyone  at all has suggested that all of our problems  can be laid at the conca heppel decision. . nice deflection anyway.
id say failing to use the nd well is a part of our problems. reaching for players is a part of that.
 for some posters failing to take heppell was an example of how we should do better. it was a small part of the overall picture. at the time taking conca was considered a real big reach by many and not just supporters either.  we didnt just reach with one pick that day but did it twice. sheesh the  batchelor decision was even frowned upon by that defender of all draft kids  sheahan of all people,   who never criticises any thing to do with kids.
those who criticised taking conca at the time have every right to criticise now.

as for the nd heres a list of players nm have taken from 05 to 2010 with 2nd and 3rd rounders wont go past 2010 as it is still a bit early to call and like most of our kids from 11 onwards they will need deserve  time to establish themselves properly. as such like us  from 2011 nm have no established 2nd and 3rd rnd picks.
why nm dunno they were a side around us last yr and there have been lots of comparisons between us. while i havent done the exercise id say the majority of sides in the comp would have a far better strike rate than us with 2nd 3rd rounders from 05 to 2010.
anyway
swallow, goldstein, thomas, will throw in pick 82 here as its aaron edwards who we ended up with. thompson and grima their  kpds, greenwood, wright, black, anthony bastinac, harper.
you know only a fool would deny our nd recruiting leaves a lot to be desired  and we need to be much better.

If you read the thread properly claw, you would have noticed that the root of all evil was being levied at pick 6 in 2010.  I simply said that was not the case.
We are not alone in missing picks that we should have got correct.

Since you are a keen scholar of the ND, why don't you tell us right now who we should be considering for 2nd to 5th rounds in the ND at the end of this year.

Go on.  I'll take a note of all the kids and then in 3 years see how well you've picked them.

We are all waiting to hear who you think we should take or at least start considering NOW…….

It's all yours claw…...

fair enough and my bad on the  root of all evil comments my apologies.

on the demand for picks now  there is a whole season to go before the nd plus national champs combines  and so on, until i see them all at the same level at the same time ie champs its impossible. 
you can be rest assured i will name the players i want before the draft this yr until then you will just have to wait.

but if you want  to start a comparison now heres a list of the players i advocated we take this yr in the draft.
12/ acres, dunstan, i opted for acres as hes a wa boy and id seen a bit.
32/ george hewitt yep as you know im no hampson fan and still wish we had that pick.
50/ jonathan marsh wa boy.
66 eli templeton.

do you want the f/a's as well.  chapman and laidler.
or rookies. i didnt really look at this too hard arguing that we should have looked at lloyd gordon and miles here.   did want darcy cameron a junior ruckman and i liked sully a kpd. and josh waldhuter was in my sights to name a few.

or how about trades i put up
longer + 25  for 12 and steak knives.  longer went to stkilda for 25 and 41 or 51 cant be botherd looking it up so pick 12 would imo have got the job done. do that trade and it goes
longer 12
dumont 25
hewitt 32
marsh 50
templeton 66.

 come  close to the draft or end of yr i will  have my say weather it be informed or not. a few of the wa boys i like  are,
 tyler kietel a 193cm forward we could do with a kpf.  hes agile a very strong mark and has arrogance.
if looking for a dynamic sml fwd/mid look no further than jarrad pickett. i dont look at smls to much but this kid has real talent.
 i will be watching darcy cameron a fair bit,  a ruckman who i thought should have been drafted last yr. hes playing seniors this yr.
ryan lim is a mid from claremont i really like but i have some  concerns atm about how hit and miss his kicking is. i dont think its a terminal problem.

theres plenty others  bradley walsh from peel and his teamate winton. but until i see plenty more and actually see how they stack up gainst other kids from around the country i wont be calling names.

[Rampstar]

so have you seen any of the wa boys this year yet claw and how they shaping up as draft prospects?

[the claw]

so have you seen any of the wa boys this year yet claw and how they shaping up as draft prospects?

yep ive seen a few not just this yr either. and  there is plenty of them shaping up as draft prospects.  theres at least a dozen id like to get my hands on. then theres some  19 21 yr olds who i have thought would get drafted and didnt  ie darcy cameron,  ben sokol is another. that i will probably have more interest in.
 this yr will be the first yr in a fair while where i will get to see a fair bit of all wa prospects and have a better ability to have  a more  informed opinio andn more confidence in my predictions.

[YellowandBlackBlood]

Thanks claw.

[Smokey]

yep ive seen a few not just this yr either. and  there is plenty of them shaping up as draft prospects.  theres at least a dozen id like to get my hands on.

Might want to rephrase that Claw?


Not that there's anything wrong with that.

And if you can play you can play.

And all that.

 

[YellowandBlackBlood]

yep ive seen a few not just this yr either. and  there is plenty of them shaping up as draft prospects.  theres at least a dozen id like to get my hands on.

Might want to rephrase that Claw?


Not that there's anything wrong with that.

And if you can play you can play.

And all that.

 

I see what you did there!

[Rampstar]

PROVEN CORRECT ONCE AGAIN! 100% CORRECT!

[Rampstar]

Where are the apologists? Nowhere to be seen these last few weeks. The club is rooted in my opinion. Serious change needs to happen.

[Hellenic Tiger]

Where are the apologists? Nowhere to be seen these last few weeks. The club is rooted in my opinion. Serious change needs to happen.

Clapping the players with black and yellow streamers and good will messages on large pieces of cardboard as they drive out of the MCG carpark.

[Diocletian]

Memo to RFC: Rebuilds don't work if you use the same shoddy materials as before.

[Rampstar]

Memo to RFC: Rebuilds don't work if you use the same shoddy materials as before.

thats actually true 

[the claw]

in fairness to hardwick if hes sacked and he wont be im not even sure if he should be, the next coach will have a very good base to start from imo. hardwicks time at our club has not been a failure.
plenty of good has come out of hardwicks and gales time at the club.
thing is  we do need to continue to turn over personel to continue the growth.maybe hardwick has taken us as far as he can and its time for someone else to take us to the next level. on that im prepared to wait and see for just a little while longer.

[Francois Jackson]

Off field is due to us Claw not them

What good have they done in curious from an onfield and list perspective

Some facts

We are still mentally weak so that's the same
We still took shortcuts so that's the same
Supporters still open their wallets so that's the same