ROUND 2 TEAM ANNOUNCEMENTS: Bartel Out,Cripps Out

[Mat0369]

Robbed of the Brownlow, I hope one day he gets due recognition.

He has the McDonald's Happy Meal one his team mates got him, does that count?

[LF]

Apparently Sloane didn't train today, just heard on the radio.

There is an article on AFL site about it and he is fine

[Jimmykidd]

farout sloane better play. already got bartel out

[Nige]

Patrick Keane ‏@AFL_PKeane  · 21s21 seconds ago 
AFL wishes to advise Jimmy Bartel has withdrawn from Cats' squad for Sunday's match v Frem & replaced by Dean Gore. Final 22 determined 5pm.

YAAASS MY BOY DEAN GORE!  ;D ;D ;D

Spewing we didn't pick him up, Drummond better be worth it.

If we could re-do all our draft picks bar the Reece McKenzie steal that'd be good.  :P

[LF]

Adelaide Crows        âœ" @Adelaide_FC
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Coach Phil Walsh speaking to media at airport... "Rory Sloane is right to go... didn't want to train him two days in a row."
12:20 PM - 10 Apr 2015

[Bully]

Robbed of the Brownlow, I hope one day he gets due recognition.

He has the McDonald's Happy Meal one his team mates got him, does that count?

;D

Patrick Keane ‏@AFL_PKeane  · 21s21 seconds ago 
AFL wishes to advise Jimmy Bartel has withdrawn from Cats' squad for Sunday's match v Frem & replaced by Dean Gore. Final 22 determined 5pm.

YAAASS MY BOY DEAN GORE!  ;D ;D ;D

Spewing we didn't pick him up, Drummond better be worth it.

If we could re-do all our draft picks bar the Reece McKenzie steal that'd be good.  :P

This draft has me very nervous, I would have picked Weller, Blakely, Gore & McGrath, already I'm feeling sick.

[Nige]

This draft has me very nervous, I would have picked Weller, Blakely, Gore & McGrath, already I'm feeling sick.

That would have been an amazing haul.  :'( :'( :'(

Confident Menadue will come good once he puts on some size, dude's half the size of Liam McBean.  :P

I reckon we got a gem in Jason Castagna as a rookie. 

[Big Mac]

This draft has me very nervous, I would have picked Weller, Blakely, Gore & McGrath, already I'm feeling sick.

That would have been an amazing haul.  :'( :'( :'(

Confident Menadue will come good once he puts on some size, dude's half the size of Liam McBean.  :P

I reckon we got a gem in Jason Castagna as a rookie.

VandenBerg is the real gem  :P

[Nige]

This draft has me very nervous, I would have picked Weller, Blakely, Gore & McGrath, already I'm feeling sick.

That would have been an amazing haul.  :'( :'( :'(

Confident Menadue will come good once he puts on some size, dude's half the size of Liam McBean.  :P

I reckon we got a gem in Jason Castagna as a rookie.

VandenBerg is the real gem  :P

Pls.

[Mat0369]

Whispers about that West Coast Eagles forward Josh Kennedy will be a late withdrawal from tonight's clash with Carlton at Domain Stadium.

[Bully]

This draft has me very nervous, I would have picked Weller, Blakely, Gore & McGrath, already I'm feeling sick.

That would have been an amazing haul.  :'( :'( :'(

Confident Menadue will come good once he puts on some size, dude's half the size of Liam McBean.  :P

I reckon we got a gem in Jason Castagna as a rookie.

Weller > Menadue, Blakely > Ellis, Gore > Drummond, McGrath > Butler

Early days yet but with all either in the firsts or pressing for selection we're behind the eightball, here were my thoughts post draft. (sorry guys for derailing this thread a little).

Corey Ellis is a decent footballer, solid with good disposal, can sometimes get too cute with his worm burners but technically is a very good disposer of the ball. His inside work at TAC level has been good up until now, however his DE dropped off markedly this year and he had some very patchy form throughout the season. Now I understand at the carnival he copped an untimely knee injury which saw his production & efficiency halved, but his earlier games weren't anything to get overly enthused about either. His stats weren't earth shattering, he didn't flip any game on it's head, he didn't pull off anything mercurial either. He is workmanlike, very much in the mould of most of our other second tier mids. He ultimately comes in and fills the 4th-8th best mid role, that's really it in a nutshell and to me it's starting to undersell the value of a first rounder. I don't think I'm alone on that count either, he didn't even get a call-up to the Gold Coast, 17 others did.

Conner Menadue has in some way saved the club from being very red faced, had he not been available at 33 we might have been scratching around for a decent pacy option. We got lucky in some ways by going the inside option early, Menadue was the last good option on the board, so at least the cards fell our way on that count. In saying that, he will take time and I don't predict he will be impacting games for at least 2 years. So as we enter our premiership window, we are no closer to solving the pace crisis. For immediate impact I would have jumped on the Weller/Blakely double act. Both boys have proven themselves against state league opponents and I believe will be making big statements in 2015. This is in no way to denigrate Menadue but it makes wonder whether we'll be caught in no-mans land whilst he develops.

Drummond on paper looks like the perefct selection, he can run fast, he has a good tank, he's played VFL and he has a solid build. Unfortunately all that glitters is not gold. For all the time I've been following juniors, Drummond has produced some of the worst efficiency numbers I have ever come across, both by hand and foot. Now having gone over his stats at VFL level, there has been a significant improvement in overall efficiency but on the other hand, this is a very small sample size, so I'm far from convinced. I would like to give the club the benefit of the doubt here given they have seen a fair bit of him but no amount of spin could classify him as a polished user of the pill. Gore was the obvious pick here, a much better user of the ball and a player who has achieved a Rising Star nomination in the SANFL.

I'm a bit non-plussed by the Butler pick, I would have much preferred Jaden McGrath here given his far superior midfield credentials. Brisbane grabbed him late in the game and I'm starting to really rate their talent spotting abilities. It seems every year we're on the same page, they picked up two of my favourites in Aish & Taylor last year, only to pull another one of my hidden gems this year. Make no mistake, McGrath has the ability of a first round pick, he's fast & slick and if he overcomes his bad luck with injury could well be one of the great steals of this draft.

Reece McKenzie has made me feel a bit better about our overall haul, he has some explosive speed off the mark and is very strong overhead. He will take some time but could be a gem of a selection, provided he reigns in the ego. The two players who have frequently come up in discussions as being slightly ahead of themselves have been Lamb & McKenzie, I hope it's just a case of misguided youth because there's penty to work with if he gets serious.

[Ricochet]

Weller > Menadue, Blakely > Ellis

>:D

[Ricochet]

Patrick Keane ‏@AFL_PKeane
Haw v Ess:
Int; McEvoy, O’Rourke, Anderson, Suckling.
Emerg; Duryea, Schoenmakers, Sicily.
Birchall, O’Rourke in for Shiels, Duryea.

Final Sunday teams
Ess/Haw:
Int; Howlett, Z Merrett, Daniher, Ashby;
Emerg; Dalgleish, McKernan, Dempsey.
Gwilt, Ashby 4 Fletcher, Myers.

NMelb v Bris:
Int: Dal Santo, Nahas, Wood, Brown.
Emerg: Bastinac, Wright, Tarrant.
Nahas, Brown, Wood in for Bastincac, Wright, Jacobs.

Bris v NMelb:
Int; Rich, Taylor, Lester, O’Brien.
Emerg; Aish, Cutler, Golby.
Maguire, Close, O’Brien in for Merrett, Rockliff, Aish.

Geel Cats v Frem:
Int; Bews, Gregson, Horlin-Smith, Simpson.
Emerg; Gore, Murdoch, Stanley.
Mackie, Horlin-Smith in for Bartel, Motlop.

Frem v Geel Cats:
Interchange; Neale, Mayne, de Boer, Suban.
Emergencies; Crozier, Taberner, Duffy.
Mzungu in for Sheridan.

[GoLions]

Bris v NMelb:
Int; Rich, Taylor, Lester, O’Brien.
Emerg; Aish, Cutler, Golby.
Maguire, Close, O’Brien in for Merrett, Rockliff, Aish.

Now that's interesting...

[Big Mac]

Bris v NMelb:
Int; Rich, Taylor, Lester, O’Brien.
Emerg; Aish, Cutler, Golby.
Maguire, Close, O’Brien in for Merrett, Rockliff, Aish.

Now that's interesting...

Aish to Dees in 2016 confirmed.