Luke Jackson

[Purple 77]

Alright, we bloody did it.

We went and picked that guy.

I want the following tantrum on record, as Jackson disappoints his way out Melbourne, one way or another.

*don't misunderstand me by taking this as a jibe to Luke Jackson, it is very much a jibe at Melbourne*

Drafting Luke Jackson is a huge mistake, and a tale of Demonland woe waiting to happen. There are five dimensions as to why:

1) We don't need him in either the short or long term
Whilst no one will expect a draftee - especially tall ones - to make an impact in the early part of their career, Melbourne are well serviced by the best ruck (or top 2 for those of you on the fence) in the competition. At 27 years old and a new found reliability at getting on the park, Gawn is set to dominate for AT LEAST 3 years, barring injury.

But what if he does get injured?

That was once a problem. In 2017. But alas, we went out and recruited arguably the best "second" ruck in the competition in Braydon Preuss. Whilst he offered NOTHING up forward, his ability as a solo ruck can't be denied, at least with regards to him holding his own against the other R1s. Preuss is bloody 24. Jeepers we're just set with quality rucks in medium term, and  Melbourne decided to use Pick 3 for a need that won't eventuate for another 6 years at the minimum. That is wasteful.

And that's if he's on the list for that long.

2) Go home factor
Melbourne has shown recently, that despite doing everything in its power to keep Jesse Hogan, the lure at going home prevailed as years of media talk, probably Freo hassling and yes, personal tragedy (all the best Jesse, I love you) finally provoked the move. As a die hard supporter, watching this happen over the years was a flowering rollercoaster, and for it to then happen was heartbreaking. For Melbourne to use Pick 3 - which holds such value - on a speculative type from Western Australia, is unnecessarily risky. I know you can't let state of origin dictate who you draft, but having JUST LOST A GENERATIONAL TALENT to it, the move is not welcome.

3) Choosing the best available? flowering please.
The caliber of players that we overlooked in favour of Jackson is sickening. The consistent skill level at Melbourne has been below par for some time, one of the most prominent issues in 2019 was delivery inside 50. Go have a look at what Young, Ash or gee even Flanders can do. Ball users. After drafting a host of tenacious inside midfielders (absolutely no regrets about that, mind you), the time was right to draft for delivery. So for Melbourne to use its Pick 3 on someone who - in their highlight package - has only 3 kicks all of which were hacked ones forward to no discerning player, is not only a waste, but infuriating.

4) Depreciation via supporter expectations
flowering Demonlanders are the worst (obviously I don't mean all supporters; you are me - and I am you). I point to Sam Weideman v Jesse Hogan. When Hogan went and did his thing with us, kicking 44 goals in his debut season, winning the rising star and just performing at unprecedented levels for a 20yo... he was meeting Demonlanders expectations. Sure, they may say they weren't expecting this, but their admiration came from meeting expectations, not exceeding them.

Which brings me to Exhibit B - Sam Weideman.

What he is doing now, is absolutely fine. More than fine. For someone who is STILL 22 YEARS OLD, he has dominated VFL, played good H&A AFL footy, and also exceptional AFL finals footy. But you know what? Demonlanders hate him, and the wider AFL community dismiss him. They expect Weideman to have played every game this year, and kick his 1-2 goals per game with the occasional 6. Oh, like Charlie Curnow. Sigh. If you offered a Demonlander the option of trading Weideman now, they'd be over the moon with a second rounder. They expect Hogan levels of output, but fail to recognise that Hogan was a generational talent, and Weideman is just normal - even above average.

Then you know what everyone did next? They forgot how good Hogan was. The fact that he wanted to go home, was enough for people to say 'take unders and get him out the door if he doesn't want to be here' and 'we need him gone to get Steve May' - what tripe. Stop being part of the wider AFL community that condones devaluing your exceptional players for reasons that shouldn't matter.

What they - and Melbourne - fail to recognise right now, is that we are using Pick 3 - something we couldn't even get out of Hogan at the time, who cost Pick 3 and 13 to get - for a guy that A) is not going to be nearly as good as Hogan, and 2) has a real flight risk attached.

But overtime, as Jackson fails to meet the unrealistic expectations of the AFL community at large, his value depreciates to something insignificant. Meanwhile, Lachie Ash and Hayden Young are well on track in their careers, playing vital roles for their club.

To see Pick 3 start the journey of year-on-year depreciation, is nothing short of infuriating.

5) Melbourne's current landscape
Two sub-dimensions here:
1) Despite finishing 17th, we are aiming for finals next year and there is an internal expectation that we can go deep. Again, whilst we can't expect draftees to make an impact, Luke Jackson would have the least expectation probably out of the entire first round of the draft to do anything of note next year. Big guys take time, and he needs it. Assuming he sticks around, will he be ready to make an impact whilst we are still in the window? At this stage, doubtful.

2) So, apparently he can make an early impact... up forward? Alright, so, how many rucks make any real contribution up forward? Anyone? And if so, anyone below the age of say, 27? Not to mention trying to develop someone OOP is fraught with danger, especially given Jackson seems destined to wait to be R1 for many, many years. Hell, he only stopped playing basketball! Do we seriously have the environment to develop Jackson to be the player he needs to be? Why the flower did we draft this guy?!



Alright, I can see I sound like "a supporter" in that spiel. And no one likes seeing someone shower on something. But I needed an outlet, because I fundamentally see this selection as a mistake in every way, shape and form, and I have felt so god damn helpless in the last month, and I just needed to say something.