The next batch of youngsters coming through

[LostDoggy]

Obviously its been a marvelous introduction to the start of the season by Hill.
His pace, balance, skills and even decision making and marking have all been impressive and lets hope he can keep it up.

I also wonder if the other youngsters on the list are taking note that if you apply yourself to training the rewards will follow.

I watched Brennan Stack closely yesterday and he does have some Hill like qualities especially his marking prowess and athletic ability but I have question marks on his disposal skills. Some of his kicking yesterday was first rate but then others when he wasn't under any real pressure was at best poor. Having said that I think he will debut sometime soon.

We have seen Harbrow strut his stuff and he looks like a guy that will always be close to selectors considerations.

O'Shea looks a fair way off the mark at the moment but he is very young and still has a lot to learn.

Hard to gauge where Lynch is at the moment and Everitt will be back soon enough.

O'Keefe and Ward seem to be more than capable of playing some senior football this season and Grant might come into considerations a bit later in the season. Reid looks more like a defender at the moment but is strong enough physically to play some football if necessary.

All in all the draftees from the last couple of seasons are coming along nicely. I'd still prefer to see another one or two key position players but we have who we have and at the moment the most of the next batch are making progress.
Thoughts ?

[LostDoggy]

Ive heard rocket say stack will be the best out of his draft, from what we've seen of hill, i cant wait to see what stacky can give us.

[GVGjr]

Not bad BB, add Higgins and Addison to the mix as well and we do have a lot of good young'uns coming through. I agree that an extra quality key position player would balance the list better

[alwaysadog]

Ive heard rocket say stack will be the best out of his draft, from what we've seen of hill, i cant wait to see what stacky can give us.

Black Magic??

[GVGjr]

Black Magic??

I bit of Magic McLean wouldn't go astray ;)

Stack has plenty of ability and once he develops that defensive edge he will be a handy midfielder for us.

[The Underdog]

I bit of Magic McLean wouldn't go astray ;)

The only good thing about the Stephen Koops debacle was seeing No 51 on the field.

[alwaysadog]

I bit of Magic McLean wouldn't go astray ;)

Stack has plenty of ability and once he develops that defensive edge he will be a handy midfielder for us.

Ah, Magic... now he could play. I remember the first time I saw him play, after hearing about how pleased we were to get him down from Nightcliffe. It was late in the season at the WO against the Swans, he was very young. Might even have been his first game.

Instantly noticed three things, he was taking finger tip marks in packs, ran like the wind too and had a good hoof on him.

[Dry Rot]

Is it just me, or does anyone else wish they were reading the names of some tall forwards on this thread?

[GVGjr]

All in all the draftees from the last couple of seasons are coming along nicely. I'd still prefer to see another one or two key position players but we have who we have and at the moment the most of the next batch are making progress.
Thoughts ?


Not bad BB, add Higgins and Addison to the mix as well and we do have a lot of good young'uns coming through. I agree that an extra quality key position player would balance the list better


Is it just me, or does anyone else wish they were reading the names of some tall forwards on this thread?

At least three of us are.

[Dry Rot]

At least three of us are.

OOps. Must read morning threads when I'm fully awake. :)

[Go_Dogs]

I bit of Magic McLean wouldn't go astray ;)

Stack has plenty of ability and once he develops that defensive edge he will be a handy midfielder for us.

Is the midfield where you invision him playing his best football? I'd assumed that his best position would be around the ball too, however I remember reading in an interview with one of the coaching staff this year that suggested Stack was more likely to play as a small marking forward. FWIW, I could see him doing the Shaun Burgoyne thing and playing as a small forward/defender and eventually taking a place in the midfield.


Good thread Billy. We certainly have drafted pretty well over the last few years, and it seems like we have a lot of good options who'll hopefully develop into quality players over the next 5 or so years. I cannot remember the list ever looking as potentially good as it does right now.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Its early days but of the 2007 recruits OKeefe has been super impressive early, Ward pretty impressive and Grant doing enough to earn senior selection. Reid was pretty promising in his first VFL game this weekend and he certainly seems to have enough upside athletically to make a career.

Mulligan is a likely looking physical specimen but raw. Shaw seems a good competitor but its hard to know if athletically he will be up to AFL level. White looks raw physically and I haven't seen him play, nor Boumann.

[alwaysadog]

I remember reading in an interview with one of the coaching staff this year that suggested Stack was more likely to play as a small marking forward.

If you ask Brennan that's how he sees himself. He says marking and tackling are his biggest strengths. I suspect we are giving him a full football education and making him play out of his comfort zone.

[bornadog]

Its early days but of the 2007 recruits OKeefe has been super impressive early, .

I thought OKeefe was the most impressive of the bulldog listed players playing on Saturday. He really showed something going in and getting the ball and kicked a couple of handy goals.

[Bulldog Revolution]

I thought OKeefe was the most impressive of the bulldog listed players playing on Saturday. He really showed something going in and getting the ball and kicked a couple of handy goals.

He has been very good, is bigger than I thought he was, has a very neat left foot and is a creative user of the footy (a la Giansiracusa), and puts his head over the ball when required

[Mantis]

He has been very good, is bigger than I thought he was, has a very neat left foot and is a creative user of the footy (a la Giansiracusa), and puts his head over the ball when required

In thoughts or execution? Giansiracusa looks to be creative, but his number of kicks that don't hit the target, especially when under no pressure is growing by the week. To me O'Keefe reminds me of Nathan Brown, some sort of creativity.

[Bulldog Revolution]

In thoughts or execution? Giansiracusa looks to be creative, but his number of kicks that don't hit the target, especially when under no pressure is growing by the week. To me O'Keefe reminds me of Nathan Brown, some sort of creativity.

I was thinking in terms of goal assists/set ups after getting posies across half forward. When Gia gets it across half forward he is generally clever at where he kicks it to, and to our players advantage.

Haven't seen Fridays game yet so I cant comment on Gias hitting of targets but I would have thought generally his field kicking was pretty good.