Did we get draft selections we didn't deserve?

[Dry Rot]

First up, I'd better clarify the thread title.

IIRC the philosophy of the draft is to equalise the competition, giving all teams a chance. Ideally if a team turns to crap, it dwells at the bottom for a couple of years, gets great picks and then climbs again.

Obviously there are exceptions to this - fans of the Crows, North and Swans would claim they haven't benefited, and hopeless clubs like Freo and Saints have got too many good picks. The Eagles seem to sometimes sharply bottom out, pick up Judd and then climb sharply again.

Then there's us, bottoming out in 2003 and 2004 and getting great picks, and then climbing ever since under Eade. Our form line pretty well has been steady improvement since 2004.

Last year was an exception when the wheels fell off, and we arguably snared the best tall forward in Grant and (if the hype is correct) an equivalent top ten pick in Ward. And this year we got a top 5 pick in Cordy when we finished third.

So I think we have done surprisingly well over the last two drafts considering our form line since 2003 and that we kinda did get draft selections we didn't deserve, and so we're better set-up in the mid-term than we should be.

Which is a bloody good thing! :D And perhaps not totally appreciated by fans of other teams.

PS IMO I think the Eagles likewise were a better team than their 2008 finish, got better draft picks than they deserved and will be a scary team soon.

[Sockeye Salmon]

First up, I'd better clarify the thread title.

IIRC the philosophy of the draft is to equalise the competition, giving all teams a chance. Ideally if a team turns to crap, it dwells at the bottom for a couple of years, gets great picks and then climbs again.

Obviously there are exceptions to this - fans of the Crows, North and Swans would claim they haven't benefited, and hopeless clubs like Freo and Saints have got too many good picks. The Eagles seem to sometimes sharply bottom out, pick up Judd and then climb sharply again.

Then there's us, bottoming out in 2003 and 2004 and getting great picks, and then climbing ever since under Eade. Our form line pretty well has been steady improvement since 2004.

Last year was an exception when the wheels fell off, and we arguably snared the best tall forward in Grant and (if the hype is correct) an equivalent top ten pick in Ward. And this year we got a top 5 pick in Cordy when we finished third.

So I think we have done surprisingly well over the last two drafts considering our form line since 2003 and that we kinda did get draft selections we didn't deserve, and so we're better set-up in the mid-term than we should be.

Which is a bloody good thing! :D And perhaps not totally appreciated by fans of other teams.

PS IMO I think the Eagles likewise were a better team than their 2008 finish, got better draft picks than they deserved and will be a scary team soon.

Lets say we finished 12th instead of Essendon and had picks 5, 23 & 39. Then we traded Ray & pick 39 to St. Kilda for pick 31.

Ian Collins sneaks into AFL house and adjusts the records to show Brian Cordy only played 99 games.

We take Cordy with pick 5, Roughead with pick 23 and Jones with pick 31 - and our supporters are rapt that we did so well. "So you should have with all those early picks" the other's cry!

[Mantis]

Lets say we finished 12th instead of Essendon and had picks 5, 23 & 39. Then we traded Ray & pick 39 to St. Kilda for pick 31.

Ian Collins sneaks into AFL house and adjusts the records to show Brian Cordy only played 99 games.

We take Cordy with pick 5, Roughead with pick 23 and Jones with pick 31 - and our supporters are rapt that we did so well. "So you should have with all those early picks" the other's cry!

He wouldn't have lasted that long.

[Dry Rot]

Ian Collins sneaks into AFL house and adjusts the records to show Brian Cordy only played 99 games.



:D :D

[GVGjr]

He wouldn't have lasted that long.

How so?
I'm told Port wern't that interested in him and the top 3 picks look settled. Freo likely to pull a surprise?

[westdog54]

Obviously there are exceptions to this - fans of the Crows, North and Swans would claim they haven't benefited, and hopeless clubs like Freo and Saints have got too many good picks. The Eagles seem to sometimes sharply bottom out, pick up Judd and then climb sharply again.
Where clubs don't benefit from the draft, it falls to two words. Poor recruiting. Simple. If a club has a good recruiter they benefit from the draft.


Then there's us, bottoming out in 2003 and 2004 and getting great picks, and then climbing ever since under Eade. Our form line pretty well has been steady improvement since 2004.
We didn't bottom out. We were crap. We didn't have a strong list and we had a god-awful coach.


Last year was an exception when the wheels fell off, and we arguably snared the best tall forward in Grant and (if the hype is correct) an equivalent top ten pick in Ward. And this year we got a top 5 pick in Cordy when we finished third.
Two years ago we would have taken Cordy even cheaper than we got him, so we're worse off in that regard. Chances are Grant may have lasted after pick 5, there didn't seem to be an awful lot of attention on him and there were concerns over his attitude (just like there were concerns over Everitt's attitude.:rolleyes: Ward we ot because we traded smartly and upgraded picks. That was Richmond's fault and our gain.

So I think we have done surprisingly well over the last two drafts considering our form line since 2003 and that we kinda did get draft selections we didn't deserve, and so we're better set-up in the mid-term than we should be.

Which is a bloody good thing! :D And perhaps not totally appreciated by fans of other teams.
We are where we are because of smart recruiting and trading. I think that to suggest we have draft selections we 'didn't deserve' is drawing a very long bow.

PS IMO I think the Eagles likewise were a better team than their 2008 finish, got better draft picks than they deserved and will be a scary team soon.

Again, last year they traded smartly in the lead-up to the draft. This year they were crap. They finished in accordance with where they played and to be frank I'm not all that convinced by Masten. Naitinui will be a good player, no mistake, but it will be interesting to see whether Worsfold can coach a team not handed to him on a silver platter, like the one he inherited.

[Bulldog Revolution]

How so?
I'm told Port wern't that interested in him and the top 3 picks look settled. Freo likely to pull a surprise?

Absolutely - he was always going to be a risky selection in the top ten because he hasn't played much the past two years

He's a great prospect in that he's big and quick, but it's unlikely to me he would have been selected in the top 8

[The Doctor]

I think it's a joke West Coast received a concessional pick this so soon after winning the premiership. Particularly as they contributed greatly to their own downfall.

They simply didn't deserve it.

[LostDoggy]

I think it's a joke West Coast received a concessional pick this so soon after winning the premiership. Particularly as they contributed greatly to their own downfall.

They simply didn't deserve it.

Agree.

Although there cant be rules for some and rules for others. Melbourne played finals two years ago.

The priority pick just simply has so come under review to stop teams such as WC 'tanking'.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Absolutely - he was always going to be a risky selection in the top ten because he hasn't played much the past two years

He's a great prospect in that he's big and quick, but it's unlikely to me he would have been selected in the top 8

Allan McConnell - head coach at the AIS - said in his opinion, Cordy was the clear no. 1

[mighty_west]

Allan McConnell - head coach at the AIS - said in his opinion, Cordy was the clear no. 1

I heard him say that as well, although, perhaps Allan's a touched biased??? afterall he did play along side Brian in his short stint at Whitten Oval! :p

Ricky Nixon rated Ayce a top 3-4, he could also be biased as well as he manages young Cords [poor kid], on the flipside Robert Shaw was asked would he have gone top ten, his answer was NO.

[LostDoggy]

Saw a picture of the WCE new recruits today and they are all big strong lads with pace. Going down the Hawthorn path. Something we need on our list i believe.

[Twodogs]

We are where we are because of smart recruiting and trading. I think that to suggest we have draft selections we 'didn't deserve' is drawing a very long bow.






I think that was DRs point.



He's saying that we got ourselves aheard of the game.

[GVGjr]

Saw a picture of the WCE new recruits today and they are all big strong lads with pace. Going down the Hawthorn path. Something we need on our list i believe.

There is a lot of merit in that. The Eagles drafted well the previous season as well adding a number of strong bodied types and have backed it up again this year. Getting Ash Smith at 36 was the icing on the cake for them I would have thought.
I'm very surprised we didn't take him even though we probably needed the talls.

[azabob]

Saw a picture of the WCE new recruits today and they are all big strong lads with pace. Going down the Hawthorn path. Something we need on our list i believe.

I wouldn't exactly say they are going down the Hawthorn path, West Coast have never drafted skinny players except one, Dean Kemp and he was tougher than nails!!! If one team knows how to win flags it is West Coast.

[Mantis]

There is a lot of merit in that. The Eagles drafted well the previous season as well adding a number of strong bodied types and have backed it up again this year. Getting Ash Smith at 36 was the icing on the cake for them I would have thought.
I'm very surprised we didn't take him even though we probably needed the talls.

For us what was more important, getting another running player or a 195cm athletic tall who can play at either end?

Pretty easy choice I would have thought.

[GVGjr]

For us what was more important, getting another running player or a 195cm athletic tall who can play at either end?

Pretty easy choice I would have thought.

Disagree, he's a terrific player and I would have given his selection some serious consideration.

[Sockeye Salmon]

I heard him say that as well, although, perhaps Allan's a touched biased??? afterall he did play along side Brian in his short stint at Whitten Oval! :p


I thought it was a different Allan McConnell. Didn't this guy play with Carlton?

[Happy Days]

Although you could look at getting Cordy as a steal at 14 and then point to us coming out looking like world beaters, the fact is that only one club, St Kilda, who had the pick immediately before ours, saw Cordy as worth going after in the top 13 picks. Say the Saints had a change of heart, then we could have selected him in a live draft.

What shines through is that even though we did do quite well, the strength of the draft was such that we were always going to come out with three players of great quality.

[The Coon Dog]

Although you could look at getting Cordy as a steal at 14 and then point to us coming out looking like world beaters, the fact is that only one club, St Kilda, who had the pick immediately before ours, saw Cordy as worth going after in the top 13 picks.

A number clubs saw value in Ayce Cordy. Matt Rendell from Adelaide confirmed that Adelaide, North Melbourne & St. Kilda met beforehand to determine how they were going to approach it & they decided to let St. Kilda nominate.

[ledge]

A number clubs saw value in Ayce Cordy. Matt Rendell from Adelaide confirmed that Adelaide, North Melbourne & St. Kilda met beforehand to determine how they were going to approach it & they decided to let St. Kilda nominate.

That confirms he was at least the number 10 pick.

[Happy Days]

That confirms he was at least the number 10 pick.

Good point, but that hardly makes him the top 5 pick that some other posters have touted him as.

[westdog54]

Good point, but that hardly makes him the top 5 pick that some other posters have touted him as.

Other posters, recruiters, AIS Head Coaches, AFL Talent Managers, nope, surely they can't all be right can they?

[Desipura]

I don't give a flying *#%$ what Cordy was rated in the draft. Its how good he will become that I am interested in!

[The Doctor]

I don't give a flying *#%$ what Cordy was rated in the draft. Its how good he will become that I am interested in!

Some sense at last.

[strebla]

I think Cordy will be under immense pressure maybe we should all take a deep breath and realise he is at this point only a skinny kid with immense upside

[Mofra]

I think Cordy will be under immense pressure maybe we should all take a deep breath and realise he is at this point only a skinny kid with immense upside
I don't think he'd be under as much as we'd expect - he's a project player who shouldn't be expected to debut for years, and internally he'd be on a program that should determine when he starts to near being ready for senior football. I doubt supporter expectation would be the main driver of pressure within the club.