Thinking ahead to 2024 draft...(and beyond)

[neil]

Another thought / observation about using our hoped for pick 12 on a forward. Charlie Curnow was drafted pick 12 in 2015. It then took him 6 years to reach the next level. Would we be as patient as a supporter base should we go for H.Armstrong (or similar)?

Max King at St Kilda played senior football in his first year
Travis Cloak played in his first year
Darcy Moore drafted 2014 debuted round 14 2015

Not everyone takes as long as Curnow
Yes the first year is not the best but who would you rather Armstrong or Frampton as a KPF?

[SLORT]

^Frampton! Oh wait, was that a trick question?

[Culprit]

McCrae coming out and saying he wants 'players not draft picks" is talking the talk.

[RudeBoy]

There's no hard and fast one best way to build a squad. However, I can see McCrae's point. Drafting any 18 yr old is always a gamble. We lost those gambles when we used prized early draft picks selecting Scharenberg, Freeman, Stephenson and Henry. There were very good reasons to select each of these, but the fact is NONE of them gave us any return for our significant investment of valuable first round draft picks. By comparison, bringing in ready-made players, is far less risky, though obviously very difficult to obtain absolute champion players. Nevertheless, at the end of 2022 we welcomed in 4 ready-made players (Hill, McStay, Frampton and Mitchell) who went on to play significant roles in us winning the 2023 flag.

My view, and I expect it is shared by our recruiters, is that it's all about balance. The devil is always in the detail. I certainly expect us to use draft picks to secure Tom McGuane next season, as well as a couple of youngsters in the 2024 draft. However, our immediate improvement next season will be significantly enhanced by the trading/buying in of 2-3 established players, the first of whom seems to be Perryman.

[lazzadesilva]

^Frampton! Oh wait, was that a trick question?

At this stage only Frampton has played AFL level football, so him

[Pies2016]

Seems like the Suns # 12 is the hottest ticket in town. They have declared it’s up for grabs on the back of it being burned by any Lombard bid.
Originally I thought we may be a chance to secure it as part of Noble trade but the interest from numerous clubs is very real, so I’m expecting others will offer better than Noble and any later pick.
Reckon our return for Noble will now either involve Suns #20, or Crows #25 ( Lukosuis trade ) or Suns #26.
What we then do with that pick will occupy the biggest decision the club makes during this draft / trade period. ( I’m excluding our F1 in this exercise )
The other hot ticket in the draft is always the opening pick on the second night of the draft.
Currently sits at #21 held by the Tigers. Wouldn’t think it’s of much interest to us but given the quality of the draft, I do expect the Tigers to be offered plenty to trade it out. Gotta love the game within the game.