With so much debate over who we should take with our first two picks, I thought it’d be a good idea to get the overall feelings of the sub. I’ll include Drever although I think he’s destined for Essendon.

These will be the most likely scenarios, it’ll be up to you how risk averse you want to be (do you trust HvH to slide to 5). Go with your heart/dream selection.

How do you all think of Ryan and how he’ll do at north?

A bit shocked to see this and don’t recall receiving an email from RFC alerting me to this increase. Have I missed something, why the huge increase ($205 to $300)? FYI, this tier of membership is only digital access and, of course, supporting the club 💪
Thanks!

I know this goes against general consensus, as getting pick 6 means we can punt on HvH with our first pick and still get a mid/fwd type in Tex at our second.

But I think passing on Arki will be a horrible mistake. He's the exact player everyone wants at their club. Plays with a bit of mongrel and fire in the belly. The type of teammate you want to be lining up next to because he can be a real fire starter.

He has by far and away has the best skills in this class, something we are desperately lacking.

His kicking, vision, read of the ball and strong overhead marking are all elite, whilst also having pace to burn.

His biggest question marks are around his consistency and tank. Tank can be easily solved with a few pre seasons and I believe consistency will come with time.

A lot of people compare him with Toby Greene (and rightly so), but I also some Izak Rankine traits in him. When he attends centre bounces, he has a great knack of finding the footy, and making the right decision with ball in hand.

The dream scenario is to take Arki 1, and hope Dees are more keen on Harris or Tex with their pick so HvH slips through to us.

Even if HvH doesn't slide through, I'd be more than happy to double up on a similar player in Tex. Can you imagine how much more exciting our fwd line would be with both in?

Let me know what you think.

Anyone have any idea who Richmond may be keen on in the 20 - 25 pick range?

This is an excellent summary (with footage) of all the contenders for our picks 2 and 5, albeit from the perspective of an Essendon supporter. I’m sure a lot of you would be up to speed, but it’s great having the footage all in one place.

A lot of different combinations possible. It’s hard to see us screwing up whichever way we go, though personally I’d love HVH and Butler.

Peak off season posting.

What's everyone's predictions for amount of wins and ladder placement?

I reckon we'll crack 5-6 wins and probably come 17th. I think Essendon grab the wooden spoon with both hands.

Nathan Broad has been hired by Freo as their backline development coach. Happy for the fella.

Before anyone says "never take a ruck top 5", hear me out.

1. Nank's time is almost up

Toby has been a warrior for this club: three flags, captain, played through everything. But he's 32, he's been battling injury, and his contract runs out. Briggs is a genuinely good pickup and will carry the load for now, but he's not a long-term No.1 ruck for a list this young. If we don't lock in Nank's real successor now, we'll spend the next few years patching it up with trades and mature-agers.

1. Do NOT let Melbourne have him

The Dees pick at 4, just two picks after us. Gawn won't last forever, and they'd love to hand the keys straight to a 205cm freak like they tried with Jackson. If we get cute at 2, there's a real chance he's wearing red and blue and winning 50 hitouts against us at the 'G for the next 12 years.

1. Jackson-type upside

He isn't just tall. He's a freak athlete who can move like a mid. That's Luke Jackson territory: a ruck who goes back with the ball, wins it at ground level and becomes a fourth midfielder. Put that in front of the young mids we've been stockpiling and suddenly our midfield isn't "promising", it's dangerous.

He's also not a one-position player. With his size and tank, he can pinch-hit forward as a marking target or drift back and take intercept marks the way Gawn does. Pair him with Briggs and we can rotate through the ruck while HVH does damage at either end.

1. Look at who's actually winning

Gawn, Jackson, Grundy. Every one of their teams played finals this year. Freo with Jackson finished minor premiers and came within 7 points of a flag. Sydney with Grundy made a prelim. Coincidence? Maybe partly. But elite rucks tilt the stoppage battle every single week, and that's where our young mids will win or lose games.

Yes, Brisbane won it without a superstar ruck, and Melbourne went out in the wildcard round. A ruck doesn't win you a flag on his own. But when the best player available is also a 205cm athlete in a position of need, you don't overthink it.

TL;DR: Nank is leaving, Melbourne are lurking at 4, and HVH could be our Jackson, able to ruck, go forward or drop back. Take him at 2.

If we take 3 Picks at the Draft, then we will not be able to re-sign any of the remaining out-of-contract players, with only having 1 Cat. A rookie spot available.

We currently have Picks #2 and #5 for the Draft, with academy compensation expected to grant us Pick #22 also (However we are expected to absorb #44 for the promoting of Lefau).

Out-of-Contract players: H. Ralphsmith, J. Clarke, S. Green, O. Hayes Brown (If re-signed, needs to be promoted to Senior list). Additionally T. Burton (who should be able to re-sign as a Cat. A rookie).

Outs: N. Broad, D. Prestia, K. Smith, L. Fawcett, T. Sonsie, S. Ryan, J. Trezise (Rookie list).
In: K. Briggs, N. O'Driscoll, M. Lefau (Promoted from Rookie list)

EDIT: My mistake on the count, we have room to re-sign 3 players along with 3 draft picks)