NCP Feature - Cannibal Analyses CFC's Draft 2004 Strategy

Joel · Joined: 23 Mar 1999 Location: Mornington Peninsula

Cannibal has been nice enough to write an analysis of the CFC Draft Strategy.

He felt it was a little to long as a normal post, so it has been uploaded on to Nick's Collingwood Page as a feature article.

http://nick.magpies.net/article/artcle.php?subaction=showfull&id=1091281809

Here is a little exerpt:

labrooy · Joined: 18 Sep 2003 Location: Toowoomba, Qld

An interesting article. I think you'll find that the reason we didn't pursue Brown too strongly was the belief that Nick Stevens was in the bag and we couldn't afford both players. I think this year has shown all and sundry that Brown was probably the better option all along.

Joel · Joined: 23 Mar 1999 Location: Mornington Peninsula

I think you could be right labrooy.

Mick's My Favourite · Joined: 25 Apr 2004

we should definately keep our first draft choice this year. Nuture a player along just like Bo Nixon.

Harvey · Joined: 15 Oct 2003

Great artical cannibal. however i have to disagree with you about presti/wakelin. presti is 193cm has good pace and does the job everyweek it would be foolhardy to delist him as none of our younger players eg. walker or crow can step into his shoes right now. the same is with wakelin, he provides very good experience down back and it would be much better to give him one more season while walker learns the game. also i would consider packaging obree and our second round pick for a good quality player as it would be a waste to let obree go for nothing. and from what i heard this yrs draft doesn't look very promising

Warbler · Joined: 12 Mar 2003 Location: Tyaak Vic

Almost completely agree - except for Presti/Wakelin . Presti is MR RELIABLE and Wakelin is still playing great footy with only his age against him - if it aint broke don't fix it .
Youth is certainly the way to go .

Johnson#26 · Joined: 18 Dec 2003

Well odne Cannibal. Very well written. You make some interesting points, I think if we get rid of McKee we will find ourselves in hot water. If we are ravaged by injury again next season, what do we fall back on? If what happened this year occured next year without McKee we'd have Fraser and Crow. Thats why we need to feed Crow with a heap of experiance now so we are prepared for next season.

ramjet21 · Joined: 31 Mar 2002 Location: perth

interesting article (nicely done cannibal) - as some others have said, not convinced delisting/trading wakelin or presti is the right move however our backline is of some concern. wakelin has (i think) a contract to run to the end of 2005, by which time he will be 31 and likely to retire. presti and clement will then be closing in on 30 and the remaining current backline young and talented but small. watching j.cloke struggle with the height and strength of richo on the w/end was worrying when thinking forward 2-4 years. agree we will have to throw a couple of excellent regulars to get a player of the ilk of judd but it could be worth it. when judd comes out of contract for season 2006, he will still only be 22. hard to believe we could offer a package west coast would accept however we do have a number of WA boys on our list which could prove handy in any deal. re this year's draft - we will likely finish 10th - 12th, which would normally mean our first pick, at the earliest, would be 5th. however this year hawthorn, richmond and bulldogs will all likely receive a priority pick meaning the first 6 picks are snapped up already. therefore, if we finish 10th, our first pick would be at 10, which to my mind is disappointing. no one wants to have a season like we've had but the 'reward' is usually a top 5 choice. still, while im not in agreement with the experts, if we're to believe the prospective draft, t.cloke would have gone top 10 so we will snag two top 10 draftees to take into 2005 and beyond.

Cannibal · Joined: 10 May 2004 Location: Buninyong

ramjet, thanks for making the comment on Jason Cloke's height; that is exactly what I am concerned about.

What we need is first of all, Walker to shift back into the backline where he has been playing all year at Willi, then secondly, Justin Crow to step up and get some game time in the seniors. The reason is that we are playing medium/tall guys - Cloke, Presti & Wakes - on the opposition's really tall guys, so we always seem to be struggling to contain them, just as you pointed out with Cloke vs Richo. Once we have these two truly tall defenders established in the seniors, then we will be a much better side for it.

However, the delisting issue probably won't now come to pass this year. Since Walker is pinch-hitting on the forward line and Crow is yet to play a game, we will need both Presti and Wakes for next year. In fairness, I must point out that I suggested considering the delisting ONLY if both Tex and Crow stepped up, but that hasn't happened. Yet.

Personally, I think it is only a matter of time before they do step up. By the end of next season, we will have an awful lot of depth in the backline and the delisting issue will have to be tackled then.

droche 2004 · Buckley My Pussy (cat) Joined: 23 Feb 2004 Location: Melb

I just read it today, Give this man a job, Good effort.

You put a great deal of though into this. Should print it off and send it to Mick.

He did say that for him to read something, make sure you put your name on it or he wont bother.

Good work alot of thought.

Johnson#26 · Joined: 18 Dec 2003

I still believe we should keep McKee. He may seem useless at times but he could get very handy if things get tight. But would he want to stay as a 4th stringer?

droche 2004 · Buckley My Pussy (cat) Joined: 23 Feb 2004 Location: Melb

only if he costs us not much at all and can help the kids, then i agree.

Thats if he wants to be 4th in line.

Joel · Joined: 23 Mar 1999 Location: Mornington Peninsula

Yeah, Cannibal put in a fair effort for this one. Thanks gain Cannibal.

If ya want a voluntary unpaid job writing analytical articles of this type of Nick's Collingwood Page, give me a yell.

Johnson#26 · Joined: 18 Dec 2003

Do people consider Tex Walker as much of a ruckman? If he can prove himself there, he may topple McKee.

MagpieMad · Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2004 11:12 am

Good stuff cannibal m8, only just had the time to read it.
"My firm conclusion is that we should not deviate from our long-term strategy of drafting kids to continue improving our list, and therefore future Premiership prospects."

youth is the long term answer, not just for flags but for long term club strength, with the right recruiting policies, and I'd point out that MM likes to have a full list of rookies, unlike a lot of clubs who don't to save a buck, you have a greater chance of unearthing the "Judd's" and "hirds" of the competition, whilst they are good players and valuable on the football field, it's their trade value that puts their clubs in a position of power, look at the constant interest in what Judd is going to do and you can imagine the offers they WCE have had laid in front of them.
If you have a look at Ben Johnson, 2 years ago he was considered a de-listing prospect by allot of people on this board, only to have taken the right steps and now I'd dare say his worth to the club trade wise would be considerable.

J26, I can't see him as a ruckman, he has a great leap and a huge frame, but I just don't think of him as ruck. I would like to see him played at CHF more, if he had some crumbers around him against bitchmond we could have buried them, he hits the packs hard, has a great handball and would be a handful for a defender, when he grows up. It would also free up Anthony to ruck a bit more.
I reckon we keep him.

thnx and well done Cannibal.