PRESTIA on our radar!

[Spinner]

Have watched him closely this year and would definitely swap our first pick for Prestia he is a jet.
We offered our first pick for Caddy last year remember and Prestia is miles better.
This would be a great trade for us and exactly what we need.

Our first round was 12 last year and more likely to be 6 this year. Thats a huge difference.

Exactly.

I think I would hold 6.

[mightysainters]

i concur with the above sentiments.. pick 6 is usually absolute quality..

Prestia is a good player but we need to hold onto our early pick because he could be a superstar if we recruit well..

[Old Mate]

Would have to look at the draft closer to draft day. Prestia is a very good young player averaging 22 touches a game and has outperformed most in the same draft. He would rank just behind heppel, darlind, bennel and maybe gaff....just ahead of swallow imo. One could say he is top 5 from his draft. i'm leaning towards giving pick 6 but like i said wait until closer to draft day to be certain.

[MC Gusto]

Fu$k yea. Don't know diddly about him but sounds perfect!

[Richter]

Would have to look at the draft closer to draft day. Prestia is a very good young player averaging 22 touches a game and has outperformed most in the same draft. He would rank just behind heppel, darlind, bennel and maybe gaff....just ahead of swallow imo. One could say he is top 5 from his draft. i'm leaning towards giving pick 6 but like i said wait until closer to draft day to be certain.

Exactly!

People saying we need to hold on to #6 because we might get a superstar... Prestia is a bloke who could actually be on the way to at least being elite and certainly will at minimum be a 150 game player. On the other hand there is a chance we could get a dud with #6 or someone who is injury-riddled and never gets off the ground - Prestia does not appear to fit either of these categories.

If we could do a deal that nets us something back the other way from GC then so much the better.... of course it will depend on what competition there is to get him and how much we value him. I'd suggest, given our excess of OLDER mids that we would value him very highly.

[plugger66]

Would have to look at the draft closer to draft day. Prestia is a very good young player averaging 22 touches a game and has outperformed most in the same draft. He would rank just behind heppel, darlind, bennel and maybe gaff....just ahead of swallow imo. One could say he is top 5 from his draft. i'm leaning towards giving pick 6 but like i said wait until closer to draft day to be certain.

Exactly!

People saying we need to hold on to #6 because we might get a superstar... Prestia is a bloke who could actually be on the way to at least being elite and certainly will at minimum be a 150 game player. On the other hand there is a chance we could get a dud with #6 or someone who is injury-riddled and never gets off the ground - Prestia does not appear to fit either of these categories.

If we could do a deal that nets us something back the other way from GC then so much the better.... of course it will depend on what competition there is to get him and how much we value him. I'd suggest, given our excess of OLDER mids that we would value him very highly.

I would be very disappointed if we used pick 6 on him. He isnt a tall mid like most are now. He is good player and maybe very good but he isnt going to go forward and take a grab like taller mids can. Pick 6 could get you a dud but it could get you Joel Selwood and i think we will need at least a couple of Joel Selwoods for us to really rise up the ladder in the next 5 years.

[Dis Believer]

Would have to look at the draft closer to draft day. Prestia is a very good young player averaging 22 touches a game and has outperformed most in the same draft. He would rank just behind heppel, darlind, bennel and maybe gaff....just ahead of swallow imo. One could say he is top 5 from his draft. i'm leaning towards giving pick 6 but like i said wait until closer to draft day to be certain.

Exactly!

People saying we need to hold on to #6 because we might get a superstar... Prestia is a bloke who could actually be on the way to at least being elite and certainly will at minimum be a 150 game player. On the other hand there is a chance we could get a dud with #6 or someone who is injury-riddled and never gets off the ground - Prestia does not appear to fit either of these categories.

If we could do a deal that nets us something back the other way from GC then so much the better.... of course it will depend on what competition there is to get him and how much we value him. I'd suggest, given our excess of OLDER mids that we would value him very highly.

The other huge advantage is that Prestia is ready to go NOW! Almost all kids, irrlelevant of how high they are taken, normally take a couple of years to get up to AFL level. Yo would have to weigh it up closer to draft time when you are surer of your pick number and the potential draft order, but to me that would be a win-win trade.

[defacto]

prestia is a perfect get for us. the moons might just be aligning for us on this one. the other clubs linked to him are melbourne and the doggies. his family is heavily linked to melbourne and from memory he is a dees fan.

the doggies wont give up anything significant for prestia as they already have a number of in and under mids in his mold and they are desperate for some talls. melbourne are in terrible shape and it'd be almost career suicide to go there.

the question is what do we have to give up for him? gold coast would want our first rounder at a minimum, however we might be able to throw them some senior talent with a number of years left in their career to sweeten the deal and get away without having to part with our first rounder.

gilbert and our 2nd rounder, might just be enough to get the deal done

the other option might be dal or fisher going to another victoria club for a first rounder and then sending that first rounder to gold coast, although i think dal will be a needed player the next couple of seasons

[lloyd21]

Look hope we get him but to keep suggesting Gilbert is a bit of a stretch just signed for 3 years.

More likely think given their salary cap space they have this year coming they will chase hard.

No Kosi No Blake No Hayes No Milne with saving accrued from Goddard & Gram , combined with Riewoldt lower $

will allow them to target thru $ better contracts to uncontracted players eg Luke ball

The draft is full of quality mids from South Aust. & Geelong Falcons

Prestia vs Scharenburg ( the next Luke Hodge) know what we saints would be doing.

[Old Mate]

i agree pick 6 'could' net us a quality player however i think some are missing the point. prestia is a very good chance of being that quality player and he has a few years of development under his belt. pick 6 sounds a lot but it's only a pick and doesn't guarantee a quality player, i reckon presitia does. preferably we get prestia and keep pick 6 but that'll be difficult. gc will want to hang on to him and play hard ball. perhaps theres a few picks swapped eg. prestia + gc 2nd rounder for pick 6 + 3rd rounder. 2nd rounder from gc would be an early 20's selection.

[jimmy_slats]

we do not want pick 6!!!! that is the cursed pick if most of you guys dont remember :

in 25 years only one player taken at pick six (let's remember that is a very high pick) has played more than 100 games.

Try these names on for size - Ray Sterrett (Geelong, 1988) 20 games, Paul Burton (Sydney, 1997) 0 games, Robert McMahon (Fitzroy 1994) 2 games, John Rombotis (Fitzroy, 1996) 48 games, Murray Vance (Carlton 1998) 5 games, Damian Cupido (Brisbane, 1999) 53 games, Beau Dowler (Hawthorn, 2005) 16 games, Mitch Thorp (Hawthorn, 2006) 2 games.

In recent years the Bulldogs (Tom Williams), Sydney (Gary Rohan) and Richmond (Reece Conca) may have broken the curse, but it's still too early to say.

[Spinner]

Would have to look at the draft closer to draft day. Prestia is a very good young player averaging 22 touches a game and has outperformed most in the same draft. He would rank just behind heppel, darlind, bennel and maybe gaff....just ahead of swallow imo. One could say he is top 5 from his draft. i'm leaning towards giving pick 6 but like i said wait until closer to draft day to be certain.

Exactly!

People saying we need to hold on to #6 because we might get a superstar... Prestia is a bloke who could actually be on the way to at least being elite and certainly will at minimum be a 150 game player. On the other hand there is a chance we could get a dud with #6 or someone who is injury-riddled and never gets off the ground - Prestia does not appear to fit either of these categories.

If we could do a deal that nets us something back the other way from GC then so much the better.... of course it will depend on what competition there is to get him and how much we value him. I'd suggest, given our excess of OLDER mids that we would value him very highly.

The other huge advantage is that Prestia is ready to go NOW! Almost all kids, irrlelevant of how high they are taken, normally take a couple of years to get up to AFL level. Yo would have to weigh it up closer to draft time when you are surer of your pick number and the potential draft order, but to me that would be a win-win trade.

Ready to go now? Well that may be the difference between finishing 15th and 12th next year.

We don't need them to be ready now. They can take 3-5 years like everyone else on the list.

[70s sainter]

I don't know much about him but he will be 22 next year? which is the perfect age . 26-27 in five years time is the type of player / body / experience we need at the club.

[saintsRrising]

Nice Headline....but there is not actually anything in that article, apart fro pure speculation, to suggest that we are in fact linked to him.

[cannavaro17]

Im of the view that a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush... so if prestia is a player take him..even...pick 2 sometimes means gumbleton etc. In pelchen we trust!

[St Ick]

Perhaps we'll give them our first rounder (say #6) for Prestia and their second rounder (#25) - would something like that get it done?

It probably would but i hope we dont give a first rounder for him. he is good player but i would hope you may eventually get better with pick 6.

Agree any pick inside top 10 should be off the table. I'd entertain Prestia for Gilbert, even though Gilbert has really impressed me this year.

I'd look at Polec too, is that him for lions? Wouldn't give anything earlier than a second rounder though at best.

[PurpleHayes]

As a newly drafted midfielder, 3 seasons is about what it takes to see if they will succeed at afl level.

Looking at the 2010 draft, the first 6 picks haven't set the world on fire. The first 9 picks have all played afl, some having played more games than others and some standing out more:

1 Swallow
2 Bennell
3 Day
4 Gaff
5 Polec
6 Conca
7 Caddy
8 Heppell
9 Prestia

I don't see any Judds selwoods or hodges in here?

Do we think any of the above are going to be genuine stars? Heppell looks very good. Bennell shows glimpses of brilliance. Day and Polec are struggling. Swallow won the rising star, but has flat-lined since.

Having high draft picks is great, but don't be hoping that the player we draft is going to be our saviour, another Joel Selwood etc..

We may be better off trading pick 6 for some certainty around the player we are getting. Don't forget we will still have pick 24 and pick 42 to use on draft day. We may even receive a pick with the Prestia deal.

Lets be honest, if we drafted jarred Polec with pick 5 in 2010, this forum would have exploded by now blaming Ross Lyon, our recruiting staff etc.. "We could have had Heppell or Caddy but instead we got this dud Polec".

I think we may be better of using pick 6 with some certainty and then taking a punt with our 2nd and 3rd rounders on players with massive upside. Al la 2010 draft - jack darling (pick 26) Jeremy Howe (pick 33) Luke Parker (pick 40) even Siposs (pick 75). If we were like Melbourne or gold coast and had a plethora of top draft picks then I could understand rolling the dice and going all out with trying to draft the best available talent, out of 2-3 top 10 picks, law of averages says we are more likely to land a gun.. In 2y time prestia would look pretty handy in our midfield hitting riewoldt and white lace out in the fwd line!! (Roo's last season of course)

[plugger66]

Maybe i will get 2001 draft out to prove you can get stars. We could play safe and get a good genuine player like Prestia for pick 6 and he will be a nice player for us or we could take the punt and get a Joel Selwood or a Luke Molan. One will help us become a very good side, the other will cause meltdown. I am a gambler, I would take a punt in the draft and hope we get a Selwood type instead of a play safety Prestia type.

[Toy Saint]

Screw the logic, I'm keen to punt on our 1st round draft pick like P66. I've got a lot of confidence in Pelchan. Last year he organised 3 or 4 picks in the top 30'ish. This reflects the need for quality young players. Hanging the hat on a superstar can end in tears. From memory we traded a good draft pick for Lovett.

[joffaboy]

Screw the logic, I'm keen to punt on our 1st round draft pick like P66. I've got a lot of confidence in Pelchan. Last year he organised 3 or 4 picks in the top 30'ish. This reflects the need for quality young players. Hanging the hat on a superstar can end in tears. From memory we traded a good draft pick for Lovett.

Looking at what we got for #24 last draft, I would put faith in the current crop of recruiters to pick a good one @ #6

[suss]

Screw the logic, I'm keen to punt on our 1st round draft pick like P66. I've got a lot of confidence in Pelchan. Last year he organised 3 or 4 picks in the top 30'ish. This reflects the need for quality young players. Hanging the hat on a superstar can end in tears. From memory we traded a good draft pick for Lovett.

Looking at what we got for #24 last draft, I would put faith in the current crop of recruiters to pick a good one @ #6

Agree. It seems like we've invested heavily in our drafting department. Maybe it's Elshaugh's influence, but we seem to have improved out of sight in this area.

I also think that the Melbourne clubs might be able to jag a few of these players returning from GCS and GWS cheaply. GCS might entertain a late first round / early second round pick Prestia - who knows. I'm not sure there'll be many clubs willing to part with a top ten pick.

We're going to be ordinary for the next few years so I'd certainly be taking the best available draft talent in 2013, 2014, 2015, maybe grab a free-agent in 2015/16 for a tilt in 2016 onwards. Planning for a premiership is done 5 years out.

[Old Mate]

I would also back our player academy to utilise Prestia's talent and continue his development towards being a quality player.

It would be nice to have a pick around 12-15 cos that would be perfect to throw at GC for Prestia IMO. Agree 6 sounds a lot but I reckon we shouldn't fully rule it out until we know the draft order and the quality of the draftees closer to the draft.

I would disagree that you rule out trading pick 6 cos the pick gets you a star. I reckon most recent drafts suggest picks 1-3 get you absolute quality. Of course a few surprises jump out later in the order but that could be pick 6 or pick 66.

[SaintPav]

we do not want pick 6!!!! that is the cursed pick if most of you guys dont remember :

in 25 years only one player taken at pick six (let's remember that is a very high pick) has played more than 100 games.

Try these names on for size - Ray Sterrett (Geelong, 1988) 20 games, Paul Burton (Sydney, 1997) 0 games, Robert McMahon (Fitzroy 1994) 2 games, John Rombotis (Fitzroy, 1996) 48 games, Murray Vance (Carlton 1998) 5 games, Damian Cupido (Brisbane, 1999) 53 games, Beau Dowler (Hawthorn, 2005) 16 games, Mitch Thorp (Hawthorn, 2006) 2 games.

In recent years the Bulldogs (Tom Williams), Sydney (Gary Rohan) and Richmond (Reece Conca) may have broken the curse, but it's still too early to say.

That is just an anomaly.

Tom Williams?

[SaintPav]

Screw the logic, I'm keen to punt on our 1st round draft pick like P66. I've got a lot of confidence in Pelchan. Last year he organised 3 or 4 picks in the top 30'ish. This reflects the need for quality young players. Hanging the hat on a superstar can end in tears. From memory we traded a good draft pick for Lovett.

Tony Elshaugh and his team undertake recruiting. Pelchen is head of football. He probably has overall input and signs off but he's not the recruiting guy.