Why we shouldn't draft Aish

[gringo]

Fiora analogy aside, can I just clarify a few things. My thesis is that we should only take the risk of taking Aish if he is a major upgrade from a Kelly or a Billings or whoever. I just perceive a huge risk that he will go home to SA to teams that are challenging in two years time. If there is a cigarette paper between Aish and the Vic boys, why would you take the risk when you know the crow eaters will be especially hovering over this kid? they are already trying to secure pick 2 to take him. I am most certainly not against taking interstate kids, i just think we need to be very careful with this one. Secondly, I am not professing to be an expert on young talent in the draft. I have absolute faith in the current list management team and applaud their ballsy decisions on Goddard and Mac. I am sure they are doing a very thorough due diligence on a raft of candidates. My opinion on this one may seem alarmist, but I can just see this one ending in tears...
Finally, we are in this dire list position because Ross ignored the warning of my house: Winter is Coming....

I agree you leave those guys with huge legendary local profiles alone. If he is a much better player get him but all thing equal leave him.

[noddy04]

I have seen Aish play a few times in the SANFL. His skills are sublime. I dont know any of the other boys mentioned but feel if we cant get Boyd and can get Aish then we take him in a heartbeat. He is an hour by plane from home so if homesickness plays a part then send him home for a few days. I thought the only reason Brad Ebert came back to Adelaide was that he was dropped before the GF and threw his toys out of the cot ( saying that he is a great player) Aishys old man Andrew was only slight but he was a gutsy as hell player so with a bit of decent conditioning etc i reckon young Aish will be a great player for whoever takes him. We seem to be in a pretty good position this year for the draft so lets all hope we (the recruiting mob ) dont stuff it up.

Just as an aside I really cant understand people from other states bagging Adelaide, apart from going over to Melb to watch the saints play i wouldnt want to live in the smog ridden city for all the tea in china

[supersaints]

I'm amazed no one has called Ned a troll and/or the supporter of another team trying to keep Aish away from the Saints.

Toto agree with you , why would a firs post be along theses lines ,IMO we take him first pick
Sublime talent.....

[bigcarl]

Nice post Ned.

You sure you're not an Adelaide supporter.

[Hurricane]

Great first up post Ned

I for one reckon that we would be mad to pass on a player as talented as Aish if he's available at pick 3. It may end up becoming a moot point anyhow as from what I read Adelaide are trying their guts out to snare pick 2 from Melbourne so they can pick him. Pelch also said we have approached GWS about pick 1 so we have probably identified Boyd as a player we want. The next 2 weeks of trade period will be very interesting to say the least.

The go home factor is something we obviously need to consider especially considering any player drafted to us will know we will be down the bottom for a few years. If we did end up taking Aish and won 8-10 games over the 2 years he plays with us then the Crows or Power come calling from the top of the ladder that would be tough to resist. However we have a big blonde bloke from Queensland we picked up who may have had the same go home pull but he's been loyal. There is nothing to say that Aish may relish the chance to prove himself outside his home state away from the extra media pressure of being a hometown boy. My opinion is if he is that good he's worth the risk

BANG BANG

[R. Harvey 3 votes!]

I actually hope Adelaide end up with pick 2 and take the choice out of our hands...Scharenburg come on down!

[plugger66]

Fiora analogy aside, can I just clarify a few things. My thesis is that we should only take the risk of taking Aish if he is a major upgrade from a Kelly or a Billings or whoever. I just perceive a huge risk that he will go home to SA to teams that are challenging in two years time. If there is a cigarette paper between Aish and the Vic boys, why would you take the risk when you know the crow eaters will be especially hovering over this kid? they are already trying to secure pick 2 to take him. I am most certainly not against taking interstate kids, i just think we need to be very careful with this one. Secondly, I am not professing to be an expert on young talent in the draft. I have absolute faith in the current list management team and applaud their ballsy decisions on Goddard and Mac. I am sure they are doing a very thorough due diligence on a raft of candidates. My opinion on this one may seem alarmist, but I can just see this one ending in tears...
Finally, we are in this dire list position because Ross ignored the warning of my house: Winter is Coming....

Who are the players that go home to SA from Victoria? That isnt even a slight issue IMO. Its who is the best player at our pick. if kelly goes at 2 then the next best player seems to be Aish and he is also a mid which is what we need.

[Ned Stark]

[quote="noddy04"]I have seen Aish play a few times in the SANFL. His skills are sublime. I dont know any of the other boys mentioned but feel if we cant get Boyd and can get Aish then we take him in a heartbeat. He is an hour by plane from home so if homesickness plays a part then send him home for a few days. I thought the only reason Brad Ebert came back to Adelaide was that he was dropped before the GF and threw his toys out of the cot ( saying that he is a great player) Aishys old man Andrew was only slight but he was a gutsy as hell player so with a bit of decent conditioning etc i reckon young Aish will be a great player for whoever takes him. We seem to be in a pretty good position this year for the draft so lets all hope we (the recruiting mob ) dont stuff it up.

Just as an aside I really cant understand people from other states bagging Adelaide, apart from going over to Melb to watch the saints play i wouldnt want to live in the smog ridden city for all the tea in china [

Was Ebert at WC in 2006? sounds too early, but i could be mistaken. i always thought it was a brave move by WC to draft him as the pull to get him back to Port would always be enormous.

On my Aish post I used homesick in inverted commas as I think it is often contrived as an excuse to maximise the player's chance of getting to their preferred club. The risk is often lower for Adelaide boys as it is so close and Melbourne is such a better place to live (in my humble opinion - not bagging Adelaide, I was born and bred there so am qualified to comment). Again, I think this is a special case which is why the Crows are going so hard to get him now. If he is drafted by a Victorian club, they will keep pushing behind the scenes for two years to secure him.

Finally, apparently I am a troll who supports the Crows! WTF? I hate the Crows more than Collingwood for heaven's sake. It would give me great pleasure to see Aish turn into a star for the Saints and watch Cornesy and the rest of the South Australian football establishment moan that he should be theirs.

[St Ick]

Sharon berg for me - need mids with some size tks not small forwards/ outside flankers who "may" develop into it

The Berg is a defender who "may" become a mid. Think of a cross between Chips and BJ, I think he is the second best in the draft, but he is no guarantee to end up as a mid and he plays in a position we have surplus of, that in mind, if we ship off Gilbo and Chips, maybe we are opening up a spot...

Still, not many 17 year olds are being tagged playing senior footy in the country so we shouldn't overlook Aish, pretty sure he is a lot younger than most other draftees too.

[Ned Stark]

Who are the players that go home to SA from Victoria? That isnt even a slight issue IMO. Its who is the best player at our pick. if kelly goes at 2 then the next best player seems to be Aish and he is also a mid which is what we need.[/quote]

I agree that the phenomena has been less pronounced than with WA. Off the top of my head, a few that spring to mind: Robran, D Jarman, Ebert and Scott Thompson. We now have Polec wanting to get home. As per my other post, I don't think the lure will be that be misses home, rather that a team in a premiership window is chasing him. Players are being so more proactive in engineering moves now and the "homesickness" line gives him an easy out to get to the Crows or Port if he wants to play in teams challenging for a flag.

Anyhow, I hope you are right and I am just being too alarmist. If we get him, we will need to be ever vigilant of the covert attempts to bring him home and just hope that he hooks up with a smoking hot Victorian girl who lives in Seaford vicinity!

[busso mick]

Just thinking back about some of our high draft picks and their retention rate.

Reiwoldt from Queensland, still here. Ball from Victoria, left for other Victorian side. Goddard from Victoria, left for other Victorian side.

I know they are cherry picked examples, but sometimes it is more than just where your high draft picks come from. If we have the right environment they will not want to leave.

[Old Mate]

Just thinking back about some of our high draft picks and their retention rate.

Reiwoldt from Queensland, still here. Ball from Victoria, left for other Victorian side. Goddard from Victoria, left for other Victorian side.

I know they are cherry picked examples, but sometimes it is more than just where your high draft picks come from. If we have the right environment they will not want to leave.

Armo & Gilbert Qld & Hayes NSW.

[HitTheBoundary]

I want Billings, because he's a goal kicker.
That may not be the most logical thing, but I'm just so sick of watching players who run into open goals and kick points.

It's nice to be discussing which high class quality player we will draft.

[bergholt]

Just as an aside I really cant understand people from other states bagging Adelaide, apart from going over to Melb to watch the saints play i wouldnt want to live in the smog ridden city for all the tea in china

Smog in Melbourne? You've never been to Beijing or Tehran, I assume.

[Siposstar#2]

Interesting post. After watching a couple of highlight videos I really like the look of dals cousin bontempelli
He's tall, has great skills, is evasive like his cousin and poised in traffic. I know he isnt rated as top 5 material but geez I can see him becoming one of the best kids in this draft.
Similar to pendlebury who I would take 1st now from the 2005 draft in hindsight of course

[noddy04]

Just as an aside I really cant understand people from other states bagging Adelaide, apart from going over to Melb to watch the saints play i wouldnt want to live in the smog ridden city for all the tea in china

Smog in Melbourne? You've never been to Beijing or Tehran, I assume.

No i havent but whats that got to do with the price of eggs? And to Ned in my post where did i infer that you were a Troll? I also am a born and bred South Australian and as people on here that know me personally would tell you I DESPISE the CROWS and PORT. immensely. Also in my post i said re Ebert before the GF i meant he was dropped before some of the finals and then wanted out of WestCoast. When he was drafted there was a huge uproar over here because the Crows had the choice of Dangerfield or Ebert and chose Dangerfield.

[bergholt]

...apart from going over to Melb to watch the saints play i wouldnt want to live in the smog ridden city for all the tea in china

Smog in Melbourne? You've never been to Beijing or Tehran, I assume.

No i havent but whats that got to do with the price of eggs?

Then you would have seen actual smog. We never get close to that in Melbourne.

[Ned Stark]

[quote="noddy04"][quote="bergholt"][quote="noddy04"]Just as an aside I really cant understand people from other states bagging Adelaide, apart from going over to Melb to watch the saints play i wouldnt want to live in the smog ridden city for all the tea in china [/quote]

Smog in Melbourne? You've never been to Beijing or Tehran, I assume.[/quote]

No i havent but whats that got to do with the price of eggs? And to Ned in my post where did i infer that you were a Troll? I also am a born and bred South Australian and as people on here that know me personally would tell you I DESPISE the CROWS and PORT. immensely. Also in my post i said re Ebert before the GF i meant he was dropped before some of the finals and then wanted out of WestCoast. When he was drafted there was a huge uproar over here because the Crows had the choice of Dangerfield or Ebert and chose Dangerfield.[/quote]

Hey sorry Noddy, it was someone else who made the troll call, I was responding more generally. Don't have to say much of note to get the Troll barb thrown at you though!

[noddy04]

No probs Ned

[skeptic]

The troll angel is n interesting one...

If Ned wants to stop the Saints from drafting Aish... don't know if saintsational is really the place to start.

Maybe give SEN a call and state it as fact

[Megamaguire]

I guess the club would have a better sense than most of us on here whether young Aish would be even letting himself entertain the go home scenario.
He just might think yea if it all works out i'gg go back in 10 if i'm keen.
keepin options open might encourage a longer stay in Melb or just see what happens. Adelaide is not too far from Melb after all.

If recruiters are impressed and have a vision for Aish i think they will try for him as first preference.
Class in the middle reminds me of Banger and it's been a while since we had a midfielder like the banger who had perfect delivery into the fwd. 50.
Aish may be our sole opportunity to draft a classy mid - I can definately see us drafting him. banger and Bj are gone and Lenny and Dal may be soon - WE NEED REAL GOOD MIDS!

GO SAINTS!

[St Ick]

If Aish is available we simply can't look past him, yes he might get tagged and 'only' get 15-20 touches, but those touches are pure class - if we want a Marc Murphy clone on our list, then please Saints, pick him up.

As for the potential draftees, each of them have an element of risk associated with them.

Scharenberg - is he going to make the transition to the midfield? Surely we have too many 190cm half back flankers already. Has class written all over him, but he is physically bigger than many U18s for who knows at the next level. Can play though I just don't think its reasonable to expect him to simply play midfield and become Jobe Watson all of a sudden.

Kelly - endurance king, elite user, racks them up against other U18s, but is skinny and quite outside at this stage.

Aish - classiest of the bunch, decision making above average, will probably be in the best 10 mids in the AFL for years to come. Is having to cop close tags playing seniors. Also skinny, but has an underrated inside game too. Not a local product though.

Billings - elite kick, again, the typical Stevie J clone, but can he make the adjustment to midfield - will probably play a few years in the fwdline until he gets kms in the legs through a few preseasons.

I don't think we can really go wrong with any of these guys, but I fear its going to be another one of those Hodge/Ball/Judd comparisons for years to come - one of them will be a superstar, another injured often, another inspirational captain - all of which will divide opinion for years to come!

[Kickit]

In truth the recruitment department have been looking at all of these guys all year.
They will have it all mapped out, who they would take in what order. They will be crossing them off as the draft progresses.
Recent events and the draft combine will have made only minor differences.

[Ned Stark]

Is it time to bump this? So glad we picked Jack. Aish is gone. I think Jack is going to be a better player anyway. As he showed today, he is a match winner!

[Munga]

winter is coming