Not long now! Pick #1 St.Kilda.........

[Viking3]

I don't care who it is.
Pick one will be a great player for us and picks 21 & 22 will be very good!

Go Saints.

[fugazi]

make this the live thread?

[saintspremiers]

Paddy is ours

[LTN16]

Mc cart in whooooo

[fugazi]

its official

[Con Gorozidis]

Did he say Adam ?

[saintspremiers]

Just found out now.

Clearly doesn't follow media

[saintsRrising]

He confirmed that he only found out then...the same as everyone else.

[plugger66]

Just found out now.

Clearly doesn't follow media

So media are always right?

[boneless23]

Welcome Paddy!! Im looking forward to seeing you dominate our forward 50 for many years to come!!!

[saintsRrising]

Tractor at 2.

[saintsRrising]

Brayshaw at 3.

[boneless23]

Welcome Paddy!! Im looking forward to seeing you dominate our forward 50 for many years to come!!!

[saintsRrising]

Jarrod Pickett at 4

[saintsRrising]

De Goey at 5 to Pies

[fugazi]

From Knightmare at Bigfooty

6. Patrick McCartin (VIC - KPF)
Height: 193cm, Weight: 95kg, DOB: 19/04/1996
Recruited from: Geelong Falcons
Draft range: 1-8
Best position/role: Full forward.
Strengths:
Go to forward talent – McCartin is one of a small number of key forwards who at AFL level has the scope to be a genuine go to forward. He has the proven performances on the board with dominant performances in the TAC Cup and U18 championships for the past couple of seasons but also has the strong marking ability both on the lead and 1v1 as well as excellent ground level ability.
Marking ability – McCartin has rare marking ability on the lead. His trademark mark is his rare ability to take the mark down low over his toes on the lead with cleanness like you have never seen. He has excellent acceleration on the lead allowing him to create separation and he has clean, strong heads overhead and when taking his marks and out in front and has a real power on his leads where he will knock you out of his way and really launch at the footy at full pace. McCartin is also an excellent 1v1 mark and has the strength, excellent bodywork and superior ability to read the drop of the ball and protect the drop zone which allows him to take advantage of his opponent in the 1v1 contests. He can take you into the goal square and take advantage of you there with his 1v1 ability. He is also a very capable pack mark and if he does not take it he will bring it to ground.
Ability below the knees – McCartin has rare ability below the knees. He takes his trademark mark on the lead over his toes. But he also has rare ability as a key forward to pick up the ground balls and bouncing balls clearly with consistency and without fumbling making him a real threat not only as a dominant marking threat but equally so with his ground level game. After picking up the ground ball McCartin can get it onto his boot quickly or sometimes turn you around and go into an open goal or at other times create enough time and space for himself to execute a shot at goal or a pass off to someone else by hand or foot as applicable.
Power and strength - On the lead McCartin has a real power to him and will knock anyone in his way out of his path with force, particularly when on the lead at full pace. When McCartin leads he goes on really explosive leads and uses his pace effectively to create separation and also really times his leads well, he leads well finding the best spaces to lead to often electing to lead down the middle when the opportunity is there really reading the play well up the field and anticipating what is going to happen perfectly to then determine where best to lead. He also has a real strength and presence to him in the marking contest to take advantage of his direct opponent. He has the strength through the hips and core to stand up strongly and execute a handball to a target while tackled.
Field kicking and vision – McCartin is a very good field kick and has shown that he can at times lace out hit leading targets in the forward 50. He displays rare vision and a real unselfishness in the front half for a key forward often looking for players in better position.
Weaknesses:
Diabetes – McCartin has diabetes which complicates the evaluation slightly. It is an unknown if it will limit him or if so then to what extent he will be limited whether that be with his training or ability to become better aerobically or whatever the case may be. Because he has diabetes it has meant he has needed to approach his footy and diet from a young age more professionally than everyone else which has created the right habits earlier on which is a positive but his diabetes is something that will have to constantly be managed throughout his playing career.
Excess weight – McCartin while he is strongly built and very explosive he visibly seems to be carrying more weight than you would like of an elite draft prospect. From everything I hear he is professional and approaches the game with a great attention to detail with his diet and training so it will be interesting to see whether he can decrease his skinfolds and how he goes about maintaining a healthy playing weight. Whether that has any link to his diabetes or management of it I cannot help but suspect it does and while weight loss with work is very achievable in the AFL system generally for almost all draft prospects I do have concerns as whether this is something McCartin can achieve with his skin folds to remain healthy possibly needing to remain relatively high.
Set shot goalkicking – McCartin’s conversion from set shots is below average. He is prone to shanking his set shot attempts and can lose confidence in his set shot goalkicking. It seems to be a really mental thing for him but something given his excellent field kicking I feel can improve to a strong standard. McCartin’s tendency when he starts to lose confidence in his set shot goalkicking is he often will either elect to find a target in better position or will play on or attempt a snap shot at goal, and while I have no issue with this tendency my hope would be that he can get his set shot goalkicking up to a standard where he does not experience that same waver in confidence he seems to experience at the present time and has experienced in years past.
Versatility – While McCartin has some traits to suggest he could play other positions and further up the field in the future at this stage he is very much a full forward only and until he greatly improves his endurance he will remain a full forward only.
What I expect will improve:
In the most part I expect natural progression in his areas of strength and continued upward growth but the deficiency I feel McCartin can address is his set shot goalkicking and given his generally very good footskills his set shot goalkicking with further work can get up to a strong level and with time develop.
If McCartin can improve his endurance and reduce his skinfolds I also would not rule out given his ground level ability, good overall skillset, size, strength and ability to stand up while tackled to become capable of pinch-hitting through the midfield as he does have that right mix of traits to spend periods on the ball.
Who he can become?
McCartin reminds me most of Brendan Fevola without the personal issues as a talented but dominant full forward who looks most dominant and best utilised close to goal.
When will he be ready to play?
McCartin may be ready to play some games from season one but expect him to start to receive regular games from season two and start to really establish himself as a go to guy in season three.
How to best utilise him?
McCartin is best used out of the goal square or as the go to target in the forward 50.
Interpretation of his numbers:
Best performed and most dominant key forward in this draft class based on his 2013/2014 TAC Cup and U18 championships stats. Scoreboard impact and marking numbers, both uncontested and contested strong.

[saintsRrising]

Mids...apart from the saints so far.....

[saintsRrising]

Marchbank to GWS at 6.

Has gone earlier than predicted

[saintsRrising]

Ahern to GWS at 7

[saintsRrising]

Another mid....

[saintsRrising]

GC at 8 take...Peter Wright

Which was about where the late mail had him.

[saintsRrising]

Pies 9 = Darcy Moore...what a surprise!!!!!!!!!

[saintsRrising]

Cats: 10 = Cockatoo. What a bolter

[saintsRrising]

Cats ended a few wet dreams for some Saints fans with that pick

[fugazi]

Was never going to get to us