Petracca

[damienc]

I know what you are thinking. No I don't. No regrets whatsoever.Ok. Maybe one or two but McCartin is going to be a player for us. No doubt.

But.....he is going to take time. One season maybe two before he starts to live up to his number one draft pick status.

I just think it's interesting and ironic that the bloke we passed on is debuting against us.

Petracca's form in the twos has been sensational. He is ready to go.

Roos has handled him very well. He's a good coach Paul Roos.

But....having said no regrets and if it comes to pass that Petracca stars, sorry, I am going to be thinking what if?

I can be honest enough to still say, while I rate Paddy McCartin, very highly, if it was my decision I would have taken Petracca. I just would have. Just my opinion.

The kid has the X factor. He doesn't give up and doesn't take a backward step. I would have also taken Caleb Daniel over Jack Lonie. Again for the same reason.

Daniel had 30 touches against the Hawks and still managed to put Sam Mitchell out of business. We didn't have anyone who came close to doing that when we played the Hawks.Mitchell slaughtered us.

It's the attitude I admire. We need blokes who won't take a backward step. We don't have enough of them at the moment.

I'm afraid I wasn't a party to nor was I impressed with the orgy of self congratulation that followed our 'noble' three point loss to the reigning premiers. Big deal. Small reality check. They won. We didn't. A win is a win whether it's by a hundred or one. Or in our case three.

More importantly, when we get that close to taking out a good side we need to take that opportunity and again we didn't.

Last week against the Giants was very depressing. Back to good old days of not having a go. Richardson said we had too many passengers. He's right.

Our record, so far of one and four aint good. And if we go one and five and Petracca kills us I can't help but think what if?

I guess the point I am trying to make is that we need a better performance this week. The team needs to give us a reason to keep hoping. Keep dreaming. Let's all hope they can. And do.

[Dr Spaceman]

Would've been great to have picks 1 & 2 but alas we only had pick 1.

One of the greatest Saints ever is heading towards retirement, and as irreplaceable as he is, he does need to be replaced.

Regardless of what Petracca does this week, or over the next 10 years, I believe the club acted responsibly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Locals322]

McCarthy is the Tambling & Petrenko is the buddy

[amusingname]

McCarthy is the Tambling & Petrenko is the buddy

Jared Petrenko is Buddy? And we drafted Cam McCarthy? What is going on!

[saynta]

I wasn't really listening but on one of the footy shows, Watason on talking footy footy i think, he said that someone, i missed who, said Petracca was the best footballer, bar none, he had ever seen.

Not very helpful of me, i know, but the comment was made.

Hope the guy is dead wrong or it will be Ball and Judd all over again.

[Bunk_Moreland]

I wasn't really listening but on one of the footy shows, Watason on talking footy footy i think, he said that someone, i missed who, said Petracca was the best footballer, bar none, he had ever seen.

Not very helpful of me, i know, but the comment was made.

Hope the guy is dead wrong or it will be Ball and Judd all over again.

I actually heard that about Setanta O'Halphin

[Bluthy]

It begginnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnns! There will be years of heated discussion about this. I won't be a Mr Hindsighter - I'm firmly in the Paddy camp. YOu would love for him to have another couple of cm's of height - he doesn't look particularly tall standing next to the really big guys. But his reach, great hands, courage, timing, natural footy ability and swagger will all make up for that. He will also be brilliant for team motivation and harmony. He's got that tough but fun, country boy (surf boy?) manner about him that will make players love being with him on and off the field

From what I've seen of Petracca he is an incredibly cocky little bastard. Apparently he's been texting the coach pushing for selection. He will have to be man-managed extremely well. He's not the sort that would handle being dropped to the two's and could sow discord amongst the team if he feels he knows better than the coaches. He looks a real double edged sword. Roos will handle him no problem but how does a new coach in Goodwin go when he's got a lot of youngsters he needs to put work on and is learning the caper. The tractor could be a huge distraction if he goes off the rails.

He's also played more half-forward than mid. Being a genuine midfielder is an art in itself. He looks huge already and will be tough to tackle. The hype around him is almost dangerous. If he doesn't come flying out of the blocks that could dent his confidence. Clubs play down hype these days to let players develop at a natural rate but for some reason its really grown around Petracca. Thats a lot of pressure to carry.

[spert]

Well Paddy has taken a couple of strong marks in a game where we almost got over the line, but other than he hasn't really shown me much, and played from behind and put little pressure on his opponent against the GWS. I've seen a lot of fringe players take a couple of big marks over the years, but never did much else. Our midfield is has been desperately in need of class players for a few years, and I wonder why the club did not put all it's efforts into this problem area?

[Saint wagga]

McCartin is going to be an absolute brute of a forward. Look at the kids build - he already looks massive around the chest and he's only 19!! I'm very comfortable with picking him over Petracca, he's coming along very nicely and think the club is managing Paddy really well. The comparisons with Pluggers build and best attributes are on the money for mine! He'll be a feared power forward before too long I reckon!

[degruch]

I wasn't really listening but on one of the footy shows, Watason on talking footy footy i think, he said that someone, i missed who, said Petracca was the best footballer, bar none, he had ever seen.

But Rodney Eade said Jack Martin was the best player he'd ever seen bar none...and strangely, the rest of his club agreed!

[mad saint guy]

I like Paddy and think he will be a 50 goal per year forward for us for quite a while, but personally I would have preferred us to take Petracca. Looks like a genuine game-breaker; in tandem with Billings we would have had two players who can rip a game apart and swing momentum our way through brute force and athleticism (Petracca) and pure class and skill (Billings). I think we got spooked by Boyd's massive contract and panicked about our ability to find a key forward. If we had have known Bruce was going to come on or that the 2015 draft would feature quite a lot of tall talent (it was earlier considered to be a 'midfielders draft') I dare say we would have taken Petracca.

[degruch]

Our midfield is has been desperately in need of class players for a few years, and I wonder why the club did not put all it's efforts into this problem area?

Probably because we also had a terrible backline and one dimensional forward line...only so many holes you can plug at once. Besides, the club has put a lot of time and resources into our midfield over the last few seasons, after years on neglect (first round picks for guys like Lovett, Lynch, Lee), and we're yet to see whether the investment is going to pay off. We were under no illusion there was a quick fix, yeah?

[St Chris]

You just know Petracca will come out this week and kill it, and Paddy will barely get near it, and we'll look like fools.

I think we've done the right thing in picking Paddy, for our long term future, but right now we're an easy target for the "pundits" and they wont miss this opportunity....

[prwilkinson]

You just know Petracca will come out this week and kill it, and Paddy will barely get near it, and we'll look like fools.

I think we've done the right thing in picking Paddy, for our long term future, but right now we're an easy target for the "pundits" and they wont miss this opportunity....

Or we'll come out hard, win by 20 points and Paddy will kick 5.

[HitTheBoundary]

We should play Geary on him.

Double the melt down.....

[samoht]

Leaving Petracca and McCartin aside for the minute .... and just looking at the bigger picture and our recruiting philosophy.
Why draft someone who will take time to develop - especially when you don't know by how much and where all this hoped-for development will take them at the end - over someone who can't wait to get out there and impact now - who just knows he will - who happens to be cocksure of their abilities?
The sin may be in not recruiting this player, rather than in the player himself?

[stkfc1]

I think the reasons we picked PM over CP is fairly logical. Roo in the twilight of his career meant we needed another forward to complement Bruce who in reality was still an unknown quantity back then.Thankfully he's looking the goods and will make a terrific foil for PM. We now have a young spine that will develop together. PM, Bruce,Hickey,Carlilse and HG are our future and is a really impressive spine to develop a team around. Any premiership team needs a solid spine and we'll have one of the best over the next few years.
KPPs on the open market now cost the big bucks (Tom Boyd) so we have saved a fortune going forward as getting one or two FA midfielders will be easier and cheaper to bring in. Lastly as everyone has heard, CP is FIGJAM personified. Not the type of personality you want at your club as these types polorise teammates and can create discord. One other thing, and by no means gospal truth, I have heard a rumour from someone with some links to him via his junior footy days, that he's a diehard Magpies fan and it wouldnt be a surprise that he'll request a trade there when he can. Its his dream to play for Maggies apparently and wasn't happy about going to Melbourne at all. Obviously if Melbourne keep winning it may change his mind.

[samoht]

CP is FIGJAM personified.

I hope the last 3 letters don't soon stand for ... "just ask Melbourne".

[Griggsy]

It's simple.
We needed a forward and if you have to draft one you do it earlier rather than in later years because they take time a lot more time than mids. Or you lure one over at massive costs.

[Bunk_Moreland]

Can we run a book on who will be the first to come on here and whinge that we didnt take Petracca over McCartin.

Also can the mods start an epic melt thread?

Cant wait. Should be hilarious

[Griggsy]

Can we run a book on who will be the first to come on here and whinge that we didnt take Petracca over McCartin.

Also can the mods start an epic melt thread?

Cant wait. Should be hilarious

I don't know who will post the first whinge, but I do think it will be up here at about half time.

[bigcarl]

We should play Geary on him.

He's hard enough but we might need him for Viney. Fancies himself as a tough guy/enforcer type. No doubt he'll have Billings or Steven in his sights.

[LTN16]

Can we run a book on who will be the first to come on here and whinge that we didnt take Petracca over McCartin.

Also can the mods start an epic melt thread?

Cant wait. Should be hilarious

My bet is shitypest.. Won't be seen on here if we have a win though.

[BigMart]

I think Petracca will end up the better footballer in the end.

I also think Paddy will be very important.

Eg/ at Adelaide Sloane is a better player week in week out than Tex. But who is more important, who is harder to replace?

The only disappointment I have with Paddy is body shape. He still looks unfit.... Petracca looks like a beast

[Zed]

I think the consensus was McCartin & Petracca were the best 2 in the draft, but the order was debatable.

Most elite few forwards in the comp today were picked up very early in the draft. Of the elite midfielders, many of them came from outside the top 10 in their draft. The competition puts a huge premium on big forwards. When you look at what the bulldogs did in the trade period leading up to that draft (ie paying mega bucks for Boyd), you can see the logic as to why we chose McCartin.

From a personal perspective, I wasn't that impressed with what i saw from McCartin in the U18 champs that year, but I have seen enough now to know that he will make it as a good contributor. Wont be a Reiwoldt or Buddy, but could very well be a Josh Kennedy (of the WCE variety). Petracca could very well be the next big thing - but every year the best midfielder in the draft gets touted as the next big thing - and its been a long while since the first picked midfielder has turned out to be the best player in their draft.

So with hindsight - go back through the last 10 drafts and nominate who the best player was in that draft - you will find in most cases its not number 1 or number 2. We may not have picked the best player in the 2014 draft, but we might have selected he best leader of men and future inspirational captain.