McCartin

[Waltzing St Kilda]

I just hope this is not a case of a recruiting team feeling the need to justify their existence by going against the grain. If Petracca turns out to
be the new Judd and McCartin is the new Kosi then it's gonna be awfully hard to take.

*Ahem*

[Sainter_Dad]

I am afraid that I am in the minority here - however:

Petracca is a fantastic midfield beast - we have our own in Steele

McCartin was a standout in his marking and strength - what we needed - so we went and got it.
If he had developed the way that we envisaged and all else went the same way - McCartin smashing the packs at CHF feeding King with his very good ground kicking we would have one of the most potent forward lines in the league at the moment.

Alternatively - if Petracca had come to us at the time and we had just washed our hands of him as an underperformer then he could very well have been traded or asked to move on.

Decisions were made - drafting is an inexact science
It was not the draft that killed us - it was the thrusting of an under-developed KPP kid into competing with men that meant he had to become a focal point. McCartin would have developed differently at Geelong under the feet of Hawkins et al and possibly not had to lead with his head - and therefore suffer the concussions (then again - he might have gone down that path no matter what)

There is a reason that Hawthorn had few Rising Star Nominations in their power years - their draftees were allowed to grow up at Box Hill - and learn and get confidence - we thrust our draftees into the limelight. We speak of development as something that we can control - the truth of it is that we do not have the luxury of developing players - we NEED them to become the Great White Hope - and have done so for a number of years

Petracca on his own would not have us holding aloft a cup as I fear he would have hampered Steele and left him as a designated tagger.

I prefer Steele over Petracca (even just for his leadership)

[Ghost Like]

Yep SD, you are in a minority. Steele is more your Oliver. Petracca is a completely different beast.

McCartin had a couple of years under Roo then a few years shielded by Bruce. My belief on why he got concussed so much is that he lacked fitness, awareness and confidence, finding himself on the ground, leading head first in desperation.

If McCartin had developed as you wishfully imagine then we would not have been in that pick position to select Max. Who knows, it's all "sliding doors" and once again we are on the wrong side of them.

It was not bad luck, it was incompetence born from desperation and the paranoia of Roo's career finishing.

It's done, it's over, it's a harsh lesson. Melbourne had a decade of harsh lessons in terms of poor Top 10 selections. Let's hope we are quicker learners. I am buoyed by our current recruiters and Admin. Proof will be in the next few seasons.

[SydneySainter]

Yep SD, you are in a minority. Steele is more your Oliver. Petracca is a completely different beast.

McCartin had a couple of years under Roo then a few years shielded by Bruce. My belief on why he got concussed so much is that he lacked fitness, awareness and confidence, finding himself on the ground, leading head first in desperation.

If McCartin had developed as you wishfully imagine then we would not have been in that pick position to select Max. Who knows, it's all "sliding doors" and once again we are on the wrong side of them.

It was not bad luck, it was incompetence born from desperation and the paranoia of Roo's career finishing.

It's done, it's over, it's a harsh lesson. Melbourne had a decade of harsh lessons in terms of poor Top 10 selections. Let's hope we are quicker learners. I am buoyed by our current recruiters and Admin. Proof will be in the next few seasons.

I don't know about the admin. Finnis is still CEO...

[skeptic]

Don't think I will ever recover if we take McCartin and he flops while Petracca becomes the gun that everybody is predicting.

We don't want to risk taking a raging bull mid/fwd with a hip problem, but we'll take the chance on an overweight, diabetic & injury prone full forward that is 3 inches shorter than the other key forwards coming through the system.

I'll be gutted if this happens.

What an absolutely heartbreaking post... I know you’re still around dragit though you don’t post much anymore - did this really destroy you. Oh dear

What’s incredibly funny and sad about this thread is the sheer number of forumites that didn’t believe it because they thought it was just sheer stupidity...
It ain’t just one or two either.

Also really emphasis how critical it is to get your top picks right. Need to know an elite talent when you see one

Glad to see that I was on the right side of this one

Spot on.

When did Dragit write that?

November 2013... it’s somewhere in the first few pages.

If you haven’t gone back and read the whole 14 pages Pav, your responses in particular were hilarious.

Breaking the news that we were taking Paddy first... at no point do you appear to have considered it anything more than a bad joke because nobody could be that dumb.

Sad to say you were off the mark... but I was heartened by your sheer conviction

[damienc]

Get a grip. If this keeps you up at night, you are a lucky person.

In hindsight I might have been gilding the lily but also in hindsight I was on the money. Pointless I know but glad I was on the right side of history but sad for our footy club that we allowed such a fantastic opportunity pass us by.

[perfectionist]

The first time I saw Paddy play I thought he was too fat, too slow and too short for the modern game. For whatever reason, his fitness never improved nor did he get taller. Max King is certainly not fat, and is now the base height of key forwards and key backs i.e. 7 cms taller than Paddy. Today, players the height of Paddy are mids (e.g. Patrick Cripps).

[bangaulegend]

I bear no malice to Paddy & the decision to draft him ahead of Petracca has been debated to death but we are now living with the fact we f---ed up big time . I watched his highlights reel before we drafted him & I didn't see anything that special . What I saw was a big kid out boding smaller bodied opponents hence he was decent contested mark but not quick not good below his knees but was a good kick for goal. I didn't know he was a diabetic that hampered his ability to train at an elite level . The games he did play even before his concussion issues IMO he never really looked like he was going to be a super star. His goal kicking was average his pack marking was average & once the ball hit the ground he was useless. I think it's time to move on stop comparing & learn from our mistakes & look forward to the future for what ever that may hold

[Waltzing St Kilda]

We harp on it because we don't want to see the same thing happening ever again.

The Number One pick is the only consolation for a wooden spoon or losing a top player.

Back in 2014 we knew this was a golden opportunity.

We then watched on in horror as the clowns in charge decided they were way smarter than the rest of the professional draft watchers.

We prayed to God we wouldn't pay for their hubris and ineptitude.

We are.

[Scollop]

I'm afraid that passing on Petracca will gift Melbourne into becoming a very powerful team

This post also deserves a BUMP

[bangaulegend]

I'm afraid that passing on Petracca will gift Melbourne into becoming a very powerful team

This post also deserves a BUMP

Freebird was way ahead of our well payed recruiters maybe we could of saved our selves a fortune & hired Freebird & we would have had the tractor in the shed

[SaintPav]

Get a grip. If this keeps you up at night, you are a lucky person.

In hindsight I might have been gilding the lily but also in hindsight I was on the money. Pointless I know but glad I was on the right side of history but sad for our footy club that we allowed such a fantastic opportunity pass us by.

I remember not being happy about it at the time but still uncertain how it would all play out. Our biggest fear has been realised. It's a disaster.

Good call. I'll never doubt you again.

[SaintPav]

Don't think I will ever recover if we take McCartin and he flops while Petracca becomes the gun that everybody is predicting.

We don't want to risk taking a raging bull mid/fwd with a hip problem, but we'll take the chance on an overweight, diabetic & injury prone full forward that is 3 inches shorter than the other key forwards coming through the system.

I'll be gutted if this happens.

What an absolutely heartbreaking post... I know you’re still around dragit though you don’t post much anymore - did this really destroy you. Oh dear

What’s incredibly funny and sad about this thread is the sheer number of forumites that didn’t believe it because they thought it was just sheer stupidity...
It ain’t just one or two either.

Also really emphasis how critical it is to get your top picks right. Need to know an elite talent when you see one

Glad to see that I was on the right side of this one

Spot on.

When did Dragit write that?

November 2013... it’s somewhere in the first few pages.

If you haven’t gone back and read the whole 14 pages Pav, your responses in particular were hilarious.

Breaking the news that we were taking Paddy first... at no point do you appear to have considered it anything more than a bad joke because nobody could be that dumb.

Sad to say you were off the mark... but I was heartened by your sheer conviction

Thanks, Skeptic. I think I've mellowed a bit over the years.

[Furphy]

Unnecessary swipe at Petracca if true.

Could bite us in the rear end one day.

A voice of wisdom from 2014

[Moods]

Probably the worst draft decision ever made in the draft mainly because we KNEW there was a potential superstar on offer but we thought we knew better, and instead gambled on a bloke with pre existing conditions not conducive to elite sport, who was already undersized for the position he played and not very quick. We were gifted an amazing opportunity due to our incompetence of finishing last that year and we STILL ballsed it up. Just beyond comprehension.

[Scollop]

Probably the worst draft decision ever made in the draft mainly because we KNEW there was a potential superstar on offer but we thought we knew better, and instead gambled on a bloke with pre existing conditions not conducive to elite sport, who was already undersized for the position he played and not very quick. We were gifted an amazing opportunity due to our incompetence of finishing last that year and we STILL ballsed it up. Just beyond comprehension.

A bit similar to 2009 really

You are the outright BEST team by a mile and you thrash your Ferrari while you're a lap in front in Round 16/17/18. You enter finals in questionable form and you run out of petrol for the Grand Final and can't kick a goal in the last quarter

Only St Kilda