Road to draft with Trout afl.com

[saintsRrising]

WTF did you guys expect him to say.

Seems some were obviously expecting Trout to tell us everything from which players we will already select at pick 7 and 8 to every single player that we're targeting in FA and the trade period.

Plus what type of lingerie his wife wears, what is his favourite sex position....you know...all that kind of stuff.

Then he was meant to tell a killer joke at the end of the interview so he can show us he's actually a really funny guy and not some boring middle aged behind the scenes recruiter.

While I appreciate that he is not going to reveal what is possibly in train at present, some actual real detail and insights into past decisions would have been appreciated.

As it stands it was little different that what you would gain by interviewing the average St Kilda Supporter, though they may have been less gushy.

That he actually got really excited by Longs performance in a one sided VFL Final is a real concern to me if that is why we went so early on him with our draft pick. Smacks of Tom Lee all over again.

[longtimesaint]

WTF did you guys expect him to say.

Seems some were obviously expecting Trout to tell us everything from which players we will already select at pick 7 and 8 to every single player that we're targeting in FA and the trade period.

Plus what type of lingerie his wife wears, what is his favourite sex position....you know...all that kind of stuff.

Then he was meant to tell a killer joke at the end of the interview so he can show us he's actually a really funny guy and not some boring middle aged behind the scenes recruiter.

While I appreciate that he is not going to reveal what is possibly in train at present, some actual real detail and insights into past decisions would have been appreciated.

As it stands it was little different that what you would gain by interviewing the average St Kilda Supporter, though they may have been less gushy.

That he actually got really excited by Longs performance in a one sided VFL Final is a real concern to me if that is why we went so early on him with our draft pick. Smacks of Tom Lee all over again.

Ben Long has just turned 20 so it's a bit early to judge him.
Let's see how he develops this next year.

[parkeysainter]

WTF did you guys expect him to say.

Seems some were obviously expecting Trout to tell us everything from which players we will already select at pick 7 and 8 to every single player that we're targeting in FA and the trade period.

Plus what type of lingerie his wife wears, what is his favourite sex position....you know...all that kind of stuff.

Then he was meant to tell a killer joke at the end of the interview so he can show us he's actually a really funny guy and not some boring middle aged behind the scenes recruiter.

While I appreciate that he is not going to reveal what is possibly in train at present, some actual real detail and insights into past decisions would have been appreciated.

As it stands it was little different that what you would gain by interviewing the average St Kilda Supporter, though they may have been less gushy.

That he actually got really excited by Longs performance in a one sided VFL Final is a real concern to me if that is why we went so early on him with our draft pick. Smacks of Tom Lee all over again.

Regarding Long. Trout and co are no mere amateurs. They have been watching young players like Long for years end on end and would have been tracking him every single game before selecting him. He would have been on their radar long before the draft and that GF.

All we have really seen of Long is six games at AFL level. He looks up to it and is still very young still. He's only been in the system for 1 year. Give him another 3-4 years and then we can make a call as to whether its a bad selection or not.

Tom Lee wasn't too bad a pickup and worth the punt at the time but they gave up way too much for him. Not sure what happened there.

I still found parts of the interview interesting. You don't get to hear much from guys like him and Bains. The draft is still a lottery in some respects no matter how much work the recruiters put it into. There are plenty of top 20-30 picks that never played much AFL footy.

[Spinner]

WTF did you guys expect him to say.

Total agreement... I read the initial comments before listening. I thought it was a superb listen - they asked him about a range of players we had selected recently... even McKenzie got a mention, spoke about the draft picks 7/8 this year, spoke about list strategy....

I don't know what others on here wanted him to say? Who we are going to draft at 7/8... What are we going to trade for 7/8?



I liked it a lot.

[parkeysainter]

WTF did you guys expect him to say.

Total agreement... I read the initial comments before listening. I thought it was a superb listen - they asked him about a range of players we had selected recently... even McKenzie got a mention, spoke about the draft picks 7/8 this year, spoke about list strategy....

I don't know what others on here wanted him to say? Who we are going to draft at 7/8... What are we going to trade for 7/8?



I liked it a lot.

100% agree! lol

[saintbrat]

WTF did you guys expect him to say.

Total agreement... I read the initial comments before listening. I thought it was a superb listen - they asked him about a range of players we had selected recently... even McKenzie got a mention, spoke about the draft picks 7/8 this year, spoke about list strategy....

I don't know what others on here wanted him to say? Who we are going to draft at 7/8... What are we going to trade for 7/8?

I liked it a lot.

I always prefer to "LISTEN' myself- to hear mood and tone when a discussion over that length is being held- if visual look for body language.

BTW- the idea of a covered Moorabbin? to cater for more games as a boutique?

[SaintPav]

WTF did you guys expect him to say.

Seems some were obviously expecting Trout to tell us everything from which players we will already select at pick 7 and 8 to every single player that we're targeting in FA and the trade period.

Plus what type of lingerie his wife wears, what is his favourite sex position....you know...all that kind of stuff.

Then he was meant to tell a killer joke at the end of the interview so he can show us he's actually a really funny guy and not some boring middle aged behind the scenes recruiter.

While I appreciate that he is not going to reveal what is possibly in train at present, some actual real detail and insights into past decisions would have been appreciated.

As it stands it was little different that what you would gain by interviewing the average St Kilda Supporter, though they may have been less gushy.

That he actually got really excited by Longs performance in a one sided VFL Final is a real concern to me if that is why we went so early on him with our draft pick. Smacks of Tom Lee all over again.

He wasn't asked any of that. Blame the hosts if you think it wa a useless interview.

[MickThomas]

WTF did you guys expect him to say.

Seems some were obviously expecting Trout to tell us everything from which players we will already select at pick 7 and 8 to every single player that we're targeting in FA and the trade period.

Plus what type of lingerie his wife wears, what is his favourite sex position....you know...all that kind of stuff.

Then he was meant to tell a killer joke at the end of the interview so he can show us he's actually a really funny guy and not some boring middle aged behind the scenes recruiter.

While I appreciate that he is not going to reveal what is possibly in train at present, some actual real detail and insights into past decisions would have been appreciated.

As it stands it was little different that what you would gain by interviewing the average St Kilda Supporter, though they may have been less gushy.

That he actually got really excited by Longs performance in a one sided VFL Final is a real concern to me if that is why we went so early on him with our draft pick. Smacks of Tom Lee all over again.

+1
Any recruiter doing due diligence has to look at the bigger picture, and not be seduced by one single performance.
How about a hypothetical young C Grade cricketer getting 300, and on the strength of that, get included in the Aussie ODI squad.
Beggars belief.

[SaintPav]

Christ, some people take things literally.

It's like they want us to continue to fail so they can hang on to their crutch and loser mentality.

[parkeysainter]

Christ, some people take things literally.

It's like they want us to continue to fail so they can hang on to their crutch and loser mentality.

Some Saints fans love seeing the negatives in anything or everything. They will nitpick and look for anything s**t in anything or anyone to do with the club. I don't get it and they even make up BS to backup their negativity. I don't why a fan would even bother if that is all you want to bring to the table. It's pretty sad to be honest.

Life is too short. As fun and serious as it is, it's still just footy and the St Kilda FC we love.

[SaintPav]

Christ, some people take things literally.

It's like they want us to continue to fail so they can hang on to their crutch and loser mentality.

Some Saints fans love seeing the negatives in anything or everything. They will nitpick and look for anything s**t in anything or anyone to do with the club. I don't get it and they even make up BS to backup their negativity. I don't why a fan would even bother if that is all you want to bring to the table. It's pretty sad to be honest.

For sure.

Did TS actually say we picked up Long based solely on one performance?

[parkeysainter]

Not sure. Would have to listen again.

But no recruiter would soley select a player based on just 1 game. He also mentioned in the interview that if a player has an ordinary game late in the piece it doesn't change their views too much or not at all.

People like Trout are watching games and video on tons of young players all year round - day in and day out. Its his FT job.

[Joffa Burns]

WTF did you guys expect him to say.

Seems some were obviously expecting Trout to tell us everything from which players we will already select at pick 7 and 8 to every single player that we're targeting in FA and the trade period.

Plus what type of lingerie his wife wears, what is his favourite sex position....you know...all that kind of stuff.

Then he was meant to tell a killer joke at the end of the interview so he can show us he's actually a really funny guy and not some boring middle aged behind the scenes recruiter.

While I appreciate that he is not going to reveal what is possibly in train at present, some actual real detail and insights into past decisions would have been appreciated.

As it stands it was little different that what you would gain by interviewing the average St Kilda Supporter, though they may have been less gushy.

That he actually got really excited by Longs performance in a one sided VFL Final is a real concern to me if that is why we went so early on him with our draft pick. Smacks of Tom Lee all over again.

He wasn't asked any of that. Blame the hosts if you think it wa a useless interview.

I tend to agree, so many journalists trying to find a different edge or topic in this town that what makes footy news is a joke.

Why do the interview if you are not going to add any insight?
Didn't mind the bit on why he liked Long but the grab on DMac and Billings etc all were bland.

Don't expect him to give secrets but could have said our priority is to take 7&8 to the draft because there are kids we like or we have our eyes on a couple of players and if they are available all picks are on the table.

What does we'll consider all options actually mean?

I'm glad parkey found it very, very interesting, I thought it was um, yeah, nah 100% of nothing!

[st.byron]

Poor old Trout is copping a bagging here from some.

Didn't realise some worked with him and the other recruiters/list management team at the Saints on a daily basis.

Yes but realistically he didn't really say anything with any depth. Just a bunch of generic answers along the lines of, "We expect (insert players name) to keep improving". "We're 100% behind (insert players name)."

Skirted McCartin's concussion issues without addressing it directly except to say he was flying in the last six weeks on the track but wasn't ok to play....

Re the draft, "we'll look at all options".....

At least acknowledged that another out of finals finish in 2018 will be unacceptable.

It was just a online radio interview. He is not going to go into detail regarding alot of this stuff. Nor should he. I trust people like Trout and Ameet Bains are working behind the scenes and doing the right things. Both are very expierenced and highly regarded.

Not saying you were but when supporters start bagging these guys and Richo with no substance to it then its totally pointless. I don't get it.

I mean who cares how he sounds in a radio interview. Just sounded like a normal decent person. He's an AFL recruiter that works behind the scenes, he's not that wanker Kyle Sandilands offsider on radio.

For sure he's not going to go into who their draft and trade targets are. But to me the whole thing came across as a vanilla infomercial. The interviewers were equally bland. No pushing for info about McCartin's concussion for e.g.
Could have been cut down to, "Everyone is doing great and will be better next year, the club's on the right track and we're evaluating all options for trading and drafting."

[parkeysainter]

Sorry. No more use of the word very. Especially twice.

[To the top]

There are numerous contributors on here who write a player off on one performance!

[supersaints]

Plus what type of lingerie his wife wears, what is his favourite sex position....you know...all that kind of stuff

Should be compulsory disclosure ......

[Joffa Burns]

Sorry. No more use of the word very. Especially twice.

That's very, very good news parkey

[saintsRrising]

There are numerous contributors on here who write a player off on one performance!

I have not written off Long. There are many things to like.

My point is that we paid too high a price for him and morseo as he was an overager,

[Joffa Burns]

There are numerous contributors on here who write a player off on one performance!

I have not written off Long. There are many things to like.

My point is that we paid too high a price for him and morseo as he was an overager,

Good points SRS, my feeling is we paid overs for Long but that is based on him being our first live selection in that draft and him being overlooked in his own top age draft year. If we had two picks prior to Long like we have this year I think he'd be viewed more speculatively on this site. It's perception in my opinion.

No doubt boys from his background can take longer to develop.
I do like his aggression and tackling and hope he can play a Daniel Rioli, Tippa (can't spell his name) from Essendon type of role in the future.

[loris]

Christ, some people take things literally.

It's like they want us to continue to fail so they can hang on to their crutch and loser mentality.

Some Saints fans love seeing the negatives in anything or everything. They will nitpick and look for anything s**t in anything or anyone to do with the club. I don't get it and they even make up BS to backup their negativity. I don't why a fan would even bother if that is all you want to bring to the table. It's pretty sad to be honest.

For sure.

Did TS actually say we picked up Long based solely on one performance?

SaintPav you are right to pose that question on picking Long based on one performance as our 'negative know all Nellies' base their whinge on.
Trout did not say that. He talked about other years and games Long had played, the skills the recruiters noticed he possessed. The various positions he had played and his potential versatility. His hard attack on the ball....... AND that 'one match' in the VFL final demonstrated the strings he has to his bow. His also mentioned the other 6 (???? numbers) of VFL games Long had played etc. He mentioned Long had been in Melbourne for 3 years and how he had to adapt from where he'd come from, surprisingly not being picked up the daft the season before and that the maturing process being different for all players

Some negative posters should learn the art of 'reflective listening'.

Don't listen with preconceived ideas about what the message being delivered is, just because you don't like the person delivering the message or their manner of speech. Just suspend your judgement and LISTEN to what the person is saying, don't just HEAR!!!! Try not to hear just one point and focus on it totally, that deafens you. All the negative Nellies are hearing is one thing ( eg that one game) their minds are preoccupied thinking up points to justify why they are correct in thinking the recruiting team were persuaded to pick Long on 'one game', so they miss the rest of the message being delivered and the context in which it is made.

However I must admit, the 'Yeah - Nah' speech pattern at the Saints is infectious, some should go and listen to Joey's farewell comments, he's caught it too. Even Nicky Dal Santo has mastered the art...........must be something to do with the water at Seaford, methinks

[saynta]

I actually thought it was a very good interview. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[evertonfc]

Just finished listening with my Dad. We looked at each other at the end and were worried. Really worried.

You can dress it up anyway you like, and have blind faith if that's your style, but let's be honest: it sounded like somebody who was better suited to the days of 20-25 years ago.

We didn't want somebody to reveal everything. But we wanted genuine insight into what he's seen, what he's seeing, what trends are unfolding, where the game is going, where development is moving. Not a bunch of platitudes and "yeah-nah, he's tracking OK" for literally every single player on the list.

I think if you like just listening to somebody with a job at the club, and that makes you happy, it's a fine interview. If you're looking for clarity of our recruiting approach, what our aspirations are, how we're managing a rapidly changing environment, what new factors are in play and how we're looking to develop players, you'd leave that 40 minutes empty handed.

Unlike some here, my primary concern isn't that he's concealing knowledge from us. Let's just put it that way.

On the plus side, seems like a nice bloke though and has made a great living from being in AFL circles. I'm sure he wants what's best for the club, too.

I liked it a lot.

Very surprising, Spinner!

I regard your insight as among the sharpest on here and you would have preferred the extra detail that other posters were expecting - the stuff that gives you real insight without showing your draft hand.

[parkeysainter]

I actually thought it was a very good interview. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Glad to see some others agree. Loris wrote well.

[Impatient Sainter]

Just finished listening with my Dad. We looked at each other at the end and were worried. Really worried.

You can dress it up anyway you like, and have blind faith if that's your style, but let's be honest: it sounded like somebody who was better suited to the days of 20-25 years ago.

We didn't want somebody to reveal everything. But we wanted genuine insight into what he's seen, what he's seeing, what trends are unfolding, where the game is going, where development is moving. Not a bunch of platitudes and "yeah-nah, he's tracking OK" for literally every single player on the list.

I think if you like just listening to somebody with a job at the club, and that makes you happy, it's a fine interview. If you're looking for clarity of our recruiting approach, what our aspirations are, how we're managing a rapidly changing environment, what new factors are in play and how we're looking to develop players, you'd leave that 40 minutes empty handed.

Unlike some here, my primary concern isn't that he's concealing knowledge from us. Let's just put it that way.

On the plus side, seems like a nice bloke though and has made a great living from being in AFL circles. I'm sure he wants what's best for the club, too.

I liked it a lot.

Very surprising, Spinner!

I regard your insight as among the sharpest on here and you would have preferred the extra detail that other posters were expecting - the stuff that gives you real insight without showing your draft hand.

I can understand your frustrations but you have to remember this time if year is all mind games. Trout is not going to publicly spell out their recruiting plan, or who they are interested in the draft. Or contrary if they intend to trade out both 1st rounders hes not likely to be critical of the draft depth of talent, that would be devaluing the draft picks.

The other thing he is not likely to do is be critical of is the kids he has previpusly drafted eg McKenzie. His job is on the line after each trade and draft hence it wouldnt be in his own interest to reflect poorly on past selections.