yandb said:
Five or six years ago when I was umpiring school games I noted a few outstanding players and checked further on their details. I then phoned Francis (you could speak to him directly in those days) and commended to him three players.
Dean Terlich, Tom Rockliff and Nathan Laracy. While Nathan didn't go any further than the local level Dean and Tom now play AFL, Tom via a rookie pick and Dean via a rookie pick and then in the last draft(pick 67). I only raise this as I noted with some interest that Tom was second leading possesion winner for Brisbane and Dean the leading possesion winner for Melbourne in the match today. Neither of these teams are setting the world on fire but both of these players would be in our best 22 if we had drafted them. I hope that as our recruitment department is better resourced these days that late gems like these will slip to us.
I can understand your frustration Y&B.
I can still remember the day you pointed out an U15yo Jack Ziebell to me, down at Port Melbourne many years ago.
I can also remember the diary that you forwarded of Dawson Simpson's TAC year that I on-forwarded to Francis & Greg. Yet for all our efforts, Dean Putt was chosen instead. Dawson is first ruck in Geelong's VFL team, and we all knew that he would be a long-term project.
We all have hit and misses.
My most notable miss is well recorded.
But we've had hits too.
I still believe that Vickery is more important to us, over Ziebell.
Dustin Martin over Morabito was only luck, unfortunate luck for Morabito, but it was in our favour.
Carlisle over Griffiths, well, I lioked Griffiths, but I did prefer Carlisle.
And, Conca v Heppell was merely preferring a good toiler over a star.
As for Terlich & Rockliff that you have mentioned.
As we both know, Terlich as an U18 was scared to go into packs and get a hard ball. One suspects that he now plays in a similar style to that of McMahon in a bp at Footscray. Though, I haven't watched him recently.
It would seem that Morris is a much better player than Terlich. Morris should have been an 18yo Rookie Draft pick by us too, but in the long-term, he came to us fortunately.
Rockliff as an U18yo was recovering from injury and was brilliant for 5 minutes of a game and "missing" for the rest of it. We did recommend him as an excellent Rookie Draft opportunity. Other clubs had the same idea, and it wasn't to be.
Recruiting is never an exact art or science. (That's what probably makes it an art over a science.)
Our current strategy appears to be a low-risk one of getting solid, reliable, well-skilled toilers, as Conca, Ellis & Vlastuin seem to be.
This is commendable, as teams need balance.
However, balance means as such, there needs to be balance of hard toilers and match-winning stars.
Toilers keep you in a game, but it's stars that win BIG games for you.
Staying in games, but losing BIG games appears to be our current scenario.
Though, 5 minutes of that U18yo Rockliff coming off interchange, would be something that our boys could really do with now.
Personally, after 3 years of 'elite' toilers, it's about time our selectors delivered to us a BIG-match star.
I have suggested that CHF and a goal-kicking rover are our two areas of greatest need.
Recriutment is one thing, development another.
Not sure where this is going.
Time will tell!
