Parker went at 35 and Fasolo 45 in the same draft we took Batchelor at 30, so we could only have one of the three. I'm not unhappy with our man, not by a long stretch - I'd take him over the others today.
Christensen played in a premiership in his second year because he could slot into a mature team as an extremity, a nice haircut on a well-built, good-looking bloke with great bone structure. At the time we drafted Griff we were gutting the list and pretty much starting again. We needed to get that bone structure, to build a skeleton. Whether he comes on or not it was the right approach. We had zero spine players we could count on. Since then Jack, Rance and Grimes (taken that year too) have come on enormously and we still need one or two more to come on. If we hadn't drafted Griff, Astbury and Elton who would be the candidates? McGuane might have been signed to 2015.
You're looking at the 2009 draft through 2012 eyes. Only in your wildest dreams could you have thought we'd be anywhere near even hoping to challenge in 2013 back then. It's a testament to how much the club's got right since that we are.
Three mids this year, all taken with earlier picks than Parker, Fasolo or Christensen, combined with one or more of Griff, Astbury or Elton making the grade and we will be pushing for flags from 2014-2020. A longer, more sustained challenge because we took the time to build a big strong frame.
