But he marks the ball at the highest point according to David W King
As usual, with every draft, time will tell which players will go on to have long and successful AFL careers and which clubs were successful in the draft. Time will tell if it was a "smart move". Perhaps we have missed out on a potentially really good player between picks 20 and 39. For example, Reef McInnes (193cm defender/midfielder) at pick 23. "Shifter", David King and Brad Johnson were praising him big time in the tv coverage and saying what a great choice he was by Collingwood. The Age stated today "was touted to go higher. Magpies will be happy to have got him here". Time will tell. If he goes on to play 250 games for Collingwood, then maybe it wasn't such a "smart move".
There is another possible angle to all this and that is the absence of a new contract for Houli. Maybe it is taking so long because there is a disagreement between player and club as to the amount on a new contract. Maybe the club didn't take another player in the draft because they wanted to leave some salary cap "buffer" to possibly accommodate some extra money for Houli. I can't imagine Houli making any over the top money demand but after all, he is a three time premiership hero and has probably been paid "unders" by the club for the last 3-4 years.
David King and Brad Johnson rated him?
I saw King at Flemington one day. He backed the favourite in the 2nd. It came in first in the 3rd.
You know perfectly well that drafting can be particularly hit and miss. In the end it doesn't matter what King or Johnson think, time will reveal the success or failure of drafting choices. A few years ago, the RFC drafted Shai Bolton at pick 29. If the 18 clubs knew at the time of the draft what we now know about how very good Bolton is, he would surely have been drafted in the top 5 picks. Obviously there are many many examples of good and bad recruiting over the years by all clubs. As I mentioned, I was very disappointed that the club didn't back itself and take a judgment chance on a player using our first pick (and trading that pick to the foe at Geelong just made it worse) . I am of course not privy to the internal/private discussions and deliberations of the RFC recruiting team and neither are you. Imo, it is premature to say with any confidence that the RFC not using our first pick was a "smart move". We can watch with keen interest next season as to how the players picked at 20-39 and 41-50 fare at their respective clubs.
Some reckon they smashed it outta the park........................................(god I hope not).
This is the new phrase in footy this week, never before have I heard so many pundits pull this one out.
