Youth Policy

[DST]

Originally posted by Damien
Don't take it too seriously DST!

Simply stating that you can get greatness or nothing. There is a fair bit of risk with any trade.

Sorry Damien, some people think that it was the worst mistake ever made by the club which put us back 20 years.

DST

[Bear]

Roos was happy to talk about a 'youth policy' when there was low expectations 12-18 months ago. Now he is wanting to recruit big names in search of short term success. He has used the excuse that Sydney will not tolerate 3 years on the bottom like St Kilda. He also has his coaching reputation to consider.

I think what Sydney will not tolerate is never winning a grand final.

In his defence he is in a catch 22, as we do have a core group of very good players, but not the depth to go all the way without a hell of a lot of luck. What does he do? Write off the careers of the Halls, Barry's, O'Loughlins, etc and trade middle-of-the-road players for youth, or trade them for short term success risking another decade of mediocrity?

One thing is for sure. Players like Saddo and Fosdike have not performed up to expectations and should expect to be traded for the right deal.

[liz]

Originally posted by Snowy
Problem is none of the youngsters (McVeigh and Schneider included), will be superstars. Only way to get them is to have early picks.

It depends on how you define "superstar". The only true "superstars" who have probably emerged in the last couple of years are Riewoldt and Judd, though Luke Ball could well join them within the next year or two. And yes, they were all top 3 picks.

If you go down a level, though, to the players who have emerged to be pretty damn good you find a mixture. Hasleby was a top 3 pick as was Pavlich. Dal Santo, S Thompson, Schammer, Kelly were all latish first round picks, equivalent to what we have available to us this year (and last year with Willoughby). Coughlan was an earlyish second round pick, Black a late second round pick, Goodes a late 3rd round pick.

Look at this year's top handful in the RS award (not a guarantee they will be top flight players but certainly an indication of quality). Rivers was a 3rd or 4th round pick a couple of years back, Hadley somewhere in the 30s I think (also in his 3rd year on the list), Bevan and Davey rookie picks.

And if you look at the more highly influential players on our list you'll stumble across names like Kirk and Kennelly, Goodes as previously mentioned. Even our Baz wasn't a top pick in his time. I think he was taken somewhere in the mid-teens originally.

Then consider how long it takes some players to emerge to be really good players. Other than Kirk, O'Keefe and Barry are examples on our list. There are plenty of others who have started out as merely handy but then elevated themselves to be really good players - off the top of my head Ling, Nigel Lappin, Fraser Gehrig, maybe Scott Burns fits in here, Peter Bell, Adam McPhee, David Teague.

Not everyone has to "do a Judd" and it's certainly far too early to conclude how good players like McVeigh, Willougby, Schneider, LRT etc might become if we are patient.

[cressakel]

Originally posted by DST
Sorry Damien, some people think that it was the worst mistake ever made by the club which put us back 20 years.

DST

Darren Holmes was the worst mistake/draft pick the club has ever made and I don't even know what year and draft pick he was, but he was the worst player ever to pull on a boot playing AFL.

The best decision the Swans ever made in regard to drafting was trading Holmes to Fitzroy in about 1995 or 1996 - and I don't even know what compensation we received in return.....

Paul Kelly - gun/legend/champion/superstar
Darren Holmes - exasperation/shocking/tv breaker/spastic

[Ruck'n'Roll]

Originally posted by Snowy
Problem is none of the youngsters (McVeigh and Schneider included), will be superstars. Only way to get them is to have early picks.

I think Scheider will be (unless hammies get him)!

[Rob-bloods]

Originally posted by Snowy
Problem is none of the youngsters (McVeigh and Schneider included), will be superstars. Only way to get them is to have early picks.

Thinking this one through, how many superstars in the Port team? Minor premiers three times in a row, best winning percentage over three years and now a premiership.

Even Brisbane have had an even (unique too, perhaps) spread of talent that simply runs deeper than most other clubs. A few specials too, but everone seems to hold their comparative general toughness and body strength so important.

Saints have a wealth of early draft choices and finally had a good year this year, with results bolstered by their run at windless stadium.

No answers here, there is no easy way to success, I think we are headed in the right direction though.

Perhaps more pertinent is Roosey's statement that "Sydney simply cannot afford a 'rebuilding' phase" that is prophetic, and very relevent to our deliberations on drafting and policy.

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by Rob-bloods
Thinking this one through, how many superstars in the Port team? Minor premiers three times in a row, best winning percentage over three years and now a premiership.

Yep - Port is the one I look at it. With a better midfield we could go close to emulating them. We could have a better forward line and our backline isn't too far behind their's (we need a good CHB). Their midfield is fairly unheralded but effective - adding just a couple of very good midfielders (not necessarily stars) and another reasonable ruckman could get us closer to this.

[Ruck'n'Roll]

Originally posted by Rob-bloods

Perhaps more pertinent is Roosey's statement that "Sydney simply cannot afford a 'rebuilding' phase" that is prophetic, and very relevent to our deliberations on drafting and policy.

I'm one of those who'se not so sure about that "prophacy"

Of course the Swans are determined not to go back to the ealr 90's so we'll probably never know how loyal the fans are.

But I suspect that our membership is more stable than the powers that be, believe. Sure after the Edelstunned era membership dropped but that was almost 20 years ago.

[CureTheSane]

Originally posted by Snowy
Problem is none of the youngsters (McVeigh and Schneider included), will be superstars. Only way to get them is to have early picks.

Forget about the word superstars for the moment.
IMO there are maybe 7 or 8 genuine 'superstars' in the game at the moment.

It is not something we should expect our players to aspire to.

What we want is really good consistent players, who occasionally have a blinder.

And a few seasons ago, I thought Kirk was a very average player, who I wouldn't have missed if he wasn't in the team.

Look at him now - you never know....