The last three years of Miller time

[Tigerdog]

Regardless of who holds them, picks 8 and 13 can only be used to recruit one player each. It is not as if the players naturally line themselves up in order and can be picked up according to a Scientific formula.

Agreed with most of your post ToT, except this part.

Pick 13 allows 5 other clubs to pick 5 of the best young players in the country before we get our choice. Yes of course you only get 1 pick still and other clubs may may mistakes or choose players we weren't interested in. But the point remains that is still possible that 1,3 or 5 of those players ARE players who we may have had as top ranked juniors.
Extending that logic out, how many of the best ranked juniors will we miss out on between picks 26 and 58??

I want Polak to succeed. I just wish we could have been a bit more creative in paying the price we did. You may not agree with that and that is fine. But in one of the supposed best draft ever (or one of them) to give up 5 places in the first round and have a gaping hole in the middle (round 3) is disappointing. That is my opinion. I am not ramming it down your throat as a fact.

Yes we needed KPP backmen because we have failed to recruit any besides Thursty in the last 3 years. That is a fact and what has forced our hand in the latest trade period. So in effect we have paid the price for our own mistakes.
A player KPP defender we recruited 3 years ago would be ready to 'click' next season. That is one of the causes of angst by the often mis-labelled 'darksiders'. Or as I prefer to call many or most of them, 'realists'.

 

[geoffryprettyboy]

Regardless of who holds them, picks 8 and 13 can only be used to recruit one player each.  It is not as if the players naturally line themselves up in order and can be picked up according to a Scientific formula.

Agreed with most of your post ToT, except this part.

Pick 13 allows 5 other clubs to pick 5 of the best young players in the country before we get our choice. Yes of course you only get 1 pick still and other clubs may may mistakes or choose players we weren't interested in. But the point remains that is still possible that 1,3 or 5 of those players ARE players who we may have had as top ranked juniors.
Extending that logic out, how many of the best ranked juniors will we miss out on between picks 26 and 58??

I want Polak to succeed. I just wish we could have been a bit more creative in paying the price we did. You may not agree with that and that is fine. But in one of the supposed best draft ever (or one of them) to give up 5 places in the first round and have a gaping hole in the middle (round 3) is disappointing. That is my opinion. I am not ramming it down your throat as a fact.

Yes we needed KPP backmen because we have failed to recruit any besides Thursty in the last 3 years. That is a fact and what has forced our hand in the latest trade period. So in effect we have paid the price for our own mistakes.
A player KPP defender we recruited 3 years ago would be ready to 'click' next season. 

That is one of the causes of angst by the often mis-labelled 'darksiders'. Or as I prefer to call many or most of them, 'realists'.

Very well explained, especially the last sentence.

 

[TOT70]

And I agree with all that you have posted as well, TD.

All that we can do about mistakes that have already been made is try to fix them. Recruiting Polak is an attempt to do exactly that. It may or may not be a good move. A weakened position in the draft is not ideal.

The question is, will it be OK as a package. If Polak works out, and a good player or two are taken in the draft anyway, it will work. If Polak breezes through the place and fails to appreciate the seriousness of his circumstances or if drafting is poor it will be a wasted year.

The fact that Polak comes with baggage complicates this immensely. All things considered I would have looked elsewhere. On ability, he is the best available experienced tall that was on offer and was only available because of the baggage. Its a gamble. Wallace has backed himself and his ability to turn this guy around. His track record for this is better than most.

I appreciate the point that you and others have made about playing the percentages. Miller and Wallace do not tread the conservative path. In finance terms, return is the reward for risk. Perhaps this applies to Football as well!

 

[Dean3]

Pick 13 allows 5 other clubs to pick 5 of the best young players in the country before we get our choice. Yes of course you only get 1 pick still and other clubs may may mistakes or choose players we weren't interested in. But the point remains that is still possible that 1,3 or 5 of those players ARE players who we may have had as top ranked juniors.
Extending that logic out, how many of the best ranked juniors will we miss out on between picks 26 and 58??

TD, this is the part that has so surprised me about people's negative reaction to the Polak trade. All the angst over 5 spots in this strong and deep draft is perplexing to me. Everything I've read and researched about this draft suggests that after the first 5 or 6 picks, picks 6 or 7 thru to, say, 25 are all very similar in strength and standard. Of course, that is a matter of opinion, but that generally seems to be the opinion of the clubs. So why the amazing reaction to moving from 8 to 13? To me, the reaction is out of whack to the fact. As far as giving away pick 42, well, even in a strong draft that is always a more speculative pick, but a reasonable trade (IMHO) for a 22 year old KPP with 70 games experience and a good junior pedigree.
As I've said on other threads, it is the very strength of the draft that made this deal a good one — do it in a weak draft year and you'd have a problem justifying it. IMO the hype surrounding this draft is nothing short of ridiculous. It affected the whole of trade week to the point that clubs were too scared to do anything involving picks.  I'm glad that Miller was able to stick to his guns, stay with the plan & get the player he wanted and still keep us with a first round pick, a solid 2nd rounder and 4 picks in the top 60.

 

[Tigerdog]

Ok now we will have to agree to agree TOT. :hihi

Yeah Dean I see what you are saying and to some extent I agree with some of your points. But even though the players may be considered even, you do reduce your percentages od getting the player you want by dropping down the order 5 places.
Unless we rate a player that no one else does. And that causes me angst as it means we are trying to be too 'cute' again.
Just for the record I was wrapt we got JON at pick 8 last year. I haven't gone back in the archives to document it just yet but after having seen him play at the carnival I was happy to have him come to the Tigers.

 

[TOT70]

Ok now we will have to agree to agree TOT.  :hihi

Unless I am mistaken it is almost group hug time on PRE. :grouphug

Even Claw is posting backhanded apologies on another thread. There must be something in the water tonight!