Who do we want??

i still cant decide but i dont think we need hill or watts if hes there.

also required is a backman and pick up our nsw scholraship kid (that ruckman).

If he's available then Rich is our man.
The one thing freo has always lacked is an A-list midfield. If we finally have the opportunity to draft the top mid in the country and we do something stupid like pick a KPP or a ruckman I will bang my head against a wall until the bad thoughts go away.
palmer, hasleby, rich, sandilands. That's a mid combo. then rich pushes back to fill the black/hodge position, crowley tags the judds, peak and ibbo do the line breaking with mundy and DJ on the flanks. that still leaves you with schammer, foster and duffield and browne for depth.
if you take Rich out then you force schammer to play first string mid, and you need your second round picks to be your depth - which is not really depth at all.
Our priorities should be as follows:
1. Rich
2. Naitanui
3. Hill
Having pick 3 means one of these three players will be available.
Hill is fantastic, but Rich and Naiter are a year ahead in their development and are both genuine footy freaks.
They are the "Must-Gets" with Hill as the back-up option.

I am still not convinced, despite what the media says, that the other mob will take NN at #2. I reckon they wil take Rich and leave NN for us.

I hope I am wrong, as I would prefer to see Rich in the Purple.

Just remind me please as to Rich's speed.

Who cares if Rich is one year ahead of Hill in his development Sox? You are drafting for the next 13 years. It's not a question of who is better now but rather who will be better in 4 years. I think Hill is something like 8 kilos lighter than Rich at this point in time. Looks like Hill has far greater capacity to improve than Rich does. As Larkin alluded to - Rich is not quick, Hill is. Seriously quick.

My top 5
Watts (by a mile)
Natanui
Hill
Hartlett
Rich

I don't know if he's got much growing in him (or his height) but there's a bit of James Hird and Troy Longmuir about Hill. Having mistaken those two in the past, I'm not sure how much of which.

I agree with gero on the Eagles. They've got Dean Cox, Mark Seaby and Tony Notte will be a goer if they don't ruin him, and they don't like taking risks.

But if they do, I'd like to see Freo take Hill because it would be the first decision they've made in a while that didn't appear to be made by on behalf of talkback radio callers.

I'm with you there hypen. Rich is a bit overrated anyway.
But regardless, we're going to get a quality player.

I've stated my preferences a lot on this subject, but I think that there are 6-10 fantastic kids ready to rock - whichever one, it will be good. The one I'm the coolest on is Rich however - it's more the body shape (and how that may develop in the future) that worries me.

But, the quality is so good that I think round 2 and 3 will still see some remarkable talent dress in purple next year.

Rich is a footballer we have to turn into an athlete. Naitanui is an athlete we have to turn into a footballer. Hill and Hartlett are both athletes who are also footballers. Make your choice.

Just look at the way footy has changed over the last 3 years and weigh it up.

And 'if' it stays quick the we gotta go quick. But just maybe an eye to future rule changes could be a consideration.

shane, if you're right, can we draft hills brother too?
Get a winner either way then, a bit each way.

Very little positive gets discussed about Rich.

I wonder about his defensive speed at Subi when you still have Hase and Schammer and to a lesser degree Palmer and Mundy in the midfield. They're not guys you can really count on to turn and catch another midfielder. We get killed on the rebound in the modern game.

However, I think people are under rating Rich's ability to get the pill in the centre, swing on to that left foot and hit Pavlich, Mayne or even McPharlin lace out 60 metres away.

He's become a bit like Rhys Palmer in the lead up to the Rising Star.

I just don`t trust the local media and believe they have some form of agenda to attempt to dupe us in an attempt to let the toasters snag Nick Nat and Rich. The lack of a mention for Rich is what makes me suspicious.

I think that Rich would be best for us but am very excited about what Natanui could do for us too. I don't think the eagles will pass up Rich and I don't think Hill is a better option at number 3 than Natanui. I share Sox's concerns that we may not get an a-list midfielder with our second and third rounders but pray that we draft well. Getting Natanui could be the wrong choice as we need midfielders but if it was my choice I just couldn't pass him up.

With haselby and headland back full time, Pav helping out more often in the middle, Ibbo and Palmers continued improvement and good selections with 21 and 24 I hope this will be enough. Chuck in Davenport in the PSD and we should have it covered.

Smurf Watters reckons Rich is the best kick he has ever seen. Ever. No qualifications.

That said, the Weavs will pick Rich and so to me he is a slow, short bloke who excelled at junior level footy by dint of having a man's body.

Like Ryley Dunn.

Unlike Ryley, however, Rich is a guaranteed 20-gamer in his first season, and probably will clock up 150 games when it's all said and done. But none of them will be spectacular.

He is a readymade player and beyond the expected improvement of being in an elite competition and receiving the conditioning and preparation that gives you, with Rich what you see is what you will get. In terms of upside, I call him Blackwall Rich.

So - in short - we get the Lampshade and hope Harvey has the nurries to hold tight and play him in the backline long enough for him to learn how to play.

All I want is for us to get Kyanga and as certain as West Coast are monties to pick up a blue-chip, white, middle-class midfielder, how much of a dead cert are we to pick up an indigenous small forward who shouts EXCITEMENT?

I hope he doesn't shout it. I hope he mumbles it while looking down and spinning a footy in his hands.

Rich looks like very good kick but Scott Watters played an entire career at Fremantle where he only kicked the ball around his body. It got to the point where he would turn into danger just so he could hook the kick. I'm not sure he's a suitable judge of 'best ever'.

He's pumping his product.

Always had a dodgy look about him that way.

So what's Goosich doing then? Trying to feel like a football coach too?