I hope we take Nick Nat if available, he has some serious athletic ability and by all accounts a great attitude. The fact that Seaby wasn't traded may swing the chances of us getting Nick Nat in our favour.

He would be the best fit for us I reckon. If we were back in the 1980's we could call him part of our 'Pacific Rim Stratergy'for taking the GF Cup to the shores of the Indian Ocean. But these days that all looks a bit suss!

Rich has to be first priority. He has not just played well at junior level but spent the last two years in the WAFL against men, proving he can handle the bigger bodies. Subi have protected him a bit by playing him off half forward and giving him around 60% game time. He is certainly not slow and I can guarantee you no one will run him down from behind.

If Rich is gone then Hartlett will be the Palmer/Selwood of this draft. He has everything you could ask for in a footballer and will be a fantastic addition to any side. I would be tempted to pick Hamish ahead of Rich but I've settled on the home grown talent.

Hill is not in the same class as these two and I don't believe he ever will be. He is more of an outside player who will take several years to develop into anything close to Rich or Hartlett.

On another point, I agree we need to pick up midfielders with our early picks but if by some miracle Watts is available, he needs to be taken at 3. You can't pass up a player like Watts.

Whenever I think of Rich, I think of the quote attributed to Phil Jackson, the NBA coach: "You can't coach height." Give me a tall fast midfielder over a short fast midfielder any day of the week.

Rich is taller than Hill and they're both over six foot. How tall are we after?

He must be fat, then. He looks short for his weight.

I think the draft age should be raised a year, its just a raffle for clubs at this age.

I'd say Rich has been on an all-protien diet since he was 3. He's strong, tall, and reasonably paced. He's not lightening, but he's no slouch. speed is a priority, but with Palmer's ability to win the ball and carry it I would have thought a booming left footer would be the natural selection.

Fire the starting gun.
Hill starts running with the ball, and Rich kicks it.
lets see which one gets to the 50m mark first.

I think you'd be surprised... speaking of booming left feet, you probably haven't seen any of Hill's highlights.

only the highlights from the state under-18's. A couple of good kicks but nothing like the two-step 55-metre goal I saw in the Rich highlights. Hill seemed a good link man through the middle, but he wasn't making best position in the clearances like Rich was. Hilles handpassing seemed to always miss the target by a metre or so while Rich almast lways hit the target in tight. Rich looks every bit the natural footballer. On top of which he is fit as a fiddle, has a booming left foot, and has proven himself at WAFL level, and twice impressed in the state under-18s.
I understan tall poppy syndrome, but when you're talking about Rich, Naitanui and Watts you are talking about a different class of footballer.
Watts looks every bit as good as Pav did when he was drafted.
Rich looks every bit as good as Haze did - but with a longer kick.
Naiter is a different story, but is one of those freak buddy franklin types that could easily change the way the game is played.

Hartlett is probably the next best bet for us, but I'm still in pain from Josh hightailing back to SA and I'm not sure if I can handle another rejection like that... I mean... for Adelaide!

What is this "booming left foot" you speak of?

I always thought they were raking

From the Subiaco FC website: Rich is 181cm. That's not quite 6 foot (182.88cm = 6 foot exactly) but still an adequate size for a midfielder.

To put it in context, Hase is 180cm.

As long as Rich isn't slow I say take the natural talent.

Actually, Meat Truck, you make a good point there.

We've just had a year without Hase and it hurt us. He's getting towards the second half of his career. If Rich is of similar quality to Hase, he'd be the first choice. We need another player with a nickname the same as his surname.
Hase = Hase.
Rich = Rich.

You know it makes sense.

Scott Watters has it in his contract that everyone has to be listed as a few centimetre shorter so his feelings don't get hurt. All the draft stuff I've read has him at 185cm.

To put it in context, Gary Ablett Jr is 182cm.

You know, 182cm is pretty tall for a girl!

I agree with Mission Man on this one. Whoever comes along at 3 then we take the best. Rich or NN have their upsides and down.

Personally, as long as we score Anthony Kyanga, then I will be relieved.

If we get NN, then I would be hiring Sir Stephen Michael as the mentor for the future champ. Pay the peer whatever he wants for his essential role.

It always amazes me how the height of draftees/players varies. How can a players height vary 4cm?

Is it an honest mistake or a result of someone or group pushing a private agenda?

(bizzare conspiracy theories are most welcome!)

Sox makes a good argument. If we don't get Rich then I hope he can make as good an argument for the niknaks.

Simple answer Meat - two digit IQ's either in the media, or in administrative roles that never really are held responsible for anything.

I'm sure others will claim the Irish have something to do with this - or that measuring height is akin to predicting the birthdate of a baby (2 weeks this'a'way or 2 weeks that'a'way).

It's not that hard to misjudge 4 cms.