I caught Harves on ABC y'day and he gave a couple of hints as to why they went with Hilly over Rich.

He mentioned that Hill was both skillful and athletic and that Freo thought there were some clear areas where they could enhance his game with little trouble and to great effect.

He also mentioned that throughout the draft they were looking for smart footballers with a very high work ethic.

The second point would seem to contradict the first in the case of Hill v Rich. However, they firmly believe that Hill has scope for some serious improvement whilst they believe that Rich may be close to his top level. Listening to him it struck me they think Rich might be more a Shannon Hurn than a Simon Black. Hurn was a dominant kid because of his size and kicking skills but has stalled in the bigs.

It doesnt sound like it makes sense...especially when many say Rich is ready to go in AFL. Now, once Freo made it known they were keen on Hill I was personally very happy.

Being someone who is past my own playing days, I look back over the years at players I liked and really feel like Hill goes in as hard as Solly for the ball.

He looks like he puts in real effort. Which is what myself as a paying member wanna see the players do.

Personally, I think Hill shows a bit of Sollys hardness, Peter Matera/Gavin Wanganeen running type who can break the line from the back and deliver accurately to a target. Also, whilst marking and defending reminds me of our own MJ.

What were we criticised for all last year:
i) not being quick enough
ii) not winning clearances
iii) not being fit enough to run out games.

I read somewhere that apparantly we started to do better in the clearances towards the end of the year. (Merc: can you confirm?) We've hired a new fitness team. Makes sense that we then go for speed over clearances with our first pick.

Our new midfield coach, Barry Mitchell, ran some stats and reckoned that we had performed much better in the midfield over the last 5-6 games. See my members' meeting report.

So lets see, Rich is like the flat track runner one pace with a little sprint at the end. With a Hill you get the steep climb and an up tempo on the other side.
As for last year we started with the same old same old. Predictable if slow and we ended with the enthusiasm with the young. More mistakes, maybe, but unpredictable with line breaking with less malicious frees against and less crab assaults to the boundary and less bombs to Pav surrounded by numbers. (and yes I know he didn't play).

I notice that the E-Girls flew NikNat, his brother, father and mother all down to Melbourne for the draft and a photoshoot with Woosha. Rich was there with Mum and Dad as well - yet Hill stayed in Perth (to have a kick with Hayds and Mike in the park).

We picked Hill simply because we spent too much on the 4 baskets of oven baked chips given free to the members at the AGM and couldn't afford to fly anyone anywhere.

Well you can't expect them to wait until Sunday, or God forbid Monday, to have their photo shoot.

I get the Mum and Dad thing, but a brother too? Nats has a big family - who excluded most of them and decided on taking the brother? Nissy, or Woosha? Did they take the twin brother with a wig just in case Nats went missing?

Is it my bias or has there been much more media coverage of Naitanui, Rich and Yarran than Hill? More interviews and positive spin for these guys than for Hill. Mind you I haven't seen the Sunday Slimes so I could be off the mark.

You'd have to understand the importance of family in Polynesian society...

which doesn't explain why the Whitewashers did it.

Which is a lovely argument to make, guy, once you've explained why they didn't all just stay in Perth. We've come a long way, we even have cameras in Perth now.

So have the bookies got odds on whether he plays AFL or does an SGIO ad first?

In a serious late challenge for the coveted Hackdorn, the man himself trots out some garbage that Freo should 'prepare for judgement' on the following basis:
- Freo failed to draft Rich
- Rich therefore falls to pick 7
- all pick 7s are destined to be champions: see exhibit A=Rhys Palmer
- ergo, Freo are losers.

Of course it matters not to the Hag (and a few other papers that the same perverse #7-based argument) that
(i) the Dockers didn't actually have pick 7 to spend
(ii) if they had taken Rich, Hill would have become lucky #7
(iii) Exhibit A, Rhys Palmer is exactly why we should trust the judgment of our recruiting staff.

Well I'm pretty sure that there is only one photo of Hill in existance (the one we've all seen)...

He was unknown until the U18's, and was still little known afterwards. Maybe the media had never heard of him?

Deeppurple, that was a well thought out rebuttal. Are you a lawyer? And who's paying you?

The Hack's a hack. His arguments are like saying that, based on our knowledge of the Hack, that all journos are like him... oh wait...

A few Slime supporterrs made a be-line for me today to tell me what a huge mistake we made with our first round pick, and that the Eagles recruitment team shake their head in amazement every time we make selections......... One went off at us for recruiting indigenous players.

I gave it back......but jeez I hope we give them a towelling again this year.

After I read Kim's musings, I got lost in a logic loop for 7 hours. Luckily someone eventually came past and and pried the newspaper out of my hands to revive me.

I think Hill was the right choice, but get used to the crowing David. Here's how I see it panning out:

Harvey has stated that Hill needs some development and won't be rushed. So Hill will play 5 or 6 games at most and get limited game time off the half back flank.

Rich will play 15-20 games including some time in the middle.

At the end of the year, this is all the evidence that the knockers will need to back up their uninvited opinions, despite Hill's development unfolding as planned.

DAvid, they haven't got a leg to stand on...

for years, their catch cry at the drafting table is to always take the best player available. Suddenly, they've wasted their 2nd pick on a huge gamble, easily falling for the hype, whereas Freo have invested wisely for the future.

I reckon Vossy will run him into the ground because he thinks he's a grown man. He'll have Osteitis pubis by March and miss most of the season with injuries.