I hate losing games and dislike the playing for picks thing, but as another poster has said - the reality is that we are awful and need the picks.

Another way of approaching this argument is to look at the Top Vs Bottom article a few weeks back which compared Eagles Vs Carlton.

This found a great many similarities between top and bottom teams, all that is except for a couple of key areas.

The key ingredients that separated top from bottom are :

1. game time / experience.
2. The no of top 30 draft picks running arounf for the team on any given matchday.

This article was the turning point for me in respect to the playing for picks debate.

Why?

Well how to you get good top 30 draft picks in any kind of quantity within a reasonable timeframe into your team?

The answer is to finish low on the ladder.

Building a team from later picks isnt the way to go because these players have a higher rate of not making it as AFL footballers than do top 30 draft picks.

Where is all this going - to the simple conclusion that we have to have as many high draft picks injected into our club in the shortest possible time.

The only way to do this is to finish where we are right now - Thats the way the system is, there no other way. The draft penalties we suffered make this an even bigger priority...

The surest way for me to get back to the Carlton I knew is to finish low and gether first round picks. Its not nice losing and being bottom, but its the way the system is like it or not.

lower level draft picks in a team = a mediocre team

high number of first round picks in a team = a finals playing team that willbe likely to challenge for a flag.

take your pick....

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My Blue Heaven

Apparently this line of thinking is very difficult for people to grasp.

Like i said if it was all about wanting to be the best alone and raw talent meant nothing.. id be lining up at the next Olympics in the pool one minute winning gold.. and next minute running off to the athletics arena to take my place in the 100 meter final (Only white man in it).. before nailing a perfect dismount off the horse (equestrian after i win gold there too not the gymanistics ) and gold as the awesome onesome in the rowing before coming off the bench to nail a 3 pointer for the Boomers on the buzzer to knock over the Dream Team.

.....with a little hanky panky with a few of the Swedish synchronised swimming chicks in the after games party....

Highly doubtful isnt it???

......Well the gold medals are....

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Forget St Kilda as the example here, look at West Coast.

Heaps more top 30 draft picks in their team compared to us, but otherwise very similar. They are top of the ladder - Why?

Its really a no brainer.

If you want to be a top team, then you get as many first round draft picks into your side as you can.

OR

If you want to be a team that tries hard and does well, but doesnt threaten for a flag ever - then get a few first rounders here and there and build the rest of the team up with players that arent rated as well.

It really is that simple.

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My Blue Heaven