Just having a look at the draftee's of year 2000....
Here some suggestions of what we couldv'e recruited

Pick
#4 Luke Livingston: Could've gone for #9 Pettifer(Better Value IMHO)
#11 Trebt Sporn: Should of gone for #12 Shaun Burgoyne(Definately better player.
#15 Simon Wiggins : Missed out on #18Daniel Kerr.
#46 Sean Okeefe(who?) Had options to go for #52 Buchannon
#50Cassisi
#51Dion Woods
#49Wakelin
#53Skipworth
#55Chris Newman

#61 Callan Beasy : Had options of # 66Scott Thornton or #67 Graham Johncock

Above are some of the players we couldve of been picked up in 2000 draft and there were many more serviceable players in that group. It has been mentioned before that this is a major reason why we are sitting where we are on the ladder
My question is how could we totally f#ck up on draft day?

Was the recruiter doing his job properley?

Could it be that for the past 5 years we are unable to nurse these players through AFL and make them half successfull player's?

Too many questions not enough answer's this is why ladies and gentlemen we are wooden spooners 2 years in a row along with the draft penalties we copped!!!!!

We could quite easily be a top 8 team if we had done the job properley in the first place!

It's so easy to pick the good players in hindsight.

_________________

************************************************************
NOW YOU'RE JUST SOME CLUB THAT I USED TO KNOW.

Auntie, balls, uncle.

Do you honestly believe that if the club "does it's job properly" that we should end up (6 years later) with the best player that was available at each of it's picks?

If only we'd had some idea on developing talent.

_________________
Patrick Smith - Just another reason to HATE Essendon*!

The players we picked could well have been stars as well. It's all about how they develop once they get into a professional football club environment. Some wanted it more.

Love your hindsight vision though. Top Notch Stuff.

_________________
The only way for some people to understand is for them to be on the receiving end

Left wing moralists
In self serving denial
They shit me no end

...

Livingston was the biggest cock up of them all.
how could you get pick 4 so wrong.

can't kick. can't run. can't read the play. shits himself under pressure.
Livingston = biggest dud ever!

Are you talking about Kepler Bradley?

What is worse about our recruiting is trading first and second round draft picks for recylced hacks. Devonport, Mansfiled and O'Reilly.

All good points.

But here's a challenge...

Why don't you pick the superstars to come out of the 2006 National draft that will be available at picks:

1, 17, 19, 35, 51 & 67

That would be a very worthwhile exercise.

_________________
Congratulations CK95

While that's pretty much proved true as it's panned out, Livingston was widely regarded as a top 5 pick by all pundits in 2000, as well as performing very well at draft camp from memory. It wasn't like we chose one from left field.

_________________
Congratulations CK95

That twisted bowell injury before he had played a game probably prevented Livo from fulfilling his potential. Just sheer bad luck. Lay off the young man - he didn't work out, but he seems like a top bloke to me

Taking hindsight out of the equation, why was it a mistake? As far as I can gather he was pretty much rated by all as the best tall prospect available.

I have heard it reported that the club instructed that pick 4 was to be used on a tall. If this is true, then I think this was the error. Especially at the higher picks, we should always take the best player available.

Other than that, there are no guarantees with 17 year old kids and people using hindsight to pass judgement really annoys me. Question the decisions with information available at the time, not with information available 6 years later.

Wasn't Livo a forward in his younger days? Think our biggest mistake was drafting a forward and trying to turn him into a full-back. Shown potential there and been able to match it against the bigger forwards on occasion, but often just looks lost - like someone who is playing out of position!

If this is the case, the criticism of the kid is unfair. Doubt he'll be at the club next year though.

My bowel twists every time Livo goes near the ball

_________________
"I had to eat"

The other talls that were taken shortly after Livo were McDougall and Angwin.

We all know what happened to Laurie and McDougall is softer than Houlihan.

_________________
Writer for SuperCoach Paige www.scpaige.com.au
Twitter - @johnfeeney24

Taking Trent Sporn instead of Daniel Harris was a stupid decison that had nothing to do with hindsight....Harris is one of the most improved players going around and I was shocked we didnt taken him and then couldnt believe the reasoning behind Sporns selection...will grow into a CHB?
Livingston at No 4 was a fair enough choice that just didnt work out..

Daniel Kerr made it clear to recruiters that he wanted to say in WA and when interviewed at his private school sent the message to non WA clubs that he wasnt keen.....

_________________
"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen

My question to you is do you honestly think 5/5 mistakes in the 2000 draft is good enough?

Probably not acceptable - but the draft is a lot like a lottery, sometimes you are going to luck out, though in the modern game, this is becoming less and less likely and the higher draft picks often go on to be great players.

But if you look through that draft, wasn't just us that made drafting stuff ups! What ever happened to these top 40 draft picks - Angwin, James Davies, Nick Ries, Steven Greene, Blake Campbell, Sam Hunt, Allen Murray, Jeremy Humm, Michael Handby!! One guy you forgot to mention - Daniel Cross went at 56 and look how he has turned out!

Add to our drafting mess that this was the year we ended up basically trading Hamill for Cranage (!!!!!!) and Livo (!!!!) - not that Hamill has done much for the Saints, but we could have come out of that so well!

Hey, 2X4year contracts @$400,00+ Allison....we may still come out ahead with that deal

_________________
“Every single element of the Club has to be the best in the league, meticulously and methodically, and only by doing this will we be elite and challenge for number 17.”
Greg Lee