Luke Ball

[Adzman 2,154]

He is only 25 (2 years older than brock), has played 50 more games than brock, and has been through the rebuilding phase before.

If he is available in the PSD for the right money he would be a great addition to the club.

Leaders are hard to find- Ball is a proven leader.

[rpfc 28,846]

A great leader, and worthy of a decent pick.

I just don't want to give up a pick for him. Maybe 18.

PSD1 seems to be an anti-climax for tempting good OOC players but I am hopeful that we can get a decent player south of 25.

Good hunting, boys.

[jacey 333]

He's Slow and he can't kick...and his best football is in fact behind him...next.......

If Mclean was criticized for his kicking, look out Luke Ball. He has lost a yard in his kicking too.

As brave a warrior he is, I wouldn't take him.

[Rogue 585]

Straight swap Ball for Bartram. No? Okay, nevermind then.

I believe Farmer may have insisted on a trade, not PSD route.

From memory he wanted us compensated, yes.

[The Big Ticket 94]

If Mclean was criticized for his kicking, look out Luke Ball. He has lost a yard in his kicking too.

As brave a warrior he is, I wouldn't take him.

His kicking in the first half against Geelong was brilliant, as was his tackling. I'd take him in the PSD.

[Lord Travis 10,763]

Ball is a good player. I think people are under-rating him. He's a 2 time All Australian already, ex club captain and B&F winner. I'd go as far to say that until OP cut him down he was right up there with Judd and ahead of Hodge. He was better than Brock, and to suggest otherwise is stupid. He was at the level we hoped Brock would get to. It's a shame injury has slowed him, but he could still be a very important part to our midfield. If we could nab him in the PSD it would be fantastic. He's a great leader, and could be a great role model and mentor for some of our younger players. He's 25, which puts him in a good age bracket for us, as our weakness is leadership and good players amongst the 24-26 year old group moving forward. He could become our main extractor along with Moloney, and leave Jones to swing between midfield and rest forward, as he has shown he can be dangerous and kick goals. He'd be a good pick up in the short and medium term I think anyway, especially to mentor guys like Scully coming through.

I also think the grand final proved he still has what it takes. At just above 50% gametime he notched up 22 touches a 7 tackles, basically eclipsing most of his teammates in alot less gametime. People questioned whether he only played that amount of gametime due to his injuries, but their coach Lyon said it wasnt due to injury and it was a mistake he wasnt played more in hindsight.

Mark Thompson was quoted earlier this year as saying they liked having about 15 guys rotate through there midfield, and on Grand Final day they did exactly that. From a Melbourne point of view, over the next few years it would be good if we had a midfield rotation that looked like this:

Scully, Trengove, Grimes, Moloney, Jones, Sylvia, Morton, Ball, Green, Bruce, Blease, Strauss, Bennell, Jetta, Maric, Bate

That's 16, with rotations, but a really good core in Scully, Trengove, Grimes, Moloney, Sylvia, and a good mix of players rotating through, both inside and outside players.

[Al`s DEMONS 0]

dont forget the FLASH