Our cause isn't helped when you bring in the likes of Rodan, who clearly wasn't in Port's plans and leave someone like Magner on the rookie list.

Boak (A grade), Hartlett (becoming A grade), Cornes (A grade), Ebert (B+ at least), Broadbent (experienced), Wines plus Wingard and Monfries from the forward line.

Now that's what you call a young midfield, with some veteran help from a rejuvinated Cornes. Plus they play 2 rucks to give them a chance around the ground and at the hitouts.

Compare to Melbourne:

Jones, Viney...Matt Jones just starting his AFL career, Toumpas not ready, Sylvia not keen to be a midfielder, Trengove still finding his feet from injury, Michael Evans the same and the rest of the blokes are flankers.

We need some cattle to come through in the midfield. We then need our new recruiter to strike it rich with proper pick ups as mentioned the likes of Heath and Stephenson.

We are paying for the years of Barry Prendergast and even last year when we had Todd Viney do AFL recruiting on a one off basis.

You are absolutely correct about the Prendergast / Bailey regime - a disaster by any reasonable measure. That said, this year's "Moneyball" approach has MN's fingerprints all over it and is equally questionable. Gillies, Rodan, Byrnes & Pederson ???? Spare me. None would be getting a game with the teams which offloaded them. A waste ..

Gillies, Rodan, Byrnes & Pederson ???? Spare me. None would be getting a game with the teams which offloaded them. A waste ..

Yes, because the kids we might have got at the tail end of the draft would be cueing up for Rising Star nominations.

I think the other thing with Port is that they didn't throw the baby completely out with the bath water. They added to areas they were deficient in but they didn't trade/delist anybody and everybody. I guess part of that is that the players seem to react to Hinkley and don't want to leave.