Oh, and since we lured him here a year ago, and the message it would send to prospective free agents or recruits who might actually now be quite keen to come to Melbourne and play under Paul Roos is simply too horrifying to contemplate.

You really think that he is not worth $500k a year until he is 28?

He is a bullocking FF with a great attitude and leadership skills who will provide protection for a star-in-the-making Hogan.

And Watts will never have a solid body like Dawes, nor his penchant for contact.

And Fitzpatrick is a wiry, slight 2m beanpole who may develop into a poor man's Mitch Clark.

There is no chance those two progress past Dawes in 2014 or any point in the life of Dawes' oh-so-terrible contract.

Thanks for a considered response. Yes he does have a number of good qualities and has proven a worthy addition to the team thus far and will be into the future. But as a distinctly average player he should not be immune from trade talk is all I'm saying. Let alone people being attacked for even mentioning it.

Thanks for a considered response. Yes he does have a number of good qualities and has proven a worthy addition to the team thus far and will be into the future. But as a distinctly average player he should not be immune from trade talk is all I'm saying. Let alone people being attacked for even mentioning it.

What is the definition of 'attacked'?

I condemn it wholeheartedly.

What if we actually did trade Dawes: a respected leader of the playing group gets moved a year after we poached him. He delivers much needed onfield leadership, strength in the forward line, and attack on the ball and man, and we trade him in the hope that Fitzpatrick continues his relatively modest rise in form when compared to, let's say, Dawes, and the hope that Watts can continue to produce and lift his attack on the ball to a level of, let's say, Dawes.

You say he is distinctly average.

I say he is a 25 year old FF who initiates contact, kicks straight, leads well, and will provide protection for The Best Talent the MFC Has Seen In A While from 2014 onwards.

There is nothing average about Dawes at the MFC.

"I am surprised that so many put Dawes ahead of Fitzy in medium-long term planning. Dawes has reached his potential and has averages out at a little over 1 goal and 13 touches in a game.

Dawes has only just turned 25 in May, so I am not sure why you are saying he has reached his potential. Are you saying that he will not continue to improve as 25 is some magical number where a player plateaus? Can we expect no more improvement from Jones, because like Dawes, he was born in 1988?

Dawes has this year been given a chance to really reach his potential in a forward role after the Pies had him performing mostly ruck duties in 2012...not to mention the fact that he spent 7 games on the sidelines as a result of a broken knuckle.

Of course he is not going to being scoring bags of goals when he is virtually the sole forward option and is therefore heavily marked by the oppositions' best backs... let's just see what he is capable of when we have Clark and Hogan assisting in the forward line. Let's not forget that he played no small part in keeping the Pies in the drawn GF and then kicked a couple in the replay... we need players who can respond when the chips are down and they are really needed; and that is exactly the kind of player Dawes is.

Its a No from me. He's starting to earn his keep at the moment and he offers valuable leadership on field.

Also, with M Clark on the side lines and every chance not to make a full recovery from his foot, Dawes is a must have on our list.

I agree. Keep Dawes and also keep Clark, Hogan, Watts, Fitzy and Howe. With our luck with injuries, I feel very confident going into 2014 with options in our forward line. Despite the widely acknowledged need to bolster our midfield, it should not be acheived by trading off the key personnel in our forward and backlines.

I wouldn't be offering Dawes up for trade, if the right offer comes then it is probably worth seriously considering

for example Bulldogs offer Griffen for Dawes and 2nd Round pick, you'd have to give it some thought ( won't happen )

Next people will be saying we should trade Hogan.

Sorry forgot that was Tuesday's idea.

Looking forward to Jack Viney's day in the sun.

Viney is always injured. He's wasting our salary cap and a spot on the list. Because he's young I think he'll be worth a lot to other teams and we might be able to get a midfielder in return.

This thread still hasn't been closed, amazing.

I'm sorry, but this qualifies for worst thread of all time.

All I can say is there is a old saying,

Some people have Rocks in their heads

However this thread is Bigger than that !

To classify it as anything Below Boulders would be to do it a Injustice !!