Heard from the inner sanctum at Hawthorn that they're confident they have got a big fish this off season.

How would the football world react if true? If it were Dangerfield?

A lot of people tell me FA won't have an impact on unevenness of the competition.....It's the environment created within football clubs that attracts players.....

I maintain that FA when used strategically prolongs the strong sides to remain strong for longer. And makes it harder and longer for bottom sides to regenerate and climb sooner. And the AFL are all for even competition? BS.

There will always be a handful of teams only winning 3/4/5 games a year.

Sign Jesse for 12......

Hawthorn lost Franklin and picked up Frawley, how have they benefited the most?

Free agency was player driven, nothing to do with the AFL wanting to bring it in.

Was being a tad facetious.

Spoke to Brendan McCarthy today while he was shopping in Geelong. Known him a while now.
Two things stuck out from our chat.
He thinks the Dees are 18 months off where the Doggies are at.
When I mentioned Dangerfield. He smiled and said "We're certainly having a crack!".

Spoke to Brendan McCarthy today while he was shopping in Geelong. Known him a while now.

Two things stuck out from our chat.

He thinks the Dees are 18 months off where the Doggies are at.

When I mentioned Dangerfield. He smiled and said "We're certainly having a crack!".

Poor Brendan. Just trying to do his shopping. Still, go on him for chatting.

Poor Brendan. Just trying to do his shopping. Still, go on him for chatting.

Ha! It's all good. His wife is best friends with my mum. We've talked a lot before.

Heard from the inner sanctum at Hawthorn that they're confident they have got a big fish this off season.

How would the football world react if true? If it were Dangerfield?

A lot of people tell me FA won't have an impact on unevenness of the competition.....It's the environment created within football clubs that attracts players.....

I maintain that FA when used strategically prolongs the strong sides to remain strong for longer. And makes it harder and longer for bottom sides to regenerate and climb sooner. And the AFL are all for even competition? BS.

There will always be a handful of teams only winning 3/4/5 games a year.

Sign Jesse for 12......

I'm all for we'll run clubs which is why they win flags.... But if a club that's just won back to back or even 3 flags in a row can get an A+ grade player.... Makes a complete mockery of the equalisation of this so called comp..

Might as well call it EPL & let clubs buy players they want & be done with it... Afl continues to undermine & make changes to the rules of what the draft & salary cap were designed to do!

Edited August 20, 201510 yr by Hogan2014

Hawthorn lost Franklin and picked up Frawley, how have they benefited the most?

Free agency was player driven, nothing to do with the AFL wanting to bring it in.

They received a first round pick for Franklin, and got Frawley through FA (for nothing more than cap space).

Also, they have freed up cash they saved from the Buddy offer, now they are chasing another big name. Hawthorn are doing ok.

Spoke to Brendan McCarthy today while he was shopping in Geelong. Known him a while now.

Two things stuck out from our chat.

He thinks the Dees are 18 months off where the Doggies are at.

When I mentioned Dangerfield. He smiled and said "We're certainly having a crack!".

I'd have thought that if you actually knew him, you'd know his name was McCartney...

Heard from the inner sanctum at Hawthorn that they're confident they have got a big fish this off season.

How would the football world react if true? If it were Dangerfield?

A lot of people tell me FA won't have an impact on unevenness of the competition.....It's the environment created within football clubs that attracts players.....

I maintain that FA when used strategically prolongs the strong sides to remain strong for longer. And makes it harder and longer for bottom sides to regenerate and climb sooner. And the AFL are all for even competition? BS.

There will always be a handful of teams only winning 3/4/5 games a year.

Sign Jesse for 12......

According to Damien Barret, that 'big fish' could be Harley Bennel.

I think the dream result this off season for us would be the following:

FA: Dangerfield

Trade Pick 5/6: Bennell

Trade Pick 25ish: Lynch/Tomlinson

Use later picks to upgrade VandenBerg and possibly draft Lovett as FS.

Starting side next season assuming no one leaves:

B: Jetta McDonald Dunn

HB: Salem Frost Lumumba

C: Vince Dangerfield Bennell

HF: Watts Hogan Brayshaw

F: Garlett Dawes Tomlinson/Lynch

R: Gawn Jones Viney

Int: Tyson VandenBerg Petracca Howe

Hawthorn, I heard last year about this time from a person that has some links to Hawthorns Recruiting that Frawley will be a Hawk followed by Dangerfield in 2015, his last comment was Hawthorn always get who they want. If Dangerfield gets to Hawthorn, free agency will be changed. I reckon the point system for free agency similar to what they are bringing in for Father/Son and academy picks. For example Dangerfield is worth x points, Hawthorns Pick 18 is worth y, if it was a point system Hawthorn would loss its first 3 picks in this years draft and Adelaide would secure those picks. If the AFL doesn't the top 6 teams will remain on top as they will get good players through free agency and also keep getting kids through the draft

Points can go the other way too. Hawthorn would have got all of Sydney's picks for a decade after the Franklin departure. A top club can still work the system to replace FAs with good draft picks.

Spoke to Brendan McCarthy today while he was shopping in Geelong. Known him a while now.

Two things stuck out from our chat.

He thinks the Dees are 18 months off where the Doggies are at.

When I mentioned Dangerfield. He smiled and said "We're certainly having a crack!".

Depressing.

Depressing.

Why? If we are top 4 in 18 months I'd be delighted.

They received a first round pick for Franklin, and got Frawley through FA (for nothing more than cap space).

Also, they have freed up cash they saved from the Buddy offer, now they are chasing another big name. Hawthorn are doing ok.

Hawthorn got a late first round pick for Franklin, he's worth two top five picks and a player.

Why? If we are top 4 in 18 months I'd be delighted.

Depressing that the Bulldogs are back up the ladder after being down the bottom for the fraction of the time we were.

Depressing that the Bulldogs are back up the ladder after being down the bottom for the fraction of the time we were.

To be fair, that's how a normal cycle in AFL should go.

Only incredibly poorly run clubs like ours get stuck on the bottom of eternity.

Bulldogs lost a lot of good senior players, but were smart enough to replace them and use the draft well.

We had 5 years of poor leadership, poor coaching and poor drafting... not to mention poor off field management.

That we are out of the bottom 4 is a bloody miracle in itself right now.

Heard from the inner sanctum at Hawthorn that they're confident they have got a big fish this off season.

How would the football world react if true? If it were Dangerfield?

A lot of people tell me FA won't have an impact on unevenness of the competition.....It's the environment created within football clubs that attracts players.....

I maintain that FA when used strategically prolongs the strong sides to remain strong for longer. And makes it harder and longer for bottom sides to regenerate and climb sooner. And the AFL are all for even competition? BS.

There will always be a handful of teams only winning 3/4/5 games a year.

Sign Jesse for 12......

I know how the AFL would react, ban them from trading for 2 years

that ban on sydney was dead set ridiculous. make the rules up as they go

Depressing that the Bulldogs are back up the ladder after being down the bottom for the fraction of the time we were.

And I wonder if the Dogs would be in that position if McCartney was still the coach. Whilst McCartney did build a list of exciting youngsters, it's their fringe players that are having career best seasons, that has been the difference. Picken, Dahlhaus, Wood, Grant, Johannasen and Wallis are all playing at a higher level under Beveridge. The same can't be said with our fringe players under Roos.

Every time I hear a Melbourne coach being interviewed (senior or asst.), they talk about long term. I find that depressing, because free agency and a freer trade market will allow clubs to top up more readily, making it more difficult for bottom teams to rise.

Depressing that the Bulldogs are back up the ladder after being down the bottom for the fraction of the time we were.

McCartney was drilling contested footy into the dogs while we were floundering with Neeld.

It is what it is. We move on.

To be fair, that's how a normal cycle in AFL should go.

Only incredibly poorly run clubs like ours get stuck on the bottom of eternity.

Bulldogs lost a lot of good senior players, but were smart enough to replace them and use the draft well.

We had 5 years of poor leadership, poor coaching and poor drafting... not to mention poor off field management.

That we are out of the bottom 4 is a bloody miracle in itself right now.

Emphasis on the poor drafting. Leadership can be improved, Coaches can be changed, but a list has a longer half-life.

And our midfield gets punished against mediocre teams, let alone hungry and fast and talented teams.

Hawthorn got a late first round pick for Franklin, he's worth two top five picks and a player.

Obviously he's not, no player is worth that.

Hawthorn got a late first round pick for Franklin, he's worth two top five picks and a player.

They were the reigning Premier and they got the pick they were supposed to get as per the rules based on Free Agency length and value of contract. He was in Band 1 as was Frawley, both teams were given a Pick straight after their first round picks in those drafts.

That makes sense and is how equalisation is supposed to work

If it wasn't like that the Top sides would be offloading a quality player every season to get a pick in the Top 5

Edited August 21, 201510 yr by Pennant St Dee

They were the reigning Premier and they got the pick they were supposed to get as per the rules based on Free Agency length and value of contract. He was in Band 1 as was Frawley, both teams were given a Pick straight after their first round picks in those drafts.

That makes sense and is how equalisation is supposed to work

If it wasn't like that the Top sides would be offloading a quality player every season to get a pick in the Top 5

I know all this, you're missing the point.

Spoke to Brendan McCarthy today while he was shopping in Geelong. Known him a while now.

Two things stuck out from our chat.

He thinks the Dees are 18 months off where the Doggies are at.

When I mentioned Dangerfield. He smiled and said "We're certainly having a crack!".

FFFFaaarrrkkkk that long?!

For what it’s worth, last night I had an extremely vivid dream of Patrick Dangerfield carving it up for us in the rain against Collingwood. I never dream about footy.

I even remember the final scoreline. Melbourne 95 d Collingwood 89.

The only thing that goes against this dream being a portent of the future is that Herietier Lumumba played well, which is obviously impossible.

Edited August 22, 201510 yr by Chook