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THE TRADING CHRONICLES by The Oracle

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?

There was a pall cast over the start of this year's AFL trade and draft period with the passing on Thursday evening of Demon legend Robert Flower. In the place where I was at the moment when I heard the news, there were gasps and silence and, though it's said that silence is the greatest praise, it can never be enough when one speaks of club legends of the ilk of Robbie - a loyal clubman to the very end.

Others have praised him for his excellence as a player and as a person both during and after his playing days. His poise and his balance, those majestic skills, the marking and the way he would leave opponents flat-footed and grasping at vacant space while he was off and away in their wake. Robbie was gone.

And now, he is gone and our condolences go out to family and friends. When I reflect upon the immediate future on a club level, what is our task when the end of another barren year comes, but to search to find another Robert Flower, another Ron Barassi or another Hassa Mann for our club so that it can enjoy a better future and for our young fans to be able to appreciate greatness in the red and the blue?

We used to have so many great teams and great players but it all seemed to stop fifty years ago ... except of course in the case of Robbie and a handful of others but none of who ever approached his lofty heights of excellence and majesty.

The free agency trades officially started yesterday and on Monday, the trade period takes off with the father/son selections and the meetings of the clubs' recruiting people. Behind the scenes, it's been going on for some time and while there will never be another Robbie, the question on the lips of all of Demonland is whether now is the time when we find our next champion (or two).

The Oracle will come back from time to time over the next couple of weeks with his observations ...

  • Like 1

Posted

What a lovely touch bringing in Robbie, our greatest player recruited in the last half century.

When will we ever recruit another who comes even close to his brilliance?

Posted

I agree with your observations about Robbie MO but I don't believe there will ever be another like him and I'm more convinced having watched some of the You Tubes floating about on the Internet and social media.

Having said that, I recognise that we sorely need some champions at the club and without meaning any offence to Robbie and his memory, I think we need more than one player of supreme brilliance. If we can pick up a couple of champion/star quality players and a few A graders or potential A graders then we're more likely to improve our overall list than if we discover one great player and the rest turn out to be duds.

Posted

Perfect start to trade week would involve Stretch getting through to our third rounder, Frawley compo confirmed as pick 3 and Clark trade involving both of Geelong's second and third round picks as suggested in the Age this morning. If we can then nab Harry for less than we get for Clark that would be a nice way to round out day one. Too much to ask for in one day?

  • Like 1

Posted

FIRST BLOOD by The Oracle

The trade/draft action opened on Friday and North Melbourne drew first blood capturing free agents Shaun Higgins and Jarrad Waite. Carlton received no compensation for the latter due to his advanced age (in football terms) but the Bulldogs will gain a second round draft pick for the younger Higgins who has been in the wars with injury and has fallen down the pecking order in favour of the number of young midfielders now at the kennel.

The early focus today will be on the father-son and academy bidding meetings which will see the entry into AFL ranks of a dozen new faces nominated by their respective clubs last Friday - The first picks

The players won't necessarily go to the team that nominated them because of the bidding system that comes into play. However, the nominating clubs can match best bid by another club by taking the player with their next draft choice after the bid.

The interest here for Melbourne will be whether it selects father-son nomination Billy Stretch who the AFL site describes as follows:-

Billy Stretch (Melbourne)

The promising wingman has been nominated as a father-son selection by Melbourne, where he trained for a week in January and his father Steven played 164 games, winning a best and fairest. The South Australian, who can also add zip across half-forward, was named as a midfielder in this year's Under-18 All Australian team and he finished the season strongly with SANFL club Glenelg.

Here are some highlights -

Billy Stretch

Stretch was a stand out at the AFL National Draft Combine last week and his stocks have risen lately which means that Melbourne will most likely be required to part with its second round draft pick for the youngster.

These father-son/academy bidding meeting will be followed by the opening of the trade week with recruiters of the 18 clubs locking themselves away like the old horse traders used to do in past days. The objective is the same - to snare some thoroughbreds to the stables but in this case, the horseflesh is the cream of the country's footballing talent.

We're told to expect an early frenzy on the market with the announcement of deals that have been simmering slowly in the background and finalised on the first day.

One Herald Sun writer has speculated about each club's prospects in terms of dream and nightmare scenarios and called Melbourne's in this way:-

MELBOURNE

Dream Scenario:

Adelaide does a backflip and agrees to trade Dangerfield for Melbourne's first round picks and Heritier Lumumba arrives for no more than pick 39.

Worst Nightmare:

Only get Pick 33 or 52 for Mitch Clark, James Frawley has walked and the AFL doesn't agree with their demand for Pick 3 in compensation.

What a laugh for the journo to suggest that Melbourne people suffer nightmares? Surely, the man is oblivious to the fact that Melbourne has suffered so many reversals of fortune in its recent history that its fans neither suffer nightmares nor sleep at all for that matter. They live through what others might call "nightmares" during the daytime.

On the free agency side of things, James Frawley is expected to formally nominate Hawthorn as his destination early in the day. This will be another dagger in the heart of the concept of equalisation. That is not to say the aim of free agency should be to equalise the competition but there is something wrong when the most poorly performed club over the past five years loses a key player at the prime of his career to the best performed. The trend is clear after three years with lowly clubs simply not getting a look in and the best players always ending at the top clubs.

The Dees will most likely get pick three as compensation but the clubs with picks nearby aren't happy about this (similarly, they also complained loudly about Melbourne's now rejected application for draft assistance a few weeks ago).

At the same time, Sydney for some inexplicable reason will be able to select a player considered to be a top three midfield draft prospect from its academy for around pick 18 proving that the entire system is fast becoming a farce as the stronger clubs continue to draw blood from the weaker ones.

...

Frawley.jpg

A last ditch effort by a Demonland luminary to convince Frawley to remain at the club failed recently

Posted

WHAT AM I BID? by The Oracle

The opening day's trade activity might have been frenetic but there were no trades completed on day one. It was left to the bidding process to produce a record of twelve new faces while free agency finally flushed out James Frawley who officially became a Hawk. Very late in the day it was announced that another free agent, Nick Malceski had signed on with the Suns.

The bidding process introduced the following new faces on club lists through father-son and academy selections:-

Isaac Heeney, (Sydney) for pick 17 after Melbourne bid pick 2;

Darcy Moore (Collingwood f/s) for pick 8 which matched the Bulldogs with pick 5;

Jack Steele (GWS) at pick 23 after North's pick 15 bid;

Billy Stretch (Melbourne f/s) taken at 39 following an Adelaide bid bid at 29 on Billy Stretch, which Melbourne matched with pick 39;

Liam Dawson (Brisbane) matched with pick 41 after Richmond bid 31;

Jack Hiscox, (Swans) for pick 36 matching Fremantle at 32;

Harris Andrews (Lions) taken with pick 60 to match North Melbourne's pick 34;

Zaine Cordy (Western Bulldogs f/s) for pick 61 after Fremantle's bid of pick 51;

Abe Davis (Swans) taken with pick 73 which matched Geelong's 70; and

Josh Clayton (Brisbane Lions), Alec Waterman (West Coast) and Jeremy Finlayson (GWS) did not receive bids, meaning they will join their nominated clubs with their last picks in the draft.

(Note: Compensation picks are not taken into account in draft order)

The day was more notable for the things that didn't happen. The farcical events at Bomberland continued to play themselves out when the much awaited sacking of James Hird failed to materialise. The Bomber coach was heard to comment afterwards that there were lots of things to do including the week's trades but he hardly sounded like a man about to do any horsetrading. Nor did his recruiting people who were asking for Hartlett, Wines or Wingard for Paddy Ryder who could, if he so desired, possibly jump across as a free agent under AFL rules because of the goings on at his club. The rumblings are growing louder by the day as more players show their frustration and put up their hands to leave.

There's not much noise coming from Collingwood these days either and the usually outspoken Eddie McGuire has been rather reticent as a number of his players also seem to want out while rivals Hawthorn and Sydney take the limelight. Eddie doesn't usually take these things lying down.

Mick Malthouse is one who has spoken out and he's clearly not happy about the fact that the Blues received no compo for Jarrad Waite on account of his age after his forward defected to North. I can't wait to see his face change colour in the event that Swans are granted a pick for losing Malceski.

There were two big stories on the day for the Demons:

1. They gained Stretch for draft selection 39 (although this will change slightly when the free agency compensation picks are factored in). Stretch, an AIS graduate and All Australian at Under 18 level, shone at senior SANFL level with Glenelg in 2014 and is a solid prospect as an outside midfielder. His Draft Combine performances were outstanding.

2. They lost Frawley to free agency (the fourth player to leave in three years) but gained a first round compensatory national draft selection at pick 3 giving them two of the three picks in November (assuming the club doesn't trade one or both of them away).

The AFL's football operations officer Mark Evans might have announced the band 1 compensation today but in a way, it was communicated between the lines when he knocked back Melbourne's application for draft assistance last month.

Philosophically, the decision not to grant both draft assistance and the Frawley compensation was a below the belt hit at the club. It was clear at the time that Frawley was well and truly out of the door and that the AFL was under pressure not to enable a club to come into the trade period with a fistful of early draft picks even though it had a good case for special assistance.

Assume that Frawley decided to stay. Was Melbourne's record over the past three years (ten wins in three seasons) not one which justified the claim that its circumstances were exceptional enough to warrant the assistance requested by the club.

Especially, as I mentioned yesterday that Sydney was able to snaffle three players, including one rated in the top two in the land for a late first round draft pick.

The system stinks. Now let's see what Melbourne can get out of it.

Posted

SOMETHINGS HAPPENING by The Oracle

"There's something happening here

What it is ain't exactly clear" - Buffalo Springfield

We were almost at the halfway mark of the trade period and some very strange things were happening. We were witnessing clubs imploding, players unexpectedly announcing their desire to go elsewhere, strange interpretations of the rules and no trades going down.

Then the first deal was completed.

The Hawks secured Jono O'Rourke (who was a number 2 pick only two years ago) and 43 from Greater Western Sydney in exchange for picks 19 and 40.

The second trade came soon after with Melbourne snaring Jeff Garlett and pick 83 from Carlton in exchange for picks 61 and 79.

There were a number of other trades in the making and from Melbourne's perspective they included a potential three way deal involving Mitch Clark, Heritier Lumumba and Travis Varcoe which was being delayed because the Cats and Magpies were pre-occupied with other trades. Similarly, the Demons' move for GWS defender Sam Frost was stalled because the Giants had other deals they needed to get across the line.

There was something happening on a number of other fronts involving clubs in conflict and for once none of the clubs in question was Melbourne.

The Essendon supplements saga continued unabated with James Hird getting a date for his expensive appeal to the Full Federal Court. Later in the day the AFL bowed to pressure from the clubs and the public to the deviously contrived plan of Port Adelaide and Essendon that would have permitted Paddy Ryder to be released as a free agent and given the Bombers an extra first round draft pick. The plan had first surfaced on the AFL's own website painted as a you beaut idea similar to last year's Dal Santo trade which was only partly true. Later in the day the pressure on Essendon was increased with two stories appearing in the Herald Sun of the Ryder family agony concerning the birth of his son amid the uncertainty of not knowing what he had ingested as part of Essendon's pharmacological experimentation.

Meanwhile , the biggest bombshell of the trade period so far was launched by Western Bulldog skipper Ryan Griffen, who requested a trade to the Giants as part of a deal that had been on the table for him for five to six months. The Bulldogs were now officially in crisis mode with several other players, including Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney also wanting out and fingers being pointed at the coach amid recurring suggestions that McCartney's position was in question.

Club president Peter Gordon issued a media release stating that the Bulldogs were not going to give up Griffen without a fight. Watch this space.

The standoff between Collingwood and Brisbane over Dayne Beams continued with the Magpies insisting that national draft picks 5 and 25 were not enough for Beams, They want a player of James Aish's ability thrown in as well and if not, he would be required to see out his contract at the club in 2015.

The dealings involving Ryder and Beams are a stark reminder of how difficult it is to trade with clubs like Collingwood, Essendon and Port Adelaide. They recall the situation when Port stubbornly refused to trade Nick Stevens to Collingwood and ultimately lost him to Carlton. At the time, the Magpies' then football manager Neil Balme questioned whether Port's "siege mentality" was good business sense. "Let's say it's a half-back flanker's decision: you give away nothing, you stand your ground and you feel better about it," he said after Collingwood's final offer of draft picks 17 and 35 was rejected just before the trade deadline passed. It will be of interest to see whether history repeats and what happens with Beams and Ryder.

There would appear however, to be no such problems in the near future with regard to the Swans trading in any new players as the club has been told it cannot do so this year or next without bringing about an instant end to the cost of living allowance. Sydney officials are not happy with the ruling.

There are lots more trades brewing now that the first deals have been done. The Lions are actively working away to get Geelong midfielder Allen Christensen, another Cat Tom Lonergan might go to the Dogs, the Blues are after Bulldogs' forward Liam Jones and Giants Kristian Jaksch, Mark Whiley while the Saints want Sydney's Tim Membry.

And all the while, the controversy that once surrounded Melbourne is absent. Things are so calm at Demonland that the coach is off to Hawaii, a place not noted for producing many AFL footballers. However, as long as the club has serious money left within its salary cap following the departures of Clark and Frawley, it would be unwise to take for granted Josh Mahoney's suggestion that it would be content to sit back and use its picks 2 and 3 for drafting only.

Something's happening.

  • Like 1

Posted

Yes. Can't help thinking that there must be somebody the club has in mind to spend those $'s spare from Clark and Frawley.

Another week of this and let's hope we snare a top liner to add to our list.

Posted

Get in Dangers ear give him a bit of a coin and tell him we'll be playing finals before Adelaide, plus he gets to come home.

He requests a trade to us, we sit in the box seat, hand over pick 2 + pick 23 (And if it'll do anything, Tapscott), keep Pick 3, draft Angus Brayshaw.

Posted

SHOCK AND HORROR IN TRADE WEEK by The Oracle

There we were earlier in the week, sitting back lamenting about the whole free agency and trade thing and thinking it was nothing more than a dull, colourless and boring snorefest.

Hell, it even took until the fourth day before the first trade was nailed down, enacted by Hawthorn, the smiling assassins of trading. They quietly worked over the GWS novices when Jono O'Rourke, once a number 2 draft selection was traded for 19. The Hawks picked the Giants' pockets so expertly that coach Leon Cameron still doesn't even know the kid's gone yet. A couple more quiet trades were done and the weekend was upon us with probably another twenty or so more hanging tentatively like a thread waiting in a conga line for Collingwood to make its mind up about what it was prepared to take from Brisbane for Dayne Beams.

In the background however, the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock was wreaking havoc, bringing terror into the very hearts of a number of clubs. Players were standing up and asking to leave - even those with unfulfilled contracts. The Western Bulldogs were the hardest hit with captain Ryan Griffen putting his hand up to join Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney, forward Liam Jones and others on the "want out" list. The inevitable result was the departure at the end of the week of coach Brendan McCartney, last seen leaving Whitten Oval with a knife planted securely in his neck with blood flowing all the way back to the boardroom. And they said he left with his dignity intact.

The scene over at the Doggies was positively serene compared with the bloodletting going on at Bomberland as the doping scandal continues to rip the club apart. Paddy Ryder went public on his family's fears about the substances he was supposed to have ingested during 2011-2 and the AFL knocked on the head the potential for a trade via free agency rort suggested on its own website a day earlier.

At least the latest moves at Essendon indicate that reality is setting in over there and the club is now preparing for the worst as 34 players (current and past Bombers alike) prepare to receive ASADA infraction notices. Leaving aside Ryder and Leroy Jetta (their only official departure to date), half of that number are still on Essendon's list and this has forced it into action.

Jason Winderlich who was injured in 2011-2 and believed safe to play was convinced to stay on, as was Ben Howlett who had threatened to leave if James Hird was sacked. His stand earned him a two year contract although he is unlikely to ever play under Hird again. Dustin Fletcher was mulling over applying for the aged pension but was persuaded to have a crack at 400 game honours instead.

The Bombers also announced the first delisted free agency signing at the weekend when they secured formed St. Kilda defender James Gwilt. This certainly caught me by surprise because, looking up the key dates for free agency, trade and drafting, you might find this:-

Saturday November 1 - NAB AFL delisted player free agency period (1) begins

.

So far, the Bombers have been unable to attract the interest of players to the club so the apparent premature announcement of this signing smacks a little of desperation along with some much-needed damage control for the tough months ahead.

The Swans who always find a reason to complain about something also felt bloodied when they were excluded altogether from drafting players into the club for reasons related to the phasing out of the COLA.

The Demons also gave us our own shock-horror moment with their announcement that they might be open to a trade of former co-captain Jack Trengove to the Tigers. When you're dealing with a person who had shown and continues to show great loyalty and who has suffered much adversity in his short career, your first, second and third thoughts are that the idea rankles and runs against our concepts of what it means to be part of a good club. But other questions are also raised. Why are we going to these lengths to secure draft selection 12 - why does the club need this pick? And are we really becoming ruthless at last?

I concluded on Friday with the words, "Something's happening" and I'm more certain than ever that this has to be the case.

So For what it's worth ...

  • Like 1
Posted

With the imminent announcement of agreement between Collingwood and Brisbane over Dayne Beams, we can expect the floodgates to open today and a raft of trades to be announced, including the fate of Mitch Clark and Heritier Lumumba.

I suspect that the Jack Trengove story might take a little longer to play itself out and that it really is, as is suggested above, part of something bigger and more complex (and better for the club).

It looks like our recruiting department has taken a far more proactive approach than ever before and I'm looking forward to the outcome, like many Demonlanders with great anticipation.

Posted

HAPPY DAYS by The Oracle

The free agency and trading period which began so brilliantly for Melbourne when the club secured Billy Stretch for a third round national draft selection and overall pick 3 as compensation for James Frawley, who everyone knew from a long way back was leaving the club, turned sour yesterday.

After all of the drama of the Friday evening announcement that former captain Jack Trengove was on the trade table and almost certainly off to the Tigers, the news of further damage to his navicular bone was devastating to hear given that he has been such a model citizen at the club, that he has gone through so much in terms of injury and disappointment and has shown so much in terms of loyalty. The injury certainly scuppered the proposed trade which would have given the club an additional first round draft choice but also left the club's playing list one short for the foreseeable future. The Demons rightly are backing their man and hoping that he can get back to full health and resurrect his career.

The much-awaited mega trade involving what seems to be about half, if not more, of the participants of this year's trading block, still didn't make it across the line even though the Dayne Beams part of the equation managed to resolve itself yesterday. We all thought that once that happened, all of the other pieces of the jigsaw puzzle would fall into place and the number of "done deals" would mushroom from the piffly four trades completed to date to more than a dozen but it didn't happen.

The reason for that is that the Travis Varcoe move from Geelong to Collingwood was still waiting on the crossing of some t's and dotting of i's. The thing had been on the drawing board for days waiting of the resolution of the Beams matter; now the football world would have to wait another day while two of the slowest moving football clubs on the planet got their acts together.

Mark Robinson of the Herald Sun who has been much maligned over his handling of the Bombers' drug saga got it almost right with this tweet:

@Robbo_heraldsun: beams deal narrative: stalled, slight movement, moving, breakthrough, clubs talking, maybe done, almost done, nearly done, poised ... done!

One can only hope that the final part eventuates and the other twenty or more transactions manage to get across the line in the 1½ days left for trading, at the end of which we'll all be singing, "happy days are here again".

Posted

INDIFFERENCE by The Oracle

The emotional roller coaster that is the trade period has ground to a halt and the pundits are already carrying out their post mortems and arguing among themselves about who were the winners and losers.

The fact is that we will not be in a position to assess the outcome for some time to come as the process that began a fortnight ago is ongoing. The free agency period now extends to the delisted free agents giving second chances for some the lesser lights who weren't part of the main free agency and including some who weren't considered "tradeable". Then comes next month's main draft, followed by the preseason and rookie drafts. After that, comes the reckoning.

The day brought to a head the frustrations of a laborious week or so of what was mainly inaction. With deals dependent on others being finalised first, it had been a time of frayed tempers and hard work by recruiting teams, while others barely bothered the scorer. Hello Fremantle and West Coast (it was all quiet on the western front).

We saw more high profile players put their hands up to leave than ever before - including a club captain and a recent number 1 pick making for some interesting times ahead for a few of the AFL's clubs.

The Bulldogs situation is curious. They have lost some very experienced players (on top of their coach) but have gained Tom Boyd who is costing them an arm and a leg. All of their eggs are now in one basket and one must question what will happen in time as Bontempelli, Liberatore, Macrae and Stringer all mature and put their hands up for more money?

How does one assess the situation at this point? The Giants off loaded players and set a huge precedent with regard to those of their number who aren't particularly fond of living in the wasteland of western Sydney. They do have plenty of draft picks and apparently endless funds to drag more of those types into that part of the world. On the other hand, many of the experts claim that Port Adelaide is the winner but its first choice in the draft will be at number 57.

From Melbourne's perspective, the Demons should be happy with their performance. They have jettisoned a key defender who has underperformed for four seasons after winning All Australian honours and gained a younger version who is keen to make a mark for himself who, at 194cm can play key back or key forward.

They have swapped a player who has given them few games and retired due to illness during the year and replaced him with a 199 gamer who plays with flair and was fourth in his club's best and fairest (albeit a somewhat left of centre personality). And they gained an exciting crumbing forward who kicks goals and can also move down the ground who fell from grace at his club for personal reasons and was desperate for a second chance.

Their remaining losses were retirements and delistings, of which there are sure to be a few more in the coming weeks. And they will bring in two youngsters ranked by their recruiters as being in the top three or four (they did after all bid for Sydney academy player Isaac Heeney) from the national talent pool to go with All Australian Under 18 father/son selection Billy Stretch at the bonus rate of a third round draft selection.

The club did miss out on the alleged big fish that was supposed to be "around the corner" for the past fortnight and possibly the failure to complete a trade for Jack Trengove had something to do with that but it was never going to be easy to reel in the big one. The club is said to have ample room to accommodate one of the many free agents coming into play next year and, as long as it can bed down a deal with its skipper and improves its on field performance, it could well get its big opportunity at last to reap some benefit from the free agency system.

Still, after the highs and the lows and much of the hype that surrounded the past fortnight, one can't help but look back on it all with a touch of indifference.

The moves:

ADELAIDE

What they got: Luke Lowden (Hawthorn), Kyle Cheney (Hawthorn), pick No.14, pick No.35, pick No.43, pick No.59

What they lost: Pick No.10, pick No. 31, pick No.50, pick No.68

Draft selections: 14, 35, 43, 59, 86, 104, 122

BRISBANE LIONS

What they got: Dayne Beams (Collingwood) and Allen Christensen (Geelong), pick No.67

What they lost: Joel Patfull, Jack Crisp, pick No.5, pick No.25

Draft selections: 44 (Liam Dawson), 63 (Harris Andrews), 67, 81, 99, 101, 117 (Josh Clayton)

CARLTON

What they got: Kristian Jaksch (GWS), Mark Whiley (GWS), Liam Jones (Western Bulldogs), pick No.19, pick No. 61, pick No.79

What they lost: Jarrad Waite (free agency, no compensation),Jeff Garlett, pick No.7, pick No.46, pick No.83

Draft selections: 19, 28, 61, 65, 79, 119

COLLINGWOOD

What they got: Levi Greenwood (North Melbourne), Travis Varcoe (Geelong), Jack Crisp (Brisbane), pick No.5

What they lost: Dayne Beams, Heritier Lumumba, pick No.67

Draft selections: 5, 9 (Darcy Moore), 30, 48, 85, 103, 121

ESSENDON

What they got: Adam Cooney (Western Bulldogs), Jonathan Giles (GWS), pick No.17, pick No.62

What they lost: Paddy Ryder, pick No. 53

Draft selections: 17, 20, 62, 71, 89, 107,

FREMANTLE

What they got: Nil

What they lost: Nil

Draft selections: 13, 34, 54, 72, 90, 108, 126

GEELONG

What they got: Mitch Clark (Melbourne), Rhys Stanley (St Kilda), pick No.10, pick No.47, pick No.60

What they lost: Allen Christensen, Travis Varcoe, pick No.14, pick No.35

Draft selections: 10, 47, 55, 60, 73, 91, 109, 127

GOLD COAST

What they got: Nick Malceski (Sydney, free agency), Mitch Hallahan (Hawthorn)

What they lost: pick No.47, pick No.49

Draft selections: 8, 15, 29, 66, 84, 102, 120

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY

What they got: Ryan Griffen (Western Bulldogs), Joel Patfull (Brisbane), pick No.6, pick No.7, pick No.23, pick No.53

What they lost: Tom Boyd, Jonathan Giles, Jono O'Rourke, Kristian Jaksch, Mark Whiley, Sam Frost, pick No.21, No.43, pick No.62

Draft selections: 4, 6, 7, 23 24 (Jack Steele), 80, 98, 116 (Jeremy Finlayson)

HAWTHORN

What they got: James Frawley (Melbourne, free agency) Jono O'Rourke (GWS), pick No. 31, pick No.49, pick No.50, pick No.68

What they lost: Mitch Hallahan, Luke Lowden, Kyle Cheney, pick No.19, pick No.40, pick No. 59

Draft selections: 31, 49, 50, 68, 77, 95, 113, 131

MELBOURNE

What they got: Heritier Lumumba (Collingwood), Jeff Garlett (Carlton), Sam Frost, pick No.3 (free agency compensation, James Frawley), pick No.40, pick No.53, pick No.83

What they lost: Mitch Clark, James Frawley, pick No.23, pick No.61, pick No.79

Draft selections: 2, 3, 40, 42 (Billy Stretch), 53, 83, 97, 115

NORTH MELBOURNE

What they got: Shaun Higgins (Western Bulldogs, free agency), Jarrad Waite (Carlton, free agency), pick No.25

What they lost: Levi Greenwood

Draft selections: 16, 25, 36, 56, 74, 92, 110, 128

PORT ADELAIDE

What they got: Paddy Ryder

What they lost: pick No.17, pick No.37

Draft selections: 57, 75, 93, 111, 129

RICHMOND

What they got: Nil

What they lost: Nil

Draft selections: 12, 33, 52, 70, 88, 106, 124

ST. KILDA

What they got: pick No.21

What they lost: Rhys Stanley, pick No.60

Draft selections: 1, 21, 22, 41, 78, 96, 114

SYDNEY

What they got: pick No.37

What they lost: Nick Malceski, Shane Biggs, pick No.39 (free agency compensation, Nick Malceski)

Draft selections: 18 (Isaac Heeney), 37, 38 (Jack Hiscox), 58, 76 (Abe Davis), 94, 112, 130

WEST COAST

What they got: Nil

What they lost: Nil

Draft selections: 11, 32, 51, 69, 87, 105, 123 (Alec Waterman)

WESTERN BULLDOGS

What they got: Tom Boyd (GWS), Shane Biggs, pick No.27 (free agency compensation, Shaun Higgins), pick No.39, pick No.46

What they lost: Ryan Griffen, Adam Cooney, Shaun Higgins, Liam Jones, pick No.6, pick No.37 (free agency compensation, Adam Cooney)

Draft selections: 26, 27, 39, 45, 46 64 (Zaine Cordy), 82, 100, 118


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    TRAINING: Friday 22nd November 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers were out in force on a scorching morning out at Gosch's Paddock for the final session before the whole squad reunites for the Preseason Training Camp. DEMONLAND'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS It’s going to be a scorcher today but I’m in the shade at Gosch’s Paddock ready to bring you some observations from the final session before the Preseason Training Camp next week.  Salem, Fritsch & Campbell are already on the track. Still no number on Campbell’s

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    Training Reports 2

    UP IN LIGHTS by Whispering Jack

    Those who watched the 2024 Marsh AFL National Championships closely this year would not be particularly surprised that Melbourne selected Victoria Country pair Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay on the first night of the AFL National Draft. The two left-footed midfielders are as different as chalk and cheese but they had similar impacts in their Coates Talent League teams and in the National Championships in 2024. Their interstate side was edged out at the very end of the tournament for tea

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    Special Features

    TRAINING: Wednesday 20th November 2024

    It’s a beautiful cool morning down at Gosch’s Paddock and I’ve arrived early to bring you my observations from today’s session. DEMONLAND'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Reigning Keith Bluey Truscott champion Jack Viney is the first one out on the track.  Jack’s wearing the red version of the new training guernsey which is the only version available for sale at the Demon Shop. TRAINING: Viney, Clarry, Lever, TMac, Rivers, Petty, McVee, Bowey, JVR, Hore, Tom Campbell (in tr

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    Training Reports

    TRAINING: Monday 18th November 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers ventured down to Gosch's Paddock for the final week of training for the 1st to 4th Years until they are joined by the rest of the senior squad for Preseason Training Camp in Mansfield next week. WAYNE RUSSELL'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS No Ollie, Chin, Riv today, but Rick & Spargs turned up and McDonald was there in casual attire. Seston, and Howes did a lot of boundary running, and Tom Campbell continued his work with individual trainer in non-MFC

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    Training Reports

    2024 Player Reviews: #11 Max Gawn

    Champion ruckman and brilliant leader, Max Gawn earned his seventh All-Australian team blazer and constantly held the team up on his shoulders in what was truly a difficult season for the Demons. Date of Birth: 30 December 1991 Height: 209cm Games MFC 2024: 21 Career Total: 224 Goals MFC 2024: 11 Career Total: 109 Brownlow Medal Votes: 13 Melbourne Football Club: 2nd Best & Fairest: 405 votes

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    Melbourne Demons 12

    2024 Player Reviews: #36 Kysaiah Pickett

    The Demons’ aggressive small forward who kicks goals and defends the Demons’ ball in the forward arc. When he’s on song, he’s unstoppable but he did blot his copybook with a three week suspension in the final round. Date of Birth: 2 June 2001 Height: 171cm Games MFC 2024: 21 Career Total: 106 Goals MFC 2024: 36 Career Total: 161 Brownlow Medal Votes: 3 Melbourne Football Club: 4th Best & Fairest: 369 votes

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    Melbourne Demons 5

    TRAINING: Friday 15th November 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers took advantage of the beautiful sunshine to head down to Gosch's Paddock and witness the return of Clayton Oliver to club for his first session in the lead up to the 2025 season. DEMONLAND'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Clarry in the house!! Training: JVR, McVee, Windsor, Tholstrup, Woey, Brown, Petty, Adams, Chandler, Turner, Bowey, Seston, Kentfield, Laurie, Sparrow, Viney, Rivers, Jefferson, Hore, Howes, Verrall, AMW, Clarry Tom Campbell is here

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    Training Reports

    2024 Player Reviews: #7 Jack Viney

    The tough on baller won his second Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy in a narrow battle with skipper Max Gawn and Alex Neal-Bullen and battled on manfully in the face of a number of injury niggles. Date of Birth: 13 April 1994 Height: 178cm Games MFC 2024: 23 Career Total: 219 Goals MFC 2024: 10 Career Total: 66 Brownlow Medal Votes: 8

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    Melbourne Demons 3

    TRAINING: Wednesday 13th November 2024

    A couple of Demonland Trackwatchers braved the rain and headed down to Gosch's paddock to bring you their observations from the second day of Preseason training for the 1st to 4th Year players. DITCHA'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS I attended some of the training today. Richo spoke to me and said not to believe what is in the media, as we will good this year. Jefferson and Kentfield looked big and strong.  Petty was doing all the training. Adams looked like he was in rehab.  KE

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    Training Reports
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