21 minutes ago, Lord Travis said:

Did you just describe Zac Jones or Jayden Hunt?

Hunt kicks more goals than he misses.  He might miss a few targets, but he is a pretty reliable shot for goal.

On a slightly wider note it seems that this year could be a big one for trading.

Listening to Peter Gordon (president of the Bulldogs) yesterday he made the obvious point that clubs are looking at a 20% increase in the salary cap over the next five years. How individual clubs spread that around is mainly up to them. Some may choose to invest it in one or two players with back ended deals etc. He mentioned this in the context of say North going after Dustin Martin.

With our five or so key younger players it will be interesting to see how MFC decides to play the game and of course the likes of Oliver or Petracca could be the subject of big offers from other clubs.

14 minutes ago, Wiseblood said:

Hunt kicks more goals than he misses.  He might miss a few targets, but he is a pretty reliable shot for goal.

True. He is more reliable having shots for goal than passing to teammates inside 50 after one of his trademark dashes.

Jones would be top 5 in Sydney's bnf this year and would be a good pick up, but only if we got him cheap. We have greater needs with quality talls at both ends.

Zac is a much-improved player and provides run and grunt, but my preference would be to fill the gap we have in key position players before we get another mid.

I agree that Jones is an uprade on our ins this week - Harmes, ANB and probably Melksham. But 1st rounder?

8 minutes ago, Fifty-5 said:

I agree that Jones is an uprade on our ins this week - Harmes, ANB and probably Melksham. But 1st rounder?

His second half of the year will dictate the price if he decides to leave.  Swans are very keen to re-sign him, so if he does want to leave then they'll demand top price.  That doesn't mean we pay it, though.

I had a good look at him last night and can see why we are interested regardless of his last name. We don't really have mids that have speed that can play outside and really push for metres gained. This and he still fits our competitive inside mantra. He can also add to our half back run creating further flexibility with Hunt for 2018.  I suspect his outside game and kicking will also look better on the bigger space of the G. Its a matter of convincing him and the rest would take care of itself. You would think if he doesn't stay there we would have to be the option.   

Don't know about you guys. But I'd live to have Viney lining up next to Zak Jones in Melbs midfield for the next ten years.. 

Can never have too much Jones!

Edited May 27, 20178 yr by Mud Dogs Gonna Win

17 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Do you know that as a fact.  The media report I saw around trade time said the Sydney offer was around $350k - they couldn't afford anymore because of salary cap pressure.

If a fact I will go back and amend my post.

Absolute fact 

I reckon Zak will work as hard as Nathan to improve his game and will end up being a good player, probably more role player than anything else. I don't think he's a first rounder though, at this point in his career.

12 hours ago, DV8 said:

I wonder if he is about the same value as Watts would be?

He has more value than Watts.  Watts would be a late 2nd rd / 3rd pick

Billy Stretch will be a better player.  We need a premium, not more soldiers.

Would he improve our team? IMO yes. 

If we can get him for the right $$ and pic i would be happy. 

Edited May 27, 20178 yr by DemonOX

We should look a bit west of the SCG. I'd like us to make a play for a classy GWS mid with a few seasons under their belt, say 24-26 yr old. D Smith, Coniglio, Whitfield or maybe even Shiel.

I think we will be looking for a junior ruckman or an emerging tall marking key position player.

Vince and Lewis will give us another year at least each after this.

We need another tall given Pedos age ,the ruck injuries and the slow development of King.

 

4 hours ago, stevethemanjordan said:

We are the third or fourth worst ball-movement side in the AFL.

Jones has many admirable attributes but ball use at this stage isn't one.

There's no way in the world the club would give a first rounder for him. That's a Richmond-like move.

I'm far more interested in players who will boost our ball use through the midfield. Run and carry is all well and good if it ends up in a scoring opportunity. I mean, Hunt's ability to break lines is great but he still butchers it or struggles to finish his work when he fails to kick to the advantage of our forwards. He is inconsistent with his finishing. And Jones is in that category. 

We need a serious injection of skill and class through our midfield imo and there are others we should be targeting for that reason.

 

Let me know when you find Utopia.

The way the game is currently being played hardly affords the the type of player you have in mind. The relentless pressure and outnumber style is in vogue and will be for some time I reckon.

Give me grunt and the ability to get it into the forward line any day of the week.

Our greatest concern is the inefficient conversion from good entries into F50.

I think we have enough class with Lewis, Hibberd and Salem right now without running out and paying overs for a silky player that struggles getting his hands dirty at the coal face.

2 hours ago, McQueen said:

Let me know when you find Utopia.

The way the game is currently being played hardly affords the the type of player you have in mind. The relentless pressure and outnumber style is in vogue and will be for some time I reckon.

Give me grunt and the ability to get it into the forward line any day of the week.

Our greatest concern is the inefficient conversion from good entries into F50.

I think we have enough class with Lewis, Hibberd and Salem right now without running out and paying overs for a silky player that struggles getting his hands dirty at the coal face.

You watching today's game?

And you reckon asking for players with strong ball using ability is asking for Utopia?

And no our greatest concern is not in inefficient conversion from good entries going inside 50. We have an innibility to use the ball efficiently from all areas of the ground. Whether from the backline, midfield, going inside 50 and even converting shots on goal as you said.

The quality of our entries going inside 50 are actually incredibly underwhelming so I disagree with you on that.

 

14 minutes ago, stevethemanjordan said:

You watching today's game?

And you reckon asking for players with strong ball using ability is asking for Utopia?

And no our greatest concern is not in inefficient conversion from good entries going inside 50. We have an innibility to use the ball efficiently from all areas of the ground. Whether from the backline, midfield, going inside 50 and even converting shots on goal as you said.

The quality of our entries going inside 50 are actually incredibly underwhelming so I disagree with you on that.

 

Are you watching today's game?

To be fair, this game is highlightjng how terrible we are all over the ground.

I'm over the team and not in the mood to debate mate.

15 hours ago, stevethemanjordan said:

We are the third or fourth worst ball-movement side in the AFL.

Jones has many admirable attributes but ball use at this stage isn't one.

There's no way in the world the club would give a first rounder for him. That's a Richmond-like move.

I'm far more interested in players who will boost our ball use through the midfield. Run and carry is all well and good if it ends up in a scoring opportunity. I mean, Hunt's ability to break lines is great but he still butchers it or struggles to finish his work when he fails to kick to the advantage of our forwards. He is inconsistent with his finishing. And Jones is in that category. 

We need a serious injection of skill and class through our midfield imo and there are others we should be targeting for that reason.

 

Aside from Kelly, who would you be targeting, Steve? There aren't exactly an abundance of silky mids on offer in FA.

9 hours ago, A F said:

Aside from Kelly, who would you be targeting, Steve? There aren't exactly an abundance of silky mids on offer in FA.

You're right, there aren't a lot.

Doesn't only have to be FA however, they can be coming out of contract or even still have a year running.

Liam Duggan and Darcy Tucker are two I'd be looking at.

Robbie Gray is a restricted FA 2018.

Maybe we have someone in mind in this years draft.

Let's see.

 

This will be an interesting thread to revisit in a few years, whatever the outcome.

Zak Jones has a rare combination of strengths that will make him a sought after commodity. And if he has the durability of his brother then that only amplifies his value.

42 minutes ago, stevethemanjordan said:

Robbie Gray is a restricted FA 2018.

I'm biased, one of my favourite players to watch in the AFL...

Would be a great get...being under-utilised as a mid because they lack goal kickers.

X-factor plus, right up with the best in my opinion.

One thing Zak will need to remember is that if he plays for us, he'll get suspended for what he did on the weekend - the MRP like handing out weeks to Demon players as opposed to fines!

On 4/26/2017 at 8:23 PM, ProDee said:

Is meh the term ?

Must agree. Finds the ball, is tough as nails, but we need to add to our skills.  Dont think he stacks up there.

On 27/05/2017 at 9:10 AM, Fifty-5 said:

Billy Stretch will be a better player.  We need a premium, not more soldiers.

When will he be? This season is showing that recruiting for a premiership in the next two years is what many teams should be doing including us, with one eye on the long term with responsible balance between using their draft picks for young players or trading them for established players. Zak Jones is a player that is ready to make an impact and be a solid contributor in 2018-2019. Stretch is currently in the VFL with no guarantee that he will become better than Zak Jones after 3 or 4 years.

Same line of thinking goes into why we're wanting to recruit another forward or ruck/forward and not put all our eggs in the basket of hoping Weideman is a great player long term when the next 2 years are important in filling our holes because there is no guarantee that he will come on and if he doesn't, the team falls behind others long term and in the short term you're stuck with VFL level players rotating in and out of the side.

Edited May 29, 20178 yr by DominatrixTyson