That relief when you come back here after an hour and find out you haven't missed anything. It's golden. 

40 minutes ago, markc said:

can someone send me a message when something happens ?  save me looking all week ?

 

I, too just had a look, once again and to my surprise, nothing has happened, yet. 

26 minutes ago, Lord Neville X Flash said:

I think it's a myth we struggle down back, we were fine against Geelong and Hawthorn in the finals, and suffered when we turned the ball over in the middle of the ground v west coast.

PLUS, Our best and most important defender in Lever was out.

I think the combo of Lever/Omac, or Lever/Frost, or even Lever/Frost/Omac is good enough to win a flag.

If anyone of Tmac, Hogan or Weed was going back, it would surely be Weed as he is the least valuable forward

Yeah its a myth.

We were 18th for defending i50s in 2107. We were 14th in 2018. The club is looking at Stephen May and KK (a half back flanker) has requested a trade to the MFC.

Yeah our defence is all peachy.

Josh Mahoney speaking now

- Dees spoke to Freo around hypotheticals surrounding Jesse

- Dees spoke to Saints around the Kent possibility

- MFC still very open for Jesse to stay at Melbourne - No requests from Jesse as yet

- GC/May talk - Still waiting on Steven May to decide what he wants to do but also hinges on what Jesse is doing 

Trade Radio conducting press conferences next to a tradie working an angle grinder.... ?‍♂️

The use of the word hypothetical is interesting. 

1 minute ago, jnrmac said:

Yeah its a myth.

We were 18th for defending i50s in 2107. We were 14th in 2018. The club is looking at Stephen May and KK (a half back flanker) has requested a trade to the MFC.

Yeah our defence is all peachy.

Most of our woes in terms of conceding goals came from lack of two way running, which was heavily highlighted throughout the year. We eventually tightened up just prior to finals. And yes i think with Lever coming back in, and another year in the gym for Omac, and another preseason of skills training for frost leaves us in a reasonable position re: key backs. 

I believe Jesse is heading down to Bells for a surf, then later tonight he’ll crack a beer, have a cone followed by a mud cake and then decide where he wants to be. 

Edited October 8, 20186 yr by Ethan Tremblay

I agree re: Jesse to CHB. 

He definitely has the physical credentials to be a fine CHB, but, suspect he would take some serious convincing to try it and then he'd have to throw himself into it for it to work. 

If he has any reservations or doubts it will most likely crash and burn. Probably a long shot to work out. 

3 minutes ago, Dee*ceiving said:

I agree re: Jesse to CHB. 

He definitely has the physical credentials to be a fine CHB, but, suspect he would take some serious convincing to try it and then he'd have to throw himself into it for it to work. 

If he has any reservations or doubts it will most likely crash and burn. Probably a long shot to work out. 

A player who may need "serious convincing" to play a role for the team if necessary ... I'd prefer players who do what is asked of them wholeheartedly.

Brings to mind Jesse's body language which I reckon has been questionable at times.

That said, I'm not denying Jesse's many positive footballing characteristics.

3 hours ago, SFebes said:

How have we landed ourselves in such tight financial cap situation with such a young list? If we can't afford May without losing Hogan, are we in some strife going forward? Definitely sounds tighter than it should be.

Not being able to afford May is more in terms of picks. In terms of being able to financially afford players we would not only look at how a prospective player would fit within our Total Player Payments based on contracts but also ensuring we have headroom to manage the overall health of our list well into the future. E.g. We could backend a 4 year contract but should do so in a responsible manner. 

19 minutes ago, Lord Neville X Flash said:

Most of our woes in terms of conceding goals came from lack of two way running, which was heavily highlighted throughout the year. We eventually tightened up just prior to finals. And yes i think with Lever coming back in, and another year in the gym for Omac, and another preseason of skills training for frost leaves us in a reasonable position re: key backs. 

It doesn’t. That’s why we’re pursuing May with vigor. 

Our back six as it currently stands is not good enough to win a premiership. Frost is back up quality only, Oscar still developing, Lever a star but has now had two knee recos.

We got picked apart by Kennedy and Darling (and a number of other key forward set ups in 2018) and will again if we don’t strengthen the defence.

Edited October 8, 20186 yr by EnterTheDragon

7 minutes ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

I believe Jesse is heading down to Bells for a surf, then later tonight he’ll crack a beer, have a cone followed by a mud cake and then decide where he wants to be. 

I'm lead to believe he prefers brownies over mud cake as the temptation to gorge is removed by the smaller serving

22 minutes ago, Krazy Jaeger O'Smeara said:

Josh Mahoney speaking now

- MFC still very open for Jesse to stay at Melbourne - No requests from Jesse as yet

Hardball. ?

27 minutes ago, Krazy Jaeger O'Smeara said:

- MFC still very open for Jesse to stay at Melbourne - No requests from Jesse as yet

Rules out the deadline theory..

 

34 minutes ago, Lord Neville X Flash said:

Most of our woes in terms of conceding goals came from lack of two way running, which was heavily highlighted throughout the year. We eventually tightened up just prior to finals. And yes i think with Lever coming back in, and another year in the gym for Omac, and another preseason of skills training for frost leaves us in a reasonable position re: key backs. 

There is truth to the fact that weaker midfield running will result in higher i50s. But it doesn't obscure the fact that defenders have to be able to defend and ours aren't great. Its not that hard. in 2017 we were last for defending one on ones. I can't get the stats for 2018 but we are nowhere near good enough when the ball comes into the fwd line.

4 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

There is truth to the fact that weaker midfield running will result in higher i50s. But it doesn't obscure the fact that defenders have to be able to defend and ours aren't great. Its not that hard. in 2017 we were last for defending one on ones. I can't get the stats for 2018 but we are nowhere near good enough when the ball comes into the fwd line.

Agreed that our defence hasn't been our strong suit. But our game style does contribute to conceding more goals, we are a team that backs ourselves in a shootout. 

But i guess i am very optimistic that we can sure up our defence through the growth of our current list.

Collingwood, West Coast did nothing last trade period, and got exceptional growth from the players they had on their list. Similarly Richmond saw huge improvements from the likes of Grimes, Astbury, Vlastain etc 2 years ago

Edited October 8, 20186 yr by Lord Neville X Flash

hypothetical = waiting for Jesse's decision and waiting for Lachie Neale trade results and waiting to see whether we or Freo blink first.

2 minutes ago, Demonland said:

hypothetical = waiting for Jesse's decision and waiting for Lachie Neale trade results and waiting to see whether we or Freo blink first.

Let’s hope Freo aren’t engaging in hy-pathetic-als.

32 minutes ago, Dee*ceiving said:

I agree re: Jesse to CHB. 

He definitely has the physical credentials to be a fine CHB, but, suspect he would take some serious convincing to try it and then he'd have to throw himself into it for it to work. 

If he has any reservations or doubts it will most likely crash and burn. Probably a long shot to work out. 

I was all for trying him along the HB during this season. To see if he had the acumen for it as much as curtailing the hanging up he was experiencing from the better teams' defenders.

But as a new full time job...I'm a little more circumspect and have my reservations. 

Defenders have got to be on all day. Hogan can drop his shoulders at times and lose the tempo. That's a disaster for a backline.

For a defensive role I'm more inclined to get a proven defender which is exactly the stance of the club btw.

http://m.afl.com.au/news/2018-10-08/wantaway-rory-wants-to-lob-with-the-dockers

Would not think Lobb will come cheap, even with the need for salary cap relief for GWS. 

It will be interesting to see how Freo can trade in Hogan as well.

Jesse should be played at CHF so he can roam into the centre square... I prefer we keep him and sign him long term. 23yr old with his best football in front of him.

I am sure there is a way to get May without involving Hogan... Surely!

So many opinions being written forcibly on here as fact....

For no reason at all (maybe just the 'vibe'), I feel that we are happy to have Hogan off our list.  We will know in time, especially if a deal does get done and it's less than 2 x first rounders.  We'd be mad to accept anything less if Hogan, unless there are circumstances why we'd be happy to accept just 1 x first rounder.

For me, the caveat is his injury.  I just wonder if the club has concerns about Hogan's body.  I know they told us that they got on to the navicular early and he will make a full recovery from it, but are we concerned about his body's ability to stand the rigours of playing AFL, especially as a KPF?

The reason Freo are playing hardball is because they know they can't easily get Lobb and Hogan without giving up everything in the first round. GWS will want one of their first few picks as well, we will obviously want two.

There seems to be a concerted effort in the media to create the impression Hogan is only worth one first rounder. Wonder why!