No to trading Gus.  We will need him when Jones retires.  Anyway, Gus plus Pick #2 to #4 for Whitfield is a terrible trade.  It effectively makes Gus not much more than 'steak knives'.

Whitfield is an FA next year who can walk to us for nothing in 2020.  We just paid pick #6 for May when at the end of this year he could have walked to us for nothing.  We thought we were contending for a premiership and couldn't wait the year.  We should stop paying high for pre-FA's, keep our top picks and wait the year.

So again, No to trading Gus.  And No to trading for a player who is an FA next year.

Look elsewhere.

1 minute ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Different Discussion. I can’t answer it tbh

Thanks for the reply. I think its relevance relates to his form and currency. I can imagine him being traded being placed in the middle at another club and us regretting it.

1 minute ago, Sorry kids said:

Thanks for the reply. I think its relevance relates to his form and currency. I can imagine him being traded being placed in the middle at another club and us regretting it.

Exactly why i would be furious if he was traded this year. 

21 minutes ago, Lord Nev said:

Can see where you're coming from, but I agree with the article in the initial post when it says: "Trading Petracca now would be a classic case of 'selling low'." We just wouldn't get value for him at the moment, so to me his potential is worth more to us than what we would get in return for trading him.

 

Well that's the rub with Petracca isn't it? A lot of people I'm sure would agree with you and the writer of that article.

I personally think his trade value is as good as it's ever going to be now and you run a greater risk of it decreasing in coming seasons. I see some problematic flaws in his game and remain unconvinced he has the mindset to overcome them. I feel he's overrated by many in the media who are still sucked in by his draft number and infrequent acts of brilliance.

I believe we could get a pick somewhere in the vicinity of 10 - 15 for him now from a club in or just outside the eight willing to take the risk in order to fill in a missing piece of their premiership puzzle. I believe the most likely clubs to do this would be either Port Adelaide, Adelaide, Essendon, GWS and Richmond.

We should then take that first round draft pick and use it to either draft or recruit a player who can improve our list. A key forward, a classy, quick and skillful runner or even a small forward who can make our 22 more balanced and better overall.

We should pull the trigger on a Petracca trade now before he goes any further down the path of becoming the next Colin Sylvia. Because that's what I see unfolding.

Brayshaw is a keeper for mine. To come back from those concussions and play in the manner has since show a toughness and a mettle you cannot measure purely in statistics from a single season. He's a jet when up and going. Get some classy runners around Oliver, Viney and Gus and they will shine.

Edited June 18, 20195 yr by Matsuo Basho

6 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

No to trading Gus.  We will need him when Jones retires.  Anyway, Gus plus Pick #2 to #4 for Whitfield is a terrible trade.  It effectively makes Gus not much more than 'steak knives'.

Whitfield is an FA next year who can walk to us for nothing in 2020.  We just paid pick #6 for May when at the end of this year he could have walked to us for nothing.  We thought we were contending for a premiership and couldn't wait the year.  We should stop paying high for pre-FA's, keep our top picks and wait the year.

So again, No to trading Gus.  And No to trading for a player who is an FA next year.

Look elsewhere.

Do we need him when Jones retires though? We already have Oliver, Harmes, Viney, Petracca, Sparrow, Dunkley and more to play that inside grunt role. Who do we have as quality outside players? Spargo? Neal-Bullen? Not exactly A grade, and not exactly quick and skillful. I do agree the trade scenario of Gus plus our first pick is overs however.

On the free agent scenario, I tend to agree with Paul Roos in that we are going to see free agents traded before their last contract year more and more often as clubs look ahead to weigh up value. I would think GWS would already know if Whitfield plans to stay end of next year and are planning accordingly, so there's no guarantee he will be available as a free agent.

 

It would depend on the player we’d be bringing in as part of the deal. Whitfield, Cripps etc then yes. Purely for draft picks to use in the draft, no. 

Edited June 18, 20195 yr by Ethan Tremblay

5 minutes ago, Matsuo Basho said:

Well that's the rub with Petracca isn't it? A lot of people I'm sure would agree with you and the writer of that article.

I personally think his trade value is as good as it's ever going to be now and you run a greater risk of it decreasing in coming seasons. I see some problematic flaws in his game and remain unconvinced he has the mindset to overcome them. I feel think he's overrated by many in the media who are still sucked in by his draft number and infrequent acts of brilliance.

I believe we could get a pick between 10 - 15 for him now from a club in the eight willing to take the risk in order to fill in a missing piece of their premiership puzzle. I believe the most likely clubs to do this would be either Port Adelaide, Adelaide, Essendon, GWS and Richmond.

We should then take that first round draft pick and use it to either draft or recruit a player who can improve our list. A key forward, a classy, quicky and skillful runner or even a small forward who can make our 22 more balanced and better overall.

We should pull the trigger on a Petracca trade now before he goes any further down the path of becoming the next Colin Sylvia. Because that's what I see unfolding.

Brayshaw is a keeper for mine. To come back from those concussions and play in the manner has since show a toughness and a mettle you cannot measure purely in statistics from a single season. He's a jet when up and going. Get some classy runners around Oliver, Viney and Gus and they will shine.

All fairly made points. That's the gamble with Petracca I suppose.

I don't think we'd be looking to trade any of our core players for draft picks though. We've actively avoided the early parts of the draft the last few years as we obviously thought our window was open, I personally think it still is so I wouldn't be trading for picks at this stage.

Absolutely agree on Gus' resilience, I love him as a personality, and he's clearly exceptionally talented, I'm more weighing it up on an emotionless needs basis.

 

58 minutes ago, Clintosaurus said:

No to trading Angus. Kicking can be fixed more easily than being able to find the pill.

I eagerly await your explanation as to how. 

Andddd go. 

Edited June 18, 20195 yr by stevethemanjordan

Hell no ?

1 hour ago, Clintosaurus said:

No to trading Angus. Kicking can be fixed more easily than being able to find the pill.

I agree, no trading Gus, but they also have to fix the kicking of Viney, Hunt, Spargo, Gawn, T Mac, Weid & Hannan who's efficiency is under 60%. 

No way should we be trading Gus. ?

Petracca, Oliver, Gus, Viney.

All of them at their best are quality players. The difference between their best and worst football is the single biggest problem we have, (along with a host of others). 

I don't understand it. I can't understand how so many on our list can all be playing near their worst at the same time.

Trading Brayshaw a year after the umps recognised him as the equal third best player in the comp would be premature to say the least. The bloke hasn't even clocked 70 games at the level. 

How's about we bring in some quality ball users and serious runners to play around our contested bulls and see what happens first. 

Our list is extremely unbalanced and Goodwin is the major concern presently. Game plan, selection and list build. It's up to him to change. 

Absolutely not. I see him as a heart and soul player. Still has a lot of improvement in him.

2 hours ago, Lord Nev said:

I think the majority of Dees fans recognize we have weaknesses in midfield skill, outside run/pace and delivery forward, as well as us being in our 'window' as of now. I get that there's other areas we may debate with each other about, but I feel those things are pretty clear. So how do we improve those areas quickly enough that we can make the most of our chances now? This article raises a hypothetical that I scoffed at at first but have wavered a bit since thinking about it more.

Why trading Angus Brayshaw could fix Melbourne's midfield

"But Brayshaw personifies Melbourne's midfield issues - fantastic in the contest, tough as old boots and able to find the pill, but unreliable by foot. He has committed the 11th most turnovers in the league this year, with his disposal efficiency under implied pressure and physical pressure the second-worst and fourth-worst of the league's top 50 ball-winners."

It goes on to suggest trade scenarios which would see us losing Gus, and possibly a pick, to return Lachie Whitfield.

My questions are these:

- Is Gus 'untouchable' given we have Oliver, Harmes & Viney in the same role? Plus, with Sparrow and Dunkley potentially coming through in the same vein, others as depth etc.

- What do we make of Gus' massive form slump this year? You could argue it coincides with him attending less centre bounces, but there's other aspects to that as well such as his concussion history, his lack of accountability this year and of course, our lack of outside run which sees him being used there. Is he injured this year? Unhappy? Something seems up with him.

- Do we need to make such a big move or do we rely purely on tweaks to game plans, roles and structures in the offseason? I guess that boils down to trust in the footy department to fix things, which I imagine is at a low point given our performance this year.

Thoughts?

So we want to trade another early pick who come 3rd in the brownlow....Sure his year hasn't been great but so are the other 21 what have taken the field each week. I think lets add to the list he's still very young, lets not throw out the baby yet

Its so easy for a journalist to come out and say: "yeh the dees need to trade gus for an elite outside player"...

Clubs aren't exactly letting those types of players just walk out the door. 

 

1 hour ago, Sorry kids said:

None of this explains why Gus has not spent more time in the middle this year to carry on why he left off. Happy to hear why.

I still can’t understand why we moved Bernie Vince from the middle the following year after winning the b&f.

When you have a bloke who plays his best footy in the centre play him in the centre.

5 minutes ago, chook fowler said:

Absolutely not. I see him as a heart and soul player. Still has a lot of improvement in him.

Surely we are trying to build a culture and Gus has a culture and attitude a lot of clubs would love. So why do people come up with such "questionable thought processes"

The next proposal will be to trade Clkarrie because he handballs too much. Then we can m ove on Gawny and Weis because they are not really good set shots when the siren sounds.

If everybody was perfect and the game was so easy, nobody would play it.

We seem to like trading our most talented players for unders, so why not lol. We can recruit another JKH type trier or something with the pick we get.

I like the idea of going hard after the unrestricted free agents.. a la Richmond and Hawthorn... upping the salary cap problems of GWS et al if we lose is the flip side.

It's a no brainer as compared to trading for May last year... that was just dumb

3 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

I like the idea of going hard after the unrestricted free agents.. a la Richmond and Hawthorn... upping the salary cap problems of GWS et al if we lose is the flip side.

It's a no brainer as compared to trading for May last year... that was just dumb

Unfortunately DJ if you have a look at the 2019 FA list and compare it to the 2020 batch the much more enticing group is next year’s. We need the injection of mature talent now.

That said, a club with a 2020 FA might be willing to deal a year early if they think they can get better terms for their contracted player now.

Maybe we could throw in Oliver as steak knives to entice a trade..?

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Viney should go before Brayshaw...

Viney and Brayshaw as a package for 2 first round picks. 

4 minutes ago, Nelo said:

Viney and Brayshaw as a package for 2 first round picks. 

We need to trade for ready made players not numbers for 18 year old kids

3 hours ago, Jumping Jack Clennett said:

Can't agree at all!

Top player, courageous, and popular with team-mates.

Get his brother when his contract is up.

Finally someone makes sense, he’s just signed a 4 year deal & was 3rd in the Brownlow last year.

l could name a dozen Melbourne players who have also had a poor season along with Gus.

We need to take a breath have a good 2nd half of the season and push for a fit & healthy 2020

3 hours ago, Lord Nev said:

I think the majority of Dees fans recognize we have weaknesses in midfield skill, outside run/pace and delivery forward, as well as us being in our 'window' as of now. I get that there's other areas we may debate with each other about, but I feel those things are pretty clear. So how do we improve those areas quickly enough that we can make the most of our chances now? This article raises a hypothetical that I scoffed at at first but have wavered a bit since thinking about it more.

Why trading Angus Brayshaw could fix Melbourne's midfield

"But Brayshaw personifies Melbourne's midfield issues - fantastic in the contest, tough as old boots and able to find the pill, but unreliable by foot. He has committed the 11th most turnovers in the league this year, with his disposal efficiency under implied pressure and physical pressure the second-worst and fourth-worst of the league's top 50 ball-winners."

It goes on to suggest trade scenarios which would see us losing Gus, and possibly a pick, to return Lachie Whitfield.

My questions are these:

- Is Gus 'untouchable' given we have Oliver, Harmes & Viney in the same role? Plus, with Sparrow and Dunkley potentially coming through in the same vein, others as depth etc.

- What do we make of Gus' massive form slump this year? You could argue it coincides with him attending less centre bounces, but there's other aspects to that as well such as his concussion history, his lack of accountability this year and of course, our lack of outside run which sees him being used there. Is he injured this year? Unhappy? Something seems up with him.

- Do we need to make such a big move or do we rely purely on tweaks to game plans, roles and structures in the offseason? I guess that boils down to trust in the footy department to fix things, which I imagine is at a low point given our performance this year.

Thoughts?

I actually don’t think he has had a massive form slump but actually played out of position.  The wing does not suit him.  

He’ll be right, a bit of confidence back and his skills will improve.  I wouldn’t be trading him away.