Lever has played one good year with the Crows as a third tall, (easy stuff) in his career. 

May trade (smacked of panic)

15 hours ago, olisik said:

 

We could’ve drafted Stocker (or traded it for Pick 3 this year), with our 2018 pick, Tim Kelly with 2017 pick and made a play for Lynch with the 800K cap space.

What would your response have been if we drafted Tim Kelly, then after 2 years organised a trade back West (which is exactly what will happen this year)?

Not many more narrow-sighted posters on here.  Correction, there isn't any more.

Lever is playing his role well enough  being rushed back into the side after a half a game with Casey.  He is getting better with game time and his ACL is standing up to the pressures of Afl footy. Two more games to go and that is all you can hope for Lever to finish off the season well.

IMO he'll be fine and there is no doubt that he is a vital cog to our cause.  

Side note: 

Rare occurrence but overall this has been the most rational response from posters to a topic I've ever come across. Kudos DL people. No dummy spitting here just considered rational responses.

I have been in the anti-Lever trade camp, not for trading to get him, but for paying so much for him. I am convinced and others are well within their right to disagree with it, that he does not have many great qualities as a footballer. I watched him really closely on Saturday, his game was ok, but he relies on his big spoils a lot as he is obviously not 100% fit, and that was to the detriment of the team at least 3 times, and cost us a couple goals and he also has the turning circle of fairstar the funship. His kicking is average, at best and his 1 on 1 skills are also average. His marking is fantastic, his courage is great, his reading of the play is good, as i have said, he is Marty Hore, but 10 times more expensive.

I hope he can have a great pre-season, get some muscle on, work out his place in the team and prove me wrong, but its been a less than ideal purchase for the price we paid.

Edited August 12, 20196 yr by Demon3

This has already been analysed ad nauseam. 

 

Nick Reiwoldt scathing on both Lever and May.

https://coupler.foxsports.com.au/api/v1/article/amp/afl/afl-2019-nick-riewoldt-garry-lyon-unpack-issues-at-melbourne/news-story/c4d626fff76702fe3ad9cb27ffc7ad87?__twitter_impression=true

19 hours ago, Matsuo Basho said:

Two first round picks was ridiculous. You pay that for a top 25 player in the comp. Maybe. It’s debatable that Lever is even in the top 75. And he’s injury prone. This trade has cost us the opportunity to bring in a young gun like a Duursma or an Ollie Florent. Who’s making these decisions? Mahoney and Goodwin? It’s disgraceful.

Please go back to whatever team you really support. 

4 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Nick Reiwoldt scathing on both Lever and May.

https://coupler.foxsports.com.au/api/v1/article/amp/afl/afl-2019-nick-riewoldt-garry-lyon-unpack-issues-at-melbourne/news-story/c4d626fff76702fe3ad9cb27ffc7ad87?__twitter_impression=true

Hard to argue with a lot of that, I would pick Frost and Hore before i pick Lever.. May is culpable for his poor pre season, its really come back to bite him.

The rot started in R1 at Half time when no one stood up for Max, that's when you knew the club had very little fight in them.

Are we seriously potting a bloke who has:

• Just come off a year long break from an ACL injury;
• Hasn't completed a pre-season; 
• Has played less than 20 games for the club; and
• Is playing in a backline that has been both putrid and had a load of pressure put on them from a one way midfield, not to mention the revolving door of VFL players. 

I'll reserve judgement for when we have at least have half the list fit and he has had a decent run at it.  Young and smart intercepting defenders with leadership qualities don't grow on trees. 

Apologies if someone else has already pointed this out, I haven't read all the posts in this thread.

2 hours ago, poita said:

If Lever was anywhere near as good as his reputation would suggest, he would (arguably) be worth what we paid for him. But the reality is that he is currently a mediocre player in a mediocre team, and there is a fair argument that we overpaid.

Plus his kicking is putrid.

 

Fortunately, the recruiters don't rate a player based upon output when just coming back from a long term injury. They will be looking at the next 8-10 years of Lever in our backline. He was seen as the best young defender in the comp when we traded picks 10 and 19 for him. He'll be well worth it, IMO 

18 minutes ago, AllMyTeamsAreWank said:

Are we seriously potting a bloke who has:

• Just come off a year long break from an ACL injury;
• Hasn't completed a pre-season; 
• Has played less than 20 games for the club; and
• Is playing in a backline that has been both putrid and had a load of pressure put on them from a one way midfield, not to mention the revolving door of VFL players. 

I'll reserve judgement for when we have at least have half the list fit and he has had a decent run at it.  Young and smart intercepting defenders with leadership qualities don't grow on trees. 

Apologies if someone else has already pointed this out, I haven't read all the posts in this thread.

I do not seeing any potting. just  some comments on his skill, ability and facts. He is 195cm, cannot play one on one and had one good year with the crows as a third tall. Probably the easiest position on the ground. I was keen to get him and are happy we have him but never expected to pay what we did, either in terms of picks or $$$$.

13 minutes ago, Sorry kids said:

I do not seeing any potting. just  some comments on his skill, ability and facts. He is 195cm, cannot play one on one and had one good year with the crows as a third tall. Probably the easiest position on the ground. I was keen to get him and are happy we have him but never expected to pay what we did, either in terms of picks or $$$$.

Again, I think its disingenuous to be commenting on his skills and ability given the circumstances. Lever has hardly had the opportunity to demonstrate his wares at this club in his current tenure. Posters on here seem to have a very short memory as I recall him starting to hit some pretty good form prior to his knee injury against the dogs. It's no secret that a player's skills will suffer when they are running around the ground stuffed from a lack of fitness and game time. He definitely is not on his own here. 

EDIT: Also worth pointing out that Lever played one VFL game before returning from injury and injured himself again. In my honest opinion, they should have delayed hsi return by another month. I'm not Dave Misson though...

Edited August 12, 20196 yr by AllMyTeamsAreWank

9 minutes ago, AllMyTeamsAreWank said:

Again, I think its disingenuous to be commenting on his skills and ability given the circumstances. Lever has hardly had the opportunity to demonstrate his wares at this club in his current tenure. Posters on here seem to have a very short memory as I recall him starting to hit some pretty good form prior to his knee injury against the dogs. It's no secret that a player's skills will suffer when they are running around the ground stuffed from a lack of fitness and game time. He definitely is not on his own here. 

EDIT: Also worth pointing out that Lever played one VFL game before returning from injury and injured himself again. In my honest opinion, they should have delayed hsi return by another month. I'm not Dave Misson though...

So you ignore his body of work at the Crows.  I say it was very ordinary, bar one year. That is what we recruited him based on and a lot of rar, rar about his leadership qualities.  And he did not have a purple patch last year, just a bit of improvement for a few weeks on a poor underwhelming start where supporters saw we had recruited a loose third tall rather than a gun key back. reminds me of the Collingwood  Cloke who dominated as a loose third tall who dominated for a few years more than a Mc Govern clone.

19 hours ago, Moonshadow said:

I can't be certain from this angle, but I'm pretty sure this is the horse I backed in last year's Melbourne Cup.

18 hours ago, olisik said:

 

We could’ve drafted Stocker (or traded it for Pick 3 this year), with our 2018 pick, Tim Kelly with 2017 pick and made a play for Lynch with the 800K cap space.

I don't agree with the Lever trade but your option in brackets would be a disaster!

Pick 2 and Stocker for pick 3 ?

19 hours ago, olisik said:

That’s if we drafted those players. Was plenty of other available players such as Tim Kelly, Liam Ryan, Petrucelli ect available in the draft when these selections were made. 

Based on our record do you have the remotest faith we would have picked them?

5 hours ago, Watts the matter said:

I don't agree with the Lever trade but your option in brackets would be a disaster!

Pick 2 and Stocker for pick 3 ?

I meant we would have had pick 2 and 3 this year.

The pick we gave to Adelaide was traded to Carlton for Stocker (Trade initiated by Carlton so they would’ve initiated it with us instead). In return, Adelaide got Carlton’s 2019 first rounder (Pick 3).

Adelaide now hold Pick 3 in this years draft instead of us due to the Lever trade.

 

Edited August 12, 20196 yr by olisik

6 hours ago, Moonshadow said:

Fortunately, the recruiters don't rate a player based upon output when just coming back from a long term injury. They will be looking at the next 8-10 years of Lever in our backline. He was seen as the best young defender in the comp when we traded picks 10 and 19 for him. He'll be well worth it, IMO 

Can’t remember what we got for Jeremy Howe when he walked out but the price we have paid for that is Lever and the picks and $ he cost us. I doubt we would have chased Lever if we had Howe. 

13 minutes ago, Earl Hood said:

Can’t remember what we got for Jeremy Howe when he walked out but the price we have paid for that is Lever and the picks and $ he cost us. I doubt we would have chased Lever if we had Howe. 

We got Ben Kennedy in return. We also lost Toumpas in that same trade.

Edited August 12, 20196 yr by olisik

34 minutes ago, olisik said:

I meant we would have had pick 2 and 3 this year.

The pick we gave to Adelaide was traded to Carlton for Stocker (Trade initiated by Carlton so they would’ve initiated it with us instead). In return, Adelaide got Carlton’s 2019 first rounder (Pick 3).

Adelaide now hold Pick 3 in this years draft instead of us due to the Lever trade.

 

No, Adelaide also swapped their 2019 first rounder in this deal. Would have been a disaster trade.

56 minutes ago, olisik said:

We got Ben Kennedy in return. We also lost Toumpas in that same trade.

Oh dear, so ziltch for Howe and all the costs to replace him. And don’t start me on the unfortunate Toumpas selection. Never saw what attributes would have made him most pundits pick 3, we were not alone. Not big, not fast, no X factor that I saw but why go on about that typical lost draft opportunity at that time. 

10 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Nick Reiwoldt scathing on both Lever and May.

https://coupler.foxsports.com.au/api/v1/article/amp/afl/afl-2019-nick-riewoldt-garry-lyon-unpack-issues-at-melbourne/news-story/c4d626fff76702fe3ad9cb27ffc7ad87?__twitter_impression=true

Garry Lyon has become a Dees hater. Perhaps Olisik is his name on Demonland. His comments are equally helpful.

3 minutes ago, Skin Deeamond said:

Garry Lyon has become a Dees hater. Perhaps Olisik is his name on Demonland. His comments are equally helpful.

Commentator commentating. It can’t be! Article hits the nail on the head. 

2 hours ago, Earl Hood said:

Can’t remember what we got for Jeremy Howe when he walked out but the price we have paid for that is Lever and the picks and $ he cost us. I doubt we would have chased Lever if we had Howe. 

Howe wanted to play forward whereas he was playing back for us. Buckley signed him to play forward, but quickly realised he can only play as a back. Go figure!