27 minutes ago, dieter said:

No doubt Bennell can play. But so could Balic, Mitch Clarke, Kolodjashnij, Templeton, Owen, Vardy, Carman, Ellis and a host of other 'stars' we imported so we could park them on our injured list.

NO THANK YOU.

Talent-wise, none of them are in the same league as Bennell.  A 100% fit and firing Bennell is in the top 10 players in the league, make no mistake of that.

We all know the risks, but is it a gamble that I'd be willing to take?  Absa-freakin-loutely.

Dees Interest in Harley

One step closer: 

It's believed a fourth Victorian side is bringing him back next week, while the Demons confirmed they plan to invite him to train with them in the pre-season from December 3.  

Bennell knocked back the chance to train with a team leading up to the national and rookie drafts, because he wants to choose his destination.

We seem keen: 

"As a club, we have to look at every opportunity to make our list better, and Harley Bennell's obviously a very talented player," Demons football boss Josh Mahoney told the club's website."

Not sure if this has been posted yet. We've confirmed out interest.

 

 

27 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Dees Interest in Harley

One step closer: 

It's believed a fourth Victorian side is bringing him back next week, while the Demons confirmed they plan to invite him to train with them in the pre-season from December 3.  

Bennell knocked back the chance to train with a team leading up to the national and rookie drafts, because he wants to choose his destination.

We seem keen: 

"As a club, we have to look at every opportunity to make our list better, and Harley Bennell's obviously a very talented player," Demons football boss Josh Mahoney told the club's website."

 

Thats awesome.     

An unusually bold strategy to publicly confirm so much interest. I like that it's as a train on player though, that's the wise move.

6 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

An unusually bold strategy to publicly confirm so much interest. I like that it's as a train on player though, that's the wise move.

I thought that was strange too. 

For me it's a no brainer.

He'll be relatively cheap and with lists of approx. 44 what's the downside if he doesn't pan out ?  

His talent is undeniable.  37 disposals and 4 goals against us at the G was evidence of a very special player.  He's a better talent than Geelong's recently departed Tim Kelly.

If you can't take a risk when you haven't won a flag in over 50 years when can you ?

I'll live very comfortably if he came to the Dees and never played a game.

Btw, I can share that Goodwin and co. are very bullish about 2020.  They're aiming for top 4 and think they can win it - (courtesy of a lunch between Goodwin and well-heeled Demons supporters).   

Naturally, the usual rebarbative posters will bloviate their inanities at such a suggestion.

I know this is from all the way back to 2014 but my oh my Harley can play. Big if’s but if we get him and if he is injury free at 27 yo he could still be in his prime. It is sort of like buying a lotto ticket, it is nice to dream

 

I’m usually against holding onto players who struggle with injury. Bennell is someone we should make an exception for. He’d be the most naturally talented player on our list, and top 5-10 in the whole league. There are very few capable of producing 37 disposal 6 goal games. He’s a freak talent.

If it costs us bugger all, then it’s well worth the risk. This isn’t some AVB style battler, this is a potential superstar of the competition.

Hope we perform due diligence and pull the trigger.

Edited October 29, 20195 yr by Lord Travis

6 minutes ago, ProDee said:

Btw, I can share that Goodwin and co. are very bullish about 2020.  They're aiming for top 4 and think they can win it - (courtesy of a lunch between Goodwin and well-heeled Demons supporters).  

Sounds fantastic, let's hope only 3 other teams are aiming for top 4 as well then!

 

8 hours ago, stevethemanjordan said:

This excites me greatly.

He is free and if he can play at even 80% of his ability, his contribution will be felt.

Exactly what our midfield is absolutely crying out for. Skill, outside speed, x factor and goals. If this guy gets going again, he'll be an A grader.

7 hours ago, Demon3 said:

This is really good news and like others have said, this is where professionalism is important, get the right people to assess and make the decisions. You have to review, ask questions find out for yourself, adapt, it feels like we are doing that.

Bennell is no doubt about it a high risk high reward proposition but when there are 44 spots on the list, 1 being taken up by a player with immense upside is worth it.

There's very little risk associated with Bennell being on our list. I don't really care what his past is like. If we're taking him on, we'll have the right mentors around him (looking at you, Nev) and the only risk is a list spot. I'd prefer a punt on Bennell than 10-15 of the guys we've re-signed in the last year.

13 minutes ago, ProDee said:

Naturally, the usual rebarbative posters will bloviate their inanities at such a suggestion.

Wondered where you'd got to, ProDee.

Welcome back, if only for posting a sentence with two excellent words I'd never previously encountered.

1 hour ago, The Chazz said:

Talent-wise, none of them are in the same league as Bennell.  A 100% fit and firing Bennell is in the top 10 players in the league, make no mistake of that.

We all know the risks, but is it a gamble that I'd be willing to take?  Absa-freakin-loutely.

In 2019 we carried Vandenberg and Joel Smith, no games between them. Bennell has played maybe 2 in the last 5 years. Add Kolojashni  and that would make 4 potential crocks on top of the 'normal' bout of injuries sustained during a season.

1 hour ago, DeeSpencer said:

An unusually bold strategy to publicly confirm so much interest. I like that it's as a train on player though, that's the wise move.

Same strategy as with Elliott. Be interesting to see how it pans out.

16 minutes ago, ProDee said:

For me it's a no brainer.

He'll be relatively cheap and with lists of approx. 44 what's the downside if he doesn't pan out ?  

His talent is undeniable.  37 disposals and 4 goals against us at the G was evidence of a very special player.  He's a better talent than Geelong's recently departed Tim Kelly.

If you can't take a risk when you haven't won a flag in over 50 years when can you ?

I'll live very comfortably if he came to the Dees and never played a game.

Btw, I can share that Goodwin and co. are very bullish about 2020.  They're aiming for top 4 and think they can win it - (courtesy of a lunch between Goodwin and well-heeled Demons supporters).   

Naturally, the usual rebarbative posters will bloviate their inanities at such a suggestion.

I've missed you so much Pro, welcome back.

58 minutes ago, ProDee said:

For me it's a no brainer.

He'll be relatively cheap and with lists of approx. 44 what's the downside if he doesn't pan out ?  

His talent is undeniable.  37 disposals and 4 goals against us at the G was evidence of a very special player.  He's a better talent than Geelong's recently departed Tim Kelly.

If you can't take a risk when you haven't won a flag in over 50 years when can you ?

I'll live very comfortably if he came to the Dees and never played a game.

Btw, I can share that Goodwin and co. are very bullish about 2020.  They're aiming for top 4 and think they can win it - (courtesy of a lunch between Goodwin and well-heeled Demons supporters).   

Naturally, the usual rebarbative posters will bloviate their inanities at such a suggestion.

Welcome back, mate. And completely agree.

I didn’t think much of this until just now but when he had a stint at Peel Thunder, his nickname was ‘Basil’.

Curious if anyone knows the relationship between Bennell and Martin? 

Not that I'm huge on getting Martin, but if we want him and they are mates it would be a clever maneuver.   

7 minutes ago, Skuit said:

Curious if anyone knows the relationship between Bennell and Martin? 

Not that I'm huge on getting Martin, but if we want him and they are mates it would be a clever maneuver.   

Martin is a poor mans Charlie Spargo. Not worth a first round pick and $700k+.  Bennell is well worth a base of $300k per season + performance incentives on a two year deal, especially when he can can train with us until March to make sure his body can stand up to the rigors of AFL football. 

14 minutes ago, Skuit said:

Curious if anyone knows the relationship between Bennell and Martin? 

Not that I'm huge on getting Martin, but if we want him and they are mates it would be a clever maneuver.   

 

2 minutes ago, chookrat said:

Martin is a poor mans Charlie Spargo. Not worth a first round pick and $700k+.  Bennell is well worth a base of $300k per season + performance incentives on a two year deal, especially when he can can train with us until March to make sure his body can stand up to the rigors of AFL football. 

 

52 minutes ago, ProDee said:

Naturally, the usual rebarbative posters will bloviate their inanities at such a suggestion.

Lol!

Good to see you back ProDee.

4 hours ago, Whispering_Jack said:

Would Bennell by any chance be mates with Jack Martin?

I had the same thought. How sweet would it be to pick Harley up as a DFA and Martin in the other draft but he'd have to get a reality check on his asking price. 

8 minutes ago, It's Time said:

I had the same thought. How sweet would it be to pick Harley up as a DFA and Martin in the other draft but he'd have to get a reality check on his asking price. 

We got the Elliot cash to throw around. 

This has got all the elements To indicate that we’ve been into Harley for a while, let the media ruminate then made our move.

Fingers crossed we can get his calves sorted, massive get if it bears fruit. 

7NEWS Melbourne

@7NewsMelbourne

Former Fremantle and Gold Coast enigma Harley Bennell is about to fly into Melbourne for a key meeting that could revive his AFL career. https://7news.link/56zYMf

@Stevo7AFL

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Edited October 29, 20195 yr by dazzledavey36