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9 hours ago, adonski said:

Gus is 25+ touches a game in his sleep as a pure mid. Need another wing.

lipinsnkiiiiii

also i can't understand all the people throwing up inside mid suggestiions we have one of the best midfields in the comp we don't need to be throwing 600k+ and first round draft picks at more top liners in this position particularly parker at 29yo who wants a 4yr swans deal. you need to upgrade your weaknesses so HF/HB and wing are where theres been the most unforced change this season in the 22 so fix that first and foremost

 

 
2 minutes ago, Turner said:

lipinsnkiiiiii

also i can't understand all the people throwing up inside mid suggestiions we have one of the best midfields in the comp we don't need to be throwing 600k+ and first round draft picks at more top liners in this position particularly parker at 29yo who wants a 4yr swans deal. you need to upgrade your weaknesses so HF/HB and wing are where theres been the most unforced change this season in the 22 so fix that first and foremost

 

  • Maynard in
  • One of Rivers or Bowey to the wing
  • Bailey Laurie to put pressure on one of Nibbler or Spargo 

Sorted :cool:

(imagine that I am saying this is a very quiet and hesitant tone)

At the other end of the scale from Parker, King, Cerra and the like, poor ol' Paddy Dow has been omitted. Apparently because he still had a tiny fragment of confidence left and they needed to completely Carlton that out of him before the end of the season.

Dow seems a tragic case of the high pick blues  and for relatively little trade cost or salary, and still only 21 years old, I'd wonder if our club has the culture in place to turn him around. He doesn't have to be a champion but he's a bit different to our other midfielders and if he can be 'rebuilt' as a role player without the pressure he could be very good value.

Just to make sure I wasn't being completely stupid, I watched a bunch of tapes of him and one thing I noticed is that he is reasonably good at getting a few steps away from the pack and then scooting a handball to a loose player (usually Cripps, oddly enough). I've commented elsewhere about how much it could add to the Petracca/Oliver weapon combo if they had other players taking a little more of the extraction task... so maybe Dow fits with what would be appropriate to grab for midfield depth.

 
8 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

i reckon paddy dow is one of the worst kicks i've ever seen at afl level @Little Goffy

he is as physical as cale morton too

hard no from me

Yeah look when i think of Paddy Dow I instantly think back to this article about Greg Williams when he worked with Carlton.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/09/07/blues-great-tells-young-midfielder-to-pull-his-finger-out-and-toughen-up/


11 hours ago, adonski said:
  • Maynard in
  • One of Rivers or Bowey to the wing
  • Bailey Laurie to put pressure on one of Nibbler or Spargo 

Sorted :cool:

Might be worth giving Rivers a go on the wing.

12 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Petty plays the lock down just fine?

Yeah he does, but i don't think he can take the number one defender just yet. He will still need time to develop his craft and his understanding. Having him play as a lieutenant in a backline with Tommo, May & Lever will do wanders to his game. 

Our backline stocks look pretty good actually, which makes me wonder whether we actually need to go after Maynard.  refresh:

May, Lever, Petty, Rivers, Tommo, J Smith, Hibberd, Hore, Lockhart is a pretty versatile group. Then you have Salem, Bowey & Hunt as a half back flankers group. 

It is pretty good depth. Makes me think whether we are better placed trying to focus more on KPF / outside or just raw talent in the draft.

12 hours ago, Little Goffy said:

(imagine that I am saying this is a very quiet and hesitant tone)

At the other end of the scale from Parker, King, Cerra and the like, poor ol' Paddy Dow has been omitted. Apparently because he still had a tiny fragment of confidence left and they needed to completely Carlton that out of him before the end of the season.

Dow seems a tragic case of the high pick blues  and for relatively little trade cost or salary, and still only 21 years old, I'd wonder if our club has the culture in place to turn him around. He doesn't have to be a champion but he's a bit different to our other midfielders and if he can be 'rebuilt' as a role player without the pressure he could be very good value.

Just to make sure I wasn't being completely stupid, I watched a bunch of tapes of him and one thing I noticed is that he is reasonably good at getting a few steps away from the pack and then scooting a handball to a loose player (usually Cripps, oddly enough). I've commented elsewhere about how much it could add to the Petracca/Oliver weapon combo if they had other players taking a little more of the extraction task... so maybe Dow fits with what would be appropriate to grab for midfield depth.

I like the area though. I completely agree we need another mid extractor and an overlooked and potentially underachieving mid at another club could be the go.

Edited by A F

 

I look at the Eagles and see a team that's right on the edge of a re-build, i hope we're having a look at any Vic boys over there who might be keen to come home. i'm sure they've got a couple. 

7 minutes ago, Dwight Schrute said:

I look at the Eagles and see a team that's right on the edge of a re-build, i hope we're having a look at any Vic boys over there who might be keen to come home. i'm sure they've got a couple. 

Liam Duggan would be worth a look.


45 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Liam Duggan would be worth a look.

Second Duggan, he'd be absolutely perfect and still out of contract. The other one for West Coast is Brander who could be handy key position depth if Weid goes but don't really know how good he is/how good he could be.

On Rivers moving to a wing next year I'm not sure about it. You have to have a big endurance base to play wing, not sure if Rivers has that (yet at least). Instead I'd prefer to move Rivers to an inside mid. He has that long booming, accurate kick which would add a real point of difference to our midfield that it doesn't have, he's also a big body with a bit of speed who has crafted a nice defensive side to his game and is a really strong mark around the ground. A while back someone made a comparison of Rivers to Elliot Yeo which I think is absolutely spot on except I think Rivers would have a better defensive side to his game. In Riv's second half of his under-18 year he moved into an inside mid role for East Fremantle where he averaged close to 30 touches, multiple tackles, multiple clearances, and over a goal a game so I believe he has the capacity to thrive in that role. On Bowey not sure if he has the endurance either to play wing and I really like him at half back where he breaks lines with his kicking.

The nature of the wing position is that some days the ball will be on your wing a lot and other days it won't be on your wing much. I actually reckon Gus has done a really, really good job this year on the wing where he has done a lot of unrewarded defensive running that has been vital to our structure and success. Is he the perfect winger? No, he doesn't have line breaking pace, an elite kick, or elite endurance. Does he play his role well? Yes he does, he has great spatial awareness or shutting down opposition attacks and is just solid when you need him. We already have a close to perfect wingman in Langdon on one wing, it would be nice to have 2 perfect wingman but in reality they will have days when they get don't much of the footy. 

Dylan Stephens might be worth looking at to play on the wing but does he offer the defensive side to the game Gus offers on a wing? Not sure, but his small frame limits that, I certainly wouldn't be giving up anything more than one of our second rounders. Trent Dumont is a free agent, he could maybe play the wing role but is he better than Gus? The other option could be Steele Sidebottom for a few years who does have elite endurance but is probably the same pace as Gus now. Personally I'd just rather stick with Gus, and I think Jordan could develop into a really nice winger. Down the track Rosman could potentially but I have serious doubts (he's an athlete not a footballer). I'd rather allocate my trade targets elsewhere and for me our biggest need is a small/medium defensive defender to replace Hibberd, where Maynard is the perfect option. He should be our number one target as Rivers could then move into the inside midfield too with your defence consisting of Maynard, Hunt, Salem, Bowey.

 

I'm all for us targeting Maynard and Pendelbery.

I think both have some great attributes that would complement what we need in the team.

I know there's this theory that as captain, Pendles is untouchable, but I'm not convinced. Plenty of precedents of captains jumping ship late in their careers.  Add to that the Collingwood board instability that Ross Lyon sited as the basis of his decision to snub the Pies.

Both have a strong MFC connection and that we have such a strong list, well in the premiership window (which I think would  be a huge motivator for most AFL players) and I think you can make a pretty strong case that they are well and truly gettable.

Edited by Rodney (Balls) Grinter

18 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

I'm all for us targeting Maynard and Pendelbery.

I think both have some great attributes that would complement what we need in the team.

I know there's this theory that as captain, Pendles is untouchable, but I'm not convinced. Plenty of precedents of captains jumping ship late in their careers.  Add to that the Collingwood board instability that Ross Lyon sited as the basis of his decision to snub the Pies.

Both have a strong MFC connection and that we have such a strong list, well in the premiership window (which I think would  be a huge motivator for most AFL players) and I think you can make a pretty strong case that they are well and truly gettable.

What's Pendles connection with Melbourne?

I think we should forget trade targets for 5 weeks.  Let’s ride this group all the way to glory.  We have the playing group to get it done.  


Go after Hunter. 50 mids at the dogs, one of them would be gettable?

2 minutes ago, adonski said:

Go after Hunter. 50 mids at the dogs, one of them would be gettable?

Want an outside mid Dunkley or Treloar or Smith !!!

5 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

I think we should forget trade targets for 5 weeks.  Let’s ride this group all the way to glory.  We have the playing group to get it done.  

Yes agree Norm the topics filling in the posts have got less relevant as August has evolved. 

What only matters in the next 5 weeks is our performance ON and OFF the field.

Not trades Not other Clubs issues Not Demonstones weird postings Not failings of the past or irrelevant memories. Not even Covid ramblings.

Lets just support our team who are ONLY FOUR WINS aWAY from the Holy Grail.

Then post anything you choose if we win that 13th flag !!!

13 minutes ago, 58er said:

Want an outside mid Dunkley or Treloar or Smith !!!

I'd be removing Dunkley from your list then 


2 minutes ago, adonski said:

I'd be removing Dunkley from your list then 

Not sure he is a bull insider has skill fir outside play  I reckon. 

 

Treloar no, too whimsical, but not in a humorous manner.

47 minutes ago, adonski said:

Go after Hunter. 50 mids at the dogs, one of them would be gettable?

I actually had the thought last night watching the laziness of Bailey Smith's kicking that he might be gettable after that performance. He's soft, but he's usually a good user, has toe, is the sort that would be nice to add at half forward, rotate on a wing and roll through the midfield.

Smith is a figjam, but I can't stand Hunter even more, so maybe I'm biased, but would prefer Smith, who has age on his side too. Hunter wanted big dollars at his last contract. I wonder if the good East Malvern Knight would be up for a seachange?


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