8 hours ago, GS_1905 said:

We will be void of leadership once Gawn, Viney, May retire. Lever is a bit meh and hasnt been really performing since '21/22.

Not helped by the forced retirement of Angus B and departure of ANB. Melksham leaving will also leave a leadership hole, especially up forward which is where we need it most. Lever does enough on-field to justify his place, and will continue to provide leadership on/off field.

Butters is the obvious target, Harley Reid the very very long shot. But I'd be looking at late/mid-career KPF's who have their heads screwed on and can help steer the ship up forward. 

 

2 minutes ago, bing181 said:

I'd be looking at late/mid-career KPF's who have their heads screwed on and can help steer the ship up forward. 

… namely ???

9 hours ago, Fritta and Turner said:

And what currency do we have for trading?

 

pickett

 

Petty if he is parked in the back-line to rekindle the feeding frenzy of past years

Edited March 26Mar 26 by redandbluemakepurple

12 minutes ago, monoccular said:

… namely ???

Exactly!!!  ... hopefully there's some work going on behind the scenes.

9 hours ago, Fritta and Turner said:

And what currency do we have for trading?

Hopefully some of the Brayshaw money, so that could be half of the equation in enabling us to put a juicy long-term contract on the table.

Keeping their club happy will be another story, though even at the moment we have R2 plus future 1st. Perhaps not enough, but if they're OOC or better, a free agent, we could be in an OK position.

10 hours ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

2026 first round and 2027 first round, plus all the other picks.

We need to get creative this year and next and go hard at ready made players who can impact. 

What impact will Tasmania have on trading future firsts? Id assume much harder to get anything decent back for them but not going to pretend im an expert on the AFL's expansion package.

Edited March 26Mar 26 by BringBackTheDemon

4 minutes ago, BringBackTheDemon said:

What impact will Tasmania have on trading future firsts? Id assume much harder to get anything decent back for them but not going to pretend im an expert on the AFL's expansion package.

Potentially I think from 2027, but more the reason to trade them for ready made players perhaps… just depends who is available. 

My feeling is we have already invested heavily in the draft and the time is now to go for specific players to fill needs. We need to go again for another flag while we have Trac, Clarry, Lever over the next 3-4 years.

 

Edited March 26Mar 26 by DistrACTION Jackson

5 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

Potentially I think from 2027, but more the reason to trade them for ready made players perhaps… just depends who is available. 

My feeling is we have already invested heavily in the draft and the time is now to go for specific players to fill needs. We need to go again for another flag while we have Trac, Clarry, Lever over the next 3-4 years.

 

Each to their own but I think the flag ship has sailed. Particularly under Goodwin. MAYBE a new coach could revitalise this list though with a less predictable and taxing game plan and magic could happen. Worked for Collingwood. 

Is Oscar Allen gettable?

 

14 minutes ago, BringBackTheDemon said:

Each to their own but I think the flag ship has sailed. Particularly under Goodwin. MAYBE a new coach could revitalise this list though with a less predictable and taxing game plan and magic could happen. Worked for Collingwood. 

Perhaps. We will learn if that is the case this season I think. I’m still not going full rebuild mode and trading off players for picks, it rarely works out well.

21 minutes ago, Nascent said:

Is Oscar Allen gettable?

 

Yes but there is no way he gets to us.

15 hours ago, Nascent said:

Is Oscar Allen gettable?

 

There’s been numerous comments (possibly @Pennant St Dee ) About his knees being absolutely shot.

54 minutes ago, BW511 said:

There’s been numerous comments (possibly @Pennant St Dee ) About his knees being absolutely shot.

Yes knees are going to have to be managed for the remainder of his career. Not great for a KPP would IMO only be worth a short contract at the right price with potential to roll over yearly if he was like Shaun Burgoyne

4 minutes ago, Pennant St Dee said:

Yes knees are going to have to be managed for the remainder of his career. Not great for a KPP would IMO only be worth a short contract at the right price with potential to roll over yearly if he was like Shaun Burgoyne

but he's not going to get a short time contract at a nice price, is he?

he'll get a long term contract either as a free agent or by sticking with the team of which he is currently skipper

24 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

but he's not going to get a short time contract at a nice price, is he?

he'll get a long term contract either as a free agent or by sticking with the team of which he is currently skipper

Which is why I’ve been saying no

17 hours ago, Nascent said:

Is Oscar Allen gettable?

 

Not by us

2 hours ago, BW511 said:

There’s been numerous comments (possibly @Pennant St Dee ) About his knees being absolutely shot.

I heard this too but not from a very good source. 

On 26/03/2025 at 15:47, Heart Beats True said:

Rivals tipped to pursue "clinical finisher"

Melbourne mercurial forward Bayley Fritsch has been named as one to watch throughout 2025 as his future at the Demons has been thrown up in the air.

The article is a) from Zerohanger and b) quotes Sam McClure as the source.

I think we can therefore safely ignore it, particularly as the bit about his future being thrown up in the air looks to be pure McClure clickbait (Eg. Demons had issues last year therefore Fritsch will want to leave).

19 hours ago, BringBackTheDemon said:

Each to their own but I think the flag ship has sailed. Particularly under Goodwin. MAYBE a new coach could revitalise this list though with a less predictable and taxing game plan and magic could happen. Worked for Collingwood. 

What worked for Collingwood?

For mine, the go big targets are at Gold Coast. With Ben king as their developed key, the two below in Ethan Read and Jed Walters both look like future stars. Towering (both 200+), quick, and with serious footy attributes. Academy kids, yes. So hard to dislodge. But playing three talls, as well as having Mac Andrew presenting as a good forward, maybe one sees the opportunity to own a forward line of their own and be the head line act. 

Re Butters:

Multiple club sources have confirmed Hawthorn, Richmond, Essendon and Collingwood are all preparing to make serious plays for the 24-year-old, who grew up in Bacchus Marsh and played under-18 football for the Western Jets.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/this-port-star-is-contracted-until-the-end-of-2026-but-victorian-clubs-are-already-circling-20250331-p5lnz8.html

Doesn't look great for us then.

6 minutes ago, roy11 said:

Re Butters:

Multiple club sources have confirmed Hawthorn, Richmond, Essendon and Collingwood are all preparing to make serious plays for the 24-year-old, who grew up in Bacchus Marsh and played under-18 football for the Western Jets.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/this-port-star-is-contracted-until-the-end-of-2026-but-victorian-clubs-are-already-circling-20250331-p5lnz8.html

Doesn't look great for us then.

we don't have the assets to trade for him; neither do the filth i would think

the first three clubs mentioned there all have multiple first round picks in 2025, plus their own 2026 picks too

3 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

we don't have the assets to trade for him; neither do the filth i would think

the first three clubs mentioned there all have multiple first round picks in 2025, plus their own 2026 picks too

Funny how Hawks are into Reid, Butters and Allen… who were we into after 2021? Billing’s? Schache ? Hawks haven’t even won anything yet.

19 minutes ago, GS_1905 said:

Funny how Hawks are into Reid, Butters and Allen… who were we into after 2021? Billing’s? Schache ? Hawks haven’t even won anything yet.

The article does say that a lot of hawks are over performing their contract value.

4 hours ago, roy11 said:

Re Butters:

Multiple club sources have confirmed Hawthorn, Richmond, Essendon and Collingwood are all preparing to make serious plays for the 24-year-old, who grew up in Bacchus Marsh and played under-18 football for the Western Jets.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/this-port-star-is-contracted-until-the-end-of-2026-but-victorian-clubs-are-already-circling-20250331-p5lnz8.html

Doesn't look great for us then.

No I don’t think we will be in the running. But 3 of those club are big Victorian clubs that must have the cap space and capital to make it happen. Worth noting if we are willing to part with Trac. I had been wondering about the Bombers as a destination for him should he want out again this year.