28 minutes ago, Travy14 said:

He is a 23 year old number 9 pick. he is a good replacement for Billings and hope we can get the best out of him. he will be cheap and there is potential there.

He’s a good replacement for Billings in so much as he’s a vfl level player

Perkins could be a really good player - Essendon have mismanaged his development.

Pies recruiting been OK - they did pay a lot of $$$$ for Perryman and Houston fell into their lap as he wanted us then Carlton but ended up at Pies. Not been fantastic so far. Schultz their supporters hated until a few weeks ago and most of the others were free hits.

5 minutes ago, Clintosaurus said:

Perkins could be a really good player - Essendon have mismanaged his development.

Famous last words.

No deal for me.

2 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

@JTR or Collingwood … who brought in smart trade , DFA and FA recruiting …Hill,Houston, Lipinski, Schultz, Perryman, Mcstay, and role players in Long, Markov, Frampton, Membrey, and still added Allan and West.

Collingwood fielded the oldest team in AFL/VFL history just a couple of months ago, so not a great example of a sustainable list that will keep carrying them forward.

Watch them drop off a cliff - and become another West Coast - when Pendlebury (37), Howe (35), Sidebottom (34), Cox (34), Elliott (32), Mitchell (32), Mihocek (32), Crisp (31), Hoskin-Elliott (31), Membrey (31), Cameron (30), McStay (30), Moore (29) and De Goey (29) are all gone.

As for trading/recruiting, some of their ins have been good, but they gave up a lot for them at the expense of getting good kids from the draft.
They are also players that for various reasons we probably wouldn't have wanted/needed.

Houston (28yo) they got for 2 players (Noble & Richards) and a future 1st

Schultz (27) was pick 34 and a future 1st

Perryman (26) was a free agent, but got GWS 1st round compensation (pick 19), so he got a big contract

McStay (30) was another free agent, but on a 5 year contract as a 28yo. Lions got 2nd round compensation.

Bobby Hill (25) was a good pick up (future 2nd), but he asked to be traded to the Collingwood, having previously asked to be traded to Essendon the year prior and failing to get there.
Not much we could have done about that.

Oleg Markov (29) via SSP and Billy Frampton (28) for a future 3rd... lol, I can imagine the melts here if we had got either of them.
They are made to look good in a team that is playing well. Same goes for Lipinski (27) who they got for pick 43.

Ned Long (22) was an excellent pick up in mid season draft.
We only had one pick in that draft (due to Brayshaw retirement) and used it to get Kentfield
Long could have been handy, but would we have needed another big bodied and mostly inside mid, when everyone was screaming for us to find a tall forward?

Tim Membrey (31) another good pickup as a delisted free agent, but where would he have fit in for us when when already have JVR, Jefferson and Turner as our talls who we were probably expecting a lot more from?


Collingwood have been trading/recruiting to keep themselves in the window and this has worked for them, cause the majority of their senior core are still playing well.

Unlike us.

20 minutes ago, JTR said:

Collingwood fielded the oldest team in AFL/VFL history just a couple of months ago, so not a great example of a sustainable list that will keep carrying them forward.

Watch them drop off a cliff - and become another West Coast - when Pendlebury (37), Howe (35), Sidebottom (34), Cox (34), Elliott (32), Mitchell (32), Mihocek (32), Crisp (31), Hoskin-Elliott (31), Membrey (31), Cameron (30), McStay (30), Moore (29) and De Goey (29) are all gone.

As for trading/recruiting, some of their ins have been good, but they gave up a lot for them at the expense of getting good kids from the draft.
They are also players that for various reasons we probably wouldn't have wanted/needed.

Houston (28yo) they got for 2 players (Noble & Richards) and a future 1st

Schultz (27) was pick 34 and a future 1st

Perryman (26) was a free agent, but got GWS 1st round compensation (pick 19), so he got a big contract

McStay (30) was another free agent, but on a 5 year contract as a 28yo. Lions got 2nd round compensation.

Bobby Hill (25) was a good pick up (future 2nd), but he asked to be traded to the Collingwood, having previously asked to be traded to Essendon the year prior and failing to get there.
Not much we could have done about that.

Oleg Markov (29) via SSP and Billy Frampton (28) for a future 3rd... lol, I can imagine the melts here if we had got either of them.
They are made to look good in a team that is playing well. Same goes for Lipinski (27) who they got for pick 43.

Ned Long (22) was an excellent pick up in mid season draft.
We only had one pick in that draft (due to Brayshaw retirement) and used it to get Kentfield
Long could have been handy, but would we have needed another big bodied and mostly inside mid, when everyone was screaming for us to find a tall forward?

Tim Membrey (31) another good pickup as a delisted free agent, but where would he have fit in for us when when already have JVR, Jefferson and Turner as our talls who we were probably expecting a lot more from?


Collingwood have been trading/recruiting to keep themselves in the window and this has worked for them, cause the majority of their senior core are still playing well.

Unlike us.

I would swap their 2025 flag with our 16th spot.

1 hour ago, Clintosaurus said:

Perkins could be a really good player - Essendon have mismanaged his development.

Pies recruiting been OK - they did pay a lot of $$$$ for Perryman and Houston fell into their lap as he wanted us then Carlton but ended up at Pies. Not been fantastic so far. Schultz their supporters hated until a few weeks ago and most of the others were free hits.

Agree on Perkins, he’s a smart target

We need to nail 1 or 2 players in a trade/FA period, then 2 more in the draft and add White and Sinnema. Surely we are taking to the Hawks about Henry Hustwaite. Young mid who is squeezed out of their midfield even before Day comes back. Offer him a sweet 3 year deal and could be a good chance.

1 hour ago, bluey said:

I would swap their 2025 flag with our 16th spot.

They've won it already have they? 🤣

I think we've seen - even in our game - how good they actually are when teams are prepared and able to take it up to them.

Time will tell, but I'd be very surprised if they won the flag.

10 minutes ago, JTR said:

They've won it already have they? 🤣

I think we've seen - even in our game - how good they actually are when teams are prepared and able to take it up to them.

Time will tell, but I'd be very surprised if they won the flag.

I won’t be

Umpires

AFL house to ensure no key players suspended

1 hour ago, No10 said:

Agree on Perkins, he’s a smart target

Each and every Essendon fan will tell you that's he's a list clogger of the vanilla variety who has never looked anything other than mediocre despite being drafted in the top ten by the maestro Adrian Dodoro. They'd be rapt if we were foolish enough to take him off their hands.

2 hours ago, JTR said:

Collingwood fielded the oldest team in AFL/VFL history just a couple of months ago, so not a great example of a sustainable list that will keep carrying them forward.

Watch them drop off a cliff - and become another West Coast - when Pendlebury (37), Howe (35), Sidebottom (34), Cox (34), Elliott (32), Mitchell (32), Mihocek (32), Crisp (31), Hoskin-Elliott (31), Membrey (31), Cameron (30), McStay (30), Moore (29) and De Goey (29) are all gone.

As for trading/recruiting, some of their ins have been good, but they gave up a lot for them at the expense of getting good kids from the draft.
They are also players that for various reasons we probably wouldn't have wanted/needed.

Houston (28yo) they got for 2 players (Noble & Richards) and a future 1st

Schultz (27) was pick 34 and a future 1st

Perryman (26) was a free agent, but got GWS 1st round compensation (pick 19), so he got a big contract

McStay (30) was another free agent, but on a 5 year contract as a 28yo. Lions got 2nd round compensation.

Bobby Hill (25) was a good pick up (future 2nd), but he asked to be traded to the Collingwood, having previously asked to be traded to Essendon the year prior and failing to get there.
Not much we could have done about that.

Oleg Markov (29) via SSP and Billy Frampton (28) for a future 3rd... lol, I can imagine the melts here if we had got either of them.
They are made to look good in a team that is playing well. Same goes for Lipinski (27) who they got for pick 43.

Ned Long (22) was an excellent pick up in mid season draft.
We only had one pick in that draft (due to Brayshaw retirement) and used it to get Kentfield
Long could have been handy, but would we have needed another big bodied and mostly inside mid, when everyone was screaming for us to find a tall forward?

Tim Membrey (31) another good pickup as a delisted free agent, but where would he have fit in for us when when already have JVR, Jefferson and Turner as our talls who we were probably expecting a lot more from?


Collingwood have been trading/recruiting to keep themselves in the window and this has worked for them, cause the majority of their senior core are still playing well.

Unlike us.

That’s a lot of money freed up to buy more of the same.

They have been supposedly falling off a cliff every year, for how many years now?

Collingwood have a club that’s united and powerful, they won’t bottom out any time soon

Callum Brown has signed on at GWS for a further three years.

We can officially scratch that one off the list.

On 23/07/2025 at 09:15, Clintosaurus said:

Perkins could be a really good player - Essendon have mismanaged his development.

Pies recruiting been OK - they did pay a lot of $$$$ for Perryman and Houston fell into their lap as he wanted us then Carlton but ended up at Pies. Not been fantastic so far. Schultz their supporters hated until a few weeks ago and most of the others were free hits.

he does some things well and looks like he could be toby greene or danger/stringer at HF and then he looks like sparrow/viney/langdon at HF where theres no scoreboard impact and not much stoppage impact and you are a professional tennis net. yes its possinly the least rewarding role in footy but when someone does it well, nibbler, chandler now i think is doing fairly well. heeney dusty its very good.

so on the sparrow to heeney scale hes more sparrow, and i prefer sparrow

On 23/07/2025 at 11:52, No10 said:

Agree on Perkins, he’s a smart target

These are the sought of risks we need to take now and back our development in.

Established name players just don't want to come to our club.

Edited July 24, 2025Jul 24 by YesitwasaWin4theAges

7 hours ago, Turner said:

he does some things well and looks like he could be toby greene or danger/stringer at HF and then he looks like sparrow/viney/langdon at HF where theres no scoreboard impact and not much stoppage impact and you are a professional tennis net. yes its possinly the least rewarding role in footy but when someone does it well, nibbler, chandler now i think is doing fairly well. heeney dusty its very good.

so on the sparrow to heeney scale hes more sparrow, and i prefer sparrow

peptides mate says he's a genuine chance to be delisted at the end of this year

scott doesn't rate him at all; along with gresham, he's been looked over in favour of recruits drafted mere months ago in the mid-season draft, despite being fit

she thinks he'll be a star at edfl level in 2026

2 hours ago, YesitwasaWin4theAges said:

These are the sought of risks we need to take now and back our development in.

Cynics might point to the likes of Schache, Fullarton, Billings, Henderson et al as evidence to the contrary.

On 23/07/2025 at 12:52, spirit of norm smith said:

Surely we are taking to the Hawks about Henry Hustwaite

This is where we need to shift our attention.

Stop deluding ourselves into thinking known quantities in their early 30s are suddenly going to return to 2017 form just because they move clubs. Start looking at five- to 30-gamers in their early 20s and determine whether they're not quite up to it or are simply in an unfortunate queue.

Less Hunter. More Derksen.

On 23/07/2025 at 13:58, BW511 said:

That’s a lot of money freed up to buy more of the same.

They have been supposedly falling off a cliff every year, for how many years now?

Collingwood have a club that’s united and powerful, they won’t bottom out any time soon

That is because everyone has been waiting for their 3 oldest players to drop off as you would expect - Pendlebury, Sidebottom and Howe. They are probably all in their top 5 players this year and hugely important to them.

Once they are gone, Pies will drop like a sack’o’spuds.

On 23/07/2025 at 13:30, JTR said:

They've won it already have they? 🤣

I think we've seen - even in our game - how good they actually are when teams are prepared and able to take it up to them.

Time will tell, but I'd be very surprised if they won the flag.

If they finish top 2 they'll win the entire thing IMO.

The MCG is such an advantage to them due to the crowd factor and they usually play the ground to perfection.

Can see them grinding out a win over Geelong in the qualifying final, and then knocking off Adelaide and Brisbane in the prelim and grand finals due to having 60,000 - 80,000 on their side depending on whether it's a prelim of GF.

On topic, I wouldn't be surprised if we're having a look at Jye Amiss and Chol who both might be on the outer come finals.

46 minutes ago, Demonstone said:

Cynics might point to the likes of Schache, Fullarton, Billings, Henderson et al as evidence to the contrary.

Understand your point @Demonstone, but the footy dept didn't exactly target hard for players with noted footy skills e.g M Kennedy, De Ambrosio, Amon, P. Voss etc.

All these players from teams that weren't even considered by the our club which is alarming and left a huge gap in our playing stocks.

The players you mentioned aren't noted for their foot skills or have a particular part of their game that is strong.

This is even more prevelent and relevant in today's game to kick through defensive zones and create better field position.

You can only develop and improve certain parts of a players game first and foremost.

The players we have traded for from 22 to 24 have ended up being nothing more than stop gaps.

This is where we are now from poor, lazy trading.

13th on the ladder.

Edited July 25, 2025Jul 25 by YesitwasaWin4theAges

16 minutes ago, YesitwasaWin4theAges said:

All these players from teams that weren't even considered by the our club

How do you know we didn't consider them or attempt to get them to the club?

From recollection were into Amon but Hawks and Saints were able to go higher with salary offers.

1 hour ago, godees said:

That is because everyone has been waiting for their 3 oldest players to drop off as you would expect - Pendlebury, Sidebottom and Howe. They are probably all in their top 5 players this year and hugely important to them.

Once they are gone, Pies will drop like a sack’o’spuds.

I think all 3 go again and it’s another year of development or targeted trading to get the next wave ready.

They are playing good footy for sure, but they aren’t winning matches on their own.

Heard Silvagni is possibly moving to Collingwood, so maybe up for grabs.

Wonder if he’s worth a look in for us?

I personally think he’s soft and injured a lot but what are your thoughts?

windscreens o'brien signed on at the crom for 3yrs so you’d assume draper to brisvegas

so the bears get:

• oscar allen as a free agent

• sam draper as a free agent

• not 1, not 2, but 3 top 20 picks as 'nga' selections

a 'fair and balanced' system; good time to be a brissy fan