2 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Billings or Freijah is the question. We went with a player who couldn’t get a game in a lowly club and didn’t give ourselves the chance for a pick 45 gold !!

when your in the window the chance of pick 45 coming into the team and contributing if injury hits is next to zero compared to taking a chance on some fringe experience from another club. As much as Hunter and Billings didnt work out Id much prefer either of them to play a final compared to a kid taken deep in the draft

8 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Melbourne wins a flag and proceeds to lose one required player after another.

Brisbane wins back to back flags and then tops up with ready to play recruits.

Mind-boggling.

Post-2021 we lost Jackson as a go-home, but every one of our required players re-signed.

As for Brisbane ... go and talk to Richmond and Hawthorn about topping up after their flag runs. Both fell in a hole.

1 hour ago, BangBnagBang said:

when your in the window the chance of pick 45 coming into the team and contributing if injury hits is next to zero compared to taking a chance on some fringe experience from another club. As much as Hunter and Billings didnt work out Id much prefer either of them to play a final compared to a kid taken deep in the draft

hunter and billings were recruited to directly replace harmes and jordon as role players with better foot skills, problem was our game style and culture didnt move with the recruiting and we fell in a hole, but u could see the vision and at the time whilst reluctant we were to lose one of our own in Harmes and a 22yo in jordon (who we delisted ahead of others to make space when covid list cuts occurred) we weren't taking those players in place of draftees replacing other outgoings/list turnover at the bottom of the list, the recruitments of laurie when we wanted and thought we had our hands on Holmes and howes as busts hurt our depth when we then lost further players Brayshaw, Nibbler, Bedford, Jackson etc

35 minutes ago, Turner said:

hunter and billings were recruited to directly replace harmes and jordon as role players with better foot skills, problem was our game style and culture didnt move with the recruiting and we fell in a hole, but u could see the vision and at the time whilst reluctant we were to lose one of our own in Harmes and a 22yo in jordon (who we delisted ahead of others to make space when covid list cuts occurred) we weren't taking those players in place of draftees replacing other outgoings/list turnover at the bottom of the list, the recruitments of laurie when we wanted and thought we had our hands on Holmes and howes as busts hurt our depth when we then lost further players Brayshaw, Nibbler, Bedford, Jackson etc

The vision

I would like Melbourne to blow the Suns & Pies out of the water and offer Jamie Elliott 800-900k (per season) for 2 years. Give him something to seriously think about. I highly rate Elliott and his big game performances. He can be the difference between winning and not winning.

Winning a premiership now requires Flanders, Elliott type additions… Add Mihocek as well.

With Petracca and McVee out we should be able to afford these players comfortably. Possibly May as well…

Edited Tuesday at 22:583 days by Dee Vision
Add

1 hour ago, Dee Vision said:

I would like Melbourne to blow the Suns & Pies out of the water and offer Jamie Elliott 800-900k (per season) for 2 years. Give him something to seriously think about. I highly rate Elliott and his big game performances. He can be the difference between winning and not winning.

Winning a premiership now requires Flanders, Elliott type additions… Add Mihocek as well.

With Petracca and McVee out we should be able to afford these players comfortably. Possibly May as well…

100% agree with your assessment with Elliott. He’d be amazing for our club.

However, he’d have to be seriously motivated by money rather than success to contemplate a move to the Dees.

Realistically, hopefully he goes to the Suns and further depletes an ordinary Collingwood forward line going forward.

18 hours ago, bing181 said:

Mind-boggling.

Post-2021 we lost Jackson as a go-home, but every one of our required players re-signed.

As for Brisbane ... go and talk to Richmond and Hawthorn about topping up after their flag runs. Both fell in a hole.

Both Richmond and Hawthorn won 3 flags during their run, so if you are a supporter of either club, falling in a hole isn't the end of the world. Both clubs lost key players during their run, but successfully topped up and regenerated. Hawthorn have quickly reemerged, and let's see how Richmond go with a ton of young talent under Yze.

Yes, we only lost Jackson, but we wasted a season on the Grundy experiment. Unquestionably we've blown our premiership window.

Ohh, the window is gooooneeeeeeeee.

Give it 3-4 years when our significant and talented group of 24-21-year-olds are 27-24 and we still have a few older heads in oliver fritsch etc holding on, as well as whoever we can get in between now and then before we start challenging again unfortunately.

Crows say : We don't want to give you any senior players, but we want Petracca.

Dees: Petrecca has 4 more years under contract. Petracca was second in the 2025 best and fairest, polled 16 votes in this years Brownlow, he’s a four-time All-Australian, twice MFC best and fairest, and a Norm Smith Medal winner. Yes he is a premiership player.

Crows : You can have Pedlar, who doesn't play, and pick 14 - that's fair.

Dees: that’s a joke … you’re joking right!!!

With Daniels, Bedford, Jones, McMullin, Wardius, Hannaford, Gothard, Thomas and Delana the Giants have a crazy surplus of small forwards. We have a midfielder who could do with a fresh start and need small forwards.

We got to get one of them smalls.

5 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

With Daniels, Bedford, Jones, McMullin, Wardius, Hannaford, Gothard, Thomas and Delana the Giants have a crazy surplus of small forwards. We have a midfielder who could do with a fresh start and need small forwards.

We got to get one of them smalls.

It's Hannaford time.

Cincotta worth a look in light of Judd leaving.

Burton worth a look as well.

3 minutes ago, Davos said:

It's Hannaford time.

You know he's my favourite of that bunch. But also doubt GWS move him.

Gothard and McMullin both uncontracted after 2026 and down the pecking order even with Darcy Jones doing his knee. Daniels, Bedford and Thomas are the best 22 options.

Dees chasing Humphreys per Channel 7

1 minute ago, gngov1 said:

Dees chasing Humphreys per Channel 7

Gold Coast

7 minutes ago, gngov1 said:

Dees chasing Humphreys per Channel 7

Read somewhere he was at Melbourne airport today. How true that is I’m unsure

9 minutes ago, Demongirl35 said:

Read somewhere he was at Melbourne airport today. How true that is I’m unsure

Did he get a chance tell any parasites to f___ off too?

2 minutes ago, gs77 said:

Did he get a chance tell any parasites to f___ off too?

They probably walked straight past him following clarry 😆

Not sure the Dees have the bargaining power or attraction to bring in quality players. Culture? Contract certainty?? Casey travel time ???? I’d not be attracted to our side of the fence right now

Now would be the ideal time to announce major progress on our new home base in Caulfield.

2 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Not sure the Dees have the bargaining power or attraction to bring in quality players. Culture? Contract certainty?? Casey travel time ???? I’d not be attracted to our side of the fence right now

A King standing tall in the ruins is still a King, and can command such power.

(I am hoping haha)

5 hours ago, PaulRB said:

Now would be the ideal time to announce major progress on our new home base in Caulfield.

i reckon if we are meeting potential players, that would be part of the selling point.. they would be getting more of an update on Caulfield than the fans have thus far. just a hunch.

Jack Steele sees out his two years as a 'Daniel Cross' culture setter and midfield depth.

The poor guy is basically St Kilda's Nathan Jones, except they are well out of love and in need of a new start.

He's not fast and would be only a midfield grinder - certainly not the magic beans - but if the Trac and Claz show happens and the Flanny & Humpy show doesn't happen we'll need good, uh, soil, for our existing home grown beans to grow in.

I wonder how he feels about Alan Richardson?

Note that personally I am ambivalent about this and merely raising it as a thing lurking in the background, not actually spruiking.