Is McCreery still yet to re-sign? He played half a season under Buckley. Could that help or hinder?

He'd be very handy IMO.

1 hour ago, Deez21 said:

The issue is you said he has silky skills

Whereas at St Kilda he was known as the butcher

I disagree. Perhaps he wasn't using it as well as he can for a period there but he's strengths are his footskills and run.

I'd say his weaknesses are more around the defensive and contested aspects of his game.

If he was to play the correct role in this current trend of footy, I genuinely think he'd be an asset. Make him a distributor, give him kick outs and licenstto run. Especially if it means we can move some of our better users to a half forward or pocket.

As good as Bowey has been as a defender, I would absolutely love to see him played forward of the ball. I think he is completely untapped in that regard. He played a lot of forward in his unders and he is so dangerous with the ball.

Something like this is a must for us going forward. Our forward line is way too vanilla.

Edited 19 hours ago19 hr by Howard_Grimes

1 minute ago, Adam The God said:

Is McCreery still yet to re-sign? He played half a season under Buckley. Could that help or hinder?

He'd be very handy IMO.

McCreery is contracted for two more years until the end of 2027. I definitely agree he could be a very handy pick up, probably worth a second rounder. A player in a similar mould to ANB, can kick goals and impact games.

As for the Windhager news, I'm in disbelief we're interested.

Another athlete who is built like Tarzan but his weakness?

Footskills and decision making!

Unless we know one of trac, Viney or Oliver are going I just can't understand why we'd be interested.

So Melbourne.

8 minutes ago, Howard_Grimes said:

As for the Windhager news, I'm in disbelief we're interested.

Another athlete who is built like Tarzan but his weakness?

Footskills and decision making!

Unless we know one of trac, Viney or Oliver are going I just can't understand why we'd be interested.

So Melbourne.

It's the new cycle of life - Dunstan replaced by Billings, replaced by Windhager, replaced by [?]

11 minutes ago, KoltTheRam said:

McCreery is contracted for two more years until the end of 2027. I definitely agree he could be a very handy pick up, probably worth a second rounder. A player in a similar mould to ANB, can kick goals and impact games.

Bit selfish

I think unless its a key forward, we should not be drafting/trading in any player unless they are elite kickers/handballers, which might be hard to find !!

I see no use in getting rid of Oliver/Petracca, only to get in players like Windhager.

Maybe only reason would be salary dump and a start a rebuild, which i am sure none of us want.

21 minutes ago, Dees1911 said:

I think unless its a key forward, we should not be drafting/trading in any player unless they are elite kickers/handballers, which might be hard to find !!

I see no use in getting rid of Oliver/Petracca, only to get in players like Windhager.

Maybe only reason would be salary dump and a start a rebuild, which i am sure none of us want.

I agree overall, but think some of the criticism of Windhager is slightly exaggerated. He's going at 60.3 kicking efficiency this season, compare that to Petracca at 48.9%, Viney at 47.6% and Oliver at 54.1%.

It's worth noting though that given those three are so poor, it's hard not to bring in someone who is a substantial improvement regardless.

crom offering 2 first round picks for petty is a #kornesmyth

according to a very well placed source, no such offer was ever made

Edited 17 hours ago17 hr by whatwhat say what

22 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

Because the game is going past him so it's better to cash out now rather than hold on. Depending on the offer.

For most of the season (and honestly for about 3 year now) Bayley has jogged around in second gear. It's not that he doesn't tackle enough it's that he sits and watches play go by until he makes a defensive effort and then invariable it's too little too late. The number of sloppy too high free kicks he gives away is abysmal.

Plus the terrible attempts at winning a contested ball on the deck and over reliance on the get the ball out the back efforts at contested marking rather than playing in front and being willing to wear a defender crashing in to you.

Similarly he's been tried up the ground and for such a skilled player his ball use and decision making are dreadful. He looks like a local football when up the ground.

Now the last 6 weeks or so the penny has appeared to drop a little. He's putting in more effort at the contest and defensively as well as finding the ball consistently. But we've also played a very soft draw. I'd probably still have a draft pick in mind at which point I'd be willing to let him go. He's far from untouchable. But for now anyway he's not almost free to a good home as he would've been mid year.

In which way is the game going past him??

Not everyone is gong to play like Viney in regard to attack on the ball. You need all types. Fritch is the best fwd 50 target in the AFL post bye according to champion. Would wanna be a good pick to let a 40 goal forward go, they are hard to find

1 hour ago, whatwhat say what said:

crom offering 2 first round picks for petty is a #kornesmyth

according to a very well placed source, no such offer was ever made

The idea that Adelaide were offering 2 firsts is the biggest fantasy of all time.

The discussion with Petty didn't get past the golf course because Melbourne told him and management he's going nowhere

Media floated the idea melbourne could be tempted by 2 first rounders

Then all of a sudden it became a fact it was on the table and we said no and never disputed again

Yet somehow, the same 2 firsts were on the table for Oliver.

Luaghable story

We've lacked a genuine lockdown player for a while now, that's the main reason I can see we would have interest in Windhager. Our mid depth is also significantly lacking. Could easily see him as a half forward that locks down on the opposition attacking half backs.

I still have interest in Chesser and Angwin as good users of the footy, chesser in particular has line-breaking pace.

Starcevich, pending medical/concussion due diligence, would be an amazing get for our back half.

27 minutes ago, BangBnagBang said:

In which way is the game going past him??

Not everyone is gong to play like Viney in regard to attack on the ball. You need all types. Fritch is the best fwd 50 target in the AFL post bye according to champion. Would wanna be a good pick to let a 40 goal forward go, they are hard to find

Yep - the whole trade 'em all thing is really interesting. Won't be able to field a team in 2026 at this rate!

And to trade a known forward (which we sorely lack) for a complete unknown is... bold...at best.

3 hours ago, Dees1911 said:

I think unless its a key forward, we should not be drafting/trading in any player unless they are elite kickers/handballers, which might be hard to find !!

I see no use in getting rid of Oliver/Petracca, only to get in players like Windhager.

Maybe only reason would be salary dump and a start a rebuild, which i am sure none of us want.

I want us to stop recruiting players from other clubs that are fringe best 22.

4 minutes ago, cantstandyasam said:

I want us to stop recruiting players from other clubs that are fringe best 22.

For every Billings, McAdam there is a Jordon and Bedford though, so its a calculated risk

We actually may be the most appealing option out of this group of teams

7 hours ago, Howard_Grimes said:

As for the Windhager news, I'm in disbelief we're interested.

Another athlete who is built like Tarzan but his weakness?

Footskills and decision making!

Unless we know one of trac, Viney or Oliver are going I just can't understand why we'd be interested.

So Melbourne.

Last weekend he had 32 possessions (26 uncontested)n and disposed at 78%. Has also shown he can lock down where required as good as any going about. He is exactly the style of mid we should be looking for to change our midfield makeup toward the style we are transitioning toward..

windhager is a very good player

would be in our starting midfield imo

41 minutes ago, Lil_red_fire_engine said:

Last weekend he had 32 possessions (26 uncontested)n and disposed at 78%. Has also shown he can lock down where required as good as any going about. He is exactly the style of mid we should be looking for to change our midfield makeup toward the style we are transitioning toward..

I agree we have been really weak physically in the midfield. We have lost the ability to defend in the midfield. It’s what Dunkley is to the Brisbane Lions midfield, Brayshaw to Freo.

Oliver, Trac and even Vines are being exposed going the other way.

26 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

windhager is a very good player

would be in our starting midfield imo

Even if he does not become our no 1 centre bounce star, he is an immediate upgrade on Spargo, Sparrow, Sharp, Kolt and Henderson who all have featured throughout the year. We are screaming for ready-made depth to support the younger brigade.

windhager is about to explode, should have been the saints number 1 guy all year and the shackles are about to come lose, if we were to sign him it would be with the knowledge that someone else was out the door, either clarry or trac, a midfield of Windhager, Pickett, Langford, Windsor for the next 10 years is strong but a midfield of windhager viney clarry trac isnt ideal, especially with sparrow langdon and rivers all thereabouts with equally poor foot skills

7 hours ago, BangBnagBang said:

In which way is the game going past him??

Not everyone is gong to play like Viney in regard to attack on the ball. You need all types. Fritch is the best fwd 50 target in the AFL post bye according to champion. Would wanna be a good pick to let a 40 goal forward go, they are hard to find

Our game plan was to bomb it to congestion at half forward then burst out of that and hit Fritsch inside 50. That's where we've changed but I also think the league has changed too. Teams will keep a lot of deep defenders now. You have to move the ball faster and wider to get out to space across half forward then have more guys inside 50 rather than a 1 out option so often.

A fair counter is Jamie Elliott was dominating in a Fritsch style role for a lot of the year so maybe it's not over for that kind of player but Elliott is also more well rounded.

Of course he won't be Viney. But for a lot of this season (and last) Fritsch has been close to uncompetitive. Hopefully that's changed now.

Anyway, mid year I'd have sold him for pick 40, now I'd want something top 25 and a Jason Taylor level of belief that it's a pick they can find someone with. I'd certainly be open to keeping him too.