Hard to know the right call. Trac rightfully so, is not a bash n crash player anymore. Saw him opt out of 2 aerial contests on the weekend. He is a professional and trains hard. His kicking is awful.. probably see him more a forward than a pure midfielder these days

Oliver appears to pick and choose when he puts effort in. His kicking is awful, but as a pure extractor- he could recapture form. Most likely elsewhere.

Could see both leaving and doing well elsewhere, not sure we will see the best of them at Melbourne. So it comes down to what are you willing to get back for them.

Goody loves the status quo and the past, so while he is here, it will be tough to see hard calls.

Lever is a good one to trade out. If we get something back, then I’d be keen. Howes and Turner appear to cover him already.

3 minutes ago, SPC said:

Oliver appears to pick and choose when he puts effort in.

This may be true. From what I know, this has never been a problem - at least during games. Instead, 2025 Oliver at top gear and 2021 Oliver at top gear are two completely different footballers.

10 minutes ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Article in the paper today about Trac.

Worth a read.

Can you snapshot

(Paywall )

6 minutes ago, SPC said:

Hard to know the right call. Trac rightfully so, is not a bash n crash player anymore. Saw him opt out of 2 aerial contests on the weekend. He is a professional and trains hard. His kicking is awful.. probably see him more a forward than a pure midfielder these days

Oliver appears to pick and choose when he puts effort in. His kicking is awful, but as a pure extractor- he could recapture form. Most likely elsewhere.

Could see both leaving and doing well elsewhere, not sure we will see the best of them at Melbourne. So it comes down to what are you willing to get back for them.

Goody loves the status quo and the past, so while he is here, it will be tough to see hard calls.

Lever is a good one to trade out. If we get something back, then I’d be keen. Howes and Turner appear to cover him already.

He's quite different since getting 'Moored'

10 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

Can you snapshot

(Paywall

1 minute ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Thankyou.

Feeling in me waters we might be seeing his last games in R&B

Edited August 4Aug 4 by beelzebub

11 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

Thankyou.

Feeling in me waters we might be seeing his last games in R&B

Time will tell.. interesting.

I’d be pretty happy for their young fella, CD.

27 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

Thankyou.

Feeling in me waters we might be seeing his last games in R&B

what can we get for him now from Hawks ?

Fluff piece from Jay Clark, who I cannot believe is the Chief of Football at the HS. Tells you a lot about the decline in the standard of journalism in this country.

There is nothing in the article that says anything about how Hawthorn, or any other club, would actually facilitate a trade. Throwing up the glut of forwards at the Hawks is not really a well-thought-out viable trade solution or scenario.

This article belongs in the Media Madness thread. The media seem hellbent on inventing narratives and willing a trade of Melbourne superstars. I'm a realist, and understand that we need to give something to get something and improve, but throwing up the Hawks and not mentioning any picks to facilitate a trade is pure lazy opinion, agenda driven nonsense!

Edited August 4Aug 4 by Trident22

27 minutes ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

That's very close to what Clarky put forward on First Crack.

I'm guessing he didn't just come up with the concept out of the blue, so this seems like one of the parties involved has started to game this scenario out.

It does seem very plausible, although on an emotional level not sure I'm ready for this possibility. Trac's been one of our very best of all time and was a Norm Smith medalist in the only premiership in my lifetime. He's not what he was two years ago, and I'd happily see him play out his days as a Demon, but there's an uncomfortable feeling in my gut that thinks this might be the right move for all parties.

Can't see Hawks releasing Calsher Dear in any trade, they'd probably offer up Mabior and Lewis is probably the one that would/could move back. I'd want at least a first rounder to come back as well, especially if we are taking on some of the dollars.

Edited August 4Aug 4 by ChaserJ

9 minutes ago, Trident22 said:

There is nothing in the article that says anything about how Hawthorn, or any other club, would actually facilitate a trade. Throwing up the glut of forwards at the Hawks is not really a well-thought-out viable trade solution or scenario.

Very good point.

I think there is an enormous amount of wishful and magical thinking when it comes to player trading - in the media, among supporters and often within clubs.

Some of it's cynical - click-bait stuff about a "mega trade" that the author or conceiver knows wouldn't happen in a million years. But some of it is earnest - "the market is a magical machine that conjures exquisitely fair transactions (all of which favour my preconceptions, biases and preferences)".

it is quite clearly a speculative yarn

but, really, if trac wants to 'chase success' then dingley makes sense - they're there, thereabouts in terms of a spot around the 8

there's no guarantee that they'll stay there, of course...

...but there's also no guarantee that the dees will stay down the bottom

48 minutes ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Thanks.

Towards the end of the article it says the club kept Oliver and Petracca to their contracts and at the Board's request extended Viney's contract!

Another dumb Board decision as Viney was already contracted

The irony is the Board has now unceremoniously and very publicly put all 3 (and the whole team, bar Max and Kozzie) on the trade market. How stupid does the Board look now re keeping those 3!

The other irony is the Board has little idea of how it exposed its incompetence in the last week:

• admitted it hadn't monitored the FD review implementation

• didn't ask for an agreed start date from Guerra

• put our whole playing list (bar Max and Kozzie) on the trade table.

We have 17 players uncontracted. An unheard of situation for us at this time of year. After the Board's statement any player, contracted or uncontracted, would be within their rights to call their agent.

That would test the Board's mettle. Look out for their back-pedaling!

Edited August 4Aug 4 by Lucifers Hero

9 hours ago, nextskipclaz said:

The particular conditions of each game,

2022 was the one that got away as we looked very tired and should have been rotating players (as Geelong did in 2022 and as Collingwood have done this season)

But in 2023 we ended up with a D Grade forward line in the finals series. How does a team win 3 finals with a makeshift, low-on-talent forward line?

Petty, Melksham & Brown out, JVR suspended and Fritsch & T-Mac (who both played in the finals) were both handicapped with chronic injuries

And then Brayshaw was thugged out of the game which meant we couldn't use Petracca forward as planned

We did remarkably well to get so close

So fair enough with regards to 2022 but we were never going to win it all in 2023

Edited August 4Aug 4 by Macca

29 minutes ago, Kent said:

what can we get for him now from Hawks ?

No real idea tbh. It's that funny time of year where the landscape morphs from what at a distance looks like immovable, impenetrable rock to fragmented and unstable .

Some players won't even realise atm they will appear in different jumpers next season such is the speed and surprise of the Circus. ,

Very poignant that you ask WHAT and not WHO .

We're short on currency currently. We need some for f/s ( before that goes ) as well as the draft ( before we're shut out by Tassie )

So yes.. WHAT is Tracc worth and to whom ??

Roll.up... roll up...

2 minutes ago, Macca said:

2022 was the one that got away as we looked very tired and should have been rotating players (as Geelong did in 2022 and as Collingwood have done this season)

But in 2023 we ended up with a D Grade forward line in the finals series. How does a team win 3 finals with a makeshift, low-on-talent forward line?

Petty, Melksham & Brown out, JVR suspended and Fritsch & T-Mac (who both played in the finals) were both handicapped with chronic injuries

And then Brayshaw was thugged out of the game which meant we couldn't use Petracca forward as planned

We did remarkably well to get so close

So fair enough with regards to 2022 but we were never going to win it all in 2023

I really think it was the other way around. Agree we were tired in 2022 and struggled in second halves late in that year, but Geelong were dominant and clearly the best team that year.

2023 Collingwood finished on top but were underwhelming in the last third of the home and away season. Despite some injuries in the forward line and Oliver’s hammy, we had enough out there in finals to win it. The fact we dominated most of both finals that year despite the Brayshaw incident proves it. It’s easy to forget Joel Smith was a very handy mobile tall forward at that stage. He copped a bit for it, but I can understand May’s thoughts on Collingwood that year. They had a good run at the start of the year, but ended up having an expected percentage in finals of less than 100. It’s so unlikely that you win 3 finals in a row in that case that it hasn’t happened before and may not again.

48 minutes ago, Kent said:

what can we get for him now from Hawks ?

To trade Petracca or Oliver we would probably need to pay 20% of their salary simply to offload them.

35% gets a second rounder and 50% a first

They and we are stuck with each other unless they agree to reduce their contracted salaries.

Of course if they have a stellar year for MFC in 2026 the equation could change at the end of that year as it would with increases in the TPP cap and the length left on their contracts

Edited August 4Aug 4 by Diamond_Jim

Clearly see that when we're no longer in the mix for finals, Goody swings Windsor in the middle and concurrently Trac spends far less time in the CBA's can see a big drop off from Round 19 v Carlton. If Trac's end goal is a premium mid then I see him departing the Dees, not so sure he want's to play the role that Dangerfield plays just yet. Windsor needs to clean up his disposal efficiency which will come, but his speed and burst through packs is something Trac hasn't provided much this year, which we've been missing.

20 minutes ago, 0livers Army said:

I really think it was the other way around. Agree we were tired in 2022 and struggled in second halves late in that year

I vehemently disagree

In 2023 our forward line was bereft of talent ... Brown, JVR, Melk & Petty all unavailable.

Fritsch was injured and proppy and T-Mac played like an old man (back then) Petracca unavailable to play forward as he had to play on the ball in the absence of Gus

Smith was ok but hardly first choice

We had Buckley's chance

The fact that we got so close irks many, but not to pragmatic thinkers

We had 7 starters either not available or incapacitated once the finals got under way in 2023

Edited August 4Aug 4 by Macca

1 hour ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Time will tell.. interesting.

I’d be pretty happy for their young fella, CD.

Me too, but feels the least likely of that bunch they’d depart with

31 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

35% gets a second rounder and 50% a first

I have wondered whether Trac and/or Clarry’s silence + best behaviour this season is a deliberate ploy by club and player to maximise their trade value.

Surely the club said to both last year ‘you went about it the wrong way if you truly wanted to leave. It’s in both of our best interests if you go about it differently this year”

These articles are part of the 'big club' narrative that we are not part of.

Moving Trac and/or Oliver to either Collingwood/Geelong/Hawthorn ticks off what the press needs nowadays

• a story that gets more clicks as it is a big club

• a big club staying successful which means that ratings/clicks are maintained

It is completely irrelevant that the big clubs probably don't have the cap space or draft capital to make the deal go through. If they were being realistic you would suggest that they go to clubs like North as they have the cap space, potential draft picks and have never landed a 'big fish'

What also doesn't help our cause is that we generally play a boring brand of football which the press/TV don't like. If we played exciting footy but still lost, we wouldn't be so on the nose to them. This is why Essendon stayed with the prime time for so long, they had no idea how to defend so their games were high scoring, unfortunately for them, they don't know how to attack anymore so their games are even more boring.

2 hours ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

'AI, write me an article on Christian Petracca'

Ta da!!!!

A forward half role could be refreshing for Trac. While his clearance kicking under pressure is not good. He can be a Dangerfield/Papley like presence in the F50 with his physicality. He is faster than most key defenders, and stronger than most medium defenders.

I really don't see him getting upset about being moved out of the middle, I think he will do what is asked of him in a new role.

1 hour ago, ChaserJ said:

II'd want at least a first rounder to come back as well.

Yeah I'd rather have picks to accelerate the rebuild