I would have thought we'd need to offload a Johnstone or a Robbo or both to create enough salary cap relief.

Could still happen. I think Robbo is about 50/50 to be a Dees player next year atm. Just depends what we can get for him.

In fairness Jaded, Hutchie hasn't got to be the little sniffer dog he is by giving up his sources. What we do know is that he's usually on the money, especially when the announcement is not too far away.

Agreed about Frawley. I woulda thought Weagles would rather take him than Pick 9, and it would save us involving a third party. Perhaps there is some complication with Frawley not wanting to go to Perth though. That wouldn't surprise me. It would be kind of bastard of us to ship him off there after 1 year.

Diablo, you might recall I mentioned in another post on Saturday that Frawley would be required by the WCE if we couldn't provide 2 first rounders. They do want him, but I believe you are right and he has baulked at moving west. Fair enough too! Looks like he will be a part of it though.

Just on Channel 9 - reported that we're the big movers, and that it's definetly down to Melbourne & The Filth. Seemed more positive about the dees though.

Expect no less from Channel Eddie.

Just said on Ch.9 that we're looking very good to get Judd, which you would expect given that Hutchy works at Ch.9

Collingwood are the other candidate, so it's certainly down to either us or the Pies... wow, there's a revelation!

Then that little bastard Tony Jones said: "who would have thought Melbourne would get good news in September".

Ha ha ha... I'm laughing on the inside you moron!

Just said on Ch.9 that we're looking very good to get Judd, which you would expect given that Hutchy works at Ch.9

Collingwood are the other candidate, so it's certainly down to either us or the Pies... wow, there's a revelation!

Then that little bastard Tony Jones said: "who would have thought Melbourne would get good news in September".

Ha ha ha... I'm laughing on the inside you moron!

What a [censored]. That's why they won't admit we're red hot favourites. Because that fat **** runs the sports news.

Tony Jones is [censored]

I dont watch the Sunday Footy show anymore since that clueless [censored] became host

Who does that [censored] barrack for anyway?

Who does that [censored] barrack for anyway?

The Filth.

The Filth.

Ha.

It all makes sense now...

Expect no less from Channel Eddie.

It would kill them to say were in the box seat so that gives me hope ohhhhhh! please god just make it happen

Thats all I want for xmas

Could u image danners emotions if we get JUDD?? Poor fellow. Ah well..

G'Day guys. New to site. Long time dees supporter/member tho. Couple of things on judd thing( hope to christ we snare him ). In regards to Frawley being traded. Dont you have to keep a draft pick for 2 years before you can offload them. Or is that you cant terminate there contract?. What about Robbo and Miller to Bullodogs for pick 5 which we can on-trade to WCE with pick 4 in return for Judd. Any thoughts???

G'Day guys. New to site. Long time dees supporter/member tho. Couple of things on judd thing( hope to christ we snare him ). In regards to Frawley being traded. Dont you have to keep a draft pick for 2 years before you can offload them. Or is that you cant terminate there contract?. What about Robbo and Miller to Bullodogs for pick 5 which we can on-trade to WCE with pick 4 in return for Judd. Any thoughts???

That rule rings a bell to me too. I think i heard KB mention it this week.

If the player agrees to it, then it can be done.

In Frawley's case, he might agree to go to the Saints, but not WCE.

That rule rings a bell to me too. I think i heard KB mention it this week.

If it was true I think Sheahan would have been all over it already. I wouldn't believe anything that numpty KB says either. Seems to be clueless at the best of times.

That rule rings a bell to me too. I think i heard KB mention it this week.

I must admit I thought that there was a rule to that effect, but that means the rumour that popped up a couple of days ago regarding Nathan Brown from Collingwod being traded to West Coast as part of the Judd deal would also have been a fur-fie given he was in the same draft, but selected higher, as Frawley. Who knows?!!!

Tony Jones? The guy who explains the first half of the game to you with no actual footage for what feels like 30 minutes at the same time as the third quarter is playing live, and then shows you the final quarter LIVE AND UNINTERRUPTED?..

Tony Jones is [censored]

Good to see an indisputable statement from you, Ooze! Gold.

I saw the Chanel 9 report too. I think Tony Jones was holding back tears of grief and bitterness.

Doin a bit of homework. i think you can trade but cant de-list!

Could u image danners emotions if we get JUDD?? Poor fellow. Ah well..

Well - no, not really. If Daniher was in charge I don't think Judd would have been wow-ed at all.

Good to see an indisputable statement from you, Ooze! Gold.

I saw the Chanel 9 report too. I think Tony Jones was holding back tears of grief and bitterness.

A-ha! It all makes sense now.

Tony Jones being a Filth follower adds his little opinion at the end because he knows the truth. When something is known in the media it flows to everyone.

Like the Dylan Howard drugs saga and those two names which faced the lawsuit.

This whole ordeal has in my opinion been another cross against the reputation of the sporting media. I hope they feel embarrassed when Melbourne sign Chris Judd. If some of them are still shaking their heads and ondering 'why?' then perhaps they should be looking for new modes of employment next year. Throughout the process, they've led the public down the garden path with their ill-considered and narrow-minded opinions. I'll lump them all together because the general vibe ebbed from one group idea to the next, but most of them generally made a couple of key mistakes when assessing the situation:

1. Failing to consider both sides of the trading equation: At first it was "Judd to Carlton!" Who could forget the sickening superimposed picture of Judd in a Carlton guernsey in the Hun? Simply because Carlton had the highest picks, this didn't mean that Chris Judd would want to play for them. He had to nominate them as a team to West Coast for any deal to be done. In the end, Carlton weren't prepared to match Melbourne's offer by the sounds of things anyway. Likewise, the next favour of the month was Collingwood. Notoriously shonky dealers in trade week, I don't think it was ever a fait accompli that Judd would have gone to Collingwood even if he had nominated them alone. The PSD would have been a real option. They failed to see that Melbourne could satisfy both criteria: being attractive to Judd, and having something to offer West Coast. Realistically, none of the other clubs could satisfy both.

2. I think the biggest mistake the media and the non-Melbourne supporting public made was to underestimate the Demons. I think the fact that Judd barracked for the Demons as a child and his family are still Melbourne fans had to mean something. What kind of self-respecting Melbourne fan could play for Collingwood by choice anyway? But more so, I think we are selling ourselves short if we think the only reason he has chosen Melbourne is because of his childhood yearning to pull on the red and blue. We hear people bemoaning our facilities - they'll be fixed in a year. People questioned our list - the best Victorian team last year, and completely ravaged by injury in 2007. I'm sick of hearing people moan "Why would he go to Melbourne?" Do some research into Judd's criteria and you'll find out.

I'm thinking once Judd is in the fold, Melbourne won't be quite the same irrelevant sideshow that media spanners choose to neglect in future.

amen to you pantaloons!!!!

I'm thinking once Judd is in the fold, Melbourne won't be quite the same irrelevant sideshow that media spanners choose to neglect in future.

While your post is brilliant and I loved reading it, I'm thinking that we need to take a step back and calm ourselves down.

The media may be all over this "Judd to Melbourne" thing, but there is nothing to suggest that this is any different or more credible than the previous "Judd to Club X" rumours.

Nothing is official, in fact, does anyone know if Judd has left hospital? Has he spoken to his manager? Has his manager spoken to the clubs in question?

At the end of the day, we are all desperate for information and when it's positive, we buy it, and when it's negative we dismiss it.

Don't believe anything until Judd or Connors or Club X officially announces something. That may not be until the end of next week, so we have a lot more of these rumours to get through first.

While your post is brilliant and I loved reading it, I'm thinking that we need to take a step back and calm ourselves down.

The media may be all over this "Judd to Melbourne" thing, but there is nothing to suggest that this is any different or more credible than the previous "Judd to Club X" rumours.

Nothing is official, in fact, does anyone know if Judd has left hospital? Has he spoken to his manager? Has his manager spoken to the clubs in question?

At the end of the day, we are all desperate for information and when it's positive, we buy it, and when it's negative we dismiss it.

Don't believe anything until Judd or Connors or Club X officially announces something. That may not be until the end of next week, so we have a lot more of these rumours to get through first.

Damn it , Jaded! This is NOT the time for logic and reason!