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As far as I'm aware Geelong haven't activated their compo pick for Ablett, so while they can trade it to Port it wouldn't be able to be used in this draft, which imo waters down its value in any trade for Boak. Port need talent now. Ultimately I have to back the club's decision, but on the surface I wouldn't like to give up pick 4. That said, if we were able to get Viney for a second rounder I'd understand it. Boak, Stringer/Toumpas, Viney, plus pick 12 still in play is a very strong hand. Some things to consider: Imo, Boak is a better player than Jones, or Moloney. Boak is yet to have an A grade year and his best year is not as good as Moloney's best year, but Boak has more upside and the potential to be an A grader. Boak is only 23 and played 100 games, so he's coming into his best years of footy. I envisage we'd get at least 7 very good years out of him, i.e. 24-30. Boak has been trying to lead a crap midfield at a young age. How would have Marc Murphy gone at Port without the likes of Judd to learn from ? If Boak played for a gun Victorian side would his appeal be greater ? I suspect so. It's far more difficult to shine in a crap team, so Boak's statistics and performances need to be measured in that light. Boak doesn't have Gerard Healy type class, but he does have class. What are considered 'paying overs' when it comes to securing Boak ? And I meaning pay scale to Boak, not deals to Port. Geelong are a great club. Melbourne are not a great club. Melbourne have made many mistakes over the last 5 years and while we have a new team at the helm we still have to prove we can make the correct decisions and provide the right environment to once again turn this club into a great one. Put simply Boak wouldn't be paid overs at Geelong. Their culture dictates that he'd have to fit into their pay scale if he wants to play for them. Melbourne will pay overs, because they want good players now. I accept that when you're in Melbourne's position that you may have to make these types of financial decisions, but I also suspect that they can recoil on you down the track. I suppose it's the chicken, or the egg. We need to build a better list quickly, but not at the expense of the culture we're trying to build. It needs to be handled delicately. Melbourne may consider a deal such as pick 12 and Tapscott. I like Tapscott a lot, but to get quality you have to give up quality, although Port may scoff at that deal, because Tapscott is still unproven. But they would be aware of him from his junior days and limited games at Melbourne. I'd like Boak playing for Melbourne next year, but not at any cost. I'd consider giving pick 4, but not unless Viney could be acquired with a second rounder. While pick 4 may be considered speculative by some supporters on here there's enough talent identification expertise now to be pretty confident that pick 4 will get you an A grade mid. I know that there are the Morton's of this world, but I also know that just because you've picked poorly previously doesn't mean that you're consigned to picking poorly forever. Even Richmond with their terrible drafting have recently chosen Cotchin, Martin and Riewoldt. I'll always look at the blue sky picture in this regard and assume we'll get these early picks right and base my thoughts on any trade scenario accordingly. But as I said, I'll have to have faith in the club's decisions.

What has the world come to when we are rating the ability of a player based on DT score.

Nah, I reckon that would be fine - no culture-wrecking considerations in that. Are you serious?

I'm circumspect on Beams. Has played half a season of A-grade footy (with A-grade midfield support) but for me it's not enough yet to take such a huge, big money punt on him. Prefer the safer option of Boak who's shown what he's capable over 3 or 4 seasons, with very little support in a poor midfield. But I wouldn't pay overs for him ... pick 4 being that IMO. If we could structure some kind of trade (see Jose Mourinho's post #8 on page 1) or use pick 13 for him, then by all means we should go for it. But for mine Boak is not a top-5 draft pick worthy sacrifice in what is reportedly a very strong 'pointy-end' draft.

I'd suggest Boak as he would provide us with another mature age body in the guts and I don't believe it would cost us as much as beams. Either way we are in a prime position to strike. very interesting also that MFC are playing tough with GWS and GCS Viney pick. Bout time we grew some testicles Definitely a change in attitude since the new coach has been on board, and I love his approach

Anyone who was in Darwin when we won by a point in 2010 saw Boak put in a performance that no Melbourne mid is capable of. he is a very, very capable player who will evolve into one of the best mids in the game. We won't have to part with pick 4 for him. That just doesn't happen anymore unless its Judd level. Particularly this year in a strong draft. Beams is a potential head case - I wouldn't take the risk for a bloke with 20 good games on his CV. Without wishing to sound like Bruce, you just get the feeling this October and November will define where we go in the next decade. Some hard decisions to be made on popular players. but if we're brave we might just fix up some of the mistakes Cameron and Prentergast made and have the chance to push for that elusive flag. If they get it wrong we're destined for another decade of what ifs.

i dont have an opinion on what we should give up to get Boak. I didnt think Mitch Clark would be such a good pick up, but we got him with big dollars and he has been a gun for us. I trust whoever saw 'key forward' in mitch clark to make the right call on Travis boak and trade/bid accordingly

I don't know what all the fuss is about on Boak? A good solid player but nothing special. Doesn't kick a lot of goals or lay a lot of tackles. He can find the ball but again his averages are not huge and haven't gone up from 3 or 4 years ago. Going on his stats he seems to have peaked.

I watched the replay last night and made a point of watching Watts. He is very confident down back, much more than i have seen him previously. In the last quarter he brought the backs together and almost seemed to be giving instructions about where to go and to keep shape etc. In a post match interview he said that people were saying he was a loose man but that was wrong and always has a man. I noticed this during the match, he often played well off his man when the ball was say in dispute on the wing or midfield and if it came back towards their goal was prepared to run to the space where it was coming or cover his man if that was more of a threat. Very impressive confidence and reading of the ball and was never caught out. His disposal wasn't as good this week as it has been (only 70% efficiency) but he reads the play really well. he seesm also to have permission to set up on the wing at bounces, which he did a few times He also went to the contest when he it was his turn but when it wasn't he sat of it and on few occasions ended up with the spillage and got it out with quick hands. I doubt Neeld will risk stopping his momentum at the moment but swinging him up forward in bursts, say swapping with rivers or Garland for 10 minutes, and he could be lethal

Yeah because Selwood, Scarlett, Stevie J are just regular plodders

Yeah, because it is simple as that isn't it? Todd works for us, and Jack is constantly around the club. We would have to abandon them if we were to not match any bid from GWS and GC. How about this reversal - the club is bigger than to split hairs on whether the tough-as-nails son of a Demon great is worth Pick 3 or Pick 6.

It doesn't seem that inevitable to me. He looks A grade in defence, and if that's where he has to play for us to capitalise on his talent, then so be it.

Does anyone actually watch Port play? Travis Boak would immediately be our number 1 midfielder. Currently as the primary midfielder in a poor midfield group he has had 25+ possessions on 50% of his games played this year. 5 of 10 he has had minimum 4 tackles. 6 of 10 he has had minimum 4 clearances. I am not saying we should use it but anyone who thinks pick 4 is overs and a speculative kid makes more sense is kidding themselves.

So, you want to put Jamar at full forward, where he will fall to his knees at the slightest sight of the ball. This guy spends more time crawling around a footy oval than any player I've seen. At least put someone there who can stay on their feet.......Martin.

What's going on with your spacebar dude?

don't know why you need to kick Brock Mclean around, he tried hard for Melbourne just didn't work out and we benefited from the trade.

We should not get rid of our first pick, mid first round for Boak, ok I'll go with that, anything in top 10, no way.

Would bennell for Simon buckley work?

Yeah, totally out of character isn't it? You forgot the most important thing ... he doesn't crash packs!! Packs must be crashed!

You said, and I quote: "Imo, Boak is a better player than Jones, or Moloney. Boak is yet to have an A grade year and his best year is not as good as Moloney's best year, but Boak has more upside and the potential to be an A grader. Boak is only 23 and played 100 games, so he's coming into his best years of footy. I envisage we'd get at least 7 very good years out of him, i.e. 24-30." Perhaps you could have structured your text a little better? You discuss Jones and Moloney and insert an age reference all in the same small paragraph... so the misunderstanding on my part can possibly be attributed to both of us. Ok, maybe "denigrating" was a poor word choice... but Jones has been performing at a similar, if not better, level than Boak and has been improving each year for the past three years... yet you boost Boak's stocks by citing his age and number of games, while it would seem these don't mean much when it comes to one of our own already possessing the same attributes. Well, no-one is holding you here against your will... you are free to go off an post wherever you wish; you will no doubt discover however, that you are just another minnow in an ocean full of minnows.

Because we can't get him without GWS or GC trumping us. You are acting as if the FA rules applies to him - they don't.

And he has got 'daddy issues' with him being controlled by his old man. Massive cross to bear...

Moloney may be no spring chicken, but Jones is just 6 months older than Boak, so I'm not sure why you include him in an age comparison. Statistically (going on an earlier post that cited Boak's stats), he is not so different to Jones and when you consider where we are at and where Port are at, it could be argued that Jones is out-performing Boak. It could equally be argued that Jones is trying to lead a very ordinary midfield at a young age. I'm not arguing for or against getting Boak (although my preference would be for Beams), but please don't denigrate our players at his expense.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

I've never been a fan of Dawes...very overrated in my opinion. When he had his best season and kicked 30 odd goals, he was receiving the ball from the likes of Swan, Pendlebury, Didak, etc., and he was taking the oppositions 2nd best back (Cloke took the first). I think Collingwood will be in serious trouble if they lose Cloke and have to rely on this guy to be their #1 FF option.

I was absolutely stoked when I heard we landed Mitch Clark. Thought at the time, this is a simply mammoth get - particularly given the circumstances in which we managed to sign him. Little did I know then just how good he would be. I reckon he's been the best player we've recruited in decades (possible apologies to Jeff White). Quite simply, it is a massive relief that Chris Dawes rejected us beforehand.

I'd be happy with Viney, Stringer & Boak.

How can we consider trading pick 4 and pass up the opportunity to get another Morton? In all seriousness, I imagine a straight-up trade may look like: Pick 4 & 12 from Melb to Port Pick 7 from Port to Melb We could end up with Viney, Plowman/Wines/Simpson/Kennedy and Boak. And if we could convince GWS & GC through trade to let us get Viney with our second-rounder, you could add Hogan or Martin to that. A bloody great result.

It's posts like this which make these change threads a bit of a waste of time Are you serious Dunn & Bate were both very good last week and Mcdonald is hard at it, thats what Neeld likes in players. Lets not suggest in's and outs on agenda's

You've said we can pick up Viney with a 3rd round pick. Not a chance in hell.

*facepalm* How many times does the F/S bidding system have to be explained on here?

Bail has missed three weeks with concussion -- surely then one would expect him to have a modified return, through Casey, even possibly their reserves (or whatever they call them now) with lots of time on the pine.

Aggressive, competitive, athletic big body vs exciting, quick ball mover needing to put on some weight. Sounds like Hogan is more of a Neeld game plan guy. is it annoying that when I read those descriptions I think of Clark for Hogan and Flash for Martin? Bit unfair on him though. love to see a few games from them. I'll take both.

We actually need the drive he gives us from the backline, more than ever now taking in account Clarks injury as Clark had the skills to mark even the worst delivery into him. But alas the rest of our "forwards"/"part-time forwards"/"utilities" do not share the same skill, with the exception of Howe, so we need Watts's excellent delivery to give our "forwards" the best chance possible of taking a grab. p.s i love how we now are starting to speak of Watts as being a "crucial" part of our side. Makes me happy in my pantaloons.

The same guy just responded back to him saying 'copping a fine on Twitter isn't going to help you fit in over there #foreveralone.' lol

Which pretty much sums up our shocking plight. How can a football club not draft one gun mid in 20 years ? Btw, did you EVER see TJ play one match where he put it together for all 4 quarters ?

Here we go fellas. The new management team brought us Mitch Clarke. Now for Travis Boak. Melbourne's trade advantage could trump Geelong in race for Port Adelaide's Travis Boak

He doesnt

CY 13.12.90 def WC 8.7.55 CY Best: J Macrae, J Viney, J Ashby, L Celebicanin Goals: A Sloan 2, L Celebicanin 2, J Macrae, J Davy, J Harris, T Wooldridge, L Stanboultsis, J Viney, M Haynes, J Ashby, G Dickson WC Best: M Barton, C Craig, J Dunn, Gorton, S Marshall, M Singleton, L Borthwick Goals: J dunn 3, Gorton 2, M Singleton, J Diplaris Jack made the bests for carey on weekend

Stringer? Pssh, Toumpas is where it's at

was reading his twitter the other night, full of ridiculous stuff you shouldn't be putting up there as an AFL footballer... his twitter has degenerated badly, I think it may have started with Dees supporters sinking the boot in after he walked out on the club and couldn't get a game... there were some pretty personal attacks on there, and this is where it has lead to... firstly, his profile picture: and some of his tweets (apologies for the language): Brock McLean ‏@dirty_14 Hope your bday is s**t RT @BenAndrews01: @dirty_14 it's my birthday In a few months time, I'm not really a fan of you at all, how bout a RT? Brock McLean ‏@dirty_14 Get it bleached mate, worked wonders for mine!! RT @mazza024:@dirty_14 hey brock I have a dirty ar****le , can I get a RT Brock McLean ‏@dirty_14 Get a penis pump RT @CJM2011: @dirty_14 hi mate, I have a little d**k, how about a sympathy RT #fankscobber

Are you a natural hypocrite?

A lot of Stef Martin hate, when in reality he is miles and miles ahead of any second ruck option we have on our list (and that includes Mitch Clark who should never be risked in the ruck anyway *sob*). With Rivers and Garland possibly moving forward more permanently, Stef could easily shuffle down back when not rucking. He should play this week, and I believe he will. We forget so quickly, but he was one of our best players last year and came on in leaps and bounds. Injury has ruined his season thus far.

he did try hard, but we are YET to see if we have benefited yet from it. Gysberts has potential but unfortunately due to injury we are yet to see if he will fully live up to our expectations.

the guy who baited him must be laughing his arse off right now hook line and sinker brock

No, that's not right. The pursuit of a player takes up time and resources, it shouldn't be wasted on a player who we have zero chance of moving. By all means if Travis Cloke (or Chris Judd for example) is putting out the feelers, by all means the club should give it a shot, but this guy's not going to go anywhere. In the mean time, we continue to look for our star in the draft, just like every other club does, and pour all our resources in to that.

I'm glad Jetta may get a chance to press his case - his career is currently in the balance. He's probably the least gifted player on our list, but makes up for it with courage, aggression and hard work. I've always thought that when push comes to shove his lack of speed and small tank would be his undoing, but I've also had the feeling that he's the sort of player Neeld might love because of the attributes he does have. We'll see; good luck Nev.

Nev's back! Best news I've had in weeks. I really want to see him get a few games together and break into the senior side.

You've obviously been reading How to Graciously Disagree by Ben H. Hur

Well I'm friggin sorry for trying to bring something of interest to the board!!! The reason I did was there were two posters yesterday who were disagreeing. Get over it. FYI I will post whatever I like, as long as its not offensive to anyone I will keep rolling.