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Just a few things I've heard around the traps. 5 or 6 contracted Melbourne players had meetings with Roos where he stated he would actively seek a trade for them if deals could be worked out would they be open to leaving. Unable to get any names on who but connecting dots and knowing they have to be under contract you could probably work it out if you had the time. Understanding Shiel was initially quite confronted by all the attention around him being traded. GWS trying to cool him down but home calling his name. MFC first day were 3% now in his mind easily 40-50%. Could go either way for him, but GWS also need to be satisfied which could provide a concern. I'd only heard of 2 clubs bidding for our pick 2 (not the 5 reported yesterday) but it was obviously GWS and also Port Adelaide. Lyons has little or no interest in coming to us due to settling down in Adelaide with new girlfriend I presume. Vince super keen on leaving Adelaide and it seems Adelaide are happy to move him on. Surprised we're paying pick 20 by all reports. Thought 36 could do it. Brisbane midfielder Ryan Lester was looked at as an ex Melbourne boy but Brisbane steming the bleeding on everything they can at this point. Collingwood super keen on few players I'd consider earlier than their picks 11,12 so may try and package to move up. Wasnt surprised to hear them going for pick 6. From the draft board, Freeman shot up some boards and was interviewed by a view clubs higher than expected by him and his party. Scharenberg and billings both didn't do any activities due to injuries and the latter has concerns which may see him fall considerably ala Grundy last year. Kelly interviewed well. That is not from MFC camp so can't say if he interviewed from us well, or even at all. GWS, Brisbane, Western bulldogs and another club also scouted Michie, who ultimately decided he wanted to come to us. As this final week heats up you do occasionally get some juicy stuff sadly so far not much, but will keep ears pricked.

A bit of history of pick 20 2003-10 and the number of games for each player Butler. 108 Polo. 77 Bower. 70 Hislop. 27 Notte. 2 Swift. 34 Fyfe. 72 Pitt. 10 With Fyfe being the standout exception, which of those players would you have starting their careers with us now rather than grabbing Vince? Assuming Bernie averages, say 18 games a year, for the next 3 then we get 54 games from a 188cm/86kg experienced midfielder who will walk into our side as the 2nd best midfielder. Nathan Jones must be a very happy boy this afternoon. He is exactly what we need and pick 20 is not overs

I don't . I would want Lyons as well. 28 year old might get 1-2 years for a pick 20.

Who gives a stuff about Pedersen right now? This is a rumour thread, not a Pedersen thread. I click the link to see if there has been any news and we all have to sift through waves and waves of pointless crap.

Dunn and Pederson in the midfield... Rumour thread or comedy festival? Might as well trade pick 2 and run Bootsma and and Spangher through the middle as well, have us all rolling in the aisles.

We're talking about two defenders for who nobody's beating the doors down to prise away from GWS and we need quality midfielders. They would have to throw Tyson in instead of Bugg or include all three and take a player of ours in the same category as Bugg (eg Tappy).

From the picture it looks as if they had to amputate his left leg. Still, maybe better off without it, but will have to learn a new kicking style. :-))

If that deal is done and Crows pick well they could have a very good player playing for them 10years after Vince has retired. I want more for 20.

There's a reason pick 9, in addition to Bugg and Buntine, is in the mix.

I long for the days of Nudge and his daily rumour updates...

leave pick 55 alone

Just out of curiosity, how many if the anti-vince people on here have watched him play? I mean actually watched him, not just highlights and stats? Forget the fact that he is 28, or that he is "apparently" having knee issues, if you can get a guy in your team who adds class and experience, who will be one of your best 2 mids, then get him. Furthermore, when you acknowledge we've lost Sylvia and that we will be compensated with a pick of equal value, then that only adds to the urgency in which we should sign him. The guy has polish and knows how to find the footy, and a change for him away from the Adelaide fishbowl will do him wonders. Pick 20 is possibly overs, but a lot of water goes under the bridge before we can know that, ie- pick 2's future. Happy to say but I've watched him enough to know he will be a good performer for us and will add more than what col has over the past few years, and more than he would have if he'd stayed. Not that I'm rubbishing col.

If picking up the likes of Vince, Cross, Michie, Lyons and/OR Myers means we improve sufficiently to make players coming out of contract stay because they see we are heading in the right direction, I am happy to wear the price. This is a big plus if Frawley signs an extension next season because we are on the improve

Who's to say you won't get your star at 9? In perfect theory pick 2 should be better than pick 9, but I'd be interested to take a really good look back and see where in the draft stars are found. My hypothesis is that you're just as likely to get your star anywhere in the top 10 as you are at #2; I don't see it as a huge gamble if we get two solid players out of it.

"Don't deal with Collingwood!" I look forward one Queen's Birthday to dealing with them comprehensively.

For a start, Vince is a very good footballer and Michie is an unproven one who may be good enough. The likelihood is there is not the huge variance in talent between pick 2 and 9 in this draft as there has been in some other drafts. That fact is probably the fulcrum upon which the club's desire to trade it swings. Draft pick numbers mean nothing. We have the rights to Kelly (most likely) or Aish and we'll be trading those rights for Buntine (who is a very similar player to Jack Grimes and has been on a similar trajectory), Bugg (who long-term could be our quaterback out of defence and is comfortably a good, albeit extremely homesick player) and for the rights to Kolodjashnij or maybe Freeman if we're lucky. I don't think you can make your argument unless you've got good confidence Kelly is a jet and that those who are in the mix at 9 aren't. Buntine and Bugg will give us one of the deepest and most talented defences in the competition. Michie and Vince will bolster the midfield, along with the move of Watts and organic improvement form our inexperienced players. And we've still got Pick 9, Sylvia compo and 38 to play with. Your playing the Pick 2 will be a guaranteed star card, whereas I think the proposed deal gives us a wider spread of talent, an instant infusion and possibilities to still unearth some stars, of whom I wouldn't write off Buntine or Bugg being very good players.

please....never mention pedersen in any argument you want to WIN !!!

No one has said we're even entertaining this trade. Let's just take it easy, shall we? GWS may have proffered it, but nowhere that I've read even suggests we're remotely interested. Further, knowing this time of year, it's probably mindless speculation.

One thing we possibly need to get our heads around is working to the Roos type model, not necessarily getting one star with pick 2 but with players he is confident will play roles for him, will add to the team and are solid citizens. Some of the players he traded for at Sydney had the rest of the clubs sniggering but he backed them in and developed them into their roles perfectly. He may see this in these two blokes, and considering we still maintain a top ten pick we shouldn't dismiss this scenario so readily. Trading in picks for unpolished gems who no one else rates highly was a speciality for Sydney and we need to damper our expectations of getting a recognised star and swap it for trust in what Roos sees as the bigger picture, and his coaching and development abilities. After all isn't that why we are so excited about getting him to the club ?

I think the recruiters will have their draft board obviously. And we know Boyd will go at 1 and Luke McDonald at 7 or whatever. So they'll have 7 names available between pick 2 and pick 9. Somewhere on that list will be Kelly and Aish I'm sure. But I agree it will also have 5 other names and who knows what order. The big question is how much of a difference do they rate the guy at the top of that list compared to the guy at the bottom.

You're a strange one.

As much as I get frustrated with those naysayers. This picture is fresh pudding. I would like to eat the pudding for a couple of years. I...I really butchered that idiom...

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2013-10-16/photo-gallery-october-16

I remember one game this year, Pederson missed a goal from like 10 meters out. I think it was even a set shot. I tweeted "I'm pretty sure I could have kicked that one, and i'm a Yank." Someone told me to test it out. So the next morning I went out to a park, got a football, set markers apart, the width of the goal, counted off 10 meters and had a crack. I'm proud to report I would have kicked a goal on my first attempt. My second attempt looked like something from a footy horror show. Came squarely off the side of my foot and nearly took out a squirrel who was camped out under a tree to the right of me.

Your talking about totally different objectives. We are getting Vince because we need some senior leadership in the middle who can perform immediately(unlike Rodan and Byrnes). Jones and Garlett are long term projects and they won't develop properly without some sort of leadership and team competitiveness.

Just for some clarity on the Bugg/Buntine/9 trade, Emma Quayle, one of the authors of the article that broke that story, tweeted today that it's GWS' offer, and that she doesn't think we'd be keen to do that deal. https://twitter.com/emmasq/status/390624628194156544

How's this from a freo supporter.. ''really nice kid too. likes to buy books from op shops to read of an evening. no joke''. haha

Pedo will surprise a few next year....

Roos is not about diminishing the talent on our list. He won't trade Frawley this year under any circumstances. Frawley won't get to the club of his choice next year without a trade. We'd match any offer and either trade or force him into the draft.

Could the MFC very cheekily pull off this.. GWS approached offered picks 2 20 and Jamar for pick 1. They're happy. In the meantime, MFC on the blower to Collingwood, we take 10,11, Sidebottom for number 1.. Pies get prized possession in Boyd and we get a good midfielder and good picks.

Bugg, Buntine and pick 9 for pick 2 is actually a bloody good deal for us Those 2 kids have tremendous upside and at pick 9 we will be guaranteed to snap up one of Freeman, Kolodjashinsh, Lennon Crouch, Salem or Bontampelli. And to be honest I rate them all equal to Aish or Scharenberg in what is a very even draft for the top 15 or so picks.

Disagree We lost Sylvia and are in no position to be stuffing around in this draft. He must be replaced with someone experienced and as good or better than him, and Vince fits the bill perfectly. We must show improvement next season and we must start winning games, and I will take Vince over a speculative pick 20 (which will end up being pick 23 after FA compo picks) to help us do that.

Dylan Shiel is the one we need.

I heard that Bernie Vince character is on holidays as well. May or may not be Europe. If the trade goes through then we should delist him straight away. We need to be tough on them right from the start if we want to be taken seriously.

Some of the comments from Freo Supporters and how much they highly rate him.. ''Congrats guys, you just picked up a 150 + game solid on baller. I'm pretty devo ATM, but well done''. ''As I said earlier. You have a best 22 player there easy. The steal of the trade period IMO''.Well done. ''you guys just got a massive bargain. he'll be as good for you in the midfield as roberton was in the saints backline''. I'm a bit disappointed. But you guys have grabbed a champ. Hard running, tough at it, beautifully skilled, and an inherent set of footy smarts. Viv will be an asset for you guys next season and really fills a gap. I'll be attending a few more Dees' games next year. ''I wouldn't say Michie is particularly quick, his main asset is reading the ball off the ruckman's hands. He'll be a very good inside mid for you guys I think, he dominates the clearances in the WAFL games I've watched live. He was just unlucky that his role is the strongest part of our team (Fyfe, Mundy and Barlow). ''Viv is a really solid, natural footy player. I'm angry that he decided to leave us and I reckon you have got a bargain''.

And Roos is on record as saying draft picks are over rated and players are under rated. I reckon he'd be thrilled to pick up a good mid for two plus a top 10 pick. I don't know GWS list well enough but if we miss on an elite mid and get an A- mid plus pick 9 I think he'd do it in a heartbeat.

Would Geelong have been flogs if they traded 2 for 7 (Selwood) + players in 2006, or Adelaide 2 for 10 (Dangerfield) + players in 2007. I think it depends on what we think is happening at pick 9.

If you think Brendan Goddard could play as a key back then that's what they are after at 2. Scharenberg is a utility like Goddard who can play in multiple positions but at a touch over 190cm he is not a KPB. GWS are looking to add more class to there list, GC have them covered with O'meara, Bennell and Martin coming on board and of course they have the master in Ablett, they know now that Scully was not what they thought. Whether it's Aish, Kelly or Scharenberg they want to add class to their list. Shouldn't we want to do the same?

Mitchie 185/85 Vince 186/87 Lyons 184/78 Myers 191/92 Cross 187/87 Shiel 180/84 Bugg 185/76 Buntine 189/86 Some big bodies there ...

BS. Should be shot if he takes it. We've got one decent footballer from trade and by the looks of it we'll get one more in Vince or Lyons. We don't need two more maybes from this off season, we need a star. Our best chance for that is pick 2 or gaining one from pick 2.. Pick 9 is too much of a risk. I can't disagree with you more and frankly the club shirking the issue of a future gun to pick up 2 good-average footballers would disappoint me.

How so? I think we need to try and cram as many AFL standard mids on to our list as possible. If we grab Lyons as well as all the other things going on then it becomes logistically difficult to get Cross on the list, but that's very different to not needing him at all.

Are we really in a position to be making 3-players-for-1 deals with the number of vacancies we have? It'd have to be for players we really needed and I'm not sure these two are it.

Good post JJJ. Following our loss to GWS earlier this year, I attended the GWS post match function at which I spoke to several players and coaches. They all universally stated that no GWS would ever want to move to the MFC. This was pre-Roos obviously, but I figured that our former number one draft pick had done a great job in running the club down - something which, unfortunately, had been backed up with incredibly poor performances. I really hope we land Shiel. This would be our Shawshank Redemption moment as against some of those smug GWS smart asses (including in particular that serial nerd, Tom Scully). Make it happen MFC.

Or we could get that same midfield star at pick 9 and replace 2 spuds (take your pick of Magner, Jetta or Nicholson) with very decent young players. It's a ballsy move but one worth considering.

Ollie!

Yuck. Unless... Mfc write who they want to select in a dated, sealed envelope and open it and show us after they pick him, then I'm down with it. I want Shiel for pick 2, not spare parts blokes.

Yeah, know what you mean... I just saw Frawley tweeting a photo of himself lazing around on his back in Paris, resting before heading up the Eifel Tower... hope to god that they delist him asap.

I'm sorry but if you're drawing parallels from Michie and Magner, you clearly have little idea of the situation.I'll just bundle you in with the ignorant group who keep quoting; ' He's only played one AFL game in three seasons.' For those ignorant folk who don't know much about his situation, here's a little blurb, which will hopefully give some context for all you negative nellies. Firstly, Michie's first opportunity to play with full fitness and a body that could handle the demands of playing football was this year, a year in which we saw Freo make a grand final. His first two seasons were injury plagued and so were spent trying to get his body right. Much like Grimes for us. Effectively, this year and the 2013 pre-season was the first he had. He made one appearance against Geelong this year and I watched it. While he didn't dominate, one could see that he has some wonderful attributes and skills. Between an injury hiccup early on and then a knee injury toward the tail end of the season, Michie managed to play 16 games for Peel Thunder in the WAFL and he took out their Best and Fairest for the year. Forgive the guy for not being able to break into a grand finalists midfield for the year. If he'd pushed one of Hill, Mundy, Barlow or Fyfe out we'd be talking about the next young Judd. But we're not. Nobody is. It's obvious to many, (but maybe not to you naysayers), that clubs with strong lines and lists and a strong footy department will have a strong development program for their kids. Especially kids that have to date, really struggled to get on the park. ie - Viv Michie There are many players within the AFL and especially from strong clubs, that haven't been blooded early on and have had to spend considerable time in their VFL affiliate sides preparing themselves for a smooth transition into the AFL sot hey can become comfortable in their own ability, so that they can learn team ethos and structures, so that they can develop their body. There are many reasons. Unfortunately this is a luxury the MFC haven't been afforded due to the weak list it has had and the mismanagement of the club as a whole. Bailey's era of 'giving games to the kids' may have put some questioning into the minds of posters who are wondering why oh why Viv has managed one game. It's not common practice to gift kids games, I can assure you. Nobody that I've come across is categorising Michie as being a future star or anything of the sort. However, what some of us can see, is that there are players out there on many AFL lists who are not getting games either because of injury or because they can't quite break into a side because they're young and still developing their game and the team are very strong across that particular line. Or! A mixture of both. This fits for Viv. Michie isn't like Greenwood where he is not getting games due to his lack of ability. Freo rate him alright. I remember a young Steven Motlop playing inconsistent football for the Geelong two's a few years back. I remember Josh Kennedy not being able to crack a game for the Hawks because of their star-studded midfield. There are plenty of things to be excited about if we land this player. Especially now that we have Roos. Go dees