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I see no mention of the Oliver or Hibberd deals.

For every top 10 pick in Oliver there's a Grant, Vickery, Butcher, Moore, Aish, Toumpas, Morabito, Conca, Gorringe, Gumbleton, O'Rourke, Morton, Buntine, Sumner, & Freeman. These are the more recent top 10 fails (injuries included), but there are also plenty who are just solid foot soldiers. Lever is the best young defender in the game with a decade ahead of him. He's only going to get better. He fits into a perfect profile in that he's in the same age bracket as Viney, Hogan, Petracca, Salem, Oliver, Brayshaw, Hunt, Osca, ANB, Stretch, and Weideman. That's a great core who'll grow together. You've got to give to get and I'll take the certainty of Lever over the speculation of pick 10 and a future pick in the teens. As we get better we'll also have other players keen to join the club. But I ask you, how many recent top 10 draft picks have Adelaide, Sydney, and Geelong had since 2008. Adelaide's last top 10 draft pick was in 2008. They also got Brad Crouch in a mini draft. So let's say two top 10 quality players in 9 years. Since 2008 Sydney have had 2 top 10 draft picks, plus Heeney, who would have been. Three in 9 years. Since 2008 Geelong have had 1 top 10 draft pick. One in 9 years - and that was pick 10 itself. Let's throw in Hawthorn. Since 2008 Hawthorn have had zero top 10 draft picks. Zero in 9 years. Melbourne ? Ten in 9 years, including Hogan from the mini draft. You can [censored] and moan about giving up pick 10 and a future pick in the teens, but we've had our time in the draft and it's now time to get proven quality players into the club and start making an assault on the ladder and competition. It was a no brainer and I couldn't be happier.

I wish posters would seriously stfu about what we'll be giving up vs getting in return for the Lever trade. Adelaide made a [censored] Grand Final with zero top 10 picks in their side and a host of players who were either picked up late in the National Draft, traded in for later picks or picked up in the Rookie Draft. Sloane was pick 44 and Walker pick 75. Jacobs was brought in for picks 34 and 67, they gave pick 37 to St Kilda for Lynch. Knight was pick 46 and Atkins 81. Need I go on? I will. Rookie drafts nabbed them Hartigan, Laird, Cameron and Kelly. That's almost half of their best 22 and more importantly, some of their most influential and important players feature in that group. Compare that to the MFC who have a plethora of high-end talent, arguably the second-most in the AFL behind GWS. If history to date suggests anything, it's that the culture and environment of a club is of most importance to any sort of talent reaching its potential. GWS continue to stumble despite being the most talented group within the league. We're at a stage where we need to harbour, nurture and develop the group we have and we should be jumping for joy that Lever, (a once touted top 3 draft pick and the best young defender in the game at age 21) has nominated us as the club he wishes to play for. We're on to the next chapter of our growth as a club which is developing what we've got for an assault over the next five to seven years. Shut up about the rest.

We grossly overvalue draft picks in the AFL. You go into the draft with normally less than a 50% draft of turning a first round pick into a 150 game player, let alone a superstar. We have essentially bet against the draft, and secured a guaranteed young talented player who will impact games automatically. It's a smart trade, and a huge win for our club. Love it.

First official image of Lever in the red and blue!

I don't understand why it's a huge gamble. Surely MFC supporters would recognise it's the draft that is a gamble, not gun 21 year olds. We traded off lottery tickets for a known quantity. If someone said to you, "I'll give you a million dollars, or two tickets in to a draw to win 30 million", which one would you take?

Posters like @Nasher, @stevethemanjordan and @ProDee are three of many who have summed this up superbly. We've just added the best young defender in the league to our list who is a proven commodity. He instantly makes us better, and he not only beings on field talent but off field leadership as well. I couldn't be happier to have him in our side and I trust Taylor to pull a few diamonds out of the rough to add to our list, much like he did we Hannan this year. Onwards and upwards!

My sources told me last week that Lever would end up a Demon. #ETthetraderbreaker does it again. #No1inthebiz.

Please. Show some respect and decency. The trashing of OMac is as tiresome as it has been of Watts. He has his moments but he has also shown that he can develop into a very good player. He is still a kid and deserves support.

Im over my mini whine from 20 minutes ago about the picks we gave up. Screw the picks. We just landed the best young defender in the entire competition. Yes, the Melbourne football club did. The place nobody wanted to set foot in 5 years ago. What a time to be alive.

Well I for one won't mourn the loss of draft picks when it's a known gun we're getting. Stoked!

Amazing how some usually good posters can make a bit of a toss of themselves in a single over the top post. Mahoney has done a wonderful job of keeping our list together thus far, and if you want to bag him for Melksham/2nd round, you might want to include AA Hibberd/2nd round in your diatribe. Mahoney is a gold chip member of our team, and deserves recognition as such.

This is NOT a mediocre trade. We just picked up a bloke who is the most highly regarded tall defender in the league. It allows T.Mac to play forward all year in the absence of the departing Watts. Crows wanted 2 x 1st rd picks We gave up 2 x first rd plus 4th rd We gained Lever, 2nd rd, and 3rd rd It's not at all a terrible trade. In fact, I love it. Open your eyes everyone. We did ok here. Get on the Crows supporter site. I will bet some of them are whining that they gave us back far too much. That's a good indication of a fair deal.

Rapt with this. Three AA squad members now in our back 6 plus the improving Oscar, speedster Hunt and developing Frost. Some outside speed and Weideman stepping up would help complete a very talented side.

Hindsight: If the 2012 draft was done again Viney would be a top 5 draft pick, probably top 3. If the 2013 draft was done again and Hogan participated instead of being a 2012 mini draft pick he'd be a top 5 pick. If the 2014 draft was held again Petracca and Lever would be top 3. If the 2015 draft was done again Oliver would arguably be no.1, but certainly top 2. That's 5 elite talents from the pointy end of the draft over the last 5 drafts periods. Another club would be hard pressed to match that (other than perhaps GWS).

A reminder that we now have picks 27, 35 and 45 heading into this draft. Given certain club's needs to obtain multiple draft picks for points for father/son or academy zone players, it's not out of the question that we won't once again make a play to get back into the first round. So again, [censored] relax.

Even if we win a premiership the whingers will still whinge about what we had to give up to achieve it.

True. But he already has. We now own the best young defender in the game.

I have had mail today from a reliable source on the situation.. Watts was initially told some hard truths in his exit meeting, which he did not agree with. The club (which we know) asked him to explore his options if he was not willing to change his habits. Watts was filthy initially but has not nominated a club of choice because he’s not sure he wants to go. The club is now believing he is a 60/40 chance to stay. If he does go, it won’t be for nothing.

Super article here on the trade if you can get past the paywall: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/melbourne-secures-star-defender-jake-lever-in-trade-with-adelaide/news-story/478b76c2d2f380b5c10dc191f2b54af5 Basically says we've done very well, while also discussing some areas of the trade that some would be concerned about as well. The line at the end sums it up for me - the time for early picks for us is over, and we need to add to our list to make a tilt at a flag. Jake Lever pushes us in the right direction in this regard in a big way.

At last!!! REVENGE. Those squawking crows have finally got their dues, A deep and angry voice inside has needed to abuse, The buggers took our Scotty Thompson in his very prime, We've had to watch him carve up teams and rip them down the spine. And so I hope they watch young Jake mature to a gun, Co's every intercepting mark will stick it up their bum, I hope they play him on that Tex with his Village People moe, Cos I for one will thoroughly enjoy the sound of suffering crow!!!!

Wow. I'd expect better from you, mate. Let's just say we disagree. We gave up second rounders in order to fill needs. It's been covered in the Lever thread, but picks are so speculative, even the top 10 picks, let alone picks in the mid 20s.

We get deals done every single year because we are good to deal with! There is a lot to be said for being a fair and transparent club to deal with, it makes life a lot easier for us and encourages players to nominate us, as they know we can get a deal done. We didn't pay over and we didn't pay under, we paid market value for a gun 21 year old. Would you want less if Hogan was to leave? Trac? Oliver? No, we would want more. Lever is in the same class.

Mahoney has a great trading record - I'm backing him!

We get the best intercept defender in the league who is tracking even better than Rance did at his age and a heap of you are still whinging. The draft is a complete lottery. Lever is a sure thing. This is to be celebrated not bemoaned!

Its not about being Melbourne or weak. It's about getting the deal done and being able to move onto other deals, rather than getting bogged down and missing out on those deals.

So what you're saying is: - The club isn't happy with the standards Jack has set - The club wants good compensation in a trade and won't trade him unless they get it - Staying is a possibility and Jack knows the score if he does It almost sounds exactly what Josh "liar liar pants on fire" Mahoney said to the media this week. Who would have thought?

With regards to Oscar, there is one better player that was taken after him in the 2014 ND (Harris Andrews) and we didn't have access to him (QLD zone). There's another player as good, or better, and we didn't have access to him either (Zaine Cordy - F/S). There are a few better from the rookie draft, but in the main they're older and form part of what's good about that draft. i.e. opportunities to mature age or hopefuls that missed the ND. So in essence, Oscar was an excellent choice at 53 in that particular draft and there's not a single chosen player (that we had access to) better. And he's only going to get better.

I think peoples ego’s get in the way when it comes to these trades. It’s not about ‘beating’ or ‘screwing over’ another team at the trade table. Welcome Jake.

Bernie - did exactly what he was brought in to do and even added a Bluey to that Melksham - very consistent 2nd half of the year with some very important goals looks good at this stage Hibberd - absolute win Oliver - traded up to beat the Bombers to him - win win and win Lever - see my post in the Lever thread as to the benefits of this trade to our team

Two things. We could drag it out, but getting a deal done early means that we can do other deals too. We have consistently shown players and player managers that we are a club that can get a deal done. That makes us a more attractive club for players. It's probably post of the reason why Lever chose us.

Blimey wattsy copes some strange criticism

Rather than look it as 2 x 1st rounders, look at what number the picks are. So over two years it's a pick 10 and (arguably) pick 14 with a swap of later picks. And we get the best young defender in the game, recently in AA squad, massive leadership potential.

Agree. Leaving aside questions about the weird homo erotic analogies (we've been reamed, bent over again etc etc) the deal is fine. Considering Taylor's record we could well have a smokey earmarked for pick 35 or 3rd round and as we all know outside say the top 12 the draft is a lottery anyway. Many people argued we were bent over with Melk and even Hibberd. Melk is in our best 22 and Hibberd has been a suburb pickup - have we ever recruited a player who got selected in the AA team in their first year with us (or even subsequently?). As you say PD Lever is a perfect fit for our back line and i have no doubt it is the reason we were so keen to land him. Th other thing that has to be factored in is doing the trade early makes our trading a lot simpler now. We know what have in hand and what we can't offer. If the lever trade had held up other deals - which it may well have if not done to say the final day - this would have had unintended consequences and may well have cost us a player we were keen on. Good job Mahoney and crew.

We have given up the unknown to secure the known. SMART!

Watts is a senior player. Oliver was still a teenager when that happened and afterwards pulled his head in after being spoken to. The rationalisations on here are astounding.

Wow. At 21 Lever is the no.1 intercept possession player in the game, just shading Rance (9.5 to 9.4), and the no. 2 intercept mark in the game, just behind McGovern (3.8 to 3.6). This isn't a 25 or 27 year old wanting to come home. We've got this guy from the age of 22. Worth every cent.

Pathetic post. Seriously, I have no idea how supporters can come to this conclusion. The kid is no superstar, but he does his job week in, week out and is only scratching the surface of what he can be. If he continues to play a role behind Jake Lever then he'll be everything we've wanted him to be.

On the MFC site he said in an interview when asked of Balic he said that there are other priorities for both clubs. I took this to mean we were looking at other trades and that Balic would be steak knives at the end of the trade period when the dust had settled.

Been very good for the club and it shows in our rise up the ladder.

Can’t understand the complaining about what we coulda and shoulda done re the Jake Lever trade. Unless you were in the room during the negotiations any comment is baseless. The bottom line is that we got him. That’s all that matters. i reckon some of you blokes are the type to disappear into the pub sh!tters when your shout comes around.

Spot on Jaded. Lots of posters are disappointed we didn't bend Adelaide over after Lever nominated us. That is short sited. Whilst we trade fairly it encourages clubs to deal with us and players to nominate us. Our competitive edge needs to come from culture, drafting, fitness and coaching.

A good analysis. the comparison is a useful exercise and provides perspective. Also agree that "as we get better we'll have other players keen to join."" In any negotiated outcome, there are differences of opinion. A good outcome is one where both sides feel they have had a win or gained something from it. in order to get the outcome we wanted (get Lever) we had to trade. It could be better or worse, only time will tell, but to criticize Mahoney and the club for their efforts is unreasonable. If the Lever deal had fallen through, no one would have been happy.

I suspect that is why we got next years 3rd round to start accumulating points to trade with one of the clubs who have academies.

Richmond gave up someting like 5 goals, 9 goals and 8 goals in their 3 finals. Anyone that thinks defence isn't that important is dreaming. We were 18th in defensive one on ones, and 18th in scores from opposition entries into our fwd 50. Lever bolsters our defence and gives us options. Great news for melbourne.

It's a good deal and there's nothing to say we can't trade back into the first round next year. Glad we got it done.

Just incredible that people can still find something to moan about when we land the most highly rated young defender in the game. You guys will forget all about draft numbers, when we are playing finals. And remember, players families read these threads. Show a bit of excitement for the guy. This is bloody wonderful news. (Oh, and Jake, watch out for the bearded guy on a scooter)

Almost needs two threads. The "f yeah, we got him" and the "waaaaaaah, we paid overs". I'm in the former camp and don't really want my mood sullied by the latter.

Yes

There are a lot of opinions on here, to paraphrase an old saying I doubt Jack is as good or bad as many on here are making him out to be. It tends to remind me of the current US President - people aren't interested in the truth as much as they are in confirmation bias. It's why Fake News keeps getting a run. It's the most simplistic form of counter-narrative*. You don't need to worry about tiresome tasks like researching or thinking to refute arguments based on evidence and logic. You simply label something as being incompatible with what you choose to believe. It will usually strike a chord with a certain number of people who I'd like to think are the vocal minority, because fear is a greater driver than hope. * other than the age old 'I know you are, but what am I?' rebuttal.