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When playing at North - hate his stupid run up, hate his flopping for frees, hate how straight of a kick he is for goal and I hate his stupid hair cut. Now that he is pretty much going to be a Demon - the run up is perfect and genius, those free kicks are always there and he gets a poor run from the umps, he is a beautiful set shot and I wish I had a hair cut like his.

Sam Edmund on SEN pretty much going with Ben Brown is looking likely to be a demon. Has already done a medical and has had two meetings and by all reports went well.

Hearing his medical looks good so physically shouldn’t be any reason he can’t get back to his best. it sounds like a good deal of his challenges this year were related to off field tensions at NM and family tragedy.

Doesn't worry me that we are getting little back. The compensation out of this trade will be the signing of Ben Brown.

The swans are also showing some interest in T’Mac. They wanted him when he was out of contract. Again we will be getting very little compensation by way of a trade but it’s a salary dump situation.

We have won 3 times as many flags as North, he wont be able to ignore that kind of success. Lock him in.

No. Just play him in the right position

Weideman is going to be a much better player in 2021 with Brown next to him. It's still a no brainer.

He also went to see Jordan Peterson and was a guest on an IPA podcast, in case anyone needs further proof of his terrible decision making.

His best role is as a defensive mid, as evidenced by his stellar 2018, which was kick started when he went onto a Bulldogs player in the second half. He's not a wingman and we may have Smith to partner Langdon. He's not a defender. Will he get back into Melbourne's midfield ? I don't think so. There's no room for Oliver, Viney, Petracca, Brayshaw and the emerging Sparrow plus Harmes. Could he be a defensive half-forward who hits the scoreboard ? He has pace, can take a mark and kick a goal. If he stays it's about the only opportunity I see for him. If Brayshaw stays I struggle to see room for Harmes.

@Baghdad Bob has opened up a can of worms with this one! Some journo on twitter later today - "Hearing whispers James Harmes could be traded. Watch this space."

Trade Harmes ? no no no and no Loves the footy club Just play him in the right position. Defensive midfielder or as a half forward (he’s a good mark and ok kick for goal)

Sure, the Grand Final is a different kind of game, but you've gotta win enough to get there though. No coincidence two teams with big gun forwards made it.

At least Sam Dastyari found an honest job.

Friend at work who told me Brown was meeting with Melbourne before i saw anything in the media or on any forums. I didn't think much of it because i knew we were linked, next day he says it went well and hasn't heard of anyone else seriously in for him. I haven't heard anything else about any other meetings or trade agreements etc.. but others seem to have.

Yep, giddy up folks! Just a glimpse of what he could potentially do for us.

The only look at football available in the period after the football season was postponed after round 1 was through the medium of old replays on Foxtel. I loved the 1991 game against North Melbourne when Allen Jakovich kicked 11 goals 8 behinds and one out on the full. His marking and kicking (including the scissor kick goal) were just so exciting and the game was enhanced by the fact that John Longmire’s six goal performance for the Kangaroos was pretty flash as well. We also had Darren Bennett and Garry Lyon in the team and they were also strong marks - and not to mention the sublime Jimmy Stynes in the ruck. The high marking of forwards, particularly in pack situations is almost completely out of the game and high scoring has dried up as a result of the way it’s played these days. The 20% reduction in game time this year hasn’t helped. Watching the Richmond v Brisbane game highlighted this. Tom Lynch took one strong contested mark but they were otherwise few and far between. I do like the way Ben Brown has played in the past but I’m not sure that we’re going to see too many full forwards produce 50 goal seasons in the future. Key forwards are going to need a few more arrows in their bows to succeed in the AFL in the years to come. Unfortunately, there aren’t many around like Jako these days.

There’s no way we’re getting pick 9 from GWS, first rounders aren’t used in trades for fringe players, no matter how many fringe players and later picks you throw in.

Sad to see Gary Jnr end his career. Best player I’ve ever seen. Best player in the league from 2007-2014. 2 Browlows. 5 time MVP. 8 time All Australian. Congratulations Gary. Superstar!

I will never forget reading an interview with Dustin Martin's mum some years ago where she spoke about his upbringing and childhood. He had an exercise book when he was about 8 or 9 years old and headed it, What to do to be an AFL star, or something like that, I can't remember exactly what the wording was. Anyway, in this book he wrote his training and eating routine eg footy skills training, running, push ups etc plus what was healthy to eat. Imagine the commitment of this young boy and his determination to become the champion that he is. His dedication cannot be questioned. Perhaps the recruiters should have had a look at Dusty's old exercise book before they questioned whether he was worth the risk! You can't judge a person by their appearance. True champion.

Love him or hate him, Dusty is one of the greatest players of all time.

Go to bed.

Who the hell am I meant to be barracking for here? The thought of either team winning is repulsive.

Yup hes coming to the Dees alright. Turns 28 next month so plenty of good footy left in him... Tom Hawkins and Josh kennedy are still going strong at age 32/33.

As it looks like we are likely to bag both Brown and Smith, any further trades will likely have to be for budget priced players. And as one of our needs (at least in my opinion) is a good crumbing forward, I'm hoping that the club will take a good look at Ronke. He wouldn't use up much of the salary cap and if he is able to discover the kind of form he showed early in his time at the Swans, he's a very worthwhile investment.

Isaac Smith isnt even that good. his kicking is highly suspect. definitely not worth a 3 year contract.

I cant see us playing even a semi permanent run with midfielder which is his jam. He clearly is not suited to a half back role and if you haven’t nailed a wing with MFC before 2020 I cant see someone suddenly becoming one now. Most likely and best opportunity would be to overtake Melksham’s half forward position with a defensive bent which I would already have a preference for him to do. If they dont see a role for him in our best 22 then he is more value as trade or list management than at Casey for injury relief.

Yes, you are. Their first goal is to not be out marked. If they're constantly being out pointed by opposition defenders then your team is in a world of hurt. Scoring chains often start from defence. It's hard to retain the ball in your forward 50, build pressure and create forward 50 re-entries if your key forward is being out marked. Not to mention the opportunities that aren't being created for your smalls. How many contested marks do you think key forwards take on average per game ?

Yeah, you kind of are missing something. There is an understanding in the current game that because of the team defensive systems being so strong, that it's not possible to mark it every time. Often it's 3 on one, 3 on 3 ,5 on 3 in the defensive favour. Due to the lack of space and time, it's rare you get a one on one consistently... I presume you have seen that in recent years. So, if this is all true, then bringing the ball to ground in favour of your other forwards is a skill.

I agree with this somewhat, except that I think he did have a plan pre 666 and has struggled to establish a consistent, working plan with the cattle we've had since then. Thus I don't know if he doesn't have a plan, or if he has one and is now making changes/modifications to the list to implement it. Fwiw I had a close contact at EFC when he was there. They spoke very highly of him, suggesting that he was one of the few coaching staff who (that they ever saw) spent time reviewing and analysing games and opposition, working with technical and analytic staff to understand tactics etc. In 2017 and 2018 we were very experimental both strategically and tactically. This matches with what I heard. Has he not been able to create a new plan? Is he still experimenting to find a new one? Or is he taling steps, but just not there yet? We'll know in 12 months.

Even if all Brown does is take away the best defender allowing Weideman and Jackson to develop as second and third talls, it would be a good get. McDonald sadly doesn’t commend a good defender anymore. Brown will, at worse, bring ball to ground giving Pickett and hopefully another small forward that we find somewhere, more opportunities. At best he kicks 30-50 goals and makes us a potent forwardline again. Something we’ve lacked since McDonald was in form.

If he stays, our plan has to be to use him as a mid/forward. He's not a defender and I don't want to see us try to continue pushing that square peg into that round hole. I don't think our midfield depth is so amazing that we can afford to let Harmes go. I also think Harmes is an upgrade on most of the small/mid forwards we played this year. Finally, I think we can think outside the box a bit in terms of using him as a defensive midfielder. I reckon there's a way to start him at centre bounces in the forward 6 but to have him push up after the opening bounce to follow someone. 6-6-6 only constrains that opening bounce, not the rest of the play, and I'm sure I recall Collingwood using Greenwood in a similar way.

Lack of size and top end speed might be the concern but on a couple of highlight packages I want this kid so much. The baulks, sidesteps, vision, skills on both sides are all on display.

The Football Manager and the Coach will report periodically to the Board, he is Football Director is there to understand and interpret the message. Modern football is very complex and it requires a deep understanding.

Harmes is a valuable player that can play in a number of positions . Mid, wing, High forward and is more than a capable stopper.. A good preseason behind him will grasp his chance and is good enough to come back from a poor season. After all he is only 25 and has plenty of upside. He stays and they won't trade him . I am sure of. that.

Saad finished 3rd in the Bombers BnF and has requested a trade to Carlton.

Indian pale ale

a year on he’s not quite in the same bargaining position.

I wish Melbourne could reach Geelong's level of overratedness.

He was one of those sports people who, like Walter Lindrum, had the rules of the game changed to limit his effectiveness.

You confused me for a moment there Steve - I thought you were on my guest list. However, it's whipped waitress at The Manor

We are going to be quite aggressive at the trade table this off season so I’d expect some surprises. i have no specific intel on harmes being a trade option, and feel his contract would make it hard but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some players we don’t expect moved on.

This. Half forward is where he showed his skills in his first year on the rookie list at Casey. I remember watching him a number of times where he may of only had 12-14 touches and kicked 1 or 2 goals a game at most, but you could tell he had something. Move him to half forward where he can play ahead of the likes of Hannan, Vandenberg and Spargo and have a real impact. Let Petracca, Oliver, Viney and Brayshaw rotate through the midfield roles. Can always move Harmes in there if we pick up a long term injury or two.

Their draft hand is artificially propped up by how lucky they got with Tim Kelly. Most clubs would have taken him between 25 and 35, and the cats just swept in. They couldn’t have dreamed he would have been so valuable and netted them so much only 2 seasons later. They got very, very lucky with that.

Reckon you're spot on mate, 23 for Brown and Preuss and our 2021 first round pick, for the compensation pick for Williams #9 Might need other pieces around that but that'll be the idea Aiming to bring in Smith, Brown, McRae and Hind

I think it’s more his attitude

I’d be offering preuss, pick 23 and 2021 frp for picks 9 and 28 28 and a swap of later picks will be enough for brown.

I worked with David Rennick, as a representative of a corporate client using his firm's property, development and construction expertise, over a number of years in a past life. Serious Dees supporter (our relationship was during the exciting '90s!), central to growing his niche firm to major status, and/but a down to earth regular guy. I expect his worth will be considerable in the new headquarters project.