Lil_red_fire_engine

I would argue Langdon had a bigger impact than Oliver this year and was not surprised by his higher B&F finish (Viney I am less confident though). Oliver seems to be at that age where he is impatient and frustrated but has not recognised he is coming into the years where he should not be following the pack but leading the way and dragging others along with him. We are coming into the year where this should be Oliver, Trac and Lever’s team, they should be setting not following the culture. They are not the kids anymore they should be showing what is the expected levels of training, focus, game day performance, not just theirs but those around them. The penny dropped for Trac (who seemed just as frustrated a year ago) and I suspect the penny will drop for Oliver in 2021. I would under no circumstances trade him this year whether he openly states he wants out or not.

Other than him being a first round pick how well do you know his game and where does he fit into our needs? Me personally I dont know it well, he may increase our overall talent but I dont feel like he solves anything for us. I dont see his exposed form at GWS being any better than Sparrow this year who I suggest is a similar player.

You need to have a look at their lists though and ask who would be paying big money to based on their output pre this year? StKilda do not have any superstars in my view and have paid overs to balance their side. At some point they will need to pay King, Clark and Gresham what they are worth as they become the players you would expect. Brisbane paid for Cameron and Neale and likely have Andrews and McCluggage on increasing deals based on worth but where else on their list would be splashing big cash? Carlton up to this year you would pay Cripps plenty but the rest have been good players in decline or unfulfilled talent with low to middling salaries. They have now spent ridiculous overs on flashy bit players in McGovern and Martin and appear to be paying overs for Williams and Saad. They have locked away Weitering now but based on improvement and they will need big deals for Walsh, McKay but not much else for the rest (heaven forbid Curnow gets fit and reaches potential). We are rightfully paying top money for Trac, Gawn, Oliver, May and Langdon but likely have too much money tied up in Lever (unless we front loaded), Tom and possibly Brayshaw and Harmes (granted maybe deal length balanced amount) based on output. We clearly wanted to prioritise Viney over the open market. My assumption on player payments is we have not got the balance right between paying the top 8-10 what they deserve (a lot) and balancing the payments on role players and up and coming talent. I think Brisbane have got it the most right but would much prefer out strategy than StKilda and particularly Carlton which I think will burn them when they need to put the finishing touches on their list.

People need to stop thinking of Preuss as whether he is best 22 and think of him as a quality 2nd option in a position with low coverage. This is not like saying he is our 10th best mid, 8th best forward. If Gawn went down early in the season you are not going to throw second year LJ into the ruck for a year. He has significantly more value on our list as risk mitigation than being considered for a player in contract. If he goes this will not be to do him favours this will be because the deal works well for us. With potentially 3+ clubs in need if he leaves I am confident it will be for an important part of our list management puzzle whether player or pick(s) that support the overall picture.

Agree he’s what we needed but If its with a Jack Martin or Mitch McGovern size deal they can have him.

Great news. The most preferred outcome was to have him sign. In saying that it feels one year too long and if five was the difference between staying and going I would have rolled the dice and stood firm on 4. I cant see with the way he plays and his prior foot issues him being valuable in year 5.

You are comparing a team that won two finals and then got shown up to a team that fell into finals and then lost a close encounter. Either way are you saying you would prefer a coach who minutes after losing a final pretty much states he does not believe in a large chunk of their team or the style that got them there?

I think 16 minute quarters and trying to maintain continuity had a lot to do with it. I had no issue with not playing Harmes as a tagger until we decided to start using Melksham as one late in the year.

I don’t get the Leppa one. Hasn’t he stated he is done with football and pursuing other interests.

Could not agree more with so little exposed form I would not be trying to get high inside 20 but moreso looking to get 4-5 picks in the 25-50 range.

Good signing and 2 year deal fair length. Hard match up who will only get better with more preseasons and games. Offers good positional flexibility which will become more important as list sizes reduce in coming years.

No from me. Has some tricks but injury prone, defensively poor and soft as butter.

I am not an Omac best 22 believer but I also believe you need plan Bs for injury. If he wants to move on and there is opportunity to assist then we should. If not a one year deal on low salary if he wants to continue to develop is fair for both parties.If he does leave and TMac does not get traded we will need to consider bringing in some form of low cost coverage as well as drafting a kid to develop.

You lost me at Hore in the back pocket. Another lock AVB who seems to get better the longer he doesn’t play.

Great to have the two young SA boys locked away for 2 more years. A full preseason and I am pretty sure Petty has a strong role to play as either a tall forward or back. Sparrow shows good application and endeavour but I am unsure where he will settle in role but he has plenty of room to develop. Smith on a one year deal is a no brainer with shortening list sizes. He is young in games and can hold down multiple roles back and forward. He is certainly much better than an unknown pick 80 as AOB suggested. With Omac and Spargo out of contract it must be fitting to some on here that a whipping boy is locked away for next years torment.

No. Is light and small with some speed but no weapons.

Hodge clearly has played a role in their acceleration. However to be contending and have a role available for an experienced twilight player from strong culture is part of the broader picture. Smith on a 2 year deal when we have one wingman and a maybe wingman in Baker I can see the interest.

Its working ok for Brisbane?

I cant see the net effect of our end of year 22 being anything but improvement next year. Jones and Jetta are the older players in decline who finished outside the side. Hibberd and Melksham (who was poor) are the only players likely to have reduced output and impact due to age. Harmes and TMac who had shockers will either not be there or if they make it back in will be through signficantly improved output. You would expect the core elite of Trac, May, Viney, Oliver, Langdon, Gawn to sustain if they have strong preseasons. Another year of development into Petty, Jordon, Sparrow, LJ, Pickett, Rivers will improve the 16-24 bracket quality. This is before trade and draft trying to improve areas of deficiency. The big questions for me will be what type of 2021 consistent impact can Brayshaw, Lever and Weideman have.

I would only keep one of Hannan and Hunt. Hunt would be my choice. Both are inconsistent in game and quarter but Hunt’s best is better and I believe has the more positional flexibility and scope to improve both consistently and impact. In saying that I will not be too concerned if Neither are there as there is a large gap between their best and worst.

Worth considering with this that Brown does not have much exposed form at the MCG (10 games 21 goals) vs Docklands (66 games 173 goals). My view is his game is much more suited to Docklands.

I would need to know speed over what distance before I question whether that is surprising. Also these are one off acts and games.The most interesting thing there is none of them could repeat it and get in the top 5 more than once per match or act.

If anyone doesn’t have the defensive gut running then its Melksham.

Merrett isn’t slow and is exactly the type of second ring player to take the ball away from the clearance and connect play down the ground. I am sure I heard quoted last week he has the best inside 50 effectiveness of any mid in the league.

For those scoffing at Preuss potential worth need to consider the following. He is in contract. There are a few clubs in desperate need of a primary ruckman and it looks like a year where they are in short supply. We are paying him fairly for a plan b for if Gawn got a long term injury, LJ may be second ruck preference but not for full games or runs of games. He showed in his 2 full games that he can more than hold his own now with improved endurance. He held his own and we squared the stoppages against the pies and he smashed English. It will come down to how much a club needs him and what they have that we may value highly.