Deespicable

In my ideal, dream world, could we not package up picks 25 and 28 for Fremantle's Hayden Young - that way we get back a local lad and superb kick and solve our left-side issues in one hit? I reckon Freo would take the two second rounders for Young - just!

Other clubs must think we are serial pests the way we keep asking to swap picks. Yet it is fantastic that all clubs know we are open to do business. That's what trading is all about. My guess now is that we are after Bulldogs pick 14, because they will lose it on Jamar-Ugle anyway. Haven't done the maths but picks 25 and 28 are worth more points than 14 I think.

Hope this solves your confusion. Oscar is the slowest over any distance from 1-100m at our club except for Preuss on a bad day. He's quite capable over distances beyond 500m because he does have natural endurance, but that's not really useful when you are an AFL defender and required to keep up with your opponent on the lead.

Is Werridee a bit of a rainman - can't talk or comment about anything, just keeps inanely filing teams like they are of importance like Qantas airline.

As someone who bemoaned the fact that we had 14 players under 6 feet (182cm) on our list and lo and behold we drafter another small, I admit I had reservations about Kossie when we took him. But he is a small with a difference - he's explosive and he loves to tackle - and if he stays fit and healthy will become a huge asset. Some of you will recall how Carlton kept losing finals in the early 90s and then they drafted Scott Camporeale. Campo wasn't amazingly tough but he was mega quick and one player transformed them into the premiership side of 95. Kossie is the bit the same with us - his pace ensures that no side can confidently call us slow and while he still needs to assess situations better, his skill level is high and his attitude seems just as high. And the great thing is that it means Tubby Taylor can stop drafting players who are vertically challenged in the hope of unearthing the next Jeffy Farmer or Aaron Davey - we have him already.

He's one of the few guys on our list capable of playing on the game's tall mid/forward greats - Danger, Fyfe, Dusty, Bont and Cripps - because he has the athleticism to go with them and also the aerial ability to nullify them. The issue is whether he has the smarts to do that role to an effective level and it's hard when you've barely played AFL because of injury and you started late. He's still a tad clumsy when tackling but then was Danger clumsy on Vlastuin or clever? When you look at the good sides, they all have role players who are unpolished and lacking in fundamentals - Broad, Clurey, D.Gardiner, O'Connor, Greenwood, Geary to name a few. But all have a fierce determination and discipline and we caught a glimpse of it in Joel Smith over the final weeks with jobs on Papley and even Cameron. I am not about to say he's a must-have and on the verge of becoming a star, but I certainly will say that there are signs there that he could become a handy role player and I hope that Goody and his coaching staff continue to realise that you need to mix beauty with a few hardworking beasts - Viney, Vanders, Langdon, Hibberd and Harmes being others that fall into that category along with ANB and Jackson when they play.

And you can tell he struggles with consistency by virtue of him playing 10 games as a defender - right. And missing one game with an injury also means there's doubts over his fitness - yeah right. Personally I thought he was mega-impressive as a defender and his game against Pies where he was quick to apply pressure was stunning. Sadly the following week after being one of our few players to go inboard with success, he made one howler kick late in the game and the coach seemed to decide he was to blame for our loss - even though he wasn't on Wallis or Bont or Hunter who all carved us up that day. The only thing I'll say is that a lot of us on DL, who like to think we are smart judges, were shocked at his exclusion and most of us summise that something must have happened off-field to warrant his exodus.

Woey spent his first two years as a defender developing his craft and by 2000 was moved into midfield and had a super year - I recall a game at Telstra Stadium against the emerging Lions with Voss and Black where our midfield matched and even beat them and Woey was a major part of our rise that year along with first-year Green and Jeffy Farmer and the old brigade of Viney, Neita, Schwarter and Yze off half back. Powell and A.Mac were handy as well as you point out. But Woey struggled with tags in 2001 and was pushed out to the wing. There was a game at MCG where he was absolutely crunched backing back into a pack and I don't reckon he ever recovered physically from that. As a result of his loss of form and silly dyed blonde locks, he copped criticism from everyone - and eventually I imagine it became internal. When you are on big money you have to perform - just ask T.Mac. Anyway I was saddened when he was moved on to Pies in 2003 - I think he would only have been about 26 then. I traded away my Woey port bottle to a mate on his birthday - it had sat in my cupboard for 15 years waiting for a great Melbourne moment to uncork it. He was never mega-quick, but he was a nice left-foot kick - the sort of player who we seem to lack on the left-side wing at the moment. The article was a ripper and it was great to see he had a bit of perspective about his Brownlow acclaim. And yes he's in the top three for worst ever with Teaser and Libba Sr. But in 2000 he was worthy. Just never got back to that level again.

Like others on DL I am warming to getting Brown. I understand the logic that it may not work having Weid, Jackson and Brown all in the one forward line, but ultimately when you look at it, a key forward is our No.1 shortage on our list. Weid admirably filled the void from Rd 6-14 and took huge steps this season, but you have to have back-up plans. When you look at our list, we have depth now to cover injuries in almost any area except the key forward spot and the left-side wing. Brown and Isaac Smith solve the problem. The issue now is making sure the Pies don't offer him way more and sway him. Given they have to re-sign De Goey then we should have more money available than them, and certainly if T-Mac left, the extra cash would clearly be available. Then there is the issue of what can we offer that gets the deal done. Obviously pick 23 is not going to be quite enough and we most likely will have to send whatever pick we get for Preuss there way as well. The good thing is that this year's draft is a much bigger lottery, so losing a second-rounder probably won't make a massive difference for Tubby Taylor.

How good was it in 2010 when he took on the best forwards as a 22yo and beat Jon Brown and Brendan Fevola. It was just so exciting watching him play with such gusto that year as we started a mini climb with our two top picks Scully and Trenners adding to the euphoria. He was so good that year that he won an AA and I thought we were on our way. Then after the infamous China post-season trip the word came out that Scully was going and I'm sure Chipper was devastated as well. Very proud that he was asked to play at Hawks and showed why he was so highly rated on the biggest stage - quelling Josh Kennedy in his prime and in a GF. Very pleased also that he keeps up regularly with Gawny and Dunny and Howey at a bar in Richmond, at least until this year. That's loyalty that a few on here clearly don't appreciate. He battled for almost a decade with us through ****ty times and full credit to him for getting a flag, just like Stan Alves and Greg Wells before him.

All stars need to feel wanted and have egos that need constant reminding of their value so he would have been a little shocked by the B&F downgrade especially given he has been top two for 3 years now. I also suspect that after not railing him in for three years of panic "hot potato" gives, albeit laced with unbelievably courageous clearance work, that Goody and Ben Matthews sat him down and actually told him he had to lift after the Richmond game and the Port game. Going from a young player who could do no wrong to a scolded naughty boy can breed resentment, until of course a player rises to the challenge of it, which I think he has started to a degree. When you are just 23, you are at a stage of life where your character is not fully formed and initially you get excited by what you can get elsewhere. Carlton seems to have an unlimited salary cap at the moment and as others suggest, may well have offered him $1.5million a year and what youngster on around $500K until his new contract next year, would not get excited by that. He would also have heard that Trac got a major upgrade earlier this year and know what others are getting including T.Mac and Lever and jealousy is a natural thing, but one that needs tempering with the wisdom and realism that age provides. The hub life environment would also have meant that he would have had heaps of time and chances to chat with players from other clubs and he probably thought, s..t, I'm highly regarded but on virtually nothing (a relative term I know given $500K is hardly nothing). What amazes me is that Carlton is the club that has been mentioned. They already have forked out big sums on Martin and now Williams, not to mention Cripps and Curnow and McGovern. I would have thought that Essendon would have been in to him big time given their need for a big-bodied clearance machine and also the fact that they are about to have plenty of cash freed up by Daniher's departure. The good news is that as you mature, you get over that impressionable stage. Hopefully if we hold tight, Olly will realise that loyalty and friendships and working to a long-term goal is a reward in itself and ultimately that money can't buy love, which is what happened with Tom Scully, who in case anyone has forgotten, was just about every Dee fan's favourite until a trip to China and a job offer to his dad turned him into a footy mercenary and a nowhere man.

Smith is the ideal back-up because he can play pretty much any position except ruck and he is happy to play a shut-down role on his opponent as we saw with his games late in the season on Papley and for a brief time even on Cameron. Personally I think we should be looking at our midfield set-up and whether we can afford to have three guys trying to win one ball - Trac, Oliver, Viney and back-up Brayshaw when there. One of our mids should be a team-oriented negater and I would argue that Harmes in 2018 played that role so well that he ended up a bit of a weapon. Smith has that ability as well and has the size to cope with Danger and Fyfe and Dusty when they play forward. He's never going to be a star, but good sides have role players and Smith's athleticism make him potentially highly useful. It is interesting that Powell-Pepper played so well last night and is generally among Port's best 22 and yet those that watch the game would wonder about his skills. The same for Butters whose kicking is atrocious. Yet they are both battering rams that put their body on the line for the good of their team. The same applies to Richmond's sides of the past few years - who in their right mind would rate Graham or McIntosh, yet they are disciplined and effective. I am happy to argue that having one of Harmes or Smith in our team next year is crucial and I'm very happy for us to play both because they can switch on players with Smith taking the better aerialist. Personally I'm disappointed that we didn't sign Smith for two more years, but given his injury-prone background I accept it may be a smarter move.

Can someone explain to me why you would want a right-footer for a left-side wing spot? OK a lot of clubs, us included, are forced to pick two right-footed wingers but if you can, you avoid the scenario. Saad's value is that he would free up Salem to play on a wing. Polec is also a left-footer, hence why our management is considering him, although I have great reservations about a player performing to a career-high level at a fourth club. Saad is the only potential recruit I am keen on that has been talked about so far this year. Happy for us to give Peter Wright a go as well, but only as a third or fourth round trade.

Yep it's in the interests of all parties to get a deal done. Preuss wants to play AFL and we can't guarantee that, whereas GWS has only Matt Flynn and Kieren Biggs now that Jacobs and Mummy have retired or are about to retire in Mummy's case. I said on my Gawn to Gone topic that Preuss is a third rounder, but obviously if the other side of the bridge got involved, and I imagine Sydney would, then it's possible he could be a second rounder or a good fringe prospect. Harry Himmelberg would be a huge get and I believe he's out of contract. We'd surely have to offer them a third rounder in return though. But maybe not if the Swans also went hard for him.

Gawny was beaten by only one ruckman this year - NicNat in Rd 1 and that game was Gawny's first game coming off injury and he worked his way into the game after half time. He didn't play against Goldy or Grundy, but they were both cooked by then so he deserves to be in 40-man squad, but I expect him to just miss out and only one ruckman named. I have four players in the original squad who clearly don't deserve it. 1) Butler - brilliant for the first 9 weeks but lost his way over the final 8 games. 2) Olly - yes he had a few cracking games, but you can't use the ball so badly in big games like he did against Richmond and Port and still make it. He's almost a superstar Olly, but not quite there yet. 3) Butters - yes he's coming on and may well make it next year, but it's a bit of a stretch on this year's work. 4) Taberner - Like Butler, he lost his way a bit towards season end, but with only six other forwards listed they probably felt they had to name another one, even if Hawkins and Dixon have the two big spots covered. What's amazing is that there were 14 defenders picked in the 40-man squad and May still missed out. But all the backmen listed had strong claims - it's just that Maysie was a kick above all of them in the final five weeks. But Jamar getting in the year he did was mega lucky. Frawley getting in was also pretty lucky, although he did have some super games that year. And Hibbo getting in, when he missed five games, was also mega lucky. So three times the gods have favoured us and May is the first one to miss out for us that really deserved it.

Over the next few weeks, a lot of us Demonland ‘experts’ will try and pass judgment on who should be traded and what we can get for certain players and let’s face it, it’s not an exact science. But in an effort to avoid some of the fanciful wishful thinking from all of us, here’s my view on player value. Please feel free to adjust to your own version and pass comment – don’t copy whole thing, just cut and paste the ones you want to dispute. And in the interests of being fair to our entire list, everyone has a trade value, although clearly quite a few are contracted for a season or more and are off limits in the real world. But Demonland is not a real world, is it! Max Gawn He turns 29 in December and given the longevity of ruckmen he should have five more years left in him depending on how his knees hold up. He’s our skipper and our brand and he’s in his prime, so it would take a Wayne Carey-style dust-up for him to want to leave, but what if Rhys Stanley has another poor finals series for Geelong, and Danger came knocking at his door with talk about one last Dance. Would two of their lower-end first rounders get the deal done. Not for mine. I’d want a top three pick and even then I’d be grumpy about it. Christian Petracca Fresh off an All-Australian year, his value would now be at a career high. North would offer him close to $1.5 mill a year, but what would we want for our former No.2 pick. Clearly we’d want their first pick (No.2) and maybe Ben Brown to sweeten the deal. Ain’t happening though. Jack Viney As a RFA this year, we have to hope that he’s keen to stay loyal as aside from Geelong, both SA clubs are sure to come knocking and the Crows should be able to offer him a virtual fortune if one of the Crouch boys leave. Jack’s only 26, so it’s his prime time and he would want us to show him the money as well in a deal that may need to be $750K a year for four years. But if Josh Mahoney can’t get it to work, and the Crows money holds sway, then a compensation pick after what would have been our first selection (ie: No.11) would be about right I reckon. Clayton Oliver Yes I know he’s off limits. But for the purpose of this exercise I’d want two first rounders minimum or an A-grader in return. Saad’s 26 so that sort of trade would have to come with the Dons first round pick as well. Steven May Maysie is finally settling in so any deal won’t happen. But what if Fremantle suddenly realised they need a quality defender and offered him top money and we were hamstrung for cash by the Viney deal. We gave up pick 6 for May, so two years on the Dockers pick 7 which will become about pick 10 this year with the academy freebies, would be about right for a guy who’s 28 and coming off one of his best years. Maybe a deal for Hayden Young could be tied in to it and just see us swap future second rounders. Ed Langdon Having finally got one wing sorted, we won’t be moving him on. But for the purpose of the exercise, I reckon his rating has gone up this year so he’s now probably worth a late-order first rounder or early second-round pick. Jake Lever A few Demonlanders still can’t cop him, but there’s a lot to like about the way he goes about it and at 24, and with his knees sorted (hopefully), his prime years are coming. He’s still got two more years to go on his contract and as with May, it would take an extraordinary offer from a club such as Freo or the Gold Coast for us to play ball. His value is similar to May’s – a mid to late order first-rounder I reckon. Angus Brayshaw Another member of our massive ‘96ers club, Angus has long been talked about as a likely trade to Freo because of his brother, yet if you hear him speak, you know he loves us. Clearly as one of our four centre-square prime-movers, we could get by without him, so a trade makes sense if you are viewing it as a meat-market, which it’s not. But if you insist on going down that path though, then a late-order first rounder is about right or virtually a direct swap for Saad. But hopefully that won’t happen and both parties honor the contract that lasts until the end of 2022. Sam Weideman He finally arrived this year and hopefully with Jacko becomes a successful union. But his background and the Pies deficiency up forward means talk of them wanting him continues. We’ve got a year on his existing deal to sort it out. But if the Pies were to press us now, then I suspect his value would be a future second rounder. Michael Hibberd Once you hit 30, you have to be a ruckman or a freak for anyone to trade true value for you. Hibbo’s a reliable, tough percentage player, so I expect us to sign him up for another year with a second-year option. But in terms of what another club would have to give up for him, I reckon being 31 in January means it’s a set of steak-knives – swap of late order picks. Christian Salem Christian’s kicking skills would ensure that all clubs would consider him, which they will next year when he becomes a restricted free agent. But for this year a trade would be required for the 25yo and I reckon he’s probably an early second rounder or a fairly decent player. Jeremy Finlayson almost gets there, but I’d want a little more and his value to us is way higher than the Gold Coast’s two-metre Peter. I wouldn’t give him up though, as he’s what we need down back. Jake Melksham He turned 29 recently, so the veteran label means he gets marked harder. But I’m pleased we have two more years on his contract which is about the time that will see him out I suspect. Can’t see any other clubs getting excited about him given his age and as a result his trade value, a swap of late order picks as with Hibberd, is unfair in some respects as it doesn’t take into account what he has achieved. Interested to see if he plays as a tagger for us next year. Bayley Fritsch Another of our ‘96ers club, albeit a late starter. His class and marking ability means there would be a few clubs interested in him and he’s still out-of-contact I believe, although I expect that to change soon – maybe as soon as the club B&F. But in terms of the exercise, he’s an early second rounder in my view. James Harmes He’s contracted until 2024 so Harmsey is going nowhere and having made his reputation as a tagger in the 2018 finals series, I doubt other clubs would want him, even though I reckon he’s first 22 everyday of the week. But if someone wanted to buy his contract out, then a third rounder would be probably about market value. Aaron vandenBerg A couple of years ago the Swans almost had him for a second rounder. But now at 28 we’d be doing well to claim a third rounder for him. His foot injury means he’s probably untradeable anyway. But we all love him and if he stays on the park in 2021, then two more years at the Dees are likely. Jay Lockhart I’d love to know the logic behind his omission after the Dogs game way more than seeing him traded. As a rookie, it could in theory be time’s up for him. But hopefully he gets offered a two-year deal on the main list in the days ahead and hopefully also Goody gets over his miskick in the last term against the Dogs or whatever he did or didn’t do at training to [censored] him off. If he was to be delisted, then I reckon a couple of clubs will want him on their list. Kysaiah Pickett One of Tubby Taylor’s trio of ticks from last year, he’s already extended his deal to 2023 so we know how much Goody likes him. He won’t be traded for anything or anybody, but if Gold Coast wanted to return to us Noah Anderson then I’d be happy to consider it. Tom McDonald Now the trickiest player on our list, given he has two more years of a pretty healthy contract to go. I’m sure the club, and maybe his manager, will be asking around to gauge interest elsewhere but the size of his contract (around $650K) means no one will match it even if they are a bit keen to see if he can get back to his 2018 form. It would be great if the Dons were willing to make him part of a Saad deal, but we’d still have to give up our early 2nd rounder for Saad and we’d have to probably cover half Tom’s salary. So basically I suspect we’re stuck with him and it’s now up to a fired up Tommy to come back and regain his dominance of the 200m rep circuit in January and make a case for himself to play Rd 1 for us. Don’t forget guys, he’s an excellent set-shot kick and has a strong set of marking hands, so if he regains some mobility, he’d be very handy at either end of the ground. Luke Jackson OK, he’s been earmarked for CHF in 2021 and first ruck in 2025. And from what we’ve seen his mobility for a big bloke at ground level is the stuff of legend, provided his hammys hold up. But let’s say West Coast made a bold play for him. What’s his value? It was No.3 pick last year and I reckon it’s about the same this year. Would Andrew Gaff (aged 28) and the Eagles first pick (about No.15) get it done. I’d take that, others wouldn’t though. Adam Tomlinson We signed him for four years so he’s going nowhere and pleasingly he showed some good signs as a pretty safe, tall defender down back, rather than the wingman Goody thought he had. He came to us as a RFA and at 27 and on a good deal, he’s hardly going to be looking for another trade. But as to his value, he’s probably a third rounder. Mitch Hannan Will be interesting to see what happens in next few days on the Mitch front. We all know he can play, but he’s yet to cement his spot and will be 27 by Round 1 next year. Being an in-betweener (too small to be a key forward) it’s tricky, but for some reason I always think John Hendrie when he gets it and I reckon if we delist him he will get another crack at it because he’s super-talented. Maybe he’ll get to the Dogs after all. In terms of trade value, he’s just an exchange of late picks I’m afraid. Nathan Jones I think Jonesy knows what’s coming and gave it away to Gawny on the Captain’s Run when he started talking about how much he enjoyed dabbling in the coaching side of the caper. He’s 33 in January after all. Great career, worthy and loyal club champion. Neville Jetta He’s got a year left on his contract, so this is going to a bit awkward for us and the Lord Nev fan club. How do you tell a super bloke and our only State-of-Origin representative that you want to reneg on a deal? You pay him out and give him a role looking after our indigenous players’ welfare – namely Kossy. Alex Neal-Bullen Part of our sizeable mosquito fleet and another member of our ‘96ers club. He’s also our hardest trainer and a very decent human being (off-field) and he’s contracted for another year. If Adelaide or Port wanted him, then I suspect everyone on DL would say you beauty. But I’m one who still rates him and think he’s well worth retaining. If we did offload him, then I’d be asking for a third rounder, others here would be willing to give the Crows our third rounder to take him. Trent Rivers It’s Troy Longmuir here. “We realise we missed our chance last year but how about we give you our second rounder for him – he’s a WA boy after all.” Sorry guys, but ‘No’. In fact I’m not even sure if trading Caleb Serong would get the deal done now. Trent’s value has sky-rocketed, he’d now be worth a middle-order first rounder I reckon. Jayden Hunt This will be an interesting one to watch in the coming weeks. He’s out of contract and for much of the past three years, out of favour with Goody. I reckon the club will try and sign him up for a couple more years but if I was him, I’d be checking out the market and I imagine his manager has been doing that most of the year. His hot run of form in the last few weeks means he’s worth a bit – probably an early third rounder from North would get it done. But with this draft so unclear, I’d be wanting a player trade rather than a late-order guess. He’s about the same value as Peter Wright if we want to go down that path, although I reckon Jayden could again be a star down back for us if Goody let him play there. Joel Smith As with Mr Nippy, there would be a lot of interest in Joel out there, which will surprise a few of the nongs on DL who don’t quite get what he brings to the table now that’s he’s fully grown. He’s out of contact and there’s no way he’ll be delisted, so we may have to make him a decent two-year deal to have any chance of keeping him. But for argument sake let’s say the Lions or the Giants want him, what do we get? He’s probably only a third rounder or our third for a late second-round mark up. Harley Bennell What happens on the Gold Coast, stays on the … I suspect very few people are privy to what actually happened but sadly if it’s worse than what’s reported or what he’s revealed, then there’s no way back and it’s AFL career over. Tom Sparrow I don’t believe he’s signed a new deal yet, but I’d be surprised if it doesn’t happen at the B&F or soon after. He was taken with pick 27 two years ago and I reckon he’s probably slipped to a very early third rounder (Adelaide’s pick No.37) should such a trade be requested, which it won’t. Braydon Preuss He’s still got another year to run on his deal and he’s very valuable insurance for our skipper so he’s a keeper. But what if we were to recruit Peter Wright, then surely we have more bigman insurance than AAMI. If that is the case, and Preussy wanted out, then I reckon he’s a third rounder exchange to a club more likely to need him as back-up – eg: Sydney. Charlie Spargo As with Toby Bedford and Kade Chandler, he’s a little guy out of contract and there’s no way we can keep stockpiling them now that we have Kossie. I reckon at least one of the three has to be moved on with another one sent on his way at the end of next year. Charlie actually looks like he’s growing muscles now and as I’ve always said, he has the smarts and the skills to make it. So I’d be keeping him for two more years and I’m sure the coach concurs with me. But on the trade market I would be very surprised if anyone offered more than an exchange of third-round picks or a fourth-rounder for him. It’s not a small world after all. Mitch Brown He’s at his third club and he’s just turned 30. He ain’t getting an offer anywhere else except from us. And assuming we can move on T-Mac, then I’d definitely offer him another year. Oscar McDonald I don’t like commenting about Oscar because it gets me worked up. But in trade terms, let’s be fair – zero chance. Maybe once we delist him a club would rookie him with a view to trialling him as a forward as we should have done three years ago. Toby Bedford Keeping or not keeping Toby will be a tough decision and I reckon his hard work on the training track will be rewarded with another year on the rookie list. There’s no doubt he’s improving, it’s just such a tough gig when you are under 180cm. As with Spargo, he’d have little or no trade value if we went down that path, an exchange of lower-order picks maybe. Harrison Petty In just 11 games he showed enough to suggest he could develop into a 200-gamer before OP ruled him out for the entire season. Would be an interesting one if Adelaide or another club came courting. What if Collingwood offered up Jaidyn Stephenson for him? Obviously unless our medicos deem otherwise, we will be extending his deal – he is still only 20 after all. It is too risky for us to trade him and someone to punt on him at this stage, but I reckon he’s a second rounder at worst. Marty Hore One of only a handful of our players to spend the season in the rehab group and I have a feeling that he might have missed the boat with us. If we still have a 44-man squad then he goes again but I suspect it will be cut to about 40, which means we have to delist about 8 players before the draft and he will be on the edge of that cull. Can’t see him getting another chance if that happens, even though he’s a very classy kick. Oskar Baker After a long rehab finally got back on the park for our last three games and justified his contract for next season. For the purpose of the exercise, if the Suns or Lions wanted to get him back to Qld, which they don’t, then he’d be an exchange of fourth round picks. Josh Wagner Got his chance late and did pretty well against Saints, but his lack of vibrant run hurt him and us against the Swans. Unfortunately he’s just a smidge too short to play a key position and even though he dominates at VFL level and the 15-a-side games this year I can’t see us retaining him for another year. At 26 it would be a big call for another club to snaffle him although someone may rookie him. Corey Wagner Another player hurt by the absence of the VFL and if you knew 100% that the 2021 rejigged version was going ahead, then I’d keep him on our list just to ensure we are competitive at that level. As with his brother, he’s a hard worker, but sadly just a tad shy of regular AFL level. Kade Chandler He definitely looked like he’d improved pre-season, but as I said earlier, there’s no point us stockpiling six midget small forwards when the spot’s been taken by Kossie. Keeping all of Neal-Bullen, Spargo and Bedford is a stretch so unfortunately it’s a no from me. He’s worth a look by Adelaide to see if they should rookie him though. James Jordon As I said in my mid-season report, he’s still only 19, so he’s too young to delist. And he clearly is working his butt off to make it so he deserves another year on his contract, maybe two if the powers at be feel that way. In terms of trade value, I think we’d be hard pressed to get anything more than a late third rounder or an exchange of late-order picks at this point. Kade Kolodjashnij I think all of us are comfortable with taking the punt on him and on paper, he could have been the left-side winger that we needed to compliment Ed Langdon. But after two years of hoping he overcomes concussion issues, I think it’s time to move on with him. He has another year on his contract to go, but hopefully missing out on finals and games bonuses means we have a bit left in this year’s salary cap to pay him out for his final year. Aaron Nietschke He looked good in November before his second knee reco and photos of him training at Maroochydore a few weeks ago indicate he’s back and eager to give it all another shot. And we should honour him with another year, although depending on the AFL list configurations, it may have to be as a rookie. Kyle Dunkley Like other D’lers I am a little unsure where he sits going into next year. Injury mucked him up pre-season but I believe he was working hard to get back in up on the Sunshine Coast, but unlike most others, he never got a shot at it. I’d like to see him get another year because his fundamentals are good and he’s still a kid. If we were to delist him I reckon he’d get another crack on somebody’s rookie list, most likely at the Dogs. Austin Bradtke Another player who is hard to get a gauge on without VFL games. But at 20, I think he deserves another year to develop and if there aren’t any good signs by then, so be it.

Five potential ins - Hibberd, Harmes, Lockhart, Sparrow and Jackson with three of them facing fitness test. Four potential outs with only one a gimme - Jetta (injured). Hibberd will be first cab in if fit and if not it is a question of Lockhart v Harmes. The other three potential outs that I don't think will happen are: Smith - tough call given he plays so tight, but ultimately with Thommo playing the third tall and Hibberd back, we can afford a second small defender and Lockhart gives us the extra offense. If Hibberd doesn't get up I'd expect Smith to stay. Removal of a small up forward - I've said it before but having three mega-smalls is unsustainable in finals or against good sides. We got away with it against the Giants but whilst I get Goody wants pressure like Richmond, the Tigers only play two tiny's and significantly dropped their third one (Higgins) when it counted against Cats. If by chance we make finals and head to Perth, then Jackson as our mobile tall third forward is a must. Baker - even tougher call than Smith given his contribution goalwise against Giants, but Vanders was preferred on wing when it counted and if Harmes is fit, he has to play and given that coach has figured out that playing Petracca from goalsquare at times is not such a bad thing, then Harmes can even come back to a midfield role and tag Merrett.

Having watched the game at length now, I'm happy to go with: 6 Rivers - yes he's a kid but he really tried to take us forward all night. If only he converted his two shots. 5 Gawn - Yes he was involved in two of their goals but still a massive presence which we all tend to underrate. 4 Viney - our hardest worker, but like his midfield colleagues missed targets so his intensity, not his influence, gets him these votes. 3 Fritsch - our cleanest marker on the night and hit more targets than others. 2 May - how many did Taberner kick? Our three talls down back kept their three forwards goalless. May did more offense work than Lever and Tommo, hence his votes. 1 Petracca - brilliant third term but unlike his hot spell mid-season, struggled to be clean with his disposal in the conditions.

I reckon our list is pretty good and aside from having 2-3 too many players under 6 foot, it is a well balanced outfit and unlike five years ago, we now have some genuine stars (at least on paper). To me the real issue is finding a coach that can provide a gameplan that our guys have confidence in. The fact Fremantle were able to switch and spot up players with short kicks so often last night just made it clearer than ever to me that whilst Goodwin may be popular with lots of the players, he hasn't been able to get a game-winning structure. I also don't understand why our guys so rarely are seen shepherding and screening out for teammates like other sides do and I question whether our zone defence ever actually works as well as other sides given that we rarely get as many intercept marks as other sides. So No.1 list requirement now is a new coach. When it comes to our list I actually reckon with our three inclusions this year, we are close to having a genuinely strong balanced side and there are very few deficiencies. It's not like last year when we suddenly felt we needed outside run and got in Langdon. Obviously it would help with a touch of class up forward, finding another hard-chasing, hard-working midfielder with tats and another long-kicking defender but really the main thing is finding a coach that instils the confidence to be both daring and clever - Oliver being the case in point.

When you are coming off a loss or two, all recruiters look shocking. Certainly the decision to draft another ruckman (Jackson) when you have the best in the game seemed strange at the time, but given we now know that Jackson has the mobility to play as a key forward, then it doesn't seem strange and looks like a wise choice - particularly as we traded out of the tall draft of 2018 when the Kings were on offer. I also was critical (sight unseen) of the need for another really small forward (Pickett) for a list that already had five small forwards (Spargo, ANB, Bedford, Hunt, Chandler), but once I saw that Kossie had explosive pace that only Hunt could match, then I was happy to accept the overkill in the quest for this role. And Rivers more than compensates for overlooking talented local Hayden Young, whose debut year for Fremantle has not really gone to plan for them. On what he's done so far, Rivers is our find of the year. So Taylor gets a huge thumbs up at the draft table last year, even if his 2018 year was pretty average. Clearly we won't have high picks this year so I just hope for two things. 1) Under no circumstances should we be drafting another small forward - we have more than enough and in Pickett we hopefully have one that develops into a star. 2) We draft at least one mobile tall - I accept that this will be highly speculative but we need a new project tall. Petty fits that description as well, should he get back on the park. The other draft picks should be best available and ideally mix grunt, speed and kicking skills.

I made it pretty clear that I did not like the backline structure that we had against Sydney and while I am frustrated that we changed the successful back six (seven with rotation) that served us so well against Collingwood and North and one which served us pretty well against the Bulldogs (they beat us in the midfield) , I have to say I am pretty happy with the make-up of our side tonight. Whilst I would still prefer the intensity and kicking skills of Lockhart, the backline includes a better mix of talls and runners than last week and should match up well - May on Taberner, Lever on Hoges and Tomlinson on Lobb with Joel Smith the lockdown role on Walters or Fyfe - depending on whether they send the latter forward. The Lever on Hoges battle will probably be game-determining in my view as it should be a low-scoring affair given their style of switching heavily from down back. I am also excited at the prospect that we will see a bit of VDB in the guts with the tiring Trac likely to spend quite a bit of the game at full-forward. Melky will probably get a bit of a go in the middle as well and hopefully the pair can negate Mundy enough leaving Olly and Viney to go to work on Brayshaw, Fyfe or Acres. The move to bring in Preuss is smart given they have Lobb as their second ruckman and Brown for all his run and workrate simply cannot match that sort of presence. Preuss also provides the security should Max need a break and the pair when resting may even force Freo to restructure, although I imagine they will play Ryan on Weid and rely on Cox to take Preuss or Gawn. Freo enjoy keepings off and have loads of runners, so having four small forwards, which is one too many for any long-term sustainable framework, may actually work well and force them to turn it over on occasions. Looking forward to seeing Kossie off a break and Hunt, who I rate much higher than most of you and certainly our coach, with his career at Melbourne on the line. I'm assuming Baker will play on the other wing and if he negate Aish's influence then he will have done a great job. I hope that if we cop an injury down back or things don't work out with Smith (he will be playing on their most dangerous player remember) that our coach breaks the rules and sends Hunt back before it's all over. Yes I know he has been training with the forwards, but he did spend quite a few years learning his defensive craft and I suspect that he will be playing half-back in some side next season - not sure which one yet. And one last thing. Thank christ we made seven changes and brought in a lot of fresh legs. While it may have been partly forced on them, our selectors seemed to have learnt from the Port four-day break debacle.

I have had a bit more of a rethink on this team. I think T-Mac deserves to play this game and coming off a two-match break he will be fresh. He'll still be slow, but not as slow as normal. Further to this he deserves to play in what is our last stand for the year. He deserves to go down with the ship, so to speak, or rise up for our next challenge if we manage to turn it around. From the sounds of it Angus and ANB may be a tad too sore to play, so T-Mac and hopefully Harley should get the gigs - clearly Goody got jack of Harley's lack of pressure, but I think he may just have to appreciate the clever offence that Harley brings and as I've said previously, the indigenous guys tend to find an extra yard in hotter conditions. Finally on Smith. Unlike Uranus and the other haters here I am still frustrated that he has played just 14 games, whereas O-Mac has been gifted 81 and preferred to Lynden Dunn (now too old) and Frosty. As someone who has seen lots of training sessions (in the old days mind you when Gosch's Paddock was the go), I can tell you Smith looks the part, but not as a running defender. He is a close checking, hard-tag type of player who this year has muscled up and as a result can play on bigs and smalls alike. The problem for him is that Goody doesn't want to invoke a hard tag on anyone, because he's caught up in zone defences and clean ball movement (that's his aim, even though it didn't look that way against Sydney). The obvious match-up for Smith this week is Fyfe and if that means he's in the centre square, so be it. But my guess is that Goody will play Smith as a fourth tall down back and want him to provide run and that's just not his strength and he becomes a waste of space and we can queue Uranus for another round of Smith-bashing. Of our 10 or so delistings at season's end, there will be two who get a chance at another club - one is Smith and the other is Jayden Hunt. And why is that - because they bring something a little different to the table. And as with Eggplant, you just have to know the best recipe to bring out their best.

Out: Tall defence and any players who pull up sore. In: Run and carry to counteract four-day break and new challenges to excite team. Trac to start in goal square, Brayshaw on his brother, Smith should hard tag on Fyfe. That means Out: Rivers (rested because he's a kid and he doesn't have the background workload to back up well, even though he would normally play), O.Mac, Jones, Spargo, Wagner, Fritsch (something's not right with him). In Pickett, VDB, Hibberd, Hunt, Baker and Lockhart. If ANB and Brayshaw are sore then they should rest as well with Hannan or Bennell their replacements. B: Lockhart May Salem HB: Smith Lever Hibberd C Langdon Brayshaw VDB HF: ANB Brown Melky F: Pickett Petracca Weid Ru: Gawn Oliver Viney Int: Baker, Harmes, Tomlinson, Hunt

6 - Gawn - Marked strongly. Won the taps, realised he had to even do the clearance work eventually. Rushed his late shot on goal. 5 Langdon - This guy has the most amazing tank. Felt sorry for him with his two last term kicking errors because as with Gawny, he was a standout and normally would have got Brownlow votes. 4 ANB - Our other non-stop worker and he set up quite a few of our goals as well, despite copping a nasty knock to the midriff. 3 Oliver - A bit of hot potato early but eventually got going and realised he was our only real chance of providing midfield run. 2 May - Went forward for five minutes and did more damage than our other key forwards did all game. 1 Joel Smith - Sydney's most dangerous forward kicked how many and who was on him for most of the game. Yes he didn't provide any run, but he provided plenty of pressure. Was it his fault that the coach went for three bigs and Wags around him and just one running player Rivers and one precision small - Salem. Blame the coach, not the player. Note: Tomlinson was the other player in contention for the one and again looked good when he went back to defence in the second half, but Smith had the tougher assignment.

Please I'm going to get unusually nasty if I hear much more of this anti-Smith stuff. As I said in my game thread, this loss was two weeks in the making when after playing with the best balanced back six (seven with rotations) against Collingwood, Goody panicked and felt he had to make changes to our defensive structure after our loss to the Dogs, who were up for us with their season on the line. We definitely lost it in the middle that game, yet it was our defence that was totally restructured. Out went Lockhart and Harmes who provided the right-side run and today we lost our left-side run in Hibberd. We got away with it against St Kilda because they played four talls up forward and Steven May had a cracker. But I thought, and /;m sure most of you thought, that given we were headed north to an even hotter environment (game started at 4.40pm), that we would reinstate Lockhart and that harmes would return down back. But alas no, we decided to keep our three bigs and include Smith, who has been playing as a tall in practice and did a tight job on Papley, but was never going to provide run - that's not his go. Whose fault is all that - it's Goody's and if he comes out with we went away from our brand as his reason for the loss, then he's the biggest problem because it is he, who should apologise for this disastrous game. He went away from our brand playing a tall cumbersome backline and you only had to look at the run that Langdon, Oliver and Neal-Bullen provided to know that Cairns needed runners, not talls. I hope he explains it to the media and takes ownership of it but he's like Dan Andrews, he'll deflect.