Deespicable

The big surprise to me is that we haven't as yet delisted one or both of King and Filipovic. Richmond showed us there's room for only one genuine ruckman and we already have a ready-made back-up in Pedo and two others - T-Mac and Weid - who could play there if required. All are infinitely better than anything King has shown to date and Flipper did not endear me as a project player pre-season before injury. If the club rates one of them long-term, fine keep one. But there's no no excuse to have two back-up dinosaurs on a list that already has the best dinosaur ruckman in the game.

Sounds pretty fair all round to me. Lever's a gun. If the Swans feel hard done by then they get back pick 34 (35).

We already have two first rounder available - this year's 10 and next year's - and if we are worried about the quality of next year's draft being too good then we should ask for their 2018 second rounder back in return. We also are yet to play the "trade player" card with them, although I suspect Ben Ken has been offered up behind scenes. But given they are also losing Charlie Cameron's run, then maybe we have to consider giving up another SA player - Billy Stretch comes to mind, even though I like the way he goes about his footy - sometimes to get something you really want, you have to give up something you like.

Could Richmond have just saved Trenners from a delisting? With the Tiges small forward success and following on from the Doggies last year, I reckon there' a chance that our list manager will be rethinking his quota of big men. At present we have four dinosaur ruckman and only one worth playing - Gawny. Having three back-ups is way too excessive, especially when we showed mid-season that playing a more mobile tapman like Pedo or T-Mac was just as good because of their combativeness on the ground. So by my reckoning, I can see two of our dinosaur back-ups being delisted - Spencer and Flipper. I know Filipovic has been injured for much of the year but I was more than a tad disappointed in him at training pre-season and just think we can afford only one project tall tapman to back up Gawny and even though King has done very little so far, he looks the part and deserves another year. It also leaves us with another spot on our list to go with Kennedy, White and Hulett (confirmed outs) and Lumumba on another planet. Then we have Kent and Kennedy-Harris, who both could be part of the Gaff and Lever deals. Even with Maynard and Joel Smith coming on board the true list, we'd still have two picks in the draft, two in the rookie draft and one or two Category B rookies to go. And that's before a decision on Trenners and Garland - both of whom are fantastic, loyal clubmen who you want around and both make a huge difference at VFL level. If we are desperate for picks at draft, then both could easily be rookied.

A lot of people have talked him up and I hope we get him - but if you saw him on TV three weeks ago against Willy you would have to say "No way". The worst game by a potential draft pick that I have seen - conditions not good though. The fact that, against the same side, he came back and played well last weekend, indicates he is still worth claiming - but I am thinking as a rookie, but I may be dreaming on this one as it is always hard to rate VFL players and the club will have an idea of who is in to him pre-draft.

Because for the past 3 years under Lyon, they don't rate the guy and he only got another go as a last resort 3 weeks ago. McCarthy and Kersten have been their main men up forward this season. So a late second round pick should be more than enough. And go back to my original discussion, it is WC that needs pacey small forwards like Kent desperately and will give up that sort of pick for him.

To be delisted : Modern game sucks the way pace is almost everything. Lumumba (he is still considered on the list) Trengove - Fantastic bloke and a born leader but as we saw against Roos, his speed is too big an issue. Hulett - Lovely kick but just not quick enough to impose and does not possess the huge leap to make him a marking threat. White - As with Hulett. Kent - West Coast had a real deficiency in small forwards and I'd be amazed if they haven't enquired. On his day he's a real talent. I can imagine we should be able to get WC's second rounder (Pick 29) for him. Or as part of a three-way trade to acquire Freo's Matt Taberner. Spencer, Filipovic and King - No side can afford to have three dinosaur style ruckman as back-ups and as we saw when Gawn was out, Pedo or T-Mac can do the job to varying degrees if required. Acquiring Taberner would give us a third option in that area as well as give us another forward option. Personally I'd look at delisting two of those three assuming we acquire Taberner or similar. Upgrades on to the list for Maynard and Smith. That leaves five spots with two of them rookies - Bull Smith and Keilty are other rookies. Obviously Lever is one of them and clearly we will need to give them our No.1 pick and maybe it will be necessary to send JKH to Carlton as part of a three-way trade for Gibbs. ie: Adelaide get Gibbs and Blues pick 34. Carlton gets JKH and our pick 10, Dees get Lever.

Why would you say that? Could you explain your Collingwood assertion? To me, the Pies want him because they desperately want anyone and think they are the biggest and best club in the AFL and they don't really plan out their long-term structure. The reason why the Pies shouldn't want him is that Jeremy Howe already plays the intercept sweeper role for them and unless they are planning to trade Howey after a year where he might be AA, then it doesn't make as much sense to have two playing that role - as we saw early in the year with Jetta and Wags, you don't want four players going up and no-one down. By contrast we don't have a tall defensive marking sweeper, so Lever would be an ideal pick up for us and will complement an area where we are deficient - T-Mac wasn't bad at it before his reallocation to the front six.

Or a clever way of finding out if he was going to have a full-on tag or not and therefore getting immediate intel on it!

Tubby Taylor will find it difficult to avoid a few media interviews and a few new major offers after his selections have consistently come up trumps - not bad for a bloke who left the Pies in embarrassing circumstances. If someone, with inside knowledge, on who was behind the choice of Hannan can reveal details please. Obviously the VFL GF was the major rider on this as he cut us up, but I doubt Tubby would have been there as he would have been off looking at other players in GFs around the country and the Etihad game was an easy one for so many of our other key staff to get too. But I do know Tubby was right behind the choices of both Oliver and Vandenburg and had the backing of Paul Roos to go for big-bodied midfielders.

Declan was quite impressive early in the VFL season with his stints in the ruck, up forward and primarily as a tall defender. But he had a relatively poor finals campaign for Casey, which has meant he is no longer talked about as someone who will attract the sort of interest that would make see him taken in the normal draft - and the rookie draft now seems a more likely spot for him and us. It may come down to a choice between him and Jack Hannath - who we were keen on four years ago before Freo nabbed him before us. I'm hoping we go for Declan because it will also send a signal to Casey players that if you play well, then it is a potential road into Melbourne. I'd also be happy if we took Footscray's Ben Long who is a pacey, medium forward from Darwin - yes indigenous - Rioli's cousin. I always think we should be supporting NT players now that we have a relationship with the state and he is obviously one that we missed and the Dogs now have the jump on him. But I imagine if he's still around when it comes to pick 69 then he'd be perfect outside pace that we need to punt on - Dogs may take him at pick 50 though.

Two things about Hibberd. The first is that the DL camp who have highlighted him as a good pick-up have underestimated (ignored) one of his main ingredients that he adds to our list - a left foot defender. At present we have Salem and Wagner as our only two left-footers back there while sides like Hawthorn and Sydney have quite a few. Wagner is handy but not a thumping kick like Hibberd, while most of us would like to see Salem tried in the midfield. So Hibberd's acquisition is huge and those that watched him pre-2016 know that he's as tough as nails and will be part of our back seven (six plus one interchange). The other is I don't quite get why we want to try and trade out of next year's draft already. Perhaps some have got cocky after our improved showing with a young list, but there's no guarantee that we won't slide a little next year as we wait for our young squad to fully mature. And when we grabbed an extra pick last year (for Weideman), we were told by the club that the 2016 draft was shaping as being a little thin. And there's also no obvious other trades on the horizon this year, but next year we may want to use our second round pick - just as we do this year. One can only presume that our maestro Jason Taylor now is keen on a couple of players who may fall in that 20-30 bracket. But there are ways of getting back to the second round, even if we have to trade our current pick for Hibberd. For example - Dunn to Brisbane should net us the Lions third round pick 49. We then can go after the Gold Coast's pick 25 or 29 on the basis that trading them our two third rounders (picks 46 and 49) will actually earn them more points to be used for either Jack Bowes or Brad Scheer.

Agree - all clubs play the real estate game initially. Our pick 27 probably is a little unders, so we will have to decide whether we give up our third round as well, maybe for a switch with their pick four. We should pick up something for Grimes (round 4 pick) and maybe Dunn (round 4 pick) and I am waiting to see what Goody decides on Trengove (potential round 3 pick) and Neal-Bullen (Port Adelaide second round pick). Why have so many jumped off the Salem bandwagon?

Life isn't always fair and unfortunately when it comes to sporting clubs - that is the case the world over. Unfortunately at the moment I suspect Goody is wielding a fair degree of influence on selections and is rightly, by him, thinking of next year or 2018. But what's annoying for us all is that Roosy has an outside chance of making the eight with this squad - this year - so why he isn't staying loyal to his senior players is beyond me. Yes we can all see that Dunn and Grimes don't have explosive speed like Frost or Harmes, but they bring other things to the side and at 29 and 27, they aren't exactly over the hill yet. They also bring certain things that are unique to their game. Dunn is a thumping kick and incredibly reliable at kick-outs which is a huge plus when Salem is out. He's a bit smaller than you'd want for a player that has to play on the ruckmen, but he's made up for it by being an incredibly clever tunneler. His two games in the VFL once dropped after Saints were huge compared to Frosts - have a look at replays if you don't believe me. Grimes is incredibly fit and has an amazingly fit, is smart, courageous and has an amazing knack of getting to contests. While the anti-Grimes lobby reckon his disposal is unreliable, he invariably has been forced to play left half-back because they don't want to expose our other man - H - who can't kick left foot at all. With Wagner in, that is no longer a problem anyway. His games in the VFL when he's not 23rd man have been unbelievable - he and Dawes tore Box Hill apart. That doesn't mean they should play, but when the alternative is a developing Oscar Mc (who looks like he will become a player, but as yet does not have AFL level awareness) or Harmes (who is hard at it and quick but not always as yet reliable with his disposal) then you wonder at what point do you hold off development and stick by your policies of rewarding the best players in the VFL. Clearly we are not. My kids were in tears last night as they watched the Trengove video - poor old Grimesy was the last one to wish him well. I still think we might beat Hawthorn to keep ourselves in the mix for the finals (they are nothing like 2015) but if Oscar and Harmesy [censored] it up, then Roosy only has himself to blame.

Give him a break - the guy has a flawed technique and he was taught by Windows in the U18s. If he persists with doing it, he'll end up being a regular concussion head - so it will be coached out of him - eventually.

I was thinking about Oliver all night and the video. The ball drop when he bounced it on one of his charging runs reminded me of another video that I'm sure we've all seen - anyone else see Ron Barassi in him? I'd give him No.31. There's also a little bit of John Fidge as a junior in him. I reckon the up side to him is enormous and just shows that we have a great recruiting guy in Tubby Taylor guiding the ship. The Parish video shows him to be a cocky kid - a little full of himself after two great seasons in juniors. On top of the fact that Parish is small, it just shows that we are now aware of the modern day player requirements and tackling is now a core part. I can guarantee you that if we went back to 2012 and Taylor was in charge, he would have fought like hell to retain Wines. But at least now it doesn't matter - he has drafted us a tough midfield with not one fancy whous (sorry can't spell it), although all our tough boys have their own tricks. The only job now is for our footy manager is to keep them all at the club and make sure Hoges and Weids don't get too big-headed.

A rumor on Bomberblitz was stated before. Where there is a bit of truth I suspect is that we are trying to get another quality midfielder and a tall forward. Can't blame the club for trying and shows we are proactive.

I would have thought Pedo was one of several players on the cusp of being delisted. He's 29 next season and has shown that he has a clean pair of hands (unlike Dawes) and is a thumping kick (unlike Hoges) and works hard. But he also is regarded as being a tad slow which means he can't play the lead-up role anywhere near as well as the two players mentioned. On top of that he is out of contract which means that he is one the club will be discussing - it's a lot easier to cut him than say Dawes who has a year to run on a big contract. To me, it will probably ultimately get down to Fitzy or Pedo - with both potentially redrafted as rookies.

I reckon all these wins would be making Howe and Col think about re-signing with us. And the problem for them is that because they've waited till now - and our salary cap priority now is Gawn and fitting Prestia in - then they can probably get more money elsewhere. I actually think we may end up almost pushing one of them out.

That's interesting Django - are you so adamant about Goodes issue not being racist? I remember watching all the pre-season stuff before he went down and he was doing all the forward drills. And somehow Brayshaw has spent almost the entire year as a small forward, yet he was regarded as a midfielder.

Why all the talk about Treloar? Yes, he's a good tough, hardworking player and fits Roosy' big-bodied midfielder mantra. But do we really need another clearance type who has great aerial skills ahead of say a hard-working running type who can break lines - I thought that's what everyone complains about with our style. I'm sorry but I reckon the club would have only minimal interest in wasting its top pick and a player to get Treloar and that's even if they could match what the Pies, North and Dogs can offer. Would those wanting him actually be happy if Vince or Viney or Jones was forced out of the midfield set-up? To me the player we wanted was Dylan Shiel because he provides dash and works hard - but unfortunately that boat has sailed. Danger would be nice too and is in keeping with our urgent need - but that boat has also sailed. So why is everyone working themselves into a lather about Treloar being on the market? Does anyone have some inside info about him wanting to come or is it just dreamy hot air by Demonlanders?

The thing is that Col, unlike, Howey, is a RFA, which means that if a club really wants him, we have to decide if we want to match the offer. It also means that we are most likely to be given a compensation pick - it won't be first round, but it is likely to be second round pick - approx 23-26 by my reckoning as we have an easy run home. That would be almost too good in some people's eyes but a good compo for us. If we are really unlucky the panel will gives us only a third round pick - 41-46 - that would be a real bummer and unders. As to his salary, it's hard to see us wanting to fork out another $500K this time for him (he was coming off 2nd in B&F then), especially as we are apparently close to cap already and we want to make a big play on Prestia and also to offer Gawn some really good long-term coin which now is a priority. To me, both Col and Howey have chosen the wrong year to be out of contract - I reckon they will have to stay loyal for less than what they are on - or will be pushed out as part of the Prestia deal. It's not as if they have shown themselves to be indispensable this year - just useful members of a senior group that Roosy is very loyal to. Frost, when he's fit can easily fill Garland's role, and Lumumba can also play Howe's third-man up role. Then there's also Fitzy and A-Mac as back-ups and Pedo if necessary. We could also make a play for Curtly Hampson with our 2nd rounder if we are worried that a potential Howe departure leaves us one short in the running department down back.

Yep I agree he would add class to our midfield and will require decent coin and decent trade. It's why both Howe and Garland in some respects have chosen the wrong year to be coming out of contract. With an emerging list (yes I know we've only won 4 games) my understanding is we no longer have massive room in our cap. Garland signed his last deal after his runner-up B&F deal and I think he'd have to accept a substantial salary loss to stay loyal. That's fair enough because he's no longer in our top 10 players (some would say not in our top 20). I don't think Howey is on such a big amount, but he still will find it hard to obtain a massive price hike at another club and his moderate season does not help his chances. Both will be in demand from other clubs (I suspect late second round), so we should be able to get something in return that helps our Prestia deal. Fitzy may also attract some interest, although if Garland goes, he should be a priority signing for us. When you look at the others out of contract, the big key now should be signing Gawn - any word anyone? 2015 Jamar 31 (UFA), Garland 26 (RFA), McKenzie 24, Howe 24, Gawn 23, Fitzpatrick 23, Toumpas 21, Pedersen 28, Hunt 19, Cross 32, Bail 26, Riley 23, Harmes ® 19, King ® 19, White ® 18

Interesting list but I suspect it's not the year for wholesale changes - we have done that already for past two years and this year's draft apparently lacks depth/quality. Pulling apart your list the following seem strange: Trengove - while we all know Roosy considered shipping him to Richmond last season, he has gone on record saying how impressed he is with his attitude. It would be downright nasty to axe him given his injuries. Obviously if his foot shows no sign of healing, then he's a potential retirement. But injury and AFL rotations permitting, he should be a very handy recruit next season. White - So far he's impressed as a first-year rookie and we lack left-foot defenders. He'll get another year to see if he progresses. Grimes - As with Trengove, it would be incredibly nasty to terminate him. I actually still really rate his smarts and think he is well worth keeping. Hunt - He is two more solid VFL games from being kept. Unlike most players he has an asset (pace) which makes normal rules go out the door. The following are questionable Bail or Matt Jones - I suspect unless there is a couple of really worthwhile uncontracted players options available, then we will see at least one of these guys retained. Both work hard, even if their disposal lacks punch. Riley - As with the above two, he may yet be kept - will depend on quality of UP. Fitzy - I thought he should have been delisted last year but provided he has good runners around him and doesn't play tunnelball again, I really am liking him as a back-up tall. The following are on the money Jamar - Gawn's game down at Geelong ended any chance of the Russian being kept for another season. Terlich - Yes he is contracted, but read between the lines of the VFL reports and you will know he's on the outer. McKenzie - A great loyal citizen who works as hard as anyone, but his disposal skills unfortunately have brought about his demise. Hope Casey recruits him. The following may happen Howe - Yes he may want out, but if he does it will only be via a similar like-for-like trade - as per Clark/Lumumba/Varcoe. Have faith in Roosy to get the right return if he does go. The following you missed Pedo/Dawes - When you look at our list profile, we are top heavy in the 27-28 yo bracket and we can't justify both of these blokes, particularly when you have Frost as the first choice of the three. I'm tipping that one will be given a surprise nudge and given Pedo isn't contracted he may be the sacrifice - although he could be redrafted as a rookie if no better back-up tall option emerges. Michie - He dominates VFL as the clever clearance player but at AFL level he's too small and not quite fast enough to have the same impact. We now have too many good midfielders to keep him. Sure we have been lucky that Vince and Nat Jones haven't been injured, but Angus, Vanders and Neal-Bullen are champing at the bit to get a shot in the middle - so that leaves Viv well back in the pecking order. Toump - He still has a tiny bit of currency, so his name will come up - the question will be whether anyone really wants him. I'll tip that he's kept for one more year. As to rookie list - second-year rookies Harmes and King will be upgraded (both subject to dramatic loss of form in final 8 weeks). So out: Jamar, Terlich, McKenzie, Michie, one of Bail/Jones, one of Pedo/Dawes. In: 4 national draft picks plus 2 rookies to replace upgraded Harmes and King. If a strong UP comes up, then either the Bail/M Jones leftover goes, Riley goes or Toump is traded. Howe is a separate deal that may not even eventuate but will not effect above.

I reckon Grimesy is only two more good games away from some major retractions from people who have bagged him for the past two years. Both he and Trengove were given the captaincy way before they should have, but they got it then because they had great work ethic and team principles. Unfortunately it forced them to try and do too much and they found themselves in the horrors. Grimesy is not a long kick, nor is he mega quick, but he is courageous and reliable and smart on the field with his positioning. Like everyone he will make the odd error and get pinned and get marked on, but at least you know that for the majority of the time he is doing the right thing and is making formation correctly. Trengove's situation is tougher, not just because of his injury, but also because of the 120 rotation rule, which means his strength - endurance - is not a strength and his lack of blistering pace - becomes a liability. But those who saw him in the first three seasons know he has the work ethic to succeed, tackles incredibly well and is also smart. If the interchange rule drops to 80 - he will be a really big factor for us again - provided his foot mends correctly this time. As to trade value, no one will take Toump, Dawes or Watts - except as insurance at the rookie draft or as a bottom order swap of positions. But Howey will have some currency and is likely to be worth a second round pick IMO.