Deespicable

With a new signing on display, I decided to drive the 50min (traffic wasn't too bad this morning) down to Casey Fields and get a first-hand glimpse of Majak Daw. Some of you might say, gees don't you have something better to do than watch training, but when I used to go to Gosch's Paddock it was always a great way to get a better appreciation of the idiosyncrasies of certain players - whether it be Lynden Dunn and his booming voice or Trac skylarking or Joel Smith doing speedy run-throughs in the rehab group. As a fan, you can pick up so much more by watching from the sidelines - it's why I'm somewhat bullish in my prediction that Paul Spargo's son has finally developed enough to be a reasonable chance of making it and why I won't be surprised if he lines up in the middle of the park in Rd 1. My fanatical Demon supporter training ritual has been forced to step up a notch this year with the move down to Casey Fields meaning for most of us it's a long drive and an incredible commitment to head out that far. Gawny of course likes it because it's a quicker trip home for him now that he's down on the peninsula, but for many of the players it's also a long haul back to their favourite cafe post-training. Anyway I was excited to see Majak close up. I mean we all see them on the field on game day at other clubs, but it's more fleeting look - "gee he's a big dude" or "wow that guys a great kick or has got amazing speed". I remember watching Majak when he was way younger playing in North's defence in a practice match at Etihad Stadium when we played Jesse Hogan as a 17-year-old because we were so desperate to encourage membership under Mark Neeld. Jesse kicked about five that day and not all of them were on Majak, but apart from thinking Jesse was a freakish teenager, I remember thinking, "Gees, that Majak guy is going to be some player such was his visibly superior strength to most of the other guys. I'd checked the website before I went down to Casey and as has been the case pretty much every week since X-mas, there's no details on when or where the boys are training. But we all have figured out that it's Monday/Wednesday/Friday at around 9.30am. The lack of info on the club website is not a Facebook thing. On the direction of the AFL, the club has just shut up shop to protect the players from any potential intrusion from fans and for some (read a few Richmond boys and their coach) that policy might be a godsend ensuring their media arm doesn't have to ward off enquiries or risk a fan calling out some unwanted remark - pretty few fans actually call out in reality, but the fear that they will is there, just like the fear of COVID, however infinitesimal, is there. The AFL has encouraged our move to Casey for training because there's a fence that means control of fans is easier in the COVID era and there's less chance that their player bubble will be broken, which is totally understandable ... to a point. But it comes at a cost of fans, like me, being caught up and lost in it and therefore attacks your core base of support - which runs contrary to what the club is trying to achieve - membership and passion about the club which in turn leads to advertising which in turn helps paying players. A couple of times recently I've stood behind the fence at the goals end, one of the times in pouring rain, and observed. But today I was hopeful that a bit of sanity had finally been reached about the COVID dynamic at Casey because it was tipped to be hot and I didn't fancy being burnt out in the open, especially as Casey and wind goes hand in hand. What I had expected was that the countless CCB's that the club has around the entry point to Casey that are used on women's games day would have been re-utilised to the far side/shaded area allowing the few avid fans like me to watch from a distance about 25m away from the edge of the ground in fresh air - that's way beyond any COVID-safe requirement, although it would doubtless fall outside the AFL's blanket "no fans at training" policy. But alas our GM or CEO have yet to figure out how to serve both the fans and the club and are yet to get approval for a fresh approach from the AFL. So the fences were locked today and a place outside the fence behind the goals beckoned. At least i knew I'd be able to hear Chocco bellowing instructions and with a bit of luck Majak may be playing as a forward down my end. But alas, there was no-one there. Unbeknownst to me and a vast majority of fans, except for the inner-circle ones with ties with players, the club had given the players four days off this weekend. Thanks Melbourne FC. Please get your website up to speed (don't rely on Facebook) and start having a think about how to manage the handful of fans like me that want to attend training. I'm told they will train on Monday. I am not sure if I want sit in traffic again just in case the club changes their mind and the trip back towards the city is always longer when you've got nothing to dream about.

A clever decision by our brains trust, even if we have to wait a couple of weeks or so for him to be COVID isolated and approved to train. He is a big athletic body and can play any of the tall positions but I am curious to see why he didn't quite make it at North - even in his second coming. But above all else and regardless of whether he plays or not, the best benefit is that given he can be used as a ruckman, he enables Luke Jackson to be trialled as a forward in our scratch matches and ensures Gawny has a physically strong training partner apart from Dogga's athleticism to contend with. And if he gets excited at his new environment, who knows, we may even see some of the Magic Majak he showed at North, albeit sporadically, in our senior team.

No Viney, no Brown, no Pickett (in SA). Hibberd and Vanders on the bikes. Melky, Mitch Brown and Angus (for part of session) in rehab. Trac and Olly off early, while Lever hurt his ankle late (but got back into session so can't be too bad).

Thanks to Picket Fence and Back Pocket and yes I was out there as well today - been doing shopping on way home - hence slow reply. I was told it was a closed session and therefore had to stand outside behind the goals. I never quite understand the "closed session" line ... I mean if anyone can name me more than one revolutionary technique that has been concealed that has transformed the game then please list it. Under Roosy (with Goody's input) we trialled an extra man running through at bounces about five years ago, but with the 6-6-6 that has become obsolete and even when we did use it, it wasn't the panacea for all our ills. But back to the session. Casey's surface is absolutely pristine - it is our main reason for training this far out but as with aths and its Albert Park move mistake, it is not quite the right fit. The problem with Casey is that it is like Waverley - not only is it invariably wet, it is incredibly windy - today was just a snapshot of what will be a regular thing if we continue our move out there, which the club is currently considering. As a result, players such as Langdon and ANB and others were missing targets at will into the wind and Jayden Hunt and sometimes Rivers and Rozman were intercepting and loving the opportunity such conditions present for the quicks. I did wisely buy my coffee on the way out there this week and once again traffic roadworks meant the trip home was close to an hour - unless you are Jordy Lewis and living close by, Casey is like a country venue. For me today was a tale of our gun forwards and two backmen. Pickett, who with Brown out, is now our No.1 weapon up there was missing - apparently headed back to SA for a family issue. Fritter again was our most dangerous man as the third/fourth tall and ANB again was lively pressuring as he does. But there is one small forward you can mark down for Rd 1 as a cert - Paul Spargo's son Charlie. He's no longer a boy - he grew up in the off-season and now is closer in style to Robbie Gray with his lively play a highlight. He spins in and out of trouble and moves with meaning. I have been on record as saying that despite having the football smart's, he is too small, not quick enough and not a longer enough kick to make it. Well this year he may even play in our midfield. He used to run like bambi through a forest waiting to be shot by a hunter, but now he runs like a man about to fool his tackler. He will play alongside Kossie and most likely ANB in Rd 1 and will give us a fleet of crumbers that is dangerous and with the three-tall plus Fritter set up, there should be a few of those. T-Mac seemed to be back with the forwards, although they never actually split into three groups, and he is trying - he always did in my view, just got slower and slower as the injuries mounted. He'll go close in our Rd 1, especially with Ben Brown out. A couple of other pointers I took away: Harrison Petty is in sensational form as a tall defender and is placing pressure on poor Tomlinson. Tommo's done nothing wrong, it's just that Petty looks like he's Tom Jonas providing marking strength and run today. Joel Smith also returned to the track today and was handy and may yet come into our defensive equation for Rd 1. Deakin Smith is worthy of a club number and should be our first supplemental player chosen. He's a classy small defender who ultimately might not make it, but is certainly worth a try at VFL level. As for the kids, Rozman is everywhere and Bowey looked lively. Laurie a bit quieter than last week. Kobe is a fair way off at this stage I think - sorry Farmer fans.

Kobe looked lively at times (more so than Bedford), but missed a really good opportunity early in the game, although made up for it later on with his goal. I was actually more impressed with Deakin Smith, who played small defender for the B side and was clean. Both however are not long kicks which could be problematic in a side with Spargo. And yes, my bad on Sparrow over Swallow - although both flew in and out of the play.

You would have to be a puffin muffin to drive all the way down to Casey (about 45minutes down the freeway from the city and on to Clyde Rd) on a day like today. And yes it certainly wasn't like Gosch's Paddock when I arrived - no coffee shop nearby, no Saty, no guys video recording behind the goals, no bike riders cycling through the park. In fact, aside from coaches, fitness guys, players and physios, it is fair to say no-one attended at all - except of course for a silly old fool like me standing behind a fence in a rainjacket at the Wilson's Prom end like a Mexican in Tijuana trying to cross the border. The roads around Casey have been improved since my last visits there about five years ago for an intraclub practice match that featured a demoted Lynden Dunn playing on Jesse Hogan. It was incredibly windy that day and if you ever watch Casey games on TV or club footage, you will know that wind and Casey Fields go hand-in-hand like Scotland and rain. This morning, however, the constant rain seemed to scare the wind away. We are in the middle of summer and the first thing I saw as players did a circular kicking drill was Trac in a long jumper taking a one-hander and as my gaze followed him, he kept hitting his targets with ease. He wasn't alone in the long sleaves - Gawny, Kossie, Rivers, Salem had them and plenty of others as the morning progressed and the rain got heavier asked for a jumper switch. A quick look at the rehab group saw Bowey, Smith and Mitch Brown doing various leg drills and soon after Angus came wondering around walking laps - most likely a layday for him on his road to recovery from all those onions he ate at Gawny's. Melky was also a late starter for the scratch match, but a trainer told me he was fine. Hibbo wasn't sighted at all. As I'm sure we all do, the first thing I wanted to do was have a look at Ben Brown and yes he's big, but his prominent mop top was lessened because of the rain. His first touch wasn't a good one - he spilled a mark like you or I would and it's fair to say it wasn't his morning - the rain rarely is friendly to the talls and when the scratch match started he was pitted against Steven May. In fact there wasn't much joy for any of our bigs because Lever is mega-disciplined at training and had Weid or Fritter covered while Tomlinson is also aware that he has to perform to stay in ahead of Petty and therefore was staying close to his man. Just before we get to the match, let me make a quick observation. There is one coach who has a loud voice. He's 62 years old and he was out there in shorts while others were rugged up. "Pick easy targets, not long and wide - that sort of thing just doesn't happen" he bellowed to make his point crystal clear. It could have been Tom Hafey reincarnated, such was his vehement passion for the game. You all know who it was. Mark Williams will annoy the [censored] out of Goody and Ooze and our other coaches all year with his comments, but he will inspire the players with his gung-ho spirit and love for the game. I was almost about to jump the fence for him. But let's get to the bit you all want to read - the match practice. Such was the constant rain that it ended up being two 30-minute halves before training was called off early. In terms of matchups our No.1 defenders were pitted against our No.1 attackers while our No.1 mids were up against our Casey-headed mids, so it gave me a clear insight as to Goody's current thinking. A lot can change between now and Rd 1 though. Prior to game starting Olly was sent off with the rehab group to work on the oval across the road - obviously they didn't want to risk him yet, although he did all the other drills - just not the game. Viney also seemed to disappear as well - sorry I am not even sure if he started in match practice game - I somehow missed his departure. The first half was a bit like watching the last quarter of the 1987 preliminary final again - everybody was missing the big sticks. One nice passage of play saw Harmes (who was fairly prominent in the middle) kick long to Trac, but sure enough he missed from about 40m. I think it was 0.5 to 0.3 with the A grade defenders with the B grade forwards and mids ahead. Sparrow, Bedford and Kobe Farmer were among those to miss, while Rivers almost nailed a long bomb early for the A grade mids and forwards team, but eventually the drought broke early in the second half when Neiter (Aaron Neitschke) had a bit too much time and sent a long bomb home from the 50m. Moments later a clearance from Swallow ended with Kobe who got on his left and snapped a clever goal. Both Neiter and Kobe were mobbed. There weren't too many goals though - Spargo snagged one from a good crumb by ANB and T.Mac set up ANB for another, but really the game was a mass of fumbles, tackles and outnumbered forwards at both ends. Jonesy got injured at one point and went off for a check before returning, while Brown was crunched by May a couple of times on the lead. Rivers getting caught by Jackson was another highlight - although I'm sure Trent wouldn't say so. If I was giving Brownlow votes on the game I probably would have 3 Gawn (even though Jacko was also prominent on him), 2 Spargo (yes, he did surprise me and was clever and looked a tad quicker than normal and 1 to either Harmes or Swallow - the two most prominent mids IMO. Honourable mentions also to both May and Petty who were dominant full-backs for their two teams. As to the most interesting duels aside from May on Brown, it was probably the wings. Langdon was up against Rozman and T.Mac (playing for the As) was up against Baker. All four got plenty of it and T.Mac was probably the most influential of the four and gave his team a longer marking outlet. Rosman, sporting the No.19 top, was clearly the most interesting to watch and most of his kicks got a chorus of cheers from the coaches area - I think it was Goody, but given I was 150m away in the dugout, it might have been our man Chocco letting rip with praise. Rosman is an undoubted talent and is a thumping left-foot kick - whether he is another Brent Grgic just bombing it onto his boot is yet to be determined, but at least he will have good coaching. Such was Rosman's game that I reckon, given Goody's previous annual ritual of promoting players way before they are ready at the expense of his senior men, that we might even see him in Rd 1. Bailey Laurie was also quite prominent and clever in his role as a high half-forward for the B team. Based on the side that was picked today, here's your Rd 1 combo (not my team, how the A Teams lined up today). Excluded because they weren't out there at game time are Olly, Angus and Melky. Spargo played more as an onballer today and was lively - hence my votes for him above. Probably my biggest surprise was that Rivers wasn't playing with the A grade defenders side. B: Lockhart May Lever HB: Hunt Tomlinson Salem Centres: T.Mac Trac Langdon HF: ANB Weid Fritsch F: Spargo B.Brown Pickett Ru: Gawn Harmes J.Jordan As the rain strengthened the players split into gps of about 8 and finished with some one-on-one tackling drills and there was one voice bellowing encouragement to his gp - yep that 62yo guy from Port Adelaide. Could be our best recruit of all this year. With my shoes soaked I wondered off through the puddles back to my car. As I threw off my wet gear I noticed the COVID testing centre, which is located 100m from our ground. I then let out a huge sneeze. I think it was from the rain and chill - but maybe I'm coming down with COVID-19 or maybe I was taking away some excitement from our new covert operations No.19 - Goody picking Rosman for Rd 1.

It will be interesting to see which one of the new recruits Goody falls in love with so quickly that he has to play in our Rd 1 side this year. But if he for once stays loyal to his established players to start the season, then I'd predict the following. B: Lockhart (if he has a pre-season like last year then he's in) May Lever HB: Rivers Tomlinson Salem C: Langdon Harmes VDB HF: Melky Weid Fritsch F: Kossie B.Brown Petracca Ru: Gawn Oliver Viney Int: Jackson, Hibberd, Sparrow, Hunt Emerg: T.Mac will be fitter and pressing for selection but it may have come via injury or major form in VFL. I expect Petty to revert to the back-up tall down back and once he gets in, it will be hard to get him out. Spargo will be in the mix Rd 1, but he now also has two new guys pressing for a small forward spot. It sounds like Baker will get first shot at the wing, but I can't leave out VDB. Ultimately it's a spot for a left-footer, which we don't have, although Rosman will be developed for that role. Until then we will try and find the best negater. I left out Brayshaw because I suspect he'll be a late starter because of his injury. Smith should be right in the mix as well, particularly against sides that have mobile mid/forwards like Danger/Dusty and Fyfe.

Love the Dwarfs and yes I was aware 6-feet is effectively 183cm. But I also reckon a player who is 182.5cm or even182.8cm is going to say, 'mark me down as 183cm will you'. I am sure even those who are 182.2cm try and get rounded up to 183cm, although mathematically that's harder to justify. Hence I included all the 183cm listed players in the sub 6-footers - rightly or wrongly. Just in case you think I'm exclusionary based on height, I do think Errol Gulden (at 177cm) is our perfect first choice in this year's draft - a left-foot wingman with good kicking skills, although Sydney have rights to him via their academy. My point is that we have five small forwards basically battling for one spot on the list (two when our coach switches structure to a smaller line up which he does on occasions) and given that we now have one who is a gem (Kossie), I don't get why we need all those back-ups for that possie, especially if they don't have weapons (eg: pace or kicking skills). Spargo, ANB, Bedford and Chandler are all great workers, but don't have the weapons to justify retaining all of them. One should have been delisted.

Very disappointed, although given we are talking about list pozzies 33-37, it is hardly crucial. What annoys me, and I've said this before, is that we have a high number of sub 6-footers (less than 184cm) on our list - 12 in all. Obviously some small guys are necessary and very deserving - Richmond had nine of their premiership 22 under 6 feet. But which of Rioli, Castagna, Bolton, Short and Edwards are regarded as slow or without weapons. Then there's workaholics like Lambert, Baker and Graham and their bull in Prestia. Of our 12, only Viney, Langdon, Kossie and Salem are walk-up starts and I'd add Lockhart to that (although the coach wouldn't). That's seven little guys battling for spots and four of them - Bedford, Chandler, Spargo and ANB - are battling for a small forward spot that isn't even a pre-requisite spot given Kossie has nailed down the main one. As I said, it's not a biggie in the overall scheme of things, but one of that four should have been delisted. Imagine the outcry if we have five ruckmen on our list battling for one spot!

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.