Red and Blue realist

Sounds like GC will delist him if they can't get a deal done, so I imagine it'll be for a 3rd rounder at most, maybe a future 3rd/4th if he's not an add on to the May deal. I'm hoping he's done separately, right at the start of the week, as the Hogan/Freo/May circus could drag on a bit.

Apparently Adams is now off to Brissy, I think Collingwood are the most likely to get May but are having a very hard time coming up with a suitable trade. We meet with May long before the Hogan talk started (seriously not the chatter that goes on all the time), and I would have assumed it would have been about lining him up next year if we were still interested. I think the most likely outcome will be Collingwood trading Moore to Sydney (he wants to go for lifestyle reasons) for their first pick then trading that and either their first round pick this year or next for May. Based on this years draft picks 13 & 18, that gives them the points value equivalent to pick, which would satisfy the suns as it's similar to what they'd get next year if May left in free agency which seems to be their wish.

And yet you've said you'd be happy to do a straight swap with May who also didn't finish in the top 10, and before you say it's because he only played 17 games, Martin and Thompson both finished top 10 for them and both played the same or less games than May. Whereas all the Melbourne top 10 played more games than Jesse.

I completely agree, I can see OMac taking another huge step forward over the pre-season and the whole defense going to another level with Lever back. At the same stage of their careers OMac and May are tracking very similar, and going into year 5 was when May really elevated his game, so happy to wait and not pay/trade next year if he's still of interest.

I just think GC will want an early first round (pick 5/6/7) rather than something after pick 10 as their starting point. As I said I hope we don't give up anything for him, but surely unless GC get a great offer they'd just hang onto him for 12 months and take the free agency comp which will be very likely to be in the top couple of picks.

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how GC and Carlton use those mature agers in the trading schemes.

If Moore goes to Sydney they'll ask for their first pick which will be pick 13, I'd guess they might bundle that with their 1st round next year and hope GC accept (if May nominates them). I wouldn't be surprised if our offer would be something similar - the lower pick we get for Hogan, if he leaves, plus next years 1st for May and KK. Assuming we get picks 5/6 and 10 or 11 (seems to be the talk after Freo deal with Brissy & Port), we'd give pick 11 and a 1st next year which if we finish in the same position, actually works out to around pick 3 in points value (I know points value means little especially to us, but might help appease GC if we get May). I actually hope we don't get May, but that's just my thoughts.

That was when they were in a grand final a few years ago, pretty sure it was the year he was at Casey and since then it's been brought up each year

They've known for most of the year and only lost 4 regular season games. I would say Lynch coming in had absolutely no impact on their prelim. Gaff might be going from WC and they toweled us up.

That's just not right, there's still players on our list that are unsigned and guys that are signed right now that might move on. Just because someone is out of contract at the end of the year shouldn't make any difference as to how their team mates play alongside them for the year. It'd be like saying the team don't 'believe' in Lewis because he's likely to retire at the end of the next season. This is one area the NRL really excel at, player movement happens a year out and it makes no difference to how they or the team plays.

Didn't Jack Watts say something about loving the club last year and he ended up been shown the door. By not saying anything the narrative can be controlled if it turns out the FD are going to take a god-father offer but haven't told Jesse about it yet? Same as for the football club, they don't want to come out and say we aren't going to let him go if he comes in and says goodbye.

So far only the journo's have said anything, I love it that the club has stayed silent. Clearly they must be meeting with Jesse this week and sorting it out. There's also be silence from Jesse and also from his manager. Could be the biggest non-story of the post-season (and likely will be every year even if he re-signed for the long term).

No, he's not. With GWS clearing the decks I'd say he might sign another 2 year deal which would take him to free agency (end of 2021) and then assess his options.

I'm not in favor of May, unless he comes as a free agent next year. I just don't see that any potential upside is that much greater in what we already have in OMac and Frost, in fact if you track their careers at the same point OMac is equal too or better than May and May only kicked on from where OMac is now (so with another pre-season OMac will be even closer to where May is now). May has never played more than 20 games in a season, and for all those saying that we get big bags kicked on our defenders, Reiwoldt kicked 10, Kennedy 5 and a few big forwards kicked 4 against the Suns with May in the team. Yes I know they were easy to score against, but clearly May still wasn't the gorilla tamer people want. His best roles have been when he's had a the freedom to go and mark the ball, but that's what we've got Lever for.

I disagree with this, what those other sides had was a well organised back-line and a very good intercepting player - Rance, McGovern, Howe, Sicily etc. We have Lever for that role, he did struggle early in the season with the organisation side of things but you expect that coming into a new team and once that was sorted we went on that great run of wins, unfortunately he then did his knee. I don't think May is a very high priority, and would be happy to wait until next year and try and get him for free (free agency), because even with him in the team it won't solve our biggest issues down back. Lever coming in will, or a player similar to Lever anyway.

Been offered 3 years, whereas we probably only offered 1 or maybe a second with a trigger (not get injured all the time!!). I really like what he brought when he was out there, but in reality he's fighting with Melky, Trac, Spargo, ANB, Fritsch and then jeffy and JHK for 3 or4 spots in the team each week.

He's not a free agent next year, so they'll still have to trade or he'll have to chance the draft. Lever had also gone overseas following his injury, so had time to adjust to not playing out the season. Hogan only injured himself late season, so it might have been more beneficial to hang around for his rehab etc. I'm sure the club would have been very involved in his movements, and probably only had a limited number of flights/tickets they could use.

Sure you do, when people have discussed Jessie's very obvious strength's you've ignored them all just because you see a weeknessds that you've banged on and on about.

I think he's just trying to put 2 and 2 together and coming up with banana, he's thoughts would be that they could only let Neale go if they had plans for the pick they received. Last year they used the 2 picks they had and realistically they should use picks again because unless a player wants to go back west, why would you join a team that clearly needs to continue to bottom out and get some quality in the younger guys, Cerra and Brayshaw were a great start but they haven't got much more good young talent.

I think Jones will be doing more running than anyone else in the league this pre-season, clearly he's no longer the go to guy on the inside (but thanks for holding the place together for years), but I can see him doing what Lewis did years ago at the Hawks. After one of the pre-seasons he came back much smaller and lighter than ever and then he's role shifted from the inside to outside/half back. I can see Jones doing the same, he's not super fast but not slow either, we'll need him to just will himself to each contest but to stay on the outside now. If he can do that he'll be a more than handy wingman. Hopefully Lewis comes out like Bernie did last year and says he's happy to fight for his spot and knows there's a good chance he'll end up at Casey, he played a shocker in the prelim, but he was still more than handy over the year but I don't want him to play more than 15 games next year, I want the younger guys to completely force him out, not be handed games.

We got Lever last year, have picked up Hibberd and Melksham the years before that and Lewis chose us while he could have gone anywhere. We don't have a heap of spare salary cap (like Nth/StK) to be linked with everyone, and I'm happy we pick up guys with a lot of scope to improve and have time left (excluding Lewis - a free kick really).

Wouldn't be surprised if we are talking to him with the view of getting him at the end of next year (if needed then), through free agency. I can't see GC taking draft picks this year, they could wait until next year and get a near guaranteed top 2 or 3 pick for him like Lynch this year. If they traded now GC would want proven players but I don't know who'd we put up they'd actually be interested in (talking about players we'd happily give up).

Lucky that in no way is it up to the fans to make this decision, if he did leave these factors would have zero impact on that decision. It'd be purely either Jessie wants to go home or the footy department gets an irrefutable god-father offer.

I think he was a victim of the poor defensive cohesion we had at the start of the year, everyone seemed a little off down back when Lever first came in. It seemed like some where in some way confused about their role, and once we sorted it out we went on that winning streak and since then even if someone's gone down injured the next player has come in to play a role. Hunt got injured not long after we sorted this out, and by the time he got back in he got injured again. He's one who'll have a massive job over the preseason not only to stay fit but learn some different roles. I think he'll be fine though and will be a massive inclusion next year.

It would, because they then slot him into the draft position he was bid on. For instance we put a bid in on Callum Mills with our first rounder back in 2015 and he's seen as the 3rd pick while we got Clarry at pick 4. Don't think Bedford has been talked up in the first round though.