mo64

After watching some early Casey games, I thought Harmes had more X Factor than, Stretch, ANB and Toumpas. He regularly took strong contested marks and kicked some nice goals. Rarely got time in the middle due to Riley, McKenzie and Bail, but when he did, he showed a bit. May need to build up his engine, but could be a goal kicking mid that we need.

Noticed that he only played 3 WAFL games this year. What happened to him?

Powell could kick the ball long, but not straight. Maybe Lewis Taylor is a better comparison.

Had the same reaction to Melksham. Meh. Just waiting for the "but he's better than M.Jones, Terlich, Bail and Riley, and will add to our depth".

You're being generous to Butcher. Bolt him down to the goal line, and even then he's 50/50.

That's like the Veale deal, which is now considered draft tampering.

But who or what will we get in return? Can't think of a fringe player at Port who would be best 22 at Melbourne. And no, we won't get Hartlett.

Melksham?

Wrong one. I'm thinking Watergate.

GNF, do you have the power to bring down the whole board "Deep Throat" style?

I'm talking about the club, not the players. They went out and got 2 free agents for nothing, both of whom made an impact in the finals. Richmond on the other hand, hardly changed their list, and learnt nothing from the previous year.

The problem is the 6-10 players that you're considering as best 22, are either performing poorly or make little impact. Watts, Garland, Lumumba, Howe, Dawes, Grimes and Jetta are all in that age bracket where you expect them to make an impact on the result of the game. Rarely did any of these players make an impact this year. Vanders was far more impactful, and is nowhere near "bottom depth" as you say.

What about Harmes? I'd be staggered if at least 2/3 out of Howe, Garland, Grimes, Toumpas, Jones and Terlich aren't moved on.

That's totally illogical, and every AFL coach would tell you how hard it is to win a final. They'd also tell you that you need to be consistently playing in finals to eventually achieve your goal of ultimate success. North learnt from last year, and played at a higher level in the finals this year.

We're as much chance as Fitzroy and University.

As Port found out this year, a place in the finals isn't guaranteed. How many games against top 8 sides did the Dogs win? They'll have a harder draw next year. Fantastic effort by North to make back to back prelims.

Not at all. When Fyfe was injured, Barlow played his usual role in the middle. When Fyfe played along with Neale and Mundy, Barlow was relegated to playing up forward, and his numbers suffered. If someone didn't point out VDB's disposal efficiency, would anyone accuse him of butchering the ball? The DE % is garbage, because it doesn't factor in hard ball gets, nor the distance and risk of disposal.

Spot on. The football landscape has totally changed from the Daniher era. Not only with free agency, but out of contract players nominating a preferred destination. Successful clubs will top up year after year. Any club that thinks about bottoming out as some are suggesting, will spend a long time out of the finals like us. Only morons like Hutchie think that North are going about it the wrong way. Lol. They would be taken by picks 60+. The only player of note that they've lost was Greenwood, and they've got plenty of his type to cover the loss.

Rubbish. NDS, Waite and Higgins as free agents cost them nothing, and without them they wouldn't have made the finals. A fit Wells would have made a huge difference. All their 1st year recruits this year suffered injuries, so you can't judge how they'll turn out. Kids like McDonald and Dumont would be regulars in our side.

Bugg would be more like your Ben Jacobs type. Doesn't hurt the opposition on offense like Vince. I'd have Bugg as a backman to replace Grimes or Garland.

If our offer to Dangerfield is still on the table, I'd rule out us being seriously in contention to land a big fish, assuming Dangerfield goes to Geelong. The "Big Fish" deals are usually orchestrated months in advance, so I can't see us saying to a prospect "Hey, we want you if we can't get Dangerfield".

Craig Bird?

I agree that Lawler did some nice things. The 2 Willi players that impressed me were Conway and Charleston. I reckon Conway has got some X factor, and I loved how assured Charleston was in the backline.

Bird's salary plus cola wouldn't be far short of Watts' salary at the moment, so you're hardly freeing up cap space.

Bird turns 27 at the start of next year, after spending most of this year in the NEAFL. Jack and Parker were missing for the finals, and he still couldn't crack a game. If Watts gets traded, I'd want it to be part of a bigger trade that brings in a player that would be in our top 10.