mo64

He couldn't have been more definitive that Parker would remain a Swan long term. Jeez.

I seriously doubt that it's happening. I big fish would require significant trade bait, and pick 6 alone would not suffice. There aren't any uncontracted players out there that would qualify as a big fish, and I doubt that any contracted players view us as a destination club this year.

With Lake retiring at Hawthorn, does anyone think that they'll make a play for Garland?

So do Hawthorn, and they haven't had a dominant ruckman.

If he plays well at Port, so be it. If every club took your mindset, no trades would get done. If Melksham, Kennedy and Bugg play well for us (assuming we get them), I couldn't care less what Toumpas does at Port.

We won't get him this year. GC are losing Dixon and Bennell, and will have ample early draft picks in a shallow draft. They haven't been linked to any big fish, so there's no need to offload Prestia before his contract expires. But if his manager puts off talks till the end of 2016, there's a fair chance he's considering coming to us.

Well he can walk to any club as a DFA. Somehow I doubt that any club will waste a spot on their list. Rookie draft or nothing.

Bit hard to find when 2 teams have won 7 flags between them over that time. Go back a bit further and you'll find our very own Clay sampson, who won a flag at Adelaide.

Warning. Understand the credentials of a poster before deciding whether to read a thread or not. If it's Chook From Perth, open. Everyone else, don't bother unless the title has changed to "Player X requests trade to Melbourne"

For whatever it's worth, mentioned on BF by a GWS supporter that Tom Bugg is a lock to come to us.

Yep, apart from the academy players, there's no real stand out mids, so I could easily see us downgrading pick 6.

What's the alternative? Persist with a player, who you doubt will make it at AFL level, just to appease the media? Roos has often talked about increasing the age level of draftees, and he would assess players on merit rather than draft placing. I'd like to think that Toumpas slow development has been due to his injury history. But when I watch him play, he's slow of mind as much as slow of body, and that's a concern.

I hate this constantly regurgitated statement. It's such a trite comment. It was done to death when Bailey took over by the "Let's Tank" sycophants on here. You may as well say that about every player over 28 including Vince, because it's highly unlikely that he'll play in a GF at Melbourne. I'd love Dawes to be traded because he's physically washed up as a player and contributes little, and not because he'll never play in a GF for us.

If we get pick 3 for Howe, happy ending.

Yeah, so we listen for 2 weeks of hypothetical trades and inaction, then in the last 2 days, everything gets sorted.

Looks like a nice kick, but didn't see him win 1 contested possession. The one time he was involved in a contest, he panicked. He has Toumpas written all over him.

I'm assuming Dawes was on a front loaded contract, which would mean that if another club takes him, it wouldn't be a financial burden. I don't think we'll get anything for him other than an exchange of pics. He's physically shot, and I doubt that he played more than 6 good quarters for the year.

Had the same emotions for Frawley today as I did for Stan Alves and Greg Wells when they won a premiership at another club. I was happy for them , and glad that they made strong contributions. Frawley leaving was totally different to someone like Scully.

I disagree. Unless the key position forward is an A-B grader, they're a liability (Dawes). Clubs rarely have key position forward depth. As for KP backmen, we have plenty. I never shared the love for Fitzpatrick from day 1, so not surprised to see him delisted.

He and Melksham offer inside midfield depth that we need. I don't expect either to finish top 5 in our B&F. With fewer interchanges and no sub, Jones, Viney, Vince and Tyson may be able to spend time rotating of half back or up forward. This will allow the likes of Stretch, Harmes, JKH and ANB more time to develop at VFL level, and put less physical pressure on Brayshaw and Salem. And it also means that the we may not see the likes of Grimes and M.Jones getting game time.

Tippett.

If we're prepared to pay Melksham $400k pa, then $465k pa for Howe isn't exhorbitant. I'm in the camp of keeping Howe unless he was part of trade that brings a player that would be top 10 at our club. We desperately need forwards, and Howe did kick 28 goals in our annus horribilis 2013. He's a better forward option than Watts and Dawes, and with a more attacking game plan, he's capable of kicking 35-40 goals next year.

Every highlight of Francis was of him taking a mark with no body pressure. I'll give him credit for his ability to read the ball, but he's not going to get that luxury in the AFL. If we're after a midfielder, I'm not interested in someone who doesn't play as a midfielder as a junior. As a junior, Bontempelli was far more of an athletic beast than Francis, and that has translated at AFL level. Francis may well become a good AFL player, but I think we should be going for a genuine mid.

Pass. I can see him sliding well down in the draft. After the hype of being a draft bolter, he was ordinary against Vic Metro. He's not a midfielder, and he's not a key position player. He's plays a role as a 3rd tall backman, and that's not a high priority for us.

Newton kicked 11 goals from 11 games, which is pretty good for predominantly a half forward in our team. I'd like to see him play half forward or half back, with the very occasional spell as a midfielder. I actually think that both Newton and Michie are good depth players, and Newton is borderline best 22.