mo64

Mick Malthouse's love of Daisy Thomas clouded his views of an injury riddled player, past his best. And Carlton are paying for that decision big time. There are probably other players out there that offer more than Melksham, and could come at a lesser cost. Melksham's CV isn't impressive, and that's what most on here are judging him on.

The Dogs Dad's Army backline consists of Boyd, Morris and Murphy. If they're prepared to let Michael Talia go, that's a red flag for me. Watched the VFL game on Saturday, and he was bog ordinary.

So that means that there are 27 better players on our list. That makes Melksham a fringe player at a poor club, as he is at Essendon.

It all depends on what we give up for him and his contract. I don't want to give up a 2nd round pick (25ish) for a depth player, nor do I want to have a depth player on a 3/4 year contract. I just don't see Melksham as offering any more than another fringe player in Grimes.

You said the same thing about Prendergast.

When I read that Melksham knocked back a 2 year deal at Essendon, I thought he's insane. When I read that we have offered him a 4 year deal, I knew we're incompetent. Ranks with Pederen's 3 year deal for stupidity.

4th rounder or PSD is about what he's worth.

Unless your Tomlinson's manager, I wouldn't waste my time hitting the refresh button on your email inbox.

That's worked well in the past.

Horlin-Smith re-signed in May when he wasn't getting a game. And Geelong clearly rate him as they gave him a 3 year deal. And you've mentioned 4 players out of a midfield rotation of 10/12. They lose Bartel, Kelly, Stevie J this year or next. Horlin-Smith won't be traded.

Agree with everything you say other than stockpiling draft picks. And why you we see the draft pool any different to other clubs? With the new Academy bidding system, clubs like GWS and Sydney will need additional picks in the 15-30 range to get sufficient points to pick up the likes of Mills and Kennedy. We may be able to wrangle a player with proven AFL credentials (not necessarily an A grader), for a middling pick in a shallow draft.

Not sure if serious. For starters, Horlin-Smith re-signed this year till the end of 2018, and you think we could get him with a 3rd round pick? And how on earth do you think that Jamar will bring us anything, even as a UFA? He'd be on base payments, and our compo would be zilch.

I wouldn't be using pick 5 on a half back flanker, who's draft stocks soared based on a couple of carnival games. He was pretty average in the 3rd game against Vic Metro. We could pick up a similar type in Tomlinson with a 2nd/3rd rounder, but I'd be looking for a more dynamic line-breaker at half back, as STMJ stated.

Melksham would add nothing to our list. Next!!!!

Saw him play in a NEAFL game a couple of months ago, and brought him up as a recruiting target. GWS also has the likes of Marchbank and Ahern who may have surpassed Kennedy in the pecking order. A 3rd round pick should get it done.

If we think that King can develop into a forward/ruckman in a few years time, I don't see the point of investing in another one through the draft. It seems like the club is clear on where our ruck stocks are at: Gawn - 1st ruck guaranteed unless he gets injured. Spencer - Backup 1st ruck who isn't good enough as a ruck/forward. Jamar - Retire unless picked up by another club as a FA. Fitzpatrick - The club doesn't see him a a ruck, and isn't good enough as a key position player. Frost - Wouldn't be surprised if he plays as a key back/2nd ruck next year like Jackson Tengove. Assuming Jamar retires, and if Fitzpatrick is traded/delisted, I'd be happy with a Hannath or Lycett.

I'm ok with Dunn, Jetta and Cross as lockdown defenders. We need more creativity in the backline, and if we can't get someone like Yarran, I'd play Brayshaw as a half back/mid. He'd offer more than Grimes/Garland's combined 223 games of experience, for f'all wins. You seem to have too much of an emotional attachment to both. Having said that, I wouldn't be unhappy if Grimes remained at the club on a 1 year deal.

And I'm sure that the player he replaced (Salem) has a worse stat line. That doesn't change the fact that Salem has far more impact on the game than Grimes. Grimes hasn't been awful this year, but for us to improve, we need more creative players in the backline. Grimes and Garland are neither creative nor lock-down backmen, and both need to be replaced.

We've also got the fringe trade-ins: Riley - Won't make it Michie - Unlikely to make it Newton - Hopefully makes it. We are very thin for mids.

I think the idea is possibly trading a late 1st rounder/early 2nd rounder from a Howe trade for the likes of Yarran or Trent McKenzie. Drafted mids in that region can still be hit or miss.

I've followed Bennell closely this year (he's in my Dreamteam) and his workrate and consistency have been unquestionable. As for the off-field incidents, I don't think that any of them were hangable offences, and were minor compared to Jeff Garlett's. He's the sort of mid that we're lacking. And I'd take Dixon in a heartbeat. The deal you've proposed is a massive win for us.

DA, as Django said, quality ball users out of the backline are just as important as a quality mid. Sure, use our high draft pick on a quality mid, but trade for a quality creative backman. It's an area that we've struggled with for years.

It's one thing to have multiple players that play in that position, it's another thing to have players that play that position well. The only two that have played well this year are Salem and Cross. Lumumba has made an effort to take the game on, but has been a little disappointing. And I don't think that either Garland or Grimes impact the game at all. Jetta has also been a disppointment this year. We are in desperate need of a quality creative half back or back pocket to assist Salem. Considering that we mainly play with a spare man in defence, our backmen rarely create any attack. Having said that, I wouldn't be going for Suckling, who is soft. I'd rather have a crack at Trent McKenzie who seems to be out of favour at GC or Yarran.

And to think that some people on here thought at the start of the year that his place in the team would be in jeopardy, and he'd be superceded by the next crop of young mids. Laughable. His appetite for the contest is 2nd to none at the club, and that's something you can't teach.