SaberFang

Surely we'll target an underpaid Sydney player? How on earth they're fitting all their players in AND giving Buddy $1M, Tippett $900k and Hannebery $800k is beyond me. The players they locked up on $300-$400k right before Buddy arrived would be fuming.

Never heard of his agent which is probably a bloody good thing!

We're at least another two drafts of mediocre/lower-tier finishes on the ladder away from building a young midfield that can challenge within 4 or 5 years. Depends how well we nail the next two recruitment periods while Roos still has his foot in the door. It only took the Dogs about 3 years of nailed draft picks to be where they are now. Not a single wasted pick.

After the Boyd deal you'd think a long-term, high 6 figure sum could comfortably be on the table from the club. He could end up our highest paid player within a few years. Though I can just as easily see Hogan's management agreeing to a 3 year extension which will take him through to free agency (assuming the AFLPA get their way and reduce the minimum years of service to 6/7 years.) Does Hogan's first year in the VFL count as one year towards his FA eligibility? If not, his current contract commitment takes him to 4 years.

The misery Demons fans wallow in is well-founded given the last 8 years of results, but far out... it's time to move on! Do you see every other club that passed on Wines wallowing in their own pity every time this kid takes another step forward? Be happy for a great young man making his mark on the game. Port have experienced a rags to riches story we all hope Melbourne can replicate, but the longer we dwell on the past the harder it is to look forward to a bright future. Lamenting the past achieves nothing. You can't do anything about it, so be proactive about what you can control, what you can change. I'm yet to see a single trade or draftee since Roos came onboard that hasn't been a raging success.

My shrink once told me to stop worrying about mistakes made in the past, because there is nothing you can do to change it. That even if you had made different choices in the past, there's no way of knowing what potentially worse events may have occurred in its place. Moral of the story? GET. OVER. IT.

Well, at least Taylor and his scouts haven't wasted the whole year now we have later picks. Another JKH surprise packet would be heaven.

We're taking Brayshaw if we have any picks inside the top 3 at the draft.

Is McCartin's diabetes any concern?

Because he's injured and couldn't finish a 3km time trial?

Imagine that.. our so called "home" ground actually being our home ground.

Have to say GWS have an... interesting recruitment strategy. Just endlessly taking the top draft picks every year by constantly trading themselves into the high end of the draft by tossing out players like Dom Tyson. Not sure it'll take them up the ladder very fast, but they've become a treasure trove of talent if you have the picks to trade them.

Trade 2 to the Bulldogs. They can draft a KPF, we'll take one of their fringe midfielders and second rounder. Keep 3 for Brayshaw.

Didn't know where else to put this but run into a few Colonwood and Carlton players out on the town in Sydney tonight. No goss, just saying. Maybe I should've inquired about M. Clark?

Got a feeling there'll be some very left field trades we don't see coming, likely more fringe players who can't get games at the better teams. Did any of us foresee Tyson, Riley, Michie or Vince? I think the only recruit we saw coming was Cross.

Stringer, Shiel, Beams, crikey..anyone. Bulldogs need a KPF, they can spare a midfielder. Giants have talent all over the field. Buckley's in the middle of a rebuild and not averse to trading out senior players, as evidenced by the broom he swept through the list last year. The reason it's a no brainer is because you know the type of player you're getting when you trade them in. Different story with high pick draftees, as we should all be painfully aware of by now.

Seems very Roos-like to trade out our high picks in exchange for a player + pick. Interesting if they then continue to trade each successive pick out for a player and another pick. In theory we could do that 3 or 4 times before the pick becomes too diluted and the players we'd get in return wouldn't be worth the trouble. And that's just one of our (probably) two top 3 picks. I'd be staggered if we're not already talking with the Bulldogs who must be desperate for Wright or McCartin. Depending on the Saints intentions (GWS and Colonwood both come into play here as they want Petracca) with pick 1, we could do very well out of these picks. In short, trading them is a no brainer.

If we take any free agents then we don't receive the same compensation for losing Frawley as we would otherwise. We've already been dumb enough to do it once before after losing Rivers and Moloney, can't see us doing it again with intelligent people running the show.

I wish someone had asked about Roosy's thoughts on Petracca at the Pie Night. Either way, would trade for an established midfielder in a heartbeat. These kids take 3 or 4 years to build a tank for Roosy's exhausting gameplan.

Too many variables right now to make an accurate guess about our draft intentions. I'm guessing Roos sees the midfield as a weaker component of our structure than our forward or back line, so wouldn't Petracca be the best option for us? If we are targeting Cameron and are successful, our forward line (touch wood) is settled for years to come. Although we all know by now not to count our chickens before they hatch...

Interesting interview with Roos about this year's draft. Says there's no real "standouts" that he's seen so far, rather an even spread of genuine quality players across the board. http://m.melbournefc.com.au/news/2014-07-10/northern-state-clubs-building-edge-roos Got zero doubt now this is the same situation as last year in Roos' mind. He'll trade both early picks (3 and 4ish) for a player and a lower pick, just like the Salem/Tyson deal. Only difference this year is we'll be doing it twice, for our normal pick and the Frawley compo. I assume he'll then on trade one of the lower first round picks (15ish?) for another established player, sending us to the draft with only one first round pick, probably around 10ish. Thus with our picks 3&4ish, we'll end up with three high quality established players, and one new draftee to develop next year, ala Salem. Right now isn't the time for this club to be recruiting multiple first round draftees, we desperately need established players for an instant injection of leadership, skill, experience and class. Roos is only here for two more draft periods and he'll be turning over our list as fast as he can.

He definitely only fell in the draft due to his height and size. You couldn't fault him for much else. I'm so glad he and Dom are besties too!

Saw that on 360, was nice that Murph saw the humour in it. Compare what JKH did to the unnamed GWS [censored] who was berating a Swans player before their derby match, mocking them for missing out on a premiership medal in 2012 due to injury. Think it's become very clear the egos in that team, as led by king of all flogs Tom $cully, have gotten more than a little ahead of themselves.

Who said JKH was a loner at training and didn't have friends in the group? He and Salem walked off the ground in Adelaide with arms around each other. Definitely don't think the kid is short of close mates at the club. Nice to hear he and Dom are close, too. Can't wait for Hogan to get out there every week, nothing but positives for the young group Roos is assembling for us.

No doubt. Michie has been dropped and Riley hasn't been in the seniors yet, they have to earn it. Even Hogan will. I'm surprised Salem slipped to #9 when so many teams had him rated so highly. Is this just the lousy Giants recruitment strategy?