KingDingAling

Its not the be all and end all. I agree. No player is the be all and end all. We have seen that with Danger leaving Adelaide and Buddy leaving Hawthorn. Brayshaw would be a massive loss for us though. Sure, he has built up his currency, but he is trending upwards at such a rate that it is reasonable to assume he improves next year as well. This kid can seriously play, but more than that, he is doing so off the back of re-adjusting the way he goes about attacking the football. Its pretty impressive. Viney had to do it. Brayshaw is doing it. Those type of guys you don't want to let go. If Brayshaw goes to Freo we would need to be looking at getting a player the quality of Cerra in the deal.

If Murphy seriously wants to come to MFC he would be very high on my list. The only concern would be injuries, but if I could name a couple of players that would improve our side significantly it would be Josh Kelly or Marc Murphy. We are embarrassingly bad by foot. It is the type of embarrassingly bad by foot that I saw when I used to play under 11's football.

Gaff is the type of player we get if West Coast don't match our offer, but not the type of player you trade for when you have nothing. I call him "Seagull" Gaff, as he used to be skirt around the edges of the WACA away from the hard ball. Still, he can actually hit a target, so if he lands at MFC through salary cap space alone he'll be more than welcome.

Now we have Lever, I think May would be a good get. GC would want too much though. They cannot afford to lose May. Their franchise hinges on being competitive at some point (soon). They need to sign Lynch and keep May.

We will be laying in it this year. We traded that pick (along with another quality pick) for a guy with an ACL history, paid him well, only for him to come out and do an ACL. No fault of Lever's mind you. He does appear to be a quality young lad. Fair play to him for getting top dollar for his services. We need to trade for an outside player but its a bit of stiff sh*t now, we will have to find that player within, unless we can miraculously pick one out of the draft (maybe a VFL type). Although, I still wouldn't discount Bayley Fritsch perhaps becoming the outside midfielder we need. He can do anything that kid. Another pre-season and I could see him transitioning into a full time midfielder. Probably one of the top 5 users by foot in the league and also has elite decision making.

I don't know about gettable, but worthy yes. Martin is exactly he type of player I would be targeting. I would pay him and pay him overs, because it would take paying him overs (at the trade table and salary) to get him here. He is about to explode. In 2019 he will be an elite player. Paying overs this year will be unders at trade time next year. I think people would see a potential Martin trade as mostly trading for potential (in that he is potentially a great player but not there yet), but I have been watching Martin all year and he isn't far off elite right now. Massive on this kid.

Gaff is vanilla, he doesn't do anything particularly outstanding. He is mostly an outside mid, but is relatively slow. I don't see Gaff as an effective midfielder. What does Gaff do exactly that is well above average? Does he have any outstanding traits? I don't see any. Perhaps I am overlooking something.. Tim Kelly is blistering on the outside. The first few steps Kelly takes he just leaves opponents in their wake - that is exactly the type of player we need. Kelly is underrated but I won't harp on him too much because he isn't a target for us (but I referred to him because he is the type of player we need, we need that speed as we struggle on the spread). Brayshaw isn't a very good kick at present. Above average on his opposite foot but well below average on his preferred foot. Hopefully something that he can fix. He hasn't played a lot of footy but I won't sit here and defend his kicking - it isn't where it should be right now.

Baker will go very well at AFL level. Give him a license to run. Petty was never going to go well as he was playing a difficult position and was more or less thrown to the wolves. As stupid of an inclusion as I have seen. Baker will be coming in and playing an easier position, where his strengths are exactly what the position calls for (run, run, run). Petty's position calls for him to be strong and accountable. He was neither and it wasn't his fault. With experience comes accountability (as you learn to be accountable because you know full well the cost). It was stupid to include Petty. It would be smart to bring in Baker.

No way would I do that or even nearly do that. Brayshaw is trending upwards in a massive way. Great month of footy and is improving every game. He would be our most improved this year. Gaff is a vanilla mid, who whilst I acknowledge he is mostly an outside mid, he is a slow outside mid. We need a Tim Kelly type mid - blistering on the outside. Personally I wouldn't even entertain a straight swap of Brayshaw for Gaff. Gaff is a FA and if WC match him then they can have him. Gaff is massively overrated on this board.

So long as its all above board. Collingwood should be struggling to fit DeGoey in their cap.

He wouldn't be better than Oliver. Different players but not close to Oliver in terms of impact. Gaff is a bit of a seagull.

Lewis was good at Hawthorn as a midfielder. He just isn't a backman. Simple as that. At this point in his career he may not be good enough to break into our midfield, or willing enough to take the hits if he was. I would drop Lewis back to the VFL for a bit. See if he can help some of those lads who we need to be making the transition to AFL.

I agree. Once it (prospect of getting Gaff) becomes a likely trade scenario it loses its appeal. At present we have nothing to offer. That may change. I tend to give the club the benefit of the doubt in that if we do make a play for Gaff, and decide to trade for him, that we will be offloading some players who could get us some picks. Don't forget, whoever orchestrated the picks swap with GC that ended up landing us Oliver, those people are (highly likely) still at the club, so if they decide to trade for Gaff, I would trust they will make it happen. I completely sat on the fence in relation to the Watts deal that landed us Fritsch, but whoever it was knew what they were doing. If we make a play for Gaff I'd back the mind trust.

The appeal of acquiring Gaff is that we don't have to trade for him. If circumstances were to change and we did have to trade for him, then it loses appeal IMO. We aren't at all in a position to trade for Gaff. If that were the case I would be surprised if the club even entertained a trade. We simply have nothing to give.

Pert is a great get. Wiser heads prevailed on this one. Pert - who has experience - against someone with no business experience. Good call to go with the tried and true. Melbourne cannot afford to appoint anyone who could fail, we are in a good position and have to go with the safe - and logical - option. We want to be in a position such as the likes of Collingwood are in, and who better to get us there. Personally I couldn't care what the critics have to say, I mean, our coach was involved in a systematic doping regime, so I am pretty sure whatever skeletons Pert has in the closet - they aren't as serious as setting up doping programs to inject our players. Welcome aboard Gary.

That is what Billings should do when dropped back to the VFL. Most AFL players - even those of a lower standard - should be dominating the VFL when dropped back. Confidence booster for Billings. He needed it.

I disagree entirely. Loyalty means absolutely nothing if you aren't in good enough form to remain in the side - ala Tyson. He can be as loyal as he wants but if he isn't making an impact it means jack sh*t. I am sure many of his teammates at AFL level would prefer if Tyson was putting in more 1% efforts and defensive acts so it makes their job easier. But he isn't, and as a result he is at Casey.

Billings for Tyson in a heartbeat. If we had to add to that deal we could - and should. I would prefer we traded into Gresham, but if Billings is all we could get I'd be keen on that. Jack Billings is going to be a very good football player, he just looks disinterested and unhappy at times (too many times and most times). I suspect he isn't happy at St Kilda, would probably be a far better player in a better side. We should at least ask the question. Tyson is too slow for our side, he will struggle to even break back into it, plus he isn't versatile, at least we could sit Billings in our forward line and get something out of him.

Brayshaw was excellent. He is an upgrade on Salem in that midfield. Brayshaw did well. He will be a good addition to our midfield should we keep him in there.

And what standards did anyone in the box at EFC set? There is no doubt those in the coaching box would have known about Bombers drug addiction. It is also a fact those in the box known about Dank's suspect doping program (as they were all on board). Any of the individuals tied to Essendon at the time of the saga have no business in the football industry IMO. There is just not enough scrutiny being placed on them and Bomber was a prime example of that. A lot of the blame shifting during the saga ended up being very effective in shifting the blame - Hird was painted as a hard done by and naive coach, and Bomber the guy who wanted to speak up and stop the program but didn't (and lived in regret). Perhaps there was some truth to Bomber wanting to speak up, but ultimately he didn't speak up, and therein lies the problem for many of those in the coaching box - they didn't do anything to prevent any of this mess (and that includes Bomber's drug addiction whilst he was coaching). None of these individuals belong near a football club IMO. Essendon is better off without them all.

Just goes to show how much of a rabble Essendon were under Hird and Thompson. Two drug addicts at the helm, implementing a drug program with help of a shady scientist. Anyone who was at that club and didn't stop it, has absolutely no business in setting standards for AFL level players. Its just disgraceful what people will justify and put up with. I knew something was up with Bomber Thompson in 2010 when he basically pushed Ablett jr up the GC. People just automatically assumed Ablett was going for the coin, but Bombers behaviour at the time (in alienating Ablett) didn't help, and it was unprofessional. It was around that time that I speculated to my family that I think Bomber has a drug problem. So I suspect he is long gone.

Brayshaw isn't very quick, but his lack of pace isn't a bad thing. He needs to slow down going into congestion. It decreases his chance of getting concussed. It is the really short and sharp movements in tight that Brayshaw needs to focus on. He doesn't need to be explosive in a 100m sprint, he just needs to be good in a small space. He is also great on either foot, so if he can improve his spread he should be able to utilize those skills. So long as Brayshaw can avoid getting concussed I think he has a future. We are not talking about a Jack Trengove who has nothing else to offer once he loses his speed, Brayshaw has a lot more tools at his disposal. Should he slow down he can still be very effective.

Toumpas was sh*t even before the draft. I thought he was hopeless in the Nationals that year, but like myself and many on footy sites, perhaps the recruiters got sucked in by the hype. I know I did. I watched the Nationals of Toumpas and came away thinking that kid is useless I hope we don't pick him, but then after the chatter elsewhere you start to buy into the hype. Wines on the otherhand was exceptional in the Nationals, and is the player he is now. It was bad drafting and our drafting experts were no better than us mugs when assessing players those bad years.

If he was good at it he would be still there. He wasn't good enough at it to keep his position. Brayshaw is an out and out midfielder, and is actually a quite capable one. He does need to make some adjustments - in order to limit his potential for head knocks - but if he can do that (and it looks as though he is making inroads there), then there is a position for him in the midfield. He would be better than Salem (who is unwilling to actually go in and get the footy and prefers to sit stationary off of the pack). Brayshaw shouldn't be disappointed that he is at VFL, but should use it as an opportunity to work on his game because that third midfield spot is up for the taking (Tyson isn't good enough - lacks awareness and is a poor kick), and Salem is unwilling to go in and get the football. Until Viney gets back its there for the taking. I hope Brayshaw steps up because he is capable, he is the guy who would do well in that spot and clearly wants it.

The thing with Brayshaw is that he can't play anywhere else bar midfield.