DistrACTION Jackson

The only reason we will part with Watts or Salem will be to get another player like Gaff. We have the picks to satisfy Adelaide on the Lever trade and as history shows, a player gets to their club of choice more often than not. I am not adverse to trading Watts or Salem if it is part of a larger deal but not just for Lever. For what it's worth I'd prefer to trade Watts than Salem due to their respective ages and the need for a large number of quality mids to be successful.

What they want and what they'll get is two different stories. Lever is out of contract which means their leverage is already diminished. I think Pick 10 & Pick 27 will get it done.

I think that's for new draftees

Pick 10 maybe?

I think the trade could go something like: We give up: 1st Round pick & Frost Get: Lever & 3rd round pick

Kelly & Lever to the Dees. 3-peat here we come..... maybe 4.

If we were to pick up Lever I think we could play all of Omac, Frost, Lever, Watts, Tmac, Hogan, Weid & Gawn in the one side next season. It would be quite a tall side, however most of them are quite mobile so I don't think it would effect the team balance too bad. You would then have the remainder of the team as mids and outside runners/forwards which would be 14 in total which is more than enough.

I actually see McDonald as playing more of a utility type role, similar to a Blicavs. He is tall and can run all day. I'd play him through the middle as a back up ruck and Mr fix-it.

Or perhaps they like the idea of all 3? I can't wait for the day you have to eat humble pie.

Don't try and change STMJ mind on Oscar Mac, there's no point. He could get AA full back and he will still pick out his flaws. He is developing very well and looks like he could be in the top 5-10 tall defenders in the league in a few years time.

If Jake wants to leave the deal will get done. And no we won't be trading Salem! History shows players that are out of contract and want to leave get to their preferred destination more often that not.

God I hate the ppl involved in the club at the time. Such amateurs! Still can't believe BP has moved into other jobs in the AFL. He was incompetent!

He has been playing more ruck and forward so far this year which probably affects his overall defensive stats.

O Mac third for spoils is not bad

I actually think it's more to do with the team defence the the individual defenders themselves. If our forwards and midfield make it hard for the other side to progress the ball down field, or at least slow it down, then it makes it hard for the tall forwards. The reason those guys have scored so much is that we often leak easy goals due to the press. This is more an issue with learning and implementing the game plan than personal. That said, if we can lure a Lever or May we should definitely do so as quality talls don't grow on trees!

I've seen Jetta spoil the big forwards by using a well timed leap. I agree that height can be misleading. Scarlett was one of the best full backs I've ever seen and only stood 192cm tall.

With free agency & the ease with which out of contract players get to their preferred destination I'm not too worried about this. Unless we have a top 5 pick, which is unlikely, I would be more than happy to trade this for the right price. We've got talented youth all over the ground, we need more ready to go guns to elevate us into the finals. Once we are there we can look to top up certain areas through free agency and trading, building the team around our already strong core of Hogan, Hunt, Oliver, Viney, Tyson, Petracca, Brayshaw, the McDonalds, Frost, Salem, Weideman. That is such a strong bunch of young players that we need the experienced bodies around them now. I'd also like to see us go after a quick, goal kicker to help Garlett (Kent is not doing it for me atm).

surely playing with his good mates Christian and Jayden would add another factor to his decision...... He is worth between 600-800k in a premiership side. $1m in a side that won't win a flag because they pay too much. Which will it be....

Can we add him to the banner? Too soon?

I'm aware of that. I was more referring to his comments made in hindsight. I hope he is right though as we will then have a very strong midfield if he is as good as Roos thinks he will be.

This is no longer a debate. Petracca is so for ahead it is not funny. I also think Roos article saying he would have Brayshaw at one was a bit strange. On what evidence would he pick Brayshaw ahead of Petracca? That isn't saying Brayshaw won't be a good player, I'm sure he will come into his own as he develops further. But Petracca has abilities that Brayshaw will never have.

I wonder how he is feeling about his move now..... ha ha ha.

Early picks are definitely very important, but I would argue the later picks are just as important. If you take the Hawks for example, they definitely nailed their early picks in Hodge, Lewis, Franklin, Roughead and Riloi. However, what they were also able to do is get some really good players with mid-late picks as well. Sam Mitchell: Pick 36 Isaac Smith: Pick 19 (not as late but still a good selection) Liam Shiels: Pick 34 Taylor Dureya: Pick 69 Luke Breust: Pick 77 Paul Puopolo: Pick 66 If you nail the late picks and ensure you are getting the majority of early picks right you have the opportunity to build a very strong side. Fingers crossed we've been able to do that!

As much as I would've liked to use next year's second, we have brought in that many kids over the last 3-4 years so not too concerned about having a year without a lot of draft picks. We may also still trade next year's 2nd with another pick to try and get back into the 2nd round this year, who knows!

Such stark contrast between Essendon and Hawthorn. I know they are different circumstances but one club just got it done and moves on, the other acts like a child. Last year we did the exact same, when we could've easily tried to get a 3rd rounder for Melksham we instead just got it done and moved on. People think Dodoro is a shrewd operator when in fact he is clueless.