Bang Bang Bang

Given we have ONE midfielder who could even be discussed as better than B-grade, and a bunch of C, D and E graders running around, I wouldn't be so sure. 28 is not old either.

Vince for our Sylvia compo pick sounds fair. In my opinion draft picks outside the top 10 are grossly overrated.. what are the chances of us actually landing a 10-year, 150 game player with a pick in the 20s? Slim. Very slim. Vince is 28, so what? He's hardly a grandpa and that means he has at least 3 years and 60 good games in him. He automatically becomes our 2nd best mid. He's no star but we need players like him. Have no interest in Lyons because I've never seen or heard of him (the brains trust would obvs know a lot more), but Vince is low-risk and improves the team. Do it Melbourne.

But you have to also remember that 90% of discussions and proposals etc between the actual clubs don't come to fruition. For example any poster who came here and said Rockliff for pick 2 is in the works is technically right - as it has been confirmed we were chasing him. Just because we won't land him doesn't mean the discussions never took place.

I agree in part with this. It would be a travesty if in 3 years time Alistair Clarkson and/or Ross Lyon were done with their flag tilts and in the market but we're stuck with Dew who despite 3 years under Roos would be an unknown commodity as senior coach. However, we would not have landed Roos without the succession plan theory, and Simpson, Tudor, Burns, Ling and any other name that has been thrown out there are in the exactly the same position as Dew. In short, who they pick as the successor isn't the problem - it's the succession plan itself that is flawed. But a necessary step that had to be taken.

I'll be the first to ask - who exactly is this "Gilbert Gardiner" character. Reputable or what? Tapscott would be no loss - a shame because I was elated when we drafted him and even more elated when he was near BOG on debut. Just too slow. Blease I would rather see hang around for one more year. He was starting to look pretty good in 2012 but has stagnated again.

I think for someone like Michie - first and foremost he wants to forge a successful AFL career for himself - and the MFC can virtually guarantee him 22 games a year in the midfield. Not sure Carlton can do the same. For a guy that has played 1 game in 3 seasons I reckon job security is priority #1. Then again I may just be rationalizing!

Can we save the great McKenzie debate for another thread. Surely we will hear news of Michie today or in the very near future? It has been a while now. Hoping we land him, would only be a small coup but a coup none the less.

Mahoney hasn't categorically stated that Jamar is a required player going forward - to me that means he's on the move. I'd be happy for the equivalent of a soccer style "free transfer" to any club just to get that ridiculous contract off the books. (Maybe we could package Pederson in to the deal. lol)

Too early to start a "Sack Dew" thread?

I just read a couple of quotes from P. Roos himself which confirms that Rockliff was a target but is officially off the list. http://m.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-premiership/melbourne-coach-paul-roos-says-clubs-could-start-trading-their-stars-early/story-e6frf39c-1226735699315

it's pretty hard to gauge what someone like Buntine's trade value would be. It only seems like yesterday that his name was read out as a top 5 pick VERY highly rated junior who has fallen under the radar/not produced anything of note in his AFL career to date. Regardless, I don't think a NQR sized player fits our needs.

Haven't read through the whole thread but this news is disappointing to me. However, it's easy to empathize with Colin. He has pretty much played in nothing but heavy defeats for 7 years straight and can see an opportunity to finish his career with finals footy and perhaps even a flag. It's a shame one-club players are going to become a rare commodity with FA rules.. but you can hardly begrudge Colin for doing what he has done. Most players are in the game to experience success first and foremost and he's not going to get that here any time soon. I think he will be missed because we don't have any quality in the 27-29 age bracket anymore. And we need that.

Yep, but he's still reaching that ripe age and games level where he should start to reach his peak. He's got a great body for AFL (no homo) and is a good player already, with the potential to be great. Plus I think more midfield time (+ more cash and closer to his bro) would appeal and help our case. Aish I'm sure has great wraps on and could become a great mid down the track.. but he may not. He may become another Cotchin or he may become another Morton. We don't know. I'd prefer the low-risk Swallow.

Similar career-path to Travis Johnstone, really. High draft pick with bucketloads of talent and high expectations, but ultimately apart from glimpses here and there, he never quite delivered. Johnstone spent his twilight years in Brisbane without much success while we gained a pick that got us Jack Grimes. Let's hope we can make similar use of the compo pick this time too. ps. I still hold onto hope that he stays.

My money would be on pick 2 heading to the GCS for Swallow. He fits the criteria Mahoney was referring to. A former #1 pick who may not have set the world on fire, but has 3-4 years of fast-tracked development at the Suns. Ready to go. I think the Suns would probably agree to it too.

Just a slight, hmm let's say, negative to the succession-plan craze. What happens, in 3 years, if Ross Lyon's push at Freo is over a la the Saints 2011 (0 flag? 1 flag? 2 flags? Doesn't matter, it's a hypothetical) and he looks to head back to Vic. Roos' is on the way out but we've already been grooming Joe Blow for 3 years. Tough decision to be made?

To be honest, I CAN see where Nutty Neeld was coming from with this one, but the move has been a failure. Cost us a reasonable compensation pick if I'm not mistaken (as he cancelled out Rivers or Moloney). Gave us nothing on field.

People forget that we're a 2-20 and 54% team sometimes. Anyone (yes ANYONE)* that's better than the list of C, D and E graders (apologies to a few) we have donning the guernsey each week is worth a look. Heath Shaw at his best was an elite defender and while he is probably only B-grade nowadays, he would improve our back 6 significantly. Yes for me at the right price. *The train-wreck that is Dustin Martin being a possible exception.

Roos is a good coach but he's not some miracle worker that can turn any dud from anywhere into a top-line footballer. O

By 'midfielder' I assume Roos means wingman. Someone that can own the members wing, drifting forward to kick goals when we're playing well and (probably much more often) drifting back to intercept opposition thrusts. Can definitely see merit and whilst there came a point this year where I thought cutting Jack Watts would be no great loss for the club, I'm glad he has re-signed.

Martin for pick 53 (Matt Jones). Win for us. Gysberts for Pederson. 0-0 draw Pick 88 (Rodan) for Morton. 0-0 draw. Petterd and Rivers played finals footy. Moloney had a good year up In Brissie. Shannon Byrnes was our FA compensation and did bugger all on field. I wouldn’t say we did that well. However securing Hogan, Viney at pick 26 and Dawes/Toumpas all thanks largely to $cully will be looked at as the major win of 2012.

Pick 2 for Swallow would be a very, very good swap for us.

I'm definitely a Toumpas fan, mainly because I'm a sucker for players who possess majestic foot skills (used to love Yze and Trapper in their younger days for the same reason). Towards the end of the season he looked like he belonged at the top level. The goal next year is to make 18 - 20 dpg the bench mark, either off half back or through the middle.

When clubs are running away from a powerfully built 22-year-old who is coming off a 500+ disposal 20+ goal season, you can join the dots as to why!

True that, but I thought we were offloading a young-gun for some mediocre at best VFL journeyman. As it turns out I was only half right.