Deers

Nobody could blame him for turning us down so quickly. He is doing the right thing. Regardless, in my heart of hearts, [censored] him and [censored] everything to do with him.

I think we will be heavily in the mix for Caddy. I'd happily give up pick 13 + a senior player (and pick 3 for Hogan) IF we come to an understanding that neither GWS nor Gold Coast will bid for Viney. The MFC won't simply waltz in and take Viney in the 2nd round without conceding some ground. But we've got such a strong hand anyway that no-one should blink twice at it. Leaving the draft with Hogan, Viney, O'Rourke (pick 4) and Caddy sounds pretty damn amazing.

What is he really worth? I look at Caddy in the same light as the alleged David Mackay offer. We over-rated Mackay but from the inside the club clearly saw a bona fide, top-class midfielder against our current list. With our good hand in $$$ we could afford to raise the stakes. With Caddy you have a top-10 draftee from two years ago who hasn't set the world on fire. But he is an inside midfielder; a tough clearance player who attacks the ball aggressively and takes contested grabs. His work ethic was seen as first-rate. If Jack Viney is the culture changer then I got a good feeling Caddy will support the movement as his right-hand man. Even without the proven numbers he would slot into our midfield. With our good hand in the draft we could afford to offer pick 13. We're not in the position to rightly determine if that is too much for Caddy, or if $500k a year is too much for Mackay, because frankly we don't have much in our own backyard to compare with them. I've still got only ten players I'd want to field next year. Viney makes 11. Caddy would make 12.