Axis of Bob

That's the most disappointing nickname attempt since someone here tried to start calling Trac 'Petraccattack'.

Overall, Hogan to Freo was the equivalent of pick 2.

Overall it's Neale for the equivalent of about pick 3 by itself. It's pick 6 and 55, plus an upgrade of 30 to 19. The pick shuffles at the end aren't actually worth much overall.

I think it's probably the sort of thing that comes with experience. In his first year he's trying to win every deal but soon he'll realise that the true value comes from having the assets available when the real bargains are there to be taken. He'll probably start realising now when all of these bargains are going to go around and he's too busy haggling over an unavailable 5 vs the 6 they had originally!

The only difference it will make is that Freo could have got the value in shifting 5 to 6 instead of Brisbane. I suppose that's the problem with waiting. Effectively it means that Freo received two picks for pick 5 instead of 6, so they lost value there. Also, would Gold Coast view 6 as being 5 in a May deal? For us that's all that matters. Brisbane is extracting the value at the expense of Gold Coast.

Via trade radio: Eade on May: He's a really good player. He can play tall but where he can be best used is on the medium types like Robbie Gray that can be hard to match up on

There's no skill, art or guile in this sentence. It's like a tail ender facing 1000 throw downs a day in the nets before closing his eyes and slogging as soon as he gets to the middle. 200 posts a day isn't trolling. It's a cry for help.

It's very sad watching you flap around like a dying fish. You've entirely missed the point, and art, of trolling if you're the one that ends up making all of the effort. You're just trying pathetically hard. This is just painful to watch. Please stop, it's making me sad.

What, an injured player who is a massive risk with a giant contract that his previous team is happy to shift? Apples and oranges. KK is young, talented and is entering the productive part of his AFL career.

Kolodjashnij is a good player who is young, played good footy and already played 78 games. While a deal wouldn't be difficult to do, he's more than steak knives. Effectively the proposed deal would be, for us, Hogan for May, 23 and whatever pick KK is worth (probably a late second rounder, IMO).

I loved watching Dravid bat. Such an intelligent cricketer.

I see the idea but there is a shift away from using your best contest winning defender on the big forward. That's what Rance has done except for specific matchups like Buddy. Rance will play a position and win the one on ones against lesser players in dangerous positions while Astbury will follow the big forward around. I really like May as a player. I remember being at the game where they beat Hawthorn at the MCG a few years back and he was dominant playing as an intercepting deep defender. But, as you say, we'll wait and see what transpires.

I think they have some academy players coming next year, so my guess is that they'll try to roll them over to next year through trades.

I disagree with this. I think may is going to be used in the second tall while Oscar continues to get the number 1. The idea will be for May to be an intercept marker, because he had that skill, along with Lever while Oscar does the donkey work of keeping the best forward on the ground. May is a contest winner and a potentially excellent rebounder and would be wasted playing as a key stopper.

He appeared to have a lot of talent from what I saw of him. I hope a change of scenery works out well for him. Gold Coast would be a tough place to stay out your career.

Even more importantly, it allowed us to use pick 25 on Jack Viney, instead of pick 5. That was the 'deal' that wasn't a deal but was definitely a deal. So they really would have been viewing it as pick pick 3, 13 and 25 for 5, 20, Hogan and Dom Barry (who we got from their zone), IIRC.

Not just in the AFL, it was the first time that anyone used the draft points and academy loophole in a trade. We did that first and it netted us Oliver and Weideman. He appears to be an excellent and creative operator.

Wow, that's some good melt.

Exactly, it's about the system rather than people playing man on man. Oscar, like the Richmond players or Schofield at WC, is there to provide body contact to stop players jumping at the ball. May comes in to provide flexibility as he will monster second forwards (like Rance) and is a capable rebounder. We don't need a full back, we need a marking second tall defender.

How would you compare Oscar to, say, Nathan Broad or David Astbury?

Also, should we get May, the overwhelming likelihood is that Oscar and May play in the same team. It isn't one or the other.

Now replace Hogan's name with Jeremy McGovern's. Now think about what they are being asked to do. Hogan, in his limited time in the midfield, actually does play like a defender.

I cannot overstate how much I love this nickname.

We may pay slightly more, but the quality of player willing to come to us will be much higher. Players know that we will do the deal so they will choose us over other teams. This could well be what has happened with Steven May, as he'd be more likely to choose us over Collingwood knowing that if he commits to us then his future is secured. The alternative is having slightly better draft picks ... but players win games, not draft picks. Certainly not in our current situation.

No, you're now saying that instead of a Porsche I would get a Malvern Star. I would want more than just pick 5, and we'll get more. It's the amount not that we differ on. You originally wanted 3 low picks or no deal. I thought we'd get a low first rounder plus a later first rounder/equivalent player. The main thing you are missing in these negotiations is opportunity cost. Are you willing to spend it on upgrading the second pick we get for Hogan, or are you willing to spend it on potential deals that may happen later in the trade period?