Forest Demon

Restricted free agent next year I believe, and there were rumours he wanted out this year, but Essendon stamped that out pretty quick. He would be the perfect compliment to our midfield imo, but there will be plenty of competition to get him if he decides to leave.

I think Baker is better than you give him credit for, but I agree we can’t rely on him making it. I would be picking up 3 or 4 outside running types through a mix of trade, draft and delisted free agents to balance our list out a bit. For example, I would be happy to see us bring in Tom Phillips, Quinton Narkle, Marley Williams and young Macrae in the draft. Not saying someone like Marley Williams is a world beater but he is a point of difference on our list to plug and play to add some speed and run.

Crazy these are the so called experts we are supposed to tune in to listen to, yet he says something like “is Hibberd still on their list”. I understand they need to cover 18 teams, but the average Demonland poster could give a better summary.

“2 minute Peter”? I was going to say that was a cheap shot but 2 minutes is actually pretty good going tbh.

Besides playing for Essendon, which admittedly is pretty severe, I’m not sure what Zac Merrett has done wrong. I would take him every day of the week over Treloar. And 5% less delivery wise? I think you missed a zero.

I’d rather bank the $$ and chase more class, like Merrett next year. Treloar is a good player, but his delivery is his biggest weakness, and we don’t need more of that atm, especially on big $$.

He's not the worst player going around and would purely be a back up who would cost nothing in terms of a trade and very little in terms of salary. Imo, that is a better option than a) paying Preuss 400k a year to play at Casey or b) going anywhere near Shaun McKernan. Or even c) picking up Stef Martin who would take a decent enough chunk out of the salary cap similar to Preuss.

Not sure I can make it any clearer. I’m talking about the clubs decision to offer 4 years, not Harmes decision to accept it.

I was referring to the clubs decision to sign him for 4 years, it was a no brainer for Harmes. Considering he was only really proven as a mid, and we didn’t have a spot in there for him, it seems odd we would commit for such a long term. In saying all that, I’m pretty confident he will be back, either in his primary role or even as a half forward where I think he can still be a contributor with his strong hands. I can’t see him ever making it as a half back though.

But surely that raises the question of signing him to a long term deal when there is no clear role for him available?

Unless we have someone we are specifically targeting this year with his salary, I’d be happy for TMac to stay for another year, come back 5kgs plus lighter, and give it a proper crack. If that fails, move him on, pay a chunk of his salary for the remaining year and move on.

Of those 4 mentioned, only Baker is an actual wingman in my opinion, and he is still very speculative at this stage. We shouldn't bring in list cloggers for the sake of it, but surely there are some options available. And we should also be targeting run in the draft as well.

Maybe he lost his phone after a big night out? Happens to the best of us.

Genuine question, but what are Brad Green’s credentials?

He caught my eye a bit this year actually. Doesn’t strike me as a natural footballer, but is very athletic and seems to just go for it and take it on.

I've resisted commenting hoping it would just go away, but seeing this thread sitting near the top of the forum each time I come on Demonland is stress inducing. Oliver is about as close to untradeable as you can get in my opinion. I rate him right up alongside Petracca, only difference is Oliver has been top shelf from the minute he walked into the side as an 18 year old.

I posted throughout the year when talking about midfield/wing mix and bought him up as the perfect type of player we need. Big questions marks off field though.

Geelong must be an outlier. They've basically scooped 3 x All Australian level players for zilch in Tom Stewart, Tim Kelly and Sam Menegola. That's actually amazing. Tim Kelly wasn't there long, but he's netted them enough 1st rounders to keep replenishing their list going forward.

I'm not even entertaining this as an option. He is a gun and is exactly the type of midfielder we need to add to our mix, but I can't see it happening. Worst case, we should definitely be sweet talking him for his free agency year, but so will most sides in the comp.

He is a lump at the moment, and this is very welcoming news that it's at least been acknowledged. If he can strip that weight off, then I am keen for him to stay and try and recapture form. It's hard to bring in players from other clubs without giving away too much at the draft or even in the cap, so if we are to improve, the bulk of it has to come from within, and Tom is definitely one player who potentially has big upside compared to his recent form.

Baker looked ok in the last couple of games, but he certainly hasn't shown enough that we should be going all in on him. I think we need to bring in some mature heads, especially ones that fill needs.

In general our half forwards need to work up the ground more and consistently impact games and connect our attacks. We have too many low possession half forwards who will have their day in the sun every 4 or 5 weeks, but give us nothing in between. A player like Hannan should be averaging ~15 touches a game with a bunch of inside 50s and score involvements, but I’m guessing he wouldn’t even average 10 touches.

Hard to not feel sorry for these guys given they didn't really get a chance this year due to the lack of VFL and basically no continuity in training. But that's the world we live in unfortunately, lots of people out of work and that's just the way it is. Not disagreeing with the decisions at all, all 3 are relative no brainers from the club's POV, and there will be more to come as well I assume.

Tomlinson won’t work as a wingman, so he slots into defence as an upgrade on OMac/Smith as the other tall and we go back to the well for another quality wingman or midfielder with more polish. Baker looked ok, but certainly wouldn’t be putting all my chips in on him.

End of the day, we threw our chance in the bin against Sydney a couple of weeks back, and while it is another wasted season, I’ve (mostly) processed that. As for positives: - We were better than last year - Generally speaking, this year will go down in history as a [censored] show - No denying we had the toughest trot of condensed schedule, travel and rough conditions of any side - We unearthed some good young talent in last year’s draftees who all look very good imo - Rumoured trades suggest the club have a very solid idea of what we need - a key forward, an attacking half back and an outside mid/winger