Wiseblood

I like your thinking, but we are no chance of fitting Polec in our cap without giving up another player, such as McDonald.

Their midfield, outside of Cripps, is pretty poor, and Murphy is pretty close to retiring as well. Cripps had a relatively average year by his standards and its because the opposition can target him every week and know that there isn't a whole lot else to deal with. Williams and Saad won't change that.

With Brad Crouch allegedly caught will illicit drugs overnight, do you think that would change Geelong's focus back to Viney? I know it has been said he has signed a 5 year or 4 year deal or some sort of deal, but without an official announcement you have to wonder if he is still being courted by other clubs. The Crouch incident might mean a club like Geelong look elsewhere, and we know that Jack was high on their list.

I reckon we did suggest that, then we realised pretty quick that Preuss is next to useless as a key forward so we didn't really go back to it (until the Freo game, which was one of the strangest moves of all time). If there are enough suitors for him, then hopefully we can drive the price up a little. Hopefully we can secure something that we can use to secure someone else. I don't blame him for leaving, either. He is never going to get the game time here that he would at other clubs.

Luke Jackson is already better than Wright. We don't need him.

Fits the narrative? Rubbish. His post, regardless of your thoughts on Viney, is well thought out and researched. It's one of the reasons this site can be terrific as there are those out there who will give some really in depth though, backed up by facts, to their posts.

Proud of his efforts, and proud of the club to get him back on the park, but an absolute waste of talent. Could have been great for us going forward and he threw it away.

Post of the year, Bob. What an absolute ripper.

Preuss for Ollie Florent or the Swans can get stuffed. Preuss for one of their young mids - Hately, Caldwell etc - or Giants can get stuffed too. I'm being a little facetious there, but at the same time, we hold all the cards. Why potentially make the opposition stronger for nothing more than a third rounder, which this year is like giving him up for a six pack of beer and a bag of pretzels? Play hard ball - if they want him, give us something good and you can have him. Otherwise we keep him and move forward.

Smith is an interesting one. He is obviously further down the road of his career, and as Moonie says above, he is probably one calf tear or bad hamstring pull away from having to call it quits. On the other hand, he would bring great experience, a high work ethic and he would be a fantastic person for someone like Oskar Baker to learn off for a few years. If you got him for peanuts on a deal you mention above, then I wouldn't be averse to it.

This rumour has had more twists and turns than one you would find on Demonland:

Still plenty to play out, although outside of Bob Murphy, it seems that more people in the media are saying that he will be going elsewhere. I'd say the tweet I posted above is rubbish from Sheahan and that he has just jumped on board a few other rumours to look as though he is 'in the know'.

That's what I've heard too, and he is a Geelong boy originally... like Rohan... Danger... Dahlhaus.... etc.

I remember waaaay back in the day there was a bloke who hung around these, and other, boards called 'chilli boy'. He used to spout all sorts of outlandish gossip and some people used to eat it up, even though it was never, ever going to happen. Those were the days!

Geelong actively had a dip at getting him, so I'd say they are pretty certain he would be best 22 there.

Can't remember if this bloke talks rubbish or not...

Bit harsh on Goldy there. He's just come off a pretty good season for Norf. Reckon he might still have a few years left in the tank.

That's the crux of the issue. If you could pry Merrett out of Essendon, then you would be insane not to pursue him. He would complement our midfield perfectly. But unless something major went down, it simply won't be happening. He is pretty much their best player outside of possibly Shiel.

That's a fair point - however, Ben Brown falls inside that age bracket. By signing him to a three year deal on around 700k, it would be a similar deal to what they would be getting if they traded Tom McDonald in. The difference is that Ben Brown is a proven goalkicker. I'm sure that they could have gone back to the table with Brown and sorted something out. But they have come and said they are moving on from Brown - so why then take on someone like McDonald to fill a gap like that? It makes little sense to me. I would absolutely look to put more time into Larkey, but sticking McDonald in front of him, to me, doesn't seem like a smart move. North fans would be well within their right to question why they would move on Brown to bring in a hobbled and slow Tom McDonald. Look, if they take him off our hands then I'm all for it. I can't see a way forward for him at our club, and if we added Polec in return then it makes sense to us. But, to me, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense from a Norf stand point. I guess that won't be our problem though.

It would make more sense, to me anyway, to try and get Polec and a chunk of his wages off the books. See if you can get yourself a decent draft pick and look at developing from within. Taking T Mac off our hands is a nothing move really.

What archives do they have? As you say, I would look at the service if it offered games from the 90's and 2000's, but have no interest in anything else.

No. I see why you've suggested it, but.... no.

Agree. I can see that it makes sense from a contract stand point - while Polec would be on more money but about 200 - 250k, it would still match up okay IF North agreed to pay for some of Polec's contract and all of Tom's, which would seem a steep price to be asking. But from a personnel stand point it has me beat. Going from Ben Brown to Tom McDonald is a step backwards and would make them look really silly if they did. They are better off persisting with Polec and looking to develop from within.