Wiseblood

Should have ended the discussion there, bing. But then we all knew it would fall on deaf ears.

Yeah, I should have clarified further that I don't want us to do it every year. I just think we're at a good stage where some extra experience will really help us moving forward and it seems like the right time to do it. Next year, in what they are saying is a strong draft, it would be good to hold on to the picks unless a good, young player becomes available.

Absolutely. We will still have picks in the draft and, as you say, we got Jayden late in the draft. We've been very good getting players in the third and fourth round, so I'm sure we will have some picks there. I just think we can use our higher picks to get in some of that experienced talent to go with what we have.

This is where I think we're at in the recruitment stage. We don't need more kids. I know some want us to go out and try and find the next 'Jayden Hunt', but we also need to realise that finals are a real possibility next season. We need more experience in our side going forward and if we can flip a few picks to get these players then I'm all for it.

I can see plenty of appeal. He's a beautiful user of the footy. He is strong in a one on one contest. While he is not lightning quick, he has plenty of pace. He will bring some further experience to our backline and he is calm under pressure. With our club pushing for a finals place in 2017, we need experienced players coming in, not more kids. After trading away our first rounder for this year already, we can't land a big fish. So we need to add further quality to our side, and Hibberd is just that. Quality. You can never have enough of it. With the addition of Melksham our side is starting to look much more settled on paper.

If you read through his assessments again, he literally goes out of his way to not give any pick a full pass mark. The Hunt one leaves me shaking my head - it's turned out to be a sensational pick, one I didn't even see coming, yet because there were other good players around it's just a 'good' pick. Baffling.

It also mentioned that if talks break down, Hibberd could go to the grievance tribunal and argue a breach of contract. Still lots of water to go under the bridge with this one. I still think our second rounder, eventually, gets the deal done.

I was going to say the same thing. It does put things into perspective a little, but the loss still hurts. I just can't wait until some of these younger players have 20-30 more games under their belts.

Yeah, because that's totally going to happen. Hibberd for a second rounder, either this year or next, is the most likely outcome.

They might be cactus in the short term. But three top 10 picks, as well as adding McCarthy, Hill and possibly Lobb, while Bennell might also come back into the side, and the future doesn't look all that bad. I think they need to go in to full rebuild mode now. What if Fyfe leaves at the end of next year? They won't get the same deal as the one GC are offering now. If they feel that Fyfe is even a small chance of leaving, then they would be silly not to seriously look at that deal.

I think Freo are a real chance of accepting the deal, but Fyfe is still under contract and has to agree to it - he might come back to Freo and say he wants out, but only to a Vic club. He doesn't have to go to GC if he doesn't want to. He might see Prestia leaving, Ablett being in his twilight years and possibly Swallow and O'Meara leaving as well, and not see much of a future up there.

Wow. That's a huge offer. I can't see Freo doing it, as I'm sure they'll want to back themselves in to get better next year and have him sign on, but if they are slightly worried about his leg and he isn't the best teammate (as has been reported and commented on in some areas), then they might bite on that deal. That would, potentially, give them 3 picks inside the Top 10, plus they are already keen on McCarthy, Hill and possibly Rory Lobb as well. This off season is going to be very, very interesting.

I'll clarify - what I meant is that, when I say I can see what Brisbane is trying to do, it's that they know they need to throw serious cash around to get players in to the club. And as you say, they are directing that cash at the wrong players. Jenkins, to me, makes little sense as well, especially at his age. If he was 25 then yes, I could understand it. But not at his age. He may only be good for another year or two, and how does he go when the delivery and gameplan are inferior? They need to keep investing in kids and looking for the right deals. Jenkins isn't one of them.

I can understand what Brisbane is trying to do, although if I were them I'd put that cash elsewhere. Schache and Hipwood have shown enough to suggest they could be very good key position forwards for the next 10-12 years, but they lack some serious class in other areas of the ground, especially down back. I'm surprised they aren't throwing big cash at Tom McDonald who would be a mega upgrade on any player they have in their backline. But to each their own. They'll need to pay top dollar to convince players to jump ship. I mean, why would Jenkins leave a premiership contender to play out his days at a cellar dwellar? The only reason is money. There was a reason Mitch Clark came to us and it wasn't our 'winning ways' that convinced him.

Jon Ralph has brought this up in an article tonight, asking the question of whether Jenkins is worth 800k or is he nothing more than a flat track bully. He commented that he rarely, if ever, leads up to the ball and his first instinct is to hang out the back looking for the easy goal. I don't believe he is worth the 800k at all and it certainly gives more credence to your point Jumbo. I'd link the article but it's behind the paywall.

Our boys noticed very early too and Jones, in particular, gave him lip for the rest of the day. I counted 6 head high free kicks from him dropping the knees and throwing his head back. No idea why umps get sucked in either. It's staging in it's purest form.

You could make the argument that he is the perfect foil for Gawn - a bloke who can play forward and then be a legitimate pinch hitter in the ruck. It's a moot point though because I think we need to strengthen other areas and there will be other clubs willing to pay over the odds to get him. I don't get the Weideman argument though - we like to talk him up, but he's a kid who is unproven at AFL level. Yes, he's coming along nicely at Casey which is great, but he's still an unknown quantity at AFL level.

They're crazy then. You would think he has more than 3 good years left in the tank playing alongside Tex, Eddie and Lynch.

4 years isn't THAT bad for a 27 year old. There will be plenty of clubs, Freo included, who will throw truckloads of cash at him though.

God I love Jack Viney. He just BLEEDS red and blue. It's bloody brilliant!

Just announced on the MFC website that Clayton WILL make his debut this week! Well done son!

I love how your first sentence is simply you being pedantic about grammar, and then you need to edit your own work for a mistake. Classic.

I thought he looked good, although I'm not getting as excited as others by this performance. He isn't a lock for Round 1 at all as I believe once Jones, Vince and a fit Brayshaw return he may be squeezed out. Kennedy and Bugg showed that they will be handy additions as well so I believe Oliver may have to wait for his chance, although that's not a bad thing. Liked his composure though and he showed signs that he will be a very handy player for us sooner rather than later.

Great opportunity to give the kid a real taste of senior footy over the coming weeks. I don't see him getting a gig in Round 1 but he'll know a bit about what it takes at the highest level and hopefully spur him on to earn his spot early in the season.

It wasn't necessarily about his ability to play the game, more that we picked him in the Top 10 of what was dubbed a super draft and missed out completely, just like Cook. Very different players but we picked them both and missed out on others. I was only being light hearted, didn't think you would take it so seriously.