Wiseblood

If we are to chase someone like Shiel, then I hope we do it as quietly as possible. I cringe each time I see how North go about their business by basically throwing huge bucks and contracts at anyone who will listen. It's pathetic, really. If we are looking to chase a big fish then I hope we don't allow it to be played out in the media.

Let's go full stupid and send Oliver to Adelaide for Lever. Don't settle for being a little outrageous, just send yourself right over the edge.

There's no reason why we can't have both - landing a midfielder with a second/third rounder that can be a good player for us isn't out of the question. If Lever was available then he should be our priority.

He's worth a look, for sure. Very, very good player. Will he leave the Crows? I'm not convinced, but we should at least ask the question.

Is that Clint resurrecting a thread where he can be negative in it? I'm so surprised... This is off topic, but I find this week and last week sum up your posting, Clint. When we were up and about last week you had literally nothing to add. You tried to be negative but got shot down, then you basically disappeared. This week you're all over the place as we didn't play as well and you thrive on the opportunity to be negative. It's no co-incidence and it's such a shame that you see the bad before the good. It's a horrible way to support a club, but I guess that's not up to me.

He did. The only player left on our list from that period.

It's certainly another feather in the cap for Jason Taylor, but kudos to everyone else at the club for still having him ready to play, even after he arrived at the club with a shoulder injury. To manage his load and development from there to yesterday is a terrific effort for all involved and we reaped the rewards big time.

I agree, but I think it might be in a few season's time. Something tells me that opposition teams will really aim to clamp down on Hunt's running capacity, and it may take a little time for him to make the adjustment. Last season he was a totally unknown quantity. He won't have that going for him next year. I'm happy to be wrong, and I don't necessarily believe he won't impact games like he did last year, just that he won't get a free run at it like he got for us in 2016.

Great result. The deal is fair and, while it leaves us without any early picks, it's good to see other posters realising that our first rounder from this draft is Weideman. Adding Lewis, Hibberd and the return of Melksham makes this a terrific trade period for us. Add in the fact we have signed up all our young players and the future looks bright.

The beauty of recruiting someone like Hibberd is the knock on effect - you can take the short, simplistic view that we've just gained another 'half back flanker'. We know that Hibberd is a very good half back flanker, for a start, and it gives us more options. With his recruitment, it can allow other guys like Hunt and Salem to play further up the field and use their weapons (kicking and speed respectively) where it can be more damaging than before. Hibberd is terrific one on one, is a very good kick and is cool under pressure. Not to mention he brings further experience to our backline, something we are still short of. But feel free to be underwhelmed. Some supporters are never happy.

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.