Wiseblood

With all due respect to Casey, I would hope that doesn't matter. Making our list decisions and moving forward is far more important in the overall context of our club. But, you may well be right too.

You're probably right dazzle. I can't see the club staying silent this week now that Casey's season is over. I doubt we'll see many surprises in the announcements, though.

I wonder how long it will be before the club make a few announcements - you would assume that, regardless of the fact that Casey played on the weekend, that internally they would have made up their minds on at least some players. Dean Terlich, for example, won't be at the club next year. Everyone knows that. Do they give them the week, or do they get on with the list changes as soon as possible?

So you're suggesting that they had a crack till half time, remembered that they had been told they were being delisted, and came out flat after half time? What sort of logic is that?

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.

A depth player is someone who, when called upon, can add some true value to a side. A list clogger is someone who, when called upon, rarely adds value to the side. They generally don't last that long, but there are exceptions to the rule. Matt Jones USED to be a list clogger. He's not so much anymore. He can add some value, although his kicking still makes me twitch. Jake Spencer, to me, is a list clogger. If he added any value to the side, at his size, then he would have played a few games this year. The only reason he got another year on the list is that we have no one else and there is no guarantee we'll get one in trade week or through the draft.

You're probably right, but that's up to Goodwin now. I always felt Roos had a soft spot for him, but that may not be the case with Goody.

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.

Of course it's an opinion. It's all our opinion, as we don't know it as fact yet. You think Michie, Newton, Trengove and Lumumba deserve further contracts? And have you told Terlich personally that he should be delisted? You're always happy to tell others that we should say things to the players' faces, so I hope you've pulled him aside to tell him that over the last few weeks. I'm sure he would appreciate it.

Who gets delisted, Saty? I know you want to hold on to them all, but we will need to use at least 3 picks at the draft, which means we move on 3 players at a minimum. Who, in your esteemed opinion, should be delisted or moved on?

Paul Roos.

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.