Wiseblood

The fact that it's an interesting question to you, and not an instant answer of 'of course I'll be sticking with the Dees' says all we need to know about you Chewy. Jog on, pal.

We got market value for Watts and paid market value for a bloke who was almost an All Australian at 21. I don't understand why people can't see this.

If you want to be realistic, yes they were. If you want to show us all how little you know about football then yes, they aren't satisfactory.

After years of being in the bottom 4, we've become too attached to draft picks. When the season inevitably finished in June, all our attention turned to who we would select in the hope they could help turn the club around. Now that we've moved on from those days, and we're on the cusp of something special, we can't let go of the past. When we give up a few high draft picks for one of the best young players in the league, we instantly scream 'overs' and we're angry for giving up high draft picks. We know what comes with those - sometimes you get an Oliver, other times you get a Cale Morton. It's a lottery. What we've done is take the lottery aspect away and recruited a player who we know is not only a terrific footballer, but a total professional off the field and a bloke who is a competitive beast. We should be excited by that, not holding on to our feelings on draft picks of the past. Some might say we didn't get a draft pick that reflected Jack Watts' value - I say we did. We got Pick 31 for a bloke who has barely polled a Brownlow vote, never been in AA discussion, has never been a leader for the club and who has only finished inside the Top 5 of a best and fairest once. To me, he is worth the pick we got. I think Jack is a ripper bloke who has done some positive things for the club, but even he knew his time at the club was up. We needed to move on, and we did so as quickly as we could. If he had picked Port on the first day of trade week we would have traded him by the end of the day. Plus, we turn a nothing pick into a kid who, before injuries, was a highly touted junior. He may work out, he may not, but we've paid nothing for the opportunity. It's another win. Our 'premiership window' is beginning to open, and we've made moves that reflect that. The best young tall in the competition picked us over countless others, and that's the best thing to come out of this trade week. I'm super excited and I hope most of you will be as well.

There were far worse deals out there than anything we did. The Crows gave up two first rounders for a bloke who is 29 at the start of next season. GC, trying to emulate the Freo of the 90's, coughed up Pick 2 for a bloke who clearly isn't worth it. The Pies passed on a future second rounder for Sam Murray, a bloke taken late in the rookie draft and hasn't played a game of AFL footy. Not to mention the Lions coughing up Pick 12 for Charlie Cameron and also needed an exchange of picks to get a bloke who is coming out of retirement. So before you pot the club and the deals we did, put everything in perspective and realise we did exactly what we wanted to do and did it with minimal fuss. We also still have 3 picks in the second round this year for Taylor and co. to work more of their magic.

Doggies did well to get him for what they did, but I don't see much need for him from our perspective. Lever coming in to play at CHB means we have not only enough coverage in the forward line, but we already have two young prospects (Hogan and Weideman) coming through as it is.

If we make a rise up the ladder then next years first rounder will look close to second rounder anyway. You are splitting hairs over nothing. We've got Lever so I'm stoked.

I couldn't disagree more. Lever is a super addition, Balic gives us further depth and at 21 he still has upside, while moving on Watts is a good move for all involved. Not to mention we still have 3 picks inside the Top 40 to help us land some further good additions to the side, something Taylor has done well in the past.

Freo essentially traded Pick 2 for Lachie Weller. Bloody hell. The bloke has been okay, but we paid 2 far later first rounders for a 21 year CHB who was almost in the AA side. We've done far better than some will give us credit for. In come Lever and Balic, we still have 4 picks inside the Top 50 with 3 of those in the second round and we moved on Watts, which I think in the end will work for both club and player.. We got our deals done quickly, without fuss and we can move on to getting better over the pre-season.

Sorry, should have said second rounders.

First round next year. Suns gave up three first rounders, two of which were a bit higher than ours. Plus they'll use that first rounder in the Lachie Weller trade, so in essence, Freo gets it.

I wouldn't say he is passed his prime at all - he had a ripper of a season this year. The difference is they paid essentially the same price for a bloke who will be 29 when next season starts, while Lever is 21 and has a decade of great footy ahead of him. We paid a fair price.

Gibbs is now a Crow - they paid two first rounders for him and a swap of other picks. If anyone thinks we overpaid for Lever, then the Crows have wildly overpaid for Gibbs. At least Lever is 21 - Gibbs is 29 and won't have the longevity that Lever will have for us. Puts our deal in perspective.

Conversely, what's the upside? That next time they make a tough decision they'll go 'hold on, remember that email we got?' They are welcome to give their opinion, but they are also welcome to look silly while doing so.

Why do people email the club? Doesn't make a lick of difference. Might make you feel better but they don't give a stuff.

You've made yourself look like a fool. I've enjoyed it, too.

Pick 66 is a great deal for Balic. Thought Freo might be real pains about it but we've done well here.

Ask me in 2 years time.

Lectured? Hardly. He made some valid points and, to me, summed the feelings of both supporters and our own football department on the matter quite well. If you can't see that then that's your problem. pWiseblood

I reckon Garry Lyon summed things up quite well on SEN this morning. Link to it is here: https://www.sen.com.au/news/2017/10/17/popular-easy-and-safe-don-t-win-flags/ I think it's put things into perspective quite well.

Just for now, my good friend. There are still a few poor souls trying to argue him being traded is still a chance in this trade period. It just isn't happening.

I'm happy to brand anyone who even remotely believes Hogan will be traded as slightly thick. It ain't happening.

He's just here to stir up some trouble. Others have called him out for it days ago. He's not worth giving air time to, Doc.

An opinion. A wrong one, but an opinion all the same. We did alright with Hibberd last year as well, but don't let the facts get in the way of a fictional story.

If trading one player causes a big negative impact on the playing group then, I'm sorry, but Jack Watts being moved on to Port is the least of our problems. They are welcome to be disappointed, but they need to see the bigger picture.