Wiseblood

That sounds about right to me. A first rounder was overs and a third rounder is probably a touch low. We are going to get something decent for Howe and I can see Melksham contributing just as much, if not more, than Howe has so it's a fair deal in that context.

I have a feeling Toumpas might be off loaded for that later pick. An upgrade to Pick 3 would be fair to me and allow us to basically pick the player we want the most out of the draft.

The question would be asked though - is Howe worth just Pick 10? Any neutral fan would easily say Dixon is worth much more than Howe, so to land Pick 10 we would probably have to add our second rounder as well... although that seems Essendon bound in the Melksham deal. All I can say is that it's going to be a very long, and interesting, trade period watching all of these deals get done.

There is certainly a 'Melbourne 08-09' feeling to their list management and prospects at the moment.

I still think Howe is GC bound. It seems they have chased him the hardest, and while others have shown some interest, GC seem to be the ones who have sustained it the longest. Or maybe I'm just hoping it's GC Howe goes to as I think they can satisfy us the best in a trade.

Collingwood may tie Ben Kennedy in with a trade if that's where Howe wants to go. Freo might offer up someone such as Lachie Weller as well, but I see what you mean. A few clubs already have some good picks tied up in trades which makes it difficult.

That's a fair point. However, if he has improved so much, why are they so willing to allow him to go with Henderson already on the way out and no guarantee, outside of one tall they will draft with the first pick, of others coming in? Just doesn't seem right to me. I know their list management has been terrible recently but surely if Bolton saw something in him he would be happy to keep him around for at least another year or 2.

They didn't want Betts to go, Garlett I've mentioned above and Waite was 30 (or over, can't remember...) when he was traded and he was happy to go. To me that doesn't fit Casboult at all. When the other 3 above left they still had options. Now, not so much. You would have thought with Henderson going they would be happy to hold on to anything else they have, as they don't have much. Wanting to also trade Casboult is a red flag to me. If they are also happy to let him leave then he must have enough glaring deficiencies that we don't need. As I said, Casboult to me is an entirely different case to the other 3 players mentioned.

Did you feel ridiculous as you posted that? Because Garlett and Casboult are completely different cases. Garlett left for off field issues and a complete falling out with Malthouse. Casboult has done nothing of the sort and has played most senior games this year, yet the Blues are quite happy to move him on. C'mon Paul, you're better than that.

That changes nothing for what our attitude should be - if Carlton, who are already losing Henderson and are light on for quality talls as it is, are happy to trade away a key forward who played senior football this year then that should be a HUGE red flag. If the Blues don't want him then we don't need him either.

I'm not sure how keen the Suns would be to part with a high pick. We would be VERY lucky indeed if they on traded, say, pick 10 for Howe... which as I type that won't happen as Dixon is clearly worth more than Howe. But they have the picks, or potentially players, who appeal to us more than what other clubs would have to offer.

That's proof that we did hold our nerve - Dangerfield would have transformed our club and those 2 picks would have been fair. We held our nerve in keeping them when that deal didn't come to fruition, in that we didn't panic and send them elsewhere for a player who wasn't worth it. Once that deal fell over we held our nerve and went to the draft.

Where did you read that mate? I'm only seeing stuff about Norf making a huge play for him.

Smoked, inhaled or vein?

I agree. He isn't the type we need. I reckon he'll go alright with the Dogs though.

I know it's only one example but I think this also shows the improvement across the club in the players taking further responsibility for their own game and understanding what they need to work on to improve. The footy department have brought it up throughout the year and the above quote is a little proof that it's sinking in for the players.

I'll try and bring it back on topic... The article was terrific and the part that stood out to me is that Roos will be focusing more on further building up our culture and habits during his last year as senior coach. With Goodwin obviously taking on more responsibilities I think it's terrific that Roosy will further focus his efforts there. With such a young list we have the opportunity to make sure these guys are ready to go so that they can model these habits to any new draftees or players to the club. As each year goes by I get a little more confident that we are, truly, headed in the right direction. There is still plenty of work to be done but we now have the right processes in place to take us where we need to go.

The Hawks generally aren't too bad at the trade table, but I can't see them letting him go too cheaply. He still has another year to run on his contract and I still believe the Hawks see him as part of their future. He would be a handy pick up but probably not worth it for the price the Hawks might ask for.

So with Scott Selwood announcing he wants to go to the Cats, they now have to find a way to get Dangerfield, Henderson, Zac Smith and Selwood to the club. Two things come to mind - how the hell are they going to do that, and why does everyone want to play for the [censored] handbaggers?

Where was he mentioned? By middymalt in the other thread? He was always going to Port. Nowhere else. Holy hell you guys can be gullible.

Exactly. I know not every team will have 22 match winners but he clearly hasn't done a great deal in 100 games. He is easily replaceable. Some might say his marks put bums in the seats... but we have Hogan for that now. Fans will turn up to watch him among others. Howe is expendable.

If anyone is gullible enough to believe any rubbish middymalt has to say then you should leave your keyboard, shut off your computer and go for a nice, long walk.

I was in the 'don't want to lose him' camp for most of the year. However... when was the last time he turned a game for us? When was the last time he was a match winner? Yes he kicked a goal to put us in front against the Saints, but he had done very little up to that point. Outside of taking a high mark what does he bring to the table? His disposal is ok and he has improved defensively but as a forward he has been poor for a few years. If he goes then he goes. If the club were keen to keep him and believed he was a large part of our plans then our offer would have been better. If a club is offering close to double what we did then obviously the club is pretty happy to see him go. Also, to me, this opens up the club to further moves and more salary cap space. We may be able to up an offer for someone we've had our eye on or get some more deals done quickly. I'll miss his high marking but not much else.

You couldn't comprehend? Trade scenarios are a waste of space. Didn't think that was hard.

Couldn't agree more. No one gives a stuff about trade hypotheticals. Don't post unless it's news.