Wiseblood

Meh. I'd be happy to have him, but I also think we can add some further versatility with other players who are potentially on the market. Hopefully he announces his intentions soon so we can either sign him or move on quickly.

If they want Brayshaw, I'll take their first pick and Langdon. I think the club is playing a straight bat here, and while I was pretty convinced there was nothing in it yesterday, this gives it just a little more credence.

I feel like I've said that for a while now.

Langdon is a better kick than Jones. Still not super, but I'd rather Langdon. Plus he is fitter and finds more of the pill. They'll get a few for Bruce and Jack Steven. Pick 6 will probably go for Brad Hill, maybe one of the picks they get goes for Jones and so forth.

He put to bed the rumour that Gus would be traded. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Mahoney put that rumour to bed a few days ago on trade radio. I'm inclined to believe him, especially if Nixon is the one spreading the rumour.

You could well be right. That still fits with what Mahoney said - they discussed with him what we believed a contract from us might look like (which would be predicated on how the trade period goes) and encouraged him to explore his options if he wasn't a fan of what we were offering. Frosty has done nothing wrong with exploring those options, but I also believe the club has done nothing wrong either. It's not as if we're letting Frost go and we have no one else. We actually have his position more than covered and we may also look to add another tall from the draft as well.

Here's the thing with Frost that I think our bias (and I mean that in a good way) gets in the way of: Over the past few seasons we've recruited quite heavily in our back half. Hibberd, Lever and May have all been brought it in at a pretty decent cost, and it was clear that guys like Oscar and Frost were viewed as nothing more than depth players. Why else would we have gone on such a recruitment drive in our defence? If we believed those two were the future then we would have backed them in. Recruiting those three over the past few seasons is evidence of the fact that we didn't. However, with injuries, Frost stood up in defence and had a pretty darn good season. Nothing wrong with that and, at times, he really did some good stuff. Other times... not so much. But in such a horror season he stuck out like dogs balls with his run and dash and his ability, at times, to play very well on key forwards. Because of this season, he is asking for a very big pay rise, which the club refuses to meet and with good reason. Our first choice back line doesn't include him, and he is asking for money that would indicate that he is a key cog in our backline. There is nothing wrong with him asking for that money based off this season, but there is nothing wrong with the club putting what they think is a fair contract on the table either. Obviously there is a gap there and he looked elsewhere to see what he could get. The Hawks have obviously offered him better terms, or he sees the Hawks as an opportunity to play AFL footy regularly as opposed to potentially spending more time at Casey in 2020. The club would be making a bad decision paying big bucks to a bloke who not only has his flaws, but also doesn't fit in our best 22. We can't sign blokes to big dollars in case we have a few injuries - Oscar and Petty are more than capable of coming in where needed and they're being paid far, far less to do it. The club is well within it's rights to do what it has done, just as Frosty is. If he leaves and we can get a pick out of it in the second round then I won't be complaining.

We're really scraping the bottom of the barrel if we're putting any credence into what Ricky Nixon has to say. The bloke struggles to sit the right way on toilet seat.

Still plenty of water to go under the bridge. While it's being reported that we are his most likely destination, he hasn't come out and picked us just yet. Might take a bit of time to get done.

Here's some fantasy thinking. Swans want a slightly higher pick - so they give us 5 and Papley and for Pick 3, which they put with their Pick 25 for Daniher. No chance of it getting done.... so it's in your court, Josh...

I wouldn't be against getting someone like McBean. He isn't the 'gun' we need but it sounds like his time away from the AFL has done him the world of good and he's in the right frame of mind to have another crack at it.

Could be the reason why we say 'yes' so we don't have to put up with him missing 18 in a row and then kicking 6 straight against us.

Never thought he would leave Essendon, even after the meeting with Tom Harley. I'm probably being naive there but I just assumed he would play 200 games for them.

His only saving grace is that he played for the Tigers, and it could be argued that their depth kept him out. But you won't find me using that argument. I can't see him getting a gig at another club.

@Demonland and @Moonshadow Confession time - the depth of my research on Elliott and his background was to look up his Wikipedia page, see he was from Lorne and that he played for the Murray Bushrangers and make the assumption he was always from Victoria. Clearly I need to dig a little deeper next time! Also it gives some context as to the Lions and their interest in him.

Well there you go. That would certainly change the outlook a little.

The Lions being keen on him is interesting. They are a much more enticing proposition for players now, but for someone like Elliott, would he want to move out of Victoria? For a bloke who loves playing at Collingwood and is a Victorian boy, the Lions might make him turn his head but ultimately might not be able to convince him to move. That's the hope anyway.

I think we have the makings of a dangerous forward line without having that 'gun' key forward. I think Tom Mac and a good summer from the Weid will hold us in good stead in terms of taller targets. Fritsch and/or Petty can be mobile third tall options, and then you have Melksham who is not only capable of hitting the scoreboard but also using the ball superbly when he has it front of the centre line. If we can pull off a coup and sign Jamie Elliott as well, then we have the potential for a forward line that is diverse and choc full of scoring power. I still think we need that crafty small forward type to complement the above. Elliott is that in some ways, but I think a genuine crumber who isn't flying for marks but is feasting when the ball hits the deck is a gap we need to fill.

Macca was offered another contract but turned it down to pursue other opportunities. I think he felt it was time to move on to new things.

Absolute myth. Hawks have taken plenty on who have been busts over the years. They might have a great culture and a ripping coach, but sometimes you just can't polish a turd no matter what the climate. *I'm not likening Frost to a turd, but you catch my drift.

Not really. It might have been posted four days after the one in the OP, but he's updated that to include the priority picks. It's more up to date than the AFL one.

Then turn the ball over so the goals are kicked by someone else. That was 2019... and 18... and 17.... No good stopping them if you often give it straight back.

Ah right, we're doing the hypotheticals, yes? If May, Lever, Oscar, Jetta, Hibberd, Salem, Petty, Tom Mac, Weideman, Gawn, Oliver and Joel Smith were all injured, I'd hate to see what would happen with Viney on Brown. Am I doing it right?

May would take Brown. But whatever floats your boat.