titan_uranus

Best of luck to him. We'll always have that goal. A third round pick feels about right.

This is one of the all time great Nudge posts. It's unlikely, but it's possible, but it depends on TMac, so it's a 15% chance.

For whom?

We're entitled to explore a paycut option, and you're right that a paycut for someone on $700k per year isn't disastrous. But his career is on track to finish at the end of this contract no matter what. He has a daughter, and to be perfectly honest he's entitled to the money we owe him on his contract. So if he doesn't take it and instead prefers to stay with us and try to break back into the best 22, that's his prerogative and we'll have to deal with it.

The major flaw in this article is the use of percentage. It doesn't tell us enough. Is the correlation with sides who score heavily? Or with sides with strong defences? It's not particularly useful to tell us that the sides who score more than their opponents overall do better than those who don't.

Is it? I would have thought small forwards were the least of their concerns. Unless they play to play Higgins up the ground, I'm not sure how this works for them. And as there's no way Richmond will accept pick 64 or worse for him, St Kilda either has to give up a first round pick (17) for him or a player of decent worth. Is he worth 17? IMO, no.

Packers, Steelers, Ravens

I'm not really a fan of digging up the past. But, in this instance, let's do it. There is not one single post criticising the contract. It's actually saddening reading that thread. It was June 2018, we'd just won six in a row. It's like a time capsule back to a much happier era. Feels like an eternity ago.

So far only 1 senior list player has been delisted (J Wagner). Hannan, OMac, Bedford and Jordon remain out of contract whilst Preuss and TMac appear odds on to leave. If they all go, that's seven players off the senior list in total. Brown takes one spot. Assume Lockhart gets an upgrade to the senior list. That leaves five spots. And that's before the AFL cuts the list size down. There's not as much room at the moment as your post suggests.

What frustrates me most about this thread is that Mahoney's core message is something we should all agree with, but most don't. That core message is "we need to drive improvement from the players who are currently on our list". For too long trade period has rolled around and we've all crossed our fingers and sweated on the club bringing in someone, or multiple players, who are going to change everything for us. Additions to the list from other clubs make a difference, but IMO they re usually closer to the icing on the cake rather than the cake itself.

Collingwood is interested in TMac despite his salary, which can only mean one of two things: either they think/know we're going to be paying a significant portion of it, or they're prepared to wear it if other cards fall their way (e.g. Treloar, Phillips and/or Cox depart). IMO the Treloar situation isn't just salary cap pressure, it's mismanagement from Collingwood that has blown up in their face (they held a possibly genuine concern about how he would perform with his partner and child in Queensland and weren't sure he could commit to staying in Melbourne. They've then poorly responded to Treloar telling them he disgreed and wants to stay).

Look, I understand @DeeSpencer's concerns, but this doesn't need another thread. This discussion has been had, at length, in the Ben Brown thread. I think it's relatively clear we're going for Brown to partner with Weid, not to replace him. If it doesn't work in 2021, DeeSpencer will have a field day reminding us all about this thread, but I'm with the vast majority who believe the Brown-Weideman forward combo can work.

There are very few, if any, people advocating for us taking Treloar at the expense of Oliver. The issue to consider is having them both in our midfield. If that's not possible then it's not possible, end of story. But, if it is, then it's worth considering.

Just to counter the recent "report" of the Buckley phone call:

On-field issues I accept - he's not a good kick and has had hamstring issues, those are two strikes against him. IMO his positives as a player outweigh those negatives but each to their own. Off-field though, I don't agree with you at all. I've never heard a bad thing about Treloar's personality or cultural fit. I've never heard him described as selfish and he doesn't play that way (if Rendell suggests otherwise, I disagree). The interstate family thing could be difficult but he and his partner are committed to making it work and they wouldn't be the first people to maintain a long distance relationship, even with children. My gut tells me the falling out between Collingwood and Treloar is mainly of Collinwood's own doing, not Treloar's.

Bringing in some draftees, possibly upgrading Lockhart (if we offer him a third season on the rookie list he can walk out as a UFA) and of course Brown (and maybe another, who knows), means we must be odds on to let TMac go in addition to Preuss (with J Wagner the only senior list player to be delisted so far, we could lose all of Hannan, OMac, Jordon and Bedford and possibly still not have enough room). And that's before we lose senior list spots due to COVID-related shrinkage.

I'm OK with this, without being over the moon (but certainly not upset by it). A bit surprised it's a two-year deal, but if we get consistent performances closer to his late-season form then there's a future for him in our forward half.

Who's on the market in terms of key defensive depth who you'd want at the club? I'm not convinced McKernan is an upgrade on Brown as a back-up forward. He probably is as a back-up ruck, but I'm not convinced he's good enough to make it worthwhile. But, it will only be for a bargain basement salary so it won't be the end of the world if it happens.

Good news. Given he's out of contract and North have contributed to pushing him out, I would have thought pick 23 (which is now pick 25) is about right. There are no certainties in football and there's no certainty this is going to work for us, but I like the move and I think there's a strong chance this will make us a better side in 2021 and beyond.

I see this is now news from a more reputable source than Tony Sheahan! Yes - you have to wonder whether they need Ratugolea on their list if they take Hogan (and Preuss?).

The news is Hogan's going to be traded to GWS. They've already got Himmelberg, Finlayson and Riccardi. Adding Hogan surely means they don't need TMac (the more so if they want Preuss)?

So which one is it? FWIW, I'm all for getting a back-up ruck onto the list to replace Preuss but I'm not sure McKernan is the best option.