Turner

there's also far more demand for a number 1 ruck now than 12 months ago, Swans ruck has retired, Port cleary don't have any idea who they like/don't like any of them and the cats have missed the 8 and have just lost one of their two 33yo rucks to retirement too. If that was the case, he wouldn't have made it to FA and 8 years in the system

BRIS: Ashcroft/Fletcher and Wilmot CARL: Hollands STK: NWM, Owens, Caminiti for most of the year and recently Windhager too plus Philipou hasn't left the side

If i'm west coast i'd also take Beast mode mathieson from the lions. a UFA mature body at 26yo who is capable at AFL level and has done the hard yards in the 2s so would come on a modest deal but the perfect option to protect youngsters and throw his weight around until the kids are ready. Also in a good age bracket below Yeo, Sheed, Gaff, Kelly so as they move on or are injured they aren't completely exposed in the guts. Similar vane to the Hunt pick up

but they aren't ready for afl exposure yet. we need mature bodies whilst we are at the top of the ladder competing for flags

ladhams would be a pretty good number 2, would be serviceball if required but happy to be number 2 dyl stpehens is a HB and we seem super settled there with young players

Key Forwards/Backs as many have mentioned, we didn't really replace Majak, Brown, Jackson and Weid last year, Smith has played the most games in a season of his career remarkably, Tomlinson still isn't trusted and Grundy experiment clearly failed. TMac, BBB and Schache would all be potentially on the chopping block for 2024 so we need mature bodies. we're one JVR or May injury away from serious turmoil. Agree our first pick needs to be a best available mid tho, hopefully McKercher and the O'Sullivan links excite me. Im scared of Caddy and Duursma's ability against fully grown men compared to other kids as well as their consistency and i don't like swingmen like Curtain who spend 4 years being moved around and unsettled it stalls their development massively

yeh, but north would match the offer and force it to a trade at which point dons might back out entirely as they would no longer be giving up nothing and then maybe brings other clubs into play for him re stephens, brayshaw or rivers could play more onball and he slots in it could work. similarly on the salem chat, i dont think he's irreplaceable, hes 28 which is prime but he doesnt really change games the same way he used to and as others have mentioned we have a younger core back there who are offering as much already say we add stephens to that too and if a club came with the right picks i think we'd weigh it up. i;m not saying we'd force a converation or he'd be looking around but sometimes things just happen and just work and down the line this could be one, or maybe he gets to 33 like hibbo and becomes a super grunty shut down deeper option who knows what the future holds

i'm hearing 600k now, so in the end of 1st round or 2nd round band

had a crack at it, Bowey probably isnt in the side Hayden Young instead but makes it as a dee and i probably should have gone JHF over rowell but mates rates. weightman also was a bit of a lottery for the last forward spot, thought about Logan McDonald or OHenry but went against it. Nic Martin the stiffest but my god that centre is strong

Forgive me for further diluting this thread and forgive me further for the unspeakable suggestions i am about to mutter. But should Tomlinson seek opportunities as we all predict, theres a certain club with a stack of NQR key defenders which has a list squeeze and a former player who i'd be in dialogue with regarding his future as a defender and whilst i was more than happy to see the back of him i was frustrated we never gave it a good run in pre-season and vfl. hear me out. Essendon want Ben McKay and by all reports its fait accompli. Then there Bezerk Thatcher who is uncontracted and potentially optainable but also currently first choice so maybe not. All essendon fans seem to be keen on Baldwin as a key defender after he recently made the move back and showed signs when given a senior shot. and a returning but also probably cooked James Stewart as their fourth choice. but they like Harry Jones and 2MP and are commited to Langford and also the 2ruck combo forward. SO.... So do we bring Weideman back as a defender at least he'll be further up the pecking order than he currently is at the dons? Or does Schache just do the pre-season down back? is it crazy? the market is quickly diminishing

was probably up against it for a new deal anyway, seems to be one of those 5goal vfl players who doesnt find enough of the footy at senior level. i guess now the dogs can slide himself and bruce off the list under the guise of injury which is a bit more respectful to the career than a flat chopping. he can be proud of what hes made for himself tho

the ones i've met have been fun enough 🤷‍♂️

once upon a time i mightve agreed with you but not anymore

im happy to nominate for the draft too to make it 4 Luke Morrell Alonzo Rockland-Nelson Orlando Turner Kaleel Ross Buay Duac these were the names in an afl.com.au article about NGA prospects listed for this seasons intake i remember all the fuss at the time was about riak andrew's ommision

Clay Hall really intrigues me for some reason, is he a pure accumulator and a perenial handballer? or is there more to his game, gives me chad warner vibes as a smaller inside mid? is there a player there i think he could be a big bargain as a young mid we could target I reckon he stays, no market for a 31yo in that mould when Doedee is a FA and the blues have Matchbank, McGovern types OOC, PA also has a log jam of rebounding types as do STK and WBD. I reckon they offer him an extra 2 years and smooth it out for the security of a full career

you couldn't fit him in with melky and fritta

i was in perth for work yesterday and let me tell you, its a top top city, such nice weather and the perfect balance of cbd and grassland and not too busy, could definitely live there. and draftees shouldn't knock it until theu try it. also has a lot of nice bars

not sure why we wouldn't want him to test so we can see how he compares and so we can see which clubs might be interested in an interview and maybe in nominating him so we can get our ducks in order

Somehow wasn't even nommed for the State combine despite i believe it being only a 3+ club noms to be invited. i think its 5 nominations for naitonal combine, 3 for state combine, maybe he'll be added post season as that does happen too but surely hes not another Emile-Brennan who is completely off our radar

yeh 100% thats how contracts work. a side could essentially sign him for 400-450k a year, we pay 200k and collingwood paying 350-400 Either Lycett at 30yo or Hickey at 32yo could come in and fill the backup role for a couple years, although both are pretty banged up but unlikely a Sweet/Strauchan/Bryan type wants to sit on the bench at a different side. My left field one would be big Goober Crossley from Southport, was looking a real player at GCS pre is cocaine ban and has slotted back in seamlessly at vfl level since.

Sits firmly alongside GAJ as the best player ive seen in my lifetime and an undisputed GOAT of the game of aussie rules football. a legacy that will never be forgotten ever and records which will never be broke

i've have always been in the petty down back camp and that doesn't change even after his 6 as i think his reading of the ball and his aggression is still best suited to defence and he's our long term may replacement however for the rest of the season i'd leave him forward as we just cannot rely on any of the alternative options to give any sort of effort or output at the required level. the only reason i'd change that would be to go melky and fritta and jvr and play a smaller setup that's worked for us in the past at times. long term i just don't think he has the agility and flair to be a real threat forward in all facets of the craft

play him this week v north to give gawn a good run in for finals and then ship him port or swans @ eos

i see a situation where as you say DSmith, DTurner and even KTurner move off rookie list either out or up and we delist and rerookie melky and hibbo that way ti free up the senior spots without actually losing the players who play important and slightly unique roles for us in the squad

sensible for a tall taken with an early pick but i think we need to be careful with these automatic extensions we're handing out. As a good side we have less undesirable players which means the squeeze is on and list management may have written hibbo/melky off at the end of this season and now it looks like they may both play on. yes Howes, Laurie and DTurner have been ok in vfl but why did we lock them into 2yr deals similar with Chandler and Spargo for 3, i'd be making those 1 and 2 year extensions respectively coz now we're stuck with another year of Laurie who just doesn't look likely and is unfortunately clogging us up a bit in terms of list flexibility