Colm

Or maybe a move couldn’t be facilitated with his criteria last year so has wisely decided to broaden his criteria to maximise his chances of a trade. Either way a strong statement from Trac or his management that he’s staying would go a long way to quieting down the speculation in the same way it has with Clarry.

Firstly this draft is considered to be the worst in living memory at this stage for top end talent and depth onto of that it’s one of the more compromised drafts. Doesn’t mean JT couldn’t pick up a gem or two given the right picks but I think it makes trading future firsts to get into this draft more risking than usual. Secondly with the amount of young talent we have we are already well into our rebuild, if we brought in some mature players this year along with our NGA and F/S and focused on getting a strong draft hand for next year I think we could complete our rebuild/ have enough quality young players at that stage. If we can’t get Flanders I’m happy to get good picks for next year. I’m also happy to swap our 2027 first for a 2026 first as part of any Trac deal. Thirdly even if we bottomed out the year Tassie comes in( assuming they do come in),that draft is already being touted as very strong. Teams that finish in the bottom 4 will still get good picks and Tassie has to trade a lot of the picks they get.

Also if we are trading any of our players with strong currency we could consider a swapping of 2026 and 2027 first as part of the deal and add more A grade talent via the draft before Tassie comes in. Assuming they do come in.

I agree that if we can’t get a good deal for him then we shouldn’t trade him. The problem is that once you set a price you have started to negotiate and from that point on it’s hard to come back from if the player makes it clear he wants to go and the club confirms it will allow him to leave for the right price. Rarely does one side feel like they have won with at least 2 of the 3 parties normally needing to compromise

I think our list management needs to be thinking beyond

I can see where you’re coming from. Also we have tried for a few years to get a key forward in and he is the only one we have got one the hook. But…. We already have Melksham on the books who has only averaged 12 games over the past 5 years and is now a year older. Also we made this play before with McAdam who can’t get in the park. So I don’t think we are in a position to take a punt on a 33 year old with injuries. Worst case we are paying a fair chunk of our cap on 3 players on the injury list. I’m more in favour of planing for the future rather than next year. We are still paying for Gus, possibly paying for some of Tracs wage should he leave and as I said before have McAdam not playing.

True but only 1 year and we are offering 2 with a third depending. unless things have changed.

Nowhere near it tonight. Pies list management have been streets ahead of us lately. They would have greeter intel than us about his body and how long it can hold up. Let the buyer beware

Why is the offer only 2 years? Is that all he wants to sign on for? If he wants longer I can see why he might have his nose out of joint when we seem happy to hand out big and long contracts for fun when it comes to certain players.

They showed the Curtis one from earlier in the year at half time. Almost identical and he got 3 weeks but watch the AFL move the goal post for the GF if Hawks make it.

Has to get suspended. Pinned both arms and drive his into ground. Resulted in concussion

I’m ok with paying some of Tracs wages but a good top 10 pick( this year or next) has to be part of the deal. Suns hold the best hand with pick 6 which is on the trade table. I’m not sure the Suns would be the best fit for him though but perhaps Hardwick wants a Dusty type player. I do see a him being a good fit at Carlton and it would probably the best fit for his brand too. Adelaide and GWS make sense too I think.

Our first round pick next year could easily be as good as last years. I’m not trading a Langford level player for Flanders.

I don’t think 23 and a future second is far off the mark. It’s pretty much bang on what we paid for Ed Langdon at a similar age and as I mentioned Suns require points this year assuming they trade out pick 6. He would need to nominate us of course.

Don’t mind the above but I’m hoping we can either hold onto our 2026 first or use it to trade into this year’s draft as I still think we need to draft more top end talent. How about 2025 & 2026 second rounders for Flanders?! Gives Suns points for academy players this year and decent pick next year.

Agree he wants out but the story coming out the other day that he would be open to going to Sydney,GC or Adelaide says to me he hasn’t got a destination lined up yet. Will be interesting to see who comes to the table and what they bring.

As long as we are dreaming I’ll take Curtain for Trac.

I’m not saying you're wrong and the reported lack of quality in this year’s draft might suggest you’re right. But the population will have grown over 25% and 5 million people from when the Suns joined to when Tassie is due to come in. If the comp can’t sustain another team then the AFL really needs to look at how it’s growing the game.

Yeah fair points, I’m in favour of the trade only if it’s good for the club and I’m happy if he decides ti stay and see what a new coach, game style and hopefully goal kicking coach can do next season However we saw the lengths he was willing to go last year when there was no club willing to put an offer on the table for him, if he can agree terms with another club and get them to put any sort of middling offer on the table then I think a trade is inevitable. With two years future picks now on the table most clubs should be able to make it work.

Good on Gary setting a high price for Trac before others in the media say he’s shot and only worth a packet of chips.

A rule change that will have a big impact on the rucking contest probably comes at a good time for us as we contemplate how to replace the greatest of all time.

You might be right but he said in his presser that he was dedicating one day to Melbourne and then he was driving down the highway and focusing on Geelong.

Interesting that the stories came out the day after King met with our list management. Cats play on Friday so I guess there’s a chance our new coach hasn’t had a proper chance to catch up with Trac but if it hasn’t happened already I’m sure it will over the weekend or early next week . If Trac hasnt come out and put the rumours to bed by mid next week I think we can take it to the bank he’s Gone

I was filthy with Trac with how he went about trying to force through a move last year. Tbh I’ll prob never look at him in the same light ever again. Thought he put in a decent effort coming back from injury but never felt like he was 100% in. This time round I’m not too bothered- I assume it’s him putting out the story that he’s will to be traded to a bigger range of clubs this time. This helps both parties, makes it more realistic that he will get his move and we will get reasonable trade value

Would still be $1.3m off the books next year.