BW511

And in this hypothetical, we not only hand Carlton a flag, we drastically improve our chances of winning one too.

Agree with Jon Ralph. He’s been through a lot, no doubt, but it’s not our fault he asked his manager whether he could get out and people found out. The snowball effect of this has got large on him and it’s going to be a very long wait until 2025 season begins, whichever colours he ends up in.

At least we won’t have to worry about late nights next year, back to our cosy Sunday arvo slot we go.

Even without knowing him, I get the sense he’d be a vastly superior teacher/leader for Kolt/Sparrow/Chin etc When the whips get cracking, you know he’d be up for it

No doubt this is true however Waterman also wont be around when West Coast start winning regularly, so maybe they prioritise more kids

If we are still in the hunt for Waterman, it would surely make MFC a little more attractive for Houston. Waterman runs up at the footy as hard as anyone in the game, which totally changes our forward setup regardless of which line coach comes in. Houston can hit his chest from anywhere forward of CHB In this hypothetical scenario I’d happily let Trac walk and use his pick haul for young midfield guns. Splitting our current pick and change to land Houston and Waterman. Waterman more than makes up for Trac forward of the ball, Houston protects the HBF/mid rotation in cahoots with Riv and a young gun can slot into the mid rotation 2025 looks very different then

Absolutely

If Collingwood somehow find currency to get this done, doesn’t it pretty much guarantee they are cactus for the next few years? They will have even less picks and even more players over 30 (Trac being 29) This only helps the pies and Christian from a PR perspective, definitely not from a winning flags perspective

I think there’s a decent risk element to keeping Trac next year, given the toll this injury has taken on him/his support network. He has always been a confidence player and I feel like that may take a while to properly come back. No doubt he’s very good at his best, not many across the league can compare, but like we have seen with Oliver, things can change quickly. Holding onto an outspoken and upset player with that much influence is a dangerous game

We haven’t been able to fully embrace this time for a few years, feels comfortable being back competing from October onwards.

There’s a very real possibility that North go past us next year, so I’d imagine Jack had a decent glance at what North threw at him.

I would agree with @adonski Would prefer to take an early second rounder to the draft (ANB)

The top 7 picks from 2023 have all played 13 games or more this year, kids can play and impact immediately now. Windsor is the most with 19 and he would have still been playing barring injury. 6 has to go to the draft in my opinion and a super agile/quick, skilled midfielder is the target.

I mean, if the clubs best player is out complaining to anyone who will listen (allegedly) then it would make anyone nervous. Don’t really see how this is any different

I would imagine this is the situation that’s actually played out, the club were happy with 12 or 13 and now that it’s considerably higher, we won’t deal it away

Proper plot twist if the leadership group walked him out

I hope it was some 4D chess from the club, leak some stuff to the media to cool Houston’s enthusiasm and avoid using pick 6 😄

That excites me more than you would imagine. A tall, skillful Half Forward and a bloke that can actually hit him from 50m away. Entire game transformed

Would love Nibbler out and Lukosius in. A modern day Jack Watts - which complements our huge group of contested only guys

Windsor is the most exciting player to walk into the club in a long time. He has bucked the trend of protecting skinny kids in the VFL and has had meaningful contributions for almost all of his games. With the sad news of Nibblers trade request, I think that could be the final nail in the coffin for this dour game plan. Nibbler was relied upon to cover for everyone. Without his defensive running power we will need a proper rethink and change is what we need

I watched Viney, yes. So North are probably speaking to Todd and Todd probably isn’t mentioning it to Jack? If we go into next year with Viney, Trac and Clarry as our starting mids, I’d say we are in grave danger. If Viney, Trac and Clarry have been told something along these lines, I suspect all three would be very, very [censored]. Next minute, Adelaide, North and knowing our luck, probably Collingwood, come banging down the door for those guys. As individuals they can all be brilliant, as a collective, they are on their last legs

I guess the players don’t really appreciate contest and defence as much as Goody. North would not be speaking with Jack Viney unless there was some small chance it could happen. Viney would have never dreamed of leaving Melbourne unless there was some smoke there, he’s too proud a man.

I am far from a Sparrow fan but the amount of times I’ve seen ‘Sparrow - great tagging game’ or similar would suggest you do think he can tag

Given we had him in front of us all night, I was particularly interested to see how he went. No doubting his kicking ability and he did more defensively than I expected. Just don’t see how his foot skills and run create the result we all want with our slow/safe game plan. Same with the Gulden/Daicos example. They need a system that backs them in to attack.

I think Lever’s leadership credentials are strong but I’m not sure his football, since our flag, matches it.