Skuit

Every player should be assessed relative to price. But I'm not sure why people pipe up that we should save our money for elsewhere. I'm pretty confident in our list management team getting it right nowadays. Some upside favourites may get squeezed out the bottom, but multiple flags are the goal, and if we lose someone with potential we get it back in longer term cookies. First-world list management.

Update: So immediately prior to the Gaff-bash (copyright pending) I posted a cross-reference to a wild rumour on another shall remain nameless website re.Gaff crossing to the MFC - primarily to dig out our own inside connections and stir up some action, but which was immediately called out by Ethan the Newsbreaker among others as baseless. The original poster has now openly revealed himself as an outright troll - quoth: "I posted a scandal not a rumour. There is no differentiation. It was a complete fabrication loosely linking a few wild comments by others. A simple moment taken to type up a possibility to see how it travels. 13 pages or sometimes emotional ranting is enough for me." I would ordinarily call for a lynching if such passed muster on this beloved site of ours, but I don't want to propagate any notion that Lynch may be coming to Melbourne. Otherwise, I remain convinced that Gaff will be in the red & blue as of next year, despite the trolls and own special Picket.

Think it was the very start of the second half. Oliver simply willed himself to shake his opponent and get the ball in consecutive contests and it resulted in a goal in the first minute or so. Once he becomes fully aware and confident of his ability to influence proceedings he will be in in Dangerfield and Dusty territory - and at an age where he can eclipse them to become the league's best player soon after. As supporters we're both biased and blinded. But he's the greatest young phenomenon in the middle I've seen.

As a former Arts/Philosophy student of a left-wing university, I find this 'coward' terminology in reference to Gaff's act as problematic. If Gaff had signalled his intention to hit Brayshaw, and Brayshaw squared up, would the hit then be heroic? Morton was once considered a coward for running away from an aggressor. If he had stopped and decked the Port player, would that then be brave? Also, many people wouldn't have the cajones to take a swing at an unsuspecting person. It arguably takes a lot of courage to do something like that. Please discuss (300 word limit and submissions are final).

What if turns out that they had in fact played golf last week and Nisbett was right? Do we get a retrial? Or the plot twist that no one predicted: Gaff squeezes Gus out of team for his Demon debut.

Andrew to meet Gaff during the week . . . over a round of golf. Plot curdles.

If there's nothing the public loves more than crucifying a villain it's a redemptive story. It's rooted in our Catholic past of confession and resurrection. This story will end with an all round feel-good factor when Gus and Andrew and Gaff pose for photos together at the annual Brayshaw Christmas repeat sprint before round one next year.

So quietly I intended to imply he may a pest or be acting too big for his boots for a footie freshie.* The golf-buddies connection is a weird aspect. My footy career ended when I punched one of my best mates (after a match) and split my knuckle beyond Medicare repair. It's the first and last time I've ever hit anyone - so I'm not sure if that means it's out of character or not. We got over it though. *See earlier secondary disclaimer. No, nothing condones Gaff's act. Yes, I'm prejudiced by wanting him in my team.

Predisclaimer: this comment does not intend to imply anything and nothing should be inferred from it. I got the sense that Gus was pretty close to taking a swing at his own brother during our Freo match-up. Does anyone recall any near-miss jumper punches that were thrown? If anyone thinks I condone Gaff's act, see the first-line caveat.

You mean like Lyon saying the incident was 100m off the ball?

I'm expecting eight down to seven. So the hope is we knock off West Coast in the first week and they rebound to meet us in the GF. That's seven games - and so then Gaff can make his redemptive debut in the red and blue round 1.

Stop. Q uo ting ,,,,

There's a pretty good chance we'll be meeting West Coast twice over the next six weeks or so. Would have been a bit awkward with Gaff there. Shame he wont be available until our Anzac clash though.

So I wandered over to BigFooty and some bloke posted this in the rumours thread: 'The deal is effectively signed off on. Gaff to Melbourne on $1.2M for 5 years with a side trade to WC of a very promising young mid. This trade facilitates a smooth transition. Gaff's manager is in Perth this week to finalise the details with WC. We met Melbourne end of last week. Evidently it is all remarkably amicable.' Passes the first filter of my bs detector as to language/content (though the reported cost is quite something) and fits with my vibe on the subject. But the side-trade of a promising young mid? And I assume we get something decent trade-wise in return for it all to be above board. Any idea/speculation who these parties might be if the post is accurate? Note: the suggested offer from our side and the trade facilitation for a matchable restricted agent doesn't exactly match up, but maybe the figure is off the mark or that is indeed Gaff's worth on the newly inflated market.

Twitchy aye

Nice scooter Nathan. I like your parka Clayton, it really suits you. Jack, are they a new pair of Chelseas? Wonderful.

My precise thoughts exactly Redleg.

I think it best we both just agree to 'Lismore'. On an another note, the actual Lismore prevented me from seeing the drawn 2010 AFL grand final until the final five minutes - which were admittedly pretty exciting after a three-hour [censored]-around. On an another another note, the town also saved me from viewing 186 until after the fact. Go Lizzie! My e-zine is by paid subscription only. P.s.: it's still Thursday night where I am at the present.

It's actually me. In publishing and readership data, the left-hand page is skipped over a lot faster than than the right (more complexly so, after a certain number or combination of pages). Hence both a completely incorrect and highly obscure and abstract reference to your speed-reading as a metaphorical suggestion of benefit to a lacking right-side book-page impact/football wing in the AFL. If it helps to explain my general air of confusion, I achieved under-graduate accreditation up around your way in Lismore.

[censored] man, that's some serious speed-reading. If the AFL were a book, you'd be perfect for us on a right-side page.

Underwhelmed and slightly alarmed seems a reasonable response (and apologies if I went a bit too far in my 'investigative' hinting). To be perfectly honest though, I haven't seen enough of the Swans over the last year or so to make a fair assessment of his serious form plunge and the potential reasons behind it - shifting balance/game-plan etc. The last I can recall (sometime around the start of last year), he had claimed to be unencumbered by injury but the visual (and statistical) evidence certainly suggested that was indeed the case. A quick Google squizz just now and these theories and denials appear to be ongoing. He was, as you said, at least verifiably injured and missed a pre-season this year - which may be still hampering him to an extent. Assuming the injuries aren't chronic (which they very possibly are), and the decline in form not completely terminal - such that he may regain at least some of his dominance but maybe not to extent of his absolute peak - then the broader picture prospect of him coming to the Dees is an interesting one with a number of multifaceted elements. I say that after taking a big objective step backward after my initial reaction to your confirmation of my hunch and personal hope that the mail was the snail-mail version of the rumour-mill referencing an offer we'd supposedly put to Hannerbery a couple of years back. That said, everything fits and is completely consistent with our recent history to suggest that this is bona fide current development - particularly with respect to player profile and our evident long-game recruitment approach to targeted players. Taylor and co. (of the Roos' legacy) have shown that they will eventually get their man. So, on the basis that he can improve again to at least some level of his capabilities; the first question is obviously that of our need for outside-leaning runners - a specific bugbear of yours as a certain recent investigation has revealed (Dan doesn't have the dash but at least he can run all day). I'm immediately more comfortable with getting Hannerbery if we get Gaff at the same time. It then strikes as a pretty major off-season coup. Without Gaff, it would feel entirely flaccid - strange that. But once we address our primary need, I would then suppose Hannerbery takes on Jones's inside role as Jones transitions to Lewis's duties off half-back. This makes us an instantly better team, and we're lacking age-bracket balance in the middle - the maturity combined with the necessary endurance etc. to impact from the centre all day with Vince on his last legs and Tyson a spent force. We have precisely no one outside of Nat who has played more than 100 games and who will appear at the bounce this week. Compare with practically every other team in the league. With Gaff (160-plus games) and Hanners (~200) added it becomes a pretty potent and balanced mix of some very talented youth supported by a touch of experience with remaining legs (and final's experience at that). Then of course there's the cost - both as to the cap and trading capital. I've held the belief for a long time that we've been pursuing a Cats/Hawks dynasty model - giving the playing group (as close to possible) an early taste of success in the hope that we can keep all the accumulated talent together on reduced financial reward - one of the few levers (no pun) outside of father/son bonuses left to gain a competitive edge in a tightly controlled competition as to equalisation measures. A play for DanHan, on 'serious' coin, together with Gaff and Lever last year however suggests we're instead making a dive for the line in what we believe is our best window. Yet, in a broader business sense, that acquisition of young talent over the past few years is basically an accumulation of tradeable currency. I have no idea what it would take in terms off offloading and to where to bag a pick in the late first-round range to satisfy Sydney, and whatever it is it will no doubt hurt for supporters in the short-term, but it would effectively be a sell-off of stocks to aid the longer-term agenda. I.e. too expensive for Hannerbery on the surface, but an investment strategy. While many here have baulked at the prospect, Brayshaw would be the most likely option with value around the required range in this regard. In: Hanners & Gaff, out: potentially Gus, is a win on balance despite the immediate bitter pill (and likely ongoing flourishing of Brayshaw elsewhere - a footballer who I once considered a future club leader and probable Demon for life). Despite that, my conclusion is that the risk of Hannerbery being permanently crippled and never returning to anywhere near his best is far too great for the gamble - although, despite again my very reasonable MFCCS in this regard, I trust that our recruiters are across the issue in this instance and not just seeing stars (Sydney, however, being so readily willing to dump is a concern). Hopefully, his recent form-slump is just a matter of of the supposed in-principal agreement and best-case Hannerbery preserving his body for our charge to the flag! Mega-TL:DR (apologies) - maybe, but I'm an optimist and really have no idea.

Just as long as the public aren't leaving their random sprinklers on the track then it should all be fine.

Playing like his mind is elsewhere . . .

Simon told them that we're planning to do away with defence altogether in a couple of years so only one set of posts would be necessary.

While it means nothing, I think the Swans locked in DanHan on a pretty decent five-year deal just a couple of seasons back. Peaked in around 2016 . . .