Whispering_Jack

I concur. After the events of the past few days, no Fish, no Chips.Time to get back on topic.

The highlights of another dull, colourless day - no trades yet although see below for completed free agency transactions. Allen Christensen The 23-year-old Cast has asked to be traded to a Queensland-based club "purely for personal reasons". Tom Lonergan Lonergan has been approached by the Western Bulldogs about a potential move to the club. He is contracted next season, but the Dogs have expressed their interest in the premiership defender. Levi Greenwood North Melbourne says Greenwood wasn't squeezed out of the club by the additions of free agents Shaun Higgins and Jarrad Waite, despite them not being able to match the offer he will receive from Collingwood. Dayne Beams Brisbane says they're prepared to offer Collingwood picks 5 & 25 in exchange for Beams and has ruled out trading any of their young stars back to the Pies. Exodus The number of players wanting out of Essendon continues to grow, with Elliott Kavanagh and Kyle Hardingham joining Paddy Ryder, Jason Winderlich and Leroy Jetta in expressing their desire to leave the club. Travis Varcoe West Coast says they'd certainly be interested in gaining a trade for Geelong's Varcoe but expects him to stay at a Victorian-based club. FREE AGENCY MOVES after Day 3 • Jarrad Waite moves from Carlton to North Melbourne as an unrestricted free agent. • Shaun Higgins moves from the Western Bulldogs to North Melbourne as a restricted free agent. • James Frawley moves from Melbourne to Hawthorn as an unrestricted free agent. • Nick Malceski moves from Sydney to Gold Coast an an unrestricted free agent.

Worth a read again in light of the Rabbitoes premiership win last Sunday.

I would not consider taking an Essendon player unless he came with a certificate from ASADA stating that he was clean and there were no show causes contemplated as a result of any supplements programmed carried out at that club. I think all clubs should steer clear of the Essendon 34 (or 20 who are left). The more who leave the EFC before this is resolved, the greater the likelihood the Bombers have of fielding a half decent side when sanctions are applied.

Tell em they're dreamin', They don't even have pick 5 to trade because thanks to the Frawley compo, it's now pick 6.

I haven't seen much of TMP but he also sounds similar to a bloke called Paul Salmon who played senior VFL/AFL for 20 seasons with Essendon and Hawthorn winning premierships, goalkicking honours, best and fairests and even made the Team of the Century at his second club Hawthorn. I know it's all about mids, mids, mids but I would take Brayshaw first and imagine then if we picked up a midfielder in a downgrade with the Bulldogs' pick. He might still be around at 6. That gives us two ,ids and a 203cm ruckman/forward. And ruckmen play in the midfield too

I was speaking just now with a person who works in the TAC Cup system and he expressed the view that if there was one key player/big man worth investing in if he had a pick in the top three then it would be Two Metre Peter Wright who is tall, can play forward and play ruck. I was told that he would take little time to adapt to the rigours of AFL and would be a perfect replacement for Mitch Clark as a forward/ruckman in todays football. I mentioned Luke McAlister's phantom draft in another thread. This is what he says about TMP ~ Luke McAlister's Phantom Draft and from Callum Twomey on the afl.com.au site My informant says if we got Brayshaw/Wright with picks 2 and 3, we would have a perfect combination of players from the early reaches of the draft and we would have to be tempted with a very, very special (pronounce in McAvaney style) trade to part with either of those picks. Of course, as mentioned by McAlister, the risk/reward aspect of taking a big man early is high but I relish the thought of a combination of this bloke and Jesse Hogan dominating our forward line and destroying opposition defences for the next ten to fifteen years.

From your lips to god's ears.

Day three of the NAB Trade Period kicks off today, in a day that could see our first official trade get done. Travis Varcoe Geelong premiership player Varcoe is the latest player to be linked with a move to a different club, with The Age reporting he could become involved in a three-way trade involving Heritier Lumumba and Mitch Clark. Adam Cooney Cooney's name has also been thrown up as part of trade discussions, with a potential move forming part of discussions between the Blues and the Bulldogs. Bombers Elliott Kavanagh has requested a trade. James Hird has declared that Paddy Ryder will stay at the Bombers, unless a good deal can be struck between them and Port Adelaide. The Bombers have also joined the mix to lure Kristian Jaksch from GWS. His preference is Carlton, followed by the Saints. WJ – just wondering what the Bombers have to offer Jaksch – $1m (they will still need to cover the salary cap) or the captaincy?

I must confess that I don't recall previously coming across Luke McAlister's work but his comprehensive phantom draft makes good reading ~ Luke McAlister's Phantom Draft He has Christian Petracca going at # 1 and here are his pen pictures of the players he thinks will go to us if we retain # 2 & 3:

Phantom form guide: October update Swans' academy selection Heeney is highly regarded. Petracca, McCartin, Brayshaw and Wright are the ones most fancied to fill Melbourne's current leading selections at 2 & 3 (assuming we keep them).

The NAB trade and free agency period continued with news of some interest, a new AFL coach and no completed trades. Levi Greenwood The North Melbourne midfielder has walked out on the club, requested a trade to Collingwood, despite finishing third in the Kangaroos' 2014 best and fairest award. His manager Liam Pickering telling NAB Trade Radio that the contract offer from North Melbourne simply came too late. Jeff Garlett The Blues' small man has requested to be traded to Melbourne. His manager Liam Pickering told NAB Trade Radio this afternoon that the deal will "get done". New coach The Crows unveiled their new senior coach - former Port Adelaide assistant Phil Walsh. Jono O'Rourke O'Rourke appears destined for Hawthorn after St Kilda announced they had missed out on the former pick number two. Ben Howlett According to Howlett 's manager, the player could leave Essendon if James Hird isn't retained as the club's coach. Rhys Shaw Shaw is 100 per cent locked in to play at Sydney next season after John Longmire confirmed the half back would continue as part of the Swans line-up. Nick Malceski In late news, Sydney was compensated with a second round draft pick for loss of Malceski via free agency.

Sorry, sold out at all venues in the vicinity of Tullamarine.

Good to hear from you Craig and hope all's well in the world with you. (Could I suggest however, that you don't read the Essendon redacted thread - not good for one's health) Cheers

New Casey coach Justin Plapp

Reported on AFL Trades Facebook

DRAFT ORDER 6/10/14 1. St. Kilda 2. Melbourne 3. Melbourne 4. GWS Giants 5. Brisbane 6. Western Bulldogs 7. Carlton 8. Gold Coast 9. Collingwood - Darcy Moore 10. Adelaide 11. West Coast 12. Richmond 13. Fremantle 14. Geelong 15. Gold Coast 16. North Melbourne 17. Port Adelaide 18. Sydney - Isaac Heeney 19. Hawthorn 20. Essendon 21. GWS Giants 22. St. Kilda 23. Melbourne 24. GWS Giants - Jack Steele 25. Brisbane 26. Western Bulldogs 27. Western Bulldogs 28. Carlton 29. Gold Coast 30. Collingwood 31. Adelaide 32. West Coast 33. Richmond 34. Fremantle 35. Geelong 36. North Melbourne 37. Port Adelaide 38. Sydney - Jack Hiscox 39. Hawthorn 40. St. Kilda 41. Melbourne - Billy Stretch 42. GWS Giants 43. Brisbane - Liam Dawson 44. Western Bulldogs 45. Carlton 46. Gold Coast 47. Collingwood 48. Gold Coast 49. Adelaide 50. West Coast 51. Richmond 52. Essendon 53. Fremantle 54. Geelong 55. North Melbourne 56. Port Adelaide 57. Sydney 58. Hawthorn 59. St. Kilda 60. Melbourne 61. GWS Giants 62. Brisbane - Harris Andrews, 63. Western Bulldogs - Zaine Cordy 64. Carlton 65. Gold Coast 66. Collingwood 67. Adelaide 68. West Coast 69. Richmond 70. Essendon 71. Fremantle 72. Geelong 73. North Melbourne 74. Port Adelaide 75. Sydney - Abe Davis 76. Hawthorn 77. St. Kilda 78. Melbourne 79. GWS Giants 80. Brisbane 81. Western Bulldogs 82. Carlton 83. Gold Coast 84. Collingwood 85. Adelaide 86. West Coast 87. Richmond 88. Essendon 89. Fremantle 90. Geelong 91. North Melbourne 92. Port Adelaide 93. Sydney 94. Hawthorn [Josh Clayton (Brisbane Lions), Alec Waterman (West Coast) and Jeremy Finlayson (GWS Giants) will join their nominated clubs with their last picks in the draft]

The NAB Trade Period opened today but despite plenty of talk and meetings between clubs, no official trades were completed. James Frawley The Hawks officially got their man with the unrestricted free agent joining the club on a four-year deal. The Hawks say they hope he will play for between 5-6 years at the club. Ryan Schoenmakers The Hawks say Schoenmakers isn't on the trade table, insisting he is a required player despite bringing in Frawley and signing Brian Lake to a one-year contract extension. Schoenmakers also wants to stay at the club. Levi Greenwood Greenwood, who is currently on holiday in Bali will make a decision on his future tomorrow. He will weigh up contract offers from the Roos, as well as Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs. David Armitage The Saints confirmed Armitage isn't on the trade table, while Sydney forward Tim Membrey expressed his desire to move to St Kilda. Patrick Dangerfield Adelaide will not consider trading star Dangerfield according to the club’s head of football David Noble who said any suggestion of Dangerfield leaving the club was "ridiculous". Patrick Ryder Essendon wants a quality player in return for ruckman Patrick Ryder, not just "a bag of peanuts", according to recruiting manager Adrian Dodoro who said there had been little movement in discussions with the Power on Monday. Father-son Collingwood has warded off a challenge from the Western Bulldogs to secure father-son prospect Darcy Moore with pick No. 8 in this year's NAB AFL Draft.

Law of averages Tim. We've had so many promising players who turned into duds that, according to the LOA we should be recruiting at least 8 out and out champions this year.

I was a cheerleader in 2010 as well but there have been four seasons in between then and now and, if you want to know, he's not worth a Jatz Cracker on his form in that time so I'm with Jaded on this one. Massive win for the club IMO he was one of the reasons I didn't mind missing the odd game this season because he and a few others looked so uninterested running around half the time. This aspect of football and free agency is what irks me the most and it's a disgrace that the AFL and the AFLPA don't understand the damage it's doing to the game.

Apologies for the quip BB but I couldn't resist it. I get your point about him being rated by the competition at 29 but I think we got a better player than that figure suggests anyway. I have a feeling that there might be an element of reluctance about some clubs wasting their time bidding for him anywhere below 29 and above Melbourne's second round selection. A pick at around 22ish would have been fair value for him and I'm happy we ended up with 39 which is now around 41 with the FA picks factored in. I think he's better than Jay Kennedy-Harris who went at around there last year. I've watched him this year through training with us early in the year as an AIS scholarship holder (along with Angus Brayshaw), the National Under 18 championships where he gained All Australian selection and then the rapid improvement he made at Glenelg (through the statistics available). He's an 18 year old who is regularly getting possession numbers in the 20's and rising up to the high 20's at SANFL level and from the vision of him, he's building up quite nicely. Then those Draft Combine results had me concerned that he would cost us a second rounder (two of the three most respected internet draft experts I quoted on another thread agree). I expect that we won't see too much of him at Melbourne next year - half a dozen games will suffice - but on what I've seen of him there's blue sky aplenty with him.

Did Sydney get a home or a footballer?

What's HH stand for? Halfway house?

The trade/draft action opened on Friday and North Melbourne drew first blood capturing free agents Shaun Higgins and Jarrad Waite. Carlton received no compensation for the latter due to his advanced age (in football terms) but the Bulldogs will gain a second round draft pick for the younger Higgins who has been in the wars with injury and has fallen down the pecking order in favour of the number of young midfielders now at the kennel. The early focus today will be on the father-son and academy bidding meetings which will see the entry into AFL ranks of a dozen new faces nominated by their respective clubs last Friday - The first picks The players won't necessarily go to the team that nominated them because of the bidding system that comes into play. However, the nominating clubs can match best bid by another club by taking the player with their next draft choice after the bid. The interest here for Melbourne will be whether it selects father-son nomination Billy Stretch who the AFL site describes as follows:- Here are some highlights - Billy Stretch Stretch was a stand out at the AFL National Draft Combine last week and his stocks have risen lately which means that Melbourne will most likely be required to part with its second round draft pick for the youngster. These father-son/academy bidding meeting will be followed by the opening of the trade week with recruiters of the 18 clubs locking themselves away like the old horse traders used to do in past days. The objective is the same - to snare some thoroughbreds to the stables but in this case, the horseflesh is the cream of the country's footballing talent. We're told to expect an early frenzy on the market with the announcement of deals that have been simmering slowly in the background and finalised on the first day. One Herald Sun writer has speculated about each club's prospects in terms of dream and nightmare scenarios and called Melbourne's in this way:- What a laugh for the journo to suggest that Melbourne people suffer nightmares? Surely, the man is oblivious to the fact that Melbourne has suffered so many reversals of fortune in its recent history that its fans neither suffer nightmares nor sleep at all for that matter. They live through what others might call "nightmares" during the daytime. On the free agency side of things, James Frawley is expected to formally nominate Hawthorn as his destination early in the day. This will be another dagger in the heart of the concept of equalisation. That is not to say the aim of free agency should be to equalise the competition but there is something wrong when the most poorly performed club over the past five years loses a key player at the prime of his career to the best performed. The trend is clear after three years with lowly clubs simply not getting a look in and the best players always ending at the top clubs. The Dees will most likely get pick three as compensation but the clubs with picks nearby aren't happy about this (similarly, they also complained loudly about Melbourne's now rejected application for draft assistance a few weeks ago). At the same time, Sydney for some inexplicable reason will be able to select a player considered to be a top three midfield draft prospect from its academy for around pick 18 proving that the entire system is fast becoming a farce as the stronger clubs continue to draw blood from the weaker ones. .. [ A last ditch effort by a Demonland luminary to convince Frawley to remain at the club failed recently

Back in the 1970s when Robbie started, there were usually only two games shown on television by replay on Saturday evening. With Melbourne occupying a lowly spot on the ladder, our games were rarely shown on replay (it didn't matter if you were a real supporter because you would go to every game and see it in person). The only glimpse you would get if your game didn't make it as one of the replay games was a few minutes of filmed vision that was usually shown during the panel discussion on World of Sport on a Sunday morning. There was such a game that we played out at Windy Hill (late 70s/early 80s because it was in colour) when Robbie kicked the goal of the century in my estimation. My memory of it is that he took possession of the ball in the back pocket and ran and passed the ball to teammates and back all the way along the wing and into the forward line when he finally drilled the goal. I remember it was shown on WOS but would love to see it again so if anybody has the vision or can post a link, please do. I'd like to show it to my grandchildren and to share it with the generation of Melbourne fans who were never fortunate enough to witness his greatness. I'm also hoping that the goal does turn out to be as great as its memory is to me. Does anyone else remember it?