demoniac

Our best chance of giving value to our sponsors as we hopefully move up the ladder is by being broadcast on free to air Ch7 more often. Huge difference in ratings for games broadcast on Ch7 v those on Foxtel.

The Tiges will pay part of the contract in return for getting a first round selection.

For mine there is a chance some Dees players who may see themselves further away from senior footy given trade arrivals may seek a trade tomorrow.

The guaranteed 3rd year concerns me but being positive Lewis will be surrounded by more ball contested ball winning mids than just Sam Mitchell. Hopefully he can rotate through half forward, he is a good mark for his size. As as for the Hawks if their salary cap dumping giveaway of their 2 contested ball mids Mitchell and Lewis is all about creating cap space to attract 2017 free agents such as Fyfe or Martin my question is will they have enough depth of talent around O'Meara., Martin & Fyfe. Burton looks good but the rest of their young players are underwhelming or untested. It's hard to build depth if you are trading a first rounder plus 2 nd rounders as a minimum for 1 player.

Presume it will be a Mitchell-ian deal. I have some doubts about wisdom of a 3 year deal but he would be joining a much deeper midfield than he played in this year and one which spreads the contested ball load rather than relying on just him and Sam Mitchell. Can he play mid/half forward?

Crikey. Hawks fans have an inflated sense of Lewis' trade value!

Lewis is past his best. Seemed treacle slow at times this season. Even in today's AFL not all players can maintain their form into their 30s. Would not mind him as a coach. Given Hawks extended Mitchell mid season and then Hodge, Burgoyne and Gibson late in the season it seems likely that Clarkson was so shaken by the loss to the Bullies that he has accelerated their list rebuild. Exiting their reigning best and fairest and best midfielder Sam Mitchell, is obviously a salary cap dump. So was their initial dialogue with Lewis. Some of the space may have been needed to more easily fit O'Meara, T Mitchell and Vickery but it could also be used to frontload 2018 payments to to 2017. This, with the likely retirements of Hodge, Burgoyne and Gibson, means they would have plenty of cap space to go shopping for free agents or destination club types next off season too. Fyfe? Gold Coast or Giants mids?

Simpson is a good friend of Clarkson. Mitchell is good friends with both Simpson and Hale. If he plays 1 or 2 years then is an assistant for 3 then it may be that he returns east to replace Clarko at Hawthorn. Essentially sent to learn the ropes under a trusted associate of Clarkson. Also means his kids will be back settled in Melbourne before secondary schooling. And yes the fact the Hawks are moving on their reigning best & fairest after extending his contract mid season does shout SALARY CAP SQUEEZE to everyone cept Hawks fans who insist their players are lillywhite amateurs!

If the Dingley Hawks do get both O'Meara and Mitchell I hope.. the Suns and Swans make them do a fair deal. Everyone knows O'Meara's talent and the Hawks have boasted that their medical staff will see to it that his injury woes are behind him so their first rounder + a quality mid young or career player seems fair. Mitchell again is worthy of another first rounder or a quality young mid career player. If I was either the Suns or the Swans I'd be asking for one of Breust, Burton, Gunston, Shiels, Smith or Stratton. It is high stakes for the Hawks. Do they want to go into the the final year of Hodge, Gibson and Burgoyne's careers with a 34 and a half year old Mitchell carrying their midfield assisted only by the rapidly declining Jordan Lewis?

Nobody doubts Well's talent but at 32 and with his history of injury and doubts of his capacity to play at anything less than 100% fit a 3 year $1.8 million deal comes with a large amount of risk of having 600K a year of dead money in the cap. Mayne just seems overpriced for a player of his talent and role. Again if its a 4 year $2 million deal if he can't get back to his Freo form of a few years ago that is also potentially a lot of dead money in the cap. For mine they seem desperate short term moves to get the Pies into the bottom of the 8 and save Buckley's coaching career. Time will tell!

Agree re Hibberd. Dunn to Lions would be a salary cap dump so can't see 49 coming our way. Heading into 2017 with both Dunn and Garland on our list and eating up salary cap space will not be an ideal outcome.

Ch7 VFL commentators claimed JKH had been offered a 3 year deal by Carlton.

You have to look at free agency not in isolation but as an adjunct to the destination club concept. At the end of 2014 the Hawks lacked a key defender and were able to pick up a 26 year old former All Australian Key Defender for free under free agency. They now realise they lack a forward/ruck option and look set to claim the best free agent in that position again for free in the 26 year old Ty Vickery. They now realise their midfield is weak so using destination club status they are favourites to recruit Jaeger O'Meara and Tom Mitchell. The same mechanism they have used to recruit for 'unders' the likes of Gibson and Gunston. Essentially if they are smart their 'bottoming out' will see them at the bottom... of the top 8.

Is 29/30 as old in footballing terms as it was 10 or 20 years ago? Advances in conditioning, recovery and medicine mean players can now play at or close to their peak for longer. If Hibberd does not lose his speed then I see no reason why he won't be able to maintain his form till his 31 yo (2021) or 32yo (2022) year old season. Thats a long time in footy. Hibberd provides speed, overlap run, intercept marking, defensive spoiling, long kicking and hardness. I'd love to see him off half back combining with Hunt and Melksham to give us more than 1 speedy rebound option off half back. Hard to judge Essendon players on their performances in 2015 given the pressures they were under on and off field. Still Hibberd finished 8th in their B&F. Melksham finished 9th. In 2014 Hibberd finished 4th. Hibberd also finished 4th in 2013 b&f with Melksham 5th.

Ok with the Lions getting a priority pick. I want the Dees to be strong and the code to be strong.

5 coaches for 1 team and 45 pro athletes?

Does he have AFL level big man talent? Seems to play as a very tall and fairly average mid. Needs to be able to hold down a key position or hold his own in the ruck for mine otherwise his lauded flexibility is illusory.

Admire De Boer for making the most of his ability but at AFL level he is most definitely Jack Dyer Good Ordinary Footballer ilk. Mids will rotate through half forward with reduced rotations.

Good to see Tyson extend. Important for centre square depth. Good contested ball winner who needs to distribute better, particularly short passing.

Reading between the lines Motlop is not a professional in his preparation. As an outside player would improve at a team like the Dees with better midfield than the Cats but the doubts over his professionalism and competitive nature are significant issues.

Lobbe is one of the Port players signed on long term way over the odds deals a la Hartlett, How much would you pay to a backup ruck?

Developing nicely for mine. Obviously will benefit from more pre seasons to build strength and endurance. Started from a fair way back after injury ended his 2015 season. Seems like a natural forward to me.

Its a sign of how far we've come that we are writing off a first year key position type who has held down a spot in a team that made it to the VFL granny!

They do seem to have a disciplined player payments structure. Be interesting to see where their top earner fits into the AFL's top earners. Might make a contrast to the Swans if their reported derisory offer to Tom Mitchell is true. Brad Hill will be a big out. Hawks fans might find a him a favoured scapegoat but they'll miss his running power. They may be able to get away with only losing 2016 and 2017 draft picks and Hill for O'Meara and Mitchell but I suspect they may try to offload a few of their Jack Dyer Good Ordinary Footballers like Schoenmakers, O'Brien, Will Langford or Hartung for overs. Proceed with caution!

The knock on Hawks is that their best players bar Cyril are 30 plus and slowing down. They are suspect in the midfield, down the spine and in the ruck. Of course they will do their best to utilise free agency and destination club status but it is difficult to see them finding solutions to all of those issues in 1 off season and the likes of Mitchell (34) Burgoyne (34) Hodge (33), Gibson (33) Lewis (31) will be another year older. Apart from Burton their kids have not been particularly impressive.