Ron Burgundy

Totally agree. We now have an almost perfectly calibrated list. Injuries permitting, and assuming a good pre-season (no Adelaide-esque hiccups), we should be a lock for the top 4 next year. I continue to be super impressed with Mahoney, Viney and Taylor. The upgrading of the picks to secure two in the 20s was the icing on this trade period - did not see that coming, but shook my head in stunned satisfaction that they are just not missing a trick these days. The MFC is oozing competence at the moment.

Agree. Trading pick 65 back is hardly worth even reporting.

Just feels so good to get this guy. We have plenty of leadership group candidates next year.

Nope - I think it’s an astute trade in circumstances where Hogan couldn’t commit to the club in the long term. He obviously has his reasons for this but, as a supporter, it’s not great to have your club’s marquee player under a cloud of constant speculation as to when he’ll leave - and Hogan never really ever fully extinguished the speculation. Players come and go, that’s inevitable - but the narrative around Hogan always felt as though the club was walking on eggshells. And IMO the MFC no longer needs to be that club. I wish him all the best - he’s probably a nice enough fellow and, as we know, he’s an exceptional player. BUT I’m stoked to have Sam May and KK on our list. They are hard, and strike me as being stoked to have joined the MFC - I expect they’ll be totally invested in the journey. I want to see that, unequivocally, in every player on our list.

I'm relieved. I would’ve liked to get more than May plus pick 23 for Hogan (given that he's a marquee player), but I think this will improve our team structure/balance – and that’s what this is ultimately all about. As an aside, Hogan always irked me. He was a perpetual fence sitter, a hedge better – in short, he never seemed to truly commit to the cause. And he looked super dopey. On the other hand, Sam May is as hard as a box of nails. I think I love him. The KK bloke will be a rocket ship - his DNA goes back to the super effective Russian Kalashinkovs on the mid-1950s. He will be a great addition. To sum up – a sensible trade. Hogan was never going to extend beyond next year, we knew that and we took control of the situation. Our defence next year will be impenetrable. Plainly, we have every other area of the ground well and truly covered. I look forward to seeing Goodwin lift the Cup next year. Meanwhile, Hogan will be hanging out with his bozo mates at some under-age music festival in Yallingup smokin’ Winny Blues. Now over to Jason Taylor to unearth some gems in the draft. Go Dees.

Mahoney strikes me as a pragmatic, outcome oriented person who approaches negotiations sans silly, aggressive posturing and unnecessary hyperbole. That said, given: - the history of Freo’s apparent desperation to land Hogan, and their clear need for a player like him; - Hogan’s super rare talent, a fact acknowledged by everyone in the industry including coaches, players, commentators and journalists; and - the trade history for lesser players, anything less than two first round draft picks (at least one high end) would in my opinion be a pretty underwhelming trade for arguably our most prized player (in terms of trade value). After all, we don’t actually need to trade him - Freo need to make the running on this. And, to date, their approach seems comical - it’s though Barry McKenzie has taken the reigns over there. For a generational-type player, giving us picks to ensure we land May and some mid range first round draftee seems eminently reasonable. I genuinely can’t believe Freo’s stance on this - it’s been astonishingly amateur.

I watched the preliminary final at the Light Brigade Hotel in Paddington, a well known AFL pub in Sydney. It was packed - probably 60% Weagles supporters but a lot of Dees fans in there too. Great atmosphere. For the first 30 seconds of the first quarter. Tom Morris was at the pub, proudly sporting an MFC scarf. I ordered a round of beers next to him at the bar and, even though I didn’t chat to him, he genuinely seemed to be a Demons’ supporter. Apologies if this is common knowledge but it seems relevant to point this out in circumstances where some here have accused him of being Freo’s mouth-piece on this issue.

He’s been a super important component in the re-branding of this club. We appear to be a professional, disciplined and respectable organisation now. Freo on the other hand ...

The club and all of the supporters were around him. 110% around him. Hogan then approached the club to sound out the potential for a trade to Freo (which was the subject of rumour, innuendo and speculation for years previously). That introduces cracks into the mirror in any relationship. Regrettably I think things have changed now.

“Jesse came to us and said he wants to explore the opportunity," Mahoney said.” Seems pretty clear to me.

It’s on the MFC website. The article is entitled ‘Melbourne is waiting upon a reasonable Freo offer’ or something similar.

As an aside, Hogan should speak to the Wizz about whether he has any regrets.

Like everyone here, I was a Hogan fan. But his seemingly non-committal approach to the club always irked me. He seems to lack passion for the place - and that, to me at least, is an important intangible that our more important players simply have to possess. That he has now requested a trade to Freo, means that I can no longer get excited about the bloke - it’s as though he’s merely treading water in the red and the blue. I’d be super happy with May and a top ten pick for him.

Yeah perhaps, but at it’s very highest, it’s dumb noise. It’s the way I’d expect some idiot redneck in a pub at Kargoorlie to negotiate the deal. It’s basic and lacks class. Pick 11 and next year’s second rounder for Hogan. I mean, fair dinkum. Even my 5 year old would laugh at that.

After 273 pages, the only conclusion that I have drawn is that Fremantle is an absolute joke of a club at the moment. Thanks for completely wasting our time (to date) Peter Bell.

Yeah, nice post. Perhaps unfortunately, I don’t see the world in black and white. But I understand that many in Kansas do. To assess Gaff’s entire character and personality on that one incident, is the very reason we no longer endorse public lynching as a society, even though many rednecks would love to have it back. It seems that Andrew Brayshaw has forgiven him - good on you for continuing to hold the grudge though.

Gaff strikes me as a really decent fellow. He seems to have a sensitivity about him which is rare among footy players. Good luck to him. Would’ve loved to see him in the red and the blue, but it seems we were never realistically in the mix. Sucked in North.

Kade seems to have good pedigree and an interesting journey prior to being drafted at pick 5 by the Suns. https://www.themercury.com.au/sport/afl/stage-set-for-tassie-twins/story-fnj4f7h7-1226762858214

You can’t seriously compare Jesse Hogan to Tom Scully ...

Kent’s a solid player. St Kilda’s offer reflects this (even though it looks and feels like an offer from MFC’s playbook circa 2012). I think Kent’s best 22 for us. In this context, pick 75 is a joke - mid 30s seems about right.

Hogan is clearly an incredible talent and it seems we were very fortunate to have landed him. That said, we seem always to be walking on egg shells when it comes to Hogan and his medium to long term commitment to the club. The spectre of a return to Freo has been lingering like a bad smell forever, and, if as some say, a return to Perth is inevitable, it’s just a matter of when - then we’d be absolutely crazy not to consider an almighty deal right now if Freo is desperate to land him. 2 high first round draft picks at a minimum, one of which goes to the Suns for Steven May.

For all the petty bickering on this website, the reality is - we’re the heart and soul supporters. I loved that game. That experience. I am pumped. I love youse all! Time to watch the replay.

One of my favourite ever Demons. I love Bernie. My 5 year old son will be devastated. He loves Bernie too. Not quite sure how I'm going to break this news to him.

I suspect for him to play alongside Angus Brayshaw, he’d have to convince Angus (and the rest of the Brayshaw family) that he absolutely did not intend to injure Andrew in the way he did and that he is not otherwise a sniper/poor character. Bugg and Angus Brayshaw appear to get on very well - perhaps Angus already has some insight into the effect that this can have on the perpetrator, especially if the harm was genuinely not intended.

He should get 8 weeks - it was a terrible incident, much worse than Bugg’s IMO both as an incident and in respect of the injury it caused. I’d still like to see Gaff in the red and the blue next year. I otherwise hope Brayshaw recovers quickly and it has no impact on his confidence going forward.