Ron Burgundy

Don't know how you could form a conclusion either way Crystal Dees. As you've said, it seems we know 'none of the facts'. Plainly there is an issue here. Outbursts such as this are regrettable. And rare. I feel sorry for the kid. That the club asked a 20 year old to sign a deed of release upon his departure from the club would have to be unusual and, to my mind, it reveals something a bit bigger. I don't expect any of Terlich, Michie, Newton, M Jones or Dawes were asked to sign a deed of release upon being given notice of their delistings.

IF it is the case that Richmond wanted him to sign a Deed of Release upon his 'retirement' from the club, the AFL is duty bound to investigate this. Such a claim is remarkable, if true.

Wagner's upgrade has nothing to do with a comparison with who's about at pick 86. Pick 86 is hardly a valuable pick. The club doesn't make decisions as to its list management like that - it's just not that fickle. Clearly, in the opinion of the club Wagner deserves to be on the senior list and he has been elevated accordingly. If anything, Wagner's upgrade and the way the club approached this trade period more generally, indicates that the club is now broadly satisfied with the composition of the list and the young talent on it, and its main priority now is to keep it together going forward albeit topped up with experienced players such as Lewis, Hibberd and Melksham.

I love Bernie Vince. Possibly my favourite ever recruit from another club. He's an out and out midfielder. Always has been, and still is. Hibberd, Melksham, Hunt and Wagner will allow him to return to the midfield, where he plays his best footy. There's no way he's gone from a B&F winner and on the verge of AA selection to the scrap heap in one season. He's still a very good player. And, contrary to the views of certain posters here, Vince's disposal is generally excellent (despite a few shockers coming out of defence last season).

When did/does the ban on Melksham and Hibberd training with an AFL club officially end?

Personally, I think the AFL was quietly stoked that the Bulldogs won the flag and ended the predictable dominance of those two clubs.

Agree Nutbean. The payment issue wreaks of absolute small mindedness. AFL players get paid - it's a professional sport. That some people here still can't wrap their head around this (and the sums involved) diminishes their opinion in relation to this issue. Plainly, Dawes took his contract seriously and he was committed to the club - he just failed to deliver. I expect, more than anyone else, he's upset about that. Good luck to the bloke - seems to be a quality individual.

I agree. And therefore the rule applies to the other club trading their future pick, not the club to which the future pick was traded to and then on-traded.

We need to make the finals next year. We're set up for it now. Anything less than that is a fail given where we now sit. In short, it's time to deliver. Need some luck with injuries though - particularly re: Gawn. If he stays strong next year, we're in the 8.

Pity none of them played that well in a team that consistently finished in the bottom 2 of the competition.

That is a bloody good midfield. And I too would have Bernie back in the guts. We now have better options off half back.

If we can get him for not much and won't have to pay him much or guarantee him games, I don't see why we wouldn't recruit him. Our inventory of young, talented mids is packed to the rafters - Barlow would add some further quality midfield depth. Let's capitalise on the fact that Lyon has bent Freo's list way out of shape and that he now needs to move Barlow on a year or two ahead of time.

I do not understand why Vanders is remotely a whipping boy. He was an awesome pick up by the club. He's like a T Rex roaming around the half forward line. He kicks important goals, tackles with intent, has good skills, has a solid team focus. Injury concerns just restricted his output a little last season.

I still have to pinch myself every time I see Lewis on the team sheet. And I reckon Hibberd will be a star for us.

What's his marking like? Recall he had a super silky kick for such a big bloke. Too unfit for back up ruck duties? And some minutes in the forward line?

Whatever happened to that really fat dude who was talked about a couple of years ago who trained hard, lost weight and had really good skills? Was touted as a chance to get drafted but didn't ultimately. Think he played for Norwood. He still around?

We'll win these games next year. The team is maturing and Lewis will ensure that structures and proper focus are maintained when games against less talented opposition sides are in the balance. St Kilda though - dunno. At Etihad, probably not.

Exactly. The success of a trade period can only really be measured in terms of what a particular club is seeking to achieve and what they have to trade with other clubs (i.e. players and/or draft picks). In this regard, our main priority was ring-fencing our own list in terms of the required players already on it .Tick this box - we achieved this prior to the trade period. Consequently, we had no valuable players that we were prepared to lose. And in terms of draft picks, we entered the draft period with a packet of stale Cheezels. We'd spent our entire draft inventory on super talented youngsters over several drafts previously. And we're pleased with the way this has turned out. In short, we have a list that we want to preserve (i.e. no players to trade) and no high end draft picks with which to attract top tier players from other clubs. In short, we had nudda. So - we enter the draft with pick 29 only - a pick of marginal value. And with that, we take out Jordan Lewis and Michael Hibberd, both experienced and super talented/valuable players who waltz into our best 22. That is simply fantastic 'trading' every day of the week. Sure, we had a bit of luck, but I'll take that. In fact, I'm bloody pumped. This club is competent now. Really competent. And, hopefully, about to be really potent too!

And then celebrated the fact that we managed to land an experienced player from another club.

No we wouldn't have. We would've traded pick 29 for a player who was just about to be delisted anyway. Probably 10 mins before the 2.00pm trade cut off.

And he actively sought out Melbourne, and no other club, despite finishing 2nd in the Hawks B&F and being touted as a future Captain of the club and still being contracted to the club. Hardly coming to the Dees as a last resort move. It is genuinely a big deal. A very big deal. Wonder what Frawley's thinking.

He's gone from struggling to get a game at a club with a super deep and competitive midfield to another club with a super deep and competitive midfield. Good on him though. Carlton would've been the easier, if not more depressing, option in the circumstances.

The sad thing about trading Dunn and delisting Grimes this year is that they're two MFC players who absolutely deserve to be participating in the resurgence of this club that is clearly underway right now. Yet, for the reasons known to all (i.e. that we now have a well balanced and exciting list), they are the victims of the very resurgence that they each probably spent so many years longing for. Top clubmen, both of them. Good luck to them.

Don't ridicule Pedo.

Might need to put Hodge and Gunston on the table.