whatwhat say what

$4m over 5 years is not a huge amount for a 21 year old key back who looks like becoming one of the best defenders in the competition if the dogs are offering that sort of money, either they're not keeping jj or two or three of boyd, the elder, murphy and morris must be retiring...or both jj wants $800k himself, and there has been some talk that essendon might be keen...three way deal in the offing?

agreed, he has improved markedly since being made to earn his spot and having his role changed - he's much more damaging as a negating player up the ground than as a half-back flank

can't see higgins falling as low as 13 either. scouts i speak to rate him the best 'pure mid' behind uniak in the draft. and i 100% agree re fogerty - he's a half back swooper, not a mid

Yeah, I am presuming he'll stay, too Let's go get GW$' Kelly!

O Mac was magnificent today I honestly think Lever would make us a better side...but where does he fit in? 2x Macs and Frost, plus Hibberd and Jetta, then rebound in Hunt and Salem, plus Lewis, Vince and Jones rotating through defensively...how does Lever fit in?

Robbing Peter to pay Paul

Crows supporters super confident Lever is going nowhere; just waiting for cba to be settled Those doubting the value of Weed need their heads read; key position talls are pretty rare these days, look at the value and desire for Schache as an example...plus Weed is going nowhere seeing as he recently signed til end of 2019 and will be a huge part of our forward structure in coming years

arguably one of his best five games for the club...and he could very well be dropped due to team balance next week if gawn or spencer come back in

sounds ideal for a zone defence to me

lever, in a heartbeat. kid is all class

what was the injury? i gave up watching he was looking very, very good when i was tho

word i have heard is it's closer to an average of $750k per annum over the course of the three years, so slightly over $2.25m total value, not the reported $2m over three

I think the push for may is that each year you want to add something that becomes a 'best 22' automatic. See Hibberd, Michael and Lewis, Jordan in 2017. I think Hannan, Mitch could well be the same - but he was a speculative pick; another Jason Taylor masterstroke. Would May be best 22 for us? 100%. But if Maclure is right and he is about to sign up at GC17 (which he really should, as he's their skipper plus Ablett is leaving and thus clearing a lot of cap space for them) then we have to look elsewhere. Our tall defenders are T Mac, Frost, O Mac, Keilty with Garland, J Smith, Hibberd at a pinch - but really they're more rebounders. None are overly tall nor capable of particularly strong one-on-one contests...but all have strengths / weaknesses. A best 22 key defender would be a fantastic addition to the side - May, Lever, Trengove - and is something most fans are baying for in 2018. I'm definitely keen on Trengove as a free agent personally.

The other advantage of Trengove (over May) is his flexibility whereby he can play in the ruck and also pinch-hit up forward as required. I'm definitely warming to getting him as a free agent and holding onto our first round pick rather than giving anything up for May / Lever, as much as I love Lever. You'd expect they'd all be on similar $$ but getting Trengove would cost us nada in terms of giving anything up (other than the cap space) to get him in.

Neither Lever or May have the height to match the modern 200cm+ mobile key forwards - fortunately our zone defensive style is the key to guarding those monster talls. I'll take either tbh I find it hard to fathom the captain of a side walking out on his side - but such is the nature of modern footy I guess

Josh Begley was taken with pick 29, which became 31.

He's a great addition to the team

jake = woogie but generally speaking his 'mail' is better than most

MCG suits sides with height and particularly dominant ruckman. At the moment we have neither.

adam sambono sounds like an interesting talent. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-05-19/exception-is-made-for-exceptional-talent

mccartin. no one questions trac's i would've thought he had all the hallmarks of a power forward - if he's not making serious waves by year 5 it might be a concern, but massive units like mccartin take time. i'm guessing certain clubs are 'talking him down' to try to reduce his trade value, which is patently ridiculous.

apparently clubs are questioning his body shape for modern afl.

yes, ballenden, that's the one. said he think he's the best prospect at this stage and wouldn't be surprised if whoever holds #1 bids on him first up.

Someone whose I said to me last week that this current crop of Vic Metro and Vic Country kids 'may be the worst ever'. He reckons there's 5-10 really good kids and then, he said 'a whole lot of plodders'. Reckons Brander and Fogerty are pretty clear standouts, and some tall forward kid that Brisbane has academy access to too.

weed's hands have looked good i thought. but at the moment he's not getting his hands on it. mccartin doesn't get involved at the moment either, but he's significantly bigger than weideman at this stage.