whatwhat say what

16 minutes ago, stevethemanjordan said:

Frost will never be a quality key defender. He will always remain a 'specialised' one who plays a support role. His footballing smarts and footballing specific skill-set are very average and it's his freakish athletic qualities that get him games.

Oscar McDonald is developing very slowly and I have no idea what he'll become. He has no standout qualities at this level and has shown slow improvement. Only in the last month has he started to take some strong intercept marks but he is still really inconsistent in games, especially his intensity and spoiling. Gary Rohan was all over him early on Friday night. 

Whilst we're still a developing side, the AFL landscape has changed and it's clear that teams can challenge for a flag earlier than once thought. We can't afford to wait and hold hope that Frost and Oscar will develop. We need quality now. 

This year we have leaked far too many goals because of our lack of quality key defenders. I hope we make an offer for Lever. 

very harsh on frost. has been playing as #1 key defender in the #9 defensive side

has the speed and strength to play on the best forwards in the game, and takes the game on going the other way

$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?

3 minutes ago, Bon appetit said:

Maybe we could offer Adelaide Salem and our 2nd round pick.

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

4 minutes ago, picket fence said:

Gee I have been very vocal won't make it etc etc, but never let it be said that I don't acknowledege a good performance, even a very good one! I thought today was Oscars best game for the club> No ifs or but's he still bothers me and the jury from my piont of view is well and truly out but I must say..... Oscar, Very good game indeed!

PF

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 

15 minutes ago, big_red_fire_engine said:

Lever played another great game. As the third defender. The adulation at present comes from his reading of the play and his rebounding with good decision making not his ability to stop a primary forward. 

sounds ideal for a zone defence to me 

7 minutes ago, Ron Burgundy said:

I feel bad for asking this because I really rate Brayshaw as a player and as a clubman (I like him wearing the red and the blue), but who would you take at pick 3 now: Brayshaw or Lever?

Lever was apparently seriously considered by the MFC for this pick at the time.

 

lever, in a heartbeat.

kid is all class

10 minutes ago, A F said:

Lever injured again. Third time this year. Would have to be a consideration.

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 

5 minutes ago, Petraccattack said:

Can now see why Essendope fans were spewing when they lost him.

Fingers crossed the kid they took with the pick we traded them is a dud.

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 

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.