Lord Travis

He's playing decent footy up forward recently, but I still think he'll be done at the end of this season. While it's working now, his body is clearly slowing up and once we get more skilled players up forward who can actually contribute I don't think he'd hold his spot there. If he is interested, then I reckon he'd have a long and successful coaching career. He's quite intelligent, he's driven, has a ruthless streak but also seems a good educator. I'd love for him to be a coach for us in future.

Lever looks like a bust for what we paid. Two first rounders is superstar territory, and he isn’t a superstar. I rate him as a good player, but it appears his body isn’t up to the rigors of afl. For roughly the picks we gave up we could've had Aaron Naughton and Xavier Duursma. May has been a disappointment thus far. He’ll be 29 next year so it’s not like we have him playing for long either. We could’ve got him for free this year via free agency instead. I find it confusing that most on here are defensive of the clubs list management choices. We’re 17th. They got it wrong. Proof is in the pudding. We need to focus on bringing in elite youth now to rectify the mistakes made and rebalance the list.

Nothing. He’s not in full training and is still recovering from another surgery. He went back to NSW for a bit too. I doubt he’ll ever pull on red and blue again. I like what he brings to the team, but if you can’t get on the park then you’re a waste of a list spot.

Exactly the point. If we didn’t trade away 3 first round draft picks for players who can’t stay on the park, we could have 3 more Clayton Oliver’s out there now.

This is the direct result of not drafting any elite young talent in the first round of the draft for four years.

I’ll go one better. It’ll be a miracle if he ever plays an AFL game again. His body isn’t up to it. He’s played 7 out of the past 82 games and is nowhere near coming back. I rate what he can bring to the team, but if you can’t get on the park then you’re of no use. The club made an error offering a fresh 3 year contract to an injury riddled older player. He’ll likely retire over the next 12 months.

I don’t like her, but she’s 100% correct. All the work of the past few years has been undone this year, and no one is surprised or cares because it’s same old failed Melbourne.

He’d be a great asset as an assistant coach and mentor. I think it’s extremely likely we’ll see the majority of assistant coaches cleared out over the off season and Richardson joins us as part of a new setup.

Lewis Taylor from Brisbane could be a good target, as he's out of favour this year at the Lions and would be cheap. He's no star, but he provides exactly what we ned - outside run and ability to hit the scoreboard. Could be had for a 3rd or 4th rounder and be an upgrade on depth at worst. We need to retain pick 2/3 in this draft and take a gun midfielder. I'd also be keen to see the club trade our future first rounder for one of two different options: One - trade it to Gold Coast for Ben King and play him as a KPF for the next 10 years. Two - trade it to one of the clubs with a pick between 5-10 in this draft. This would give us pick 2/3 this year (gun midfielder) and either another top 10 talent such as Serong/Ash/Flanders/Young or a tall forward in Ben King. So net result is a gun mid + either a highly rate tall (play him as KPF) or another top 10 talent (preferably Serong to add more juice to our forward half). We've seen this year at Port what bringing in multiple highly rated kids can do. Rozee, Duursma and Butters have added a lot to their club already and have long careers ahead of them.

Jenkins looks like Tarzan plays, like Jane. Probably the least intimidating 200cm player of all time. 95% of his goals are cheap out the back. He makes Garlett look like a contested beast. Hard pass from me unless we give up pick 80+ and Adelaide pay part of his wage.

Lucky to be that close. What a horrible season.

Lever injured. Straight down into the rooms. Possible acl. Praying it’s not serious!

It’s his drop off in intensity. He used to be an uncontrollable ball of intensity and aggression. It’s basically disappeared to the point of appearing laconic at times. Hopefully it returns, as it’s really his only outstanding attribute. He’s an average player otherwise. We did alright that quarter. Should be a closer loss than expected.

Langdon better than Hill today. Both individually are worth an early second round pick and nothing more. Either would be a good addition to our midfield for years to come.

Despite what some posters say on here, Langdon is a good outside player and would be a valuable addition to our side. 26 disposals and 2 goals today, as well as huge meters gained. BOG. He’s a talent.

Yes, toward the very top of this draft crop behind Young. Anderson’s exactly what we need and I’ll be gutted if GC get a priority pick and get him. It’d remove the only positive we could get out of this appalling season.

Same for Lever being rushed back after low vfl minutes, and Smith being forced to play out a pointless preseason game when injured and being written off for the year. The club’s player management this season has been appalling and the worst I can remember from an afl club.

Because we’re looking for cheap options to help fix our forward line, whilst retaining high draft picks to bring in elite young talent. But yep, let’s give up pick 2 for Ben Brown ?

He’s played mostly in defense this year, so the goals tally is pointless. He’s a first round pick who’s only 20 and is an aggressive marking forward. IMO he’s definitely worth looking at if he doesn’t cost much and wants to come to VIC.

It’s a fair point. After a lackluster start to the season, Trac has been good the past two months or so. He’s really be our only player in the forward line who can say they’ve won their position and contributed. I still expect more from him in the future, but he’s definitely improved this year and continues to trend upwards (set shots aside).

Ellis was a damaging player a few years ago when zones defenses were all the rage and there was more space to work with. 6-6-6 has made the game more one on one and slower, and negated his natural game as there’s usually now a man right on him now. He doesn’t suit the current rules and gamestyles , but if zones made a comeback he’d flourish again. Definitely worth interest if the price isn’t too high. Provides run and pace.

100% this. Anyone who disagrees is an apologist who accepts mediocrity. The Lever trade was poor at the time, and has gotten worse with hindsight. Paying two first round picks for an out of contract player was stupid. We had the leverage in that situation, as he was out of contract, and we still buckled and overpaid. It was weak, and consistent with our club being weak for the past 50+ years. By not drafting anyone in the first round for 4 years now, we’ve effectively unbalanced the list to load up for a premiership tilt. We failed. We now need to hit the draft hard to rebalance and stay competitive. If that means trading established players to get more higher picks, then so be it. We’ve been weak at the trade table for too long. Time to play hardball.

Darcy Fogarty will likely want out of Adelaide. Looked like a strong and aggressive mid sized marking forward in his first season, but unable to cement a place in the team this year. I’d be targeting him to improve our forward line.

Anderson is a good kick, good decision maker, good mark, hits the scoreboard regularly, plays mid or forward, smaller than Bont at 189cm but has more of a burst of pace. Match winner. Stands up in big moments when game is on the line. Very exciting prospect and I’ve been super keen on him all year! Rowell safe bet but lower ceiling, similar to Sam Walsh but more inside. Certain to be a good player, but unlikely to be great.

Agreed. The club has destroyed the momentum it’s built over the past few years and set itself back off field yet again. We could’ve hit 60,000 members next year if we didn’t [censored] the bed. Instead we’ll drop back towards 40,000 as hope is destroyed yet again. This match will be ugly to watch, and a convincing win to the Tigers with everything to play for in a top 4 spot. All we can hope for is no injuries at this point.