Lord Travis

We need tall forward depth. Simple. Having just lost Hogan and Pedo, we now have Tmac and Weid and that's it. If either or both get injured then we're in for a world of pain and would have to send Frost or May forward, which would be disasterous. There's no guarantee Weid will even perform consistently yet in the short term, though I do rate him and believe he will be a good player for us longer term. This is the most glaring need on our list now. Bailey Williams is the perfect draft option for us if he makes it to our pick 23, which I suspect he won't. He'd be depth for the tall forward and ruck spots. He's got a great leap, strong body, and if he can tidy up a few aspects of his game he could be perfect long term for us. I hope like hell he slides to us and we take him. All the other options look to be average midfielders who won't add much to an already strong midfield group IMO.

The players hold too much power. Only free agents should be able to nominate a club of choice. Contracted players should be forced to play their contract or be traded somewhere else of the clubs choosing. Free agency changed the landscape for the worse, and now the balance is just spiralling further out of control. You've now got clubs delisting contracted players and other clubs picking them up for free post-trade period. Lyons should only have moved in a trade scenario. Not only is the trade period too long as it is, now you've got players moving outside of it anyway. It's rubbish.

I'll be laying the same bet then! They've got a few skilled flankers, and Jack Martin is a talent, but their midfield is the worst in living memory. Miller, Swallow and... Rischitelli? They can't even field a midfield at this point! They're worse than us at our lowest. Miller is average, Swallow is average and can't stay on the park, Rischi may as well have retired. After further movements this off-season, I struggle to see more than 5 players who would get a game at other AFL clubs. I actually can't see how they can survive. They're proper cooked! Doesn't look look we'll be picking up any delisted players. If we did have any interest in any, nothing has leaked. The club is in good hands these days

Gold Coast are in for a world of pain next season. They may be the first team in decades to go winless. It's a realistic possibility IMO.

Financially it's the best fixture we've had in a long long time. We're on the up on-field, we've been on the up off-field for years now, and this will only drive us further up off-field. We're going to make a lot of money next year and start becoming a powerhouse again if we can be competitive for years to come and maintain this sort of draw and sustained success. In terms of exposure in prime time night games and free to air tv, it's the best fixture we've had in 15-20 years. This fixture is brilliant for supporters. We get to see a number of quality games in prime time, and more games on free to air than we've had in bloody forever. Neutrals are going to see more of us and our hard attacking brand and we're going to get more positive hype, media and exposure as a result. In terms of difficulty... it's rough. Really rough. We're a top 4 team now, and we'll be made to earn it. If we make top 4 again based on this fixture, we'll win the flag. We've got one of the hardest fixtures by a mile, but if we show up each week then we'll be fine. This will be a good test for the youngsters to see if they're maturing properly of if there's still a ways to go.

Why the hell was he cut from the Suns? Legitimately would've been one of their top 5-10 players at this point I would've thought! "Lyons averaged almost 25 disposals a game last season and was ranked equal-third in the AFL for clearances (7.3) and ninth for contested possessions (13.6)". We were keen on him a few years ago. He'd be good depth and is a proven performer. Definitely the pick of the bunch as far as delisted players goes.

We've got a large number of spots to fill on our list and Townsend would be a much better option than pick 107 or whatever it will be. Being that we've lost a bit of depth this off-season, he'd give us immediate quality depth and would be well worth signing up IMO. We'll get injuries, and he would help drive competition for spots and a competitive attitude at the club.

Is this for real? Horrible news if true. RIP Colin. Far too young a life to be lost.

That's their main problem. If Hawkins doesn't mark it, it's coming straight back out with little to no pressure. If we want someone to kick 40+ goals a year and give inconsistent pressure, we already have them - Jeff Garlett. Garlett kicks 40+ a year every year if he is played. He's inconsistent and made a scape goat for lack of pressure at times, but he kicks 40+ guaranteed, which is more than most of our other forwards getting game. No need to bring in Menzel when we have Jeffy in the reserves who can already provide the same output if not better.

Agree to an extent. Petracca could be like De Goey and kick 40+ as a powerful mid sized forward. At present though his kicking for goal is so poor that he's a way off that output. He's clearly capable, but for whatever reason this year he completely shat the bed with his goal kicking. He was at 1.9 from set shots at one stage. If he tidies up his goal kicking, he immediately jumps from a 15-20 goal a season player to a 40 goal a season player and is talked about as elite rather than potential.

Not sure why some are laying into Hogan or saying he didn't perform. The reason there is so much talk about him leaving is because he is an elite talent. He is the best new key position forward to come through in over a decade, the best since Buddy. Fact. The numbers show that. He walked into a bottom team with little supply and poor quality supply and was able to win the Rising Star - rarely done by a key forward, let alone one competing with Patrick Cripps - kick 40+ goals and lead the league in contested marks as a first year player. He towelled up All Australian full back Alex Rance in one of his first games. He's ahead of all others in the league at the same age, and still has further improvement to go. He's already capable of being in the top handful of key forwards and goal kickers in the league, and will only improve further. He'd likely have wound up one of MFC's greatest goal kickers barring bad injury problems. Those talking him down are kidding themselves. We've lost an elite talent, but the club has made the most of him leaving to balance the list and keep pushing towards a premiership. While it's a shame to lose Hogan, it won't kill us like it would've 4-5 years ago. We're stronger now, and will keep rising to glory ?

Leave it the same for 2019. 2020 add Lever and May. Lewis will be gone end of 2019 and Jones can step aside from official leadership duties then also.

Coniglio is a star. Shame he's from WA, as he's more likely to head home there than move to Victoria. He's GWS' most rounded midfielder. He was the only one to give a yelp when we played them late in the year. He's got pace, good skills, racks up ball both inside and outside, prolific tackler and can do defensive jobs if needed. Most importantly, he's a goal kicking midfielder, with 24 goals in 2018. He's a bonafide A grader, and it was a disgrace he didn't make the AA team this year. I'd throw everything at him. He's a genuine star and ticks all the boxes for a "Melbourne" person with his competitive nature and working hard.

Not really any decent delisted free agents this year. Best of the lot is our very own Bugg who would surely be playing in a number of other teams. He’d legitimately be in the top 10 players at Carlton and Gold Coast.

We've now got key defensive depth and a backup ruckman. Our tall forward stocks are lacking with Hogan and Pederson gone. It's TMac, Weid and Tim Smith. Others options like Frost have been tried forward with no success. What tall forwards are in this draft outside of those top placed ones like the King bros and Lukocious? Are there options for us in the 20s? This area is now the need for our list.

We've now got key defensive depth and a backup ruckman. Our tall forward stocks are lacking with Hogan and Pederson gone. It's TMac, Weid and Tim Smith. Others options like Frost have been tried forward with no success. What tall forwards are in this draft outside of those top placed ones like the King bros and Lukocious? Are there options for us in the 20s? This area is now the need for our list.

May and Lever... well that’s our backline taken care of for the next 5 years!

Love this trade. Pre-concussions he was on his way to becoming an All Australian level half back flanker. He was a gun. If he can keep himself healthy and get past the concussion issues like Brayshaw has, then we’ve just found the wingman we’ve been missing for the past few years. Perfect size at 190cms, has pace, agility, and elite kicking skills. Very similar in size and attributes to Isaac Smith at the Hawks. He could turn out to be the bargain of this whole trade period. We should be thrilled to see what he can produce in red and blue!

So Freo this trade period Gain - 14 and some later pics, Hogan, Lobb, Conca Lose - pick 6 and Neale They've smashed it. They've landed Hogan and Lobb AND still got a pick int he first round. We've been poor by comparison. Disappointing.

Average trade. We paid overs for Lever and have let Hogan go for unders. Lucky the list is in such good shape otherwise, as we've proven to be weak at the trade table when the big deals need doing.

They no longer have 19. It has to be 6 and 23 now.

Freo just got pick 6 back again? Port now hold pick 5, so have got their high pick to draft an SA kid. So it'll now be 6+23/30 got Hogan?

We're getting shafted.

Pre-concussions Kade was a gun. Second in their BnF a few years back. He was on his way to being an All Australian standard half back flanker. Unfortunately he suffered multiple concussions and hasn’t been the same since. Hopefully our medical team will be able to work their magic like they did with Brayshaw. It may take time, but if he can get past the health issues and get back fulfilling his potential we’ll have an AA standard half back or winger on our hands. He’s an elite kick, has good pace and agility and isn’t afraid to go when his turn. He’s the biggest potential steal of the trade period.

On form, he's not worth a first round pick, let alone pick 5. He's not in the top 5 full backs in the league at present. He's been poor-average for the past 1-2 years. Most believe that's due to not wanting to be where he is now, but there's the chance he's just not capable of playing the way he did a few years ago. If all we got for the best young key forward in a decade was an average full back and a token pick I'd be very disappointed.