Nasher

I'm not winding you up mate. He was quoted on the MFC website during the year thay that is how he spells it. Believe me, I'm anal about spelling people's names right and wouldn't spell it like that unless I was sure.Ed: http://m.melbournefc.com.au/news/2015-01-16/day-4-hot-dees-train-hard-on-camp

Thanks for doing all the legwork rpfc. Like many (I suspect) I wanted to understand how this worked, but couldn't be bothered figuring it out myself.

vandenBerg.

Depth list, categorised. We'd have to see 7 injuries to mids/flankers before we see the revolving door squad from last year kick in (Riley, Bail and the Toump were also in this class last year), and 9 before we saw Jones and Terlich in the side, in theory. Smalls - developing/ready/near ready Trengove Kennedy-Harris Neal-Bullen White Bugg Kennedy KPD: Frost O.McDonald KPF: Pedersen Rucks: Spencer King Supergreen: Hunt The revolving door squad: Grimes Michie Newton If we must: M.Jones Terlich I've ignored Joel Smith since a) I didn't know he existed before today and b) I have no idea if he can play or what type of player he might be. Hopefully with those physical traits he turns out to be a KPF, since we're pretty light on in that regard.

Mine: B: Garland, Dunn,Jetta HB: Melksham, McDonald, Salem C: Vince, Tyson, Brayshaw HF: Kent, Dawes, Petracca F: vandenBerg, Hogan, Garlett Foll: Gawn, Jones, Viney Int: Lumumba, Stretch, Watts, Harmes Notes: - Don't know enough about Bugg or Kennedy to know if they'll be pushing best 22 or not by round 1. For the sake of simplicity I've assumed they won't. - I'm not confident on a Trengove miracle. - I think anyone who reckons Roos and Goodwin will pick Pedersen over Dawes is kidding themselves. - White, Frost, ANB are the players not already mentioned as most likely to improve to regular best 22. - I expect the end of season best 22 will look quite different. - I've probably overrated Harmes, but I liked what I saw in the back half of the season. Given that he hasn't even been signed yet I expect I probably have. - Last four spots in particular very much up for grabs. Think the coaches still like Watts and Lumumba even if the fans don't so I've picked them; end of season may be a different story if others come on.

I know you're only human ProDee, but forgetting Brayshaw is near-unforgivable.

If we're talking Kieran and Andy, I think the verdict was that if they're related at all, it is very distantly. http://demonland.com/forums/index.php?/topic/38478-the-kieran-lovell-thread/

Yep. I suppose it's still as I said earlier: if we're not going to play him, give him the flick. Might not play pick 80/PSD6 either, but that also could be another vandenBerg.

Thought the same - returning the favour on the mini-draft trade of 2012.

The as yet undefined 2016 1st round pick for 2015 no.3 is champagne worthy for mine. Even if it turned out to be pick 3 next year; we'll have a talented player with a year in the system rather than a shiny new player. It's more likely to be in the region of no. 10 next year hopefully. 25 for Melksham is also very pleasing - a player who at worst is definitely best 22 and AFL standard, whose ceiling could be high. Agree on the rest - the player swaps are just trading one risk for another.

Mahoney apparently said it was because the Hawks wanted him on the list and therefore able to start turning up a week earlier than he would otherwise be able. MFC just doing a former player and his new club a favour, basically - for good will and nothing more.

Someone correct me if my maths here is wrong. 8 out as per the OP. Melksham, Bugg, Kennedy, vandenBerg in. Current picks: 3, 7, 46, 50, 80, 94. My final move before next list lodgement is to promote Harmes, re-sign Michie and delist (to rookie) Hunt. Picks 3, 7, 46 and 50 will be live. Not sure the benefit is there for delisting Terlich now for pick 80.

Nah, he was definitely plucked straight from the u18s. Not even sure who you're thinking of, to be honest, doesn't ring a bell at all.

He is delightfully untrustworthy. I think he's probably telling the truth this time though. Suspect they've had a killer few days.

This was clearly a long planned negotiation with GC and GWS. Howe nearly derailed it by choosing Collingwood (instead of Gold Coast) who were already tangled up in it with Treloar - thankfully we negotiated our way through that.I daresay there won't be any more surprises that involve GWS or GC. The carefully planned tricks have been implemented already.

Haha. I wonder if this thread will be as wild as the other one. Go Josh (and the team you are a mouthpiece for which would include Viney and Taylor)! I never doubted you.

I think Essendon were far more 'B' than 'A' this year. They were only held up on the Carlisle deal because St Kilda were trying the 'A' approach. It nearly cost the Saints their man, since Hawthorn were waiting in the wings with their 'B' offer. 'B' doesn't mean accepting a bum deal and Essendon rightfully stood their ground in that case.This view of trading for me was solidified for me a few years ago when Essendon ended up in arbitration with GCS over their Caddy trade which ended up missing the deadline. This is an extreme example of how it go wrong if you choose option 'A'. If we'd spent forever faffing around on the Melksham deal, we'd have wasted both ours and their time that we both needed to use on pick upgrading. Then next year when we needed something from Essendon, they'd tell us to go jump.

Our relationship with GWS and GC goes all the way back to the Viney thing. I don't know if the MFC foresaw the benefit of that bearing fruit now all the way back then, but we are now clearly a preferred trading party to these clubs who have an incentive to trade away early picks and surplus players. Plenty to criticise the MFC for over the years, but the management of this relationship looks like it has been first rate from the outside.

You are at the negotiation table. Do you: A) play "hard ball" in order to get the best deal, make every deal take far longer than they need to, holding yourself up and annoying every counterparty in the game? B) move straight towards your best offer, get the deal done swiftly and efficiently, allowing you to move forward on your bigger fish you have to fry and building up goodwill with your counterparties for future deals?

Didn't we lose that in the original trade for 10? I've lost track but I thought we now had 3 and 7, then not appear in the draft again til 50 odd.

It's also 3 and 10 for 6 and (1-18). Obviously if we finish last next year and miss pick 1 it'll be a bit balls, but our reasonable expectation is to finish mid table, so pick 10 is about equivalent to next year's first rounder. The player will be a year further in to his development though. The upgrade from 6 to 3 appears to be significant in this years draft. For that I'm happy to risk the downside on next years as yet undefined first round pick. It's all about getting us better sooner; this deal does that.

Essendon appears not to have gone in with their usual MO of try to screw everyone over and be hard to negotiate with this year. Apart from holding St Kilda to account for their poor offer for Carlisle, their trades have been quick and reasonable. Change of directive from the new management?

Anyone still think we got screwed on Howe? We plugged pick 29 directly in to a trade we were going to use Howe in. That was his market value. Anyone also still care that we used 25 instead of 29 for Melksham? Anyone still reckon they'd do a better job than the amateurs at the club at the moment? I'm feeling so smug right now. Hehe.

As if you could trust someone whose name is only one letter away from "Grubby" anyway.

Ben Kennedy doesn't belong in the same group as Michie, Riley and Newton. He was a highly rated junior who hasn't come on as expected. The other three were fringe footballers who we got for very cheap.That's not to say it won't have the same result, but I'd say the premise in taking Kennedy is different to the others.