Dee*ceiving

Super player for the Dees Gerard even though he deserted us when we were on the cusp of contention. His brother is still working at the club in some capacity also (board member i think)

Neeld has come out on the record and state Chunk is an A grader, I tend to agree. Easily or best mid, gets the hard tag often yet still leads us for possessions and maintained an excellent disposal efficiency. Flew under the radar of mainstream media due to our win/loss record only. Will do even better when he has targets forward of the ball to kick too and he isn't forced to hold the ball up and get caught with it on occassion.

Goldsack is definitely OOC. He is still on the periphery at Collingwood. Though his performance on Saturday night might have changed that. He was ferocious. Hopefully Bucks drops him for Maxwell before the GF and he cracks the sads...Then we're a chance

Define Stupider please? Martin and a 2nd rounder for Wellingham sounds more than fair to me. What we really need is for Cloke to re-sign at Collingwood. Hopefully that will stretch their salary cap to the point that blokes like Goldsack and Wellingham would be tipped out or have to agree to a pittance to stay. Problem with that scenario is Martin will probably cost the pies close to as much per year at Wellingham. BTW - Goldsack would be an even better pick up than Sharrod

I still maintain he is worth a go. Agree he doesn't get a hard tag and he benefits from playing with 2 or 3 of the best half a dozen midfielders in the comp, but last year when the pies had a few out it was Wellingham that stood up and took responsibility. Good pace, athletic, good kick. Our midfield is SHIZEN

Stopped watching those muppets 10 years ago and have never looked back. Nothing but irrelevant drivel, childish smut and poor humour

Billy, the reality is our midfield is deplorable. Easily the worst midfield in the entire competition. In fact it would barely break even with the best midfield in the VFL. Stefan Martin is a good ordinary player. but in the position and role (ruck/part time forward) he plays at Melbourne he is only going to be 3rd string at best whilst Jamar and Clark are there. And once Jamar goes there needs to be an expectation that Gawn and Fitzpatrick will be pushing up hard (or have already failed). Sharrod would immediately be our best or second best (arguable) midfielder. A positon you need to bat 10 or 12 deep to compete with the elite sides. He is young, comes from a winning culture a plays a position the Pies have surplus of. A trade of this type is win-win for mine. A cost of 600K a year front loaded is no doubt overs, but the reality is that's the only thing that will lure a decent player to our club. We have no other cards to play.

Agree you would have to claw Cloke out of Eddies cold, rigid, dead fingers after the effort he put in against the Hawks last week. Take Cloke out of the Collingwood side and the Hawks win by twice as much. The will not be flag contenders next year without Cloke and Eddie knows it . I think Martin is more attactive to Collingwood than people think. They desperately need someone to play the Leigh Brown role and from what we have seen this year Dawes isn't up to it. (not sure Martin is either TBH). Olisik's suggested trade seems quite reasonable to me. At worst maybe Collingwoods return pick drops to a second rounder. We will need to offer Sharrod big $ though. 2.5 million over 4 years, front loaded perhaps. No way Collingwood will have that much cash to splash if they retain Cloke.

Agree on Jetta. He is a hard little unit. Reminds me of a smaller Wrecka Whelan (don't know if he actually is smaller but he seems it). Been unlucky with injury and no doubt low on confidence as a result. If he could get his body right and get super fit he'd be more than handy in my opinoun. Runs in straight lines & tackles hard. Disposal looks shaky but that might improve/be mitigated with a clear role in the team. BTW - he should be tried in the back pocket minding the small forwards.

And a precise, creative left foot. If he still has one of those tools he could still add some value with the right role and some support. If both are gone he will remain on the list, try for a while and retire at the end of next year a shadow of the player he once was. If Adam Cooney's missus is prepared to donate her husband a knee ligament to keep him emplyed perhaps she could throw in a foot for Aaron, just for good measure? BTW - Aarons confidence was destroyed by other teams enforcers niggling and irritating him no end and his team mates doing very little or nothing at all to give him a chop out. We have been disgraceful in this regard since Neita retired. The reality is he would have been far better protected at 15 other clubs.

Tick to Edwards from me too. 1 year deal, frees Howe to spend more time in the midfield/high half forward and gives us a secondary option to Clark. Agree, better option than Green offered in 2012.

I'll second the Jay Clark is a joke sentiment. He seems so enamoured with being first that he could care less if he is wrong. On shear weight of numbers, one fo his guesses will eventually be correct and he will be first. Well done Jay! Regarding Byrnes, I recall Peter Vardy being a great pickup for the Dees for a couple of seasons in the early to mid 2000s. Granted we were a very different team in those days, clearly trying to top up while a window of opportunity presented but I wouldn't be against having Vardy again for a couple of seasons starting next year. If SB can play a similar role at the feet of Mitch for a season or 2 and at the very least contributes in a few more wins is anyone really going to complain?

I suspect he knows next year will be his last at melbourne and therefore the AFL if he stays put regardless of his form. He may be thinking if he jumps now he might get 2 years somewhere else and at the very least put food on the table by kicking a footy for at least 1 more year. I reckon the Cameron Bruce scenario was a bit the same (although OOC) He might get a rude suprise though to find there aren't many suitors.

Angus is a RFA...Doubt he'd be involved in a trade

terrible, terrible news. Thoughts with friends, family, Port Adel and the AFL community in general.

Would get plenty of kicks on a wing for Casey!

RP, is it realistic to make an informed decision on that with the information available and the uncertainty that another 12 months before Hogan can be listed throws into the mix? It would seem very difficult to be absolutely sure it's the right move based on the known information.

Davey has a year to run on his contract. No way he'll retire with 4 mouths to feed. 2013 will be his last. Rivers was excellent all season in multiple positions. MFC would be mad not to try and retain him at this stage of our development. He is one of the level headed senior players worth hanging onto for at least another 2 years. 10 will go. 4 already gone plus Bate, Bennell, Morton, Davis delisted, 2 will get traded Petterd + one other mauybe Martin maybe Gysberts Be prepared for 2013 to be just as bad or worse than 2012. If Jones & Clarke don't play 20 games and maintain or build on their form from this year we will be uncompetitive against 15 sides and probably evens with the other 2...AGAIN

Sad but true Dee-flower & ddrdrake. But without hope, what else is there. My positive reflection on season that has passed is the activation of the 2 Scully compo picks for this year means the coach and the FD fully believed this would be our worst year in the 2012 - 2014 block. It would have been easy for Neeld to sit on them for another year and then keep them up his sleeve for rescue operation the final year of his contract

Anyone else think he kind of looks like Neeld?

Cloke & Son to Carltank is a done deal. They'll both walk away with gigantic cardboard boxes full of money for there trouble.

As far as a player that impacts games Nic Nat is streets ahead of Watts at this juncture. Watts was the right call at the time...Nic Nat go home factor and rawness had to be considered. Watts was and is a class footballer, unfortunately our development leaves a lot to be desired and there is no on field support or mentor for him. Nic Nat would not be the same footballer you see now if he was at melbourne and would be looking for the nearest exit. Watts would also be a very different beast if at West Coast.

500K per season is big time overs for Mckay. Unfortunately seems we have to pay big time overs to land anyone.

I am afraid this indicates lack of understanding about baseball. Baseball is very statistic driven but its all based upon playing the percentages and applying discipline over and over again. It's strategic and long term. A necessity when playing a 162 game season, all over a massive country. Variables you have mentioned such as weather and ground sizes are just as much a factor in baseball as they are in Football. There are big grounds, small grounds. Grounds significantly above sea level, under sea level. Suffer from Sun glare. Natual Turf, synthetic turf...it goes on and on.

Agree, RP. It does translate but not directly. Hence my use of loosely as a descriptor. That said though, there are statistics that coaches use to determine impact on a game. Things such as pressure acts, disposal efficiency, spoils, meters gained and tackles are stats outside of the common kicks, marks, handballs, goals. A very simplistic example. Player A Kicks - 10 Meters gained - 1000 DE - 75% Player B Kicks - 25 Meters gained 600 DE - 70% Based on those statistics in isolation player A is more valuable to the team in terms what impact they may actually have on the result. However in general terms the 25 kick Dane Swan is generally more highly regarded than the 10 kick Cyril Rioli.