Fat Tony

IMO we lost the Howe trade because he is a much better prospect than points adding up to #20. The Toumpas for Kennedy part of the trade is about even (and if anything a win for us).

Ha beat me to it

I look at as #29 + #50 = #20 for Howe and Toumpas for Kennedy.

We should look to trade with Sydney for #14 but building up points from using our lower picks. They won't use the pick and need the points to get Mills.

Howe can enter the National Draft and manipulate things to get where he wants ala Luke Ball.

Moving from #6 to #3 values Howe at #37 according to the AFL's FS points system. (The actual value will vary depending on the draft pool.) https://www.draftguru.com.au/pick-value-calculator#3,,|6,

OCTOBER 12, 1.58m: HOWE NOT GONE YET AFL.com.au's Nick Bowen reports Jeremy Howe hasn't walked out on Melbourne just yet. "Jeremy Howe remains more likely to leave Melbourne than stay but is yet to request a trade, his manager says. "Reports on Monday said Howe had requested a trade from Melbourne but the high-flying utility's manager, Ben Niall of Scopo Management, told AFL.com.au his client had yet to decide his future. "Howe has received offers from Gold Coast and North Melbourne, while a third club – believed to be Collingwood – is also likely to table an offer this week. "The 25-year-old Tasmanian is on holiday in Bali, but returns to Melbourne late this week. "Niall said his client should then be able to compare the offers from the Demons and his rival suitors, and decide where he wants to play next season."

It sounds to me like he doesn't like playing in defence (which is his best position).

I think we lose that trade. I don't understand why the market is so keen on Dixon given his injury history.

Casboult reminds me a bit of Earl Spalding at Melbourne.

I think Dawes's contract would have been heavily front loaded, and while I don't rate him very highly, I wouldn't be giving him away for a low pick. Maybe we can turn our second rounder plus Dawes into Freo's first round pick.

Jordan Murdoch was thrown up on Footy Classified as a player than may be part of the Dangerfield deal. I would look at trying to land him for a draft pick or Toumpas, which would go to Adelaide if he wants to stay in Victoria.

While NM's list looks like it is downward heading, the Kangas may be able to convince the football world that they are still a top side and land free agents. Geelong are in a similar position at the moment, but Dangerfield could see them competing for a flag again.

I would be surprised if Toumpas gets us anything but a third round pick. And I don't think he deserves more than a one-year deal on base wage.

I think this is probably correct. It will be interesting / borderline draft tampering if Dangerfield initially accepts 5 x $800,000 via free agency and then goes into the draft asking for 2 x $1,800,000 but with an undisclosed side deal to play for base salary for three more years.

If Adelaide match the offer, can Dangerfield then set different contractual terms if he enters the National or Pre-Season Draft?

Billy looks a likely type but will need to develop into an elite runner to be a long-term AFL player. Hopefully he does because we need that type of player.

I agree with all the assessments above of Suckling as a player. He is an ordinary contested ball player and gets the ball fed to him. But I still think other posters are undervaluing the fact that he is a free agent. Personally I think Suckling plus one of Charlie Curnow/Darcy Parish/Aaron Francis/Harley Balic is better than a lot of the options being put forward because we keep #6.

Matt Suckling (born 25/7/88) is a free agent this year and would add some outside run and skill. Obviously we would need to make him a decent contract offer to lure him away from Hawthorn. Moreover, we wouldn’t go after Suckling unless we signed Colin Garland because we would lose any compensation. As much as Suckling isn’t a big fish, he could add some much needed class and we could still continue to build for the future through the draft. This idea also assumes we don’t get Paddy Dangerfield.

Thanks for the info Chook. But I still think this sounds like a dud deal. Melksham doesn't add size to our inside midfield and lacks polish on the outside, which is what we lack most.

Tippett is 29 next year. Why would we go after him given when we are still 2-5 years away from challenging? Picking up older players like Cross makes sense when they don't cost much in terms of salary cap and draft picks, but it makes no sense otherwise. Besides, I still feel we would be better off playing Tom McDonald as a second ruckman. I thought he was good in the role against the Dogs when we were killed at Etihad. He can provide a reasonable contest in the ruck and is a mobile, marking threat around the ground. Pederson was good in a number of games also.

Dangerfield is longer...

Tom McDonald could be one of the best in the game at this role. As good a key defender as he is, I would play him forward/ruck to better utilise his running ability.

Howe is a very durable player, missing just one game since debut. His not worth $600K, but that needs to be taken into account and I want him to stay.

Bennell could be at top five player in the game and is worth the risk IMO.