RalphiusMaximus

That would be when he had a go at a significantly bigger opponent and then ran for the ball when it came back into his immediate vicinity? Yes, we all know that the media love to show a tiny bit of that footage that looks bad when taken out of context, but I think we Melbourne supporters can afford to look past the media bias to what actually happened, don't you?

I won't disagree with you on Ray. He's played in a very successful outfit that almost won a GF. It's that experience as much as any on-field ability that we need. I just wouldn't pay too much for him (not that we have much left to pay).

I find it hard to get behind the knockers on Col given his injury history. This is a guy who has never completed a full pre-season. It's no wonder he's struggled to put together a consistent season. I agree he's done some idiotic things away from the field, but I would say that if he can get an even break on field and maybe a full year without injuries he will surprise a lot of people.

One thing in Morton's favour is that he is drinking the coolade. He's repeatedly backed the new coaching philosophy and said that he thinks they can help him get his game to where it needs to be. There are other players on the list who perhaps don't buy in with the same enthusiasm who may find themselves ahead of him when it comes time to trim the list.

You'd want to be pretty sure about the heart condition.

We're the tallest list in the AFL. The problem is that some of those talls don't look like making it and others are taking a long time to develop, and in the meantime we're understocked on smaller types.

Well, you are inferior in that other posters have no track record on which to judge your posts. If the first thing you do when you start posting is to attack players, this is the only information we have on which to base judgements.

I agree with what Neeld is doing, I just don't like how much he's been willing to pay to do it. Now, having paid so much for Dawes, North are asking us to pay more for Pedersen than they got for McIntosh, despite the fact that Pedersen can't get a game with them. We've set a precedent of paying overs for players we want and other clubs are looking to cash in. I say offer them a third round pick and if they won't take it walk away.

I would say that Martin is the first domino in the whole mess. Of course, he will only get us one pick, so who would we use it on. I'm more inclined to go for Ray than Pedersen, for all the reasons mentioned in my previous post.

I'll be very sorry to see him go if indeed he does so. I can't deny that he has failed to live up to the potential he showed as a youngster, but he just looked so good during those couple of good seasons he had. I know I'm not the only one here who thought we had a genuine star on our hands. The loss of that hope will hurt, even if the reality is that he has never lived up to it.

Wonder if they'll swap Brown for him.

Looks that way. VEry good pick up for them, and a real shame that we won't get a chance at him. I would have loved us to get this kid.

We've already paid far too high a price for Dawes, no way we should repeat the mistake with Pedersen.

Honestly, I'd kind of prefer us to walk away from this deal right now. I was all for Pedersen when we didn't have Dawes, but now that we've paid so much over market value for the second key forward we were looking for, I just don't see the value in going for someone who is a virtual clone, especially when North are now trying to pull a Collingwood and convince us to overpay them by a similar margin. With Dawes in the side, what role exactly is Pedersen going to play? We have plenty of talls at both ends of the park, we have rucks, we even have Seller who plays the utility/spare ruck role, and Fitzpatrick coming along nicely who can do the same. In all honesty, I see us paying too much again, and this time for a guy who is going to dominate for Casey and rarely see any senior action.

Have to say it, even though I don't really think it's the case. He's a tall mid/short forward, big bodied, breaks tackles and can kick a goal. Is he Bate 2.0?

North got pick 39 for Hamish McIntosh. He's played far more games and is a better player than Pederson, yet they say they want better than pick 49. Seems a bit of a double standard going on there.

So great acceleration but not so much on top speed? I can live with that. It will help him get a quick few meters of space so he can get the ball away. Kind of makes me think the opposite of Paul Wheatley who had great speed but took time to get going. We rarely saw it but he made one of the all time great chase down tackles in the middle of the ground once.

I think one point that hasn't been touched on regarding the way the club has worked this trade period is the fact that at the moment we don't have a head recruiter. Given this lack, we are far less likely to land quality players with our later picks, which could be part of the reason we are so willing to send them elsewhere and take known quantities in their place. We still have pick 4, which will land us a highly rated player with very little research required. No doubt it will be someone with a reputation for work ethic and attack on the ball. Other than that, we will use late picks on rookie upgrades and apparently be content to wait until next year when we have a fully functioning recruitment team once more. Also of note is that the players we are targeting (with the exception of Pederson) have all played in grand finals. Obviously we are bringing them in for that experience as much as for what they will bring to the team on game day. If we land Ray that will be grand final players from three clubs with three very different styles who will all be bringing that experience and knowledge to the club to share with the rest of the team.

Funny thing about our lack of speed is that a couple of years ago when we thrashed the Swans, we were all speed all the time. As the commentators said, Jetta was the only player on the ground for the Swans who could match the pace of anyone in our side. Where did it all go? How did we manage to misplace what looked like the premier up and coming running unit in the AFL? Even looking at the list above, only Martin and Morton offer real speed in that group. Gysberts has repeatedly been noted as needing to work on his outside running to complement his inside work. I just don't get it.

I really question the AFL's logic on this move. They keep talking about growing the game, and then they limit the opportunities for kids to transition to the top level even further. How does cutting back on rookies "grow the game?" If anything, they should introduce more rules that allow people a different pathway into the game.

I have a suspicion that there is a succession plan in place here already. Spencer has three years of playing second fiddle to Jamar and learning all he can from the big Russian before he takes over as no. 1 ruck. Gives him plenty of time to get himself going and he certainly has the size and attitude to play the role.

So we have an article by Mr Clark as the only evidence and nothing out of the club. It cuold be right, especially with our over-the-top stockpile of tall timber, but I would have thought he'd shown more than enough to keep around.

We did better than the Hawks.

He was far from the best player, but I always had a real soft spot for Nathan Carroll. Yes, he was a bit of a [censored] and got himself into trouble a few too many times, but he was tough as nails, aggressive and punching well above his weight as a defender. I loved the way he went about it and his physicality on the ground. It's something the team really lost after he was moved on and we started trying to build a team of choirboys.

I think he left exactly for the reason he's given. He wants to play finals before his career is finished and he doesn't see himself doing that in any significant way with us. As far as I'm concerned both parties handled the situation well and with all due respect to each other. The club didn't move heaven and earth to keep him, but would have been happy enough to have him if he elected to stay.